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2025 will go down as one of the most talked-about years in the history of Indian sports. Drama, excitement, jubilation and heartbreaks - 2025 had it all. From unprecedented highs to new lows, it was a rollercoaster year for Indian sports across cricket, football, athletics, badminton and shooting, among others.
From prestigious global cricket titles to historic individual feats to triumphs and breakthroughs in para and youth sports, Indian athletes continued to shine on various international stages. While the on-field success elevated the country's status in the global arena, off-field issues cast a shadow over the glory.
2025 was a great year for Indian cricket, especially on the global stage. The Asian giants enjoyed a memorable year in both men's and women's categories. The Men In Blue kicked off the year in splendid fashion, winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and asserting their supremacy on the global stage after a remarkable unbeaten run.
The CT 2025 was the second successive ICC white-ball title for India after the 2024 T20 World Cup success. Months later, India clinched their second multi-format title of the year by winning the ACC Asia Cup 2025 with a famous win over Pakistan in the final.
Months later, the women's team followed suit by winning the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup and claimed their maiden ICC title. The ODI world title was seen as a watershed moment for India's women's cricket after decades of disappointments and heartbreaks.
The young boys had the chance to cap off the year with another title in the country's trophy cabinet, but the Indian Colts team fell at the final hurdle in the ACC U-19 Asia Cup against Pakistan.
India's fortunes were mixed in track and field in 2025. Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra finally realised his 90-m dream at the Doha Diamond League by breaching the elusive 90-metre mark with a throw of 90.23m.
While Neeraj successfully got the monkey off his back by improving on his personal best and the Indian national record, it wasn't enough to win the event as his 90.23m effort was upstaged by Julian Weber’s 91.06m throw.
The Olympic and world champion entered the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo with lofty expectations. However, India's "Golden Boy" got a reality check. Chopra, who finished a disappointing eighth in Japan, was outperformed by Sachin Yadav, who emerged as a potential world-class javelin thrower with a fourth-place finish.
Several others also reached global finals and podiums in track and field events to bolster the hopes of the nation in the upcoming Olympic cycles.
Indian shooters and archers enjoyed a prolific outing in 2025 as new superstars emerged to take centre stage. In shooting, Samrat Rana won the world crown in the men's 10m air pistol and also contributed to the team gold and mixed team silver at the 2025 World Championships. He became the first Indian to win a World gold in an Olympic pistol event and only the third Indian to achieve the feat after legends Abhinav Bindra and Rudrankksh Patil.
Suruchi Phogat enjoyed a breakthrough year, winning four World Cup golds throughout the year, and then a gold in the World Cup final. Suruchi dominated the women's 10m air pistol event across events and upstaged double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, among others, throughout 2025.
In archery, India dominated at world events and produced some sensational performances. Prathamesh Fuge led the Indian men's team to its first-ever gold in the compound category at the World Archery Championships to achieve a historic result.
Indian para-athletes enjoyed a prolific outing at World Para Games where they clinched 22 medals (6 gold, 9 silver and 7 bronze) in New Delhi. The rich medal haul marked India's best-ever medal haul at the event.
Among the standout performances were Nishad Kumar (High Jump T47), Shailesh Kumar (High Jump T63), Sumit Antil (Javelin F64), Sandip Sanjay Sargar (Javelin F44), Rinku Hooda (Javelin F46), and Simran Sharma (100m T12), who contributed to India's record haul of 6 gold medals.
Amidst the several highs, there were many lows. The doping menace continued to haunt India as several top Indians were caught in the net, including Olympian javelin thrower Shivpal Singh and former Asian Games medallist discus thrower Seema Punia. What made matters worse was the news of India topping the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list for doping violations for the third straight year.
It was a disastrous year for Indian football, too. The indefinite suspension of the Indian Super League (ISL) season put over 300 footballers' livelihoods at risk.
The uncertainty surrounding the future of the ISL, India's top-tier football league, will remain until the All India Football Federation (AIFF) secures a new commercial partner. The unprecedented crisis underlined the systemic failures in Indian football's administration and governance.
