The yr 2024 has been nothing wanting extraordinary for Indian sports activities, with athletes throughout a number of disciplines delivering performances that captured the creativeness of hundreds of thousands. From historic victories on the worldwide stage to non-public milestones that rewrote data, the yr showcased India’s rising dominance in worldwide sporting arenas. Whether or not it was cricket, athletics, tennis, or chess, Indian athletes proved their mettle, bringing dwelling medals and accolades that might be remembered for generations.
From L to R: Manu Bhaker poses together with her Olympic medals; Rahul Dravid lifts the T20 World Cup trophy; D Gukesh reacts after his World Chess Championship triumph(PTI/AP)
The nation skilled a monumental T20 World Cup victory, its best-ever Paralympic efficiency, and a few landmark achievements in chess, tennis, and athletics. As we have a look again at 2024, right here’s a listing of probably the most important sporting achievements which have made this yr unforgettable for India.
T20 World Cup victory after 17 years
In a nail-biting finale that can go down in historical past, India lifted their second T20 World Cup title after a 17-year wait. India confirmed resilience underneath strain, beating South Africa by a slim seven-run margin in Barbados. The match noticed Virat Kohli taking part in a pivotal 76-run knock in India’s complete of 176/7 after the facet batted first.
Nevertheless, it was India’s bowling assault, led by Jasprit Bumrah’s constant prowess and Hardik Pandya’s clutch efficiency underneath excessive strain, which sealed the victory. Hardik’s figures of 3-20 helped prohibit South Africa to 169/8, regardless of Heinrich Klaasen’s blistering 52.
India’s captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli pose for an image with the trophy after Staff India wins the ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2024.(ICC – X )
The victory ended an 11-year ICC trophy drought for India however, with Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s retirement from T20 internationals including an emotional factor to the win. Moreover, this was additionally the final event of Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach, with Gautam Gambhir succeeding him within the function.
India loved an unbeaten run all through the event, defeating arch-rivals Pakistan, USA, Eire, and Canada within the group stage earlier than triumphing Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Australia within the Tremendous Eights. Within the semi-final, India rolled previous England to maintain its unbeaten report intact.
India at Olympics: A silver and 5 bronze
The nation secured six medals on the 2024 Paris Olympics, together with one silver and 5 bronze. Among the many standout performers was Neeraj Chopra, the defending Olympic champion in javelin throw from Tokyo, who gained a silver with a season-best throw of 89.45m, lacking out on the gold to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.
Neeraj Chopra celebrates his silver medal on the Paris Olympics 2024. (AFP)
Manu Bhaker additionally made historical past, turning into the primary Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic Video games, claiming bronze in each the ladies’s 10m air pistol and blended 10m air pistol occasions. Moreover, the Indian males’s hockey workforce made its mark by clinching a bronze medal, persevering with India’s wealthy legacy within the sport.
The bronze medal win was additionally a becoming farewell for goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who had been a rock in entrance of the aim for the boys’s hockey workforce for many years. With bronze-medal successful performances from athletes like Swapnil Kusale (Taking pictures), Aman Sehrawat (Wrestling), and Sarabjot Singh (Taking pictures), the 2024 Olympics have been a testomony to India’s rising sporting stature on the world stage.
Avani Lekhara’s historic feat and best-ever exhibiting at Paralympics
Avani Lekhara made historical past by turning into the primary Indian lady to win two Paralympic golds. Her victory within the girls’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 occasion was accompanied by a world report, solidifying her place as one of the profitable Indian athletes in Paralympic historical past.
The 2024 Video games proved to be a milestone for Indian sports activities, with the nation securing its best-ever efficiency within the competitors. India introduced dwelling 29 medals — seven gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze — surpassing its earlier better of 19 medals on the Tokyo 2020 Video games.
India additionally made historical past with a one-two end in athletics within the males’s membership throw F51, the place Dharambir and Parnav Soorma claimed gold and silver respectively. Sumit Antil, Mariyappan Thangavelu, and Sheetal Devi additionally etched their names in historical past.
Rohan Bopanna’s Australian Open triumph
Bopanna achieved a career-defining feat in 2024 by successful the boys’s doubles title on the Australian Open. On the age of 43, Bopanna turned the oldest participant to succeed in World No. 1 in males’s doubles; partnering with Matthew Ebden of Australia, Bopanna defeated Italy’s Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6(0), 7-5 to clinch the coveted Grand Slam title.
Rohan Bopanna, left, of India and Matthew Ebden of Australia pose with their trophy after defeating Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori of Italy within the males’s doubles remaining.(AP)
Bopanna had beforehand come shut however by no means secured a Grand Slam victory in males’s doubles; his previous-best efficiency was reaching the ultimate of the US Open, which he achieved twice in 2010 and 2023. His win at Melbourne’s iconic Rod Laver Enviornment not solely made him the oldest participant to attain World No. 1 standing but in addition proved that age isn’t any barrier to success in skilled sport.
Olympiad victory and Gukesh’s Chess World Championship win
India continued its exceptional rise in chess, reaching stellar success on the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest. The Indian males’s and girls’s groups each made historical past by successful gold of their respective classes, cementing India’s dominance within the recreation.
This victory was particularly important contemplating India’s previous efficiency on the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, the place the nation secured bronze medals in each classes.
Earllier this month, D. Gukesh, the 18-year-old prodigy, turned the youngest-ever World Chess Champion, a report that had been held by Garry Kasparov for many years. Gukesh’s victory within the 14th spherical of the World Chess Championship, the place he defeated China’s Ding Liren, was a spectacular achievement, as he adopted within the footsteps of his mentor, Viswanathan Anand.
World Chess Champion D Gukesh exhibits the World Chess Championship 2024 trophy throughout a felicitation ceremony, in Chennai.(Lakshmi ) Indian Ladies’s Desk Tennis workforce makes historical past
The Indian girls’s desk tennis workforce made historical past in 2024 by successful the nation’s first-ever medal on the Asian Desk Tennis Championships within the girls’s workforce occasion since its inception in 1972.
Competing in Kazakhstan, the workforce of Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Ayhika Mukherjee, Sutirtha Mukherjee, and Diya Chitale earned a bronze medal after a valiant effort within the semifinals.
Puja Tomar’s UFC victory
In a landmark achievement for Indian blended martial arts, Puja Tomar made historical past by turning into the primary Indian to win a UFC combat. The 30-year-old secured a hard-fought victory towards Brazil’s Rayanne dos Santos in an exhilarating strawweight bout, successful by cut up resolution with scores of 30-27, 27-30, 29-28. Tomar’s victory marked a milestone for Indian athletes within the UFC, a world stage for fight sports activities.
Her success despatched a message to the world that Indian fighters are able to competing on the highest stage in blended martial arts. Tomar, who had signed with the UFC in 2023, devoted her win to all Indian followers and fighters.