Apart from bringing accolades to the nation, PV Sindhu, Tendulkar, Dipa Karmakar have postal stamps to their credit too

Indian cricketer Jhulan Goswami was honoured with a commemorative postal stamp recently. A look at other athletes and their stamps of approval.

PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar

In a rare honour for women sportspersons, Olympian shuttler PV Sindhu, wrestler Sakshi Malik and gymnast Dipa Karmakar, found a proud place on a special cover released by India Post after their medal haul at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The special cover, titled ‘Golden girls of India — Pride of Nation’ features Sindhu reaching for a shot, Malik in a bout and a triumphant Karmakar. Another stamp in the series also featured Karmakar’s coach, Bishweshwar Nandi.

Roger Federer
It was in 2007 that the World No 2 was presented with a Swiss postage stamp in his honour. The special onefranc stamp was issued by the Swiss Post to celebrate Federer’s extraordinary career. With this, the tennis ace became the country’s first living person to receive a stamp in his name. As per rules, commemorative stamps are only issued posthumously in this postcard-perfect country. Federer’s stamp bore a photo of him holding the Wimbledon winner’s trophy.

Usain Bolt
Olympic and world 100m champions, Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, were featured on the Jamaican Postal Services stamps that went into circulation before the Rio Olympics. While it was a first time honour for FraserPryce, this was not Bolt’s first stamp. He was also pictured on one leading up to the London Olympics. They are priced at 60 Jamaican dollars each, which converts to about 50 US cents.

Wilt Chamberlain
Chamberlain, the only man to score 100 points in an NBA game, became the first player from the league to be honoured with a postage stamp in 2014. And fittingly enough, the two versions of the stamps issued by the Postal Service are nearly two inches long, a tribute to Chamberlain’s towering frame. While one features Chamberlain in the act of shooting with his first NBA team, the Philadelphia Warriors, the other depicts him rebounding for the Los Angeles Lakers, his final club, for whom he played from 1968 to 1973.

Sachin Tendulkar

When Tendulkar retired from cricket in 2013, it was not only the Indian Post Office that released a series of stamps to honour him, but also other bodies, including the Mumbai Cricket Association. The two stamps by the Indian Post Office featured the imagery from the cricket icon’s first and final Test match.

Talimeren Ao
In January this year, a stamp featuring the legendary Indian football captain was released to mark his birth centenary. Talimeren Ao captained the Indian team in the 1948 London Olympics. The footballer was a doctor by profession and was from Naga Hills in Assam. The Rs 5 stamp has a profile image of Ao with football silhouettes around.