List of Names of Prominent Players of Haryana
Haryana, a state in northern India, has consistently produced world-class athletes across a wide range of sports. Known for its rich sporting culture and emphasis on physical fitness, the state has contributed significantly to India’s national and international sports achievements. Here’s a look at some of the most prominent players from Haryana.
Cricket
Haryana has produced several cricketing legends who have represented India at the highest level:
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev (born 6 January 1959) is a former Indian cricket captain and one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history. A fast-medium bowler and powerful middle-order batsman, he is the only player to have taken over 400 Test wickets and scored more than 5,000 Test runs.
Kapil Dev captained India to its first Cricket World Cup victory in 1983 at the age of 24, making him the youngest captain to win a World Cup. He retired in 1994, becoming the first player to take 200 ODI wickets. He also held records for most Test wickets and highest individual ODI score at number 5 until recent years.
Post-retirement, he coached the Indian team (1999–2000) and received numerous honours including the Padma Shri (1982), Padma Bhushan (1991), Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century (2002), ICC Hall of Fame (2010), and BCCI’s C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award (2013).
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag (born 20 October 1978) is a former Indian cricketer, widely regarded as one of the most destructive opening batsmen of his era. He represented India from 1999 to 2013, playing for Delhi and Haryana in domestic cricket and Delhi Capitals in the IPL. Sehwag was known for his aggressive right-handed batting and held the highest score by an Indian in Tests (319 against South Africa), which was also the fastest triple century in international cricket.
He was part of India’s victorious squads in the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 Cricket World Cup, and jointly won the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, where he was the tournament’s highest run-scorer. Sehwag also holds the distinction of scoring both a double century in ODIs (219) and a triple century in Tests, a feat shared with only Chris Gayle.
He served as vice-captain under Rahul Dravid and occasionally led the team in Dravid’s absence. Sehwag retired from international cricket on 20 October 2015 and now serves on India’s National Anti Doping Agency panel. In 2023, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal (born 23 July 1990) is an Indian international cricketer and leg-spin bowler, known for his performances in white-ball cricket. He represents India, Haryana in domestic cricket, Punjab Kings in the IPL, and Northamptonshire in the County Championship.
Chahal was the first Indian and second player overall to take a six-wicket haul in T20I history and became the first concussion substitute to be named man of the match in an international game. Interestingly, he was also a former chess player representing India internationally. He was part of India’s squad that won the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Other Notable Players
Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra, Joginder Rao, Ajay Ratra, Nitin Saini, Joginder Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Parvinder Singh, Barinder Sran, Shafali Verma, Manvinder Bisla – Other notable cricketers contributing to domestic and international cricket.
Athletics
Neeraj Chopra
Lieutenant Colonel Neeraj Chopra PVSM VSM (born 24 December 1997) is an Indian javelin thrower and one of India’s most celebrated athletes. He won Olympic gold in 2020, becoming the first Asian to do so in javelin throw, and also won gold at the 2023 World Championships. Chopra has also been a Diamond League winner and consistently finished in the top two in 26 consecutive tournaments (2021–2025), the second-longest streak in javelin history.
He is India’s first athletics Olympic gold medalist, the youngest-ever Indian individual Olympic gold medalist, and the only individual to win gold on his Olympic debut. Chopra also holds the world U20 javelin record (86.48 m) and is one of India’s few multiple Olympic medalists in individual events.
Saina Nehwal
Saina Nehwal (born 17 March 1990) is a former world no. 1 Indian badminton player and one of the country’s most successful sportswomen. She has won 24 international titles, including ten Superseries titles, and became the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in badminton (bronze at London 2012).
Nehwal is also the first Indian to achieve medals in all major BWF events, the first to win the BWF World Junior Championships, and the first to win two Commonwealth Games singles golds (2010, 2018). She captained India to a historic Uber Cup bronze in 2014.
For her achievements, she received Padma Bhushan, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, and Arjuna Award. She retired from professional badminton in January 2026 and is recognized for her contributions to popularizing the sport in India.
Boxing
Dinesh Kumar, Jagdish Singh, Manoj Kumar, Vijender Singh, Vikas Krishan Yadav, Manish Kaushik – All have represented India in various national and international tournaments.
Hockey
Suman Bala, Sita Gussain, Jasjeet Kaur Handa, Surinder, Mamta Kharab, Savita Punia, Sandeep Singh, Sardara Singh, Pritam Rani Siwach – Players who have strengthened India’s hockey legacy with outstanding performances.
Kabaddi
Sunil Dabas, Anup Kumar, Ramesh Kumar – Renowned figures in kabaddi, representing India in national and international championships.
Mountaineering
Santosh Yadav (born 10 October 1967) is an Indian mountaineer and the first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest twice. She also became the first woman to scale Everest from the Kangshung Face. Yadav climbed Everest in May 1992 and May 1993 as part of Indo-Nepalese expeditions, saving the life of a fellow climber during her 1992 ascent.
Born in Joniyawas, Rewari, Haryana, she developed an interest in mountaineering while studying at Maharani College, Jaipur, and trained at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi. She has also served as an officer in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and participated in international expeditions like Nun Kun (1989). Yadav is a committed environmentalist, having collected hundreds of kilograms of waste from the Himalayas.
Volleyball
Dalel Singh Ror, Balwant Singh – Notable volleyball players from Haryana.
Wrestling
Ravi Kumar Dahiya
Ravi Kumar Dahiya (born 12 December 1997) is an Indian freestyle wrestler. He won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 57 kg category and a bronze at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships. Dahiya is also a three-time Asian champion and won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the men’s 57 kg freestyle category.
Yogeshwar Dutt
Yogeshwar Dutt (born 2 November 1982) is a former Indian freestyle wrestler who won bronze at the 2012 London Olympics in the 60 kg category. He has been honored with the Arjuna Award (2009), Khel Ratna (2012), and Padma Shri (2013).
Sakshi Malik
Sakshi Malik (born 3 September 1992) won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal. She received the Khel Ratna (2016) and Padma Shri (2017) and was listed in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2024.
Geeta Phogat
Geeta Phogat (born 15 December 1988) is the first Indian female wrestler to qualify for the Olympics and won India’s first-ever wrestling gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Bajrang Punia
Bajrang Punia (born 26 February 1994) is a former freestyle wrestler who won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is the only Indian wrestler with four World Championship medals. He has multiple golds at Asian and Commonwealth events and has been honored with the Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, and Padma Shri. In 2024, he joined politics as the Working President of the All India Kisan Congress.
Other Notable Players
Suman Kundu, Gurvinder Singh Malhotra, Chandgi Ram, Lila Ram, Shilpi Sheoran, Virender Singh are prominent Indian wrestlers and sports figures, primarily hailing from Haryana, with significant achievements in traditional Indian wrestling (Akhara), amateur freestyle, Greco-Roman, and international competitions like the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and Deaflympics.
Shooting
Manu Bhaker
Manu Bhaker (born 18 February 2002) is an Indian sport shooter and one of India’s youngest and most decorated athletes. She won two medals at the 2024 Olympics (bronze in 10m pistol and 10m pistol mixed team), becoming the first Indian shooter to win two medals in a single Olympic Games. Bhaker has also won 23 World Championship and World Cup medals, 12 Asian Games/Asian Championship medals, and gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2022 Asian Games. She was the youngest Indian to win a World Cup gold.
Gagan Narang
Gagan Narang (born 6 May 1983) is an Indian sport shooter who won bronze in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle at the 2012 London Olympics. Born in Chennai with family roots in Panipat, Haryana, he developed his shooting skills from a young age and has been supported by Olympic Gold Quest. He is also a member of the Padma Awards committee (2023).
Kajal Saini
Kajal Saini (born 31 August 1994) is an Indian shooter from Rohtak, Haryana, specializing in the 50m rifle events. She has participated in multiple World Cups and Asian Championships, winning medals at the 13th South Asian Games (2019) and the 14th Asian Shooting Championship in Doha, and is an Olympic aspirant.
Paralympics
Sumit Antil, Dharambir Nain, Manish Narwal, Harvinder Singh, Navdeep Singh – Athletes representing India in javelin, archery, club throw, and shooting events in Paralympic games.
Football
Sumeet Passi, Ravi Kumar Punia, Ritu Rani, Aakash Sangwan, Sanju Yadav – These talented individuals are actively shaping Indian football across various levels.
Sumeet Passi is a versatile forward/defender for East Bengal FC and the national team. Known for his incredible versatility, Passi moved to Inter Kashi in 2023. Interestingly, in the 2025/26 season, he has been utilized as a defensive midfielder and right-back in addition to his traditional forward role. He remains under contract with Inter Kashi until May 2026.
Ritu Rani is a defender for Kickstart and the Indian women's team. She led India to a bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games and, most significantly, captained the team that qualified for the Olympics in 2016—the first time the Indian women's team had reached the Olympics in 36 years. She retired from international hockey in 2016 (briefly returning in 2017) and is a recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award.
Aakash Sangwan is a left-back for FC Goa and the national team. After a successful stint at Chennaiyin FC, Sangwan moved to FC Goa in June 2024. He is a regular starter in the 2025/26 ISL season and has officially broken into the Indian National Team, making his international debut in October 2024 against Vietnam.
Ravi Kumar Punia is a former player turned coach transforming women's football. After a playing career that included winning the I-League Qualifiers with Rajasthan United, Punia has transitioned into one of the most successful young coaches in India. As of late 2025, he made history by securing national medals across all women's categories (Sub-Junior, Junior, and Senior) as a head coach for state teams like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Sanju Yadav is one of India’s most decorated female footballers and a former AIFF Player of the Year. Originally from Alakhpura, she has played for top clubs like Gokulam Kerala and Odisha FC. In the current 2025/26 season, she is a key player for Sreebhumi, continuing her role as a mainstay for the "Blue Tigresses" national team.
