Indians who became World Champions

[prasen9]

I don't know that much about the 1960s but in the 70s, there were some pro billiards championships and I think Ferreira did not make it. There were perhaps only a few chances with these world championships held every four years. But, may sports have world championships every four years. The Olympics is every four years. So, in the era where there was a professional championship, we should not consider the amateur ones.

Someone beating a world champion in one match should not be that important or a criterion. The list will be long if we have players who beat the world #1. Lee would get in. We are not going for that list. Although I do not remember whether he beat a world #1 when he was world #1. An interesting list would be to find players who beat the world #1 when they were world #1 or world champion where rankings do not exist. What would the list be in tennis?

When there is no pro/open championship, then the question becomes: was there any player who was prevented from joining and whether any of the top professionals in the sport turned pro and thereby did not participate? Irrespective of whether there was a world professional championship or not.

[rajitghosh]

This amateur-professional debate can go on and on. In tennis professionals were not allowed till 1968 and Davis Cup only allowed in 1972 or 1973. I think badminton admitted professionals only in 1980 or 81. So do you discredit performances before that? Badminton probably didn't have much of a pro circuit anyway. In some sports like snooker and boxing there is a huge difference in standard between amateurs and professionals. The same may not be the case in billiards. In tennis for most of the professional era of the 1950s and 1960s the best players were Pancho Gonzales and Ken Rosewall and then Rod Laver joined them. So the amateurs didn't have to face them. The other issue with professional circuits is that often you have competing circuits ensuring the pros don't play each other. In tennis that was the same with WCT, Grand Prix and so on and same is the case with boxing.

[PKBasu]

I don't know that much about the 1960s but in the 70s, there were some pro billiards championships and I think Ferreira did not make it. There were perhaps only a few chances with these world championships held every four years. But, may sports have world championships every four years. The Olympics is every four years. So, in the era where there was a professional championship, we should not consider the amateur ones.

Someone beating a world champion in one match should not be that important or a criterion. The list will be long if we have players who beat the world #1. Lee would get in. We are not going for that list. Although I do not remember whether he beat a world #1 when he was world #1. An interesting list would be to find players who beat the world #1 when they were world #1 or world champion where rankings do not exist. What would the list be in tennis?

When there is no pro/open championship, then the question becomes: was there any player who was prevented from joining and whether any of the top professionals in the sport turned pro and thereby did not participate? Irrespective of whether there was a world professional championship or not.

Ramesh Krishnan beat Mats Wilander in the 1989 AO when Wilander was world #1 (reigning AO, FO and USO champion too). Leander Paes beat Pete Sampras when the latter was ranked #2 in the world. Vijay Amritraj once beat Rod Later when he was ranked 3 in the world (1973), although this was around the month that the rankings began. (Laver wasn't playing like a world #3 in 1973).

[rajitghosh]

Vijay beat McEnroe in 1984 in a year where Johnny Mac lost only 3 matches and was No.1 by a long distance.

[jayakris]

^^^ But we digress. Those kind of wins do not matter for the list we have here for champions. Beating the #1 is not enough, other than in sports like boxing and games like chess(?) where the set up takes one to replacing the current champion and taking over as champion.

[prasen9]

Jay, will you please delete my last post in this thread. I was posting on two threads and made a mistake. And this post after that.

Done! - Mod Jay

[prasen9]

My two cents are that we should have separate lists. Unrestricted world champions. Amateur World Champions. Junior World Champions. Para World Champions. University World Champions. Underworld Champions (sorry that does not exist, I think).

Update: After having written this in jest, I searched for Underworld Championships. Turns out there was an Australian organization that ran a wrestling championship with that name. So, there it is. Another valuable webpage in this forum must be created for the great Underworld Champions. Oh, wait. Maybe no Indian was ever an Under World Champion. So scratch it. Or should I check that too?

Sorry, Jay. The nice gentlement were answering my question wrt tennis. Seems like the answer is Vijay and Ramesh. Off topic for this list.

[prasen9]

The only way an amateur world championship becomes credible is via this question. Was there any player who could have been competitive who was not allowed to participate due to the restriction imposed by the constitution (definition) of the championships (e.g., amateur, disabled, etc.)? We have to ask this question and see if someone credible was excluded or not.

Carlsen was not excluded herein - he did not come. I am framing the question that way because I do not want to take into account practical restrictions. For example, someone may not have the money to travel via a ship to Uruguay to participate in some championship. That is not due to a restricted championship but practical restrictions. Practical restrictions and political restrictions we cannot do much about and becomes subjective. Restrictions by definition if they have to be cured need the test of the question I laid out above. Or some other formulation that people may come up with with a similar objective.

I think this question rules out the Ferreira championships. The dude in the '60s I do not know the answer.

[jayakris]

PS: Please don't call a player beemari

Late response on this. Yeah, that is a bad name to call a player.

I think A_mari or A+mari would be fine. C_mari is ok. Even D_mari.

In Deepika Kumari's case, Atithee could have just said "Deemari". But "Beemari", no.

(I am just bullsh***ing... Bored. Not much sports going on, except Mumbai ITF and college football)

[Atithee]

^^I also named the specific disease—Olympicitis. Give me some credit for originality. There is no doubt she (and most archers, even shooters) suffer from this disease and cause the disease frustratitis in us.

P.S. India is fighting for a WTC place in Australia, and this is a world championship thread to no end. You can release your boredom there, Jay. India may have just pulled out an Houdiniesque escape at Gabba.

[PKBasu]

Vijay beat McEnroe in 1984 in a year where Johnny Mac lost only 3 matches and was No.1 by a long distance.

Yes, this was huge, Vijay beating top seeded McEnroe in R1 at Cincinnati! And then Vijay promptly lost to Ramesh Krishnan in R2 (last 32) of that tournament.

[jayakris]

P.S. India is fighting for a WTC place in Australia, and this is a world championship thread to no end. You can release your boredom there, Jay. India may have just pulled out an Houdiniesque escape at Gabba.

I was seeing headlines here and there that we were laying eggs all over Australia, so chose not to bother checking on the useless game for which nobody really cares in the world except us in the subcontinent. I guess I should take a look at what is going on...

[SaniaFan]

^^I also named the specific disease—Olympicitis. Give me some credit for originality. There is no doubt she (and most archers, even shooters) suffer from this disease and cause the disease frustratitis in us.

P.S. India is fighting for a WTC place in Australia, and this is a world championship thread to no end. You can release your boredom there, Jay. India may have just pulled out an Houdiniesque escape at Gabba.

Oh you meant she suffers from beemari. That is ok. But what you wrote was that she is beemari( meaning she is a disease). That was was a bit low even though it was said in a fun manner.

[prasen9]

Jay, will you please delete my last post in this thread. I was posting on two threads and made a mistake. And this post after that.

Done! - Mod Jay

Thanks Jay.

[rajitghosh]

Let me add another list here on Indian Olympic medallists who also won World Championship medals. Obviously winning medals in both demonstrate they performed consistently at the highest level. As an exception wherever certain sports were not part of Olympics but featured in say the World Games (which is basically a global games for non-Olympic sports) or Olympiads like chess I have included those.
Leander Paes- won Olympic medal in singles. All future achievements in doubles.
Karnam Malleshwari- 2 golds and 2 bronze medals in world championships
Rajyvardhan Singh Rathore- 1 world championship bronze
Sushil Kumar- 2 Olympic medals + 1 world championship gold
Abhinav Bindra- First Indian to have golds both in Olympics and World Championships
Vijendar Singh- 1 World CHampionship bronze
Saina Nehwal- 2 World Championship Medals (1 silver+1 bronze)+ multiple wins in Super Series Premier events+ runner up in year end finals.
Marykom- 6 golds + 1 bronze in world championships
Gagan Narang- 1 bronze in world championship
PV Sindhu- 5 medals in World Championships (1 gold, 2 silvers, 2 bronzes), has also won the year end World Tour finals once and runner up twice + has won a Super Series Premier event
Neeraj Chopra- 2 World Championship medals (1 gold, 1 silver), multiple medals in Diamond League finals (1 gold, 2 silver)
Mirabai Chanu - 1 gold+ 1 silver at world championships
Ravi Dahiya- 1 bronze in world championship
Bajrang Punia- 1 silver + 3 bronzes in World Championships
Lovlina Borgohain- 1 gold + 2 bronze medals in World Championships
Manu Bhaker- 1 gold + 1 silver in team events in world championships
Swapnil Kusale- 1 bronze in world championship

World Games/ Olympiad + World Championships:
Prakash Padukone- 1983 World Championship bronze, 1981 World Games bonze, 1981 World Cup winner + multiple wins in high level tournaments
Jyothi Vennam - Compound archery team bronze in 2022 World Games, team gold and individual bronze at 2023 world championship
Vishwanathan Anand and Gukesh in chess. Also Koneru Humpy has golds in World rapid and Olympiad and was a runner up at the World Championship.