Long before she earned fame by becoming the country's first woman officer in the Indian Police Service, Kiran Bedi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi assembly election on February 7, made a mark in national tennis.
For her achievements on the tennis court in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Kiran Peshawaria, as she was born, often appeared on newspapers' back pages. Bedi won the junior National Lawn Tennis Championship twice, in 1966 and 1972. She won the All-India Hard Court Tennis Championship in 1974, the All India Interstate Women's Lawn Tennis Championship in 1975, and the National Women's Lawn Tennis Championship in 1976.
Bedi also represented India twice against Sri Lanka, winning the Lionel Fonseka Memorial Trophy. In 1976, in the first National Sports Festival for Women, which was originally organised as a part of International Women’s Year but then became an annual event, she bagged three gold and two silver medals, for singles and doubles, which she played with her sister, Anu Peshawaria.
Bedi's two sisters were also excellent players. Anu won the national championship thrice, and represented India at the Asian Games and Wimbledon. Bedi and her other sister, Reeta, won the all-India inter-varsity tennis tournament for three years in row in the 1960s. Her father, Prakash Peshawaria, a tennis player himself, trained his three daughters.
Here are some pictures from Bedi's sports career.
Kiran Bedi discusses her tennis career in this short video from the YourStory website.
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For her achievements on the tennis court in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Kiran Peshawaria, as she was born, often appeared on newspapers' back pages. Bedi won the junior National Lawn Tennis Championship twice, in 1966 and 1972. She won the All-India Hard Court Tennis Championship in 1974, the All India Interstate Women's Lawn Tennis Championship in 1975, and the National Women's Lawn Tennis Championship in 1976.
Bedi also represented India twice against Sri Lanka, winning the Lionel Fonseka Memorial Trophy. In 1976, in the first National Sports Festival for Women, which was originally organised as a part of International Women’s Year but then became an annual event, she bagged three gold and two silver medals, for singles and doubles, which she played with her sister, Anu Peshawaria.
Bedi's two sisters were also excellent players. Anu won the national championship thrice, and represented India at the Asian Games and Wimbledon. Bedi and her other sister, Reeta, won the all-India inter-varsity tennis tournament for three years in row in the 1960s. Her father, Prakash Peshawaria, a tennis player himself, trained his three daughters.
Here are some pictures from Bedi's sports career.
Kiran Bedi discusses her tennis career in this short video from the YourStory website.
