Summary
Santosh Yadav
Santosh Yadav is the only woman in the world who has climbed Mount Everest twice. Santosh was born in Joniya; a village in Haryana, as the sixth child to her parents. She is the only sister to five brothers.
Her parents were the rich landowners. They could have sent her to Delhi for studying, but she was educated in the village school. When she was sixteen, she refused to marry and warned her parents that she would never marry if she did not get proper education. She got admission in a school in Delhi but her parents refused to pay the fees. She told them she would take up a part time job, eventually they relented. Santosh passed High School and joined Maharani College in
Her room in Kasturba Hostel faced the Aravalli Hills. From there she used to see the villagers going up the hill and disappearing. She decided to see by herself as to why the climbers disappeared. When she went there, she met only a few climbers who encouraged her to take, climbing. Then there was no looking back. Santosh saved money and enrolled herself in the Uttarkashi Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. She went on an expedition every year. She had an iron will, physical endurance and mental toughness. Eventually, her efforts started bearing fruits.
In 1988, she joined the Aravalli mountaineers and in 1992 she became the youngest woman to climb Mt. Everest. Within twelve months, Santosh became the member of the Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition and set a record of being the only woman to have climbed Mt. Everest twice.
She was honoured with Padamashri, one of the nation’s top honours.
It was a proud moment for her to unfurl the Indian tricolour on top of the world. She acted as an environmentalist also and brought down 500 kilograms of rubbish from the Himalayas.
Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova is a Siberian teenager who became the world’s number one tennis player on 22 August, 2005. She was 10 years old when she was sent to America to train with her father, while her mother was forced to stay behind. She helped her father while he struggled to support her. This made her determined and mentally tough.
She bagged the ladies’ single crown at Wimbledon in 2004. Her journey from Siberia to the top of women’s tennis has touched many hearts.
She says that she works hard and her sacrifices have been worth it. She says that she is proud to be a Russian even though the US is a big part of her life she will play the Olympics for Russia if they want her to.
Her hobbies are fashion, singing and dancing. She loves reading novels of Arthur Conan Doyle.
Sharapova cannot be put in a category. She has the talent, a desire to succeed and readiness to sacrifice. She finds money a motivation but more than that is her desire to be number one.