Politicians and Bollywood stars had largely dominated the list of top newsmakers in India over the past few years. 2016, however, has been a different year. Indian sports stars including PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar topped the list of most-searched people this year after making the country proud at the Rio Olympics.
Ace shuttler, PV Sindhu, won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics, thus becoming the first Indian woman ever to win an Olympic silver medal. She emerged as one of the top newsmakers in India in a list released by Yahoo.
Wrestler Sakshi clinched the bronze medal in Rio and thus became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in wrestling. Her compatriot Vinesh, however, was not so fortunate as she suffered a devastating injury that ended her dreams of winning an Olympic medal.
Gymnast Dipa, who came fourth in her event in the Rio Olympics, also made it to the list of the top newsmakers. She missed the bronze medal by just 0.150 points, but it was the first instance of any Indian gymnast to reach such a position.
Other than the sportswomen, the presence of politicians and celebrities in the top newsmakers restored normality. Rohit Khandelwal, who was the first Indian (and Asian) to win the Mr. World title, was a surprise addition to the list.
Here is the list of top newsmakers in India of 2016:
- Indian Sportswomen: PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar and Vinesh Phogat
- Rohit Khandelwal
- Jayalalithaa
- Arnab Goswami
- OROP Soldier Ram Kishan Grewal
- Subramanian Swamy
- Aam Aadmi Party, mainly Arvind Kejriwal and Sandeep Kumar
We can only hope that the more these women are read about, the more girls are inspired to take up sports, and more parents are ready to motivate their children, especially daughters to become sportspersons. These women making to the top of the most searched people list is definitely a step in the right direction.
