2018 in the rearview mirror: From rich Asian Games medal haul to cricket team's success in Australia, a defining year for India

From the Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast to the Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang, 2018 was a defining year for India in sports. On the cricket field, while Virat Kohli’s men have taken a 2-1 lead against the Australians in their own backyard, the U-19 team clinched another World Cup. Elsewhere, Smriti Mandhana was picked as the ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year. Here’s a selection of the best moments for Indian sports from 2018: After runner-up finishes at the Rio Olympics, World Championships, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, PV Sindhu settled for gold at the year-ending BWF World Tour Finals, beating Nozomi Okuhara.

The best and the longest rally of the match so far! 48 shots in it and #Okuhara wins it with a clever sliced forehand!

Sindhu 15-13* Okuhara#BWFWorldTourFinals

Follow LIVE: https://t.co/r705CPv5ec

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) December 16, 2018

Bajrang Punia ended the year with golds at the Commonwealth Games and the Asiad, not to mention a silver at the World Championships. No Indian before this had won two World Championships medals. He also ascended to the No 1 ranking in the 65kg weight class

2018 was truly a yr to remember for @BajrangPunia. The 24yr old who competes in 65kg FS #Wrestling won gold in both Asian & Commonwealth Games & a silver at World C’ships. He finished the yr by ascending to the top of world rankings in his discipline. #StarsOf2018⭐️#KheloIndia pic.twitter.com/M7O1VL0TQn

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) December 30, 2018

There’s no one like Mary Kom

📸 #PicoftheQuarterFinals 📸
Indian superstar MC Mary Kom celebrates with the local fans her Semi-Finals victory againts Hyang Mi Kim (PRK) at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Sport Complex#WWCHs2018 #AIBAFamily #ChampsBornHere pic.twitter.com/WX9Ie87TrV

— IBA (@IBA_Boxing) November 22, 2018

Soniya Chahal wins silver at AIBA Women’s World Championships

SILVER for Soniya!

Making a dream debut in Women's World Boxing Championship in 57 kg category, our champion boxer Soniya Chahal has bagged a SILVER Medal.

More power to her and all the #WomenInSports. You have made India proud! pic.twitter.com/JkZM0ixpgS

— Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) November 24, 2018

Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra claimed gold medal at the Asian Games — with a national record-breaking throw no less — on the heels of the gold medal he won at the Commonwealth Games

Twenty years old Neeraj Chopra writes a history when got India's second gold medal in #AsianGames2018 athletic, repeat its historic achievement to win multiple men's events on this discipline at 1982. pic.twitter.com/hgZfYxyCKu

— Asian Games 2018 (@asiangames2018) August 28, 2018

Indian cricket team beats Australia in Melbourne to take 2-1 lead in series

What a victory for India. #ShotOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/3utNd3JSMW

— ICC (@ICC) December 30, 2018

17-year-old Sanjana Ramesh earns a NCAA scholarship at Northern Arizona University

"@sanjanar6's potential is limitless," @NAU_WBB coach @Loree22 tells @jestalt about the 17-year-old who will become the second Indian to win a @NCAA basketball scholarship https://t.co/yPbA4UDFB8

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) November 17, 2018

18-year-old Prithvi Shaw scores a century against West Indies on Test debut

Prithvi Shaw scores a smashing century on Test debut. Follow #live updates of the first test between India and West Indies here: https://t.co/ohO57EgnBz #INDvWI #PrithviShaw pic.twitter.com/5Muexnajhn

— Firstpost (@firstpost) October 4, 2018

Boxer Amit Panghal wins gold medal at Asian Games after upsetting Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov

An emotional afternoon for #AmitPanghal and a historic gold medal for India.

Check our #AsianGames2018 LIVEBLOG: https://t.co/WYY41fMdf0 pic.twitter.com/mlEeaJvvl5

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) September 1, 2018

Saurabh Chaudhary clinches gold in the 10m air pistol event at Youth Olympics. This, in a year he’s already won gold at the Asian Games and the Youth World Championships

The YOG medalists of the 10m Air Pistol Men event in Buenos Aires! #BuenosAires2018 #YouthOlympics #ShootingSport pic.twitter.com/DjKbi2SAhp

— ISSF (@issf_official) October 11, 2018

Manu Bhaker claims 10m air pistol gold at Youth Olympics

India's 🇮🇳 sensational Pistol shooter Manu Bhaker added another gold medal to her showcase!https://t.co/t7mfRq8bMd #BuenosAires2018 #YouthOlympics #ShootingSport pic.twitter.com/nF02vGvFi6

— ISSF (@issf_official) October 9, 2018

Mehuli Ghosh claims silver in the 10m air rifle event at the Youth Olympics. She lost gold on the last shot to Stephanie Scurrah

The 24th and final shot turned out to be the decisive one in the 10m Air Rifle Women final.https://t.co/5FLlCgU7UO #BuenosAires2018 #YouthOlympics pic.twitter.com/7SLlC4AZVK

— ISSF (@issf_official) October 8, 2018

Shanu Mane claims silver in 10m air rifle event at Youth Olympics

My privilege to be With the silver medalist at the youth Olympics ! #ShahuMane pic.twitter.com/0TLoVAk7il

— Abhinav A. Bindra OLY (@Abhinav_Bindra) October 7, 2018

Hriday Hazarika becomes only the second air rifle junior world champion

It’s becoming a tradition... 🇮🇳 #ISSFWCH pic.twitter.com/9NzZXkgLUO

— ISSF (@issf_official) September 7, 2018

Elavenil Valarivan claims 10m air rifle silver at Junior ISSF World Championships while Shreya Agrawal claims bronze

Shi Mengyao 🇨🇳 pockets her first World Championship junior title in Changwon! #ISSFWCH pic.twitter.com/gG2fJP0C9u

— ISSF (@issf_official) September 7, 2018

Manisha Keer wins silver in the trap event at the Junior World Championships

Erica Sessa claims the second consecutive world title for Italy 🇮🇹 in the Trap Women Junior event! #ISSFWCH pic.twitter.com/wR2JZmnHJZ

— ISSF (@issf_official) September 3, 2018

Anjum Moudgil claims silver in 10m air rifle event at the World Championships

The Republic of Korea 🇰🇷 nails its first gold medal at the ISSF World Championship in Changwon! #ISSFWCH pic.twitter.com/2YStts6Hio

— ISSF (@issf_official) September 3, 2018

Harmanpreet Kaur scores a century at World T20, thereby becoming the first Indian woman to do so

"I like to hit big shots."

We certainly saw that in her innings against New Zealand!

She hit an awesome century in the first game of the tournament, and now Harmanpreet Kaur is ready to attack the rest of the competition. #WT20 | #WatchThis 👇 pic.twitter.com/cOpplUgX5d

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 15, 2018

Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga makes history by lifting a total weight of 274 kg to seal gold at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympics

Congratulations to Jeremy Lalrinnunga (IND) 🇮🇳 for the first-ever gold medal for India at the Youth Olympic Games #YouthOlympics #GameChangers #WinningWednesday #BuenosAires2018 @ioaindia pic.twitter.com/ZvWHNg3WSU

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) October 10, 2018

Her father has been bed-ridden due to a stroke for the last few years, but Swapna Barman put her problems behind to soldier on at the Jakarta Asian Games. With an infected and painful tooth, she competed in the high jump event and winced each time she landed on her back. With six toes in each foot, shoved uncomfortably into running shoes, she ran the 100m and then the 200m. And then in the 800m. She finished with India’s first gold in heptathlon.

India’s first ever heptathlon champion at the Asian Games, Swapna Barman made history when she beat the odds to become the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games gold.
Watch the video to know more about her journey to Gold. pic.twitter.com/8i7Bjyhe5k

— News18.com (@news18dotcom) December 4, 2018

Manav Thakkar becomes first Indian to be crowned World No 1 after climbing to the top of the charts in the U-18 category

Take a bow Manav!

World no 1 in junior boys Manav Thakkar is clearly one of my favorites at the @UltTableTennis

He's fast, has all the skill sets & is technically very sound. He's hungy to succeed. Can't wait to see him make it big at the senior level. https://t.co/hp4Tl0VFIC

— Neha Aggarwal Sharma OLY (@nehaaggarwal) June 21, 2018

Indian men’s table tennis team wins first ever medal — a bronze — at the Asian Games

It was a combined effort from the men that led to the 1st #AsianGames medal in #TableTennis.

Well done @sathiyantt, @sharathkamal1,#HarmeetDesai (all 3 #TOPSAthlete),#ManavThakkar & #AnthonyAmalraj for bronze.
Congratulations! #SAI @ttfitweet #AsianGames2018 #KheloIndia🇮🇳🏓 pic.twitter.com/r5T5rJdb1t

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) August 28, 2018

Manjit Singh, who once lost his job with a PSU because his employers deemed that he cannot get better at his chosen sport, beat his fancied compatriot Jinson Johnson to win a gold medal in the 800m race at the Asian Games.

What must you sacrifice in order to make your dreams come true? Manjit Singh, who won gold in the 800m at the #AsianGames⁠ ⁠ missed the birth of his son Abir in order to prepare for the Asian Games. He still hasn’t seen the 5 month old. https://t.co/nhIYhTzwyw pic.twitter.com/MJhrAn9SHR

— jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) August 28, 2018

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu is conferred with the Khel Ratna after her gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. At the Gold Coast event, she rewrote the records six times with each lift. Her final total of 196kg was two kilos better than her career best.

#NationalSportsAwards2018 : World Champion Weightlifter @mirabai_chanu receives #RajivGandhiKhelRatnaAward , 2018 pic.twitter.com/AMpfHlTshh

— DD News (@DDNewslive) September 25, 2018

With his cancer-stricken father on the deathbed, Tajindar Pal Singh Toor competed in the shot put event at the Asian Games and won gold. He learnt later that his father has passed away before he had heard about Tajindar winning gold.

AFI is in deep shock.We received Tejinder Toor,our Asian Shot Put Champion Gold Medalist at the airport last night & as he was on his way to hotel, sad news of his father's demise reached us. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Our heartfelt condolences to Tajinder & his family. pic.twitter.com/ZmtAvrhh3r

— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) September 4, 2018

Arpinder Singh’s gold medal in triple jump was the first in the discipline for India in 48 years. In fact, Arpinder was born 22 years after Mohinder Singh Gill won India’s last Asiad gold in triple jump. Arpinder later became the first Indian to win a medal in the IAAF Continental Cup

Triple jumper #ArpinderSingh creates history by becoming the first Indian to win a medal in the #IAAFContinentalCup as he clinches a 🥉 with an effort of 16.59mhttps://t.co/mForL5UwIL

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) September 9, 2018

Rahi Sarnobat became the first Indian female shooter to win a gold at the Asian Games with victory in the 25m air pistol event at the Jakarta-Palembang event

#PresidentKovind confers Arjuna Award 2018 upon Ms Rahi Sarnobat for her outstanding achievements in Shooting

•Gold medal in Asian Games 2018.
•Bronze medal in Asian Games 2014.
•Gold medal in Commonwealth Games 2014. pic.twitter.com/JLeLRgwhMK

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 25, 2018

Vinesh Phogat becomes the first ever female wrestler from India to win gold at the Asian Games

Asian Games 2018: Vinesh Phogat wins India's first ever gold in women's #wrestling at #AsianGames #AsianGames2018 pic.twitter.com/LbLRtanJOX

— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) August 20, 2018

When was the last time you saw an Indian 1-2-3 on the podium? At the Para Asian Games, thanks to Sharad Kumar (gold), Varun Singh Bhati (silver) and Mariyappan Thangavelu India had a clean sweep of the medals in the men’s high jump T42/63 event

No barrier too high!

Meet our #TOPSAthlete @sharad_kumar01 who was part of one of India's most cherished moments at the @asianpg2018 as he led an Indian 1-2-3 in the Men's High Jump T42/63 event.#IndiaAtParaAG @ParalympicIndia @Ra_THORe #ParaAthletics @afiindia #KheloIndia🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/hIn8MRh2ys

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) October 20, 2018

Here’s Sharad’s jump

Para Asian Games high Jump T42 Gold Medal Jump , Asia Record. @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @Paralympics @asianpg2018 @ParalympicIndia @iamsrk @Ra_THORe @GoSportsVoices @PIB_India @the_hindu @republic @timesofindia @BDUTT @sardesairajdeep @ArvindKejriwal @NitishKumar pic.twitter.com/2lsr1cNtoH

— Sharad Kumar (@sharad_kumar01) October 13, 2018

Manika Batra returned from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games with four medals: team gold, singles gold, women’s doubles silver and mixed doubles bronze. She added a mixed doubles bronze at the Asian Games later in the year.

Heroic welcome for #ManikaBatra at #Delhi airport today! 🤩👏

Welcome back home champ, enjoy the moment. 🇮🇳🏓🥇🥇🥈🥉#TableTennis #GC2018 pic.twitter.com/Nq5stKcjHQ

— Neha Aggarwal Sharma OLY (@nehaaggarwal) April 17, 2018

18-year-old Hima Das won the 400m at the IAAF U-20 World Championships in Finland, thus becoming the first Indian to win a track gold at a global event.

Hima Das!!!!!

Here's India's first gold at a global track event.#IAAFTampere2018 pic.twitter.com/9KWqMcmKZY

— Nikhil Naz (@NikhilNaz) July 12, 2018

India’s rowers — Sawarn Singh, Dattu Bhokanal, Om Prakash and Sukhmeet Singh — brought home a gold medal in the men’s quadruple sculls event at the Asian Games.

“I told my teammates that we will go for the gold & we will give it all. It was about ‘karo-ya-maro’(do-or-die).And we did it.”
Sawarn Singh,member of #India’s quadruple sculls team.
The thought that led to the brilliant win.#AsianGames2018 #Rowing #KheloIndia #SAI🇮🇳🥇🚣‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/VD7Rhq7r5c

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) August 24, 2018

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first men’s doubles badminton pair from India to win a medal at the CWG.

Satwik Rankireddy and I had a wonderful conversation. Happy to have met this distinguished badminton player, who has won two medals in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. @satwiksairaj pic.twitter.com/IwCYkEkX4d

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 30, 2018

India also won an historic gold in the mixed team badminton event at Gold Coast.

ONE MORE GOLD🥇for 🇮🇳

India beat defending champions Malaysia 3-1 in mixed team badminton event to claim their maiden gold #GC2018

Follow our #GC2018Badminton live blog ➡ https://t.co/jTwio4XwjK pic.twitter.com/G2NLOFKTVi

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) April 9, 2018

Saina Nehwal vs PV Sindhu in the Commonwealth Games women’s singles final. It was a scenario described by even Pullela Gopichand as a ‘dream final’.

#EXCLUSIVE -- For me Saina vs Sindhu was a dream final. But the result didn't matter. I knew that we have a silver and gold in the bag: P Gopichand, Indian badminton coach tells @Bhardwajmeha. #GopichandOnNews18 pic.twitter.com/0ndHZgzbSA

— News18 (@CNNnews18) May 13, 2018

Sachin Chaudhary won a para powerlifting bronze medal at Gold Coast 2018. Four years ago, he had left from the CWG to tend to his ailing father. Two years before the medal, he had failed a dope test. So the medal was his redemption story.

Congratulations to Mr. Sachin Chaudhary for Winning Bronze Medal in Para Power-lifting men's heavy weight final scoring 181 points in CWG Gold Coast 2018. @Rao_InderjitS @DGSAI @Ra_THORe @parsonsandrew @Media_SAI #Paralympics #paralympics2018 pic.twitter.com/E8rCadQPVR

— Paralympic India 🇮🇳 (@ParalympicIndia) April 10, 2018

India won the U-19 Cricket World Cup for the fourth time.

Manjot Kalra's unbeaten century helped India defeat Australia in the final of #U19CWC to seal their fourth title! 🏆#BestOf2018 pic.twitter.com/BJkBAgJ0bj

— ICC (@ICC) December 31, 2018

Smriti Mandhana bags ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year.

India's star batter Smriti Mandhana bags Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award and Women's ODI Player of Year 2018! 👏

READ 👇https://t.co/7TLSe2pblG pic.twitter.com/h0GtsKKsYG

— ICC (@ICC) December 31, 2018