From Vinesh Phogat to Magnus Carlsen: What were the biggest sporting controversies of 2024?

From Vinesh Phogat to Magnus Carlsen: What were the biggest sporting controversies of 2024?

The year 2024 was a year filled with several controversial moments across multiple sports. Here are some of the biggest sporting controversies that happened in 2024:

Vinesh Phogat went on a dream Olympic run at Paris 2024 when she made her way to the final of the women’s 50 kg wrestling event, surprising the unbeaten Yui Susaki of Japan on the way. However, just hours before the final with USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt, she was found to be 100g over the weight limit and subsequently disqualified. Though the decision was appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), her case was rejected and Vinesh came home from Paris without a medal despite an extraordinary performance. 

The world of tennis was hit by significant doping issues in 2024. Men’s world number one Jannik Sinner and five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek both tested positive for banned substances. The ITIA gave both players reduced sentences on the grounds that they had not knowingly taken the banned substances, but the effect of the positive tests has created a significant stir in the world of tennis. 

The Ballon d’Or ceremony is meant to honour the best of football for the year. However, this year, the ceremony had to be conducted without the winners of the Champions League. Hours before the ceremony, Real Madrid caught wind that Manchester City’s Rodri would win the Ballon d’Or instead of Vinicius Jr., and opted to respond by boycotting the ceremony. They also released a statement saying that UEFA and the Ballon d’Or do not respect Real Madrid. 

The boxing event at the Olympics found itself in the middle of a storm when there were calls for two female boxers, Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, to be disqualified on the ground that they had supposedly failed a gender test. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stood by the two boxers, pointing out that they complied with all the Olympic eligibility criteria. Khelif would win gold in the welterweight category, while Lin took gold in the featherweight. 

The cricketing calendar had the 2025 Champions Trophy pencilled in to be hosted in Pakistan, but it became doubtful whether India would travel to the tournament. A variety of solutions to the issue were debated for months, ranging from finding a new host to India not taking part in the tournament at all. Eventually, a hybrid model was arrived upon whereby all India matches (including India vs Pakistan) would take place in Dubai, with the rest of the tournament in Pakistan. 

Paris 2024 proved a relatively unsuccessful trip for the Indian contingent, but one of the lowest points came when wrestler Antim Panghal was sent home after losing her first-round bout. Panghal was found to have provided her Olympic Village accreditation to her sister, a fact which was realised by security. The incident proved to be a culmination of a poor trip to Paris for Antim and her team. 

The chess world was sent into a crisis on the second day of the World Rapid Championship 2024 when world champion Magnus Carlsen was handed a dress code violation for wearing jeans, and then was disqualified from the event entirely. In protest, Carlsen then announced that he would not take part in the World Blitz Championship (happening alongside the Rapid Championship), before backtracking as the International Chess Federation (FIDE) relaxed their dress code rules. 

Olympic medal winner Bajrang Punia was struck by controversy when the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) suspended him for refusing to provide a sample for doping testing in March. Though he appealed the decision, arguing that NADA’s conduct in previous doping tests had created mistrust in his mind, his appeal was rejected and he was banned for four years. 

Breaking made its Olympic debut in Paris, but it immediately caused a controversy when the internet caught on to the performances of Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, or “b-girl Raygun”. She failed to score a point in multiple rounds and was widely ridiculed on the internet for her routines, which also included a “kangaroo” dance. 

Hardik Pandya made a sensational return to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans ahead of IPL 2024, taking over as captain from Rohit Sharma. However, Pandya’s return was not a universally popular one. From Mumbai’s first match at Ahmedabad, he was booed by fans home and away as Mumbai had a poor season, finishing bottom of the table and winning just four games.