2008: A Glorious Year for Indian Sports

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Jan

Indian Sport 2008: A Glorious Year for Indian Sports

Few can deny that 2008 was one of the best years for Indian sports across all disciplines. Barring the hockey team’s fiasco, there were barely any lows of note. Major inroads were made, new highs achieved, and it looks like a firm base has been formed for India to take its next leap. Sporting domination in the future? Maybe, maybe not, but at least we won’t see everlasting mediocrity.

Badminton

Sania-mania may be fizzing out at an alarming rate, but Hyderabad has another teen-sensation to cheer about, one who handles a different racquet. Saina Nehwal’s move up the rankings is remarkable, having made it to the top ten and being named the Most Promising Player of 2008.

Boxing

Two medals at the Olympics and four at the World Championships for men, two Golds for the Women at their World Championships, including MC Mary Kom’s fourth consecutive, boxing has definitely been the surprise package of the year. The attention the sport would get now on would only boost its popularity.

Chess

At the highest level it may only be a one man show, but that one man has proven that currently he rules the chessboard better than anyone else in the World. Vishwanathan Anand’s duel with Vladmir Kramnik will be remembered a long time in chess circles for his victories when playing the black pieces, which for so long were considered to be a handicap.

Cricket

The 2007 World Cup disaster is clearly stuff of the past now and the new found unity in the team (should we say thanks to Andrew Symonds’ “racist” charges and Steve Buckor’s umpiring howlers for it?) has made the team a major threat. The previous time we saw such unity was the 2003 World Cup, and we reached the finals. This time, however, the unity is supported by a much stronger ability than the 2003 squad. The greater bench strength also means injuries shouldn’t be as big a a problem as before.

Football

The formation of a fully professional league and Dempo’s venture into the AFC Champions League are the only positives that one can take out of the sport from the year, but nevertheless any progress must be greeted. India is still way behind from where it should and can be, but hopefully it will be a case of better late than never.

Golf

Jeev Milkha Singh wasn’t the only person who deserves to be singled out for praise. SSP Chowrasia did brilliantly to win the Indian Master early on, although a wrist injury hampered him the rest of the year. Arjun Atwal won twice, including on the Nationwide Tour which made him the first Indian to win on US soil. He’s back in the PGA Tour having found the consistency he lacked the last couple of years. Jyoti Randhawa would be a touch disappointed, but he managed a come-from-behind win at Greater Noida last weekend to win the finale of the PGTI Tour’s 2008 season, which should help his morale when he returns to action in Abu Dhabi in a couple of weeks time.

Shooting

I don’t know if many people would agree with me on this but I believe that 2008 had a touch of disappointment when it came to shooting. Yes Abhinav Bindra’s gold was a brilliant performance at the Olympics, but what about the others? The stars failed to shine, and only one medal from a contingent that consisted the likes of Samaresh Jung, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Gagan Narang and Anjali Bhagwat, all proven performers on the international stage, is not something to be enthralled about. But, it still has been a better year than before. Gagan Narang won the World Cup in November with a record score, and the sport’s profile is improving vastly amongst youngsters.

Tennis

Leander Paes led India to the World Group playoff stage of the Davis Cup after a long, long time, where they lost to Romania. Somdev Devvarman appeared for the third straight year at the finals of the NCAA Championships in the US, and comfortably defended his title. Many past players have pinned their hopes on the youngster.

Wrestling

Traditional wrestling may be a forgotten sport amongst the urban population, but Sushil Kumar’s bronze shows that the rural people are still taking to the sport and achieving in it. Wrestling was the sport in which India first won an individual medal at an Olympiad, and hopefully goes on to win more.

Raveesh Bhalla