2017 is one of those years without the really big events - no Olympics, no World Cup, no Asian or Commonwealth Games. But it could yet be a landmark year for India's top sports and sportspersons. ESPN's staffers set out their hopes and wishes for 2017.
Sharda Ugra
The return of Saina Nehwal
Because she will. It is what she does - persist. Saina has been a North Star for Indian badminton, her career giving the rest direction of the route that could be taken. A breakaway from the prototype of the stylish, skilled Indian athlete, her gifts were of physical and mental will, making her the first to break through badminton's Chinese wall to reach the top. She rebuilt herself from an injury-plagued 2015, won her first title in 15 months in June this year before a heartbreaking physical breakdown and sudden departure from Rio. After major knee surgery, she knows she is in the autumn of her career. In 2017, she will know only one way ahead - to throw herself into competition and March could be the breakout month, with the All England Championships in Birmingham and the Indian Open in Delhi. You'd better be watching. Saina Nehwal does not go quietly - never has, never will.
Anuj Vignesh
One country, one football league
It is often said that competing in a football league season is like running a marathon, rather than a sprint; the team with the most stamina and fitness often wins the title. That cannot be said of the ISL, though, where a 14-match season is crammed into a two-month window. Each team plays a game every four or five days, meaning there is often no time to conserve energy for a late push; gathering early pace is imperative to a team's fortunes. This season, Kerala Blasters' coach Steve Coppell brought up time and again the issue of player fatigue, and how Indian football could never truly develop without the presence of a more competitive league, with more fixtures. As it currently stands, the I-League has the right system in place, but lacks the crowd to make it a sustainable venture. The ISL is not short of fan support, but its hectic league schedule and transfer policy - with players switching clubs every other season - robs coaches of the chance to create a stable squad for the future. The logistics remain to be worked out, but how bad could it really be to have the best of both worlds?
Gaurav Kalra
The future MS Dhoni
The Champions Trophy in England With India's ODI team having struggled in recent months, can they defend their title from 2013? It will also provide clarity on the future of M S Dhoni. If he continues to be available the selectors will have to decide if he is the right man to lead India at the next World Cup or should the mantle of limited overs captaincy also be handed over to Virat Kohli.
Debdatta Sengupta
Can Kidambi Srikanth take the next step forward?
Srikanth had a mixed 2016. While half his year was clouded by injury, he made a strong impression in Rio - his first Olympics - by reaching the quarterfinal and giving Lin Dan, the World No. 3 and former No. 1 and also the two-time defending champion, a rough ride. His highest world ranking since June 2015 has been No. 3, but he has slipped since because of injuries which have forced him to miss several major tournaments. He has been plagued by inconsistency, moving in and out of the top 10 throughout the year.
Though he has shown clear potential with strong smashes and speed on the court, the lack of appearances on the international circuit has kept him away from claiming a major Super Series title - his last big win coming at the Indian Open in 2015. If he focuses on his training and is more careful about injuries, it might only be a matter of time before he makes his way back into the top 10.
Mohit Shah
How far can Sindhu go?
I'm looking forward to PV Sindhu's performance in the next year and seeing if she can break into the top 5 in the world rankings and make more than one Super Series final. It would also be interesting to see if she can upstage Saina in the world rankings.
Arjun Namboothiri
The road to Tokyo 2020
The last Olympics were almost disastrous, salvaged only by the late medals of Sindhu and Sakshi. We have almost four years to the next one and I'm curious about how the next set of Olympians are preparing - or being prepared - for Tokyo. What has the IOA done to address India's flop show at Rio? Has it sufficiently restructured grassroots facilities? Is the training good enough to foster athletes like Tejaswin Shankar and Neeraj Chopra? Can India be more competitive than they were in Rio?
Saket Parekar
One well-run football league
I think the I-League and the ISL should be merged; that will bring in money and add flair to the new league. Many parties will end up unhappy, but at least we'll get rid of the ridiculous three-month ISL. There is one other key issue that the AIFF needs to address (or where the AFC might need to intervene): the I-League's current promotion and relegation rules, favouring corporate teams. The rule needs to be changed; no team can be immune from relegation. Before the merger, of course, there's a big call to take on accommodating the existing I-League clubs.
Govindan Kishwar
More analysis, less angst, please
Two recent bits of advice from colleagues. One, "Opinion is cheap, any guy on the road will have it." Two, "We need to watch sport as journalists, not as fans." What I want is to see the media houses, and the journalists that make them up (including myself), to know the difference between opinion and being a fan. Too often, emotions get the better of our judgment. Why write a thousand words on how a manager should be sacked, when you could write five hundred on what he could improve? Don't the big-wigs who hand these players and managers multi-million dollar contracts know when enough is enough? Do we really think they open the paper, read a piece on their employee and think "hmmm...this person is right. Now that this person thinks so, it's time for the coach to go." I think Marouane Fellaini is rubbish, but instead of writing how he works better as a lamp post, why not say how we can better utilize the lamp post on the pitch?
Debayan Sen
World football comes to India
The big event of 2017 will be football's Under-17 World Cup, hosted in India, which will provide the growing football community here a rare opportunity to see the world's best youth players in action. It will come at just the right time for Indian football, with the national team investing in youth and the game itself undergoing a massive churn. India have already hosted two AFC events - the Under-20 Championships (2006) and the Under-16 Championship (2016). The latter featured a bulk of the players - including Aniket Jadhav, Komal Thatal, Suresh Singh, Boris Singh and Dheeraj Singh - who will be part of the Indian team in next year's World Cup. They may not have won a single game but they did enough to suggest they might serve Indian football for a long time with the right guidance.
Susan Ninan
Save tennis from its stars
Controversy has long been part of Indian tennis. Rarely in recent memory has team selection, whether for the Olympics or the Davis Cup, been without drama, intrigue, accusations or bruised egos. Players taking potshots at each other, officials pairing up reluctant players - and the consequent bearing on performance and results - have become a familiar leitmotif. Run your finger down the ATP singles rankings and you need to go all the way to 192 to find an Indian name. With Mahesh Bhupathi taking over the reins of Davis Cup captain in February next year, the focus is on how his former partner Leander Paes, with whom he had a bitter falling-out, would measure up to the change rather than the performance of the side or the result of the tie. Therein lies Indian tennis' greatest undoing - that its personalities and personal equations are the bigger newsmakers. Indian tennis and its fans need no greater gift this New Year than the end credits to this endless saga.
Manoj Bhagavatula
Another great Sania year
Sania Mirza had the kind of season in 2016 that any player, in doubles or singles, would have been proud of. With Martina Hingis she won the Australian Open as well as titles in Brisbane, Sydney, St Petersburg and Rome before ending their highly successful partnership at the start of the Rio Olympics - surprisingly citing their poor results as the reason. Sania went on to partner Czech Republic's Barbora Strycova, and their results together are what sets up an intriguing 2017. The Indo-Czech duo won two of the five events they've played as a team - in Cincinnati and Tokyo - and finished runners-up in Wuhan. It's a promising partnership, to say the least. Sania has ended the year as the World doubles No. 1 for the third straight year; can she hold on to it in 2017?
Gaurav Rai
A post-Lodha BCCI
Cricket's most powerful body has been in the crosshairs of the courts for some time over its administrative and governance structures and lack of transparency. A year ago, the powerful court-appointed Lodha committee finally laid down what the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) must do to reform itself. The complication? The board's unwillingness to accept the panel's recommendations, including a one-state-one-vote policy and an age cap for office-bearers. But a busy 2016 involving court hearings, adjournments and status reports means 2017 might see a resolution of the committee versus board battle -- leaving behind a lean-and-mean BCCI.
Jayaditya Gupta
Pakistan's cricketers playing in India
Mohammad Amir. Yasir Shah. Wahab Riaz. Younis and Misbah, before they retire. Even Shahid Afridi. Which Indian cricket fan wouldn't want to see them in action in India? Whether as part of arguably the most exciting Pakistan team in years, or as individuals playing for IPL franchises? Well, Pakistan haven't toured here since 2012 and haven't been part of the IPL since the first season, in 2008. Without going into the politics of the issue, there is no doubt that not being able to see these cricketers is a shame. Other sports have seen sporadic Pakistani participation - Pakistan won the hockey event at the South Asian Games in Guwahati last February, though there have no bilaterals and the Hockey India League, like the IPL, has no representation from across the border. So my wish for 2017 is for Pakistan's cricketers to play in India and thrill us as they have thrilled cricket grounds the world over.
Jonathan Selvaraj
A big year for boxing
2017 may seem like a slow one for sports, but it is the year that will determine how India will perform at the big events of 2018 - the Commonwealth and Asian Games. We will have the world championships and the continental championships for all the Olympic sports because they must fall in a non-Olympic year.
I'll be particularly interested with how India does in the Boxing Worlds in August. We have had four disastrous years which has seen the sport stagnate because of official incompetence. With a new federation in place, it seems things are finally getting back on track. Thankfully, the talent supply chain doesn't seem to have dried up and I hope Hamburg will justify that optimism.
On the professional front, the next year could see Vijender Singh take some big strides to a world title shot. That could be revolutionary for the sport. A number of boxers (and high profile promoters) are waiting in the wings to see how Vijender fares. That could kick start a new era of prizefighting.