2025 wasn't exactly a banner year for Indian sports, but that would never stop the athletes (and the administrators) involved from coming up with some absolute belters describing their performances.
ESPN India summarises 2025 with some of the best quotes from Indian sport this year.
"Fortune favours the brave"
Kalyan Chaubey, president All India Football Federation, as part response to a question on whether the ISL bidding process is happening in a timely manner. (Sep 19)
"Sport is soft power, with football at the top, and this incident has given the country a bad name across 211 football-playing nations."
Kalyan Chaubey on the Lionel Messi GOAT India Tour chaos in Kolkata. (Dec 14). As of Dec 26, there is still no confirmation on when domestic football (ISL, I League 1, I League 2) would resume.
"...in India everyone speaks, speaks, speaks, but there are no solutions."
Manolo Marquez, FC Goa coach on the malaise in Indian football. (Dec 11)
"Aana toh padega hi, aisa kaam chalega nahin na [Of course, I will have to come back, this won't do, no]."
Neeraj Chopra in the mixed zone after finishing eighth in the World Championships, ending his run of seven years of making the podium of every event he took part in.
"Sabki victory hain [It's everyone's victory]"
Smriti Mandhana to journalists, including ESPN's Zenia D'Cunha, after India's maiden Women's World Cup title, sharing their victory with all those who were with them in the journey to the top.
"The Bible says that 'weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning'. Today joy came, but I am still weeping."
An emotional Jemimah Rodrigues after her 127* guided India to the highest-ever successful run chase in the semifinal of the Women's World Cup against Australia.
"I think girls are fighters. Women especially are very good at multitasking."
Reigning Worlds rapid champ and World Cup finalist Koneru Humpy, on how she balances motherhood and elite level chess.
"Not Arjun definitely. I have seen Gukesh in Delhi when I got my daughter to meet the Prime Minister. I was very surprised with the way he handled kids, I genuinely didn't know, so I was very surprised. So I would say Gukesh."
Indian chess legend Harika Dronavalli, on which Indian chess star would be a good babysitter for her two-year-old daughter.
"Before Neeraj Chopra bhai, people used to say javelin is not for Indians. Now, everyone's doing it... Neeraj Chopra [threw long, and won], and now there are so many quality throwers. So, one guy has to run. If I do 10.10 or 10.0 flat, then I won't be the only one running fast. There will be 10 others cracking the 10.20 mark..."
Gurindervir Singh, then the fastest Indian ever, after setting the 100m national record [10.20s].
"All over India, especially in the north, will be very hot. So that's why we kept it here"
Bahadur Singh Sagoo, president Athletics Federation of India, on why the Federation Cup was held in the blazing heat of Kochi in late April, with evening sessions starting at 2.30 PM. After the 100m heats, semifinal and final were held on the same day, the aforementioned Gurindervir Singh cramped up in the final and was thus did not make India's squad for the Asian Athletics Championship.
"You obviously hear it, you see it, it's outside noise, but you know... winning isn't boring."
With Mohun Bagan derided in some quarters for playing 'boring' football, striker Jamie MacLaren had the perfect reposte off the pitch, with his team doing so on the pitch as well - by winning the ISL.
"I think it was fate that I get the grandmaster title this way. Before this tournament, I didn't even have one norm"
Divya Deshmukh, after condensing a rigourous, multiple year-long process of achieving three norms required to become a grandmaster into a month by simply winning the 2025 Women's Chess World Cup.
"You come at the king, you best not miss"
Magnus Carlsen, Chess world no.1, after defeating reigning world champion Dommaraju Gukesh, at the Norway Chess tournament.
A great quote from The Wire pic.twitter.com/z9fBOdbtMd
- Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) May 26, 2025
"..."
Gukesh does his talking on the board in response to Carlsen, defeating him a few days later.
Gukesh turns it all around and WINS his first classical game against Magnus Carlsen!https://t.co/7Aid1cvNlK#NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/KMpRadXJq0
- chess24 (@chess24com) June 1, 2025
"I feel old."
15-year-old Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi, after becoming the first Indian to reach the semifinals of a home WTA event since Sania Mirza.
"Where is the best raider? Where is the best defender? It does not matter, Dabang Delhi are champions."
Fazel Atrachali, who proved to be the difference-maker in the final of PKL 12 with a single tackle point, underlining why kabaddi was a team game.
"I never had the courage to show my Olympic bronze or World Cup silver medal. In my heart, I was thinking... 'when will I get a chance to show a gold medal to my parents and my uncle?'"
Ashok Kumar, son of Major Dhyan Chand (3x Olympic gold) & and nephew of Captain Roop Singh (2x Olympic gold).
"My father never said a single word in praise. He only patted my back three or four times... That was the reward I got from my father."
Ashok Kumar, member of India's first (and only) World Cup winning team (1975).
"Sunil [Chhetri] is a very good player. He has done a tremendous job for his country. But let's be honest: Hamza [Choudhury] is a Premier League player."
Jamal Bhuyan, captain of the Bangladesh men's national team, ahead of India's AFC Asian Cup qualification fixtures against Bangladesh. India drew 0-0 and lost 0-1 at home, while also finishing bottom of their qualification group.
"People looked at me like I had four heads, when I said I'm giving up my Australian passport for an Indian one."
Ryan Williams, upon taking up Indian citizenship to feature for the Indian national football team. He travelled with the India squad to face Bangladesh, but the AIFF failed to obtain clearance in time for his participation.
"Championships are won on the pitch - not in court."
Churchill Brothers' social media account, celebrating 'winning' the 2024-25 I-League season. Inter Kashi were subsequently deemed winners of the I-League via a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling.
"Theek-thaak [about alright]"
Sumit Antil, on being asked to describe the performance that earned him his third Para Worlds gold.
"It's been two years since I've been throwing [in the range of] 71m, 72m, 73m so now I'm getting angry seeing those marks."
Sumit Antil, after setting a championship record throw of 71.37m at the 2025 World Para-Athletics Championships in New Delhi.
"You see, the better I'd gotten in India, the less I was getting thrown around... but here, I was getting thrown twice a minute across our five-minute training bouts. For a month, I just kept getting thrown about. The more I did it, the more I got thrown, I started to learn what to do, what not to do..."
Junior World no. 1 judoka, Himanshi Tokas, describing her experience of training abroad.
"Even when I shoot a nine, I'm only thinking about how I can convert that into a 10 on the next shot."
Sheetal Devi, after shooting X, 10, 10 to become the first armless archer to win a world championship.