In an Olympic and Paralympic year, it's only natural that there are a few athletes - previously unheralded - who come up through the rank and catapult themselves into the spotlight. It's perhaps the most exciting thing as a sports fan, seeing someone new come up on to the international stage, and right away, make a statement that they belong.
Once again in 2024, it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that there is no dearth of young sporting talent in India. Here, then, are ESPN India's Emerging Athletes of the Year 2024:
Divya Deshmukh
All of 18 years old, Divya Deshmukh has had a year to remember. At the Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September, she led the way for the Indian women's team to win gold for the first-ever time. Playing on board 3, Divya won gold on her individual board, which was critical, as both D Harika and R Vaishali on the top two boards couldn't quite hit their best form throughout the competition.
"It was the best time of my life," she told ESPN recently. She had to fight right till the end, as unlike the Indian team in the open section, the women's gold was still in jeopardy heading into the final round. She managed a win in quick time in that last round, and following wins for Harika and Vantika Agarwal, India were crowned champions.
Divya hasn't yet achieved all her GM norms, and it is a big motivating factor for her next year. "I want to play in a lot of tournaments and improve my rating," she said. She is also taking inspiration from world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. "What Gukesh is doing right now, it only inspires all of us young players to keep trying to become better and better," Divya said.
Anmol Kharb
In a team that had PV Sindhu, Anmol Kharb stood out as the Indian women's team won the Badminton Asia Team Championships for the first-ever time. She played three times in the tournament and all those games were with the matches tied at 2-2. India's fate rested on the shoulders of a 17-year-old ranked 472nd in the world at the time.
Kharb won all three games she had to play, and rather handsomely at that. In the group stage, she beat China's Wu Luoyo 22-20 14-21 21-18. Then in the semifinal, she beat Japan's Natsuki Nidaira 21-14 21-18. And then, in the final, Indian hopes looked to be lost, after they'd blown a 2-0 lead to 2-2. But once again, Kharb the saviour stepped up, beating Pornpicha Choeikeewong 21-14 21-9, as India were crowned champions.
Since then, she hasn't really competed at the highest level of the BWF World Tour, but has been consistent in the BWF International Challenge, winning two titles in Belgium and Poland, and was also the runner-up at the Guwahati Masters Super 100 tournament.
She's finished the year ranked 67 in women's singles and will look to move further up that ladder in 2025.
Mona Agarwal
How often do you have a 37-year-old as one of the emerging athletes of the year? That alone makes Mona Agarwal's achievements this year special. She took up shooting only in December 2021, after attempts at para-athletics, where she was a gold-winning state-level athlete. However, she found shooting as her calling, and in her first Paralympics, she was responsible for opening India's account in a historic games, as she won bronze in the women's 10m air rifle SH1 event.
Mona was competing in the same event as defending champion and compatriot Avani Lekhara, and throughout the final, pushed the top two to their limits. Agarwal even had the lead for significant periods of the final. However, in the end, she just couldn't maintain that top level right through and finished third.
For someone who, only in June, was struggling for funds to make it to the Paralympics, a bronze medal is terrific achievement. For someone who only took up the sport at 34 to win a Paralympic medal three years later, a bronze medal may just be as good as gold.