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The year produced some iconic sporting moments as expected from an Olympic year, which also included the UEFA European Championship.
Spain, Yusuf Dikec, Ray Gun, Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul.
The year 2024 produced some iconic sporting moments as expected from an Olympic year, which also included the UEFA European Championship. The bygone year also turned out to be a landmark one for India as athletes representing the national contingents witnessed great success across sporting disciplines, with chess at the forefront of it all.
Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten run to their first-ever Bundesliga trophy and a bout of eras between legendary boxer Mike Tyson and American Jake Paul ruled the pay-per-view section.
Indians were delighted by Rohan Bopanna receiving his due for decades of hard work but also had to digest some tough pills including the shocking turn of events that saw ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat disqualified from the final of her Olympic event in agonising fashion that left a scar.
Spain’s Fourth Euro Crown
Luis De La Fuente helped Spain become the most successful side in the history of the continental tournament as he led La Furia Roja to their fourth Euro title in Germany.
Spain arrived as one of the favourites to win the title and lived upto the billing as youngsters Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams grabbed all the headlines for their incredible performances that led the Spanish armada to yet another UEFA Euro Title in stunning fashion as they beat Gareth Southgate’s England in the final of the event.
The young duo, who struck fear into the hearts of every defensive setup they came up against, also thrilled fans of the sport with creative celebrations that were mimiced and repeated by aficionados world over.
The triumph also helped propel star midfielder Rodri to the coveted Balon d’Or award, on the back of the year the 28-year-old had claimed an unprecedented fourth Premier League title on the bounce with club side Manchester City.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Maiden, Unbeaten Bundesliga Title
Head coach Xabi Alonso shattered the curse of the ‘Neverkusen’ as the Spaniard masterminded an unbeaten season to break Bavarian giants Bayern Munich’s stranglehold on the Bundesliga title.
Die Werkself wrapped up the season with multiple games left to play and finished with a 90-point tally to clinch their maiden German Domestic Top FLight Crown in spectacular fashion.
Paris Olympics 2024: The Seine, Turish Assassin, and an Aussie Breaker
The Summer Games tossed up multiple iconic moments right from the opening ceremony, which was held outside the confines of the National Stadium, in the form of a rally with national contingents waving to adoring fans from the top of boats on the river Seine.
Special shoutout to American gymnast Simone Bles, who banished ghosts of Tokyo Olympics, where she suffered a case of the twisties and was subjected to harsh criticism following her loss, as he manegd to come-back strong at Paris with three gold medals and silver to add to her overflowing collection of medals.
Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec took the internet and sporting world by storm as he picked up a silver medal at the French Capital City at the quadrennial extravaganza as he shot his way to fame with minimal fuss and a lack of over-bearing shooting apparatus.
The Turk, who came out with nothing but his pistol, highlighted his sharp-shooting abilities with one hand in his pocket, giving the most recognisable silhouette of the year, which went on to be mimicked by a swathe of other athletes at the sporting spectacle including Swedish pole-vaulter Armand Duplantis, who struck a ‘shooter’ pose following his World Record shattering attempt in Paris.
And on the other side of the spectrum, so to speak stands Australian break dancer Ray Gun, who courted a whole lot of negative attention following her gold-winning showing in the newly added event as snippets from her demonstration were recycled as memes.
India at the Paris Olympics 2024: History, Near-misses, and a calamitous heartbreak
While India returned from the French Capital city without a gold medal to show for their efforts, the Indian contingent did have remarkable shows as shooting prodigy Manu Bhaker became the first Indian woman to claim two medals at a single edition of the Olympics as she came in third in the women’s 10m air pistol individual event before doubling down on her tally with yet another podium finish in the mixed 10m air pistol event alongside compatriot Sarabjot Singh.
The Indian hockey men’s team retained their bronze medal in Paris to add to their achievements in Tokyo.
Star Indian javelin throw athlete Neeraj Chopra came up with a silver-winning performance in France to add to his gold from Tokyo. Wrestler Aman Sherawat became the youngest athlete from the nation to pick up an Olympic medal, while marksman Swapnil Kusale clinched third place in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions even to script more history.
The event would also be remembered for the near-misses by Indian athletes as they missed out on six more bronze medals by a whisker.
Vinesh Phogat’s DQ
Despite the near-misses, what would haunt the Indian faithful for a prolonged time is perhaps the unfortunate disqualification of star wrestler Vinesh Phogat ahead of the final of her gold medal bout in the women’s 50 Kg event.
Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for an Olympic final, with statement victories en route to the championship clash, but was slapped with a DQ result ahead of the finale after being found a few grams over the stipulated weight.
The event scarred the nation’s psyche and did ofcourse have an adverse impact on the wrestler’s mindset, as she called curtains on her glittery career following the elimination.
Djokovic Rounds Off Prize Collection
The most successful name in the world of men’s professional tennis, Djokovic, completed his trophy cabinet with the gold medal he clinched at the Paris Olympics 2024 as the Serbian brought an end to a career-long quest for the Olympic yellow metal.
The 37-year-old star, who leads the record books for the number of majors won with 24 Grand Slam titles under his belt, picked up the Olympic honour with a straight sets triumph over Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros to round off his trophy collection.
Indian at the Paris Paralympics 2024
The Indian Paralympic unit produced their best ever showing at the quadrennial for the differently abled as the unit clinched seven gold, nine silver and thirteen bronze medals in a 29-medal performance.
Avani Lekhara dished out a double-gold performance while India had a one-two finish in the men’s club throw. HIgh jumper Thangavelu Mariyappan medalled at his third straight Paralympic Games with his bronze in Paris, while Sheetal Devi became the youngest from the nation, at just 17 years of age, to clinch an archery bronze. Javelin throw star Sumit Antil also had a quadrennial to remember as he retained his crown in the F46 category with a record throw.
Indian Chess
2024 will go down as the year India announced itself as a superpower in the sport of Chess as the young group of Indian wizards scaled unprecedented heights on an individual and a collective level.
The Indian contingent sides completed a historic win at the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Hungary as the representatives of the tricolour stood tall at the end of the event with a maiden crown in both the open and women’s categories.
Indian GM D Gukesh added a further coat of sheen to the milestone year as he became the youngest World Chess Champion with his win over holder Ding Liren in the final of the 2024 edition in Singapore as the teenager got the better of the Chinese star in dramatic fashion to ensure the year would go down as a watershed one in the annals of Indian chess history.
Rohan Bopanna Climbs To Top
Veteran Indian tennis player Rohan Bopana became the oldest player to occupy the top spot in the men’s doubles rankings for the very first time in his career on the back of a maiden Australian Open doubles title alongside partner Matthew Ebden as Bopanna ended his two-decade-long quest for a Major title.
Jake Paul Beats Mike Tyson
An unlikely pairing any way you look at it, the bout between influencer turned fighter Paul and boxing legend Tyson turned out to be one of OTT platform Netflix’s biggest crowd-puller this year as a fight between eras.
Paul managed to pick up a win against the once-menacing Tyson as the 27-year-old got the better of the boxer over twice his age. It took some going for the bout to be booked as multiple states did not give the fight the go-ahead citing the huge age gap between the contestants, however, organisers managed to pull off the extravaganza, which helped skyrocket Netflix’s viewership numbers for the year.
The bout was preceded by a staredown that ended up with Tyson slapping Paul across the face in one of the highlight moments of 2024.
