While 2020 was not an ideal year foremost athletes and sport fans, the next year promises to offer a lot. The Tokyo Olympics, the Men's T20 World Cup and All England Championships are some of the biggest to keep an eye on.
2020 was a strange year in which there were more downs than ups, for many. And most sports stars weren't an exception. Curtailed seasons, cancelled tournaments, strenuous bio-bubbles and uncertainty dominated the sporting fraternity, courtesy of the novel coronavirus pandemic. As we step into a new decade, there is a lot to look forward to, especially when it comes to Indian sports.
Provided the Covid-19 pandemic is under control, we have a series of mega sporting events lined up. The biggest of them all is the Tokyo Olympics, which will be held in Japan after being postponed from 2020. Then there's the T20 World Cup, an exciting Indian Premier League season, most likely at home, the World Test Championship final, finish to the extended Indian Super League season among other events.
Exciting cricket season ahead
Let's begin with the much-followed sport in India -- cricket. India finished 2020 on a high by clinching a memorable victory in the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne. In the absence of some stars, including captain Virat Kohli, the visitors, ably led by Ajinkya Rahane stepped up and delivered and silenced quite a few naysayers.
And with the series leveled at 1-1, India will head into the New Year's Test with a lot of optimism. So will the fans. India will begin the New Year with the much-anticipated 3rd Test in Sydney and finish the lengthy Australian tour in Brisbane following which a super-exciting home season will begin.
The action will shift to Ahmedabad and Chennai which will host England in a 4-Test series under bio-secure environments. India will then begin their preparations for the T20 World Cup with a 5-match T20I series in Ahmedabad. All eyes will be on the rebuilt Motera Stadium, the largest in terms of capacity in the world.
Will women's cricket get back on its feet?
India women's cricket team is also expected to kickstart international assignments in March. There has been a lot of chatter, and rightfully so, around the cancelled tours and lack of opportunities for the senior women's team after the cancelled tour of Australia. We can only hope that the Board of Control for Cricket in India gets down to business and makes sure India women get high-quality action before the World Cup in 2022. Keep in mind, India have not played international cricket since the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup.
Indian Premier League will follow the England series, following which India will visit England for a full series in August. The T20 World Cup will be held in India in October-November and India are also expected to tour Sri Lanka. Don't forget the ICC World Test Championship final at Lord's. India are well-placed to make to to the final.
It can't get bigger than this for Indian Olympic athletes as the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics is expected to get underway. All roads will lead to Tokyo on July 23 as the organisers are hopeful of hosting the tournament despite doubts over the Covid-19 situation.
India is hoping for a rich haul. The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent delay in events has caused a lot of flutters but the elite athletes have found ways to keep themselves in the reckoning. A lot of uncertainty still remains and it will be challenging for India stars, but let's hope for the best, can't we?
India is looking for medalists in a few key events, including shooting, badminton, boxing, wrestling and hockey. There are quite a few medal probables and if early signs are anything to go by, India have an opportunity to go past their best-ever tally of 6 achieved at the London Olympics.
Keep an eye for the men and women's hockey teams. When it comes to shooting, we have quite a few medal probables. Manu Bhaker (10m women's air pistol), Apurvi Chandela (10m women's air rifle), Anjum Moudgil (10m women's air rifle), Abhishek Verma (10m men's air pistol), Saurabh Chaudhary (10m men's air pistol) are among the favourites. Let's not forget the possibility of impressing in team events as well.
All hopes in badminton will be on PV Sindhu, who will head into Tokyo Games as the reigning world champion. The pressure of expectation will be on Sindhu but the young shuttler will be keen on changing the colour of her medal. Don't count out the likes of Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and Sai Praneeth even as they are yet to seal qualification berths.
And will we have a tennis medalist? Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan pairing have to punch above their weight while Leander Paes, who will be eyeing a record Olympic appearance, will not be willing to bow out without a fight.
Can Neeraj Chopra make India proud in Tokyo? Well, recent results certainly suggest he is among the top contenders.
Football
While the India men's senior national team will have FIFA World Cup AFC qualifiers action to look forward to, an exciting finish to the 11-team Indian Super League awaits us as the season extends until March. The I-League, without Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, will get underway in January with the fate of the tournament hanging in balance.
Don't miss out...
It will be an interesting year for shuttlers as some young talents, including Lakshya Sen will be looking to make a mark at the highest level. The likes of HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth will look to bounce back while Sai Praneeth will be keen on extending his fine run. There is no Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan and the next challenger for Kento Momota and Viktor Axelsen could well be one of these from India.
It will also be interesting to see if Saina Nehwal will be able to make a strong comeback and regain dominant form in 2021. Watch out for PV Sindhu. The star shuttler might not be settling for anything less than the numero uno spot.
With the Pro League getting underway, India hockey teams will get quality exposure as well. Once again a lot of expectations are there on both the men and women's team at the Olympics. Can they deliver?
Let's also watch out for Sumit Nagal. The young Indian star will be keen on building on what was a fine 2020 for him. He made it to the second round at US Open and has a wildcard entry to Australian Open, kickstarting in February.
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