Indian Sport Hero

One week after Vijender Kumar and Sushil Kumar ensured more Olympic medals than ever, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's boys did a first in Sri Lanka. With it, India completed a year of august performance in sport, the cycle beginning on August 29 last year when our footballers shone brightest at New Delhi's Ambedkar Stadium.

Revived after 10 years, the Nehru Cup triumph ended the senior team's five-year trophy drought. Almost one year later, at the same venue, Bhaichung Bhutia's team did one better by qualifying for the Asian Cup, a feat unachieved since 1984.

Soon after the Nehru Cup, Dhoni's young ones surprised everyone by returning with a cylindrical trophy from South Africa that told the world that when it came to T20, we were the best. As bonus Yuvraj Singh broke new ground in international cricket by hitting six sixes in one over. More good news came weeks later from Mexico City when Viswanathan Anand got us to exclaim 'Check de, India' by becoming the undisputed king of chess. Between cricket and chess, India won the Asia Cup hockey.

Before the old year gave way to the new, Dola Banerjee became a world champion archer and in early 2008, Anil Kumble's India, after adhering to the spirit of cricket in Sydney, won in Perth, another first. Forty-four days later, Team Dhoni piggybacked on Sachin Tendulkar, the one senior they never thought of leaving out, to beat Australia to the VB Series trophy. On March 2, as Tendulkar scored his first-ever ODI century in Australia and scripted India's first final win, our under-19 cricketers won the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.