He said the time was right to strengthen and popularise table tennis in India, especially with 27 Indian paddlers currently in top 100 and 17 of them in top 50 in the world rankings.
'With the lockdown now in full force, we're mindful of the difficulties facing our cricket community.'
With the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games being postponed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sardar feels the Indian team will get some time to work on its grey areas and unearth new talent.
'Indian hockey will lose out on one of its most important nurseries of good hockey talent.'
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) shut down the world tour and other sanctioned tournaments following the completion of the All-England in March due to the global health crisis.
'Sport is cruel, as is life, which is why winning becomes sweet.'
'I remember on occasions where I lay in my room feeling the despair. It (mental health issue) is real, it is part of all sport and it is coming to the fore now with a lot more aggression. Players are at least standing up and saying 'I need to just remove myself, fight myself and comeback again'
Cricket legend Rahul Dravid reckons there could be "a sense of doubt, hesitancy and fear" initially in the minds of athletes, as well as people in general, when sport resumes in the post coronavirus pandemic world. The novel coronavirus pandemic has led to either cancellation or postponement of all sporting activities worldwide, including the Tokyo Olympics.
This year a whopping 74 winners were picked for the national honours, including an unprecedented five Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratnas and 27 Arjuna awardees.
Designated I-League champions Mohun Bagan have announced a donoation of 20 lakh in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic while Bhaichung Bhutia will feature in Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) public awareness campaign on the COVID-19 pandemic,
The unprecedented health crisis forced an indefinite shutdown of all sports activities -- both contact and non-contact. The FICCI said non-contact sports can resume first by maintaining social distancing norms.
The couple exchanged rings in an engagement ceremony in Ranchi on Monday and will tie the knot next year.
India opener Rohit Sharma on Monday advised people to be be smart and proactive in their fight against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Various state governments in the country have ordered closures of schools, malls, cinema halls in a bid to avoid gatherings while also asking people to practice social distancing.
Professional athletes across the world should not be rushed back to action once the coronavirus pandemic subsides, and they must have a strong say in determining the conditions for their return, the World Players Association said on Tuesday. Sports competitions around the world have come to a screeching halt this year as the virus spreads across the globe, starving clubs, leagues and federations of revenues and putting tens of thousands of professional athletes on hold.
The Premier League, which has been on hold since March 13, remains suspended until at least April 30 while lockdown measures are in place in the United Kingdom until May 7, when the government is set to review the current restrictions in place. The U.K government's cabinet minister responsible for sport said he has been in talks with the Premier League with the aim of getting football back on the field as quickly as possible.
'A person can do Olympic lift of 100 kgs at this stage, but he or she is not guaranteed to be injury free or increase in performance unless there is transfer. Bowlers do take a hit during this phase for sure. Batters not much'
The world was in a "sheer shock" in the past few months due to the coronavirus pandemic but BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is confident that life will be back to normal once the vaccine for the virus is developed. Ganguly believes once the vaccine is out, the virus will be like any other health issues like flu or jaundice but with a cure.
Miles away from family amid a global health crisis, the Indian women's hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne is keeping anxiety at bay by focussing on writing a book on his India experience during the lockdown period due to the coronavirus outbreak. The 45-year-old Dutchman, who is based in 's-Hertogenbosch, admitted that it is tough to be away from his wife and children -- three daughters and a son -- during the difficult time.
'My day starts off with Pranayam and visualisation practice for about 45 minutes. After breakfast, it's time to learn some cooking'
Also, the Indian cricket team is scheduled to tour Australia from October 2020 to January 2021 for a full series that includes four Test matches as part of the World Test Championships besides three ODIs and as many T20Is.
Cricket could be part of the 2028 Olympics as the International Cricket Council is working towards getting the sport included in the roster for the Los Angeles Games.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected over 30 lakh people worldwide, has halted all sports, including badminton, across the globe with even the Tokyo Olympics being pushed to next year. Tennis star Novak Djokovic had recently said he is opposed to a compulsory coronavirus vaccination.
The 26-year-old Indian, who won two BWF Super 100 titles in Hyderabad and Vietnam this year, went down 15-21, 17-21 to world no 22 Tzu Wei in a 48-minute summit clash to miss out on his maiden Super 300 crown.
He went on to lift the US Open title in 1994 and, after shaving his head on the advice of his then actress girlfriend Brooke Shields, the Australian Open crown in 1995 before adding an Olympic gold at Atlanta 1996.
With five titles under his belt, Lakshya Sen was racing towards the top echelons of international badminton before his stunning run was halted by the coronavirus pandemic, which brought all sporting action to a halt across the world. With the world in lockdown to contain the deadly disease, Lakshya too is enduring the uncertain times within the confines of his apartment, near the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in Bengaluru.
Talking specifically about the 13th edition of IPL, which has been put on hold for an indefinite period due to the pandemic, Rijiju said it is the government's prerogative to take a call on conducting any tournament in the country.
Nita Ambani hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he has great vision to transform India into a global sporting powerhouse.
Women have enjoyed some hard-won gains in elite sports in recent years, with pro leagues starting up in a number of countries and growing support for their fight for pay parity.
Kambala racer Srinivas Gowda, whose running exploits during a traditional buffalo race in Karnataka has evoked a social media frenzy, will be assessed by expert coaches at SAI Center, Bengaluru on the instruction of Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju. Rijiju on Saturday asked the top SAI coaches to conduct a trial of the 28-year-old Kambala jockey Gowda after video clips of him running a distance of 100 metres in just 9.55 seconds have surfaced.
Images from Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.
Australia offie Nathan Lyon reckons the Indian captain 'will be able to adapt to any climate that we are able to play in'.
'While we are all trying to stay indoors and help flatten the curve, all recruitment processes have been put on hold and I am unable to find a job for myself.'
This IPL would have been Dhoni's comeback tournament after eight and a half months. He would have again led the side -- face not giving away anything but unbridled joy when Chennai Super Kings does something.
International Olympic Committee is putting the health of elite athletes at risk by telling them to continue training for the Tokyo 2020 Games as the coronavirus rages
In 1985, Balbir Singh Sr had donated his medals and memorabilia to the then SAI Secretary on being told that they would be displayed in a show window at the then proposed National Sports Museum.
The Pakistan Cricket Board is planning to hold the remaining matches of PSL-5 in November provided the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic improves in the next few months, PCB CEO Wasim Khan said. The PSL was suspended last Tuesday after the PCB revealed that a foreign player showed symptoms of the coronavirus, but Khan said the remaining matches may be held during the 10-day window available in November.
The central government said the railways and civil aviation ministry must suspend all concessional travel on trains and flights, except for students, patients and disabled people.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Saturday made it clear that the 13th edition of IPL will be a truncated one if the coronavirus pandemic subsides but could not commit on the number of matches under the current circumstances. The BCCI on Friday suspended the IPL from March 29 to April 15 due to government-imposed travel restrictions and refusal of three states to host any matches owing to the pandemic that has so far claimed more than 5000 lives and infected close to 1,50,000 people globally.
The probe follows a complaint by Sharavan Yadav, Amitsinh Tanwar and Lavmeet Katariya -- international volleyball players who have represented India in numerous tournaments, according to an order by the Competition Commission of India.
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