As the calendar year comes to an end, it's time to look back on Indian sport in 2023. This year has been a busy one for India, as the Cricket World Cup and Asian Games took the majority of the attention.
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As is the case with almost every year, there were several ups and downs for athletes and teams alike, representing India. The Asian Games contingent returned from Hangzhou with a record medal tally, while the men's cricket team suffered a painful loss in the World Cup final.
In this piece, The Sporting News brings you the highs and lows of Indian sport in 2023.
What were the highs and lows for Indian sport in 2023?
The highs
Neeraj Chopra completes gold medal set
In May, the golden boy of Indian athletics, Neeraj Chopra, achieved number one in the men's javelin throw world rankings, after winning gold at the Doha Diamond League. Three months later, he won the gold medal at the World Athletics Championships.
The medal meant Neeraj finally completed the monumental task of finishing first in all five major athletics competitions; Olympics (2022), World Championships (2023), Asian Games (2018 & 2023), Commonwealth Games (2018) and Asian Championships (2017). It was also India's first-ever gold medal at the World Athletics Championships.
⚡️Neeraj Chopra goes BIG, launches an absolute missile in the the men's javelin throw Final at #Athletics world championship #Budapest23
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) August 28, 2023
88.17m and a 🥇 Gold
Congratulations Subedar Neeraj Chopra 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/uR9wMpwPjq
Indian archers smash all targets
The sport of archery received a massive boost in popularity in India this year, thanks to the country's performers on the world stage.
17-year-old Aditi Swami became India's first-ever senior individual world champion, as well as the youngest world champion in the history of the World Archery Championships. Swami also won the team compound bow event at the Championships alongside Jyoti Surekha Vennam and Parneet Kaur.
Later in the year, 16-year-old Sheetal Devi won gold at the Asian ParaGames, to become the first-ever para-archery world champion without upper limbs. Sheetal was also voted Best Youth Athlete of the Year by the Asian Paralympic Committee.
Sheetal Devi is EXTRAORDINARY.🔥#ParaArchery #ArcheryAsia #archery @india_archery pic.twitter.com/hWCAXUGVtr
— World Archery (@worldarchery) November 22, 2023
India scores 100+ in Asian Games & Para Games
After the Asian Games were postponed from 2022 to 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India went into the tournament with the aim of securing at least 100 medals, after the country's contingent secured a record 70 medals in 2018.
MORE: Indian sports stars who raised the bar in 2023
Exceeding all expectations, India's athletes shattered the mark of 70, and brought home a total of 107 medals. Not only was this the country's highest overall tally but India's 28 gold medals, 38 silver medals and 41 bronze medals were all national highs.
India's para-athletes similarly set the stage alight, improving upon their previous-best tally of 72 medals to return with 111 this time around. (29 gold, 31 silver, 51 bronze).
And Its A Wrap
— IndiaSportsHub (@IndiaSportsHub) October 28, 2023
We End with 111 Medals
HISTORY MADE
Congratulations 🥳
2️⃣9️⃣🥇
3️⃣1️⃣🥈
5️⃣1️⃣🥉#AsianParaGames pic.twitter.com/ZhC8YxKP5t
The lows
PV Sindhu struggles to impress in 2023
On the individual front, star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu endured one of the least successful periods of her career. Returning from injury early on in the year, Sindhu suffered seven opening-round exits, and qualified for just a single final.
Her time at the Asian Games was not much better, as Sindhu crashed out in the women's singles quarterfinals. After some time away from the game, one hopes that she can recover and find her best form, heading into 2024.
PV Sindhu lost the quarterfinal to China's He Bingjiao in straight games, ending 2023 Asian Games with no medal https://t.co/EufDt7nVxK pic.twitter.com/ozqhJMmuYM
— The Quint (@TheQuint) October 5, 2023
Wrestlers' protests against Brij Bhushan take centre-stage
Off-field issues also plagued Indian sport this year, most notably in the wrestling community. Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Singh was accused of numerous counts of sexual assault earlier in the year, resulting in widespread protests from wrestlers, including prominent names such as Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia.
Sakshi Malik quits wrestling after Brij Bhushan loyalist Sanjay Singh becomes WFI chief https://t.co/yXw34K7hJz
— ParanjoyGuhaThakurta (@paranjoygt) December 21, 2023
In December, Bhushan's close aide Sanjay Singh was elected as the Federation's new chief. In protest of this outcome, a tearful Sakshi Malik retired from wrestling during a press conference, and Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri award to the Prime Minister.
The Federation is currently suspended as per the decision taken by the Sports Ministry, but a permanent solution is yet to be found.
Club vs country clashes mar Indian football
Indian football also saw an unpleasant stand-off between the national team and club teams. Indian Super League (ISL) clubs refused to release their players for national team training ahead of the Asian Games.
A humble appeal and sincere request to Honourable Prime Minister Sri @narendramodi ji and Hon. Sports Minister @ianuragthakur, to kindly allow our football team to participate in the Asian games 🙏🏽
— Igor Štimac (@stimac_igor) July 17, 2023
We will fight for our nation’s pride and the flag! 🇮🇳
Jai Hind!#IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/wxGMY4o5TN
Head coach Igor Stimac was left with no option but to resort to posting a public plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X (formerly Twitter). India eventually returned from the Asian Games without a medal.
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