From Khabib to Hamilton, top sports persons of 2020

The year 2020 has not been a great year for sports. Several big sporting events such as the Tokyo Olympics and the EURO 2020 had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The year not only saw major events getting halted or delayed, but the world of sports lost many beloved members, legendary footballer Diego Maradona being the most recent one. 

Despite the losses, fans of all kinds of sports saw players rising up against all difficulties and getting success. No matter how bad the year was, it was not able to put down many sportspersons, who achieved success.

Lets take a look at the top sports person of 2020:

Lewis Hamilton

Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton made history when he won his 7th Drivers’ Championship at the Turkish Grand Prix in November, equaling the record set by the legendary Michael Schumacher. It was Hamilton’s 94th career victory, which is three more than Schumacher.

Rafael Nadal

Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal had quite a successful 2020 as he won a record-extending 13th French Open title and equaling Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles in the process. Later, Nadal also recorded his 1000th career match win.

KL Rahul

KL Rahul can be considered the most successful limited overs Indian batsmen of 2020 after ending up as the highest ODI scorer with 443 runs in nine matches according to Sportskeeda. He finally takes up the spot dominated by either Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma since the past few years. Rahul also won the Orange Cap in this year’s IPL.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Mixed Martial Arts legend Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the sports after extending his record to 29-0 in October.

In his last match, Khabib  successfully defended his UFC lightweight title, beating  American Justin Gaethje in the main event of the UFC 254. 

Naomi Osaka

Tennis player Naomi Osaka won her second US Open title in 2020. The 23-year-old not only won her third Grand Slam, but also took a lead role in supporting  the Black Lives Matter campaign when she wore a mask before each match with the different name of someone who had been oppressed by police brutality.

Marcus Rashford

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford is one of the best young English football players currently. He was the club’s highest goal scorer last season and has come out on top on many occasions when the team needed him.

However, the 23-year-old has played a major role off the field as well, raising awareness for child poverty in the UK and convincing the government to help tackle the issue. His campaign to extend a free school meals programme for disadvantaged students has been appreciated widely.

Iga Swiatek

Tennis player Iga Swiatek took the world by storm when she won the French Open in 2020, becoming the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam title. The 19-year-old became the lowest-ranked player to win the French Open.

Tyson Fury

British boxer Tyson Fury created history when he defeated Deontay Wilder in seven thrilling rounds of their Las Vegas rematch following their first match in 2018 which ended in a draw.

The match ended Wilder’s five-year reign as WBC heavyweight world champion.