A Year to Remember! 5 sporting accomplishments that made 2025 incredible for India
1. India Women win ICC Cricket World Cup
Sitting at the very top of the list is the Indian Women’s national cricket team, which created history and confirmed our cricket predictions this year by beating South Africa by 52 runs in Navi Mumbai in the final of the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup.
The victory marked the Women in Blue’s first-ever World Cup title and has since been compared to the Kapil Dev-led triumph back in 1983, which remains one of the major turning points for the men’s team on the global stage.
Smriti Mandhana, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma all produced key performances throughout the tournament. Sharma was awarded Player of the Tournament for her efforts and has since gone on to claim the number one rank as the top bowler in T20Is.
2. Divya Deshmukh claims FIDE World Cup title
Chess has returned to prominence in a big way across India over the past 12 months, and the nation’s biggest achievement without a shadow of doubt this year was Divya Deshmukh winning the prestigious FIDE Women’s World Cup title.
Still only a teenager (19), Deshmukh overcame firm favourite Koneru Humpy in the final in Batumi, Georgia, and in doing so completed her Grandmaster requirements. Her accomplishment now stands as one of India’s greatest achievements in the sport of all time.
3. India secure third ICC Champions Trophy crown
The Indian men’s cricket team, led by Rohit Sharma, became the most successful nation at the ICC Champions Trophy this year by securing their third title, beating New Zealand in the grand final at the Dubai International Stadium on March 9.
While India’s form in the longest format of the game has come under scrutiny following a whitewash loss to South Africa in November, the Men in Blue are still the benchmark in limited-overs tournaments, having now won 23 of their last 24 matches in ICC events.
4. Ahmedabad to host 2030 Commonwealth Games
While the number four entry on this list is not an individual or team triumph, it is just as important. India officially won the bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games ahead of several other nations, with Ahmedabad selected as the main city.
This marks the second time that the Commonwealth Games will be staged in India, following the 2010 event in Delhi, and successfully hosting the 2030 global spectacle will be a massive step toward their greater goal of bringing the Olympic Games to its shores in 2036.
5. India Women’s historic ice hockey Asia Cup bronze
In another massive moment for women's sport in the nation, India’s ice hockey team did something that many felt was impossible - winning the bronze medal at the 2025 IIHF Women's Asia Cup by beating the host nation, the United Arab Emirates.
What made the triumph all the more special is that almost the entire Indian team hails from Ladakh, where they have trained on frozen lakes and makeshift ice rinks only for a few months per year, due to the weather patterns in India.
Despite the lack of infrastructure and disbelief among fans in the UAE that taunted the team with chants of “go home, be mothers,” India rose to glory, and their podium finish stands as an inspiration for women across the nation, even in the most remote regions.
