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Independence Day 2025: Five biggest sporting achievements since the last 15 August celebration
From cricket to chess, India made significant strides in the world of sports in the last one year. As sports unite citizens, let's celebrate India's 79th Independence Day, by reflecting on the nation's remarkable achievements from the past year and highlighting five iconic moments that brought immense joy and happiness to the nation.
Historic Paralympics performance
India won a record 29 medals at the 2024 Summer Paralympics held in Paris. India won 7 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze medals, marking the country's best-ever achievement in Paralympic history.
At the Paris Olympics 2024, India won six medals: one silver and five bronze. Neeraj Chorpa won a silver in javelin throw, while Manu Bhaker became the first Indian shooter to win two medals at the same event.
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Avani Lekhara won the gold medal for India in the R-2 women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event.. Image: Reuters
Gukesh becomes world chess champion
At 18, D Gukesh made history by becoming the youngest-ever World Chess Champion, defeating China's Ding Liren in the 2024 FIDE World Championship held in Singapore in December 2024. Gukesh became the second World Chess Champion from India, with the first being the legendary Viswanathan Anand.
India's chess dominance did not end there, as ahead of Gukesh's title win, in September 2024, the Indian men's and women's chess teams clinched gold medals at the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, making history as the first-ever Indian teams to win gold at the prestigious tournament. The dominance carried forward to 2025, where recently, Divya Deshmukh won the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025.
D. Gukesh became the youngest ever World Chess Champion. Image: AFP
India win the ICC Champions Trophy 2025
The Indian cricket team, led by Rohit Sharma, won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in February. India convincingly defeated Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand in the group stage of the tournament and outclassed Australia in the semi-final to advance to the final.
In the tournament's concluding match, India met the Kiwis again and this time got the better of them by 4 wickets to clinch the trophy.
Pakistan were the host for the event, but given the security issues, Team India did not travel there and played all its matches in the UAE along with the final. This was the third occasion on which India won the ICC Champions Trophy.
India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Image: AFP
Neeraj Chopra finally crosses the 90m mark
Neeraj Chopra notched a throw of 90.23m in May 2025 at the Doha Diamond League. With that, his prolonged wait to cross the 90m mark finally ended. He joined an elite club of just 27 athletes to have crossed the mark since 1986.
Neeraj Chopra takes a throw during the Doha Diamond League. Image: X/DiamondLeague
India's women's football team made history by qualifying for the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup on merit, securing their spot with a 2-1 win over Thailand in Chiang Mai on July 5, 2025. This achievement marks a significant milestone for Indian women's football, as they topped Group B of the qualifiers with 12 points from 4 games. India last played in the senior AFC Women's Asian Cup back in 2003.
India will make their first appearance in the Women's Asian Cup since 2003. Image: AIFF
So, these are just five major sporting fields out of many where India made massive strides in the past year. However, the excellence of Indian athletes is not confined to only these disciplines. As India are progressing towards becoming a global sporting power, the trajectory of achievements is only heading upwards.
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