In the year 2024, India showcased its athletic prowess on multiple stages from ending an ICC title drought in the T20 World Cup to setting records at the Paris Olympics.
The country has also performed well in many other sports too including chess.
India’s historic T20 World Cup win
After 11 years, India reclaimed an ICC trophy by winning the T20 World Cup 2024.
The team remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. In the final at Barbados, India won by 7-run against South Africa. This victory ended a decade-long wait for ICC glory.
Paris Olympics
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, India sent a contingent of 117 athletes and secured six medals—one silver and five bronze.
Following are the highlights of the Olympics:
- Neeraj Chopra, the star javelin thrower, bagged a silver medal. It added to his Tokyo 2020 gold.
- Shooter Manu Bhaker became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic shooting medal. She also became the first Indian to win two medals in a single edition.
- Wrestler Aman Sehrawat became India’s youngest Olympic medalist with a bronze
- Men’s hockey team, led by Harmanpreet Singh, secured a bronze.
Success at the 2024 Paralympics
India delivered its best-ever performance at the 2024 Paralympics. It bagged 29 medals, including seven golds.
Following are the highlights of Paralympics:
- Shooter Avani Lekhara who reclaimed her women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 title with a world record became the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic golds.
- Javelin thrower Sumit Antil retained his Paralympic title by surpassing his own record.
- High jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu became the first Indian to win medals in three consecutive Paralympics.
- At just 17 years old, archer Sheetal Devi became the youngest Paralympic medallist to secure bronze in the mixed compound open event.
Chess, badminton
India’s dominance extended to chess as both the men’s and women’s teams clinched gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad.
Dommaraju Gukesh, at just 18 years, became the youngest World Chess Champion by defeating China’s Ding Liren in Singapore.
In badminton, the Indian women’s team won their first gold at the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
Mixed results in other sports
While cricket, chess, and badminton saw resounding success, Indian football faced challenges.
The men’s national team failed to register a single win. Following the failures, its FIFA rankings dipped.
Legendary striker Sunil Chhetri also announced his retirement.
Conversely, Indian table tennis and women’s hockey delivered strong performances. The women’s hockey team secured their third Asian Champions Trophy title and the table tennis duo won a bronze at the Asian Table Tennis Championships.
Meanwhile, Vinesh Phogat’s Paris 2024 Olympic journey ended after she was disqualified due to being 100 grams overweight.
Though, India faced failures in football, the country registered a record-breaking performance by winning the T20 World Cup and bagging medals at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics.
