The annual list, released on Wednesday by Geneva-based World Economic Forum, comes at a time when the new Indian government has completed 100 days in power and has promised further steps to revive its economy and the ease of doing business in the country.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
Back in the mix after one and half years, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha justified the selector's faith by rocking Australia A top-order with three quick wickets as the visitors reached 185 for four against India A at stumps on the second day of the first unofficial cricket Test in Chennai.
NorthEast United FC were left to rue missed chances, particularly at the end, as they settled for a 1-1 draw against Delhi Dynamos FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash, in Guwahati, on Thursday.
India's defence held its ground against desperate Great Britain as they clinched a 2-1 victory in the 36th Champions Trophy in London on Saturday. The victory puts India at the top of the league standings with four points. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh stood his ground against a number of shots at the goal, four of them on penalty corners, as India made use of a breakaway opportunity created by right winger SV Sunil and their defenders covered the angles well to emerge victorious. Playing deep inside their own territory in the first quarter against early British raids, India scored through Mandeep Singh on their first raid by Sunil in the 17th minute.
Seven-times champion Serena Williams and Germany's Angelique Kerber will clash in the Ladies singles final at Wimbledon after registering easy victories in the semi-finals on Thursday. While Serena had things her way in a 6-2, 6-4 demolition of Germany's Julia Georges, Kerber beat Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Carlos Tevez scored a solo goal after a run that started inside his own half to cap an emphatic 7-0 win for Serie A leaders Juventus over hapless Parma on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Goals by Andrea Barzagli and Mario Lemina propelled Juventus to a 2-0 win at Atalanta Bergamo on Sunday and allowed them to restore their three-point advantage at the top of Serie A.
A summary of Thursday's play at the French Open.
Drag-flickers Rupinderpal Singh and V R Raghunath scored hat-tricks as India extended their winning run in the Asia Cup hockey tournament, trouncing Bangladesh 9-1 in their concluding Pool B match at the Sultan Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Wednesday.
India's Atanu Das showed fine composure and skill to bounce back from a poor start in his maiden Olympics to finish fifth in the qualification round as archery got the underway at the Rio Olympics in Brazil's historic Samba street in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.
A summary of Saturday's action in Ligue 1, La Liga and Serie A.
India entered the final of the ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament beating Malaysia 2-0 in the semi-finals at the Sultan Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Friday.
Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally for the La Liga season to a phenomenal 13 goals in six appearances with his third treble of the campaign as Real Madrid romped to a 5-0 win at home to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Barcelona's rampant trio of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi all found the net at the weekend and unsung Leicester City found themselves in the record books when their England striker Jamie Vardy scored for the 11th straight game.
Cheteshwar Pujara was the highest-ranked Indian batsman despite dropping a rung to eighth while R Ashwin held on to his eighth position in the bowlers' chart of the ICC Test rankings.
Cheteshwar Pujara surpassed Vijay Merchant's record for the most double hundreds by an Indian in first-class cricket -- a record that stood for almost 70 years. A roundup of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches on Thursday.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada and wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock have achieved career-high positions in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings after firing South Africa to an emphatic 177-run victory over Australia in the opening Test of the three-match series in Perth on Monday.
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
'It's not about how many times you get rejected or you fall down or you're beaten up. It's about how many times you stand up and are brave and you keep on going.'
IMAGES from the matches played on Day 2 of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League match played on Saturday
A summary of Wednesday night's matches inthe UEFA Champions League.
IMAGES from the matches played at the PNB Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Sunday
Yuzvendra Chahal shone with the ball, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni rekindled his love affair with final flourishes, anchoring India to their maiden bilateral ODI series triumph in Australia.
Table toppers Chelsea have seen their lead reduced to just six points thanks to a revival from reigning champions Manchester City. If Chelsea slip, City can pile on the pressure to make the EPL battle a little interesting.
India squandered a two-goal lead to suffer a 2-7 hammering at the hands of world champions Australia and crash out of the Hero Hockey World League Final in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri made a winning start to life in the Premier League as his team enjoyed a 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday.
A red hot Luis Suarez scored four goals and contributed three assists as Barcelona's stuttering La Liga title charge sparked back to life with a spectacular 8-0 thrashing of Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday.
PHOTOS from the Wimbledon Championships matches played at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Saturday
Captain AB de Villiers smashed an unbeaten 101 in his 200th One-Day International to lead South Africa to a five-wicket victory over England and a 3-2 series win at Newlands on Sunday.
Saker took the unusual step of publicly criticising his bowlers in the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney last month, revealing discord with staff over tactics.
Ben Stokes smashed an unbeaten century as England outclassed World champions Australia by 40 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-hit match to knock them out of the ICC Champions Trophy, in Birmingham, on Saturday.
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
India came up with a spirited performance to draw with Olympic champions Germany 3-3 and register their first win at the Hero Hockey World League Finals in New Delhi.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
