Top 10 most unlikely champions in sports history

There have been numerous instances in sports history where underdogs have emerged as the champions displacing the favorites in a tournament. It is heartening to see athletes who were thought to have very little chances of winning a title go on to win silverware in the biggest of events across the world.Teams have also shown that it is not individual brilliance that wins you championships, but teamwork.We look at 10 such champions who beat the best :

#10 Francesca Schiavone - 2010 French Open

With the likes of Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Li Na, Maria Sharapova in the main draw at the 2010 French Open, no one gave No. 17 seed Francesca Schiavone a chance at claiming her first Grand Slam title.

The Italian got off to a worst possible start losing the opening set in her first round match against the unseeded Russian Regina Kulikova. Schiavone did not look back after that as she went on to win her remaining matches in straight sets. She beat two time Grand Slam champion Li Na in the third round, Maria Kirilenko in the fourth round, No. 3 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinal,No.5 seed Elena Dementieva in the semifinal.

She faced Australian Samantha Stosur in the final, who was playing her first Grand Slam final as well. The Italian handled her nerves and got the better of Stosur in two tight sets to win her first and only Grand Slam in singles.

#9 Thomas Johansson - 2002 Australian Open

We have seen the Big 4(Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray) dominate men's tennis over the past decade winning several Grand Slams. Last year saw Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic break that monotony as they clinched their first Majors.

Thomas Johansson was one such "outsider" at the 2002 Australian Open. The Swede was seeded 16 in the tournament and his best Grand Slam result prior to that was a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open in 2000.

Defending champion Andre Agassi withdrew from the tournament and everyone felt World No. 1 at the time Lleyton Hewitt to win his home slam. The home crowd in Melbourne got the shock of their lives when Hewitt lost to unseeded Spaniard Alberto Martin in the first round.

After reaching the quarterfinals without any hiccup, the No.16 seed beat compatriot Jonas Bjorkman in four sets which included a first set bagel. Johansson came out trumps from two- sets to one down in the semifinals against Jiri Novak with outstanding tennis in the final set. He was up against former US Open champion Marat Safin in the final.

The experienced Safin took the opening set and looked like winning his second Grand Slam at the time. However, the Swede hung in there to get the better of Safin in four sets to win his first and only Grand Slam singles title.

#8 Indian cricket team - 1983 Cricket World Cup

The West Indies had dominated World cricket for a long time and entered the 1983 World Cup as two-time defending champions.

The World Cup was played in England for the third time in a row and the hosts were one of the favorites along with the men from the Caribbean to win the trophy.

England and Pakistan made it to the semifinals from Group A. India were placed in Group B with West Indies, Australia and Zimbabwe.

Each team played two games against each other in the group stages. India upstaged the mighty West Indies in their first match by 34 runs thanks to a brilliant 89 from Yashpal Sharma. After beating Zimbabwe comprehensively in their next game, India suffered a huge loss at the hands of Australia in their third game.

West Indies avenged their loss in the first match with a clinical win leaving India to win their next two matches to qualify for the semifinal. India were tottering at 17/5 and looked completely out of sorts against an inspired Zimbabwe. Kapil Dev played one of the best World cup innings ever with his 175* to rescue the team.

India beat Australia in their last group stage match to set up a semifinal clash against hosts England.

Kapil Dev took 3 wickets to restrict England to 213. Fifties from Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil helped India reach the final.

India batted first in the final against West Indies. Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall , Michael Holding and Larry Gomes combined well to restrict India to just 183. Srikanth was the top scorer for India with 38.

It was considered a walk in the park for West Indies as they headed into the dressing room at the interval. However, Madan Lal and Mohinder Amarnath chipped in with 3 wickets apiece to restrict the West Indies to 140. Vivian Richards was the top scorer with 33 and was dismissed courtesy an outstanding catch by Kapil Dev.

Cricket's popularity in the country skyrocketed after this incredible win.

#7 Iva Majoli

Croatian Iva Majoli won eight singles titles on the WTA tour, but her biggest win has to be the French Open title in 1997.

Majoli beat World No.1 at the time Martina Hingis in straight sets in the final. It was an incredible feat considering the fact that Hingis was on a 27-match winning streak heading into the final. Hingis was not allowed to dictate rallies as Majoli controlled the points with aggressive tennis from the baseline.

The Croatian had also accounted for Lindsay Davenport in the fourth round.

#6 Greece - 2004 Euro Champions

In one of the upsets of the last decade, Greece emerged Euro champions out of nowhere!

They beat fancied Portugal in their opening game thanks to some slick passing and positive football from all players.

In the quarterfinals against France, Greece used two man markers against a two-man French forward line. Fysass and Zagorakis created goal scoring chances to Greece and they attacked with five men. The only goal of the match came from Zagorakis cross.

They used the same tactics against Czech Republic in the semifinal. Although the Czechs dominated possession, Greece again marked the two men forward line of their opposition. Dellas scored the solitary goal this time.

They were up against hosts Portugal in the final. Portugal played 4-2-3-1 with Pauleta as a lone forward. Hence, Greece opted for a three-man defence. Vryzas played the lone striker role. However, Charisteas was the hero with a header from a right-wing corner.

Greece stuck to their strengths which was defence thanks to reliable defenders and a hard working midfield. They neutralized their opponent's strengths and caused one of the greatest upsets in recent memory.

#5 Argentina Basketball team - 2004 Olympic gold

The United States is one of the strongest contenders for a gold medal in any tournament, let alone the Olympics. The team has won an astounding 14 Olympic gold medals since the 1936 Berlin Games.

Coming into the 2004 Athens Games, they were the three time defending champions. The squad consisted of several top players which included the likes of Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Tim Duncan among others.

Argentina faced the US in the semifinals of the event. They employed a mixture of man-to-man and zone defenses coupled with deft passes to surprise the Americans. Argentina beat USA 89-81 to advance to the final against Italy.

Abysmal outside shooting and poor defense cost the US dear who entered the Athens games with an impressive 109-2 record in the Olympics.

Iverson summed up the situation perfectly. "You can't just show up at a basketball game and feel that because you have USA across your chest you're going to win the game," Iverson said. "It means a lot to other teams out here to get a medal as well."

In the final, Argentina outclassed Italy 84-69 on the back of Luis Scola's 25 points and 11 rebounds.

#4 Detroit Pistons - 2004 NBA Champions

Detroit Pistons had not progressed beyond the first round of the playoffs since 1991. Everything changed when Joe Dumars came on board as the team president after the 1999-2000 season.

They emphasised the importance of team play against star power as they beat the fancied Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in the 2004 finals. No one could have expected such a turnaround in team's fortunes in a period of five years. Dumars re-signed and sent All-star forward Grant Hill to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Chucky Atkins and Ben Wallace.

Wallace made the difference in the first four seasons averaging 6.4 ppg, 13.2 rpg and 2.3 bpg in his first season with Detroit. He would go on to become a four-time All-star and four-time defensive player of the year as he averaged at least 10 rebounds and two blocks for seven consecutive seasons.

Dumars also brought in Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups. Hamilton was one of the top shooting guards in the league and Billups was in his elements in Detroit to earn the nickname "Mr. Big Shot". Dumars made couple of changes in 2004 as well. He signed Larry Brown to replace Rick Carlisle and acquired Rasheed Wallace in the deadline.

The Pistons finished the season at 54-28. They came back from a 3-2 deficit against the New Jersey Nets in the semifinals to advance to the East conference finals. In the finals, the Pistons surprised the Indiana Pacers and did not them play their usual game. Pistons won the series in six games to make it to the NBA finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers were the odds on favorites for the title with Shaquille O' Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton in their ranks. O'Neal and Bryant weren't exactly getting along and their team looked more like a grouping of individuals.

The Pistons went on to clinch the title after 5 games. "They may have had better individual players, but we always felt we were a better team," Billups would say after Detroit's championship-clinching Game 5 victory.

#3 Gaston Gaudio - 2004 French Open

For a man whose best result at a Grand Slam previously was a third round appearance, winning a Grand Slam would have felt impossible to say the least. Well, Gaston Gaudio did not think so.

He was unseeded a the 2004 French Open. Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero lost in the third round. Roger Federer, Andy Roddick and Argentine Guillermo Coria were seen as the favorites.

In the first round, Gaudio upset his compatriot and former Top 10 player Guillermo Canas in five sets. He won another five setter against Jiri Novak in the second round. The Argentine reached the quarterfinals with wins over Thomas Enquist and Igor Andreev.

Gaudio beat former World no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets and followed it with another convincing win against his compatriot David Nalbandian in the semifinal.

Gaudio faced another compatriot and No. 3 seed Canas in the final. Canas won the first two sets which included a bagel. Gaudio showed tremendous resolve to win the next three sets to become the fifth lowest ranked player to clinch a Grand Slam. He is also the first man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam by saving match points in the final.

#2 US Ice hockey team - 1980 Winter Olympics gold

The cold war was making all the headlines when US hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics. The USSR were the team to beat as they came into the tournament having won 4 gold medals on the trot.

The US team was comprised of mostly amateur players from college and were seeded seventh in the 12-team tournament. US Coach at the time, Herb Brooks organised an exhibition match against the Soviets just three days before the games. The Soviets thrashed the home team 10-3 at Madison Square Garden.

They did not lose hope and entered the medal round with a 4-0-1 record. The Soviets lead 2-1 before Mark Johnson equalised just before the end of the first period.

The Soviets took the lead again in the third period only to be neutralised by another goal from Johnson. It was captain Mike Eruzione who scored the winning goal for the hosts in the third period. Jim Craig was commendable in front of the goal making 39 saves.

Buoyed by this win, the US beat Finland 4-2 in the final to clinch the gold. The US team had done the unthinkable. they proved that one can win against all odds if there is team spirit and each member of the team contributes in a match. Their win against the Soviets was termed as “Miracle on ice”.

#1 Francis Ouimet - 1913 US Open

If ever there was a list of greatest upsets, this will be at the top. Francis Ouimet was just 20 years of age at the time of the US Open golf championships in 1913.

A self -taught player, Francis was an amateur and had won the Massachusetts Amateur tournament on six occasions. He did not have the greatest of facilities to practice golf. a sport that was accessible only to rich citizens at the time.

He worked at a dry goods store before landing a job at a sporting goods store owned by baseball hall of famer George Wright. Francis was asked to play in the 1913 US Open , but he declined due to work constraints. His participation was arranged after successful talks with his employer.

Harry Vardon, a US Open champion in 1900, 5-time winner of the Open Championship and Ted Ray, winner of Open Championship in 1912 were in the fray. They were regarded as the top two golfers in the world.

After 72 holes of play finished in a three-way tie, Vardon, Ray and Francis played an 18-hole playoff in rainy conditions. Francis held his nerve against the experienced Britons to win the US Open on his home course, the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.

"Francis Ouimet may just be the greatest upset in any sport." - Brent Davis