Indian Sports Calendar in 2024: Major events to look forward to in January

Rohan Bopanna is seeded second at the Australian Open 2024.

The month of January promises to be a busy affair for Indian sports with several major events lined up in the Indian sports calendar. Several Paris Olympic qualification tournaments are scheduled to take place across various sports. Till date, 45 Indian players have qualified for Paris and the number shall definitely shoot up with the contingent standing a chance to shine in respective events.

Take a look at the full January calendar for Indian athletes in the Indian sports calendar.

Major events to look forward to in January in Indian Sports Calendar

Badminton

After a few weeks break, the BWF World Tour starts off on a fresh note in Malaysia. The action then shifts to west of Asia – Indian Open followed by Indonesia Masters. Top Indian shuttlers will be looking to start the season on a high with the qualification period fast concluding.

• January 9-14: Malaysia Open
• January 16-21: India Open
• January 23-28: Indonesia Masters
• January 30-04 February: Thailand Masters

Cricket

The Indian men’s cricket team will be up for the final time against South Africa in the test series. A win will level the series and earn crucial WTC qualification points. Soon after, Afghanistan will be touring India for the T20 series followed by England.

• December 10-7 January: India men’s team tour of SA (Ongoing)
• January 11-17: Afghanistan tour of India
• January 25-11 March: England tour of India

Football

The Indian men’s football team will start their international calendar by taking part in the AFC Asian Cup. The Blue Tigers are drawn in Pool B alongside Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria. Top two teams from each group and the four best placed teams finishing third qualify for pre-quarterfinals.

• January 8-28: Super Cup
• January 10-12 February: AFC Men’s Asian Cup 
• September 2023-March: Indian Super League (Ongoing)

Fencing

Tokyo Olympian Bhavani Devi will start her campaign at Sabre Grand Prix in Tunis. She is currently ranked inside top 30 in the road to Paris Olympics and is in hunt to qualify directly for quadrennial extravaganza.

• January 11-13: Foil World Cup
• January 12-14: Sabre Grand Prix
• January 29-31: Epee Grand Prix

Hockey

Indian women’s hockey team start the year by taking part in FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024. The top three teams at the end of the competition earn a direct spot for Paris Olympics. Goalkeeper Savita Punia continues to lead the 18-member side.

• January 13-19: FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers
• January 24-27: FIH Men’s Hockey 5s World Cup
• January 28-31: FIH Hockey Women’s 5s World Cup (Hockey)

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Sailing

Two Paris Olympics qualifying events for sailing are scheduled to take part in this month. Nethra Kumanan will be taking part in the ILCA 6 World Championships. The Tokyo Olympian recently missed out of medalling at the Asian Games and the recent Asian Championships.

• January 3-10: ILCA 6 World Championships
• January 24-31: ILCA 7 World Championships

Shooting

The Indian shooting contingent has so far bagged 13 quota places – two short of Tokyo. To add more numbers to the tally, the shooters in both the rifle/pistol and shotgun events will be plying the trade in the respective Asian Championships.

• January 5-18: Asian Olympic Qualification Rifle/Pistol
• January 12-23: Asian Olympic Shotgun Championships
• January 24-1 February: Shooting World Cup

Table Tennis

Goa is scheduled to host the WTT Star Contender event in the final week of January. Several Indian paddlers are set to be in action in the home competition. Prior to this, a select athletes including Manika Batra shall participate in the Contender events in Doha.

• January 8-13: WTT Star Contender, Doha
• January 14-20: WTT Contender, Doha
• January 23-28: WTT Star Contender, Goa

Tennis

The first grand slam of the year is scheduled to be held in Melbourne, Australia. Novak Djokovic is all set to defend his title and win a record 25th Major title. Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden after a dream debut season as pair will look continue their fine form.

• January 14-28: Australian Open

Handball

The Asian Handball Championships acts as a qualification tournament for the World Men’s Handball Championship 2025, with top four teams from the championship directly qualifying for the event. Indian men’s team is grouped in Pool C alongside Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Japan.

• January 11-25: Asian Men’s Handball Championships

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