Sports and politics have always shared a long and complicated relationship. No matter how much we prefer to overlook this fact, the two are intricately intertwined.
While politicians have used sports to propagate their message to the masses, some star sportsmen have switched profession to carry on their legacy as statesmen.
In this article, Samiran Mishra chronicles some of the most successful athletes who made a career in politics.
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir will arguably go down as one of the most important batsmen in India’s rich cricketing history. His colossal 97 off 122 balls in the final against Sri Lanka was imperative in India winning the 2011 ICC World Cup. Gambhir made his debut for the Indian national team in 2003 in the One Day International against Bangladesh. In the domestic scene, he captained both the Indian Premier League sides, Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders. The Delhi-born cricketer announced his retirement from cricket in December, 2018 before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in March, 2019. Gambhir defeated Aam Aadmi Party’s Atishi Marlena by 695,109 votes in East Delhi parliamentary constituency in the 2019 Indian general election.
Dilip Tirkey
Former Indian hockey captain Dilip Tirkey is one of the most decorated athletes the country has ever produced. Born in the hockey capital of Odisha — Sundargarh — Tirkey made his debut for India in 1995 against England. He represented India in 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics and had a total of 412 international caps. Tirkey, to this date, remains the only tribal athlete to represent India at three Olympic events. Tirkey announced his retirement from international hockey in 2010. After declining an offer from Hockey India to become a national selector, Tirkey entered politics and was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha as one of the three Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidates to the Upper House of the Parliament.
Bhaichung Bhutia
Sikkim-born Bhaichung Bhutia is one of the greatest footballers India has ever produced. A former skipper of the national team, Bhutia became the first Indian footballer to play professionally in a European league when he signed for English club FC Bury in 1999. A series of unfortunate events, including a recurring knee problem and Bury slipping into administration, restricted Bhutia to just 37 appearances in three seasons, forcing him to return to India in 2002. Bhutia announced his retirement from international football in 2011 with a record 40 goals in 104 appearances. He joined politics post-retirement, unsuccessfully contesting from an All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. In 2018, following his departure from TMC he founded his own political outfit called Hamro Sikkim Party.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
An Olympic silver in Athens 2004 is what made Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s name a household one in India. He had a distinguished career in the Indian Army before entering the world of sports. A graduate of the 77th Course of the National Defence Academy, Rathore rose to the rank of Colonel while in the army. He was involved in the Kargil War and took part in many anti-terrorist operations across the Kashmir Valley. Rathore won a gold medal in shooting at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. His record of 192 targets in 2002 still stands. The 2002 Commonwealth Games proved further successful for Rathore when he also won the Team gold medal with Moraad Ali Khan. Rathore successfully defended his title by winning gold again at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. He won gold medals in two World Shooting Championships in Sydney and Cairo. In 2013, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following his retirement from the Indian Army. In 2014, in the newly formed Narendra Modi government, he was sworn-in as the Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and was made Minister of Sports in 2017.
George Weah
Born in the Liberian capital of Monrovia, George Weah is one of the most decorated footballers of all time. In a career spanning nearly three decades, George won three Liberian Premier League titles, two Serie A titles, three Coupe de France titles and one FA Cup, playing for clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Chelsea. His impressive performances for both PSG and Milan in 1995 won him the prestigious Ballon d’Or award. To this date, Weah remains the only native African to win the award. Weah announced his intention to run for President of Liberia in the in 2016. Contesting for the Coalition for Democratic Change, Weah won by more than 60 per cent of the votes against Vice President Joseph Boakai, before being sworn in as President.
Mohammad Azharuddin
Former captain of the Indian national cricket team, Mohammad Azharuddin is widely considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Azhar, whose career has been marred by several controversies, has been involved in politics for more than a decade. He was handed an Indian National Congress ticket in 2009 and served one term representing the Moradabad constituency from Uttar Pradesh. The former batsman faced crushing defeat, however, against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria in Tonk-Swai Madhopur, Rajasthan. Azhar also briefly served as the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee.
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Navjot Singh Sidhu played 51 Tests for India, having made his debut in 1983. He also represented Team India in 134 ODIs. Known for his wit and excellent command over the English language, Sidhu’s brand of commentary during cricket matches has been dubbed as ‘Siddhuism’. The former cricketer won on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from the Amritsar seat in the 2004 Indian general elections. In 2016, he took the oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha. Sidhu joined the Indian National Congress in January 2017, contesting from Amritsar East in the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections. He won the election by a margin of 42,809 votes.
Kirti Azad
Kirti Azad was an aggressive right handed batsman and was part of India’s star-studded 1983 ICC World Cup winning side. Azad played seven Tests and 25 One Day Internationals for Team India. Son of former Bihar Chief Minister Bhagwat Jha Azad, politics is something that Azad grew up with.
After retirement, Azad was elected to Parliament on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from Darbhanga, Bihar. The former cricketer got in trouble with the BJP in 2015 after openly targeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over corruption and financial irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association. He was subsequently suspended from the party and as a result joined the Indian National Congress in 2019.
Sebastian Coe
Sebastian Coe’s political achievements have eclipsed his sporting feats to such a degree that people often forget what a brilliant athlete he was back in the day. A track and field legend, Coe won gold medals at both 1980 and 1984 Olympics in 1500m. He also won silver in 800m at the two events. Coe represented Europe in the 1981 IAAF Continental Cup in Rome and won gold in 1500m. His immense contribution to British sports saw him knighted by the Queen in 2006. A member of the Conservative Party, Coe was elected as Member of Parliament for Falmouth and Camborne in 1992. After losing his seat in the 1997 General Elections, he became Chief of Staff to Opposition leader William Hague. A member of the British House of Lords, Coe is currently the President of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
Imran Khan
Born in Lahore in 1952, Imran Khan debuted as a cricketer for the Pakistani national team in the year 1971. In 1992, he led his country to ICC World Cup glory from a precarious situation. Fast forward nearly three decades, he became the Prime Minister of his country. Khan’s first tryst with politics came in 1987 when he was offered a position in the Pakistan Muslim League by then-President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. He declined the offer but nearly a decade later, in 1996, founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Khan was one of the most prominent political leaders who supported Pervez Musharraf’s military coup in 1999. Khan later said that he was Musharraf’s ‘first choice’ for prime minister in 2002 but turned down the offer. After the conclusion of the 2018 general election, Pakistan’s Election Commission announced that Khan’s PTI had won 116 of the 270 seats contested. The former Pakistan cricket captain made history by becoming the first contestant in the history of Pakistan general elections who contested and won in all five constituencies.