THE GAME CHANGERS

IN SPORTS, AS in life, highs and lows are part of the package. For the disappointment of the ODI World Cup final last November, there was the sterling victory in the T20 World Cup this June, a grand moment of redemption for many who were part of the earlier misadventure.

In this year's celebration of our country's best and brightest in sport, we have more than a few who have gone through such trials by fire and come out shining bright. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and teammate Virat Kohli, two giants of our cricketing world, more than redeemed themselves in the Barbados final as did Suryakumar Yadav, who every day seems to revel at making the impossible look normal with his batting.

Looking away from the cricket pitch, this was not an easy year for our Olympians. Many of our star hopefuls slipped and fell, but here again redemption was the key word. Pistol queen Manu Bhaker made up for Tokyo with not one but two medals. India's hockey team looked good enough for gold, but finally settled for bronze. Captain Harmanpreet Singh had an outsize role in the win, and his 10 goals in the tournament are only part of that story.

In other arenas, the young are taking on the world. International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah, the youngest to serve in the high chair at 35, and D. Gukesh, all of 18 and already a World Chess Championship challenger, are proof again that India's sports future is in safe hands.

1 ROHIT SHARMA, 37 Cricketer

THE HITMAN COMETH

BECAUSE he led India to a historic victory in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, ending a 13-year wait for a world title. The triumph also marked his retirement from T20 internationals. He has five centuries in the format, the most by any batsman

BECAUSE Rohit has guided the Mumbai Indians to a record five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles, cementing his legend in the world's richest cricket league

BECAUSE he holds the unique distinction of scoring three double centuries in ODIs, including the highest individual score of 264. Also for scoring the most hundreds (five) in a World Cup, five in the 2019 edition