In today’s weekend blog, I am writing about India’s TOP SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS of 2024.
1 India Lifts T20 World Cup Title
In a thrilling finale that will be etched in memory for years to come, the India men’s cricket team made history by defeating South Africa in a nail-biting final by 7 runs. India last won the T20 World Cup in 2007. The victory sparked widespread celebrations across the cricket-crazy nation, with fans pouring onto the streets, waving the Indian tricolour in triumph.
2 India Wins Six Medals-Paris Olympics
Indian player made the mark by winning one silver and five bronze medals.
Manu Bhaker created history by becoming the first Indian to win 2 medals in single edition of the Games. Her first bronze medal came in women’s 10m air pistol event, and her second bronze came in mixed 10m air pistol event, where she paired with Sarabjot Singh.
Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic champion in Javelin throw, this time won silver medal with the throw of 89.45 m.
The Indian Hockey team retained their bronze medal, Swapnil and Aman also won bronze medals in wrestling.
3 Rohan Bopanna Reigns Supreme
He won the Australian Open men’s double title at the age of 46 (he became the oldest grand slam champion). He partnered Australian Matthew Ebden to lift the title.
After 19 different partners and 61 attempts, Bopanna finally won the men’s Double Grand slam title he had been chasing ever since he made his ATP tour debut in doubles 22 years ago.
4 Paralympians Sizzle in Paris
India achieved its best-ever Paralympic performance at the Paris Games winning 29 medals-seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze-surpassing the 19 medal tally from Tokyo 2020. A record 84 para-athletes represented India across 12 sports.
Avani Lekhara became the first India woman to win two Paralympics golds, defending her title in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 with a record score. Sumit Antil became the first Indian man to defend a Paralympic title by winning the Javelin throw F64 with a record 70.59m. Mariyappan Thangavelu earned the bronze in high jump T42 and became the first Indian to win medals at three consecutive Paralympics.
5 Indian Women Table Tennis Team wins Historic Bronze Medal
The Indian women’s table tennis team, comprising of Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Ayhika Mukherjee, Suthirtha Mukherjee, and Diya Chitale, made history by securing India’s first-ever medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championship, competing in Kazakhstan. The team clinched a bronze medal after a valiant effort in semi finals, where they were defeated.
6 Windfall for Chess
At just 18, D Gukesh Has etched his name in chess history by becoming the youngest-ever World Chess Champion after stunning victory over Ding Liren in the 14th round of their championship clash in Singapore. This extraordinary achievement shattered the long-standing record set by iconic Gary Kasparov, who claimed title at 22 by defeating Anatoly Karpov in 1985.
India also achieved historic milestone in sports in Budapest by winning gold medals in both the Open and Women’s sections of the Chess Olympiad.
Other Notable Achievements
- Lakshya Sen became the first Indian male badminton player to reach the Olympic semi-finals.
- In Badminton, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reached the World No. 1 ranking in men’s doubles, a first for India.
- India won two titles in Asian Double Squash Championships. Abhay Singh with Velvan Senthilkumar won doubles crown. Abhay along with Joshna Chinappa won mixed double title also.
- The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams beat China in final to win Asian Champions trophy.
In the end friends, now there is much more to talk in Indian sports beside cricket.
Waiting for your feedback on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
27th December 2024