Since gaining independence 77 years ago, India has consistently achieved every milestone it sets its sights on. The moments that have brought glory to the nation, writing a beautiful chapter in history—from winning the first Cricket World Cup to securing the first Olympic athletics medal in Tokyo post-pandemic, each achievement has deepened the country’s passion for sports.
The year 2024 has been particularly thrilling for sports fans, with major events that have reinforced India’s position on the global stage. Here are some of the most significant sports moments that filled us with pride and joy.
PIC credits: BCCI, Twitter
ICC T20 World Cup: 11 years of waiting come to an end
The Indian men’s cricket team brought the cup back to its country. After a close chase defeat from Australia in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, the men-in-blue were quite blue with their chance to lift the World Cup. The Indian soil had to wait for another 4 years for the cup to return to India.
The team faced huge criticism from fans and viewers. In many social media places, people were blaming the team’s strategy, yet they were not done. The rumors of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s departing from international cricket made things worse.
In the summer of 2024, the T20 World Cup brought a ray of hope to Indian fans. Without any single defeat, the men-in-blue reached the top of the scoreboard and faced South Africa on 29 June at Barbados. The nail-biting match came to a crucial point where South Africa had tied the score with India during the first half of the game. The match was favoring the South African team, but Suryakumar Yadav’s historic catch changed the tables for India.
Defeating the South African team by 7 wickets, the team had mixed emotions of happiness and nostalgia. Both the former and current captains of the team, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, got emotional as they lifted the cup. Also, the former skipper and current skipper announced their retirement from T20 matches.
Also, the controversial talks about Hardik Pandya and his former wife Natasha Stanković caught fans' attention, and hence the all-rounder received a huge backlash. Post the team win, Pandya was seen in tears after playing a crucial role in stopping the opponent team’s chase run.
PIC credits: Jio Cinema
Setbacks and breakthroughs at the 2024 Olympics
The world had its gaze upon the Paris Olympics 2024, where, after quite a brief time, the games were held among thousands of people in arenas. From archery to wrestling, many sports were added to the game. In the first three places, the United States, China, and Japan held the scoreboard with a slight margin between them, and India held a slightly disappointing position at 71.
Despite an applaudable win at major athletics, rifle shooting, and wrestling, the Indian players did win loads of appreciation from the country and world.
In archery, Deepika Kumari, Bhajan Kaur, Pravin Jadhav, Dhiraj Bommadevara, and Ankita Bhakat had a chance to secure a medal but finished in fourth position, competing with South Korea in both singles (men and women), doubles, and mixed.
On the other hand, Rowling, Indian contender Balraj Pawar, was a few seconds away from winning a bronze but finished fourth. In weightlifting, Mirabai Channu in the 49-weight category also could not win a medal this time.
In shooting, Manu Bhakar won bronze in single rifle shooting and doubles shooting with Sarabjot Singh. She became the first Indian woman to win in two categories of the same sport.
Next up we had Vignesh Phogat, who was the only contender to have qualified for the gold medal event but was disqualified due to her 100-gm overweight just a few hours before the match.
This shocked the nation, but she won a silver after she appealed in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Aman Sehrawat won a bronze in the men’s wrestling category. The Indian hockey team registered a historic win for the second time in a row with a bronze; however, PR Sreejesh announced his retirement.
After winning 5 bronzes, spectators were hoping that the javelin prince, Neeraj Chopra, might bring another gold to Indian soil but lost against Pakistani player Arshad Nadeem, yet he secured a silver in this category.
In both badminton and table tennis, India entered the quarterfinals in almost every category but could not get a bronze. With a closer margin, the Indian team couldn't secure a single gold, yet we as Indians are proud of them and hope that in the next Olympics, India once again makes a historic win in all categories.
PIC credits: International Paralympics Committee
Paralympic Glory: India’s Triumphant Wins
The Paralympics became the sole flagbearers who brought glory to India. With a gigantic win of 7 golds, 9 silvers, and 13 bronzes, these players proved that any disability can’t hold back dreams. These people made history with their flaws. Under the top 20 category of the medal board, India was shining at 18th position with 29 medals. Avani Lekhara won gold in the 10-meter air rifle, Nitesh Kumar won gold in badminton men’s singles Sumit Antil, and Dharambir won gold in different javelin events.
In archery, Harvinder Singh secured gold in the men’s category, and Navdeep Singh won the javelin throw F41. Suhas Yathiraj brought silver in the badminton SL4 category, and Nishad Kumar won silver in the men’s high jump. Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi took a bronze in the archery mixed tournament.
The list of 29 players competed and won medals in archery, athletics, badminton, judo, and shooting. They proved that disability is no longer a burden on society and have the caliber to make their nation proud.
Conclusion
With these major events, the country is proud of its players. Despite setbacks and disappointments, our hearts are still filled with pride and we will always be thankful to these players who make us feel buffed up with joy. The dedication they put into bringing laurels back home is something that we might not understand, but we are still happy to be called from the place where the sun rises.
With inputs from agencies
Image Source: Multiple agencies
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