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2016 was a year featuring some of the biggest sporting events and achievements in India and around the world. This is a statement that is backed by the fact that seven out of the top ten hashtag trends on Twitter in 2016 were related to sports.
Besides #MakeinIndia on number five and #surgicalstrike and #JNU on number nine and ten respectively, the most chatter on Twitter in 2016 was around hashtags related to cricket and the Olympics.
#Rio2016
Olympics Games, the world’s biggest sport event held once every four years, was hosted by Rio de Janeiro in August. No surprise then that #Rio2016 was the top trending hashtag this year. The popularity of the hashtag represents the pride and joy that Indians felt as they cheered on athletes in the global sporting event.
With a record breaking contingent of over 100 athletes, India had a prominent presence in various events including gymnastics, race-walking and sculling. Sakshi Malik brought home a bronze in wrestling while PV Sindhu made history with her silver medal finish in the women’s badminton singles.
#IndvsPak
India-Pakistan sporting clashes are always cut-throat competitions, but cricket matches between the two nations are the most exciting.
After the surgical strikes, BCCI President Anurag Thakur made it clear that the Indian cricket team would not be playing their neighbours until further notice. The neighbours’ last meeting on the cricket field was the T20 World Cup’s league match on 19 March. Cricket fans from both sides of the border tweeted excitedly with #IndvsPak, making it the second most trending hashtag on Twitter in 2016.
After bowling Pakistan all out for 118 in 18 overs, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli lead India to a 6-wicket win in Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens.
#WT20
The new, ‘younger’ format of the game, Twenty20 cricket has found a large number of fans in India. The sixth edition of the T20 World Cup held from 15 March - 3 April was religiously tweeted out by fans all over the country, making #WT20 the third most trending hashtag on Twitter in 2016.
India was knocked out in the semifinals of the tournament after they lost to West Indies, who went on to win the title. Virat Kohli was awarded the Man of the Series trophy and was also named Best Batsman for scoring a total of 273 in the five innings he batted.
#IndvsAus
Another deadly rivalry in cricket is the one between India and Australia. And once again, this World T20 tournament match between the two countries was a subject of much chatter in India. Fans tweeted out in support of the men in blue during and after the match on 27 March with #IndvsAus, which became the fourth most trending hashtag on Twitter in 2016.
Chasing a target of 161, Virat Kohli (82*) and MS Dhoni (18*) helped India win with six wickets to spare.
#IndvsWI
India’s match against West Indies on 31 March was the penultimate knockout semi-final game in the WT20 tournament. Much to the disappointment of Indian fans who had tweeted with #IndvsWI all day, the hosts lost by seven wickets with just two balls remaining.
The hashtag was the sixth highest in the list of the year’s top hashtag trends.
#IndvsBan
Twitter went wild as India won this WT20 match against Bangladesh by just one run. Indians united on Twitter with #IndvsBan (seventh on the top trending hashtag list) as Bangladesh’s Mustafizur was run-out by skipper MS Dhoni when they had equalled India’s total of 145.
India managed to keep their campaign alive with that thrilling win and Twitter reflected the sentiment of the overjoyed fans.
#PVSindhu
The nation waited in anticipation as PV Sindhu set out to play the crucial Rio Olympic Badminton Women's Final against world number one Carolina Mari. That night the badminton star made history and her country proud as she became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal at the Olympics. Not just that, she also became the fourth Indian to win an Olympic silver, fifth Indian woman to win an Olympic medal and youngest Olympic medallist.
From Amitabh Bachchan to the President, Twitter was flooded with the celebratory tweets from all over the country which resulted in #PVSindhu becoming the eighth most trending hashtag on the social media platform.
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