5 Indian Athletes Who Played More Than One Professional Sport

Losing the buzz of one sport’s competition can be hard, so what better way to scratch that itch than by taking up another sport – and ultimately finding varying degrees of success.

To get success, always stay on a single boat then you can get what you want. This means you should focus on only one sport in life to get better results. But some Indian athletes proved this statement wrong. They tried and also excelled in more than one sport. Many athletes around the world spend their entire life trying to decent themselves in one specific sport.

With continuous proper training and practice, they can only dream to be the best they can be in their particular sport. However, few have played several sports at a professional level. They are the ones who set benchmarks for everyone. Here is a list of famous 5 Indian athletes who tried more than one sport.

Chuni Goswami: Football and Cricket

Chuni Goswami, one of the best Indian multi-sport athletes to date, was a first-class All-rounder cricketer who represented Bengal in the Ranji Trophy and also a professional footballer who played football for India’s national football team and Mohun Bagan Football Club as a striker (from 1946 to 1968). He captained both the football and cricket teams. He made his debut for the Indian football team in the 1-0 victory against China.

He was a phenomenal footballer and also an excellent cricketer. His talent in cricket was no less. When he retired from football, he decided to focus completely on cricket and led Bengal to a Ranji Trophy final. Even though he had to leave cricket several times to play football, he did not let it affect his career in the Gentleman’s game. He also took part in various competitions like the Olympics, Asian Games, Asia Cup, and Merdeka Cup.

Yuzvendra Chahal – Chess and Cricket

An extraordinary Chess master who gave checkmate to the batsman on the cricket ground. He is also an International Cricketer. He is an outstanding wrist-spinner who create his legacy in limited-overs cricket for India and open the doors for more wrist spinners in the Indian team. He is one of the leading spinners in modern-day cricket from Haryana who represented his country in international cricket. He is also a former junior chess player and has played for India at junior levels. He won the National Under-12 Championship in Kolkata, in 2002. He also represented the country at the Asian and World U12 Junior Championships. He wanted to build a career in Chess but his lack of sponsorship and guidance evolved into an obstacle in his path to carrying out his dream in chess. But he used to play cricket and work on his bowling. His father’s support was extremely exceptional as he (father) built a playground using his agricultural land for his son so that he (Chahal) can practice well. Chahal’s remarkable accomplishments in the IPL earned him a national call-up. Chahal has become a crucial player of the Indian team in the limited-over format. Currently, he is playing for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022.

Cotah Ramaswami – Cricket and Tennis

Cotah Ramaswami was a dual sports international player who had played and represented India in both cricket and tennis (Davis Cup). He was a true legend in both sports. He won the singles title at the South of England Championships in 1923. He is among one the few Indian cricketers who have represented the country in two sports.

He had appeared two times in Test matches and also played more than 50 first-class matches. He was a left-handed batsman attacking batsman.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu – Football and Cricket

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is an Indian professional goalkeeper athlete of the Indian men’s national football team and the only Indian player to have played in the Europa League.

He is an outstanding goalkeeper. He is the first Indian football player to play UEFA Europa League. Before playing football, he started with cricket and looked to pursue it but failed. Then he wasted no time in showing his football talent to his parents and started working on that. Thanks to his parents who understand his talent and provided him with all opportunities so that he can achieve his goal.

Neeraj Chopra – Cricket, volleyball, and Javelin throw

Neeraj Chopra, the golden boy of New India, is an Indian track and field athlete. He began his career by playing cricket and volleyball before being persuaded by his uncle to switch to javelin. He got fame in 2012 when he broke the U16 national record with a throw of 68.46m and won gold at the 28th Junior Nationals. He thereafter broke all sorts of records in Javelin in every tournament he participated in. He has won many gold medals for the Nation. Last year, he won an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo and became the first Indian track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics.