India’s men’s team T20 World Cup win, Gukesh becoming the world champion in Chess beating Ding Liren, Neeraj Chopra continuing to shine at the Olympics bagging a silver medal in Javelin throw, Indian Men’s hockey team securing their second consecutive bronze at the Olympics. Indian sports experienced countless of highs in 2024 as the country took a step forward in terms of rising to compete against the top countries across the world. However, Indian sports also witnessed a fair share of controversies. Here we list the top five biggest controversies in 2024:
1. Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the final at Paris Olympics
A potential gold was snatched from Vinesh Phogat’s hands at the Paris Olympics earlier this year after she weighed 100 grams overweight in her category. The decision sent shockwaves back in India. Phogat had shifted from 53kg to 50kg category in wrestling and had made it to the final defeating the undefeated and the Olympic champion Yui Susaki in the opening round. However, she was disqualified for being just 100 grams overweight on the morning of the final as per the rules. She appealed against the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) but the decision stood to shatter India and Phogat’s dream. The wrestler also announced her retirement post the disqualification.
2. Antim Panghal deported home from the Paris Olympics
Fresh off Vinesh Phogat’s controversy, Antim Panghal just added more embarrassment for India as she was deported from Paris with immediate effect for disciplinary breach. Panghal and her entourage were sent back to India in the middle of the Games after the wrestler handed her official accreditation card to her sister who was caught by security while leaving the Games village. On the same day, Panghal crashed out of the Olympics after losing her opening bout in the 53kg category.
3. Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan removed from central contract
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan made the headlines for the wrong reasons at the start of the year. Both of them were excluded from the central contracts for not adhering to the instructions from the BCCI to play domestic cricket while not with the Indian team. During the South Africa tour in December, Kishan took a break from cricket for personal reasons but was spotted training in Baroda with Hardik Pandya. He returned to play DY Patil T20 tournament but skipped domestic cricket for Jharkhand. At the same time, Iyer was dropped from the Indian team during the Test series at home vs England and was expected to be available for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. Instead, he stated that his shoulder is sore and missed the games. Meanwhile, NCA had declared him fit only for the BCCI to exclude him from the central contract.
4. Sanjeev Goenka-KL Rahul altercation
KL Rahul and Sanjeev Goenka were at the centre of discussion during the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League after Lucknow Super Giants lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in one of the matches. It was a crucial game for LSG but Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma blew them away in a chase. After the match, skipper KL Rahul was seen talking to a fuming LSG owner Sanjeev Goenka who allegedly wasn’t pleased with the tactics employed by the team in the encounter. Goenka seemed to be reprimanding Rahul at the time and the incident sparked a major controversy with many criticising the former for publicly humiliating the Indian cricketer.
5. Tiff between Igor Stimac and AIFF
It was a tough year for Indian football as they failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Following poor performances, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sacked head coach Igor Stimac terminating his contract as well. Post the termination, Stimac slammed AIFF and its president Kalyan Chaubey stating that the Indian football is imprisoned. He also approached FIFA claiming the non-payment of his dues. AIFF hit back with its own allegations against the coach who was with the team since 2019. Eventually, the AIFF had to pay Stimac USD 400,000 to settle the pending dues.
