Sports' 10 best noments in 2021

The global pandemic of Covid-19 has brought the world to a halt but several essential and non-essential sectors have been in the running amid the pandemic. As for the sector of sports concerned, it has produced spectacular and remarkable memories in the year 2021.

From the people associated with sport and its events having to face mental health breakdowns due to long quarantines and other issues to the controversial incidents in some of the major events, The Business Standard (TBS) takes a look at the top 10 most memorable moments from the year gone by.

1. Verstappen with a 'dramatic' F1 title 

Max Verstappen was hailed as a future Formula One world champion even before he entered the sport as a 17-year-old rookie in 2015 and in the last month of 2021, whooping in delight, he fulfilled his destiny in a dramatic style. While Lewis Hamilton had been in a delightful lead and sheer control throughout the race, Verstappen with quicker and fresher soft tyres had the better of him in the last lap through a controversial decision by the Race Control.

2. Career threatening accident could not stop Tiger Woods

One of the world's most renowned sports figures Tiger Woods was hospitalized in Los Angeles in the early parts of 2021 with severe leg injuries suffered when his car careened off a road and rolled down a hillside, requiring rescue crews to pry him from the crash wreckage. Although the accident shattered his leg, the golf legend gradually returned in the last month of the year, looking solid but not entirely pain-free with his 12-year-old son Charlie to shoot a bogey-free 62 at the PNC Championship.

3. Tamberi-Barshim proves 'sharing is caring'

Two gold medals for a single Olympic event may sound uneven but exactly that is what happened in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 (in 2021). In the men's high jump event, both Qatar's Barshim and Italy's Tamberi cleared 2.37 meters. However, facing the prospect of a jump-off to decide the winner, the two best friends persuaded organizers to let them share the triumph. After climbing on to the podium together, Barshim and Tamberi presented the gold medals to each other alongside more hugs and switched places to face their flags when each national anthem was played.

4. Djokovic equals Federer and Nadal's Grand Slam tally

World number one is never an overrated term and that can be visualized through the success of Novak Djokovic. Having won the Australian and French Open titles in the earlier parts of 2021, the Serbian was eyeing for his 20th record Grand Slam title equalling Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer. A single break of serve in the third and two more breaks in the fourth were enough for Djokovic to close out the contest in front of a raucous Center Court crowd, who kept on chanting the Italian underdog and runner up Matteo Berrettini's name.

5. Olympic torchbearer Osaka's mental breakdown 

Naomi Osaka avoided the standard media sitdown following her first-round victory at the French Open citing it sometimes gives her 'huge waves of anxiety'. She was fined $15,000, and all four Grand Slam tournaments initially warned her that she could face disqualification or suspension if she continued to avoid the press. Naomi later on publicly said she had been suffering from depression and that missing only one press conference in her seven years on tour would be so harshly scrutinised was unacceptable. Just less than a month later after that incident, the Tokyo 2020 (in 2021) Olympic cauldron was set ablaze during the opening ceremony by Naomi Osaka - the first-ever tennis player to do the honour.

6. Simone Biles overcomes obstacles to compete on beam

Simone Biles was always expected to be a headliner at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 (in 2021), coming into the Games predicted to top her medal haul from Rio and become one of the most decorated female Olympians of all time. Instead, the script changed dramatically. Biles suffered a crisis of confidence dropping out of the opening event, the team competition, after just one vault. She wanted to prioritize her mind, body, and mental health. However, later on in the Games, Biles took part in the beam finals and won a bronze medal.

7. The first of many for rising Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev, playing in his third major final, at last, hoisted a Grand Slam trophy by winning the U.S. Open while avenging a straight-sets defeat by Djokovic earlier in the Australian Open final of 2021. Medvedev's first Grand Slam victory denied the Serbian Djokovic's quest of becoming the first man in over a half-century after Rod Laver to win all four majors (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open) in the same year. Medvedev had a master plan to counter world number one Djokovic. He used his 6-foot-6 frame to chase down everything and respond with seemingly effortless groundstrokes - much the way Djokovic wears down foes - and delivered pinpoint serving.

8. Raducanu's road to Grand Slam glory

When the first Grand Slam final between two teenagers was contested in 1999, neither Emma Raducanu nor Leylah Fernandez were born. The U.S. Open 2021 final saw the Big Apple battle of teenagers Raducanu and Fernandez after their giant-killing spree. The final under the lights at the colossal Arthur Ashe Stadium between Britain and Canada's teenage girls was the first major final in the Open Era across both the men's and women's game to feature two unseeded players. In the final, Britain's Emma Raducanu won by 6-4 and 6-3 sets to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to win the U.S. Open without dropping a set in the tournament.

9. Sunisa Lee inscribes inspiration among her community

Sunisa Lee went to Tokyo Olympics 2020 (in 2021) thinking the best she might do was win an all-around Olympic silver but the youngest member of the US gymnastics team grabbed the gold after Simone Biles dropped out of the event over mental health concerns. Earlier, when she stepped onto the floor in the women's team gymnastics competition, she carried with her not only the hopes of her family and nation but also those of the Hmong American community of which she is a part. Lee is the first of the Hmong group that came to the United States as refugees from Laos following the turmoil of the Vietnam War to ever make it to an Olympics, much less to have a strong shot at a medal or even topping the podium. However, she made it to the top being a motivation for a whole generation of the Hmong American community.

10. Vaccination drama pushes Australian Open organisers for several changes

Australian Open boss Craig Tiley feels organising the 2022 edition of the Grand Slam has been '10 times' more difficult than any edition as the highly infectious Omicron variant of Covid-19 takes hold Down Under. While 1,000 players and staff who arrived from abroad were put into a two-week quarantine for the 2021 edition, the 3,300 coming for next year's tournament will be free to roam the city once they have returned a negative PCR test. Everybody in the Melbourne Park precinct in January will need to be vaccinated or hold a medical exemption granted by the Australian health authorities. This made the participation of men's world number one Novak Djokovic uncertain as his vaccination status is still a mystery.