Indian Sports Year Ender | PV Sindhu's Olympic silver medal, Karmakar's Produnova,Vijender's punching power and more....

Indian sports came alive in 2016 with some breathtaking performances by Indian athletes across sports. Indian badminton PV Sindhu's Olympic silver medal was the highest point in Indian badminton. Dipa Karmakar put Indian gymnastics on world map with her Prodonuva effort at the Rio Olympics.

Meanwhile Sania Mirza had a stellar year in tennis by winning the Australian Open with Swiss Partner Martina Hingis.Meanwhile ace pugilist Vijender Singh has been a juggernaut in his Pro Boxing career by retaining the WBO-Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title. 

1. PV Sindhu becomes first Indian female to win Olympic silver medal, loses to Carloina Marin in women’s badminton singles final

Indian Shuttler PV Sindhu, ranked 10th in the world, scripted a new chapter in Indian Olympics history as she won a sliver medal for India in women’s singles badminton at 2016 Rio Games. World No.1 and Spain's Carolina Marin defeated Sindhu in the final of the event in Rio on Friday. Sindhu, a two-time bronze medalist in world championships, went one better than her senior Saina Nehwal, bronze medal winner in 2012 London Olympics.

2. Dipa Karmakar becomes the first woman gymnast from India to qualify for the Olympics

The 23-year-old from Tripura, the first woman gymnast from India to qualify for the Olympics, didn’t win a medal, but ranked an impressive fourth position in the women’s vault finals in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 14. American Simone Biles took the top prize with a final score of 15.966. So far, India is yet to win any medals in this year’s Olympics.

3. Vijendra Singh knocks out Francis Cheka to retain WBO-Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title

The Vijender Singh juggernaut rolled on without a glitch as the Indian boxing star took less than 10 minutes to successfully defend his WBO Asia-Pacific SuperMiddleweight title with an emphatic Technical Knockout win over Tanzania’s Francis Cheka in New Delhi.

Vijender landed the winning blow in the third round of what was to be a 10-round contest to leave on the former World Champion Cheka dazed and a packed ThyagrajStadium delirious. Vijender Singh is unbeaten in pro-boxing with eight consecutive wins.

4. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis win the Australian Open women’s doubles crown, end year as Number One doubles team

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis were crowned the 2016 Australian Open women’s doubles champions after they tamed the spirited Czech duo of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in straight sets for their 36th win in a row. 

The top seeds fought past the seventh seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-6 (1) 6-3 in the women’s doubles final that lasted one hour and 45 minutes. It was their third consecutive Grand Slam title for Sania and Martina, having won the Wimbledon and US Open in the 2015 season.

5. Devendra Jhajharia creates history, wins two Paralympic gold medals

Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia became the first Indian to clinch two gold medals at the Paralympics after he broke his own world record to clinch the top honours at the Rio Games.

Devendra, who won his previous gold in the 2004 Athens Games, bettered his own world record to finish on top in the men’s F46 event.

6. Deepa Malik win silver in shotput F-53 event, becomes first ever Indian women to win medal at Paralympics 

India’s Deepa Malik created history by becoming the first-ever woman from the country to win a medal at the Paralympics when she bagged a silver in the shotput F-53 event.

Deepa’s best throw of 4.61m from her six attempts was enough to clinch the silver medal. India, thus, now have secured three medal from the Rio Paralympics. Deepa will receive a cash award of Rs 4 crore under Haryana Sports Scheme for her feat.

7. Pankaj Advani clinches his 11th Worlds Billiards Championship title

Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani won his 11th World Billiards (150-Up format) Championships title by beating Peter Gilchrist of Singapore in the summit clash.Advani beat multiple world champion Gilchrist by six games to three in a gripping final contest to wrap up his 16th world title overall.

8. Badminton star PV Sindhu wins China Open, defeats Sun Yu to clinch her first Super Series title

India’s badminton star and Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu added another feather in her cap by winning the 2016 China Open.  The ace shuttler put up yet another masterclass performance to defeat Chinese star Sun Yu 21-11, 17-21, 21-11 to clinch her first Super Series title.

9. Aditi Ashok creates history, becomes first Indian female golfer to win Hero Women's Indian Open title

Indian teen golf sensation Aditi Ashok brought about a landmark moment in Indian sports by winning the 2016 Hero Honda India Open. Her triumph at the Indian Open made her the first Indian female golfer to ever to win marquee event at the European Tour.

10. Leander Paes lifts French Open mixed doubles title with Swiss partner Martina Hingis, completes mixed doubles Career Slam

Veteran Indian tennis star Leander Paes completed a ‘Career Slam’ in mixed doubles with Swiss partner Martina Hingis with a hard-fought win over compatriot Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig.

The unseeded Indo-Swiss pair eked out a 4-6 6-4 10-8 win over the second seeds in the summit clash that lasted one hour and 28 minutes. 

Notable Mentions:

1. Mariyappan Thangavelu wins gold, Varun Bhati bronze in in Men’s high jump at Rio Paralympics 2016

Indian athletes Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Bhati created history on Friday after they won gold and bronze medals respectively in men's high jump T42 event at Rio Paralympics 2016. 

Thangavelu won the gold medal, first ever for India in paralympics, thanks to his best jump of 1.89 metres while Bhati registered a best mark of 1.86m.

2. Peter Gilchrist ends Sourav Kothari's dream run to lift IBSF World Billiards title

Multiple-times world champion Peter Gilchrist added another piece of silverware to his trophy cabinet as he pulled off a one-sided 1500-617 win against Indian national champion Sourav Kothari to lift the World Billiards title.

3. Shiva Keshavan wins gold medal at the Asian Luge Championship

India's seasoned Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan battled injury to win the gold medal at the Asian Luge Championship at Nagano, Japan. Keshavan dominated the event and finished the 2 heat race with a time of 1 minute, 39.962 seconds and top speed of 130.4 km/h.
Japan's Tanaka Shohei came in second with a combined time of 1:44.874 seconds and top speed of 124.6 kmph.