India have experienced a lot of hits and misses in the Year 2016. From the historic Rio Olympics to the recently concluded Chennai Test against England in cricket, Team India accomplished unprecedented goals this year. At the same time, the tricolor nation had to also swallow some defeats too in 2016 which could have been otherwise avoided.

With hardly a week away from the first dawn of 2017, let’s look at India’s overall performance in sports this past year. No doubt, it was a fairy tale journey for the Indian sportspersons, and especially, the athletes. However, complacency is the last word Indian players will look into. Indian sportspersons need to relentlessly fight for glory with a support of more than 1.3 billion people.

Still, a long way to go!

#1 – Boxing: The flamboyant Vijender Singh has won a maiden title as a professional boxer this month. He defeated the Australian Boxer – Kerry Hope to clinch the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title in New Delhi. Then he again defeated Francis Cheka in a tough duel.

#2 – Golf: Aditi Ashok became the first woman golfer from the country to win the prestigious Ladies European Tour title this year. In November, she scored 3 under par to claim the prestigious honor. The 18-Year-old has also got LPGA Tour Card for 2017.

#3 – Football: This year, the enthusiastic Indian national football team under the immaculate captaincy of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu did the unimaginable. Yes, India won 4 international matches out of the last 6 football clashes that the team has played so far. India also won SAAF championship earlier this year for a record 7th time.

#4 – Tennis: In women’s tennis, the champion duo of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis has managed to win 41 women’s consecutive double matches before the Russian pair of Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina finished their unbeaten winning streak. Sania Mirza also registered number uno ranking spot in women’s doubles for the second time in a row this year.  Whereas in men’s tennis, legend Leander Paes accomplished the French Open title (Mixed Double’s) pairing up with Martina Hingis. It was the only title that eluded Paes until now, but he overcame the same in 2016.

#5 – Kabaddi: India won the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup title in 2016 beating Iran in the final. Indian Kabaddi team is currently being led by inspirational Anup Kumar. India had won three world Kabaddi titles until now.

#6 – Hockey: Team India excelled outstandingly in Asia Cup 2016 in both men’s and women’s team. Indian Hockey women’s team won Asia Cup title earlier this year by defeating China. Indian men’s team beat Pakistan in the final to win the Asia Cup title. Also, men’s hockey registered their first ever silver medal in Championship Trophy this year. Indian’s Junior Men’s Hockey team also created history by clinching the 2016 Junior Hockey World Cup.

#7 – Badminton: India’s tennis sensation PV Sindhu won a billion hearts this year when she won 2016 Rio Olympics Silver medal. It was for the first time any Indian female Badminton star accomplished such an honor. Also, PV Sindhu won Chinese Open title this year apart from reaching the semi-final stage at BWF Super series.

#8 – Gymnastics: The entire India could have remained oblivious of the wonder of the gymnastics had this Tripura girl not performed exceedingly well in Rio Olympics 2016. Dipa Karmakar kept the audiences enthralled when she attempted the ‘Vault of Death’ move at Rio de Janeiro. She reached the finals of the Gymnastics category but unfortunately finished at 4th spot missing an Olympic medal by a whisker.

#9 – Paralympics: Nobody can forget the courage and determination of Mariyappan Thangavelu. Having suffered a permanent disability at his right leg, the 21-year-old waged a courageous battle to win the gold at Rio Paralympics in men’s high-jump T-42 category.

Thangavelu Mariyappan won a gold medal at the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro

#10 – Wrestling: Sakshi Malik, the young female wrestler grabbed sports headlines when she won the prestigious bronze medal in the Rio Olympics. She has also been conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award this year.

#11 – Cricket: No list of India’s sports achievement is complete without Cricket. To begin with, it was an amazing year for team India in Cricket. The Indian cricket team became the number one team in test cricket this year under the leadership of Virat Kohli. Not to forget, as a cricketer too, Virat Kohli’s performance is performing better and better. He piled up 1,215 test runs at an average of 76, apart from garnering 739 runs in ODIs and 641-run in T20 Internationals at an average of 92 and 107 respectively.

In short, 2016 was a wonderful year and looking forward for an even better 2017. How was your year? What sports did you play this year and like to know about your experiences? Do share them in the comments below!

Tags: 2016, Badminton, Boxing, Cricket, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Hockey, India, Kabaddi, Paralympics, Sports, Tennis, Wrestling