The year 2017 has been a glorious one for Indian sportspersons. From clinching gold medals in Commonwealth Wrestling Championships to winning the silver medal in Dubai open, Indian sports fans witnessed several proud moments this year.
As the year is coming to an end, let’s take a look at some of the sportspersons (besides cricketers), who made us proud in 2017.
Harmanpreet Kaur:
Indian batswoman Harmanpreet Kaur stole the spotlight after she played 171* run knock to take her team into the finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup earlier this year. Kaur took 115 balls to reach an unbeaten 171 against tough-side Australia in the semi-finals clash. Team India, however, lost the finals and finished runners-up in the ICC event.
Kaur’s unbeaten 171 is the second-highest score by an Indian batswoman in women’s one-day internationals, behind Deepti Sharma’s 188. Following her performance, Indian government recommended her name for the prestigious Arjuna Award. After the tournament, Kaur revealed that she played almost the entire tournament with a finger injury.
Vijender Singh:
India’s star boxer Vijender Singh started 2017 on a positive note after he defeated Chinese boxer Zulpikar Maimaitiali in Mumbai to win his 9th consecutive bout. He then faced Ghana’s Ernest Amuzu at the end of the year in Jaipur and gifted his fans another win. Vijender Singh has so far won all his 10 bouts he faced after he turned pro.
Pardeep Narwal:
This 20-year-old boy from Haryana’s Sonipat is also among the top performers this year. Captain of the Patna Pirates Kabaddi team and an important part of the Indian national team, Pardeep helped his Pro Kabaddi team in lifting the title for the third time as he thrashed Gujarat Fortunegiants 55-38 in PKL Season 5. Pradeep emerged as the top performer with 369 raid points, 271 successful raids and 18 super and 19 suer 10s raids to his name.
PV Sindhu:
Olympic silver medallist Sindhu won 3 major super series titles, Syed Modi International, India Open and Korea Open this year. Sindhu ended 2017 with a silver medal in Dubai BWF Super Series. She lost to Akane Yamaguchi in a hard-fought three-setter. Following her performance in 2016 Rio Olympics, Sindhu made it to the coveted ‘Forbes India Celebrity 100 list’ as she became the highest money gainer with Rs 57.25 crore (in percentage terms), as her total earnings soared nearly 17 times.
Kidambi Srikanth:
World No. 3 shuttler Kidambi Srikanth also made it to the list as he won four Super Series titles in the year – French Open, Denmark Open, Indonesia Open and Australia Open. The ace shuttler in an interview has said that he will more focus on his fitness now as it will play an important part in clinching the medals for the country in upcoming hectic season.
