New Delhi: As another year is about to pass into history books, it’s time to glance back. How did Indian sports fare in 2025?
There were some disappointing moments over the last 12 months, but let us bask in the glory of our wonderful achievements.
Here’s a look at the top success stories scripted by our sportspersons in 2025:
Maiden Women’s ICC World Cup title
November 2, 2025 was a red letter day in Indian cricket. Forty-two years after Kapil Dev’s men defied all odds to conquer the then-almighty West Indies to lift the World Cup at Lord’s, Harmanpreet Kaur’s girls scripted history at Navi Mumbai. After losing two ODI World Cup finals and once in the T20 World Cup title clash, the women in blue finally succeeded by taming South Africa. The path to glory opened up after a record-breaking chase of 339 runs against nemesis Australia in the semifinal. Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Shree Charani, Pratika Rawal all played their part to usher a new dawn for women’s cricket.
Divya Deshmukh’s FIDE Women’s World Cup win
Amid a clutch of highs in team sport, Divya Deshmukh stood out. In a historic feat, the Nagpur girl made history by becoming the first Indian to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup in July, when she was still 19. Divya, who outwitted fellow-Indian Koneru Humpy in the final, became India’s 88th chess Grandmaster and the fourth Indian woman to earn the coveted title. She also qualified for the Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026. Divya added to her precious collection of two Chess Olympiad gold medals.
ICC Champions Trophy unbeaten triumph
The controversy over Pakistan hosting the ICC Champions Trophy almost overshadowed the tournament. But once the dust settled with ICC agreeing to schedule India’s matches in the UAE, there was no stopping the Men in Blue. Winning all their matches in group stage – against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand – the Rohit Sharma-led team overcame Australia in the semis and New Zealand in the final to emerge unbeaten champions. Olden goldies Virat Kohli and Rohit proved their worth by anchoring chases in the most important games. After the T20 World Cup in 2024, India won another ICC title under Rohit’s leadership.
Neeraj Chopra breaks 90-metre barrier
In another huge personal achievement, Indian athletics’ poster boy Neeraj Chopra broke the 90-metre barrier in Javelin throw for the first time in a chequered career. Tokyo Olympics champion Neeraj came close a number of times, having hurled the javelin beyond the 86-metre mark more than 40 times and 88 metres-plus 21 times. He finally achieved his long-cherished dream with a throw of 90.23 metres at the Doha Diamond League in May. Neeraj thus joined a league of just 26 athletes to cross 90 metres in the last four decades.
Asia Cup Hockey triumph
The Indian team underlined its strength and superiority in the continent by winning the Asia Cup Hockey championship held at Rajgir. In the final, Dilpreet Singh’s brace, along with goals from Amit Rohidas and Sukhjeet Singh, helped India brush aside five-time champions Korea – the most successful team in the tournament 4-1. India thus ended an eight-year wait to lift their fourth Asia Cup title, thereby booking their ticket to the 2026 World Cup.
