A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
'The only thing I am feeling bad right now is, if he had decided earlier to not come even two weeks or 10 days ago, we would have got a specialist doubles team in place'
India's tennis ace Sania Mirza, on Saturday, was appointed as playing captain of India's Fed Cup team, which will seek to make it to Group I grade of Asia/Oceania zone in Hyderabad from April 14.
In a surprise decision, Ankita was left out of the financial assistance scheme despite being India's top-ranked player. The Sports Ministry included second-highest ranked player Karman Kaur Thandi and Prarthana Thombare apart from seasoned Sania Mirza for Rs 50,000 monthly allowance.
Karman struggled to contain her unforced errors but prevailed 6-3 6-4 win over Eudice Chong to give India a 1-0 lead in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie.
When is comes to Indian tennis, it has to be the year of Sania Mirza! The Hyderabadi ace set aside all controversies and soared. Having overcome career-threatening injuries she was back to winning ways. Sania won her third mixed doubles Grand Slam title and wrapped up a dream season with the year-end finale trophy even as India's established male tennis players found the going tough in 2014.
Bopanna is justified in picking a partner of his choice since rules permit him to do so, but at the same time it holds true that even if Bopanna had ended up at No. 11 in the world rankings on the cut-off date, he and Paes, with their combined ranking, would have made the draw by a margin if not comfortably.
Saina Mirza and Saketh Myneni proved too strong for the Chinese Taipei combination of Hsien Yin Peng and Hao Ching Chan to win the gold in the mixed doubles final at the Asian Games.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Vinesh Phogat's gold medal was India's first since women's wrestling was introduced at the Asian Games in 2002.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Leander Paes will make it to his seventh Olympic Games after the All India Tennis Association on Saturday announced that that the veteran would partner Rohan Bopanna in the men's doubles at the Rio Games in August.
India ended its campaign at the Fed Cup with a fourth place finish after losing the classification tie 1-2 to Korea as the team badly missed injured Karman Kaur Thandi, who did not play on Saturday, in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Ankita also shrugged off poor umpiring to emerge a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 winner in two hours and 25 minutes against a player, who was ranked as high as 27 last year and had beaten top-10 players.
Tennis super star Sania Mirza is geared up to represent the country in next month's Olympics but she refused to predict winning a medal in the Rio Games.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
Not satisfied with winning the WTA Finals doubles crown with Zimbabwean Cara Black, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza wants to clinch the women's doubles Grand Slam title before hanging up her tennis shoes.
Ace doubles player Leander Paes and his big-serving partner Rohan Bopanna did not practise or play enough together to give themselves a decent chance to win a medal in the men's doubles event at the Rio Olympic Games, said the former's ex-partner Mahesh Bhupathi in Mumbai on Monday. "The (men's) doubles team was definitely under-prepared, in fact there no preparation - that's the right word. "They did not practise, did not play any matches together. Even when Leander and me were not playing on tour in 2004 and 2008 (Olympic Games in Athens and Beijing), we always came together, played a couple of tournaments together. That's what the Olympics demands," said Bhupathi at the Khar Gymkhana in Mumbai.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Ankita Raina and top seeds men's doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan assured India of at least a couple of bronze medals in the tennis competition by progressing to the semifinals at the Asian Games, in Palembang, on Wednesday.
Indian men ended their campaign in the pistol events on a winning note by shooting down a silver medal in the 25m centre fire event even as the women's team exited from the 50m three-position competition without success at the Asian Games in Incheon on Friday.
Shooters continued to deliver medals for India at the 17th Asian Games with the trio of Heena Siddhu, Rahi Sarnobat and Anisa Sayyed cliching a bronze in the women's 25m pistol event in Incheon on Monday.
Two unassuming young women saved India the humiliation of returning empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time since Barcelona in 1992 with awe-inspiring performances at Rio.
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.
Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom led the charge as Indian women boxers packed a powerful punch by assuring themselves of medals in each of the three weight categories at the 17th Asian Games, in Incheon on Sunday.