2023 was a serious 12 months for Indian Sports with an outstanding show on the Asian Games 2022 and a number of World Championships throughout totally different sports activities.

The Bridge picks the second which will likely be lengthy within the reminiscence of everybody and outlined the 12 months for the Indian sports activities followers and athletes alike.

1. Neeraj Chopra completes the Javelin Throw on the age of 25

Olympic champion and World Champion Neeraj Chopra entered 2023 with each potential main trophy within the World Athletics barring the title of the World Champion.

Neeraj received the silver medal on the 2022 World Championships and took a second to have a look at the color of the medal throughout the ceremony. The golden boy of Indian athletics accomplished the Javelin Throw after profitable the gold medal on the 2023 World Championships.

What subsequent for him? It’s in all probability a repeat of the entire medal cupboard.

2. HS Prannoy cries in jubilation after profitable the bronze medal on the Asian Games for India

This complete sequence of occasions deserves a photograph story of its personal however we’ll stick to at least one image.

Comeback man of Indian badminton in 2023, HS Prannoy had some historic moments together with silencing a partisan Danish crowd to defeat Viktor Axelsen, profitable his first Super 500 title and the Asian Games medal after a wait of 41 years.

Playing with a again damage within the occasion, HS Prannoy fought valiantly in opposition to Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia within the quarters and returned within the ultimate sport to verify the bronze medal.

As the final shot simply dropped beside the sideline, Prannoy fell on the court docket and jumped to specific the jubilation.

An emotional Pullela Gopichand embraced Prannoy making one other second value gold.

3. Vinesh Phogat clinches on cousin Sangeeta Phogat as Police take motion in opposition to the protesting wrestlers

2023 was a 12 months marred with the most important protest led by athletes in opposition to an administrator. Prominent Indian wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Malik left every part to sit down at Jantar Mantar asking for ex-WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s resignation.

The accusations have been very delicate together with sexual harassment. The protest stretched greater than two months with back-and-forth between the wrestlers and the federal government.

While the wrestlers made certain that they did not make a nasty transfer, the protest ended when the wrestlers determined to march in direction of the brand new parliament regardless of warnings from the federal government.

The photograph was captured when Vinesh Phogat clenched on her cousin Sangeeta Phogat whereas holding the tiranga whereas being crushed up by Police.

 The image embarked outrage throughout the nation however the query stays the identical, will we be taught?

 4. Mother of R Praggnanandhaa seems to be her son with satisfaction after his sturdy exhibiting on the FIDE World Cup

Russian photographer Maria Emelianova who works as a chess photographer clicked one of the crucial heartwarming moments of Indian sports activities in 2023.

Chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa captured the feelings of the nation along with his stellar run within the FIDE Chess World Cup the place he completed runner-up and have become the second-ever Indian after legendary Vishwanathan Anand to succeed in the ultimate.

As the Indian prodigy hogged the deserved limelight, his mom R Nagalakshmi stood within the background, away from the eye, taking a look at her son with a way of satisfaction.

In her admission, she mentioned, “I was so engrossed in thinking what Praggnanandhaa was up to…that was the only thing which was going on in my mind. Later on, I found those photos had gone viral.”

5. Sheetal Devi in her zone on the Para Archery World Championships

16-year-old Indian armless archer Sheetal Devi had the world praising her after the sensible present on the Para Archery World Championships the place she completed with a silver medal.

The archer from Jammu and Kashmir displayed immense grit and perseverance to succeed on the highest degree. After her success on the World Championships, Sheetal dominated the Asian Para Games to make her a family title within the nation.

With every arrow she releases, she not solely hits the goal but in addition breaks stereotypes, defining the sensible 12 months Indian Sports had.

6. Indian girls’s boxing rose in 2023 led by Nikhat Zareen

It all got here full circle for Nikhat Zareen when she turned the 50kg world champion in entrance of a roaring dwelling crowd on the World Boxing Championships in Delhi.

The poster lady of Indian boxing, Nikhat was a part of the gang when Mary Kom clinched the world title in 2018. In 2023, Nikhat did the identical by defending her crown after a troublesome draw and grueling event.

The boxer from Telangana additional went on to win a bronze medal on the Asian Games and secured the Paris Olympics quota together with 4 different boxers.

7. Indian males’s hockey crew pose after dominating the Asian Games 2022 and securing Paris Olympics

2023 noticed one of many most interesting redemption arcs in Indian Sport.

The Indian males’s hockey crew was knocked out of the Hockey World Cup 2023 in entrance of a packed dwelling crowd leaving everybody shocked. Nobody anticipated the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist to crumble below stress.

After a variety of modifications and tribulations, below the tutelage of Craig Fulton, the crew recovered with a title win on the Asian Champions Trophy and accomplished the arc with a dominant gold medal win on the 2022 Asian Games.

 The crew led by Harmanpreet Singh additionally secured their berth for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.

 8. Indian U19 crew win first-ever ICC trophy of Women’s cricket

Led by Shafali Verma, U19 Indian girls’s cricket crew achieved what the senior girls’s crew has didn’t do throughout the years. The ladies received the inaugural T20 World Cup with Shweta Sehrawat, Parshavi Chopra, and Shafali Verma rising as heroes for India.

They defeated England within the ultimate by seven wickets to clinch the first-ever ICC trophy for any Indian girls’s cricket crew.

The win was adopted by a historic Women’s Premier League which noticed Harmanpreet Kaur lead Mumbai Indians to clinch the title.

9. Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena pose with the Indian males’s relay crew on the Asian Games

Deemed the most effective photographs of the 12 months, the Indian males’s relay crew (Amoj Jacob, Rajesh Ramesh, Md Anas, and Md Ajmal) pose with the javelin throwers Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Kumar Jena.

The photograph signified the dominance Indian athletes had on the continental degree.

Recalling the second, Amoj mentioned, “We had finished our race winning the gold medal and we saw Neeraj Bhaiya and Kishore coming towards us as they were cheering. I asked for flags immediately to be able to capture such a beautiful moment.”

Indian relay crew had one of many most interesting years with a powerful present on the World Championships and Asian Games.

10. From Naihati to Hangzhou- Ayhika and Sutirtha Mukherjee have fun a historic win on the Asian Games

Popularly referred to as the ‘Mukherjee Sisters’, the paddler duo of Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee from Naihati, West Bengal created historical past after they defeated world no. 2 Meng Cheng and Wang Yidi (11-5, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9) to go away the gang shocked and Chinese coach Mal Lin annoyed.

The duo created historical past by changing into the first-ever Indian girls’s duo to win a medal on the continental showpiece.

While it is vitally robust to decide on ten footage in a rustic that reveals up with a brand new story or a hero even every now and then, we hope these footage will allow you to reside the enjoyment of those moments.

Happy New Year 2024 from everybody at The Bridge.