Roger Federer’s final match was an emotional roller-coaster.
The year gone by, 2022, was eventful and memorable across sports. It was a year in which legends bid farewell and new stars emerged on the horizon. It was replete with poignant storylines, champion displays and bitter setbacks for some of our foremost athletes.
While there were some epic events in international sports, there were some celebratory moments for Indian sports fans with the performances of stars like Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and Achanta Sharath Kamal.
In cricket, the country’s favourite sport, it proved largely a forgettable year with 2022 ending with Rohit Sharma’s men falling short in another ICC tournament, the T20 World Cup. It began with the disappointment of the Test series loss in South Africa, which prompted Virat Kohli to step down after he was removed from the ODI captaincy earlier. His replacement, Sharma is also feeling the heat after these 12 months as the team management is looking at a new captaincy option in IPL-winning Hardik Pandya. While most Indian batters had an ordinary year at the international stage, the emergence of Suryakumar Yadav was a breath of fresh air for Indian fans, who have been left frustrated with the archaic approach to batting by the ‘Men in Blue’. The Mumbai batter mesmerized the fans and experts with his unorthodox, innovative, and at times, physics-defying 360° strokeplay which drew comparisons with South African batting great AB de Villiers.
Overall, it was England who claimed top honours in cricket, winning the T20 World Cup to become the first team to simultaneously hold the ODI and T20 titles. They ended the year with an awe-inspiring 3-0 Test series sweep of Pakistan in Pakistan with their audacious ‘Bazball’ approach under the stewardship of coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
Across in tennis, we saw the departure of perhaps the greatest of them all - Roger Federer. The Swiss icon ended his career playing doubles with his great rival and friend Rafael Nadal in the Laver Cup. The 41-year-old, who had not played for more than a year due to a knee injury, bid a tearful farewell as he was comforted by his wife Mirka and Nadal. While the tennis world saw the last of the great Federer, it also witnessed the emergence of Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz as the new World No. 1 while he also scooped up his first Grand Slam title, winning the US Open. Earlier, Nadal became the first man in the Open era to win 22 major titles when he won his 14th French Open crown.
Javelin ace Neeraj Chopra produced another first as he won a silver in the World Championships to become only the second Indian after Anju Bobby George (bronze in 2003 Paris edition) to win a medal at the prestigious event. Despite narrowly falling short of the gold-standard 90m mark, he further enhanced his superstar status by winning a Diamond League title.
In badminton, PV Sindhu won her maiden gold at Commonwealth Games while the Indian men’s team won the Thomas Cup trophy for the first time with a 3-0 win over 14-time winners Indonesia. Lakshya Sen was the other standout star as he won the India Open and then captured the singles crown at the Birmingham Games. In table tennis, veteran Sharath Kamal had a stellar year as he won three gold and a silver at the Commonwealth Games. Meanwhile, Manika Batra became the first Indian woman to win an individual medal, a bronze, at Asian Cup. In Birmingham, Indian women’s lawn ball team claimed a surprise gold while Indian women’s hockey team won a historic bronze, their third CWG medal. Later in the year, they notched up their biggest win, remaining unbeaten in the FIH Nations Cup to finish at the top and regain their spot in the FIH Pro League. However, it was an underwhelming year for the men’s hockey team despite winning a bronze and silver in Asia Cup and Commonwealth Games respectively after being primed for better results. The year also saw a change of guard in the administration of Indian hockey and cricket as former players Dilip Tirkey (in hockey) and Roger Binny (in cricket) were elevated to top positions.
The year drew to a close with a fairytale finish to the FIFA World Cup as Lionel Messi finally laid his hands on the elusive trophy as Argentina won their third title by beating France in an epic final in Qatar. Apart from being the best World Cup of his career, Qatar 2022 guaranteed Messi’s place in football’s pantheon alongside compatriot Diego Maradona and Brazil icon Pele. It was a tournament of many firsts -- the first World Cup held in the Middle East and the first taking place in winter of the Northern Hemisphere. As 2022 ended, football also lost its most prominent figurehead, Pele, who died aged 82. The Brazilian legend whose name became synonymous with football, “O Rei” (The King) is the only player in history to win three World Cups -- 1958, 1962 and 1970.
A year of great triumphs and heartbreaks, 2022 is one that will long live in the memory of the world’s sports aficionados.
