The year 2023 is drawing to a close, and it has been a busy one for India. From individual to team sports, from global events to continental ones, a whole host of athletes have represented themselves and the country on some of the biggest stages.
Click here for all the latest sports betting odds!
The Cricket World Cup and the Asian Games were by far the most popular events on the sporting calendar in India, with both bringing mixtures of ecstasy and agony.
But before touching upon the team achivements of India in 2023, it's time to celebrate the individuals behind the year's successes.
Here, The Sporting News brings you a list of Indian athletes who raised the bar in 2023.
Indian sports stars who raised the bar in 2023
Neeraj Chopra
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has been the toast of India's sporting community since he caught the eye at the 2018 Asian Games. His trajectory has been only upwards since then, with medals galore in every competition he has taken part in.
In May 2023, Neeraj achieved a world number one ranking in men's javelin throw for the first time in his career. In August, he won gold at the Athletics World Championships to complete the unique achivement of winning the medal in all five major athletics competitions.
Neeraj rounded off the year by winning his second-ever gold medal at the Asian Games in October.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty
In India, badminton does not have the popularity of sports like cricket and football and for this reason India's premier men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty have flown under the radar.
The list of achivements of the pair in 2023 is staggering; gold medals at the Badminton Asia Championships and the Asian Games (both firsts for India), as well as the Indonesian Open, Korea Open and Swiss Open titles. There were a few scattered first-round and second-round exits as well, but the duo have had perhaps India's best-ever year in the sport.
They also became the first Indian pair to reach World No 1 in October.
Aditi Gopichand Swami & Ojas Pravin Deotale
If the sport of archery has seen a boom in popularity this year, the Indian contingent at the World Championships has much to do with that; including 17 year-old Aditi Gopichand Swami. The youngster was part of the winning team in the compound bow category, before becoming India's first-ever individual senior world champion at the same tournament.
Creating a similar piece of history in 2023 was Ojas Pravin Deotale, who became India's second individual world champion after Aditi, and the first man to do so. Deotale also went on to win three gold medals (one individual, two team) at the Asian Games.
Sheetal Devi
Sticking with archery, another teenager did India proud in 2023. 16-year-old Sheetal Devi from Kishtwar in Jammu & Kashmir overcame remarkable odds to secure gold in the compound bow category at the Asian Paralympic Games.
Born with a medical condition called phocomelia, Sheetal does not have use of her arms. Despite formally training for just 11 months, she was able to perfect her archery technique using just her legs to wield the bow. At the Para Games, Sheetal won silver in the doubles compound bow event, along with gold medals in the team and individual events. She is to date, the only international para-archery champion without arms.
Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain, Nitu Ghangas & Saweety Boora
In March 2023, the Women's World Boxing Championships were held in New Delhi, and the Indian contingent were on fire on home turf. India finished with the third-highest overall medal tally but no other country won more gold medals than the hosts' four.
Nikhat Zareen won the light flyweight (49 kg) category while Nitu Ghangas took home gold for the minimumweight (48 kg) event. Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain won the middleweight (72.5 kg) competition and Saweety Boora finished first in the light heavyweight (79 kg) category.