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For an athlete, making a comeback is right up there, alongside their glorious achievements and world domination. It tests both the physical and the mental strength of a sportsperson. Getting back in shape, gaining match fitness and getting the form back are three very hard stages involved in a comeback.
It gets even tougher when the injury spans a year or more as a sport can undergo a lot of changes in such a long period of time.
As the year comes to a close, let's take a look at five Indian sportspersons who fought back after being injured or dropped and made spectacular comebacks in 2017!
Amit Rohidas (Hockey)
The 24-year-old, who hails from a small village of Odisha, was a regular in the Indian national hockey team till the 2014 Men's World Hockey League. Since then, Amit Rohidas has spent two years waiting for his chance again to represent the country. His last international appearance came in 2015.
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While he was frozen out of the national team, his form in Hockey India League was superb as he kept the back-line tight for Ranchi in the earlier editions of the tournament before winning the coveted trophy with Kalinga Lancers in the 2017 season.
In March, the drag-flick specialist received his first call-up for the national team in nearly two years. In December 2017, he was part of the Indian national team which won a bronze medal at the Men's World Hockey League finals held at Bhubaneswar.
Mary Kom (Boxing)
It seemed the end of a glorious career for the Indian veteran when she failed to make the final cut for the Rio Olympics 2016. After that, Mary Kom didn't compete in any competition till a year. In July 2017, she decided to make a comeback and was injured raising the questions of retirement.
In November, the 35-year-old came back in her favourite category, the 48 kg after five years.The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist beat Hyang Mi Kim in the final of the Asian Championships held in Vietnam to win her fifth gold medal at the event.
Most boxers retire in early thirties but the five-time World champion is not ready to give up and has now set her sights on next year's Commonwealth Games. She is determined to give her 100% to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Maninder Singh (Kabaddi)
The 27-year-old from Jalandhar was instrumental in Jaipur Pink Panthers' win in Pro Kabaddi League Season 1. Maninder Singh was the third best raider in the league with 129 raid points in 16 matches. Even in the final, he won the best raider of the game as he scored eight points.
He suffered a major back injury after that season of PKL and went under rehabilitation and gained match fitness before this year's Pro Kabaddi League. Bengal Warriors acquired his services for Rs. 45.50 Lakhs in this season's auction.
The Season 1 wonder boy won 190 raid points in 23 matches which helped Warriors to reach the playoffs. In November, he helped the Indian team win the Asian Kabaddi Championships 2017 as India beat Pakistan in the final by 44-18 with Maninder playing a starring role.
Saina Nehwal (Badminton)
The Golden Girl of Indian badminton, Saina Nehwal suffered a knee injury at the Rio Olympics last year. She had won 20 senior titles till the end of 2016 and the government of India has even conferred a Padma Bhushan on her.
The Olympic bronze medalist won the Malaysia Masters after coming back from injury but had a dip in form after that raising many questions on her fitness asking whether she would be able to continue playing at the top level or not.
In August, the former World No.1 completed her comeback when she won the bronze medal at the Glasgow World Championships 2017. Coming back from a surgery is never easy but Nehwal showed grit and determination to script the perfect comeback for her.
Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling)
The girl from Haryana clinched a gold at the 2014 Common Wealth Games and settled for a silver at the Asian Games 2014 to announce herself on the world stage.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she was dubbed as India's best chance to bag a medal but she cruelly suffered a knee injury in the quarter-final. She was taken off on a stretcher and had to undergo a surgery.
It took her eight months and twenty-five days to complete her rehabilitation and gain full fitness. The girl from Haryana won a silver medal in the 55-kg class at the Asian Wrestling Championship held in New Delhi as she lost 8-4 to Sae Nanjo of Japan in the final.
