There was much to cheer about 2023, when it comes to sporting events in particular. India, as it happened, had a historic outing at the Asian Games, securing a record-high 107 medals and providing hope aplenty for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games. The Indian National Cricket Team, meanwhile, reached the final of the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 before devastatingly losing to Australia in front of 130,000 people at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad; they have a chance to make up for the defeat when ICC T20 World Cup returns in 2024, hosted jointly by West Indies and the United States of America. (Cricket News | Football News)
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That, and much more to come in what promises to be an action-packed 2024. Here are five events to look forward to which involve India.
AFC Asian Cup 2023*
The title may suggest an event from the bygone year, but the AFC Asian Cup is very much a sporting spectacle of 2024, taking place in Qatar in January. Four years have passed since the previous edition of the event, where India agonisingly fell short of qualifying for the knockout stages. However, the Blue Tigers will have a chance to cross that threshold in early 2024, with 24 teams competing for the Asian crown in a month-long tournament.
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With the AFC Asian Cup 2023 cycle coming to an end in February 2024, focus will shift on what lies ahead. The Indian national football team will play two FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers in March, with the pair of games also ascertaining whether they qualify for the next Asian Cup directly or if they are required to pass through another round. Any which way, the start of the new year promises plenty of high-quality continental football for fans of the sport in India!
Indian Premier League and Women's Premier League
The first half of 2024 will witness the return of the Indian Premier League and the Women's Premier League, the former entering its 17th season while the latter its second. The auction to determine the complete set of teams in the IPL will occur on December 19, 2023. The corresponding event in the women's game, meanwhile, has already taken place with teams gearing up for the return of the incredibly successful league.
Chennai Super Kings will look to defend their crown when IPL kicks off around its provisional date in March 2024; Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team beat Gujarat Titans in the previous final, with the latter later relinquishing their captain Hardik Pandya to his former team Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, won the inaugural edition of the WPL, led by the Indian Women's National Team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. They beat Delhi Capitals in the final, but the runners-up have since strengthened their squad by adding Annabel Sutherland in the auction for big bucks.
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ICC Men's T20 World Cup
Just over a year ago, England beat Pakistan in Australia to win their second ICC Men's T20I World Cup. In the coming months, England will have the chance to defend their title, when the qualified teams from all around the globe make their way West to the West Indies and the United States of America for the latest iteration of the tournament - one that will feature India versus Pakistan in New York City!
Naturally, it will be the first official cricket event with matches being played in USA. Three arenas will host the games in the States, all located on the East Coast, and close in proximity with co-host West Indies. The Caribbean islands, meanwhile, will supply four stadiums for the event, including the Kensington Oval in Barbados, which will host the Final on June 30, 2024. Twenty teams will partake in the contest, including the likes of USA, Oman, Uganda, Namibia, and Papua New Guinea!
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ICC Women's T20 World Cup
Right at the start of 2023, ten teams contested the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa, with the hosts eventually finishing runners-up to the record champions Australia. The tournament will return the following year in Bangladesh, providing the Aussies with a chance to defend their crown from the forces trying desperately to snatch it.
India will be among the ten participants in Bangladesh, having finished as one of the six best teams in 2023. The Women in Blue are yet to win the cup, but they have reached the final once, an accomplishment they collected in 2020 when they lost to Australia in the trophy bout at the home of the eventual victors. Boosted by the vivacious WPL, India will aim to go all the way for the first time when the cup returns in late 2024 and end the Australian monopoly on the throne.
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Paris Olympics
Three years would have elapsed from the moment the entire country waited with bated breath, watching Neeraj Chopra snatch gold in the javelin throw event, till the opening of the Paris Olympics in mid-2024. In those three years, India's presence in the Olympic field has grown, thanks in part to a sensational overall display at the 2022 Asian Games, but as have the fans' expectations. When Neeraj stepped onto the track, the prickly javelin in his hand, few knew what to expect; as he returns to action in Paris, the presumptions would have been altered, with many expecting, if not demanding, that he secures a gold.
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While it may seem harsh and even overbearing, but as has been India's collective performance in the past four years in track, field, and everything beyond that that the targets for them will be set a bit higher, further, and quicker. Whether the contingent can live up to those expectations, we won't have to wait long to find out!
