Sometimes, not often, a year in sports is like countries marching out in alphabetical order at an Olympics opening ceremony. Only here, the first letter is not G for Greece, like at the Games, but A for Annum (Latin for year, for Gen X’s benefit).
This year at the Paris opening ceremony, the letters rolled in off boats on the Seine, and under pouring rain even as Zizou (Zidane, for Gen Z) in a suit and white sneakers, brought in the torch jogging through the city’s underground to hand it to adopted son, Rafa, waiting anxiously at the foot of the Eiffel. The Brits hated it, what else? The French couldn’t care less. It was that kind of a year.
TOI’s Moushumi Bora is master of ceremony for the closing of 2024, lining up events of a breathless past 12 months. Of course, with a little help from friends…
A FOR AMAN KI ASHA
Despite neighbours not being good friends anymore, Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem represent the hope that one can rise above the politics. The Pakistani, with one mighty throw, stole the Olympics javelin gold away, and then added a hefty one to show that was no fluke. It was Nadeem’s day, Chopra acknowledged, paying tribute in defeat during the midnight show in the subcontinent. A born winner, silver wasn’t quite the colour the Indian wanted. It wasn’t about India or Pakistan; it was about competition at the highest level. And humility & respect. When Nadeem wished ‘Happy Birthday’ to Neeraj on Christmas Eve, the message was clear.
B FOR BALLON D’OR
They called it the great robbery. The result of France Football’s prestigious award was leaked before the ceremony. The whisper was Rodri got the nod over favourite Vinicius, and the whole Real Madrid team proceeded with a loud boycott of the gala. Things were different in Jeddah as Vini was adjudged FIFA’s Best. All was forgotten, but not forgiven.
C FOR CITY, CITY, BANG, BANG
Did you hear Pep Guardiola’s squad shooting themselves in the feet? It’s a script fit for Ian Fleming – a sprightly 99-year-old Dick van Dyke would agree – as the thoroughbreds of Manchester find themselves panting. Although the finishing episode is halfway away, the unfolding season after a fourth consecutive Premiership triumph gets even more intriguing. Nine defeats, two wins in 14 games; battered front and centre; clueless, fight-less and flightless; Pep scratching his head and face in disbelief; a legal wrangle – all the makings of a thriller, not a musical. Call James, not Rodri (guess?)
D FOR DRAVID
Under whom India broke a 13-year trophy drought with a near-perfect outing at the T20 World Cup. The triumph marked the end of Rahul Dravid’s tenure as coach, and the entry of Gautam Gambhir. The less said the better as it has been taxing times for the new regime.
E FOR E-SPORTS
Gamers got excited as everything ‘E’ hit the mark worldwide. The Esports World Cup was staged in Saudi Arabia, emerging capital of the sports world. And the kingdom’s insatiable appetite to keep shaping the sporting map is unlikely to diminish with the staging of the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in 2025 as a precursor to a future bid for the real thing. The massive spending on global sports driven by the Crown Prince came with dividends as they were announced as the host of the 2034 football World Cup. Are we still talking about E-sports? Stop.
F FOR FIVE THOUSANDTHS OF A SECOND
It was a 100m race for the ages. The world stopped, time as well. Even Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson — fighting for the crown of the fastest man on the earth — didn’t know. The race had lasted less than 10 seconds, and those minutes of wait that followed felt like an eternity. Till the scoreboard flashed — Noah Lyles. He had edged Jamaican Thompson by five thousandths of a second (9.784s to 9.789s) in a race where eight of the participants ran sub-10.
G FOR GUKESH
This time, we fought a war on the chess board, thankfully. China’s Ding Liren matched wits with Gukesh Dommaraju, all of 18, to defend his turf. The World championship title was at stake, and it took all 14 games for Gukesh to cut the mustard. Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov, the erstwhile torchbearers of sixty-four squares, were not amused by the quality of moves and mistakes. Nonetheless, Gukesh laid claim to the most intelligent moniker exploiting Liren’s “schoolboy” slip on the chessboard. For once, India pipped China to the post.
H FOR HUNDRED GRAMS
Those 100g that stood between Vinesh Phogat and an Olympic medal (gold, silver, gold? We will never know). The wrestler, who returned to the mat after fighting against injustice on the Delhi roads a few months before, was a winner even without a medal when she was disqualified from the women’s freestyle 50kg final for being overweight. That’s the thin line sportspersons – and warriors of justice – tread.
I FOR IMPASSE
Golf, anyone? The game is still sinking bogeys as the PGA Tour-Liv Tour civil war continues, with fans being denied the excitement of watching the best players on one course, except for the Majors, of course.
J FOR THE JAVELIN F41 FINAL
At the Paris Paralympics, there was a twist in the tale as India’s Navdeep Singh got a class upgrade from silver to gold. Iran’s Beit Sayah Sadegh, whose flight was further than the Haryanvi’s, came in for a botched landing. He was disqualified for two yellow cards, first for a gesture after breaking the Games record, and the second for displaying a religious flag.
K FOR KHEL RATNA
It’s our Manu Bhaker, who didn’t need to pick up a gun as her easy, natural charm was disarming enough. The double Olympic bronze winner’s life changed with that one last pull of the hair-trigger at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, some 300km south of Paris, as a nation pumped its fist as one. ‘Manuscript’, ‘Hot Shot’ … the front and back pages had to churn out one headline after another … until the sports ministry stole the show. You know the story, happens every year. Only this time, it feels personal. We still wait on this one.
L FOR LAMINE YAMAL
The dribbling schoolboy who taught a few lessons to the men who tried to stop him. Euro 2024 had its delicious pantry of ingredients, building layers with Georgia’s march, Germany’s resurgence, political gaffes, stars who lost their shine, Kane’s pain… and Yamal was the icing on the cake.
M FOR MONDO
“You are always on World Record watch when Duplantis is competing.” That’s four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson speaking. Pity Mondo won’t be part of MJ’s Grand Slam Track League next year, with ‘Field’ not being a part of it. But that’s another story, letter… later. Now, the colourful Swede has broken the pole vault WR 10 times since Feb 2020 (Sergey Bubka did it 12 times), his highest being 6.26m at the Silesia Diamond League meet in August. But it was the 6.25m jump in Paris that enthralled the world. It was a spectacular show of a young man vs gravity in front of an 80,000-strong, raucous crowd at Stade de France. The grandest stage, the grandest athlete.
N FOR NEXT GEN
Of tennis, who grew up to be the Now Gen. With Rafael Nadal tearfully calling it a day, and Roger Federer already bidding goodbye in 2022, Novak Djokovic remains the last man standing from the ‘Big Three’. He was in the winner’s circle just one time this year (the Olympics). The stage belonged to No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz – locked 2-2 in 2024 Grand Slam crowns.
O FOR THE BIG ‘O’
The Olympics. That will take several pages. Take our bits and pieces instead.
P FOR PARIS’ DARLING LEON MARCHAND
‘Allez!’ The home crowd chanted every time Leon’s head bobbed above the water during his 200m breaststroke gold-medal swim at the makeshift Aquatics Centre of the La Defense Arena. He completed an ‘impossible double’ with the 200m butterfly gold on the same evening. 17,000-people loud, goosebumps, electric energy – with four gold, ‘Le Roi’ gave France plenty to cheer. Even other competitions had to be paused as the noise of French spectators in the stands cheering Marchand while following his fortunes on their mobile phones interrupted proceedings.
Q FOR QUEEN
Now, how many times have we heard “We are the Champions” ringing around the stadiums. Still, the Chak De! India anthem bounced off the stone walls of the hallowed Yves-du-Manoir Stadium that hosted hockey at the Paris Olympics.
R FOR ROW, THE GENDER KIND
At the Olympics, Lin Yu-ting claimed the women’s featherweight gold and Algerian Imane Khelif won the welterweight division. But these were not just any results, as the boxers had been disqualified by the now de-recognised IBA from the 2023 World Championships, apparently failing gender eligibility tests. Khelif’s first opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, abandoned their bout after 46 seconds, saying she was in too much pain from Khelif’s punches. Khelif filed a criminal complaint over alleged cyberbullying, which reportedly named author JK Rowling and X owner Elon Musk.
S FOR SUNIL CHHETRI
Indian football lost its ‘Cristiano’ as the evergreen striker retired from national duty at the age of 39. With 94 goals in 151 appearances, Chhetri is the fourth highest goal-scorer in international matches, never mind the opposition. Also in the news was the acrimonious exit of head coach Igor Stimac, the never-ending story of struggle at the Asian level despite the grandstanding by the federation officials, and the little-known fact that India failed to win a single match in 2024.
T FOR THE TWISTIES
Those that never happened to America’s sweetheart Simone Biles, when she withdrew in the middle of the Tokyo Games after suffering from ‘a mental block where gymnasts lose track of their positioning midair’. After a two-year break, the Paris Olympics was Biles’s ‘grand comeback’ with three gold medals and a silver. Now, she is busy cheer-leading for hubby, Chicago Bears’ Jonathan Owens. Just returning the favour.
U FOR THE UPS & DOWNS OF KYLIAN MBAPPE
And the roller coaster ride is still on. He was on PSG’s ‘naughty’ list as he broke free for his dream Real Madrid transfer, and the relationship finally ended with a financial dispute. For Madrid, he had been ‘nice’ but not excellent, with his every move, miss, word being dissected in a ‘knee-jerk’ atmosphere. An assault investigation in Sweden also added fuel to the raging debates. Playing for France, the scene was equally mystifying. There were questions whether he was ‘Zorro’ or ‘Zero’ as his campaign started with a broken nose, and the masked striker ended up scoring only one goal, a penalty, in a barren run for the faves. Recently, the Les Bleus captain was snubbed for international duty. Things are looking up, though…
V VINESH PHOGAT (SEE H). ALSO FOR VIRAL (SEE Y)
W FOR WHITEWASH
Pitch it wrong! India got their ears cheekily boxed by the quiet yet confident visitors from New Zealand over a three-Test series. Never in the history of the game played on our much-advertised rank turners – detractors call them dust bowls though — arrogance literally had to eat crow. From their antiseptic home bubble, the Rohit Sharmas and Virat Kohlis were forced out by the pace of Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke in Bengaluru. At Gahunje, on the outskirts of Pune, Mitchell Santner had his own plans and snared 13 wickets to secure the series. At the next pit stop, Wankhede, Ajaz Patel broke the camel’s back with his innocuous left-arm tweakers. A whitewash to remember!
X FOR THE PLATFORM FORMERLY KNOWN AS TWITTER
The favourite Xpression of sportspersons. But we heard some were quitting this platform for ‘Bluesky’. And there’s always Insta.
Y FOR YUSUF
He was the cool dude, the man that launched a thousand memes. Turkish gendarme Yusuf Dikec, with his simple ear plug and regular glasses, struck a casual pose with his non-shooting hand tucked in his pocket. The 51-year-old woke up to celebritydom, and life was never the same. Ditto for ‘sci-fi assassin’ South Korean Kim, with her futuristic glasses and dangling elephant toy generating talk online. Last heard, he was bored of the attention, and she had taken a break.
Z FOR ZZZZ
For the many times you faded into sleep while watching sports.
(With inputs from Saumyajit Basu, Biswajyoti Brahma and Biju Babu Cyriac)
