 "What do Virginia Giuffre, Shafali Verma and Zohran Mamdani have in common? They are the underdogs of 2025")
Underdog. In the dictionary, the word is described as a person or group participating in a competition, usually sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose.
However, human nature reveals that we often root for the underdog — be it David vs Goliath, the war between Russia and Ukraine, the fairy-tale Cinderella to real-world Erin Brockovich.
And in 2025, the underdogs shone — they went from enduring to winning. As we wrap up this year, we take the opportunity to salute these underdogs that not just caught the attention of everyone but also reshaped the world that we live in.
Virginia Giuffre
For years, the British royal family seemed untouchable; no scandal could affect them, no controversy could rattle them — until Virginia Giuffre came along and spoke her truth, which resulted in King Charles stripping Andrew of all his royal titles and being ordered to move out of his royal residence, the Royal Lodge.
Born in California in 1983, Giuffre’s life took a drastic turn when she was just 17 while she worked at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It was here that Giuffre met the elegant Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite, and was offered a job as a masseur to the infamous American financier Jeffrey Epstein.
She was promised opportunity, education, travel, and mentorship, but what she got was a nightmare. In her now posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl — she passed away by suicide earlier in April this year — she recounts being trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell to powerful men, including one who wore a crown.
In the 367-page memoir, Giuffre recounts having sex with Andrew Mountbatten Windsor on three separate occasions. The first time she met Andrew was in 2001, and it was then that Maxwell told her “just like Cinderella, I was going to meet a handsome prince”.
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View AllGiuffre’s memoir describes the other two alleged sexual encounters with the prince, including one in New York a month later and on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands when she was around 18.
The third time was described as an “orgy” with Epstein and “approximately eight other young girls” who “appeared to be under the age of 18” who “didn’t really speak English”.
She further wrote, “Epstein laughed about how they couldn’t really communicate, saying they are the easiest girls to get along with.”
For years before the heartbreaking memoir, Giuffre spoke of her abuse, only to be dismissed and silenced. But her voice grew louder with every interview. In 2022, Andrew settled a case with her out of court, which saw him make a substantial donation to Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.
But his denial of any wrongdoing riled Giuffre, who carried on speaking her truth. And it seemed that this determination paid off when Andrew was finally stripped of his royal titles.
Zohran Mamdani
The name is Mamdani — M, A, M, D, A, N, I.
In 2025, no political victory garnered as much buzz as Zohran Mamdani’s in the New York City mayoral race. In the early hours of November 4, this young man with Indian roots emerged as New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor by clinching over 50 per cent of the vote and edging out Andrew Cuomo, the former New York Governor.
Many would argue that Mamdani was far from an underdog in the New York City mayoral race; he came from affluence — his mother, Mira Nair, is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and boasts of having million-dollar homes, and his father, Mahmood Mamdani, being a professor of government and anthropology at Columbia University.
However, in politics, the 34-year-old was a complete newbie taking on the likes of Cuomo, who had vast a treasure trove of experience in governance. But that didn’t scare Mamdani; his campaign was powered by aunties, taxi drivers, club DJs and night-shift nurses — not your average billionaires and consultants.
He turned relentless fieldwork into a campaign that made New Yorkers feel seen and the diaspora feel represented. And who can forget his affordability plank? Time and again, through his campaign, he highlighted how the Big Apple was taking a bite out of people’s earnings and vowed to change this through some big moves.
In the end, it seems his gamble paid off, and come January 1, 2026, he will move into Gracie Mansion after being sworn in as mayor.
Shafali Varma
The sports field is where we often see underdogs rise, and the same can be said about Shafali Varma, the girl from Haryana’s Rohtak, who guided India to lift the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup trophy. After all, she wasn’t even part of the 15-member World Cup squad — she didn’t even make the reserves.
But, it seems fate had other plans for the 21-year-old. An untimely injury to Pratika Rawal opened a door for her return. It was right before the World Cup semi-final against Australia. And while she didn’t cause much impact in that match, one can’t say the same about the finals.
When Shafali walked out to the field to bat in the finals, she showed her intent and authority, flicking boundaries across the field. While she didn’t score a century, her 87 runs helped India put up a total of 298.
But Shafali’s accomplishments on that day didn’t end with the bat. When South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus began to build a partnership that India had no answer to, it was Shafali who first got Luus out and broke that deadly partnership.
And the rest, as they say, is history. India won the match with Varma being hailed a hero. If Shafali’s tale isn’t that of an underdog, we don’t know what is.
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Few politicians have gone up against Donald Trump and won.
But in 2025,
Marjorie Taylor Greene, better known as MTG in online spaces, revolted against the US president and resigned from US Congress.
Before her fallout with Trump, Greene was known as one of the staunchest of supporters of the president’s ‘Make America Great Again’ campaign. In fact, when Trump’s supporters stormed Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, she blamed Democrats for “the political violence inspired by their rhetoric”.
And in 2024, when Joe Biden was delivering his final State of the Union address, Greene, sporting a crimson blazer and MAGA baseball cap, heckled the then-president from the stands.
So, what led to MTG, who was also known as ‘female Donald Trump’, going up against her political leader?
Tensions seemingly first began when Greene was exploring a potential campaign for senator against Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff. Trump said he sent Greene an opinion poll, which showed she “didn’t have a chance”.
However, what led to the fallout between the two was Greene’s support of an effort to force the Department of Justice to release more documents relating to its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
This infuriated Trump, who had been struggling to stop questions about his own links to Epstein. And in July, he said Republicans who were calling for the release of the files were “stupid”, “weaklings”, and “wasting their time”. However, Greene argued that the release of the files would be “the right thing to do” for both Epstein’s victims and the country.
Since their fallout, Greene announced her resignation from Congress all while exchanging barbs with the US president online.
Noah Jones and Macy Neyland
Australia has become the world’s first major democracy to ban those under the age of 16 from social media. The ban came into effect on December 10, with proponents saying the move protects children from the harmful effects of social media.
However, the ban has been challenged in the nation’s highest court by none other than two teens, Noah Jones and Macy Neyland. The two argue that the law robs 2.6 million young Australians of a right to freedom of political communication implied in Australia’s constitution.
Macy, from the NSW Hunter Valley, told the Daily Mail: “This law suggests that democracy begins at 16, which is entirely incorrect. You cannot empower young people to engage in a democracy by removing them from participating in it.
“We also have a right to be heard under the Convention on Rights of the Child — removing our access to social media contradicts this, as does the fact [the government] did not hold any consultation with kids prior to this law.”
Jones further argues that the ban would lead to young Australians swapping from age-restricted platforms to more dangerous, less regulated options. “I’m against this social media ban because as young Australians, we’ll be completely silenced and cut off from our country and the rest of the world. We’ve just grown up with this our entire lives, and now it’s just being taken away from us all of a sudden. We wouldn’t even know what else we could do.”
The court has agreed to hear the matter in February. Until then, the ban remains, forcing Jones and Neyland to remain offline.
Curacao
Who has heard of the country Curacao, the tiny island nation in the Caribbean Sea with a population of about 150,000? However, in 2025, this tiny country made history becoming the smallest nation to ever qualify for the Fifa World Cup after drawing with Steve McClaren’s Jamaica.
The previous record was held by Iceland, who reached the 2018 finals, but the country is far bigger than Curacao, which has a population of just over 150,000 and a land area of 171 square miles, smaller than the Isle of Man.
So, how did this tiny country make the impossible, possible? It all began with the expanded 2026 World Cup format, which features 48 nations instead of 32. Moreover, Curacao saw an opportunity as Canada, Mexico and the United States qualified automatically as a result of being host countries.
We will have to wait and watch how they perform in the World Cup but for now they can bask in their glory.
Owen Cooper
Imagine yourself being pitted against seasoned international stars such as Javier Barden, Bill Camp, Rob Delaney, and Peter Sarsgaard. For many, including British child actor, Owen Cooper, a nomination at the Emmy was an honour in itself.
However, 15-year-old Cooper, with his startling and stupendous acting in Netflix’s series _Adolescence_, surprised one and all by winning in the best supporting actor in a limited series category for his portrayal of a schoolboy accused of murdering a classmate.
With this win, Cooper made history; he became the youngest male ever to win a primetime Emmy Award. Accepting the award with shock, he said: “Standing up here is just, wow, it’s just so surreal. When I started these drama classes a couple of years back, I didn’t expect to even be in the United States, never mind here.”
He further added, “I think tonight proves if you listen, and you focus and you step out your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life. Who cares if you get embarrassed? Anything can be possible. I was nothing about three years ago, I’m here now.”
And it doesn’t end for Cooper. He is set to make history yet again following his Golden Globes nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a series. If the youngster wins the award in January, he’ll become the youngest ever recipient.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
No list on the underdogs of 2025 can be complete without a mention of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The comedian-turned-Ukrainian president, can in fact, be called the perennial underdog.
Since 2022, when Russia launched its invasion, he has become the David who is fighting against Goliath. Good against evil. The unlikely war president, a Churchill dressed in an olive-green T-shirt and fleece jacket, a man who was ridiculed as a political clown.
This year has been particularly rough for Zelenskyy. Not only does he have to battle Russia’s onslaught, but also US President Donald Trump’s many tirades. Who can forget that showdown that Zelenskyy had with the US president and his Vice President JD Vance at the Oval Office in February?
And that’s not it. In recent times, as Trump looks to ramp up the pressure to end the war with his peace proposal, Zelenskyy is tasked with balancing Ukraine’s integrity with diplomacy. And the Ukrainian president continues to push back against Trump’s pressure; he has reaffirmed his firm refusal to cede any territory. “Undoubtedly, Russia insists that we give up territories. We, clearly, don’t want to give up anything. That’s what we are fighting for,” Zelenskyy has said.
What’s even more commendable about Zelenskyy is that he’s been able to rally almost all of Europe in Ukraine’s favour — from UK’s Keir Starmer to even Pope Leo XIV.
It’s left to be seen if Zelenskyy can continue to rally not just his allies, but also his people against the Russia war. But, if there’s one thing we know about the Ukrainian president is that he just won’t stop.
And that’s it for our list of underdogs of 2025. Here’s hoping 2026 is the year of calm and peace and many more inspiring tales.
With inputs from agencies
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