Will India finally reach the elusive double-digit mark? Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry, for one, is willing to stick his neck out on the possibility.
Women's cricketer Anju Jain is among the awardees, while none of her popular male counterparts were nominated.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Indian athletes led the way in providing the Indian Olympic Association their feedback on how to restart national camps amid the coronavirus pandemic but a lot of national federations missed the deadline for submission of response, leaving IOA president Narinder Batra disappointed. On May 5, the IOA, while conceding that the risk of athletes losing motivation in the ongoing lockdown is real, sought their views along with those of coaches and other stakeholders on how to restart outdoor training.
The Indian women's recurve team earned Olympic quota for the 2016 Rio Games by entering the final, while the men's trio failed to advance after giving away a handsome lead, at the Archery World Championships, in Copenhagen, on Tuesda
India's women recurve team kept itself in medal contention by moving to the semifinals of the Asian Games even as the men's recurve team suffered a close 3-5 defeat against Hong Kong to crash out in the elimination round of the archery competition.
The Sports Ministry is set to establish 1000 Khelo India Centres (KIC) at the district level across the country with the help of sporting champions, who will be remunerated for providing their expertise. The centres will either be run by a past champion or have them as a coach.
India's squash players wrapped up a historic performance at the Asian Games, clinching an unprecedented men's team gold after the women's side settled for its first ever silver in Incheon on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju advised the Boxing Federation of India to be transparent and resolve the Nikhat Zareen-Mary Kom in the best possible manner.
The state government had announced the award for Jhanu Hansda after she created a world record at the National Ranking Archery Tournament.
Indian archers would look to make amends for the flop-show in London when they take aim in the 31st Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Friday -- archery and football kick-start before the official opening ceremony of the Games.
Former Commonwealth and Asian Games medallist Deepika Kumari steered Jhakhand to two team gold medals in the recurve archery events but stunningly missed out on an individual podium finish even as the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) continued to stay on course for a hat-trick of overall titles on the eighth day of competitions in the 35th National Games in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
The men's archery team made history by entering their maiden team final in the 43rd World outdoor target archery championship.
The contingent comprises 277 men and 247 women athletes. In the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the Indian contingent featured 541 athletes across 28 disciplines.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) finalised a four-member delegation, which will accompany Sports Ministry officials, for a meeting with the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne on May 15 to find a way for India's return to the Olympic movement.
Olympic Silver medalist Mirabai Chani's feat is a story of grit, dedication and desire, but it isn't unique. In Manipur, discovers Vaibhav Raghunandan.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
The Archery Association of India was forced to sack the American psychologist Allison Rodius as she has not been able to provide "quality support" to Athens-bound medal hopefuls.
The 20-year-old Indian archer edged past Bhutan's Tshering Chhoden in the individual archery competition.
Archery was one discipline which generated a lot of hype in the run-up to the Olympics and the let-down was one of the big blows to India's hit-and-miss overall campaign of one silver and one bronze medal show in Rio 2016.
Following is the schedule of Indian contingent on the sixth day of the Asian Games.
The 20-year-old Chakhesang tribal girl booked a berth in the Indian archery team for the Athens Olympics
A young girl wants to correct her father's name in her school certificate; a man wants his three year unpaid rent from a government doctor, an athlete wants an archery set... Scenes from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Darbar, recorded by Rediff.com's Archana Masih.
The postponement of the Tokyo Games was a bitter pill to swallow for Indian archer Tarundeep Rai as he will get one year older when he takes the field for his third Olympics. He has been forced to change his training due to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic and the 21-day nationwide lockdown. His daily routine now is to search for videos on "how to build shoulder muscles" and train at the gym for long hours.
Photos: Record breakers at the Games so far
With the Indian Olympic Association suspended by the International Olympic Committee, and the Archery Association of India not paying enough attention to its wards, it was time someone came forward to take up the archers' cause. That step was taken by Olympic Gold Quest by signing up Deepika Kumari and Jayanta Talukdar.
Ace Indian archer Dola Banerjee told Rediff.com that the biggest loss in the derecognition of the boxing and archery associations will be that of players.
Non-profit sports foundation Olympic Gold Quest has chalked out plans to extend its support to 40 athletes by this year-end and help them train for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, according to its chief executive officer Viren Rasquinha.
The derecognition of the Archery Association of India has jeopardised the careers of archers employed with the Railways as they have been asked not to take part in any tournament conducted by the AAI.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
The Archery Association of India (AAI) hit out at the Government for de recognizing the body, calling the decision "unconstitutional and arbitrary".
The Sports Ministry identified 45 potential medal winners, who will get financial assistance under the government scheme 'Target Olympic Podium' for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
India's archery coach Limba Ram made a quiet exit from the national team not just because of the country's dismal Olympic performance but also after being allegedly insulted by his top wards Deepika Kumari and Jayanta Talukdar, who denied the accusation.
This year a whopping 74 winners were picked for the national honours, including an unprecedented five Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratnas and 27 Arjuna awardees.
Indian athletes will be in action in various disciplines at the 2012 Olympics on Wednesday. Check out their time schedule.
Indian athletes will be in action in various disciplines at the 2012 Olympics on Tuesday. Check out their time schedule.
