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Another year has whizzed by in no time and for Indian sports fans, it was a real roller coaster of a ride, filled with many highs as India's premier athletes, as well as some relatively lesser known stars, won laurels across the world. It also saw a few heartbreaking moments, with our teams and players falling short at the last hurdle and its fair share of controversies across a variety of sports as well.
In this piece, we take a look at the Top 10 sportsmen from the nation who stood among the rest over the last 12 months. They displayed incredible tenacity, fortitude and determination to stand head and shoulders above their compatriots.
For this analysis, we have considered one athlete from one sport each and the time frame taken into view is from January 1 to December 29, i.e. when this piece has been written.
Before we dive into the countdown, an honourable mention is in order for tennis star Rohan Bopanna, who misses out on a place in the Top 10. The doubles ace kicked off the year with a win at the Chennai Open, before picking up two big wins on clay at the Monte Carlo Masters followed by his first Grand Slam title victory at the French Open in the mixed doubles with Gabriela Dabrowski.
Ramkumar Ramanathan and Yuki Bhambri too picked up memorable individual wins this year as well, defeating Dominic Thiem and Gael Monfils respectively.
Here goes the list of the top 10!
#10 Neeraj Chopra (Athletics)
Chopra is pinned as the next big hope in Indian athletics and for good reason too, given that he is the reigning junior world champion in the javelin throw as well as the world record holder at the U20 level with a personal best of 86.48m.
The 19-year-old had a bittersweet 2017, which saw him win gold at the Asian Championships but featured him missing out on the World Championships final by a whisker. Chopra, who is India's first-ever world champion in athletics, added the Asian title to his cap on home turf in Bhubaneshwar in July, ensuring gold with an effort of 85.23m in his final attempt.
He also then became just the second Indian athlete ever after discus exponent Vikas Gowda to take part in the prestigious Diamond League, finishing a creditable fifth in the Paris leg and seventh in Monaco.
At the IAAF World Championships, he missed out on the qualification mark for the final by less than a metre and in the Zurich Diamond League, he was put down by injury. Here's hoping he comes back stronger next year, where he will gun for glory at the Asian and Commonwealth Games.
#9 Manpreet Singh (hockey)
2017 has been a year of promise for Indian hockey, that began on a disappointing note at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, where the team had to settle for a third-place finish after being stunned by Malaysia in the round robin phase.
The tournament saw goalkeeper and skipper PR Sreejesh suffer a long-term injury and in his place, donning the armband was midfielder Manpreet Singh, who has led the side since and recorded strong finishes in key tournaments.
Under his leadership, the Indian side finished an unimpressive sixth at the Hockey World League Semifinal in London with coach Roelant Oltmans at the helm. However, the Dutchman was then replaced by Sjoerd Marijne, who took the team to two impressive results at the Asia Cup, where the Men in Blue won gold and the Hockey World League final, which saw the Indian team finish in third place.
The team has adopted a faster and more physical brand of hockey, with 25-year-old Manpreet at the centre of it all. Along with his leadership qualities, his endless reserves of stamina and supreme passing and anticipation make the team tick and with 2018 being a packed year ahead, he will be looking to lead his side to further glory.
#8 Viswanathan Anand (Chess)
A last-minute entry to this list, Anand's achievements at the global stage over the last 30 years are second to none. The 48-year-old, who is a five-time world champion in the classical format, did not have the best of years by his illustrious standards and even took a break in the second half of 2017 after a string of disappointing performances.
Fans began to wonder -- is it finally curtains for the Madras Tiger, as the question of retirement became an albatross around the veteran's neck. However, in the last week of the year, Anand came back from the doldrums to win the title at the World Rapid Championship in Riyadh, his first World Championship title in the format since 2003.
He remained unbeaten throughout the 15 rounds of the competition, recording some fine wins, including one against arch-rival and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. In the tie-breaker, he was up against Russia's Vladimir Fedoseev, which he won 2-0 with a flawless performance.
Anand showed he was far from done and will be hoping to kick on from this showing and start 2018 on a strong note.
#7 Vijender Singh (Boxing)
After retaining the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title in Delhi against Francis Cheka in December 2016, Vijender Singh continued his unbeaten streak since turning professional by winning two out of two bouts in 2017.
His first fight of the year came in August and was probably the most memorable as well as controversial one in his short pro-boxing career so far. Held in Mumbai, it saw Vijender clinch the WBO Oriental Super Middleweight title from China's Zulpikar Maimaitiali after 10 incredible rounds that saw some heavy punches and controversies.
The Indian won through a unanimous decision by the narrowest of margins and even managed to send out a message of peace between the two neighbouring nations, at a time when political tensions were running high.
In December, Vijender outboxed Ghana's Ernest Amuzu in Jaipur, which saw him retain his twin titles as he won by unanimous decision again. This time though, he was in charge throughout the bout and did not give his opponent even a sniff.
His record now stands at an impressive 10-0. He will be looking to go up against higher-ranked world-class boxers come 2018, as he looks to enhance his reputation on the circuit.
#6 Pankaj Advani (Cue sports)
Two-time Asian Games gold medalist Pankaj Advani turned 32 in 2017 and when it comes to his World Championships count, it now stands at an unbelievable 18, which is by far the most world titles held by any Indian athlete in any sport.
Advani, who was awarded the Khel Ratna award in 2006, picked up two World Championship crowns this year -- the IBSF World Snooker and Billards Championships. Title No. 17 was brought up on November 13 in Doha, where Advani thrashed arch-rival Mike Russell 6-2 in the finals of the World Billiards Championship.
17 soon became 18 in the very same month and the same city as Advani picked up the World Snooker Championship as well, this time overcoming Iran's Amir Sarkhosh in the final.
It has been yet another successful year for the cueist and he will be hoping to do even better in 2018.
#5 Sundar Singh Gurjar (Para-athletics)
Sundar Singh Gurjar recorded an extraordinary turnaround in 2017, making a comeback that makes him stand out as one of India's premier sportspersons. He suffered the most crushing of blows last year at the Paralympics in Rio, where he started off as the gold medal favourite in the men's F46 javelin throw.
However, due to the negligence of the travelling Indian officials, Gurjar missed the roll call for the event and was unable to take part, with years of effort and preparation vanishing into thin air. This incident though did not deter him as he came back fighting in 2017 to create history.
He began the year with a triple gold-winning effort at the Fazza IPC Athletics Grand Prix, where he won top honours in the javelin throw, shot put and discus throw. HIs crowning moment came in July at the World Para Athletics Championships, where he picked up the gold medal.
He recorded a mammoth throw of 60.36m in his first effort, which was his personal best and over two-and-a-half metres ahead of the silver medalist. It remained India's only gold medal at the World Championships and currently just 21 years of age, Gurjar is primed to bring more laurels for the nation in the coming years.
#4 Pardeep Narwal (Kabaddi)
Three Pro Kabaddi League titles, multiple National Championship titles, a World Cup title and most recently, the Asian Championship title. All of these are held by the indomitable Pardeep Narwal and that too at the age of just 20!
He might not strike as a sporting superstar at first sight but for those who have watched him strut his stuff on the mat, he is perhaps the most dominant player in the world of kabaddi and makes raiding look like child's play. The sheer elegance of his movements and the cold-blooded terror he instils in the minds of opposition defenders with his cat-like reflexes are certainly a joy to behold.
In the three-month-long Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 this year, which featured the biggest talents in the sport across the world, he stood a level above all the other players and almost single-handedly took his team, the Patna Pirates, to victory in a 12-team competition.
He picked up a total of 369 points along the way, which featured 19 Super 10s, and also broke the record for the most raid points in a single game (34) against Haryana, which featured a scarcely believable eight-point raid. At 20, he was also the captain of the side, leading his charges by example.
He was also part of the Indian team that won the Asian Championships in Iran, playing a crucial role from the start in the big matches. Young Pardeep can only go upwards from here and it is scary to imagine the heights he can achieve in 2018 if he continues in the same vein!
#3 Sunil Chhetri (Football)
For the Indian national football team skipper, it was a memorable 2017 on both the professional as well as personal front. While his marriage to long-time girlfriend Sonam Bhattacharya grabbed the headlines towards the end of the year, his exploits on the pitch in the previous months were quite special!
In the 2016-17 I-League campaign, Bengaluru FC had a disappointing outing, finishing in fourth place where Chhetri was the team's top scorer for the fourth season running. The Blues though, had a fine run in the Federation Cup, where they defeated Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the final in May, this securing a place in next season's AFC Cup.
On the continental circuit, Chhetri's side had an impressive showing as well, as Bengaluru reached the Inter-Zone playoff final, going down 3-2 to Tajikistan-based club FC Istiklol over two hard-fought legs.
For the national team, Chhetri was the talisman and led from the front as the Indian team went the year unbeaten, broke into the Top 100 of the FIFA ranking and ensured a spot in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Chhetri scored a goal in a friendly against Cambodia and in four different qualifier games, three of which were decisive in securing wins.
With the ISL season underway, the 33-year-old is the joint-top scorer for BFC so far and will look to take his team to the title in their debut season. One hopes 2018 is an even more successful year for Chhetri!
#2 Virat Kohli (Cricket)
Surprise, surprise! Virat Kohli makes it to the second spot in this list after a phenomenal season with the bat and as captain of the Indian cricket team across all formats of the game. And like his football counterpart, he too rounded the year by tying the knot with Anushka Sharma to end what has been an incredible 2017 on a personal high.
The 29-year-old broke records left, right and centre over the course of the year and struck three double centuries, also overtaking the legendary Brian Lara for the record of most double tons as captain. While he was not at his best against Australia at home, Kohli finished the year as the fourth-highest run scorer in 2017 in Tests (1059 runs at 75.64).
In ODIs, he reigned supreme and cemented his status as the best batsman in the format, finishing with 1460 runs in the year at an incredible average of 76.84!
Under his captaincy, the Men in Blue remained unbeaten in all bilateral series at home and remained atop the world rankings in Tests over the year, with wins against Australia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In limited overs, India ended 2017 in second place in both ODIs and T20Is in the ICC rankings.
In a year of incredible highs for Kohli, two lows in the form of the crushing Champions Trophy defeat to Pakistan and the saga involving ex-coach Anil Kumble took the shine slightly off. However, 2017 still remains the year of Virat Kohli in international cricket!
#1 Kidambi Srikanth (Badminton)
Phew!
At the top of the list is ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, who enjoyed the best season of his career so far, reaching the finals at Superseries tournaments on five occasions and winning four of them, the most by any men's singles player this year. While his potential was never in doubt, the Indian burst on to the international circuit in 2017 and pulled off some stunning victories against the likes of Chen Long and Viktor Axelsen.
The 24-year-old reached a career-high ranking of World No. 2 during the year and broke some incredible records in the process. He was part of the historic all-Indian Singapore Open final in April, where he lost to Sai Praneeth narrowly. However, he picked up the pace from there, notching up four titles across three continents.
The first came at the Indonesia Open, which included a stunning upset against then-World No. 1 Son Wan Ho, followed by victory in Australia, which included victims like Praneeth, Wan Ho and Long. He then picked up two more trophies in the European swing, stunning home favourite Axelsen on the way to lifting the Denmark Open and defeating Shi Yuqi and HS Prannoy in France.
With four Superseries titles in a single year, he joined the pantheon of greats featuring Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei and Long to have achieved the same feat. However, Srikanth had a relatively quiet outing at the World Championships in Glasgow and was troubled by injury towards the end of the year.
He lost the final at the National Championships to Prannoy before opting out of the China and Hong Kong Open. At the Superseries Finals, Srikanth lost all three of his group stage matches to bow out.
Despite these though, he certainly stands out as India's best sportsman over the year, thanks to his plethora of titles and incredible displays. Here's hoping he has an even better run in 2018, with a packed calendar in store!
