Women World Cup Win To Gukesh Stunning Carlsen: Landmark Year For Indian Sports

From World Cup wins in Women's ODI, Squash, Kabaddi, Kho Kho and Blind T20 to World Champion D Gukesh beating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in a dramatic match, 2025 saw many such historic moments in Indian sports that left indelible memories for the fans.

The maiden Indian Premier League win by Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Virat Kohli, teenager Divya Deshmukh winning the Chess World Cup, Neeraj Chopra finally breaching the 90-metre mark in javelin, and World Championship gold medals in archery and shooting were also some of the top achievements that happened during the year.

Here are the important — not exhaustive — events that happened in Indian sports this year. 

The India women's team scripted history by defeating South Africa in the final and winning the ICC ODI World Cup for the first time, a historic feat that is set to usher in a new era in the country, much like what the 1983 win did for men's cricket.

India won the final by 52 runs. In 2005, India had lost to Australia in the final, while the team suffered a heartbreaking loss to England in 2017.

India scripted history by clinching its maiden Squash World Cup title and becoming the first Asian country to achieve the feat after overwhelming Hong Kong 3-0 in the summit clash.

India clinched the title without losing a single tie. The triumph also made India only the fourth country after Australia, England and Egypt to win the Squash World Cup title.

The sport is set to make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028.

Reigning World Champion D Gukesh stunned Magnus Carlsen by defeating the World No. 1 for the first time in a classical game in Round 6 of the Norway Chess tournament.

The match ended with Carlsen visibly frustrated and famously banging the table, a moment that went viral worldwide and sparked a flurry of memes and trending reels.

The moment of collapse was dramatic. Upon realising his costly error, Carlsen struck the board with his fist, hastily shook Gukesh’s hand, and exited the playing hall visibly agitated.

Neeraj Chopra finally breached the elusive 90-metre mark in a dramatic men's javelin contest at the Doha leg of the prestigious Diamond League Meeting series.

The double Olympic medallist Indian sent his spear 90.23m in his third attempt to join a list of javelin throwers, led by his current coach Jan Zelezny of Czechia, who had recorded 90m-plus efforts. He became the third Asian and 25th overall to achieve the feat.

Teenager Divya Deshmukh became the first Indian to win the FIDE Women's World Cup as she defeated compatriot Koneru Humpy in the final in Georgia.

The 19-year-old International Master from Nagpur also became the fourth Indian woman to become a Grandmaster and the 88th overall.

The Indian men's compound archery team created history by winning its maiden gold medal at the World Championships, beating France in the final. The trio of Rishabh Yadav, Aman Saini and Prathamesh Fuge held its nerve to edge past France 235–233 in a thrilling title clash.

At the World Para Archery Championships, 18-year-old Sheetal Devi struck gold in the women's compound open event, defeating Paralympic champion Oznur Cure Girdi of Turkey in the final.

In compound archery, Jyothi Surekha Vennam made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Archery World Cup Final 2025, clinching bronze.

The Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty settled for a bronze medal after going down to China's Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi in the men's doubles semifinals of the World Championships.

This is the pair's second medal at the Worlds, having won a bronze in 2022.

India won a total of 13 medals, including three gold, six silver and four bronze in the ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol.

Indian pistol shooter Samrat Rana made history by winning the men's 10m air pistol gold at the Worlds, becoming the first Indian to clinch a senior individual world title in the event.

The Indian men's hockey team beat South Korea 4–1 in the final to lift the Asia Cup trophy and qualify for next year's World Cup.

India ended the tournament with an unbeaten record, five wins and one draw. This is India's fourth Asia Cup title, having earlier won the tournament in 2003, 2007 and 2017.

The next World Cup will be held in Belgium and the Netherlands from Aug. 14–30, 2026.

India beat England by six runs in a dramatic final day of the fifth test match at the Oval to level the series 2-2. Mohammed Siraj took five wickets and Prasidh Krishna picked four as India thwarted England's bid to win the Anderson Tendulkar trophy.

The last day saw incredible scenes as Chris Woakes, who was out injured, came out to bat with his left arm on a sling under the sweater.

India secured their third Champions Trophy title with a four-wicket victory over New Zealand at the final in Dubai. India maintained control throughout the tournament, winning the title without losing a match.

The team has previously won the Champions Trophy in 2002 and 2013. No other team has won the tournament three times.

India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup 2025 final in Dubai to win their ninth title, but the post-match ceremony ended in controversy after players refused to accept the trophy.

The team declined to take it from Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Virat Kohli's long wait to lay his hands on the IPL trophy finally ended as Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the Indian Premier League for the first time by defeating Punjab Kings by six runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

However, in a tragic incident, a stampede occurred a day later when a large number of fans had gathered for the felicitation of team in Bengaluru, leading to 11 deaths.

The Indian women's blind cricket team made history by winning the inaugural Blind Women's T20 World Cup.

The team beat Nepal by seven wickets during the final match held in Colombo. The Indian team did not suffer a single loss, having scored a victory against Sri Lanka, Australia, Nepal, USA, Pakistan and Australia.

The Indian women's and men's teams won the Kho Kho World Cup titles.

On a memorable night at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India's men's and women's teams produced a masterclass of speed, strategy and skill, dishing out a clinical show in the traditional sport.

Indian pugilists bagged 20 medals, including nine gold, in the World Boxing Cup Finals in Greater Noida.

In a first, India won medals in all weight categories in a global championship of boxing, with its women bagging 10 medals, including seven gold, and the men finishing with a similar tally that included two gold medals.

However, only 15 women and 11 men ranked inside the top eight of their respective weight divisions participated. Powerhouses such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan fielded second or even third-string squads, while countries like China and the USA skipped the competition entirely.

The Indian women's kabaddi team on Monday secured its second consecutive World Cup title with a 35–28 win over Chinese Taipei.

India emerged on top in the International Kabaddi Federation's tournament involving 11 countries.

(With PTI inputs)