Rishabh Pant Snubbed From Distinguished International Sporting Award

Rishabh Pant failed to win the renowned Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award for which he was nominated after making a successful comeback to cricket after a life threatening accident. Pant was the only Indian in history to be nominated for this award. 

Earlier, in the aftermath of the Dhaka Test against Bangladesh, Pant suffered a horrific car crash on December 30, 2022, that put him out of action from all cricket till the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, the 27-year-old has since made an impressive comeback to professional cricket, making heads turn in IPL 2024 — 446 runs @ 40.55 and 155.40 — before earning his place back in all three formats of the game. 

Pant was part of India’s starting XI in all games of the successful T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in the United States and the Caribbean. 

Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, ski racer Lara Gut-Behrami, swimmers Ariarne Titmushave and Caeleb Dressel, and MotoGP legend Marc Márquez were also nominated in the same category. Eventually gymnast Andrade won the award for her inspirational return from a series of three ACL injuries where she won the gold in the floor exercise of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

Swedish Pole Vaulter Mondo Duplantis won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award, and American gymnast Simone Biles won the same award in the women’s category. Real Madrid won the Team of the Year award after winning the Champions League.