2023 has been an incredible year for India in terms of achieving several milestones. No stone was unturned in the sports field as well. Our young sporty champions broke several records. So let’s bid farewell to an incredible year with a glimpse of over 10 sports achievements that made India proud in 2023.
1.100 medal ceiling was broken at the Asian Games with dominance
India truly experienced “Iss Baar Sau par” when our young athletes hit the milestones of achieving 107 medals in the Asian Cup 2023 with 28 golds, 38 silvers and 41 bronze. This was the first time when India reached this milestone of clenching 100 medals. The historic achievement came after Indian women’s Kabbadi team secured gold on 7th October, 2023.
2.Chirag Shetty- Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s historic NO.1 ranking
Chirag Shetty and Satwik Rankireddy became the first Indian badminton duo to top the no.1 ranking in the world ahead of their first gold medal in the Asian Games for Badminton doubles in Hangzhou on October 10, 2023. The duo joined the legendary club of Sina Nehwal, Prakash Padukone, and Kidambi Shrikanth. Earlier in June, the duo became the first Indians to win the BWF 1000 tournaments after a win in Indonesia.
3.Neeraj Chopra wins Gold in World Athletic Championship
Neeraj Chopra has become a familiar name in the houses of India after his record-breaking achievements in the Javelin throw. Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win Gold in the World Athletics Championship with a remarkable throw of 88.17 meters in Budapest, Hungary on 27th August exemplifying his extraordinary skills. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem secured second position with a throw of 87.82 meters.
4.The Indian Cricket Team won the Asia Cup 2023
The Indian Cricket Team won the Asia Cup this year after a long break. The last time ICT won the Asia Cup in 2018 against Bangladesh. The young bowling talent of Indian Teams knocked Sri Lanka at 50 runs. Mohammad Siraj took 6 wickets for 21 runs. India won its 8th Asia Cup on 17th September,2023 under the captainship of Rohit Sharma.
5.R Praggnanandhaa in FIDE World Cup finals
In the Chess World Cup 2023, R Praggnanandhaa became the world’s youngest player to reach finals at the age of 18. R Praggnanandhaa secured the second position after being defeated against former classical World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in a tie-breaker on august 24,2023 in Baku.
6.The Indian Women’s Cricket Team won their first Test against Australia
The Indian Women’s Cricket team won a historic match against Australia on 24th December. After a long wait of 28 years, IND-W won a test match against Australia on the homeland in Wankhede Stadium after a record-breaking one-day off test against England under the skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. India won against Australia by 8 wickets.
7.Virat Kohli breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI record
Virat Kohli makes a remarkable record by breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI records of highest centuries with his memorable 50th century in India vs New Zealand Semifinals in World Cup 2023 in the historically significant Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 15th November 2023 and bowed to his cricketing idol Sachin Tendulkar.
8.Aditi Gopichand to become the world’s youngest Champion
Aditi Gopichand, The young Indian Archer became the youngest world Champion after winning a compound women’s gold in the World Championship at the young age of 17 in Berlin, Germany by defeating Andrea Becerra. Ojas Pravin Deotale fetched another gold in the Men’s event in Archery making the record of being the first Indian World Champion.
9.Sunil Chhetri becomes fourth highest goal scorer in the world
Indian Football Captain Sunil Chhetri became the 4th highest goal scorer in the world after scoring 2 goals against Pakistan in the SAFF Championship 2023 in Bengaluru on June 21, 2023. With 90 goals in 138 matches, Sunil Chhetri enters the elite club by surpassing Malaysian player Mokhtar Dahari. The leading goal scorer of the World is Cristiano Ronaldo with 123 goals in 200 matches.
10.Sheetal Devi’s silver medal in Para- Archery World Championship
The 16-year-old Indian Para -Archer Sheetal Devi became the first Indian to secure a Silver medal in the World Para-Archery Championship. The girl from Jammu and Kashmir became the first Indian Archer to reach this milestone. She further showed her incredible skills by winning two golds and a silver in the Asian Games.
With a lot of other opportunities ahead of 2024 T20 World Cup and Olympics in Paris, Indians are all set to leave their remarkable mark on the International stage by setting the stage on fire.
