Women archers were on target in the individual events, while Manoj Kumar scripted a triumph of the underdog in the boxing ring on the fifth day of the Rio Games.
The suspense over wrestler Narsingh Yadav's participation in the Rio Olympic Games was prolonged further after the National Anti-Doping Agency deferred its final verdict on the doping scandal to Monday.
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.
Athletes from one sport should not be punished for the sins of those from another, the IOC president said on Wednesday, cooling speculation that Russia could be banned from the Olympics altogether for systematic doping.
Olympic champion, Spain's Carolina Marin turned out to be the costliest buy of the second edition of the Premier Badminton League (PBL), while Kidambi Srikanth fetched the highest amount by an Indian at the players' auction, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
'It is important to keep new tricks in your bag to win at the biggest event of world sports.'
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.
India captain Sardar Singh asserted that they have a lot to play for in the ongoing Hockey World League Semifinals.
After the curtain have come down here are some of the stunning moments from the Rio Olympics that made everyone stand and cheer.
US Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ryan Lochte issued an apology on Friday and his team mate Jimmy Feigen agreed to pay 35,000 reais ($11,000) to a charity after Brazilian police said they lied about being robbed at gunpoint at the weekend.
Freestyle queen Katie Ledecky made sure of her third swimming gold medal of the Rio Olympics, and fourth of her career, after anchoring the US women to victory in the 4x200 meters relay on Wednesday.
'I don't think we have ever had so many top players either in singles or doubles,' says badminton legend Prakash Padukone.
Take a look at what fit-again Saina needs to do before going into the Olympic Games in August this year.
India's chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand says the draw hardly matters if the shuttlers are focused on gunning for a medal at the Olympics. He believes that it will boil down to two good back-to-back matches under pressure to earn a medal at the Rio Games, starting August 5.
While there are rumours that Sardar Singh's axing is because of his dip in form in recent times, the team's chief coach and High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans said the move was necessitated to relieve the ace midfielder from excess responsibilities.
Britain's James Guy held off a host of Olympic champions to win his first world title, the men's 200m freestyle, at the world championships on Tuesday.
Sushil Kumar's fight for an Olympic berth suffered another blow with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) strongly hinting that they would prefer Narsingh Yadav for the Rio event by insisting on not having a trial given the quota winner's "consistent performances". Following the Delhi High Court directive, a special WFI committee, formed on the instruction of the court, held a meeting with the two-time Olympic medallist, to sort out as to who between Sushil and Narsingh would represent India in the men's 74kg freestyle category at the mega-event in August. "Sushil has put forward his views before the committee and has maintained what he has been saying since the very beginning that he should get a chance to undergo a trial," WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh told reporters in New Delhi. "We have told him that 'you have put Indian wrestling at a pedestal and we cannot ignore your contribution and we all respect you'. But on the other hand, there is another wrestler who has brought the Olympic quota and also has been giving consistent performances. So, can we be unfair to him also?" Brij Bhushan added.
Indian boxing's biggest names are demanding an all systems reboot to halt the sport's decline after a medal-less Olympic campaign in Rio and their roadmap goes beyond having the much-delayed national federation.
'I will try my best to win gold at the Olympics. You can be assured that I will put in more than 100 per cent to achieve it.'
Asked about Saina Nehwal, whose 2012 London Games bronze medal winning show was a path breaker for Indian women's badminton, Padukone is confident that the 26-year-old former World number one will be regain her best form.
Indian archers would look to make amends for the flop-show in London when they take aim in the 31st Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Friday -- archery and football kick-start before the official opening ceremony of the Games.
Brazil arrested 10 people on Thursday suspected of belonging to a poorly organised group supporting Islamic State (IS) and discussing terrorist acts during the next month's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
In a nod to the domination of her sport, Simone Biles has already entered the debate as the greatest gymnast of all-time even though she has yet to turn a single somersault on the Olympic stage.
For Indian hockey, 2016 was a year in which much was promised and achieved as well. It was also a year where India made significant and visible advancements but deep down somewhere the pain of missing out on an Olympic medal will remain for four more years.
Putting behind a controversial past and bringing home an Asian Games gold medal is no mean feat. Discus thrower Seema Punia says, despite lack of government recognition, gold was all she dreamed of at the recently-concluded continental games in Incheon.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
The 42-year-old Leander Paes's dream of appearing in a record seventh Olympics may remain just that if Rohan Bopanna decides to play with a player ranked lower than the world No 46.
Star India shuttler Saina Nehwal, who has recovered from a serious knee injury sustained during the Rio Olympics in August and is back on the international circuit, is still not at her physical best and needs more time to reach that high level, feels her coach Vimal Kumar.
'Experience is important. But if you work hard, you can improve faster. There is a three-month gap now and we will look to train harder and improve our fitness for Olympics' 'I think we need to cut down simple errors on court and not give away easy points. We have got to work hard each day without thinking about the results, as giving our best is in our hands'
If a keen tussle for a ticket to Rio Games between double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar and rising star Narsingh Yadav grabbed headlines off the mat, the youngsters showed the sport's bench strength in a country that gave the world the much-touted Pro Wrestling League this year.
As the year 2016 draws to a close, vote for the best Indian sportsperson of the year.
Belgium are on red hot form and have stunned strong gold medal contenders and world champions Australia.
Ten days of athletics competition at the Rio Olympics begin on Friday. Check out the 10 events not to miss at the Olympic Stadium.
'I have certainly gained the respect of my rivals by consistently maintaining my ranking inside the top-10 mark.' 'I have beaten all these top players at least once and there will be no fear factor when I face them at Rio.'
China got its first gold at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics thanks to some sharp shooting skills by Olympic debutant Zhang Mengxue on Sunday. Presenting a round-up of the athletes who shone bright to take home gold medals on Day 2 at the Rio Games...
India's Olympic aspirations failed to blossom in the face of personal egos of star tennis players even as the legend of Sania Mirza continued to grow and an ageless Leander Paes basked in personal glory in 2016.
On-field achievements often jostled for space with off-field drama as Indian hockey endured a rollercoaster year during which the players scripted historical feats but coach Paul van Ass' acrimonious ouster and Gurbaj Singh's suspension created its share of storm.
'I would not be running had it not been for the army.' 'I learned to value my time only after I was posted in Kashmir.' 'I was posted there for three months. In those three months I learned everything about life.'
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
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