Tears and Jubilations: 10 most memorable sports moments of 2014

63 not out, forever
While the year produced many a sporting heroes, memories and controversies, nothing shook the collective conscience of the world like the death of Australian batsman Phil Hughes. Hughesy, as his teammates fondly called him, died after being struck on the head by a bouncer in a domestic game. It was a life lost too soon, a talent gone before it could take its full shape. Right from the entire cricketing community to a middle-class 40-year-old Indian to a small kid in Karachi, almost everyone shed a tear for the man who loved his cows. He will, indeed, remain forever 63 not out.

Germany's delight, Brazil's pain
For a football-crazy country hosting the World Cup for the first time since 1950, Brazil were rated as favourites. So imagine the collective sadness and shock when they were blown out by Germany 7-1 in the semifinal — the biggest rout ever that far along in the tournament. The Germans scored five goals in the first half-hour — four of them in seven minutes. Germany went on to win the World Cup, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final. While all eyes were on Lionel Messi, the Germans quietly made their way into history books. As for Brazil, there was nothing but heartache.

Rohit's double dhamaka
It was ridiculous, really. The Sri Lankans might rue helping the Indian cricket board by agreeing to play a five-match ODI series in place of the West Indies. What hit them in the fourth rubber at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata was almost inexplicable. Rohit Sharma batted like a man possessed, bludgeoning the Lankan attack all around the park to score a whopping 264 off just 173 balls. His nonchalant flick for a six over mid-wicket boundary made Nuwan Kulasekara look like a pedestrian off-spinner. Sachin Tendulkar's double century in 2010 seemed a distant memory.

Hockey high...and the low
It was straight out of a Bollywood script. An India-Pakistan final, deadlock after regulation time, and a dramatic penalty shootout. In a span of minutes, our hockey players became the toast of the nation, beating the arch-rivals 4-2 to clinch a historic Asian Games gold medal after 16 years. Apart from the Asiad triumph, the Indian hockey team also clinched an impressive silver in Commonwealth Games, besides beating Australia in their own backyard. But as is always the case with Indian hockey, the year wasn't without controversies. Head coach Terry Walsh's departure after the Asian Games high took the limelight away from the on-field highs.

India's cricket concerns
It wasn't such a great year for Indian cricket, both on and off the field. The MS Dhoni-led team continued to have a torrid time outside home in Tests, with losses in New Zealand and England. The one-day form did blossom, though. But outside the field, the Supreme Court rapped the BCCI, and particularly N Srinivasan, over the IPL spot-fixing scandal. Some big national cricketers are also allegedly under the scanner, going by the Justice Mudgal report. The burning issue of conflict of interest wasn't spared either by the apex court. Worrying times ahead for Indian cricket, perhaps.

It's raining leagues
It was raining sports leagues in the country this year. After the unprecedented success of the IPL, it was the turn of football, kabaddi and tennis to join the league bandwagon. It attracted the best in the business to ply their trade here. The Indian Super League (football) and the Pro Kabaddi League were huge hits, with supporters turning out in large numbers. As for tennis fans, they were in for some real treat. The International Premier Tennis League saw the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic battle in New Delhi, while the lesser-known Champion Tennis League too made its presence felt.

The rise & rise of Srikanth
What a year it was for Kidambi Srikanth! From World No. 47 at the end of 2013, the Guntur lad is now ranked a career-high No. 4. Beating the Chinese in badminton is one things, but to down five-time world champion Lin Dan in the China Open final is quite another. Srikanth thus became the first Indian male shuttler to win a Super Series Premier event. He wasn't the only toast of Indian badminton, though. Saina Nehwal also clinched the China Super Series Premier. PV Sindhu bagged a rich haul of five bronze medals, including a World Championship, Uber Cup and Asian Games medal.

Sarita's ban, and hope
One can be rest assured that no one would want to silence the critics at the 2016 Rio Olympics more than Indian boxer Sarita Devi. The International Boxing Association (AIBA) threatened to end her career for refusing to accept her 2014 Asian Games bronze medal. The 29-year-old lost her 60kg semifinal bout to South Korea's Jina Park despite dominating the bout. An inconsolable Sarita refused to accept the bronze medal and later handed it over to Park, creating a furore. But with AIBA handing her a one-year ban, the braveheart from Manipur can still dream of laying her hands at the much-cherished Olympic medal.

Dope taint on Lee
The badminton fraternity went into a shock when the Badminton World Federation announced that then World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei was temporarily suspended from competition "due to an apparent anti-doping regulation violation", after his urine sample was tested positive for the banned anti-inflammatory dexamethasone during the World Championships in late August. Lee defended himself, saying the banned substance was injected into him for a thigh injury treatment. "There is no way I could have administered dexamethasone into my body by myself," said Lee, adding, "Frankly, I still can't believe what has happened to me." No one can.

Djoker's epic finale triumph
He had lost five of the last six Grand Slam finals. Andy Murray beat him in three sets the year before. He simply couldn't afford to lose another Wimbledon final. Well, he didn't. Novak Djokovic broke quite a few hearts – but won many more – when he defeated 17-time Grand Slam champions Roger Federer in an epic final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon. It ebbed and flowed, almost signifying the greatness on display, and it was the Serb that refused to crack under pressure, winning 6-7(7) 6-4 7-6(4) 5-7 6-4 in almost four hours. As for Federer, he was going nowhere.