Looking back at the year: India's best sporting moments of 2021

Our Indian athletes have showcased some of the best performances on the field in 2021. Be it the Tokyo Olympics, World Championships, or on Australia's cricket grounds. let's take a look at the top 10 sporting moments of 2021 for the country.

#1 Neeraj Chopra's gold in Tokyo

Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian sportsman to bag an Olympic gold medal in athletics for India post Independence when he won the men's javelin throw event in Tokyo with a stunning throw of 87.58m. This is a moment that Indians will cherish forever.

#2 PV Sindhu winning her second Olympic medal

Nation's favourite shuttler PV Sindhu won her second Olympic medal in Tokyo as she grabbed the bronze medal in a straight-game win. With this win, Sindhu became the first Indian shuttler to win two consecutive Olympic medals. She also became the first Indian female athlete to win two Olympic medals.

#3 Kidambi Srikanth creates history at World Championships

The first-ever Indian male shuttler to play in the final of the BWF World Championship Final, Kidambi Srikanth scripted history by becoming the first Indian male shuttler to win the silver medal at the prestigious badminton tournament. 

#4 Indian paddlers shine at Asian Championship

The Indian men's table tennis team comprising of G Sathiyan, Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty, and Manav Thakkar created history by winning the bronze medal at the Asian Championship. This was the country's second medal after 1976. 

#5 India's historic Test win at Gabba

Earlier this year, the Indian men's cricket team defeated Australia at the Gabba stadium in a Test match. This was a historic win by Indians as they became the only cricket team to defeat Australia in Brisbane since 1998.

#6 India's rising star, athlete Shaili Singh

The highly-talented long jumper Shaili Singh won the silver medal in the U-20 World Athletics Championships. The 17-year-old youngster missed on creating history by a mere 1cm but, the 6.59m jump was Shaili's personal best.

#7 A first for the Indian women's chess team

The Indian women's team created history at the FIDE World Women's Team Chess Championship, as they clinched a silver medal. The team consisted of Dronavali Harika, R Vaishali, Tania Sachdev, Mary Ann Gomes, and Bhakti Kulkarni. This was India's first-ever medal at the tournament.

#8 When Aditi Ashok got the entire nation hooked to golf

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics. Even though she couldn't win an Olympic medal, Aditi's performance in Tokyo saw the nation of 1.3 billion people wake up at 4 am to watch the golf star in action. Despite being ranked 300, she gave the best golfers in the world a run for their money.

#9 Indian men and women hockey team's Tokyo triumph

Both the Indian, men's and women's hockey teams created history when at the Tokyo Olympics. The men's team won the bronze medal to end India's 41-year drought of going medal-less at the Olympics. While the women's team couldn't win a medal, they became the first Indian women's hockey team to reach an Olympic semifinal in history. Both these achievements were huge for the teams as well as our country.

#10 Teen wrestler Anshu's feat at the World Championship

The 19-year-old Anshu Malik won the silver medal at World Wrestling Championship. The teenager also became India's first-ever woman finalist in the tournament. it was a heroic performance from the young wrestler, who became the only fifth Indian woman to win a worlds medal and so far the best one.

As a wonderful sporting year comes to an end, all the Indian sports fans will be looking forward to 2022 and hopefully, new records will be created.