'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
2017 was a great year for India in sports. From hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup to recording a historic year in badminton, it was a year full of sporting achievements and milestones for the youth of the country.
It would be fair to say that the future is looking bright for Indian sports. As 2017 draws to a close, let's have a look at some of the flagbearers at the junior level, who emerged this year and look set to fly the tricolour high.
(Note: The list covers athletes from 10 different sports)
Dheeraj Singh (Football)
The Manipur-born goalkeeper represented India in the recently concluded U-17 World Cup and was hailed as the 'find of the tournament' by none other than former Indian team skipper Bhaichung Bhutia. He made sixteen saves in three matches, with a save percentage of over 60 percent and stood out in what was a historic campaign for Indian football.
It was quite natural that after all the praise, the 16-year-old received a trial offer from reputed Scottish first division club Motherwell and English third-division Blackburn Rovers, along with interest from ISL sides.
Currently, he is on a contract with AIFF and plays for the side Indian Arrows in I-League, which expires on 31st December and he can go abroad next year for trials with several clubs.
Manav Thakkar (Table Tennis)
Manav finished runners-up earlier this year at the Serbian Junior and Cadet Open, thus taking him to the top spot in ITTF World Junior Circuit standings in October.
The 17-year-old made a name for himself when he claimed a gold in the singles category, and gold and silver in the doubles category as well in the Slovenia Junior and Cadet Open.
The gold in the singles event in Belgrade also ensured a place for Thakkar at the ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals, which would be held in Luxembourg.
Sachin Siwach (Boxing)
The 17-year-old fighter from Bhiwani became the third Indian boxer to win a gold at theCommonwealth Youth Games this year in the Bahamas. He clinched the gold in the light flyweight (49 kg) category, which had 103 participants.
Earlier in July, he also grabbed a silver medal at the Asian Youth Boxing Championship held in Bangkok.
Siwach was named the Asian Boxing Youth Confederation's best youth boxer of the year in an online poll. Also, Hindustan Times felicitated Siwach by naming him in their Top 30 Under 30 list at the HT Youth Forum.
Dipsan Tirkey (Hockey)
Tirkey, who hails from Odisha was part of the Indian defence which conceded only four goals in six matches at the 2017's Men Asia Hockey Cup and went on to win the gold at the tournament in October.
He was also part of the Kalinga Lancers team which won the Hockey India League earlier this year. Skipper of the side and German great Moritz Fuerste even said after the tournament that there is no player in the world as good as Tirkey at his age.
The 19-year-old was felicitated with the Ekalabya Puraskar, which is regarded as the most prestigious sports award of Odisha.
Prithvi Shaw (Cricket)
Making his first-class debut in the semi-final of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy, Shaw scored a century in the second innings and was recognized as the Man of the Match. Then, he scored a century in his Duleep Trophy debut thus equaling the record held by Sachin Tendulkar to score centuries on debut in the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy as well.
He has scored five first-class centuries in just seven matches (13 innings). Recently, he was named the captain of the U-19 side which will participate in the World Cup in January 2018.
A right-hand batsman and a right-arm off-spinner by trade, he is touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket.
Bhawani Devi (Fencing)
CA Bhawani Devi became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the individual sabre event of the Women's Satellite Fencing Championship held in Iceland. The competition consisted of 26 participants from eight countries but Bhawani came out on top in the end. She beat Great Britain's Sarah Jane Hampson 15-13 in the final.
Though not as young as the other players on this list, the 24-year-old has had a breakthrough year in 2017 that also saw her achieve a career-high ranking.
Earlier, she had also won a bronze medal in the same category in Italy. In the 2017 Asian Fencing Championships, she lost to the eventual winner, Kim Ji-Yeon in the quarterfinals.
Mehuli Ghosh, Anish Bhanwala and Yashaswini Singh (Shooting)
It was a great year for India in shooting at the junior level and since it was extremely difficult to single out one player, we went ahead with three.
Mehuli Ghosh, the first in this list, bagged eight gold medals at the 61st National Shooting Championship Competitions, including four in team events. Earlier, in May, she was the only Indian to participate in the International Junior Shooting Championships and she finished seventh among 123 participants. She also secured a Youth Olympics quota place in December.
Anish Bhanwala clinched a gold and a silver at the ISSF Junior World Championship in the Junior Men's 25 m standard pistol, while breaking a junior World record in the process with a score of 579. Earlier in the year, the boy from Haryana, won a gold and a bronze at an international meet in the Czech Republic.
Yashaswini Singh Deswal also clinched a gold at women's 10m air pistol event at the ISSF Junior World Championship.
R Praggnanandhaa (Chess)
The 12-year-old boy is the world's youngest International Master ever and won the IM title the mere age of 10 years, 10 months and 19 days.
He achieved his first grandmaster norm this year at the Under-20 FIDE World Junior Chess Championship held in Italy, where he finished fourth among 148 participants with 8.0 points and came close to winning the trophy altogether with an exceptional performance.
The Chennai boy is now 12 years and three months old and if he becomes Grand Master before March, that would break the existing record of the youngest grandmaster, i.e. 12 years and 7 months old.
Praggananadhaa is currently on a World tour which will see him competing in three grandmaster norms tournaments in Australia, Sweden and the USA.
Lakshya Sen (Badminton)
The 16-year-old is being hailed as the next big thing in men's singles' badminton. Lakshya became the World Junior No.1 in February this year by usurping Chia-Hao Lee from the top spot.
In October, the then World Junior No.2 Sen lost out to Japanese sixth seed Kodai Naraoka in the men's singles quarterfinals of the World Junior Championships though, where was one of the biggest title favourites. He also reached the semifinals of the Senior Nationals, where he lost out to Srikanth Kidambi.
Sen won the Eurasian Bulgarian Open and then followed it by winning the India International Series as well towards the second of 2017. In the Tata Open India International, he bagged a silver as he lost out to Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin.
Sachin Tawar (Kabaddi)
The captain of the junior Indian Kabaddi team was bought by Gujarat FortuneGiants at a price of Rs. 36 lakhs, which made him the most expensive teenager in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5.
The youngest player in the league, he bagged 111 raid points and 8 tackle points in just the first 15 matches of the season and managed to bag a total of 149 points in 24 games despite a drop in form in the last few matches and played a key role in his team's run to the PKL 5 final.
Along with being exceptionally fit, he is calm and composed whenever he goes for a raid. The youngster was also a part of the Indian team that won the Asian Kabaddi Championships in November.
