'What can I do if god made me the way I am?' 'All I want to do is win medals for India and make my country proud.'
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Long jumper Darya Klishina, the only Russian athlete cleared to compete in this summer's Olympic Games in Rio, says she does not feel a traitor.
Long jumper Anju Booby George expressed happiness on Tuesday after her second place finish at the 2005 Monaco World Athletics Final was upgraded to a gold medal, saying the frustrating time she endured for last nine years was worth the wait.
Star Indian sprinter Hima Das has donated her one month's salary to the Assam government to help the state combat the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic. Das, an Asian Games gold-medallist besides being an under-20 World champion in 400m, is employed with PSU major Indian Oil as an HR officer in Guwahati.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was on Saturday recommended for the coveted Khel Ratna Award by the committee constituted by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the third time in a row. The 22-year-old Chopra is the only track and field athlete to be recommended by the AFI for the country's highest sports award this year.
Usain Bolt's 200 metres triumph at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing came at a price. The Jamaican took a tumble in bizarre accident, after he was knocked over by a photographer on Segway scooter.
Former 100 metres world record holder Asafa Powell was banned for 18 months by a Jamaican anti-doping disciplinary panel on Thursday after he tested positive for a banned substance last year.
Star Indian sprinter Dutee Chand clinched a silver in women's 100m dash in the 18th Asian Games to win the country's first medal in 20 years in this event.
Seventeen athletes face doping bans after abnormalities were detected in the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) biological passports which track changes in their blood profiles.
A pre-tournament medal contender, the 23-year-old Neeraj Chopra fuelled the country's expectations by topping the qualification round with a stunning first round throw of 86.59 metres.
A German TV documentary alleging widespread doping and cover-ups among Russian track and field competitors contains 'a pack of lies', the country's athletics federation president said.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said India's Olympic-bound athletes and the support staff will be given priority when the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available in the country.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
The scandal revolves around accusations that money was demanded from top athletes to 'bury' medical tests showing drug use
Olympic and World 100 metres champion Shelly-Ann Fraser has been suspended for six months by the IAAF for a doping violation, the world governing body said on Wednesday. Fraser tested positive for the pain-killer oxycodone at May's Shanghai Diamond League meeting.
Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra shattered his own national record by clearing a distance of 87.43m en route finishing fourth in a star-studded field in the season opening Diamond League series meeting, in Doha, on Friday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Johnson clocked 3 minute 35.24 seconds to finish second behind Joshua Thompson of United States at the Olympic Stadium.
It will be the end of an era for athletics on Saturday when Usain Bolt races for the last time in the men's 4x100 metres relay at the World Championships.
Russia's anti-doping agency (RUSADA) still has significant work to do to get its suspension lifted, the World Anti-Doping Agency said on Monday.
Russia said on Friday it is ready to do everything from a legal point of view to defend Russian athletes if they are banned from taking part in the Rio Olympics over doping allegations.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's obsessive pursuit of excellence and a new-found sprint sensation in Hima Das gave Indian athletics audacious Olympic hopes but familiar dope shame kept things in perspective in an eventful 2018.
Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova made a sluggish return to international indoor athletics, finishing last in an 800 metres at the Boston Indoor Grand Prix on Saturday.
Russia could be banned from international athletics, including the 2016 Olympic Games, after an anti-doping commission report on Monday alleged widespread corruption and collusion that added up to a state-sponsored drugs culture in a sporting superpower.
Dutee Chand joined her illustrious compatriots such as P T Usha in the list of athletes who have won more than one medal at the Asian Games as she added a silver to her kitty after finishing second earlier in the women's 100m dash, in Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Following the ban on Russia in 2016, Russian athletes have been allowed to participate as neutrals at various events by the IAAF. For Tokyo, WADA will lay down a uniform criterion for all sporting disciplines to accept.
Nine track and field athletes have been handed lengthy bans for doping violations in a crackdown on the use of prohibited substances in the lead up to the London Olympics, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said on Wednesday.
Indian athletics' biggest doping scandal involving six top women runners, including three Asian and Commonwealth Games gold medallists, ended with the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sports handing them an enhanced ban of two years.
India's Annu Rani failed to repeat her impressive qualifying round form as she finished eighth in the women's javelin throw at the World Athletics Championships.
A big prize is up for grabs and competition in fierce in the world of athletics as Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, joined world high jump champion Bohdan Bondarenko and double Olympic and world 10,000 and 5,000 metres champion Mo Farah in the shortlist for the male Athlete of the Year award announced on Monday.
Calls grow for global athletics probe after widespread doping allegations.
A Greek athlete has failed a doping test, according to an IAAF official, and the father and coach of world indoor high jump champion Dimitris Chondrokoukis says his son has tested positive and withdrawn from the Olympics.
"#HimaDas speaking to media after her SF win at #iaaftampere2018 @iaaforg Not so fluent in English but she gave her best there too. So proud of u #HimaDas Keep rocking & yeah,try ur best in final!" the AFI wrote on its Twitter handle.
Unfazed at being ousted from the Asian Athletics Association, scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi said losing the presidential re-election bid to Qatar's Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad has actually given him a chance to work at the "grassroots" level.
IAAF President Sebastian Coe gave a ringing endorsement to the Olympic athletics programme on Saturday, acclaiming a "remarkable week" that showed athletics is "alive and incredibly strong".
According to reports, Anju (finished 5th) along with fellow long jumpers, Australia's Bronwyn Thompson (4th) and England's Jade Johnson (6th), have urged a probe into the long jump event at the Athens Olympics. The trio has alleged that the performance of the Russians - Tatyana Lebedeva, Irina Meleshina and Tatyana Kotova - who were on the podium at Athens 2004, - were not clean as they had been banned later for failing dope tests.
Olympic-bound long jumper Murali Sreeshankar on Saturday said he is working on his technical flaws and is hoping to take part in competitions abroad once the current travel restrictions on Indians are eased.
Sacked CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, accused in a games-related graft case, sought a Delhi court's permission to attend the 2012 Olympics in London.
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