Top five lesser-known sporting achievements of India in 2022

We take a look at the Indian stories that deserve to be told from the year.

The year 2022 is coming to end and there were many sporting events which brought success to India. Winning the World Cup in Badminton (the Thomas Cup 2022 win), Neeraj Chopra winning medals in World Athletics Championships and the Diamond League and much more such achievements gave Indians reasons to be proud of the country's sporting prowess. However, there were some baby steps taken in sports Indians were never known to be dominant at. We try to take a look at such achievements, which in hindsight, wouldn't be as big as the ones mentioned above but have the potential of pushing India to the top of the echelons in the world of sports.

In this article let us discuss the five lesser-known sporting achievements of India in the year 2022:

Making our presence felt at World Equestrian Championships

Shruthi Vora and Anush Agrawalla became the first Indians to qualify for the Individual dressage event at the World Equestrian Championships. Vora is an experienced rider having already participated in the 2014 Asian Games where she finished eighth.

Anush Agrawalla started the sport at the age of three in Kolkatta and soon shifted his base to New Delhi. With the sport not developed he shifted to Germany in 2017 and since has been training there. In the recently held championships, he partners with Sir Caramella OLD, a 15-year-old horse who was ridden earlier by a US Olympian. Also, the 22-year-old was one of the youngest to take part in the World Championships in 2022.

There are a few other achievements as well with Chirag Khandel becoming the youngest to qualify for the Asian Games this year and Fouaad Mirza the Tokyo Olympian breaking a 20-year-old dressage record scoring 30.1 points during the World Eventing Championships. The previous record was created by Imtiaz Anees in 2002. 

A 16-year-old World Champion in Judo

It is unfortunate that having a World Champion in 2022 in a sport is on the list of lesser-known achievements for India. Linthoi Chanambam became the first-ever Indian to become Judo World Champion across all age categories. The 16-year-old won the gold medal at the World Cadet Judo Championship in Women’s 57kg category. She became the world champion by defeating Brazil’s Bianca Reis. Chanambam won several medals before becoming the cadet champion. 

She won a gold medal at the national sub-junior and cadet Judo Championship, and two more golds both in 2022 (Asian Cadet) and the Khelo India Youth Games. Chanambam also won a bronze medal at the 2021 Asia Oceania Cadet and Junior Judo Championship which was held in Lebanon, Beirut. Currently, the judoka is being trained at the JSW Sport situated in Bellary and the institute has played an important role in her career.

World Cup qualification for 3*3 U-17 Basketball team

Indian U-17 3*3 team qualified for the first time for the World Cup to be held in 2023. The Indian basketball team for the first time has qualified for the World Cup in any age-level category. The team beat Chinese Taipei to book a spot at the FIBA U-18 3*3 World Cup of 2023.

The team consisted of Kaushal Singh and Lokhendra who were part of the U-16 Asia Cup where India finished fifth. Dagar was a standout performer for the Indian side. He was part of the “team of the tournament” alongside players from Mongolia and Japan at the FIBA U-17 3*3 Asia Cup. India lost the finals to the eventual champions by just four points (17-21) putting up a great fight. 

Lakshadweep gets first national champion

Mubassina Mohammed from Lakshadweep became the first athlete to win a gold medal at the national level in Youth Athletic Championships. Apart from winning the gold at the national level she also went on to win a silver medal at the Asian Youth Athletic Championships in Kuwait. 

Lakshadweep to date does not have a single synthetic track to practise. Still, the athlete did not lose hope but rather practised hard to bring laurel. She competes in two events (long jump and heptathlon) and won medals in both events at the youth athletics meet, making her qualify for the Asian Championships.

U-16 Basketball team fifth in Asia

Youth Basketball of India features for the second time on the list of lesser-known sporting achievements of 2022. We really are making strides in it. 2023 is hence, going to be an even more exciting year for Indians in the sport. Indian basketball team created history by finishing fifth at the U-16 Asian Championships. It is the highest in any competition across all age categories. India before this edition never finished above the tenth rank, which in itself was a great achievement. Lokhendra and Kushal Singh were the top performers in the competition. Kaushal Singh featured in the team of the tournament. 

India beat the higher-ranked Japanese team to reach the quarterfinals and had they qualified for the semis, would have qualified for the U-17 World Cup in 2023.