Underrated athletes of 2014 – The term ‘˜underrated’ is never easy to define especially when it comes in the world of sports. This year there were many top names who took the numero uno slot of heralding in success
The term ‘underrated’ is never easy to define especially when it comes in the world of sports.
This year there were many top names who took the numero uno slot of heralding in success and glories in their bags but there were some that did that with a low key attitude.
These players have been just ‘too good’ this season even without any serious attention from the media or social butterflies.
The key is that their rise has at the same time boosted their similarly underrated teams or franchises to a whole new success.
Who are these players and what did they achieve to bag the award.
We tell you who:
Lewis Hamilton:
For most of the past four years, F1 was under the dominating force of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull team but this season, Brit Lewis Hamilton broke all the shackles as he came undeterred and clinched the Formula One Championship under the noses of his teammate and rival, Nico Rosberg at Abu Dhabi. Even if Hamilton may have a pop-singer girlfriend by his side (Nicol Scherzinger), the former keeps a very low-key profile and so does his Mercedes F1 team.
Eugenie Bouchard:
20-year old breaking into the top 10 in the year 2014 is just good news to tennis. Introducing Eugenie Bouchard, the Canadian tennis sensation that took the tennis world by storm; not just by her style of play but mesmerizing looks and calm composure on the court. She became the first Canadian woman to land a spot in the Grand Slam final (Wimbledon) and had also earned a spot in the semis of the Australian and the French Open this year.
Manuel Neuer:
Germany won the FIFA World Cup this year and most of the credit goes to their star stopper, Manuel Neuer. The Bayern Munich goalie who is pitted against Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for the race to win the Ballon D’Or, is one of the most underrated players in the world of football. Even as the star strikers and midfielders hog the limelight, Neuer’s determination and grit shows on the field when the former puts out some mind-blowing saves that are laudable!
David Warner:
David Warner in ODIs and T20s is just another beast but when the southpaw donned the Test whites this year, the runs poured like silver coins. The left-handed opener has amassed 959 runs at an average of 73.76 in seven Tests – the most by an Australian batsman in 2014 and moreover, Warner shares the record with Pakistan’s Younis Khan to have recorded five hundreds each this year.
Marin Cilic:
When the tennis world saw the fall of the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as well as Novak Djokovic at this year’s Australian Open, none expected Stan Wawrinka to close in his first ever Grand Slam. But wait there was more in store, when Croatian Marin Cilic bagged the US Open title this year under the noses of many stalwarts like Federer, Djokovic and Andy Murray.
