2016 turned out to be a mixed bag for Indian sports. In hockey, we reached the finals of Champions Trophy; we also won the juniors world cup. While India did exceptionally well in cricket, it did terribly in Olympic (with a few surprisingly good performances). Though Indian sports is not where it should have been, but the future is bright- we will reach there. Our agent of change will be young and emerging athletes, who have on their shoulders the responsibility to make India a sports superpower.
Cricket
Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant
He is just 19-year-old and a national sensation. With his unbelievable performances on the domestic circuit, the young star has caught the attention of the Indian team management and it is almost sure that he would get an entry into the national team. Have a look at his record so far. He has played 8 first-class matches and has scored 982 runs at an average of 81.83. He has hit 4 centuries including a smashing triple century. He slammed a century in just 48 balls, the fastest in Indian domestic cricket.
Karun Nair (Photo: PTI)
Karun Nair
25-year-old Karun Nair scored a triple century against England to announce his arrival in world cricket. He is the second Indian to achieve this after Virender Sehwag.
Hockey
Rupinder Pal Singh
India was runners-up in Champions Trophy and played really well in finals too. 26-year-old Rupinder Pal Singh scored more than 10 goals in the tournaments. Though he has been around for a while, this performance established him as one of the best drag-flickers of the world.
Junior Hockey
Indian junior hockey team won the world cup after 15 years. Mandeep Singh became the highest scorer for India. Indian hockey is in safe hands.
Gymnastics
Dipa Karmakar
Dipa Karmarkar with her coach
The 23-year-old gymnast created sensation after attaining the 4th position in Women’s Pole Vault event at Rio Olympics. She missed the medal by a whisker and was appreciated by Champion Simone Biles for successfully carrying out Produnova, the toughest vault.
She was the first female gymnast to qualify in Olympics. Her stellar performance will prove inspirational for young gymnasts.
Badminton
PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu surprised everybody after she won the silver medal at Rio Olympics. She also won Hong Kong open. After Saina, she was the second badminton sensation to have graced the sport.
Kidambi Srikanth
Kidambi Srikanth
Kidambi Srikanth also reached quarterfinals in Olympics and played a close match with legendary Lin Dan.
Sakshi Malik (Photo: Reuters)
Wrestling
Sakshi Malik won a bronze medal for the country. The 24-year-old suddenly became a national hero. She is still young and can bring more glory to the nation.
