India's got talent: From Asian Games win to hosting Cricket World Cup

From bagging 107 medals at the Asian Games to hosting hockey and cricket World Cups, 2023 saw India making rapid strides toward becoming a sporting behemoth

Kishore Jena took a deep breath, arched back, and sprinted to his mark to hurl the javelin with all his might. As the javelin soared past Hangzhou’s evening sky to strike the ground at 86.77 metres, there were collective gasps of disbelief from spectators.

Jena’s monstrous throw catapulted him into the lead in the javelin final of the 2023 Asian Games, ahead of his compatriot and fan favourite Neeraj Chopra.

It would be short-lived though as Chopra would register 

88.88m in his next attempt to lead a rare gold-silver finish for India in men’s javelin at the showpiece sporting extravaganza in China.

For Jena,