It didn’t start off too well. doping confessions, murder most foul, the spotfixing scandal… one after another, sportsmen kept making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
But the tide did turn as the year wore on; taking centrestage once again were tales of heroic comebacks — Tiger Woods is back on top in the rankings, as is Rafa Nadal — and triumphs as unlikely as a Briton finally winning the men’s singles at Wimbledon again.
Of course, mega money (read: Gareth Bale) made big news.
As did sheer dominance, be it ‘lightning’ Bolt striking thrice again, Bayern’s treble or Sebastian Vettel’s fantastic fourth on the trot.
But more than anything else, 2013 will be remembered for the change of guard – a Scandinavian prodigy’s ascent to the chess throne at the expense of a five-time world champion.
And for the first time in a quarter-century, an Indian cricket team sans Sachin Tendulkar.