The year 2024-2025 has been a thrilling period for sports, with India and the world witnessing remarkable achievements across various events. From the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand to the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, the global stage showcased talent, grit, and sportsmanship. Below is a comprehensive overview of major sporting events, their highlights, and standout performances.
Major Sporting Events 2024-2025
| Event | Details | Highlights | Medal Tally / Winners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38th National Games 2025 | Location: Uttarakhand, India (11 cities) Dates: Jan 28 – Feb 14, 2025 Theme: Green Games Mascot: Mauli (Motto: Sankalp se Shikhar Tak) Sponsor: Indian Oil Corporation | – Hosted across 11 cities in Uttarakhand. – New sports introduced: Yogasana and Malkhamb. – Next edition: 39th National Games in Meghalaya (2027). | 1st: Services (68 Gold, 26 Silver, 27 Bronze, Total: 121) 2nd: Maharashtra 3rd: Haryana Bihar: 29th (1 Gold, 5 Silver, 12 Bronze, Total: 18) Raja Bhalindra Singh Trophy: Services |
| 33rd Paris Olympics 2024 | Location: Paris, France Dates: Jul 26 – Aug 11, 2024 Theme: Let’s Move and Celebrate Mascot: Phrygian Cap (Motto: Games Wide Open) Sponsor (India): Adani Group | – 32 sports, 329 events, 206 countries. – India sent 117 athletes across 69 events in 16 sports. – New sports: Breaking, Sport Climbing, Skateboarding, Surfing. – Notable Indian achievements: Manu Bhaker (first medal, Bronze), Neeraj Chopra (Silver). – Vinesh Phogat disqualified (Women’s 50kg wrestling, 100g overweight). – Retirements: Rohan Bopanna, P.R. Sreejesh. | 1st: USA (40 Gold, 44 Silver, 42 Bronze, Total: 126) 2nd: China (40 Gold, 27 Silver, 24 Bronze, Total: 91) 3rd: Japan (20 Gold, 12 Silver, 13 Bronze, Total: 45) India: 71st (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 5 Bronze, Total: 6) Indian Medalists: – Neeraj Chopra (Silver, Javelin Throw) – Manu Bhaker (Bronze, Women’s 10m Air Pistol) – Manu Bhaker/Sarbjot Singh (Bronze, Mixed 10m Air Pistol) – Swapnil Kusale (Bronze, Men’s 50m Rifle 3P) – Men’s Hockey (Bronze) – Aman Sehrawat (Bronze, Wrestling 57kg) |
| 17th Paris Paralympics 2024 | Location: France Dates: Aug 28 – Sep 8, 2024 Mascot: Phrygian Cap Motto: L’Ome Pakam Vchmad | – 22 sports, 549 events. – India sent 84 athletes. – Flagbearers: Sumit Antil, Bhagyashree Jadhav (Opening); Harvinder Singh, Preeti Pal (Closing). – Avani Lekhara: First Indian woman to win two Paralympic golds. | 1st: China (94 Gold, 74 Silver, 49 Bronze, Total: 217) 2nd: Britain (47 Gold, 42 Silver, 31 Bronze, Total: 120) 3rd: USA (36 Gold, 41 Silver, 26 Bronze, Total: 103) India: 18th (7 Gold, 9 Silver, 13 Bronze, Total: 29) |
| 5th Khelo India Winter Games 2025 | Location: Leh (Ladakh) & Gulmarg (J&K) Dates: Stage 1: Jan 23-27, 2025 (Leh); Stage 2: Mar 9-12, 2025 (Gulmarg) Mascot: Sheen-e-Shee (Snow Leopard) | – 6 sports, 19 teams. – Stage 1: Ladakh dominated with 7 medals. – Stage 2: Indian Army led the tally. | Stage 1: – 1st: Ladakh (4 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze, Total: 7) – 2nd: Tamil Nadu – 3rd: Maharashtra Stage 2: – 1st: Indian Army – 2nd: Himachal Pradesh – 3rd: Ladakh |
| 19th Asian Games 2023 | Location: Hangzhou, China Dates: Sep 23 – Oct 8, 2023 Mascot: Chenchen, Kangkong, Lianlian | – India’s flagbearers: Harmanpreet Singh, Lovlina Borgohain (Opening); P.R. Sreejesh (Closing). – First gold: Men’s shooting team. | 1st: China 2nd: Japan 3rd: Korea India: 4th (28 Gold, 38 Silver, 41 Bronze, Total: 107) |
| 2nd Women’s Premier League 2024 | Location: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore Runner-up: Delhi Capitals | – Purple Cap: Shreyanka Patil (Most Wickets). – Orange Cap: Ellyse Perry (Most Runs). | Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 9th T20 World Cup 2024 | Location: USA & West Indies Dates: Jun 1-29, 2024 Brand Ambassadors: Usain Bolt, Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi | – India won by 7 runs, ending a 17-year title drought. – Most Runs: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (281). – Most Wickets: Arshdeep Singh, Fazalhaq Farooqi (17 each). | Winner: India Runner-up: South Africa |
| 13th Cricket World Cup 2023 | Location: India Dates: Oct 5 – Nov 19, 2023 Global Ambassador: Sachin Tendulkar | – Final at Narendra Modi Stadium. – Most Runs: Virat Kohli (765). – Most Wickets: Mohammed Shami (24). | Winner: Australia (6th title) Runner-up: India |
| 17th Indian Premier League 2024 | Location: India Dates: Mar 22 – May 26, 2024 Sponsor: Tata | – 10 teams, 74 matches. – Most Runs: Virat Kohli (741). – Most Wickets: Harshal Patel (24). – Most Expensive Player: Mitchell Starc. | Winner: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Runner-up: Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| Khelo India Youth Games 2024 | Location: Guwahati Mascot: Veera Mangai Sponsor: Sports for All (SFA) | – New sport: Squash. – Maharashtra led with 158 medals. | 1st: Maharashtra (57 Gold, Total: 158) 2nd: Tamil Nadu (38 Gold, Total: 98) 3rd: Haryana (35 Gold, Total: 103) Bihar: 21st (2 Gold, Total: 5) |
| Khelo India University Games 2024 | Location: Guwahati Mascot: Ashtalakshmi | – Chandigarh University dominated with 71 medals. | 1st: Chandigarh University (32 Gold, Total: 71) 2nd: Lovely Professional University (20 Gold, Total: 42) |
Grand Slam Tennis 2024-2025
| Tournament | Details | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open 2025 | Location: Melbourne, Australia Surface: Hard Court | Men’s Singles: Jannik Sinner (Italy) Women’s Singles: Madison Keys (USA) Men’s Doubles: Harri Heliovaara (Finland)/Henry Patten (Britain) Women’s Doubles: Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic)/Taylor Townsend (USA) Mixed Doubles: Olivia Gadecki/John Peers (Australia) | Men’s Singles: Alexander Zverev (Germany) Women’s Singles: Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) Men’s Doubles: Simone Bolelli/Andrea Vavassori (Italy) Women’s Doubles: Su-Wei Hsieh (Taiwan)/Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) Mixed Doubles: Kimberly Birrell/John Patrick Smith (Australia) |
| French Open 2024 | Location: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: May 26 – Jun 9, 2024 Surface: Clay | Men’s Singles: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) Women’s Singles: Iga Swiatek (Poland) Men’s Doubles: Marcelo Arevalo (El Salvador)/Mate Pavic (Croatia) Women’s Doubles: Coco Gauff/Katerina Siniakova (USA/Czech Republic) | Men’s Singles: Alexander Zverev (Germany) Women’s Singles: Jasmine Paolini (Italy) Men’s Doubles: Simone Bolelli/Andrea Vavassori (Italy) Women’s Doubles: Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini (Italy) |
| Wimbledon 2024 | Location: London, UK Dates: Jul 1-14, 2024 Surface: Grass | Men’s Singles: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) Women’s Singles: Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) Men’s Doubles: Henry Patten/Harri Heliovaara (Britain/Finland) Women’s Doubles: Taylor Townsend/Katerina Siniakova (USA/Czech Republic) | Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Women’s Singles: Jasmine Paolini (Italy) Men’s Doubles: Max Purcell/Jordan Thompson (Australia) Women’s Doubles: Gabriela Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe (Canada/New Zealand) |
| US Open 2024 | Location: New York, USA Surface: Hard Court | Men’s Singles: Jannik Sinner (Italy) Women’s Singles: Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) Men’s Doubles: Max Purcell/Jordan Thompson (Australia) Women’s Doubles: Lyudmyla Kichenok/Jelena Ostapenko (Ukraine/Latvia) Mixed Doubles: Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori (Italy) | Men’s Singles: Taylor Fritz (USA) Women’s Singles: Jessica Pegula (USA) Men’s Doubles: Kevin Krawietz/Tim Puetz (Germany) Women’s Doubles: Kristina Mladenovic/Zhang Shuai (France/China) Mixed Doubles: Donald Young/Taylor Townsend (USA) |
Notable Indian Athletes and Their Sports
| Player | State | Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Neeraj Chopra | Panipat, Haryana | Javelin Throw |
| Manu Bhaker | Jhajjar, Haryana | Shooting |
| PV Sindhu | Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh | Badminton |
| Vinesh Phogat | Balali, Haryana | Wrestling |
| Abhinav Bindra | Dehradun, Uttarakhand | Shooting |
| Mary Kom | Imphal, Manipur | Boxing |
| Viswanathan Anand | Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu | Chess |
| D Gukesh | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | Chess |
| Hima Das | Dhing, Assam | Running |
| Saina Nehwal | Hisar, Haryana | Badminton |
Upcoming Major Sporting Events
| Event | Location | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 34th Summer Olympic Games | Los Angeles, USA | 2028 |
| 25th Olympic Winter Games | Milan & Cortina, Italy | 2026 |
| 20th Asian Games | Nagoya, Japan | 2026 |
| 23rd Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, Scotland | 2026 |
| 10th ICC Men’s T20 World Cup | India & Sri Lanka | 2026 |
| 14th Cricket World Cup | South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia | 2027 |
| FIFA Women’s World Cup | Brazil | 2027 |
Key Highlights and Achievements
- Cricket: India won the 9th T20 World Cup 2024, defeating South Africa by 7 runs. Virat Kohli set multiple records, including the fastest to 14,000 ODI runs and 100 half-centuries in T20s.
- Chess: D Gukesh became the youngest World Chess Champion in 2024, defeating Ding Liren.
- Hockey: India dominated the Men’s and Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 and Junior Asia Cup 2024.
- Badminton: PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen won titles at the Syed Modi International 2024.
- Shooting: Manu Bhaker was named BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year, and India secured 8 medals at the ISSF World Cup 2025.
- Retirements: Notable retirements include Vandana Katariya (hockey), Sharath Kamal (table tennis), and B Sumeet Reddy (badminton).
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