India's sensation Gukesh D created history on Thursday when he became the youngest-ever player to become the World Chess Champion. The 18-year-old defeated defending champion Ding Liren of China in the 14th game of their clash to become the newly-crowned champion.
Gukesh's achievement was well visible in his emotions as he couldn't hold himself from breaking down into tears when he won the title in Singapore. His achievement added to what has been a brilliant year for Indian sports in 2024. Here are five top moments for the Indian sport in the year, which is about to end now.
Gukesh's historic moment
Coming into the 14th and final round, Gukesh was under pressure on his shoulders. He had a great chance of becoming the world champion in game number 13 but he could not catch onto it. The final game was also heading towards a draw which would have forced a tiebreaker and he is an inferior player to Ding in faster time matches. But a blunder by Ding in at move 55 in the 14th round wrapped up the game, making Gukesh the second Indian ever to win the title.
India's T20 World Cup 2024 glory
It could have been a misery and everything was pointed towards that only. 30 runs needed off the last 30 balls with David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen out there. You would bank them to chase it any day. But not on that day in Barbados on June 29. Led by special bowling performances from Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh, India snatched a victory out of the jaws of defeat to end their 13-year wait for a World Cup. India defeated South Africa by seven runs to win the tournament for the second time.
Manu Bhaker's special double
Shooting sensation Manu Bhaker achieved the rare of winning two medals at a single Olympic Games in Paris Games 2024. Manu, who came into the Games on the back of an unsuccessful Tokyo Games, bagged bronze medals in the 10m air pistol women and 10m air pistol mixed team event. She had become the first Indian to win two medals at a single edition of the Olympic Games since Independence.
Neeraj Chopra's Javelin lands another medal
While it may not have been gold, Neeraj Chopra displayed another jaw-dropping skill of consistency at the Paris Games 2024. Neeraj has not finished outside the top since 2021 which points out to his ridiculous consistency. The champion Javelin thrower bagged a Silver at the Paris Olympics, making him just the third Indian after Sushil Kumar and PV Sindhu to win individual medals in back-to-back Summer Games.
India's twin gold medal hunt at the Chess Olympiad
Another historic moment came a few months ago in Chess. For the first time ever, both the Indian men's and women's teams won the team gold at the Chess Olympiad 2024 in Hungary. The men's team featuring Gukesh D, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi clinched the gold in the men's category, while Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev won the yellow metal in the team event. India became only the third country after the Soviet Union and China to bag the double team gold at the Olympiad.
