The year 2022 has been an interesting one for Indian sport, coming straight after the Tokyo Olympics high in 2021, showing both India's immense potential and the road ahead.
ESPN takes a look at the telling and quirky numbers that tell the story of Indian sport in 2022.
61
The number of medals won by India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Overall, this was five medals less than Gold Coast in 2018. But what is significant is that this was the medal haul without shooting, which is the sport in which India has had the most success at the CWG.
1-1-11
1
The number of matches the Indian women's football team played at the AFC Asian Cup India hosted in January before a coronavirus outbreak within the bio-bubble forced them out.
1
The first time that the Indian men's football team qualified for two straight editions of the AFC Asian Cup
11
The number of days India's FIFA ban lasted, as the country was briefly suspended for third-party interference in administration. Or simply put, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) did not follow FIFA's mandates. More on that here.
9 & 3
The story of the Indian women's hockey team is told via these numbers - a rollercoaster with a learning curve.
The Indian women's hockey team finished third in the FIH Pro League and won bronze at the Commonwealth Games. However, they finished ninth at the World Cup in July - a year after finishing fourth at a breakthrough Olympics. They won the Nations Cup to end the year and qualified for the Pro League on merit for the first time.
India qualify for Pro League with a gritty Nations Cup win; what next?
150
The combined age of the Lovely Choubey, Pinki Singh, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey - the Fab Four who won a historic first Lawn Bowls gold medal for India. If you also learned the rules of the sport and began to enjoy this thanks to these four, then you are not alone. These women taught India Lawn Bowls, ripping apart stereotypes.
13
Sharath Kamal, at 40 years of age, won his 13th CWG medal since his debut in 2006. He won four in 2022, one each in a discipline. His performance in 2022 finally saw him win the Khel Ratna - the highest sporting honour in India.
Sharath Kamal in numbers - the Indian table tennis GOAT
24 years
There was a non-Kenyan athlete on the men's steeplechase podium at the CWG for the first time in 24 years. The anomaly? An Indian solider and serial-record breaker named Avinash Sable, who not only became the first non-Kenyan to win a medal at the event, but in fact missed out on the gold by an agonising 0.05 seconds.
12/12 and 2
At the Commonwealth Games in August, India sent 12 wrestlers and all 12 came back with medals. At the World Wrestling Championship in September, India won two medals - bronze for Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat.
Weightlifting had a similar tale, with 12 medals at CWG and one silver at the Worlds, in Mirabai Chanu.
While this in no way takes away from the Commonwealth medallists, it should provide some context for Indian sports fans.
1-2
A rare double podium finish for India in athletics at the CWG. Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker finished first and second in the men's triple jump at Birmingham, a refreshing sight in a field not known to have many Indian winners. Praveen Chitravel finished fourth, just short of a historic podium sweep.
19
Joshna Chinappa won a record 19th national title in squash. The 36-year-old's opponent in the final was Anahat Singh, the 14-year-old who represented India at the CWG and whose age is five less than Joshna's national titles!
4
The number of times Jyothi Yarraji's personal best, and the national record in women's 100m hurdles, was broken in 2022. This is excluding the three other occasions when she was denied the national record due to excessive tailwind/ the lack of a doping check. So technically, that's seven times that Anuradha Biswal's 20-year-old record was bettered by this 23-year-old in 2022.
Inside Jyothi Yarraji's history-making record
2
Neeraj Chopra had the number 90 associated with him a lot this year, but that is not the story. In the year the Olympic champion won his first World Championship medal (a silver), he set two personal bests and his second one of 89.94m at the Diamond League event in Stockholm saw him become the first Indian to reach the podium at the prestigious athletics event.
47
In shooting, India topped the ISSF World Cup medal table with 47 medals (17 gold, 21 silver, 9 bronze) despite taking part in only three of the four World Cups. However, it should be noted that of these 47 only eight were individual medals; the rest were team medals - which is not an event at the Olympics - and the mixed-gender pair, which was introduced last year.
3
The number of Indians who attained the rank of Grandmasters in chess - Bharath Subramaniyam, Rahul Srivatshav and Pranav V. India also hosted the chess Olympiad this year, which saw 186 countries participating.
8
The number of athletes who were named and suspended for doping offences in the year. There were a few more who are not named as yet.
Kamalpreet Kaur banned for three years - Explained
7
The number of sports federations that were under the 'Committee of Administrators' (CoA) after a court decided the incumbent administration had to be overhauled for not following the National Sports Code.
1
There were many firsts in badminton in 2022.
India won its first Thomas Cup (the world team championship) title this year in an epic campaign that made 2022 the year of Indian men's badminton.
Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy had memorable seasons individually as well, and both are Top 10 players now.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first India men's doubles pair to win a medal at the World Championship (bronze) and the CWG gold. They also became the first Indian doubles pair to win a BWF Super 750 tournament after winning the French Open.
Satwik - Chirag show they belong to the elite as they reach second French Open final
Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly became the first Indian doubles pair to reach the semifinals of the All England Open.
PV Sindhu won the first BWF Super 500 title of her career, a significant win even for a multiple-time Olympic and Worlds medallist.