Ten years is a lot of stories. A lot of good stories, a lot of great stories. It was hard to cull out ten of our favourites but we went for a mix of history, geography, the happy and the sad, heroes and sheroes, the technical and the emotional, the mainstream and the outliers.
As ESPN India celebrates 10 years, we feature a selection of the best writing from our desk:
They fought like girls
Amid a disappointing Indian showing at the Rio 2016 Olympics, three athletes stood up and made the nation pay attention. Sharda Ugra wrote on PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar and how they "re-wrote the rules of how we will always view these Games".
No food, no water: How wrestlers 'cut weight' before the big events
There is nothing quite as brutal in elite sport as pre-and-mid-competition weight cutting in combat sports, the process that takes out up to 10 per cent of their body mass. Jonathan Selvaraj dived into the science and pain and sacrifice behind it all (and ended up writing the ultimate reference on weight cuts).
India's Rugby Revolution
Susan Ninan travelled deep into the depths of Odisha to discover that a sport once played exclusively by the British rulers is giving women in India, especially those from the most disadvantaged communities, a sense of empowerment and self-belief.
Sania Mirza: The girl who fought for the right things
On Sania Mirza's retirement, Zenia D'Cunha delved into the life and career and legacy of a trailblazer, a rebel, a champion. Zenia went in search of, and found, the answer to the question so many have asked: 'What made Sania Mirza who she is?'
Sport, Interrupted: Kerala's boat-race economy navigates choppy waters
In this final episode of a series that explored how COVID-19 and the lockdown that followed it affected India's sporting ecosystem, Anirudh Menon explored the age-old sport of snake boat racing in Kerala and the dynamic changes the sport had been going through even before the pandemic struck.
All hail the improbable Arshad Nadeem - the first and maybe last of his kind
Osman Samiuddin captured the improbable essence of Arshad Nadeem: an Olympic champion who barely fits the conventional model of an elite modern athlete; a torchbearer who fought an apathetic system, decaying tradition of sport, and sheer lack of facilities. This is the tale of one man leaving a legacy like no other.
Sheetal Devi is the most amazing sight in world sport
The Paralympics is an event that celebrates the impossible being done in the face of odds that most of us can barely comprehend, one that celebrates finding sporting excellence in people who were ignored as incapable of producing it. Here Anirudh Menon wrote on the person who captures that Paralympic essence better than anyone: Sheetal Devi.
Dipa vaults on to the biggest stage
Dipa Karmakar was the "most unexpected" presence in India's Rio Olympic contingent. Here Sharda Ugra peeled away at her life, her career, and how her unquenchable thirst for glory made her go for one of the most dangerous vaults of all time, on the greatest stage of them all.
Manipur, 10 months after: 'The violence still haunts us but our family is finally moving on', says footballer Chinglensana
India national team footballer Chinglensana 'Sana' Singh talked to ESPN 10 months after a devastating (and still ongoing) burst of violence racked his home state of Manipur. Sana spoke about the trauma he and his family underwent, the struggle to set things back to normal and the realisation that, though they lost almost all their material possessions, they have each other.
Hockey WC 1975: Glory for India and, for Ashok Kumar, a medal to show his father Dhyan Chand
On the fiftieth anniversary of India's first, and last, hockey World Cup gold. Anish Anand took us back in time through the words of Ashok Kumar, son of the greatest of them all -- and showcased just what it meant to the scion of hockey's first family. As Ashok said, "I never had the courage to show my Olympic bronze or World Cup silver medal [to his father, Dhyan Chand]."
Honourable mentions:
Postcard from Pyongyang: With Bengaluru FC in North Korea
From outside the ESPN news desk came a rare piece as then Bengaluru FC media manager Kunaal Majgaonkar wrote about his experiences in North Korea.
How D Gukesh became the youngest challenger to the crown
Aaditya Narayan wrote the definitive profile of a youngster who would soon become the youngest chess world champion of all time.
Champions of a greater game: Vinesh, Bajrang, Sakshi risk it all for justice
Jayaditya Gupta wrote on how Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik have risked everything - their future careers, their livelihoods, their wellbeing - for what they feel is right.
A night to be swept away
Sambit Bal wrote on the near-religious experience of watching Roger Federer in full flow, in the Australian Open final vs his great rival Rafael Nadal.
Sunil Chhetri's controversial winner against Kerala Blasters explained: by the laws, and Chhetri himself
A controversial goal, a walk out, a forfeit and amidst the chaos Sunaadh Sagar quickly explained the legality of the refereeing decision that sparked it all.