Year Ender 2023: From Virat Kohli To Neeraj Chopra To Asian Games Tally – India’s Best Sporting Moments

The last 12 months have been tremendous for Indian sports. From cricket to football to athletics and more, Indian sportspersons stood tall whenever required to keep the flag high.

The year 2023 will be remembered in Indian sports for a long time. Although the Men in Blue didn’t lift the Cricket World Cup despite coming close, the way Rohit Sharma’s men played throughout the tournament will be an inspiration for several generations to come. Similarly, Indian athletes across several sporting disciplines left their mark on the world and Asian stages, marking a significant 12 months for Indian sports. Most importantly, the overall success of Indian sportspersons in 2023 will serve as a motivation to all the athletes in 2024.

Here are India’s biggest sporting moments in 2023.

So Near Yet So Far

The Men in Blue may not have lifted the ODI World Cup at home, but the brand of cricket Rohit Sharma’s boys displayed on the field, will go into history books for the upcoming generation to learn from. From being 2/3 against Australia in the first match, the Indian cricket team reached the summit clash unbeaten on the back of 10 consecutive wins. In the final, the Indian team surrendered in front of Australia, thereby extending their ICC trophy drought. It was India’s second final loss in the year after losing the World Test Championship final against the same opposition in England a few months match.

Rising In Right Direction

Indian football surged upwards in 2023. Under the strict guidance of head coach Igor Stimac. Popularly known as Blue Tigers, the Indian team won trophies consecutively. Led by talismanic Sunil Chhetri, the Indian team won the Tri-Nations Series in March, followed by victories in the Intercontinental Cup, and SAFF Championship triumph. India’s success also reaped high rewards as they broke into top 100 of the FIFA Rankings for the first time in five years. Not just the seniors, the junior Indian team lifted U-19 SAFF Championships beating Pakistan in the final.

Iss Baar, Sau Paar At Asian Games

India recorded their best-ever medal haul at the Asian Games this year in Guangzhou, China with 107 medals. India won 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze medals to set a new record as the country crossed the three-figure mark for the first time. While Neeraj Chopra was at his absolute best with a javelin gold, the yellow metals from the likes of Avinash Sable, Parul Chaudhary, and Annu Rani deserve due credit too. Indian archers also clinched nine medals with five gold while 22 medals came from shooters. To add to that, the Indian cricket teams (men and women) also clinched their first-ever Asian Games gold medals. Besides these, India also recorded historic wins in equestrian, roller-skating, wind-surfing, wushu, and sepaktakraw. Not just the able-bodied athletes, the Indian para-athletes also created history by registering their best-ever medal haul – 111 (29 gold, 31 silver and 51 bronze). India’s previous best tally was 72 in 2018.

Chirag-Satwik ‘Smashes’ Above All

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty put Indian badminton upwards in 2023 when the men’s doubles duo became the first-ever from the country to take the top spot in BWF Rankings. The duo won three BWF events this year and scripted history in China when they brought home India’s first-ever badminton gold at Asian Games. Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty have also been nominated to receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award at the National Sports Awards 2023.

Neeraj Chopra Soars High

Neeraj Chopra bettered his 2022 World Athletics Championship silver, with a gold medal-winning throw in Budapest this year, thus becoming the first Indian to win a top prize in the history of the tournament. He didn’t stop there and went to claim another gold at the Asian Games two months later. Besides these, the 26-year-old also won the Doha Diamond League and finished second in the Diamond League Finals.

History In Budapest By Indian 4×400 Men’s Relay Team

If Neeraj Chopra kept the Indian flag flying high, India’s 4x400m relay team scripted history by qualifying for the finals in an event that the likes of USA, Jamaica, and Great Britain have traditionally dominated. The quartet of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal, and Rajesh Ramesh finished second behind USA in Heats with an Asian record of 2:59.05s. It was India’s first-ever final entry in the event’s history. In the final, India finished remarkably well at fifth. The same quartet won the Asian Games gold medal two months later.

A New Champion In Making

Had very special visitors at 7, LKM today.

Delighted to meet you, @rpragchess along with your family.

You personify passion and perseverance. Your example shows how India’s youth can conquer any domain. Proud of you! https://t.co/r40ahCwgph

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 31, 2023

Indian chess reached new heights in 2023 as Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa became the youngest player to reach FIDE World Cup final at the age of 18. He defeated world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura and world No. 3 Fabiano Caruana on his way to the final. The Tamil Nadu native is the second Indian to reach Chess World Cup final after Viswanathan Anand.

Cricket’s Debut At LA Games

For the first time in 128 years, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to include cricket (men and women) in the Olympic programme by as one of the five new sports to make their debut in the Los Angeles Games in 2028. It will be played in T20I format. The decision to include cricket to the Olympics is an attempt to make the game reach new global audiences and create an awareness.

Rise Of Women’s Cricket In Tests

The Indian women’s cricket team will go into 2024 with great memories, particularly in Tests as they defeated England for the first time at home before recording their first ever win over Australia in the longest format of the game, opening a new chapter in the history of Indian cricket. Both the matches took place in Mumbai.

Virat Kohli lights up the biggest stage with a record 50th ODI century 👊#CWC23 | #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/0nT93od7KE

— ICC (@ICC) November 15, 2023

Kohli’s ‘Viraat’ Feat

Virat Kohli surpassed his idol Sachin Tendulkar to become the first batter in the planet to reach 50 ODI hundreds in international cricket. The moment came during the ODI World Cup semifinal against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Tendulkar was present in the stands to see his record being broken.