B.P. Govinda’s full name was Bilimoria Putaswamy Govinda. He was one of the fastest hockey players of his times in the striking circle. He was deadly in the circle because of his precise shooting.
B.P. Govinda was an all-rounder. He could play in any position, be it centre-forward, outside-left or inside-left. But his main position was that of a centre-forward. He was a superb forward as well as master of the scoop.
He was a player who always accepted challenges gleefully from opposition. His fantastic goal in the 1973 World Cup won the match against Pakistan. In the 1973 World Cup final, Indian players were under extreme pressure and nobody was ready to take strike, but Govinda came forward and took strike.
In the Veteran Series in Dubai in 1997, a ball caught him on the temple. He was bleeding from the cut but refused to go off the field. Finally, he left the field but a couple of minutes later he was back with a dressing on the wound. Such was the killer instinct and love for the game in Govinda.
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Bachendri Pal is one of the greatest woman mountaineers of whom Indians, particularly women, are proud of. She is the first Indian lady to climb Mount Everest – the highest peak in the world. Her passion for nature and natural things was the sole factor for choosing mountaineering as her profession.
She was born on May 24, 1954 in Nakuri (Uttar Pradesh). After finishing her post graduation, she took up teaching as a profession. But her fervency for mountaineering did not diminish. Consequendy, she joined the Nehru Mountaineering Academy to imbibe a primary and higher course of mountaineering.
Initially, she was able to climb three peaks, and only in 1982 she tried for the Mount Everest. But luck favoured her only in 1984 when she conquered the highest peak of the world. Later she climbed Mount Everest twice. The Indian government honoured her with many awards like the Padma Shri, Arjuna Award etc.