The yr 2023 noticed a flurry of sporting controversies that captivated all people’s consideration. From the Jantar Mantar protest in opposition to sexual harassment allegations in opposition to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to Novak Djokovic’s profitable but contentious Grand Slam victories. Wushu athletes have been barred from competing within the Asian Games resulting from Indo-China tensions, Everton’s extraordinary 10-point deduction sparked Premier League debate, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup celebrations have been marred by an iconic kiss subject. 2023 was a rollercoaster yr of successes and controversies alike.

ALSO READ | Neeraj Chopra in 2023: Another Year of Golds, Records and Winning Hearts

WFI Row: From Jantar Mantar Hartal to Sakshi Malik’s Retirement

The yr 2023 can be endlessly remembered because the yr that noticed the nation’s high wrestlers battle in protest of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexual harassment in opposition to girls’s wrestlers.

The motion that began off with a sit-in protest spearheaded by Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallists similar to Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik precipitated an uproar within the nation which might go on to dominate the headlines all year long.

The wrestlers known as for the formation of an impartial fee to run the inquiry into the grievance and the Jantar Mantar protest was known as off after assurances from the Union Sports Minister of the nation, Anurag Thakur, as an oversight committee headed by legendary boxer MC Mary Kom was implement to run the WFI.

In April, the wrestlers reignited the protest as police did not register a grievance in opposition to Brij Bhushan and approached the Supreme Court for an FIR to be filed in opposition to the Gonda native.

Police file an FIR after SC’s interference whereas the ground-level hartal on the streets continued.

During May, a scuffle broke out between the protestors and police with the grapplers claiming that regulation enforcement officers manhandled the protestors and misbehaved with some girls wrestlers.

Wrestlers who had filed the grievance in opposition to the previous chief recorded their statements on the fifth of March with the Delhi police, adopted by Brij Bhushan’s statements on the tenth of the identical month.

On the twenty ninth of May, Punia, Malik and Phogat have been booked for obstruction of public servants in discharge of obligation as they tried to march to the brand new Parliamentary home on the day of the inauguration earlier than the wrestlers determined to immerse their medals within the river in Haridwar in protest of the injustice.

Anurag Thakur ensures the wrestlers that the investigation in opposition to Brij Bhushan can be concluded a WFI election to determine a brand new federation president would observe, however an enormous bombshell breaks as the daddy of one of many girls wrestlers who had complained accepted deliberately levelling false accusations to precise revenge.

Amid the storm of pubic outpour and the general feeling of an ongoing blame sport, the WFI elections have been postponed and rescheduled a number of instances because the outrageous situation unfolded.

The yr was the yr of the Asian Games, and amid the turmoil, six skilled wrestlers together with Punia and Phogat got direct entry into the video games, which created a rift within the wrestling neighborhood with a number of younger wrestlers and their mother and father calling for the exempt to be scrapped.

In the background, states similar to Assam, Punjab and Haryana stayed the WFI election earlier than United World Wrestling, the game’s ruling physique, suspended the WFI for not conducting the election on time.

The was finally rescheduled to happen on the twenty first of December and was a race between former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Anita Sheoran and Brij Bhushan-loyalist Sanjay Singh, with the disgruntled wrestlers throwing their weight behind the previous.

But, to the dismay of the wrestlers, Sanjay Singh gained by a landslide setting in movement a collection of occasions that scarred followers of the game within the nation as Sakshi Malik introduced her retirement in a tearful interview after the election of the Brij Bhushan-loyalist, whereas Punia determined to return his Padma Shri.

The story took an additional flip because the Sports Ministry suspended the newly fashioned WFI physique citing a scarcity of transparency because the wrestling Federation declared that the U15 and U20 nationals could be held in Gonda, the stronghold of Brij Bhushan.

‘

Kosovo is at the heart of Serbia’: Novak Djokovic’s controversial message in Paris

The yr 2023 proved to be particular for tennis icon Novak Djokovic as he triumphed at three of the 4 Grand Slam occasions en path to claiming the year-end No. 1 spot within the rankings.

The Serb went previous long-time rival Rafael Nadal’s grand slam tally of twenty-two titles together with his triumphs as he took his personal depend to 24 with victories on the Australian Open, French Open and the US Open.

The yr was off to a spectacular begin for the 36-year-old star as he got here again to Australia, following his ejection from the primary grand slam of the calendar yr final season resulting from his anti-vaccination stance. The Serbian was despatched again from Australia and was barred from the prospect to defend his title.

However, with the vaccination guidelines scrapped this time round, the Serbian went on to dominate the match down beneath and ended up clinching a record-extending tenth AO title.

Djokovic then went on to register a win in France with FIFA World Cup-winning footballers, similar to Olivier Giroud and the French workforce in attendance. Djokovic’stitle in Paris wasn’t devoid of controversy although as he received into sizzling waters for signing a digital camera with the phrases ‘Kosovo is at the heart of Serbia’ amid elevating pressure within the Balkans area pertaining to the ever-touchy topic of Kosova’s place and anonymity within the eyes of the Serbs.

Serbians, who make up an enormous chunk of the inhabitants within the north of Kosovo, have by no means accepted Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia, and nonetheless see Belgrade as their capital.

The feedback landed him in a whirlwind of opinions and feedback, however Djokovic didn’t let any of the critics faze him as he went on to say the clay-court match for the third time in his profession.

Wushu athletes denied Asian glory resulting from ‘stapled visa’ as Indo-China strained relations deepen

The Asian Games goals and aspirations of the Wushu athlete trio of Mepung Lamgu, Nyeman Wangsu and Onilu Tega, who all hail from Arunachal Pradesh, have been handed successful because the Indians have been stopped from travelling to China following a visa controversy.

China considers the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of Tibet, issued stapled visas as a substitute of stamped ones for the athletes, in what was seen as China’s manner of questioning India’s sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh.

This meant that the athletes couldn’t journey to Hangzhou for the video games as India doesn’t settle for stapled visas as legitimate.

India and China have been uneasy neighbours ever for the reason that struggle again within the yr 1962 over disputed territory points alongside the Himalayan frontier and issues escalated not too long ago as 20 Indian and 4 Chinese troopers have been killed in and across the area in relation to the identical.

Things heated up additional as China printed its newest official map claiming components of northeast India as Chinese territory.

Despite the trio lacking out on the continental video games, AP Chief Minister Pema Kandhu mentioned that the three athletes and their coach could be thought-about a part of the nationwide contingent for the occasion and could be granted all incentives and advantages, whereas Union Minister Kiren Rijiju hit dwelling with a press release that learn, “Arunachal Pradesh is just not a disputed territory however an inalienable a part of India. The complete folks of Arunachal Pradesh resolutely oppose any unlawful declare of China on its land and folks.”

Everton Point Deduction: Is it a case of the rich getting by just fine as the others suffer?

Premier League club Everton was slapped with a harsh 10-point deduction from their league tally in the 2023-24 season as a result of financial irregularities in a landmark move that frustrated the Merseyside club.

The harsh punishment was imposed on the historic club after an independent panel found the Toffees in violation of the Profit and Sustainability Rules for having lost $233 million over three years, which is beyond the permissible limit in the said time frame.

Everton plummeted into the relegation zone after they were stripped of 10 hard-earned points in what is criticised by fans and followers of the club and sport respectively as exceedingly harsh.

However, the experienced manager of Sean Dyche has led a resurgence in the fortunes of the side ever since the ruling took a toll on the team’s points as he strung a couple of victories together to get the club out of the drop zone.

The Liverpudlian club stand above the fall zone currently with 8 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses from their 18 outings this season.

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and the infamous Hermoso-Rubiales Kiss

The Spanish women’s team scripted history with their 1-0 win over the English women in the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia to lift their maiden WC title thanks to a lone strike from Olga Cramona in the summit clash.

But, what was supposed to be a dream day for the Spanish players turned into a hotbed for controversy as former RFEF president Luis Rubiales pulled player Jenni Hermoso in for an unsolicited kiss on the lips during the presentation ceremony.

The incident created an outpouring of support for Hermoso, who said that the gesture made her feel uncomfortable, while simultaneously calling for concrete action to be taken to remove Rubiales from his position at the top of the federation.

The fact that the incident followed years of turmoil in the women’s football landscape in Spain that had forced a couple of players to abstain from pulling on the national shirt until solid changes were made at the administrative end, did not help the case of the 46-year-old, who apologized for his action after having initially called the critics idiots.

He defended his position stating that it was a moment of emotion and said that he wouldn’t step down from his role at the helm of the RFEF despite loud calls for the same.

Protests on the streets of Spain continued while FIFA suspended RFEF for external interference as the issue turned political.

Rubiales found support from his mother, who locked herself up in the neighbouring church, while the cries for action in Spain kept getting louder and louder as the nation had to react. While on the other end of the spectrum, the entire WC winning unit and some other players went on strike as they stated that they would not be part of the team until Rubiales was removed from the role.

Eventually, the federation of the nation with a proud sporting history and tradition decided it had no other choice but to sack Rubalies and the title-winning coach and Rubiales-loyalist Jorge Vilda, who had led the team to the maiden WC trophy in an attempt to remedy the issues plaguing the country’s women’s football.

European Super League

The formation of the European Super League, a concept which has been in the works in the background for a while now, was handed clearance from the European Court of Justice on the 21st of December as judges noted that UEFA, the body responsible for football activities in Europe, blocking the inception of new competition like the super league was in violation of the laws of the European Union.

The calls for the formation of an exclusive league comprising the cream de la creme of teams from across Europe in a closed/semi-closed league has been touted as the way forward for the future of the sport by Real Madrid club president and fervent advocate of the new tournament, Florentino Perez.

Perez has voiced his intention to create a challenging league with more clashes between Europe’s top sides for years now, in a rather closed circuit with a closed style sans the traditional promotion-relegation at the end of the seasons.

Following what’s assumed to be a collection of conferences between sides from the highest 5 leagues in Europe, the initiative gathered some momentum as sure golf equipment pushed for the creation of the identical on the again of a COVID-hit yr, because the soccer golf equipment took an financial hit.