Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal top list of most followed Indian women athletes on social media

The interest in Indian female sports has seen a rapid rise in the country over the past few years. While veteran women athletes like Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom have already made a name for themselves in their respective sporting fields, youngsters like PV Sindhu and Smriti Mandhana among others are slowly rising through the ranks with their continuous excellence. Their popularity can also be evidenced through their followers across popular social media platforms, primarily Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Sania Mirza, Sania Nehwal, PV Sindhu top social media popularity charts

As of June 2020, Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza’s online followers have been estimated to be more than 29.4 million, which makes her the most followed Indian women athlete on social media. She has 13.9 million followers on Facebook, 9.1 million followers on Twitter and an additional 6.4 million of them on Instagram. Sania Mirza’s popularity soared during the mid 2000s, i.e. the time when she achieved her highest singles ranking of 27. Her fame only escalated further when she gained a huge fan following among Pakistani sporting fans after marrying their former cricket captain Shoaib Malik in a high-profile 2010 wedding.

Former World No.1 and badminton star Saina Nehwal is placed second on the list with more than 17.3 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Haryana-born player achieved her peak ranking in 2015 and was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government a year later. Saina Nehwal is also a known philanthropist, who quite often engages herself in charitable activities.

Much like Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu is another Indian badminton ace who rose to popularity by winning multiple medals at high profile tournaments. For her victory at the 2019 World Championships, she became the first Indian to be crowned Badminton World Champion. PV Sindhu is currently the third most popular Indian female athlete on social media with more than 5.7 million followers.

The numbers come as a slight surprise since Mirza and Nehwal, both who below from Hyderabad, have either been absent or struggled for form in recent years, either due to personal reasons or injuries. 

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Among India’s top 10 most followed women sporting figures, 27-year old wrestler Sakshi Malik is placed at 10th position. She was also recently nominated for the Arjuna Award by the Indian government for her achievement in wrestling. On the cricketing front, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj are the only players to have made the list.

Headlined by the likes of Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, here is a look at India’s top 10 most followed women athletes on social media (Facebook + Twitter + Instagram).

Sania Mirza (Tennis) – 29.4+ million followers

Saina Nehwal (Badminton) – 17.3+ million followers

PV Sindhu (Badminton) – 5.7+ million followers

Jwala Gutta (Badminton) – 4.6+ million followers

Smriti Mandhana (Cricket) – 3.7+ million followers

Mithali Raj (Cricket) – 3.7+ million followers

Geeta Phogat (Wrestling) – 2.2+ million followers

Mary Kom (Boxing) – 1.9+ million followers

Babita Phogat (Wrestling) – 1.7+ million followers

Sakshi Malik (Wrestling) – 1.3+ million followers

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