Sports 2018: High and lows on field

Asian Games:

India’s final collection of medals at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia was 69 medals – 15 gold, 24 silver and 30 bronze in the best ever performance for the nation. This is also the Games in which India got the first medal in Sepak takraw, a traditional game of Southeast Asian nations.

Rahi Sarnobat became first Indian woman to clinch an Asian Games gold in shooting while Vinesh Phogat achieved the same feat by winning gold in wrestling. 

India in 2018 participated in the Asiad with 570 athletes. There were multiple games including Wushu, Pencak Silat and Bridge.

Some of the memorable gold medal winners are Arpinder Singh (triple jump), Swapna Barman (Women's heptathlon) and Neeraj Chopra (javelin throw).

India Women’s squad also won the Silver in Compound Archery.

The medal win in individual badminton events by two female shuttlers was also historic for Indians at the Asian Games.  PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal  lifted a medal each in the individual event, both scripting history as this was the first time Indian shuttlers did so. 

In boxing, Amit Panghal bagged a gold medal, in the 49kg category.

Indian table tennis squad comprising players like Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan and Manika Batra performed well. India bagged two medals in Table Tennis with Kamal, Sathiyan, Manav Vikash, Anthony Arputharaj and Harmeet Desai winning the bronze in Men’s Team event and Kamal pairing up with Batra clinching the bronze in mixed doubles. 

India's men hockey team however disappointed by settling for just a bronze. They had lost to Malaysia in the semis.

Cricket:

The real dominance in Indian cricket was once again shown by none other than flamboyant skipper Virat Kohli. The year went on high for him, continuing the momentum which he carried for last few years. He became the first Indian batsman to hit three consecutive ODI centuries against Windies in Pune. He scored 140, 157 and 107 in the three matches respectively. He also achieved the feat of becoming highest ODI run scorers for India playing at number three position. He scored five centuries in last six innings on home soil.

However, India's foreign tour was not so good to be remembered. India were defeated severely in both South Africa and England. Though Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri tried to put up a brave face, the Indians were found biting dust on foreign soil. Towards the end of the year, India are smelling a historic series win against Australia at the latter's backyard as the competition is now balanced 1-1.

The Indian women's cricket team failed to win the T20I World Cup. After winning over Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Ireland, India failed to defeat England, end the tournament with eight points.

Football:

In the world of football, it was a comeback by France into the world cup. With the setbacks from Germany, Argentina, Brazil, it were France and spirited Croatia which have boiled up to the topmost phase. However, France emerged victorious in the world cup final.

Football star from Argentina, Lionel Messi, failed once again to fulfill his dream to lift the world cup wearing the blue and white jersey. Ronaldo and Neymar, players of Portugal and Brazil, have also failed to clinch the world cup victory.

In one of the rarest moments, Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri appealed to all the fans to turn up at the stadium to view the intercontinental cup matches in Mumbai. Eventually a huge crowd gathered at the stadium in the final which was won by India. In the final, Chhetri equalised Messi's number of goals record of 64.

Hockey World Cup 2018:

Women's: India finished third in the group stage following two draws. At the end, India finished eighth in the tournament.

Men's: India crashed out of the tournament from the quarterfinals by losing to Netherlands 1-2.

And Saina says "Yes, I do!!!"

Saina Nehwal, one of the biggest badminton icons and Olympic medalist of the nation, finally tied the nuptial knot with shuttler Parupalli Kashyap. She joined the long list of Indian celebrities, which include names like Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, who decided 2018 to be the perfect year to start a new chapter in their lives.