Sonali Shingate is an Indian Kabaddi player from Maharashtra. Having made her debut for the Indian women's Kabaddi team in 2018, Sonali has risen to become one of the top female all-rounders of the country. As she celebrates her 25th birthday today, here are some of the interesting facts about her:

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1. Sonali Vishnu Shingate was born in Mumbai on 27 May 1995. She used to play various sports including Kabaddi in her school but never thought of making a career in sports. After her 12th class exams, Sonali took up Kaabddi as a full-time profession after getting support from her family.

2. Sonali started coaching under coach Rajesh Padave of Maharshi Dayanand College in Mumbai. Rishank Devadiga was also a student of the same college. She started representing the college team and got the attention of the Maharashtra junior women's team selectors.

3. She was selected for the Maharashtra women's kabaddi team for thee 2014 Junior Nationals. The team lost to Haryana in the quarterfinals but Sonali's performance got her the captaincy band for the next edition of the tournament.

4. Sonali led the junior women's team of Maharashtra at the 41st Junior Nationals and took the team to the finals. Her performance that year got her a job in the Indian Railways, thus getting a place in their women's Kabaddi team as well.

5. The youngster has represented the Indian Railways' women's team and has gone to win the silver medal once (2017-18) and the gold medal three times (2016-17, 2018-19, 2019-20).

6. Her latest outing with the Indian Railways team was at the 67th Senior National Kabaddi Championships in Jaipur in March 2020. She was the top raider for the team as they went on to win the title. Sonali finished the tournament with 46 raid points, the fifth most by a female player.

7. In 2018, Sonali was selected to be a part of the Indian women's national kabaddi team. She was a part of the team that won the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

8. At the 2019 South Asian Games in Nepal, Sonali was one of the top raiders for the women's team. They went on to win the gold medal, thus continuing the dominance of India in Kabaddi.

9. Sonali was honored with the Shiv Chhatrapati Award by the Government of Maharashtra in the year 2020 for her contribution to the sport.

10. Having played for the Indian team and brought laurels to the country, Sonali now dreams of having a separate Pro Kabaddi league for women someday.