From empty stadiums during an Olympics to a 10-wicket haul in a Test, from a mid-game cardiac arrest to an emotional crowd tracking the developments of one of the greatest players of football changing his allegiance, sport saw it all.
A javelin throw made an entire country roar. Mental health took a front row seat as "oohs" and "aahs" greeted the 'unheard-of' decisions.Racism was tackled in a way never known before. Stars disappeared and reappeared quite conveniently as the worldwent down a warpath against human rights abuse, censorship and staying mum. 10 wickets were grabbed by a single man in a Test while 'pedal-to-the-metal' anda last-lap controversy decided the fate of the new "Race God" 2021, with a pandemic raging on the side, was quite a roller coaster ride!
We'll get right to it, shall we? The sporting highlights of the year in snippets, glimpses and adrenaline!
Neeraj Chopra clinches Olympic gold, ends India's wait
Neeraj Chopra celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men's javelin throw final at the Olympics in Tokyo. AP
Neeraj Choprafought his way into the spotlight with a throw of 87.58m and immortalised himself as the first track-and-field Olympic Games medal-winner for India.
His was the country's seventh medal and the only gold in this Olympics and he joined shooter Abhinav Bindra (2008 Beijing Games) in an elite and very hard-to-reach club of India's individual gold winners in the showpiece.
Chopra shatteredthe glass ceiling to become the country's first gold-medallist in 13 years.He became the youngest Indian to win an Olympic gold and the only one to do it in his debut Games.
"Dare ye speak of mental health"
File image of Simone Biles. AP
It was the year that mental health took a prominent position in the sports world led by two female athletes: Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka.
Biles, the American gymnastics superstar, earned her seventh Olympic medal and second in Tokyo with a third-place finish in the balance beam final on Aug. 3. That was a week after she took herself out of several competitions to deal with a dreaded mental block that gymnasts call the twisties, which prevents an athlete from performing high-level moves safely.
This was two months after Osaka pulled out of the French Open before the second round to take a mental health break after having announced she would not participate in news conferences in Paris. She also sat out Wimbledon before participating in the Tokyo Olympics.
Together, their sagas led the way to a new, more in-depth conversation about emotional health and athletes.
'Streets still smokin'
Max Verstappen narrowly beat Lewis Hamilton in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to deny the Mercedes driver a record eighth world title. AP
An emotional Max Verstappen described his journey to being crowned 2021 Formula One world champion as "insane" after he beat rival Lewis Hamilton in a last lap sprint for victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 12 December. Verstappen thus snatched from Hamilton the chance to be crowned champion a recordeight times.
The intervention of a safety car four laps from the end, some would say, was the deciding factor.
It was a fitting end to a season that saw the two contenders go wheel-to-wheel in over 22 races, spanning four continents. It marked the first time the contenders were equal at the season finale since 1974.
On the same day,Mercedes lodged two appealsagainst Verstappen's win over Hamilton. However, four days later, Mercedes withdrew the appeal saying they had made the decision following "constructive dialogue" with governing body FIA.
The curious case of Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai alleged that a powerful Chinese politician sexually assaulted her. AP
Peng Shuai is at the centre of growing concern after the tennis star alleged in November that a powerful Chinese politician sexually assaulted her. The 35-year-old Peng, a former world number one in doubles, went missing since only to reappear quite out-of-the-blue at a sporting event and a restaurant where she declared that she was absolutely fine.
Many questioned the sudden twist in the tale, including sportspersons and celebrities who had raised a hue and cry over her disappearance, which many think prompted the Chinese government to take necessary action to thwart global outcry and suspicion.
It was the first time that the #MeToo movement has struck at the top echelons of Chinas ruling Communist Party.
An 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!' T20 World Cup
Australia won their first cricket T20 World Cup with an eight-wicket victory over New Zealand in the final on 14 November.
Australia have not lost to New Zealand in a knockout game over the last 40 years.
David Warner's impressive comeback from being dropped by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the preceding IPL season to receiving the'Player of the Tournament' medallion in the T20 World Cup, was a true story of redemption.
Ajaz Patel's impressive 10-fer
Image of Ajaz Patel. AP
New Zealand's left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel became only the third bowler to take all 10 wickets in an innings as India folded for 325 during the second session on day two of the second Test against New Zealand in Mumbai on 3 December during the India vs New Zealand series.
The Mumbai-born 34-year-old Ajaz, joined an elite list comprising just Jim Laker (1956) and Anil Kumble (1999) in scalping 10-wicket hauls in a Test innings.With all 10 wickets in his kitty, Patel also surpassed the great Richard Hadlee to record the best figures by a New Zealand bowler. Hadlee had taken nine for 52 versus Australia back in 1985.
"Honestly, it's surreal and to be able to do that in my career is pretty special. The stars have aligned for me to do it in Mumbai," Patel said after his feat.
Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Vijay Patil lauded New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel for donating his "10-wicket" ball for the upcoming MCA museum where it would duly be the "pride of the place".
Yorkshire racism row
A video grab from footage broadcast by the UK Parliament's Parliamentary Recording Unit shows former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq testifying in front of a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in London on 16 November as MPs probe racial harassment at the club. AFP
AzimRafiq grabbed the spotlight this year when his allegations of racism against the Yorkshire Cricket County Club wherein he told British lawmakers, part of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee, this November, that he "lost his career" to racism.
An independent report found the Pakistan-born player was a victim of "racial harassment and bullying" while Rafiq himself said he had been driven to thoughts of suicide over the way he was treated.
Rafiqaccused Former England captain Michael Vaughan of being a perpetrator in this racism row.England spinner Adil Rashid joined ex-Pakistan Test player Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in alleging that Vaughan had said in front of a group of Yorkshire players of Asian ethnicity in 2009: "Too many of you lot, we need to do something about it."
Novak Djokovic
File image of 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. AP
Novak Djokovic, during the Tokyo Olympics,lost his cool and abused his racket several times during a 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 defeat to Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in the bronze-medal match of the tennis tournament.
Djokovic received a verbal warning for the net-post incident, but Carreno Busta appeared to question the chair umpire as to why it wasnt a point penalty since it was the second instance of racket abuse. The umpire, however, hadn't warned Djokovic for the first incident
Messi signswith PSG, bids adieu to Barcelona after 21 years
Lionel Messi broke down at his press conference to announce he was leaving FC Barcelona. AP
Lionel Messi fought back tears during a press conference in August at which he confirmed he is leaving Barcelona, where he has played his entire career.
Lionel Messi broke down even before he spoke. There was a round of applause as he stood on the stage, bawling his eyes out. And then the bombshell dropped: "After 21 years I'm leaving with my three Catalan-Argentine kids. We've lived in this city, this is our home. I'm just really grateful for everything, all my teammates, everyone who has been by my side."
After 21 years, 17 seasons with the first time, 778 appearances, 672 goals, 10 league titles, six Ballons d'Or, four Champions League trophies, it's all over for Messi andhis maiden club.
Olympics in a pandemic
A man, wearing a protective face mask, sits inside an empty Ariake Arena, just before the start of a women's volleyball preliminary round pool A match between Japan and South Korea, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 31, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. AP
Any sporting event is, at its heart, a show. It has the actors on center stage, performing for the rest of us. It has the spectators, sitting in their seats watching raptly. And in modern times, at least it has the home audience, which in the past half century of growing video viewership has far outpaced the numbers of those actually in attendance.
When it comes to fan interaction, sports, arguably, have been affected the most of all.
When TV cameras panned various Olympic venues and found emptiness, or even seats painted in seemingly random drab colors to look as if there are people in them, it was clear something that certain something that only a crowd can provide was glaringly absent.
Christian Eriksen
Christian Eriksen being carried away by paramedics on a stretcher after the footballer collapsed during a Euro 2020 match. AP Photo
AEuropean Championship game betweenDenmark and Finland was suspendedin June after Inter Milan midfielder Christian Eriksensuffered a cardiac arrest on field.Denmark's team doctor later said that Eriksen's heart stopped and that he was gone before being resuscitated with a defibrillator on ground.
Eriksenterminated his contract with Inter Milan by mutual consent six months later, this December.
(with inputs from agencies)
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Year in review 2021, Biggest Sports Stories: Of glory, mental health, censorship and tears - Firstpost
- NRA case shows the Supreme Court must stop informal censorship - Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Microsoft faces bipartisan criticism for alleged censorship on Bing in China - The Register - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Is Fighting Misinformation Censorship? The Supreme Court Will Decide. - Reply All | Gimlet - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- The censorship industry and it's connection to Israel - JNS.org - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- How to improve Chinese TV? Better censorship, says top tellie-maker - The Register - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Up First briefing: Putin wins Russian election; SCOTUS censorship case - NPR - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Elon Musk calls X number one source of news in the worldand also a hardcore, player versus player platform - Fortune - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Asking is not censorship: No First Amendment bar for government to talk to publishers - New York Daily News - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- X-Men: The Animated Series was defined by its censors - Polygon - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Justice Jackson lambasted for 'concern' 1st Amendment could 'hamstring government' in COVID censorship hearing - Fox News - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- The Beginning of the End for the Censorship-Industrial Complex? - National Review - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- RFK Jr.: Government shouldnt have role in social media moderation - NewsNation Now - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Self-Pollinating Narrator of 'Wishtree' Called 'Indoctrination,' Virginia District Group Read Canceled | Censorship News - News Letter Journal - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- This Country Can't Afford A SCOTUS Weak On Internet Censorship - The Federalist - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Banning TikTok is just the first step to censorship - Point Park Globe - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- SCOTUS Ponders Whether Biden Administration Coerced Social Media Platforms To Censor Speech - Reason - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- In Virginia, Censors Attempt to Axe 'Wishtree' - Publishers Weekly - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Elon Musk Says Moderation Is a Propaganda Word for Censorship About Offensive X Posts - Rolling Stone - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Supreme Court Makes A Mockery Of Free Speech - The Federalist - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- No matter how you view TikTok, banning the platform would be censorship - The Daily Orange - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- China must look beyond censorship and economic power to win hearts and minds - South China Morning Post - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- 'The View' Producers Forced To Censor Ana Navarro's Expletive As She Talks About Biden - Daily Caller - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- How China Censors Critics of the Economy - The New York Times - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- A Startup Allegedly 'Hacked the World.' Then Came the Censorshipand Now the Backlash - WIRED - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Negative Takes on China's Economy Are Disappearing From the Internet - The Wall Street Journal - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Let The Government Censor Away Through Agents It Controls, Say Cabal Of A.G.s To U.S. Supreme Court Wirepoints - Wirepoints - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- 14 Massachusetts colleges land on restrictive free speech list: Censorship and terrible policies - Boston Herald - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- The Association of Appin Training Centers is waging a global censorship campaign to stop you from reading these ... - MuckRock - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Norway owns a part of Putin's propaganda and censorship machine - The Independent Barents Observer - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Censorship? That's just obscene! | Opinion | register-herald.com - Beckley Register-Herald - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Censorship in the West is the same as Mao's China, says Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei - Sky News - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- South Korean government reported to announce plans for smoking scene censorship from K-dramas and films at the ... - Sportskeeda - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Prime Video's 'Expats' Was Filmed in Hong Kongbut You Can't Watch It There - TIME - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- ADF to 8th Circuit: Govt can't censor pro-life views - ADF Media - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Fox News Forced To Censor Trump As He Rants About Gavin Newsom And Michelle Obama - Towleroad - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- NYC teachers will exchange notes on how to get around censorship to teach kids about the genocide in Gaza - New York Post - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- The GOP Has a Plan for Online Safety. It Involves Censoring LGBTQ Content. - The New Republic - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Opinion: Need help finding a good book? Try one your 9th grader isn't allowed to read - Los Angeles Times - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- 'Gateway to Censorship': Journalist Bodies Express Concern Over Proposed Broadcasting Services Bill - The Wire - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- The Dangerous Pursuit of Journalism in Russia: A Harrowing Reality - Medriva - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Global censorship campaign raises alarms - Freedom of the Press Foundation - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Texas Library Censorship Attempt Struck Down By 5th Circuit - Above the Law - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war - Committee to Protect Journalists - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- South Sudan's Battle with Censorship: Removing Hateful News Articles - The Organization for World Peace - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Intimidation leading to censorship in Wisconsin school libraries - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Censorship over Palestine: Holocaust Survivor Decries Repression After Talks in Germany Are Canceled - Democracy Now! - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- As Legacy Media Continues in Decline, It Espouses Censorship More - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Trump Nomination: Pundit Expects Censorship, Calls for Riots - The Dallas Express - January 21st, 2024 [January 21st, 2024]
- Data Overwhelmingly Supports Libraries and Library Workers: Book Censorship News, January 5, 2024 - Book Riot - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Blame adults these days for censorship - Times Higher Education - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- CNN admits it runs all Gaza coverage through bureau monitored by Israeli military censor - Salon - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Does your Pa. school policy open the door to censorship? - phillyBurbs.com - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Iran's internet price rises, and so does the fear of greater censorship - TechRadar - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Report highlights censorship and repression of Palestine solidarity across Europe - Morning Star Online - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- 2024, the year that four billion go the polls - Index on Censorship - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Government Internet censorship was imposed 196 times last year - 9to5Mac - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- In the shadows of self-censorship: The impact of the Cyber Security Act on Bangladeshs LGBTQ+ movement - Global Voices - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Jeffrey Wright Says Studio Hired a Replacement Actor to Dub Him After He Refused to Censor the N-Word in a Film: Nah. Thats Not Happening - Variety - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Comedian and musician Tom Smothers dies at 86: A victim of government and corporate censorship in the late 1960s - WSWS - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Polish pavilion selection at Venice Biennale gets political as rejected artist cries censorship - Art Newspaper - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Wartime censorship is necessary, but must be responsible - editorial - The Jerusalem Post - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Jeffrey Wright Says a Replacement Actor Dubbed His Lines When He Refused to Censor the N-Word - PEOPLE - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Judicial Watch Sues Biden Censorship Agency for Records Targeting Judicial Watch and Its President Tom Fitton - Judicial Watch - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Jeffrey Wright Says He Refused To Censor The N-Word In Ride With The Devil & Walked Away From Dubbing Film - Deadline - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Academic Bias and Censorship Are Huge Problems, and We Can Prove It - National Review - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Laws banning semi-automatic weapons and library censorship to take effect in Illinois - Toronto Star - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Here Are The States Urging SCOTUS To Allow Biden Admin To Coordinate With Big Tech To Censor Online Speech - Daily Caller - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- China Tries To Censor Data About Nearly 1 Billion People in Poverty - Newsweek - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Laws banning semi-automatic weapons and library censorship to take effect in Illinois - Firstpost - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Iowa School District removes over 70 books without following proper review procedures - Blogging Censorship - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Chinese election interference tests Taiwans capability to defend freedom of speech - Index on Censorship - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Laws banning semi-automatic weapons and library censorship to take effect in Illinois - Index-Journal - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Censorship and the case for institutional literacy - The Hill - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Release Of Aquaman And The Lost Kingdoms Dubbed Versions DELAYED Due To Censor Board - Times Now - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Gary Simmons on Censorship, Minstrelsy, and the Scourge of Art Fairs - Interview - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Jeff Crouere: Censorship is un-American; free speech is the answer - The Franklin Sun - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Mother Russia. Who is the face of Russian online censorship, scourge of Russian rappers and Gen-Z icon - . - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Why Middle East scholars are self-censoring in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war - NPR - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- "Keeping Your Mouth Shut: Spiraling Self-Censorship in the United States" - Reason - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- EU TARGETS Elon Musk's Twitter for MORE CENSORSHIP Over 'HAMAS PROPAGANDA': Rising Reacts - The Hill - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]