Divya Deshmukh’s triumph in Georgia, where she defeated the legendary Grandmaster and compatriot Koneru Humpy — twice her age — in the summit clash, made her the youngest-ever Women’s World Cup winner at just 19. This clash of generations heralded a new era in Indian women’s chess. Divya’s extraordinary achievement also made her only the fourth Indian woman and the 88th Indian overall to earn the Grandmaster title. She bypassed the criterion of three norms, as the title was conferred directly upon her for winning the World Cup. Her path to the title was a demanding one, taking her past formidable opponents such as China’s World No.6 Zhu Jiner, the veteran Indian Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli, and former women’s world champion Tan Zhongyi of China. Divya Deshmukh’s triumph in Georgia, where she defeated the legendary Grandmaster and compatriot Koneru Humpy — twice her age — in the summit clash, made her the youngest-ever Women’s World Cup winner at just 19.(Photo credit: Anna Shtourman/FIDE)Indian football’s false dawnIndian football has had bad years, but even by those standards, 2025 set a new low with the Indian Super League in limbo. But there was a silver lining — Khalid Jamil’s first match as India head coach. Somehow came a 2-1 win against home favourites Tajikistan in the CAFA Nations Cup. That victory came against a team ranked 27 spots above India in the FIFA rankings. Tajikistan were also the host, and the capacity crowd at the Hisor Central Stadium were all cheering for them. All this was only a false dawn of course. It was followed by a listless performance at home against the lower-ranked Singapore, which ended India’s chances of qualifying for the expanded Asian Cup in 2027.Rohit MundayurBend it like… DeclanFootball has seen many jaw-dropping free kicks — from Roberto Carlos to David Beckham. And this year, Declan Rice put his name into the mix. When he lined up to take the free kick from outside the box in the 58th minute against Real Madrid. After taking a deep breath, he sent the ball curling beyond the wall. For a fraction of a second, it appeared to miss the side post before it curled in and to beat Thibaut Courtois. The strike brought the roof down. But Rice wasn’t done. Twelve minutes later, he lined up to take another, this time closer to the right corner. He clearly can’t do it twice on the same night? But he brought out another curler and as Arsenal players made way, the ball ended up at the top left corner as Courtois was beaten again.Venkata Krishna BALSO READ | Reflections of 2025: A historic Women’s World Cup win, frailty of Bazball exposed, Virat Kohli’s tears of joyWalcott’s golden comebackOn a heartbreaking day for javelin stars from Asia, Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem emerged as one of the heartening comeback stories. Thirteen years after he became Olympic Champion in London, Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago was crowned World Champion in Tokyo. He found his footing again by finishing seventh at the Paris Olympics post an Achilles injury but with no major medals in his kitty since the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze, his best days seemed behind him at the age of 32. He took the lead in the second round with 87.83 metres and improved to 88.16 metres in the fourth round to clinch gold. Behind the scenes was a familiar face for Indians, Klaus Bartonietz, Neeraj Chopra’s coach, who had retired last year, in Walcott’s corner. “Maybe some changes I made last year paid off. To change my coach was the best decision I have made recently,” Walcott said later. With Walcott, Anderson Peters of Grenada and Curtis Thompson of the USA making it 1-2-3, the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo didn’t have a European on the podium, like at the 2024 Paris Olympics.Nihal KoshieEverest conqueredIn May, visually impaired mountaineer, 29-year-old Chhonzin Angmo, conquered Mount Everest. Angmo, who hails from the remote Chango village in Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh, had lost her vision in Class 3. With her summit climb, she became the first visually impaired woman to scale the world’s highest peak. Angmo was also part of Operation Blue Freedom, an expedition of specially-abled persons to Siachen Glacier.Nitin SharmaPSG reach promised landParis Saint-Germain finally reached the pinnacle of Europe when they thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final. And they did it without the help of so-called superstars with the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe moving on. The French champions fully surrendered themselves to coach Luis Enrique’s vision, with the oft-derided Ousmane Dembele leading the way. Dembele, Vitinha, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Désiré Doué were just some of the names who emerged from the Champions League final as bona fide superstars with their quick press and lightning-fast counterattacks running through the mythical Italian defence. And in the middle of that revolution stood Enrique, a treble winner with Barcelona and now, a Parisian legend.Sayak DuttaMcIlroy goes greenIt is exceedingly rare for golf to break through its tiny bubble and make a ripple in the wider sporting world. But in April, there was a cheer from every corner for a diminutive Northern Irishman to end an 11-year wait and make history. There is plenty of debate around why exactly Rory McIlroy has so much international goodwill. Presumably, his fallibility makes him as relatable as his ability makes him enthralling. At the Masters, he gave the viewing public the whole experience. From the rip-roaring rounds of golf to chokes under pressure and then unlikely comebacks. As he fell to his knees, finally unburdened after edging a playoff to become only the sixth golfer to complete the Career Grand Slam, the global outpouring of support made it clear this was one of those rarer history-making moments that also illicit visceral adoration in real time.Namit KumarStory continues below this adSkills pay the billsIn combat sports, weight classes exist for a reason. Jake Paul found out the hard way when Anthony Joshua, a gargantuan heavyweight, literally dismantled his jaw. But when two elite fighters — possibly the two greatest boxers of this generation — decided to set up a ring, a date and a Netflix watch party, eyebrows were raised. Terrence Crawford decided to jump two weight classes to take on Canelo Alvarez, the Mexican super middleweight who was the answer to life after Mayweather and Pacquiao. Crawford, a southpaw, soundly defeated the odds-on favourite Mexican. A supreme, singular reign of boxing’s last global superstar was brought to an end by an Ohioan boxer who chiselled his own lonely path to the top of his craft.Shashank NairPhoto-finish… in a marathon Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu, bottom, crosses the finish line ahead of Germany’s Amanal Petros to win the men’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)Athletics served one of the most iconic yet fascinating moments of the year. The photo finish camera, usually reserved for sprint finishes, decided the longest track event of the World Championships. Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu snatched marathon gold from German Amanal Petros on the finishing line, edging him out by 0.03s, marking the closest-ever finish in a global championships marathon. Simbu and Petros were both credited with the same time: 2:09:48.Pritish RajIll-timed tauntIt came in a second-round game of the US Open when Jelena Ostapenko unleashed an astonishing outburst against Taylor Townsend after losing. She said Townsend had “no class” and “no education”. Townsend responded on court with a smile, saying “you can learn to take a loss better”. It was left to Naomi Osaka, born to a Haitian-American father and a Japanese mother, to place the confrontation in context when she came to Townsend’s defense, saying, “I think obviously it’s one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority White sport.” Townsend would later say in an on-court interview: “I beat her in Canada outside of the U.S., I beat her in New York outside the U.S., so let’s see what else she has to say.” Ostapenko would apologise later, saying her English wasn’t perfect and she meant “tennis etiquette”.Sriram VeeraA North Korean bear hugThe year splintered into four moments. First, Kidambi Srikanth ending a 1,252-day wait to reach an international final at the Malaysia Masters. It gently underscored the daily grind athletes endure in pursuit of relevance. Then came Neeraj Chopra breaching the 90m barrier, finally shedding the monkey that had lingered on his back far longer than his talent warranted. Botswana’s men winning the men’s 4x400m relay world title was another standout — not just for the medal, but for the poetry of context. As Kenyan journalist Michael Kirwa noted, Botswana is 84 per cent desert, rain so rare they named their currency pula, meaning blessing. In heavy rain, Botswana scorched the Tokyo track to become the first African nation to win the event. Yet my moment of the year came from wrestling. After North Korea’s Won Myong-gyong won the women’s 50kg world title, she hugged all three referees — long, tearful, disarming embraces. In that instant, stereotypes dissolved. It was a reminder that governments don’t define people, and emotion remains sport’s universal language.Mihir VasavdaStory continues below this adMagnus, smashIt was a fist slam heard around the world. When Magnus Carlsen smashed his balled-up fist on the chessboard just before resigning in a classical game against Gukesh Dommaraju at his home tournament of Norway Chess, it was a moment swimming in subtext. Carlsen prides himself as being one of the best to ever play the sport, believing that he doesn’t even need to wear the world champion’s crown to prove his credentials. Gukesh is the 18-year-old upstart who currently occupies the throne. Carlsen wanted to win to prove a point. But the King had lost instead, losing his way in the endgame, which has traditionally been his strongest suit. And on December 29, he’d slam the table again, after losing against Arjun Erigaisi at the World Blitz Championship. A moment so viral in 2025, he did it again to cap it off.Amit Kamath