Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Tennis ace Sania Mirza wins the Khel Ratna award. Last week, the Sports Ministry confirmed that Wimbledon doubles champion Sania Mirza had been recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
Seeking to steer clear of the furore that was triggered by Saina Nehwal's open displeasure at being ignored for the Padma awards, ace Indian shooter Gagan Narang said he would prefer to wait for the government to take a call on such matters.
The National Rifle Association of India on Sunday welcomed the appointment of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as sports minister, saying the Olympics silver medallist would "add immense value to the development and growth of sports".
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
An angry Saina Nehwal slammed the Sports Ministry after the Olympic bronze medallist's name was not included for the prestigious Padma Bhushan award -- India's third highest civilian award.
Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, ace cueist Pankaj Advani believes politics should not be mixed with games and Indo-Pak sporting ties should go on.
Veteran midfielder Sardar Singh was on Friday dropped from India's 18-member squad for next month's Hockey World League Final, while the fit-again Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra made comebacks.
'Sport is cruel, as is life, which is why winning becomes sweet.'
Sports Awards could to be delayed: Ministry official
In a significant but tricky move, Sports Minister Vijay Goel has said that a resolution has been passed to transfer sports from the State List of the Indian Constitution to the Concurrent List in a meeting of the National Sports Federations called by the government in New Delhi.
Pullela Gopichand, who has coached Olympic medallist shuttlers Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu, on Monday said that India can win a bagful of Olympic medals only if sports culture is built in the country through nurturing talent at the grassroot level. Wrestler Sakshi Malik and Sindhu saved India the blushes at the Rio Olympic Games by winning a bronze and a silver respectively.
Defending champion Viswanathan Anand will start his campaign with black pieces against Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the first game of the 12-round World Chess Championship in Chennai on Saturday. After declaring the 'FIDE World Championship Match-2013' open, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa picked the photograph of Anand from the first bowl and a 'black piece' from the other during the draw of lots for the match, to be held at Hyatt Regency hotel.
She has always found her stupendous success on court go hand-in-hand with controversies off it and that is precisely the reason why Sania Mirza is hardly bothered about what a few people have to say about her.
Viswanathan Anand says one factor that has contributed immensely to this has been his habit of 'forgetting' achievements.
She embodied the Olympic spirit despite missing out on a coveted podium finish and while she was at it, Dipa Karmakar gave Indian gymnastics some unprecedented moments of glory in what can be called a watershed year for the sport.
'I have grown up in an environment where the dominant narrative of Indian sporting achievement was -- We can't.' 'These achievers have fought hard, built on each other's body of work and knowledge, and have today changed the script to -- We can,' notes Rahul Dravid,cricketing legend.
MS Dhoni all set for new innings.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
At 14 she represented India for the first time and scored a scintillating goal. Since then there has been no looking back for this striker with electric speed and agility.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
What a year Sania Mirza, Leander Paes, Saina Nehwal, Vijender Singh and Anirban Lahiri had!
As the year 2016 draws to a close, vote for the best Indian sportsperson of the year.
An Olympic campaign saved by the fortitude of three women, a cricket team that rediscovered itself under a bold and zealous Virat Kohli -- Indian sports in 2016 was a dramatic mix of highs and lows wherein athletes mostly raised the bar but administrators found new ways to embarrass the country.