Novak Djokovic’s historic Olympic gold to Rafael Nadal’s emotional retirement, top 5 moments in sports in 2024

The sporting world witnessed glory, heartbreaking defeats, emotional retirements and some controversial moments throughout 2024. From Rafael Nadal’s famous return from a long-term injury in early January to his retirement in November, fans witnessed a memorable 2024 year. 

As the end of an eventful year approaches, we pick the following five incidents as the top five moments in sports in 2024.

Novak Djokovic completed tennis

Novak Djokovic entered the 2024 year with 24 Grand Slam and 99 ATP titles and finished the year with the same numbers. But he finally managed to get his hands on the Olympic Gold medal, which he desired dearly throughout his illustrious career.

The Serbian defeated Rafael Nadal in the round of 32, the last official battle between the two giants, and stunned the favourite Carlos Alcaraz in the final to complete a historic ‘Career Golden Slam’ at the age of 37.

Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray bid farewell

In 2024, tennis fans witnessed the power game shifting from the famous ‘big four’ to rising youngsters Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, two of the remaining three legends in the big four, ended their professional career in the closing stages of the 2024 season.

Murray, the former No.1 and three-time Grand Slam winner, finally decided to give up after battling through injuries in the last couple of years. Nadal missed the entire 2023 season due to an injury and was not able to make an impact on his return to court in 2024.

With 22 majors and two Olympic gold medals, the Spanish legend bid an emotional farewell to tennis after Spain’s quarter-final exit at the Davis Cup Finals.

Imane Khelif’s golden fight against sex row

Imane Khelif’s name took the internet and social media by storm during the Paris Olympic Games 2024. The Algerian boxer was socially bullied after her Italian opponent Angela Carini withdrew during a bout claiming the former was not a woman by nature.

The sporting world was stunned by Carini’s allegations as many prominent figures, including Elon Musk and J K Rowling, criticised the boxer for featuring in the women’s event. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that Imane was born as a woman and went through an official gender eligibility test prior to the Olympic Games.

Carini and the Italian government apologised to Khelif for the former’s claims but the damage was done. Khelif’s reputation took a big hit as she suffered online bullying and protests from the sporting world throughout the Summer Olympics.

However, the 25-year-old boxer went on to win a gold medal in the women’s 65 kg welterweight category by beating China’s Yang Liu in the final and recently was awarded the Female Athlete of the Year 2024.

Heartbreaking end to Vinesh Phogat’s career

Vinesh Phogat, gold medalist in the Asian Championships, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, also made the headlines during the 2024 Olympic Games. The Indian wrestler was infamously disqualified from her final bout against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt in the women’s 50 kg category for being overweight by 150 gms. 

The 30-year-old wrestler was also denied a silver medal after the Court of Arbitration denied her appeal. Thar triggered Vinesh to announce a heartbreaking retirement from her professional career and later join politics. Her sudden retirement stunned the sporting world after she displayed remarkable dominance against top-ranked wrestlers on her way to the final at the Paris Games.

Bayer Leverkusen’s record-breaking unbeaten run

Bayer Leverkusen pulled off something impossible that no one had ever imagined in the history of football. The German side registered a record-breaking unbeaten run of 51 games and won the Bundesliga to steal the attention.

Led by head coach Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen recorded 28 wins and 6 draws in 34 matches to win their maiden Bundesliga title. Their unbeaten run lasted 351 days, stretching back from a loss against VfL Bochum in May 2023 to their heartbreaking defeat against Atalanta in the Europa League final in May 2024.