National Sports Day 2021: Watch these inspiring Bollywood films of sportswomen in India

To honour the legendary Hockey player and Olympian Major Dhyan Chand and his contribution to the sports, National Sports Day 2021 is observed on August 29. With the Tokyo Paralympics in full swing, netizens have gotten into the spirits of the occasion and it has doubled with the historic Silver medal of para paddler Bhavina Patel in the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 Women's Singles Class 4 category final. While the country hopes for athletes to bring home more medals, here are some Bollywood movies you can watch to get into the zeal of Sports day.

From Mary Kom to Saina, Bollywood is home to several movies depicting the inspiring journey and passion of sports women of India. Take a look at stories of sports women in Bollywood who have inspired millions of young women to pursue sport and follow their dreams. 

1. Mary Kom

Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom is the only woman to become a six-time titleholder of the World Amateur Boxing Championship. Hailing from a small village of Manipur, the athlete braved through several hurdles to achieve the status of a world-class athlete. Depicting her journey realistically, Omung Kumar helmed the Priyanka Chopra starrer sports biopic titled Mary Kom. One of the biggest movies of 2014, the movie became the highest-grossing Indian film led by a female actor while Priyanka Chopra was highly praised for the performance. 

2. Saina

Taking the sport of Badminton to new heights in India, Saina Nehwal made several records and won over 24 international medals throughout her career. Tracing her journey from childhood until now, Parineeti Chopra's 2021 film Saina was directed by Amole Gupte. The movie was lauded for its simplistic yet real depiction of Saina Nehwal's journey of hailing from a middle class family to becoming a world-class athlete.

3. Dangal

Based on the life of a former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, Nitesh Tiwari's 2016 biopic Dangal traces the journey of a father excruciatingly training his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari to become India's first-ever female wrestlers at the international level. From the soundtracks to the actors' stellar performance, the movie perfectly captured a father's determination to make his daughters world-class athletes. The movie eventually entered the list of top 20 highest-grossing films in India. 

4. Saala Khadoos

Depicting the plight of an ostracized boxer, R. Madhavan played the role of Aditya Tomar who makes it his life mission to train Ezhil Madhi, played by debutant Ritika Singh in the 2016 bilingual sports drama film Saala Khadoos. Directed by Sudha Kongara, the movie was a commercial success at the box office and was received positively by critics. The cast was also appreciated for their stellar acting.

5. Chak De! India

Directed by Shimit Amin, the 2007 sports drama Chak De! India depicted the journey of a Hockey player named Kabir Khan, labelled a cheater by the country for a misinterpreted photograph during a Pakistan-India match. He later goes on to become the coach of the Women Indian Hockey team and braves through several hurdles to win the international title and restore his glory and reputation. The movie was a commercial success and garnered positive reviews. 

IMAGE- TARAN ADARSH'S TWITTER & NAVRANGRUPERI