Best of 2017: 10 biggest stories in sports (the ones other than Virushka wedding)

Bye-bye 2017, welcome 2018. A change in year brings many things- a reason to party (why not!), a little bit of gloom (how many of your resolututions you kept this year? Even one?) and an excuse to look back at the things that took place in the year.    

So, let's take this opportunity to look back at the stories from the world of sports that made the most news and impact this year. 

The Indian men's cricket team

2017 was a good year for Team India. Across formats, India managed  37 wins in 53 matches this year. Under Virat Kohli, India consolidated its hold on the No. 1 spot in Tests;was always in touching distannce.of (and even to) the top spot in ODIs. They won 14 bilateral series in 2017. They achieved a uniuqe whitewash across formats in Sri Lanka. And the best thing was that they dominated oppositions thorughtout the year. There was a sense of aggression and belief that drove the team. 

It is  said that a side fashions itself in its captain’s image. India played with the intensity and-never-say-die attitude that Kohli is famous for. More importantly the few times India was threatened in 2017 it invariably found a hero.

Rise of players like Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal underscored the fact that India have a robust system in place. And old heroes like MS Dhoni time and again proved that they are not done yet 

The lone blip came in the Champions Trophy in England, where India fell to a feisty Pakistan in the final. But even a runner-up finish in the biggestr global tournament of the year was no mean feat. 

The Indian Women's cricket team 

Indian Women's team made it to the Women's World Cup final. 2017 could be year when women's cricket finally took off in India. Indian women's cricket team reached the final of the World Cup only to succumb in the dying-moments of the match. But the journey was full of some splendid performance. Players like Captain Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and others became household names. 

Sindhu-Srikanath take Indian badminton to new highs

Indian badminton continued its upwards march in 2017 too. Indian shuttlers performed brilliantly on the international circuit add brought home laurels and achieve levels which hadn’t been reached previously.

The two biggest newsmakers were Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu, both of whom qualified for the prestigious year-ending Superseries Finals.

Sindhu achieved a career-high ranking of world No 2 apart from winning two Superseries titles – at home and in South Korea. The 22-year-old had also won the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold at the start of the year.

In men’s singles, Srikanth won came into his own winning four Superseries titles — a feat no other Indian has achieved. It could have been five had he not lost to B Sai Praneeth in the Singapore Open final.

Saina Nehwal returned after a knee surgery to win the Malaysia Masters in January. The former world number one may have not reached the same highs as earlier, but she surprised all to claim bronze in Glasgow World Championships. 

The highlight of the year was the women’s singles final between Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara and Sindhu at the Glasgow World Championships in August. In the epic summit clash that lasted an hour and 50 minutes, Nozomi proved a tad better on the day to claim the all-important title. Sindhu, nevertheless, became only the second Indian after Saina Nehwal to reach the final of the World Championships and claim silver.

FIFA U17 World Cup

The cricket-obsessed India embraced Football for a change and over a million people witnessed one of the world's biggest events being hosted in the Asian subcontinent, the FIFA U-17 World Cup. 

1,347,133 spectators watched the tournament, making it the best attended FIFA U-17 World Cup, breaking the record set by China in 1985 where 1.23 million people witnessed the tourney.

It was the first time, that India was present in the FIFA World Cup. India were drawn against a tenacious lot of USA, Ghana and Columbia. Needless to say, the Indian boys were hammered, but the event may well mean a new dawn for Indian football. 

Neymar breaks football transfer records

Brazil's Neymar da Silva Santos Jr. scored a record-breaking $263 million transfer fee to join Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona. Transfer values have grown exponentially in football in the last few years. In 2016, Paul Pogba had moved from Juventus to Manchester United for a record-breaking $116 million. Neymar's transfer paved the way for more such big deals. It also started a debate over the future of football. 

Floyd Mayweather Jr. v/s Conor McGregor

Floyd Mayweather Jr and Conor McGregor embarked on a world tour to promote their too-bizarre-to-be-true boxing match. The 'biggest fight of all time' was one of the most talked-about sporting event of this year. 

The fight that took place in July 2017 ended on a expected note, with Mayweather winning against the MMA fighter. But it certainly caught the world's attention. 

Serena wins her 23rd Grand Slam while pregnant

In the Australian Open final, Serena Williams beat her older sister Venus to win her 23rd Grand Slam singles title. Later the world would find out Serena was 8 weeks pregnant at the time. Serena gave birth to her daughter Alexis later in the year. 

It was Serena's 23rd Grand Slam title taking her past as the Steffi Graf the women with most Grand Slam titles.

And Serena is looking to make a comeback at the 2018 Australian Open already- Simply incredible.  

A knee that shook the President 

American Footballl player Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, but his action will culminate in one of the biggest stories of the year.

Many more NFL players followed Kaepernick's example in 2017, setting off a national debate that erupted once President Donald Trump chimed in. Trump asked NFL owners to fire players who protested during "The Star-Spangled Banner". The President's remarks led to a massive show of defiance in the days that followed. Soon players in other sports were also kneeling during the national anthem. 

Players who knelt during the national anthem said they were exercising their free-speech rights and trying to bring attention to social injustices. Critics, including the President, said they were disrespecting the flag, the country and the military. 

Kaepernick was signed by no team and he sued the league. 

Usain Bolt retires

After an unparalleled career that saw him win eight Olympic gold medals and set numerous world records, Usain Bolt said goodbye. It was not the fairlytale ending he wished for- he lost to Justin Gatlin in 100m race finishing third. Then the the legendary sprinter injured his hamstring in his final race. yet still rose to cross the finish line with the help of teammates.

Russia banned from Winter Olympics

Russia were banned from competing at next year's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang by the International Olympic Committee. Russian athletes who can prove they are clean would be allowed to compete in South Korea under a neutral flag. The decsion came after an investigation into allegations of state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Games hosted by Russia in Sochi.