The Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma wedding may have been the mother of all weddings in 2017 but on various playing fields across the world and in the country, the year saw Indian sports getting de-hyphenated from cricket. The process had started a few years ago, but it truly stamped its presence this year with badminton, boxing and hockey stepping into the limelight, earning more plaudits than ever on the world stage.
None did more for it than the well-oiled production line-up in badminton. Of course, PV Sindhu’s silver medal at the Rio Olympics last year was a never-before high for the sport, but 2017 managed to better even that. The reason was simple: It was no longer about an individual winning despite the system. More and more players won more and more events, with all-Indian finals at some major tournaments. The men won as much, if not more, than the women, the charge led by Kidambi Srikanth, and the doubles pairs finally moved out of the shadows for a space of their own.
Badminton’s domination
Twenty-four-year-old Srikanth was the story of the year. Only the fourth men’s singles player ever to win four or more Super Series titles in a calendar year, he went from “Kidambi who” to become a household name and a favourite for quizmasters. He is now also the fourth most successful player in terms of overall titles.
He faltered at the big events — the World Championships and the Super Series Finals in Dubai — but those do not take away the sheen from a stupendous year. It was memorable for others, too, trying to dislodge him from the perch. B Sai Praneeth won a Super Series tournament in Singapore, defeating Srikanth in the final. HS Prannoy won the US Open Grand Prix Gold, broke into the top 10, and won the Nationals, also against Srikanth.
Given that the two Olympic medallists India has had in the sport are women, and that Sindhu managed to reach the finals of both the big-ticket events this year — the ones that Srikanth stumbled at — made 2017 more remarkable for badminton. Sindhu added two Super Series titles to her kitty and bagged silver at the World Championships and the Dubai Super Series Finals. Nehwal returned to competition after a serious knee injury and surgery that made many doubt her future in the international circuit. But while it wasn’t exactly a year of grand results, Nehwal did win the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix gold and a bronze at the World Championships to prove she was well in the reckoning.
Hockey’s racket
If badminton grabbed headlines through the year, hockey made a racket of its own, both on and off the field. The men blew hot and cold, the women began disappointingly but ended in style, and the administration of the sport, both at home and at world level, saw drama.
A bronze at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in April-May was not something the team was proud of, given its top-dog status in the continent, but was unable to get past Malaysia in the semi-finals. Malaysia, in fact, would go on to be the bogey side for the team before India laid matters to rest by defeating the opposition twice on its way to winning the Asia Cup towards the fag end of the year.
The Azlan Shah outing gave India a bigger worry — losing captain and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh to a knee injury, which saw him sidelined for the rest of the year. The Hockey World League semi-finals in London was the first major test for the team and it managed a disappointing sixth spot out of 10 squads. That it was the result of two terrible games against lower-ranked Malaysia and Canada hastened the ouster of coach Roelant Oltmans.
The London event also saw Indian hockey struggling on the diplomatic front.
Sardar Singh was called for questioning after being accused of sexual harassment by his erstwhile girlfriend, while International Hockey Federation president Narinder Batra made controversial statements on social media about Pakistan’s alleged role in the matter. India also pulled out of the ambitious Pro League, set to begin in 2019, sparking off another round of shock and a scramble to find replacements and work out revenue models and schedule. While the replacements were quick enough, the rest of the issues are yet to be resolved.
Oltmans was replaced by women’s team coach Sjoerd Marijne and Harendra Singh took his place. Call it beginner’s luck or otherwise, both began their tenures with title wins. While Marijne was in charge in Dhaka, where the men expectedly lifted the Asia Cup, the women went past higher-ranked opponents to strike gold in Kakamigahara. It was a sweet ending for the women, who not only lost their coach halfway through a Europe tour but also had a disappointing eighth-place finish in HWL Semifinals in Johannesburg, its only other major outing this year. The men’s team ended the year by retaining bronze at the HWL Finals in Bhubaneswar.
Young hope in tennis
The youngsters’ surprise wins over better opponents worked as a balm in a year that finally saw Rohan Bopanna become a Grand Slam winner and Sania Mirza flounder. Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal tasted sporadic successes, but the lack of tournaments at home didn’t help. India hosted just two Challenger events — in Pune and Bengaluru — and while Bhambri won the first, Nagal triumphed in the second resulting in big ranking jumps for both.
Elsewhere, Indians managed some stunning upsets. Bhambri defeated world number 22 Gael Monfils at the ATP Citi Open in the US, and Ramkumar beat world number eight Dominic Thiem at Antalya Open. Bopanna lifted the French Open mixed doubles trophy with Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski, becoming only the fourth Indian to win a Grand Slam title. He also won three ATP titles to stay among the top 20. Mirza not only lost her top rank in the world doubles but also struggled to get a regular partner, until she settled with Shuai Peng, with whom she reached the US Open semi-finals. Leander Paes was dropped from the side by new Davis Cup captain and former partner Mahesh Bhupathi for the tie against Uzbekistan; with snippets of private conversations going public, Paes lost his chance at the next tie against Canada as well.
Football’s junior crop
The fairy tale that came true in Indian football was performed by Aizawl Football Club, which won the I-League title against some of the biggest names. It finished ahead of Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Bengaluru FC in what was rated as one of the most fascinating results in Indian football.
Indian football was put in perspective following its participation in the World Cup under-17 tournament. The large turnout at the venues confirmed the popularity of the beautiful game, but performance on field left a lot to be desired. India lost to the US (0-3), Colombia (1-2) and Ghana (0-4), and finished at the bottom of the table in the league and also in the tournament.
A glorious goal by Jeakson Singh against Colombia raised hopes among those who doubted the quality of Indian football. India’s unbeaten run in the AFC qualifiers was a welcome development. It did not lose league matches against Macau, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar
Among other things
Pankaj Advani did what he does best — winning tournaments as a routine, this year completing his 18th world title and becoming the only Indian male cueist to win both the national billiards and snooker titles. Advani also led India A to gold at the Asian Team Snooker Championship. Among the women, Vidya Pillai won silver at the World Women’s Snooker Championship.
Boxing began its climb back among the top sports in India with Shiva Thapa’s silver at the Asian Championships. Three months later, unheralded wild card Gaurav Bidhuri became the second Indian to win a medal at the elite World Championships. But the end of competition for men was also the beginning for women, with MC Mary Kom adding a fifth Asian Championships gold in her favourite 48-kg category. The year ended with the host winning seven medals (including five golds and two bronzes) at the Women’s Youth World Championship, to finish on top of the table.
In golf, Shiv Kapur shone the brightest with two titles after a 12-year wait, while the young duo of Shubhankar Sharma and Ajeetesh Sandhu stepped into the limelight in a year that saw Indians bagging seven international titles. Gaganjeet Bhullar won the Macau Open, SSP Chawrasia retained his hold on the India Open, Sharma became the youngest Indian to clinch a European Tour title at the $1.2-million Joburg Open, and Sandhu picked up the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship. Meanwhile, last season’s Rookie of the Year Aditi Ashok improved her profile by winning the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open.
Kings at home
Regardless of the performances or controversies, cricket remained the centre of attention for all and sundry.
A runner-up finish in the Champions Trophy at The Oval and expected dominance at home highlighted India’s eventful year in the sport. Under Kohli’s captaincy, the team grew in stature, excelling in all formats and seeing the emergence of some serious young talent, especially Kuldeep Yadav.
India suffered an embarrassing loss (by 333 runs) to Australia at Pune before hitting back to win two of the next three Tests. The emphasis on spin continued to be a tactical ploy even as Cheteshwar Pujara demonstrated his resilience and commitment. But the joy of victory was tempered by the exit of coach Anil Kumble, after his fallout with Kohli, showing the Board in poor light. Kumble lost the job to Ravi Shastri.
India won the Test series against Sri Lanka in that country, with sweeping results in all three matches. When Sri Lanka toured India within months, the home team won 1-0, the draw at Delhi marred by the air-pollution episode.
Overseas, India was expected to win the Champions Trophy and, though it reached the final in style, it was outdone by a Pakistan side that played world-class cricket.
But what the men failed to do, the women did in emphatic fashion, even as they faltered at the final hurdle. But reaching the final of the ICC World Cup was in itself an achievement that brought the women more attention than ever.