Remembering the Sports Legends Who Died in 2020

January 4, 2021

Last Updated date: January 4, 2021

Sports legends who died in 2020 — Diego Maradona, Kobe Bryant and Sir Everton Weekes. Photo: Collected

Coronavirus pandemic has lasted almost the whole of 2020. Millions of people have lost their lives due to the deadly virus. Apart from this, the year 2020 is also a sorrowful in the world stadiums. Since the beginning of the year many star athletes have died. Starting from January basketball legend Kobe Bryant, Rossi, the Italian football legend, died last December. Above all, football legend Diego Maradona, legendary West Indies cricketer Sir Everton Weeks and Dean Jones of Australia have also been named in the list.

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Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020)

Basketball legend Kobe Bryant reportedly died in a tragic helicopter crash in California. Kobe Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gigi Bryant were killed in a helicopter crash in California on January 26. His death casts a shadow of mourning over the world of sports. Bryant has played for the LA Lakers throughout his basketball career. He has won the NBO Championship five times and was a member of the Ulster team 16 times. The legendary basketball player also won gold medals for the country at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Sir Everton Weekes, cricketer (February 26, 1925 – July 1, 2020)

Everton Weekes passed away on July 1 last year due to illness. He had a heart attack in 2019. In the year of his Test debut in 1948, he scored a century in five consecutive Tests from March to December, which is still a world record. In the sixth Test, the umpire was dismissed for 90 runs. He completed 1,000 runs of his career in just 12 innings. No one has reached this milestone faster than him. At the end of his career, Weekes scored 4,455 runs in 46 Tests with 15 centuries and 19 half-centuries at an average of 57.61. Weekes’ average is the tenth highest among cricketers who have batted at least 20 innings in Test cricket. Many could see the shadow of Sir Don Bradman in Weekes’ batting. He was named Wisden’s Cricketer of the Year in 1951.

Chetan Chauhan, cricketer (July 21, 1947 – August 16, 2020)

Chetan Pratap Singh Chauhan, former Indian cricketer, passed away on August 16, 2020 at the age of 63. He died of cardiac arrest. His physical condition had been deteriorating since he was infected with the Coronavirus in July. Ventilator support was given but he could not survive. Chetan played 20 Tests and scored 2,064 runs from 1989 to 1986. Besides, he collected 153 runs in 7 ODIs. He had a successful Test partnership with Sunil Gavaskar. The duo added more than 3,000 runs in Test cricket with a pair of 10 centuries. He received the Arjuna Award in 1971.

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Dean Jones, cricket player (March 24, 1961 – September 24, 2020)

He was an Australian cricket player, coach and commentator. He had an excellent record in the Test cricket. And for revolutionizing the One Day International (ODI) format he is best remembered. He was recognized as among the best ODI batsmen in the world between 1980s and 1990s. His batting was often characterized by his agile footwork against both pace and spin. Jones was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2019.

Diego Maradona, footballer (October 30, 1960 – November 25, 2020)

Football legend Diego Maradona died of massive heart attack at the age of 60. He won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986. He, who was well-known for his sport, was an Argentine professional football player and manager. He was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award. His presence and leadership on the field had a great effect on his team’s general performance. Additionally, due to his creative abilities he is known as “God of Football”. He possessed an eye for goal and was known to be a free kick specialist. Soccer superstar Maradona had a troubled off-field life and was banned in both 1991 and 1994 for abusing drugs.

The legend finally put on his boots in 1997. At the end of his football career, he was named in coaching. He was appointed as the coach of the Argentina national team in November 2008. But the World Cup-winning star had to quit because of the poor performance of the team after the 2010 World Cup. The football legend was in-charge of the first-ever Argentina team, Himancia, in the last season.

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