Round-up 2021: Border-Gavaskar Trophy win to Olympic gold - 6 sporting moments that made India proud

The year 2021 is about to end. However, the year turned out to be a great year for India in terms of sports. We present six of the sporting moments that made India proud.

It has been an eventful year, as 2021 bids adieu to the world. In terms of sports, there have been a lot of notable moments, especially from India. From cricket to other sports, numerous sports have witnessed top moments. Before the year ends, we present six such top sporting moments that made India proud.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy win
India was touring Australia for a four-Test series, defending the Border-Gavaskar title. India was coming off a mixed performance, losing and winning the opening two Tests respectively in December last year. As the remaining two Tests were played in January this year, India drew the third. It emphatically won the final Test to recreate history and become the first Asian side to win back-to-back Test series Down Under.

Olympic hockey bronze
India had failed to win an Olympic hockey medal since the 1980 edition in Moscow, winning gold. After 41 years, India made history again by winning a medal at the event. Although it missed out on the gold or silver, it did manage to win the bronze that was enough to break the jinx and make India proud in the sport again.

Best ever women's hockey performance
While the men's hockey team won the bronze, the women were not far behind either. In the Tokyo Olympics, they put on their best performance ever. They missed out on the bronze by a whisker but managed to finish fourth, despite not being the favourites to go past the group stage. Obviously, it made the Indians proud again.

Para athletes outshine Olympians with best-ever medal haul
The Indian Olympians ensured seven medals in Tokyo. However, the Paralympians made it even better, winning 19 medals. Besides eight silvers and six bronze, it won five gold medals, too, while para-shooter Avani Lakhera won a gold and a bronze. Naturally, the Indian could not have been more proud.

Sunil Chhetri betters Lionel Messi
Sunil Chhetri is already the greatest legend in Indian football, being the nation's highest run-scorer. If that itself was a proud moment for India, it became even better when he surpassed Argentine superstar Lionel Messi in terms of most international goals. As the Indians continue to celebrate it proudly, the two are currently locked on 80 goals each and are still battling, while Chhetri is ahead, having done so in less number of games.

Neeraj Chopra notches up Olympic gold
The Tokyo Olympics ended on an excellent note for India, with javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra pulling off a monumental performance. His throws were so great that he went on to win not just a medal but the gold, becoming only the second Indian after shooter Abhinav Bindra to win the medal. He was the first Indian to win a medal in the athletics department of the event.