A cricket World Cup, half a dozen Olympic medals and two chess world champions. Year 2024 gave the average Indian sports fan unprecedented reasons to celebrate as peaks outnumbered the valleys in a confident march towards a promising future. Tales that bear repeating were many but the year going by will primarily be remembered for four dates — June 29, July 30, December 12 and December 28. A big step towards the future was the formal expression of intent to host the 2036 Olympics, a move that has the potential to change the sporting landscape of the country.

When sport shone through in its purest form

On a humid and nervy June evening in Barbados, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team won a long-awaited World Cup title after more than a decade of heartbreaks in knockout matches of ICC tournaments, the feat matching the country’s undisputed status as the game’s most influential voice.

A month later, effervescent pistol shooter Manu Bhaker became India’s first athlete post independence to win two Olympic medals in a single edition, showing incredible mental fortitude to exorcise her Tokyo demons and write one of the best redemption stories at the Games.

Also in Paris, one of India’s greatest ever, unassuming javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra embodied excellence like few others and climbed into a galaxy of his own by winning a silver medal, three years after his historic gold at Tokyo Games.

India had hoped for a gold from the reigning world champion, but it was ultimately not to be as he lost to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem who bettered a Games record that had stood for 16 years, not once but twice.

In the last four months, the chess board became India’s happy hunting ground with both the men’s and women’s teams knocking off Olympiad gold medals for the very first time in September. Individually, D Gukesh and Koneru Humpy then scaled new heights with world titles in December.

While Gukesh dethroned China’s Ding Liren to become the youngest ever world champion at 18 on December 12, the 37-year-old Humpy won the women’s rapid world title for a second time in her career, continuing to be an inspirational tale of perfect balance between motherhood and professional success.

Things like this do not happen often.

Speaking of that, another major highlight of India’s Paris campaign was the hockey team’s second successive medal (bronze), proving that lightening can in fact strike twice.

But then six near-misses in the French capital were also a reminder that plenty more needs to be done before being duly recognised a sporting powerhouse.

Also leaving a lasting impression were the para athletes with their record-breaking feats at the Paris Paralympics, and veteran tennis star Rohan Bopanna’s Australian Open men’s doubles title victory at 44.

Also scripting history was the women’s table tennis team of Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Ayhika Mukherjee, Suthirtha Mukherjee, and Diya Chitale. They secured India’s first-ever medal (bronze) at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

But before the success in the Olympics, the Paralympics, Chess Olympiad and the FIDE World Championship, the Indians were rejoicing in a magnificent title triumph in cricket, which came about after years of disappointments in global tournaments.

Indian cricket reigns supreme on and off field

Displaying absolute dominance, India imposed their collective will upon the world to win a trophy that they so desired, much to the delight of the team’s millions of fans across the globe.

However, while they ended their winless run in global events, India’s 12-year streak of not losing a Test series on home soil snapped in the most embarrassing manner — a 0-3 whitewash to a New Zealand side missing its talisman Kane Williamson.

Amid the euphoria over a massive World Cup triumph, cricket’s financial superpower also tightened its vice-like grip on the game’s governance with Jay Shah’s ascent to the ICC chairmanship after the BCCI reported an overall revenue of Rs 20,686 crore for the 2024 financial year, which is almost Rs 4200 crore more than their revenue in 2023.

Gukesh defies description in memorable year for chess

In winning the FIDE world championship as a teenager, Gukesh shattered the record held by Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he got the better of Anatoly Karpov in 1985.

Gukesh’s triumph in Singapore, as also the country’s double gold medal-winning effort at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, demonstrated India’s growing stature in the game of 64 squares.

And if anymore validation was needed, Humpy provided that in her second world rapid title in New York. She first won it back in 2019, which was followed by a maternity break. The 38-year-old’s inspiring comeback could not have gone better as she While Gukesh almost defied description by achieving a feat as big as this at such a young age, the likes of Arjun Erigaisi (21), Vidit Gujrathi (30) Divya Deshmukh (18) Vantika Agrawal (21), Chennai’s Grandmaster siblings R. Praggnanandhaa (19) and R. Vaishali (23) and veteran Tania Sachdev (38) all showed their wares while playing for sides with frightening depth.

All of them are expected to be the dominant names in international chess, making true Kasparov’s quip after Gukesh’ Candidates win — “Vishy’s children” are on the lose.

Most of them truly are his proteges. The semi-retired Viswanathan Anand, who is also a FIDE vice president now, quietly watched these exploits from behind after single-handedly revolutionising chess in India.

He had a definitive hand in shaping their careers and the players have duly acknowledged his role too.

A striking aspect of these success stories in chess, including the world championship wins, was that none of them came as a surprise thanks to a structure that is probably one of the best in the world.

Six medals and as many near-misses

India could have rewritten Olympic history in Paris but eventually settled for a 71st position among the 206 participating nations with six medals, including one silver and five bronze.

The Games will be remembered as much for the six medals as the six fourth-place finishes that resulted in heartbreaks. Most of the medals missed were by a whisker.

This is the joint-second best haul along with London 2012 and one behind last time’s Tokyo, where seven, including a gold, were won.

There were also silver linings such as shooting getting back among the medals and back-to-back bronze from the men’s hockey team, something that happened after a long gap of 50 years.

Having missed on the final after a narrow loss to Germany, Harmanpreet Singh’s India regrouped to beat Spain 2-1 and claim their second successive Olympic medal.

After her individual success, Manu partnered Sarabjot Singh to win the bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.

Swapnil Kusale continued shooting’s resurgence by winning India’s first medal in the 50m 3 Positions — a bronze.

The 21-year-old Aman Sehrawat maintained wrestling’s medal streak — since 2008 Beijing — by finishing third on the podium in men’s 57kg freestyle.

The list of near-misses comprised, among others, Lakshya Sen, Mirabai Chanu, Arjun Babuta and Bhaker herself as she stood a great chance of becoming the first ever Indian athlete to win a hat-trick of medals at an Olympic Games.

Then, what seemed like a definite gold medal slipped through Vinesh Phogat’s grasp due to a cruel twist of fate as she ended up being disqualified for being 100gm overweight on the morning of the final, leading to a protracted legal battle which did not pan out in the manner she had wanted it to.

The never-ending administrative chaos in the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) also had a hand in pulling down what was once a flourishing sport in the country.

The unstoppable rise of para athletes

It was a year of validation for those who have supported the Paralympic movement in India. The country’s contingent bagged 29 medals at Paris 2024 for their most successful campaign ever at the Games.

India finished 18th on the overall medals table, and in all, they won seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze.

The likes of Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Sheetal Devi, Nitesh Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Navdeep Singh, Sheetal Devi, Harvinder Singh and Dharambir to name a few from the contingent of 84 athletes, emerged as new heroes after their exploits in Paris.

Mixed bag off the field

On the administrative front, the ambitious bid to host the Olympics was set in motion and a long-pending national sports bill entered the final phase of being shaped into a policy but there was no end to the bickering and turf wars that have become the hallmark of Indian sports.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has been a faction-ridden body for the longest time and the PT Usha-led current dispensation has been no exception.

The sprint legend found herself pitted against 12 members of the 15-strong Executive Council, and an ugly spat over the appointment of a CEO marred the whole of 2024.

But as has been case for many years, Indian sports has managed to flourish despite the system, riding on the sacrifices of individuals and their families most often.

The challenge going forward would be to ensure that the system steps in before it’s too late.

Shooter Manu Bhaker opened India’s medal tally at the Paris 2024 Olympics, making history by securing third place in the women’s individual 10m air pistol event. She became the first-ever woman shooter from India to win an Olympic medal, adding a significant milestone to her already illustrious career. In Paris, Bhaker secured two bronze medals in the shooting events, becoming the first Indian athlete in the post-independence era to achieve this feat in a single edition of the Olympics. This remarkable accomplishment was held by Norman Pritchard, who won two medals at the 1900 Paris Games.

Bhaker, alongside Sarabjot Singh, clinched her second bronze in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event. The duo displayed exceptional consistency, defeating South Korea’s Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin with a score of 16-10 in the bronze medal play-off match. Their victory marked India’s first-ever shooting team medal at the Olympics.

Despite narrowly missing out on a historic treble by finishing fourth in the women’s 25m pistol event, Bhaker’s achievements in Paris cement her status as the most successful Indian woman shooter in history. Her career is already decorated with gold medals from the World Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Youth Olympic Games.

This success comes after the heartbreak of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where a pistol malfunction denied Bhaker a shot at a medal in the same event. Her resilience and determination have now propelled her to the pinnacle of Indian shooting sports.

Born on February 18, 2002, in Jhajjar, Haryana, Bhaker initially pursued a variety of sports, including tennis, skating, and boxing. She also excelled in ‘thang ta’, a form of martial arts, winning medals at the national level before dedicating herself to shooting.

India’s overall performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics was commendable, securing a total of six medals–one silver and five bronze. Swapnil Kusale contributed to the tally with a bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event. The Indian men’s hockey team added to the medal count by winning back-to-back bronze medals for the first time in 52 years, defeating Spain 2-1.

In track and field, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra narrowly missed defending his Tokyo gold medal, but he brought home a silver with a throw of 89.45m. Wrestler Aman Sehrawat, making his Olympic debut, clinched a bronze medal with a 13-5 victory over Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz.

India’s impressive haul at the Paris 2024 Olympics underscores the country’s growing prowess in a diverse range of sports, setting a promising precedent for future competitions.

Gold eluded him and so did the 90m mark but Neeraj Chopra was the undisputed star of Indian athletics for yet another year even as the sport itself continued a long-standing battle with dope cheats while trying to assert itself internationally by bringing big-ticket events to the country. The 26-year-old javelin throw superstar failed to defend his Olympic gold but became the most successful Indian athlete across disciplines in individual sports with his silver medal in the Paris Games. He also finished second in the prestigious Diamond League Finale.

Creditably, he achieved both the accolades while carrying an injury. A nagging adductor niggle (a problem related to thigh muscles) troubled him in the run-up to Paris Olympics and a fracture in his left hand hit him ahead of DL Finale. Chopra later said that his injury is fine.

He was beaten for the Olympic gold by Pakistani Arshad Nadeem, who surprised the world with a Games record throw of 92.97m.

In the DL Finale, Anderson Peters of Grenada, who was struggling after back-to-back world crowns in 2019 and 2022, completed his comeback by winning the title.

Lessons for Chopra

Chopra and those who have followed his growth have been obsessed with the 90m mark. There is never an interaction where the Panipat-based lad is not asked when and how he would breach it.

He came reasonably close twice this year, one occasion being the Olympic finals, but it was not to be.

India’s golden boy, whose personal best is 89.94m, has gone for a new coach keeping in mind the World Championships next year.

Steering him the coming season would be none other than world record holder and three-time Olympic gold-medallist Jan Zelezny, without doubt the greatest javelin thrower in history.

This was after Chopra parted ways with 75-year-old German biomechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz with whom he was associated for five years, winning a gold and a silver each in the Olympics and the World Championships.

His season still some months away, Chopra is resting and recuperating for now but he is well aware that every move he makes after this break would be closely tracked.

Likes of Sable and men’s 4x400m quartet disappoint

India’s top 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable failed to go beyond winning medals at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. He finished 11th in the Paris Olympics final.

Another highlight for him was making it to the Diamond League Finale, after a few higher-ranked competitors pulled out. But he couldn’t really set the stage on fire and ended up in ninth place.

Another world class athlete, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar missed the Olympics due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery.

The men’s 4x400m relay team set an Asian record of 3:00.25 at the Tokyo Olympics and followed it up by challenging USA’s aura of invincibility at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest where another Asian record of 2:59.05 was set.

The Athletics Federation of India had high hopes of the relay team achieving something big at the Paris Olympics but team failed to even reach the finals.

Hall of Shame

The menace of doping did not leave Indian athletics and the country’s credibility of its continued to dwindle internationally.

The World Anti-Doping Agency named India as the second worst after Russia in a 10-year global study of positive doping cases by minors. Among the stars to let the country down was 2016 Rio Olympian quarter-miler Nirmala Sheoran, who copped an eight-year ban for a second dope offence.

Hammer thrower Rachna Kumari was banned for 12 years for failing multiple dope tests conducted by the international federation’s Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). Distance runner G Lakshmanan (for whereabouts failure) and sprinter Himani Chandel were handed handed two and four-year bans respectively.

Rising javelin thrower DP Manu failed a dope test ahead of Paris Olympics., while former national record holding race walker Bhawna Jat was handed a 16-month ban for ”whereabouts failure”.

‘Middle distance runner Parvej Khan, who made headlines with his exploits at the NCAA circuit in the USA, also failed a dope test along with Asian Games 4x400m relay gold-winning quarter-miler VK Vismaya.

National Record Breakers

There were some national records broken too. Sable continued to be his own competitor in men’s 3000m steeplechase, clocking 8:09.91sec during the Paris Diamond League for a new national mark.

Akshdeep Singh (men’s 20km race walk), Gulveer Singh (men’s 5,000m and 10000m), KM Deeksha (women’s 1500m), and Abha Khatua (women’s shot put) were also among those who bettered national records in their respective events.

Global events come to India

India will host the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze level meet in Bhubaneswar on August 10, 2025.

The Continental Tour is an annual series of international track and field competitions, which forms the second tier of one-day meetings after the prestigious Diamond League.

This will be the first global athletics meet to be hosted by India after the international permit meets in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the World Half Marathon Championships in 2004.

India has also submitted its bid for the 2028 World U20 Championships. The country last year expressed its interest to host the 2029 World Championships, and the bidding process is likely to start early 2025.

But with issues like doping still a massive problem with no firm solution in sight, it remains to be seen whether the Indian athletics story manages to find success beyond Chopra’s individual brilliance.

The year 2024 was one to remember for Kolkata Knight Riders as they clinched their third Indian Premier League title and first in the last 10 years. KKR won IPL trophies back in 2012 and 2014 but what followed was a long drought for the side. During this period, the closest KKR came to the coveted title was in 2021, when they lost to Chennai Super Kings in the final in Dubai. 2024 was a different story. The Shreyas Iyer-led KKR registered a one-sided victory over SunRisers Hyderabad in the summit clash to claim its third title.

The dominance of KKR throughout the tournament was simply amazing as the side thrashed finalists SRH thrice in the tournament. First in the league stage, then in the Qualifier 1 and finally in the final. KKR won the final by 8 wickets and 57 balls to spare and Qualifier 1 by 8 wickets and 38 balls to spare.

Fast forward to October 31 and Shreyas Iyer, KKR’s title-winning captain, could not find a place for himself in the team as he was not retained by the franchise. Interestingly, IPL 2024 was the best season for Iyer in terms of average and strike rate. He played 14 matches and scored 351 runs at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 146.86.

Three-time champions KKR retained six players. Rinku Singh was the first-choice for KKR at a price of Rs 13 crore, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell all three were paid Rs 12 crore each, while Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh got Rs 4 crore apiece.

Destiny had better plans for Shreyas Iyer and the batter soon found it out at the IPL 2025 Auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The franchises broke banks while bidding for Iyer. For a brief duration, he even went on to become the costliest player in IPL history. Punjab Kings bought the batter for a massive sum of Rs 26.75 crore, surpassing the record of Mitchell Starc‘s 24.75 crore.

This was, however, not the biggest sum splurged for a player in the IPL 2025 Auction as minutes later, Rishabh Pant was sold to Lucknow Super Giants for a massive sum of Rs 27 crore. He too was released by his franchise Delhi Capitals ahead of the bidding war.

While Pant was expected to get such a big amount, Shreyas surprised many. What was even more surprising was the fact that KKR bought Venkatesh at the bidding war for a massive sum of Rs 23.75 crore despite having no Right-To-Match card. These stars turned out to be the three costliest players sold in IPL 2025 auction. Pant and Shreyas even registered an all-time record of becoming the top-two costliest players in IPL.

In an ideal world, politics and sport are not meant to be mixed. But then the world of Indian wrestling was far from ideal in 2024 with Vinesh Phogat’s Olympic dejection and the never-ending administrative chaos pulling down a once flourishing sport. From the time when Wrestling Federation of India elections were held, exactly a year back, to the recent National Championships in Benglauru, Indian wrestling has seemed like a rudderless ship. Not too long ago, wrestling had developed into a sport that promised unprecedented Olympic success but cut to Paris 2024, Aman Sehrawat’s bronze medal was what saved the delegation the blushes after Phogat’s seemingly destined gold slipped through her grasp due to a cruel twist of fate.

She was, for better or for worse, the most intriguing story of Indian wrestling this year.

She punished herself to fight in a lower weight category after her preferred class was already booked for the Olympics, downed the then unbeaten Japanese legend Yui Susaki in her opening round in Paris and then ended up disqualified for being 100gm overweight on the morning of the final.

A day later, she gave up on her sporting career, declaring that the fight had left her.

She wasn’t done though. Following an emotionally overwhelming homecoming which included a custom-made gold medal from Haryana’s khap panchayats, Phogat joined the Congress party, fought the state assembly elections and managed to become an MLA in her maiden electoral outing from Julana constituency.

She wasn’t the only one in her fraternity who decided on politics as future.

Bajrang Punia too joined the Congress but he did not get the same returns as Phogat.

His position was that of a Kisan morcha head and his wrestling career was left stalled after coping a four-year ban for failure to submit dope samples during training camps. This was after he failed to qualify for Paris, a new low in the career of the celebrated grappler, who fetched a bronze in the Tokyo Games.

The two maintained all along that their fight against alleged sexual harassment of women wrestlers by former WFI head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was an apolitical one.

But their fellow protestor and Rio Olympics bronze-winner Sakshi Malik sought to dispute that soon after they joined congress.She went on to allege in her book that the the duo’s “greed” punctured their protest against Sharan Singh.

Next generation affected by chaos

The likes of Anshu Malik and Antim Panghal, who were touted as the next big thing in Indian wrestling, cut a sorry figure in Paris but Aman carried forward the rich legacy of the Chhatrasal stadium by winning the men’s freestyle 57kg bronze.

It was a category which 2020 Tokyo Games silver-medallist Ravi Dahiya made his own. But Dahiya vanished from the scene due to spate of injuries that affected his form.

The Tokyo campaign, which yielded two medals in wrestling, should have been the catalyst for better infrastructure and coaching for Indian wrestler.

However, the developments in the last 24 months have prevented growth.

The potential is still there and the biggest example was Indian U17 women team’s world championship victory in Amman, Jordan in September.

The country had been aiming for a podium finish for long and the dream finally materialised this year. Out of 10 possible medals, India won eight medals, including five gold medal and one silver.

Finishing ahead of powerhouse Japan and impressive Kazakhstan is no mean feat.

However, the unending litigations have tied the hands of WFI which is now struggling to carry out day to day affairs of the body.

The team led by Sanjay Singh, that won the elections, stands suspended by the Sports Ministry.

The ground of suspension is announcing Nationals without following a 15-day notice period in December 2023. But the fact remains that if WFI had followed the notice period, wrestlers would have lost a crucial year because by the time the 15-day period would have completed, year 2024 would have started.

WFI was forced to withdraw the team from the senior World Championship owing to pending litigation by Sakshi and and her wrestler husband Satyawart Kadian.

Eventually after government’s intervention a team was finally sent.

No proper coaching camp has been organised in the last two years, the efforts to revive the Pro Wrestling League are on hold, grants and sponsorships have stopped, no foreign/personal coaches have been engaged and there is no planning to take the sport forward.

If the situation could be summed up in a line, Indian wrestling is stagnant for now. 

The year is coming to an end but the heartbreaks India witnessed in the Paris Olympics 2024 continue to haunt. It’s been months since an excruciating campaign for India came to an end in Paris, fetching the Indian contingent a total of 6 medals. After the golden glory in the Olympics back in the Tokyo Games, India failed to fetch a single yellow metal in the Paris Games, with ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra also settling for a silver medal. If one is to sum up the country’s 2024 Paris Olympics campaign, it wouldn’t conclude without highlighting the ‘near-misses’ the country witnessed.

India’s marquee shooter Manu Bhaker did manage to fetch two medals in the Paris Games, a record for an athlete from the country, but it could’ve been a hat-trick of medals for her. Here we take a look at some similar ‘near-misses’ for India in the 2024 Paris Olympics:

Arjun Babuta: Shooting remained India’s most promising sport in the Paris Games and Arjun Babuta could’ve earned India more glory in the men’s 10m air rifle event. He stood second after the 12th shot in the final, but a few unexpected errors in the final stages pushed him to fourth place, hence missing out on a bronze.

Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka: In what was another near-miss for India in shooting, the pair of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka lost to China in the bronze medal match. The difference between the two duos at the end was just one point.

Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat: Archery has been one of India’s biggest pain points in the  Olympics. This year was no different The duo of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat delivered India’s best-ever Olympic performance in the event, yet they fell short in the bronze medal match.

Mirabai Chanu: A legend in the country’s sporting spectrum, Mirabai Chanu was expected to fight for gold in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event but ended up empty-handed. She finished in fourth place with a final score of 199 kg to her name.

Lakshya Sen: In what was a shocking year for India in badminton, Lakshya Sen emerged as India’s biggest medal hope. He ought valiantly through the rounds but eventually only finished 4th, hence missing out on a podium spot.

Manu Bhaker: Despite earning two bronze medals, Manu Bhaker would always rue the opportunity to miss out on her hat-trick of medals. She came 4th best in the women’s 25m pistol final, losing to Hungary’s Veronika Major in a shoot-off.

Vinesh Phogat: In unarguably the biggest heart-breaking moment for India from the Paris Games, Vinesh was disqualified from the 50kg women’s freestyle wrestling final. She was found 100 grams overweight in the mandator weigh-in ahead of the title match and was deemed ineligible for the bout.

Pralympians Ease India’s Olympics Pain

While the Paris Olympics Games was largely a disappointment, India did make up for the heartbreak in the following Paris Paralympics. Securing its best-ever 18th spot in the medals tally, India fetched a total of 29 medals at the event – 7 gold, 9 silver and 13 bronze. In the Tokyo Games, India had only claimed 19 medals.

India enjoyed a never-seen-before golden rush in the Paris Paralympics. The list of standout performers included the names of Avani Lekhara, Nitesh Kumar, Sumit Antil, Harvinder Singh, Dharambir, Praveen Kumar and Navdeep Singh. They all bagged the top podium spots in their respective events.

The record haul helped India cross the 50-medal mark cumulatively in its Paralympics history.