If 2023, the year needed to be summarised in a phrase or a phrase for Indian sports, it could be bittersweet. The year was crammed with some exceptional achievements, some so close to but to date performances and a few disappointments as nicely however 2023 can be referred to as a year the place India took a step in the correct route so far as sports is worried. Obviously, the spotlight of the year can be the efficiency in the Asian Games from our athletes the place they bagged 107 medals throughout 22 sporting disciplines whereas the year ended with the frustration of dropping the Cricket World Cup remaining, which has lingered on since November 19 particularly as a result of the Men in Blue had been the one unbeaten group until that fateful night time in Ahmedabad.
Cricket
The year started with the Indian ladies’s cricket group’s group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup in South Africa. The inaugural Women’s Premier League took form and although the Women in Blue additionally misplaced the final T20 sequence of the year towards India, they ensured capping off the year with two Test wins, one every towards the pioneers – England and Australia. The year additionally had the primary Asian Games Gold for Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. and now there’s a T20 and ODI sequence on the playing cards towards Australia, that unfold to the primary few days of the brand new year. All the preparations will now be achieved retaining in thoughts for the T20 World Cup subsequent year.
This identical applies to males too, nonetheless, 2023 was a combined year. It began with two dwelling sequence wins towards Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Rohit Sharma and his males received the Border-Gavaskar sequence at dwelling earlier than dropping the World Test Championship remaining, the second time in three years, this time towards Australia. Then there was the West Indies tour, which remained combined earlier than the white-ball group discovered its method again with an Asia Cup win, a sequence win towards Australia simply earlier than the World Cup. India received 10 matches in the World Cup, solely to lose the ultimate. Virat Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar‘s large data however the greatest trophy continued to elude the Men in Blue. The year ended with T20 and ODI sequence wins towards South Africa in their very own yard and the Test group might be keen to maintain the momentum.
Badminton
Among others, the badminton stars PV Sindhu and Laskhya Sen had a disappointing year with not a lot to point out for with the latter having the Canada Open as the only real win to point out for. In the Asian Games, the badminton males’s group received a silver, HS Prannoy received a singles bronze and the duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy received the historic gold, India’s first on the Games in Badminton. The star duo of Chirag-Satwik had a historic run for India this year as they not solely grew to become No.1 but in addition went on to win the best sporting honour in the nation – Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award.
Chess
R Praggnanandhaa continued to maintain India’s head excessive in Chess as he certified for the Candidates after attending to the ultimate of the FIDA Chess World Cup the place he misplaced to the world champion Magnus Carlsen. If that wasn’t sufficient, Praggnanandhaa’s sister R Vaishali too grew to become a Grandmaster and grew to become the primary brother-sister duo GM. India additionally clinched a couple of Silver medals on the Asia Games.
Athletics
Neeraj Chopra headlined India’s effort in Athletics, which fetched as many as 22 medals for the nation on the Asian Games. Steeplechase, lengthy soar, shot put, racewalking, 1500m, 800m, discus throw and javelin throw grew to become the rationale for the happiness of lot of Indians this year. While Chopra got here second on the Diamond League, he received the historic first-ever World Championships Gold and has now received every thing there’s to be received. Chopra then defended his Asian Games Gold medal with Kishore Jena clinched a silver.Â
Hockey and KabaddiÂ
As far as Hockey is worried, the lads’s group received the Asian Champions Trophy for the fourth time whereas the ladies’s group received it for the second time. The males’s hockey group secured a spot in the Paris Olympics with a Gold on the Asian Games whereas the ladies left the Chinese shores with a bronze medal. As far because the Kabaddi groups had been involved each received a Gold every.
Football
In soccer, the lads’s group clinched their ninth SAFF Championship title on penalties towards Kuwait after the sport was drawn 1-1.
Wrestling
However, there was one other facet of the coin – the wrestlers’ protest. Indian ladies wrestlers started a protest in January towards erstwhile Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. More wrestlers joined, together with the likes of Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik on the centre of all of it. What began as a protest, grew to become a full-fledged motion by April and the FIR wasn’t filed nonetheless, towards an accused of sexual harassment. The protest got here to a forceful finish, the Union Sports Minister and Home Minister met the wrestlers and assured them that Brij Bhushan can be eliminated.
UWW suspended WFI for delaying the elections, which lastly occurred and what was the end result? Brij Bhushan’s close-aid Sanjay Singh received. The wrestlers had given up now, for nearly a year they had been protesting and it was time that they had been simply achieved with it. Malik give up the game altogether in a teary-eyed press convention, Punia a day later returned his Padma Shri and there was Brij Bhushan, garlanded and smiling saying “dabdaba tha, dabdaba bana rahega” whereas the brand new WFI president Sanjay Singh stood beside him, empty with a victory signal in hand. He additionally knew that at the least somebody had received, however the nation is aware of who misplaced!! But that the WFI was suspended three days after its choice by the federal government itself, got here as a respite for all of the wrestlers.
