2023 proved to be yet another year when individual athletes and teams across different sports experienced some incredible highs and heartbreaking lows.
Here are 10 biggest sporting moments of 2023:
1.India fall at final hurdle after dream run
Rohit Sharma-led India produced one of the best performances by any side in the group stages of an ODI World Cup, winning 10 matches in a row to reach the final. At the summit clash, the Men in Blue were put in on a slow surface and struggled their way to 240 runs, which was overhauled by Australia thanks to a century from Travis Head who helped his side win by six wickets and break a billion hearts.
2. Lionel Messi moves to the MLS
Almost seven months after winning the World Cup in Qatar, Lionel Messi decided to switch clubs and moved to United States to play for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. The 36-year-old Argentinian forward moved to the club from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, which was described by co-owner David Beckham as a "dream came true".
3. Satwik-Chirag take game to next level
For a decade or more, Indian badminton was dominated by the performances of singles shuttlers, who showed a knack to win on the global stage regularly. But 2023 proved to be the year in which the doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty rose their game to a new level with victories at the Swiss Open, Indonesia Open and Korea Open. They also won the doubles title at the Badminton Asian Championships in Dubai and clinched the gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, following which they became the first Indian pair ever to climb to the top of the world rankings in men's doubles.
4.Saudi Arabia tries to take over world football
When Cristiano Ronaldo signed a three-year deal with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in December 2022, it was seen perhaps as a one-off transfer and a desperate move for an all-time great to get game time. But a few months later, a new revolution was upon the footballing world as more and more players that included Champions League winners such as Karim Benzema and Neymar decided to move to the Middle East and play in the Saudi Pro League, indicating a shift in footballing power globally.
5. Kohli attains ODI batting immortality
On November 15 2013, Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed for the final time in international cricket in Mumbai. Exactly 10 years later, Virat Kohli broke Tendulkar's record for the most 50-over centuries, when he got to his 50th ODI hundred in the semifinal clash against New Zealand at the same venue.
6. Carlos Alcaraz continues his upward curve
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz ended 2022 by winning the US Open and becoming the first-ever teenager to become world number one. 2023 was the year when he had to show those exploits were no fluke and Alcaraz showed that he was indeed the real deal by reaching semifinals at the French Open and US Open, winning the Barcelona Open and Madrid Masters but above all, ending Novak Djokovic's four-year reign at Wimbledon, beating the Serb in five sets to win his second Grand Slam title.
7. Manchester City emulate their neighbours
For more than 20 years, Manchester United fans proudly wore the badge of being the only team in English football to win the treble-The Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. That list had an addition in 2023 when United's neighbours Manchester City clinched the treble by winning the Premier League with a five-point gap over Arsenal, beating United 2-1 in the FA Cup final and defeating Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final.
8. Neeraj Chopra becomes world champion
Neeraj Chopra had already put himself in contention as arguably India's greatest ever individual athlete by winning the gold medal in the javelin throw event at the Tokyo Olympics. He added yet another feather to his cap in 2023 when he became the first Indian athlete to be crowned world champion with a 88.17m effort at the competition held in Budapest.
9. Max Verstappen stamps his authority
Motorsports fans knew Max Verstappen as a competent driver who had the potential to become an all-time great in years to come, but the Dutchman went one level up in 2023 and broke a slew of records such as most wins in a single Formula One season (19), most consecutive victories (9), most consecutive wins from a pole position in a single season (16) and most podiums in a season (21), among others.
10. Djokovic crosses Nadal, equals all-time record
With Roger Federer retired in 2022 and Rafael Nadal out injured since the start of the year, Novak Djokovic had the chance to make his 2023 his own year. He started the year by equalling Nadal's tally of 22 Grand Slams, then went past him at Roland Garros and ended the year by winning the US Open to end 2023 with 24 Grand Slams and equalling Margaret Court's record for most singles slams won by any player in tennis history.
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