Table of contents
Sporting achievements are more than just victories on the field. They often reflect a nation's progress in areas like health, infrastructure, and youth development. For UPSC aspirants, analyzing sports news goes beyond celebrating individual triumphs.
It presents an opportunity to understand:
- India's performance on the global stage: Success in international competitions like the Olympics or Asian Games indicates India's ability to compete with sporting powerhouses.
- Investment in sports infrastructure and training: Examining the support systems behind victories sheds light on government efforts to promote sports across the country.
- Social impact of sporting heroes: The rise of sporting icons can inspire youth, promote inclusivity, and even influence foreign policy through cultural exchange.
This section explores recent sporting achievements highlighted in the news, analyzing their significance beyond the final score and highlighting their potential to contribute to India's holistic development.
Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games
The Asian Games were first held in 1951 in New Delhi as India wished to reestablish relations with Asian countries.
- Three Indian wushu martial arts players from Arunachal Pradesh were denied accreditation cards and instead offered stapled visas by China.
- Accreditation cards have the dual purpose of being an ID card for the Asian Games as well as a visa.
- Harmanpreet Singh (hockey) and Lovlina Borgohain (boxing) were India's flag-bearers for the opening ceremony while PR Sreejesh was for the closing ceremony.
- India finished with a record haul of 107 medals at 4th place winning 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze medals.
- This performance was the outcome of funding under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
- India won a women’s javelin gold through Annu Rani and a men’s 3000-m steeplechase winner in Avinash Sable for the first time in Asian games history.
Cricket World Cup 2023
- The first Cricket World Cup was held in England in June 1975, four years after the inaugural ODI cricket match.
- Next world cup in 2027 will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia in 2027.
- The ICC World Cup was held in India in 1987, 1996 and 2011 jointly with other countries, but the 2023 ICC World Cup was held solely in India.
- Travis head was man of the match in finals while Virat Kohli was man of the tournament. Mohd Shami was the leading wicket taker.
Tennis
- Rohan Bopanna became the oldest grand slam winner at the age of 43, securing doubles victory with Matthew Ebden (Australia) in the Australian Open 2024 finals against Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
- Djokovic has been ranked No. 1 for a record total of 424 weeks overall, and finished as the year-end No. 1 a record eight times.
- Novak Djokovic and Margaret Court currently hold the record for most grand slam singles titles at 24 each.
Chess
- India got its 79th Grandmaster in the 16-year-old Pranesh M from Tamil Nadu when he achieved the required 2500 ELO rating.
- Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway.
- Praggnanandhaa is only the third Indian to have defeated Magnus Carlsen after Viswanathan Anand and Pentala Harikrishna.
- The youngest winner of the Candidates Tournament: Gukesh D at the age of 17 (Candidates Tournament 2024).
Paris Olympics 2024
- “Games Wide Open” is adopted as official slogan of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- Table tennis player Sharath Kamal will be the Indian team's flagbearer for the opening ceremony of Paris 2024 Olympics.
- Till date, 53 athletes and 5 teams have qualified for different sports.
- There will be an equal number of male and female athletes at the Games for the first time to show gender equality.
- Breakdancing will make its Olympic debut.
