India gears up for a spectacular year in sports
Bangalore Mirror Bureau / Jan 2, 2024, 06.00 AM IST
.By SS Shreekumar
Sporting action will reach its peak in the New Year of 2024. Numerous major sporting events are slated to be
held around the world, and Indian teams will actively participate in them.
Moreover, a substantial number of events are scheduled to take place within India, adding to the excitement.
Sports enthusiasts will need to search for online bookings and keep their television screens wide open to
enjoy all the action, whether from the sidelines or the comfort of their homes.
The New Year kicks off with the Asian Cup football in Qatar from Friday, January 12, 2024, with the final
slated for Saturday, February 10, 2024. The Indian team has qualified for the quadrennial event and is already
in Qatar. India was the runners-up way back in 1964.
The T20 World Cup cricket tournament is scheduled to be jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA
from June 4, 2024, to June 30, 2024. Following the Indian team’s failure to win the ODI World Cup against
Australia at home in Ahmedabad, cricket enthusiasts will be eagerly awaiting the T20 event, hoping for India
to redeem itself and secure victory.
The 23rd Summer Olympic Games will open on Friday, July 26, 2024, with the closing ceremony on Sunday,
August 11, 2024. India achieved an unprecedented feat by winning 100-plus medals in the Asian Games in
Hangzhou, China, in 2023. Led by the redoubtable Neeraj Chopra, winner of the World Championship,
Olympic Games, and Asian Games gold medals, as well as the Diamond League gold, the Indian contingent
aims to feature on the podium in various events. Athletes like Avinash Sable (3,000m Steeplechase), Tajinder
Singh Toor (shot put), Parul Chaudhary (3,000m women’s Steeplechase), and a few others hope to draw
inspiration from Neeraj Chopra and make India proud. Neeraj Chopra will undoubtedly start as the favourite
to retain his Olympic javelin throw title, and one can safely say that, as in the last Olympics, one gold medal
is India’s and Neeraj’s safe custody.
The Indian cricket team will be part of many bilateral series during 2024. Afghanistan, England, New
Zealand, and Bangladesh will be visiting India, while the Indian women’s team will face the West Indies
women’s team in December 2024. The men’s team will play against Afghanistan from January 11 to 17, 2024.
England will tour India from January 25, 2024, to March 11, 2024. Bangladesh will tour India in September
2024, while New Zealand will tour India in October 2024, with the dates of matches in both these tours yet to
be finalised.
The Indian men’s hockey team won the Asian Games gold medal and secured their berth in the Olympic
Games hockey tournament. However, the women’s team will have to play the qualifying rounds and hope to
advance. Ranchi will host the Paris 2024 hockey qualifying tournament for women from January 13 and will
be the first major sports event to be organised in India in the New Year.The men’s and women’s hockey teams
will also feature in the FIH Hockey Pro League matches in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in February 2024.
India will host the SAFF Senior and Junior athletics championships in 2024, and the venues and dates are yet
to be decided. Additionally, Goa will be the host for the World Table Tennis Star Contender event from
January 23 to 28, 2024. Furthermore, New Delhi will hold the Badminton World Federation India Open, an
Olympic qualifying Super 750 tournament, and Lucknow will host the Syed Modi India International
tournament in November, followed by two India Super 100 badminton tournaments.