10 international sporting icons who retired in 2024

22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, who had won the French Open a staggering 14 times, brought his glittering career to an end in the Davis Cup Finals in November

Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin abruptly announced his retirement from international cricket after the third Test against Australia in Brisbane on 18 December

Indian football icon Sunil Chhetri made his final international appearance during the FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Kuwait in Kolkata on 6 June 

Veteran Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh retired after helping his team win a second consecutive Olympic bronze in the Paris Games in August

Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling after being disqualified from the women’s 50kg event in the Paris Olympics after storming into the final and assuring herself of a silver medal at the very least

Indian gymnastics icon Dipa Karmakar, one of the few to successfully perform the ‘Produnova Vault’ who had finished fourth in the 2016 Rio Olympics, announced her retirement on 7 October

England pace legend James Anderson brought his glittering career to an end during the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s in July, signing off with 704 Test wickets

Australian opener David Warner retired with 18,995 international runs to his name, making his final appearance during the T20 World Cup in June

Football star Alex Morgan, who had helped the US women’s national team win the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and gold in the 2012 Olympics, made her final appearance in September

India opener Shikhar Dhawan called time on his career at the age of 38 in August, having collected more than 10,000 international runs including 6,793 in ODIs

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