Sports

Anushka Munda learnt football on uneven village ground, carried family responsibility early, and now scores under international floodlights. Her journey shows how belief and grassroots support shape young sporting talent.

After decades of farm work and family responsibilities, Pani Devi Godara began training in her nineties. Today, she continues to compete on the track and bring home gold medals.

Before the medal moment in Paris, there were years of routine, restraint, and resolve in Panipat. This is how Navdeep Singh Sheoran built a journey that led him to the top of global para-athletics.

Hailing from Prayagraj, Abhinav Sinha started Chance2Sports in Pune with one belief: talent should never depend on money or postcode. The system he built from there now supports young squash players across India.

Her journey began on a school track and led her through lockdowns, injuries, and doubt. With every hurdle cleared, Jyothi Yarraji moved closer to her dream, rewriting Indian athletics along the way.

At 19, a medical diagnosis forced Devaki Dhar to step away from the track she loved. Months later, she returned with a new way of training, thinking, and listening to her body, and ran a race she never thought possible again.

From packed stadiums to frozen lakes and backyard training grounds, Indian athletes created moments in 2025 that stayed with us. These 10 stories capture the wins, firsts and breakthroughs that reshaped how India watched sport.

Real Kashmir FC was born from devastation after the 2014 floods, when two friends handed out 100 footballs to aimless boys in Srinagar. What followed became a movement that carried a valley from despair to national glory — rewriting Kashmir’s story through courage, community and the power of sport.

At 21, Shafali Verma represents a kind of ambition we rarely pause to understand. Her story is shaped by early responsibility, setbacks, and an honesty that does not try to impress anyone. From Rohtak’s narrow lanes to lifting a World Cup, she shows what determination looks like when you look at it up close.

In Colombo, a group of women who play cricket by listening rewrote what the game can stand for. Their unbeaten run is filled with small acts of bravery and belief that invite you to see this victory from the inside.