From the glorious highs to the lowest lows, Indian sport has seen its share of drama this year. The jewels in the 2022 crown were a historic Thomas Cup and one of India's best ever Commonwealth Games outings but there was so much more. We attempt to capture, and herald, the best of the year.
Here are ESPN India's Awards (and Moments), 2022:
Male Athlete of the Year
Neeraj Chopra completed a special full circle in sport in 2023 and off the track, Neeraj showed us he was not just a champion athlete but a champion human too. It was so improbable; it was like a movie script. And so -- for this one time only -- we've abandoned our usual format and gone the filmi route, giving Neeraj awards in multiple main categories - Shyam Vasudevan
Female Athlete of the Year
With consistent excellence, Jyothi Surekha Vennam keeps setting the targets for Indian archery
Even before her exploits 2023, Jyothi Surekha Vennam was one of the India's leading compound archers with slew of medals at the World Championships, World Cup and Asian Games. But this was the year she firmly established her credentials as India's most consistent and best in a sport that is often sidelines as a step-sibling to the Olympic discipline of recurve archery - Zenia D'cunha
Team of the Year
Anas, Amoj, Ajmal, Rajesh - Unlikely Indian relay stars shine on the big stage
India were gold medallists at the Asian Games in the men's relay 4x400 once again, although this came after 61 years. A quartet of disparate individuals who came together in 2023 and through teamwork and trust, their whole became greater than the sum of its parts - Sunaadh Sagar
Coach of the Year
Sergio Pagni sculpts golden 2023 for Indian compound archery
Five out of five golds at the Asian Games (and a silver and a bronze). Three golds and a bronze at the World Championships (where India had never won gold before in its 92-year history). Sergio Pagni has presided over the single most productive year Indian archery has ever seen - Anirudh Menon
Para-athlete of the Year
Sumit Antil breaks barriers to go where no one has gone before
Breaking world records and smashing the competition has now become a norm for Sumit Antil: who didn't go into the Asian Para Games targeting just gold, but breaking his own world record. Which he did - Anish Anand
Match of the Year
Mukherjee and Mukherjee live the impossible dream
The word miracle is often overused in sporting contexts. However, in this context, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee needed something more than just a mere miracle: and they dug it out - Aaditya Narayan
Emerging Athletes of the Year
Sheetal Devi, Aditi Swami and Kishore Jena emerge into Indian sports' spotlight in 2023
It's perhaps the best part of sport - an unheralded name making a breakthrough and being catapulted into the spotlight - Anish Anand, Zenia D'Cunha, Shyam Vasudevan
MOMENTS OF THE YEAR
As a remarkable 2023 draws to end, ESPN India picks ten images that tell the story of the most extraordinary Indian sports moments witnessed over the year.
India's wrestlers, beaten by police, carried the flag and their fight against the system
Vinesh Phogat and Sangeeta Phogat on the road, arms clasped around each other. Sangeeta on her back, Vinesh on top of her, shielding her from the police personnel in flak jackets and boots. The flag of the Republic of India on a stick, in their hands, on the road. - Anirudh Menon
Kanteerava singing 'Vande Mataram' permeates into Indian football history
That single frame of the crowd singing the modern version of the national song encapsulated the positivity around the team (at the time), and the sport's ever-increasing popularity as the summer of success fed both the loyalist and the newly converted with the kind of adrenaline rush that everyone craves. - Anirudh Menon
Praggnanandhaa, Nagalakshmi and the mother's smile that resonated across India
This one image had crystallised the hopes of many Indians and given voice to their desires. To make true that old Tamil proverb: "The mother who hears her son called 'a wise man' will rejoice more than she did at his birth." - Sunaadh Sagar
India vs Iran went from Kabaddi epic to embarrassment
This was supposed to be a spectacle. The two best Kabaddi teams in the world. Two teams who know each other so well. At the highest stage, this was supposed to be the best advertisement for it. Instead, it descended into a farce. - Aaditya Narayan
Sheetal Devi finds perfection, despite all the odds
It shouldn't be counted only as one of this year's best sporting moments, this deserves a place in India's sporting history. - Anish Anand
Vukomanovic's unprecedented walkout followed by (even more) unprecedented support
Everything about the walkout was unprecedented, but perhaps the most surprising outcome from it has been how the Blasters faithful have rallied behind their 'Aashaan' - Aaditya Narayan
Parul Chaudhary surges past stereotypes and competition to win big
The frame at the finish line encapsulated the mood: Parul, arms lofted and outstretched palms, almost saying "Hey, I got this." If there was a frame to say, "Make way, the champion is here" this would be it. - Shyam Vasudevan
One small jump for Neeraj, a giant leap for Indian javelin
In the end that jump onto the podium was something Indian sports fans have gotten used to, but it was all that went into making that jump that made it oh, so special - Anish Anand
Jyothi Yarraji stands her ground to win sensational silver
There she stood, with hands on her hips and a razor-sharp gaze boring into the official. Jyothi Yarraji had just been disqualified from the women's 100m hurdles final at the Asian Games. The biggest race of her career - Shyam Vasudevan
Golden Sat-Chi bow down to their gurus
But there was something unique about how Sat-Chi celebrated when they did something no Indian ever had at an Asian Games: win a badminton gold medal - Zenia D'Cunha