The Indian players and the support staff would be rewarded with Rs one lakh each for the superb 4-1 win over Pakistan in their hockey World Cup opening match, Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi announced on Sunday.
Hero Honda Motors Ltd, the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, has been named the title sponsor for the 2010 FIH men's hockey World Cup, to be held in Delhi in March. The announcement was made at a glittering ceremony on Monday, in the presence of International Hockey Federation president Leandro Negre, Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi, Hockey India president A K Mattoo and the 1975 World Cup-winning members of the Indian team.
Some of the top PSUs may have pulled out of the Commonwealth Games in the wake of corruption allegations, but Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi is unperturbed, saying he is confident of making up the deficit through the private sector.
'I am still the boss of the Commonwealth Games', embattled Organising Committee chairmanSuresh Kalmadi insists, while making it clear that he is not a quitter and the spate of corruption allegations will not force him to step down at this stage.
Even as Suresh Kalmadi continues to be in the eye of the storm and is continuing to battle charges of corruption, sources say that the government and the Congress party are looking at two options and weighing the pros and cons of implementing them in a bid to save the games as well as protect the government from further bad publicity on issues of corruption.
Olympian and former India captain Gurbax Singh on Wednesday criticised officials of Hockey India for "running the organisation like mafias".
The Commonwealth Games is symptomatic of the deeper decay, decadence, and debilitation of our moral and ethical standards. It is not just about Kalmadi. It is about much more.
Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi has catapulted to the top position in the SportzPower List 2009, while the once-powerful Lalit Modi and number one in 2008 dropped to fifth position. Union Sports Minister M S Gill dropped two spots in 2009 and is placed fourth. He is replaced by former Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sharad Pawar in the second place.
In what turned out to be a formality, the Indian Olympic Association elections returned the same office-bearers, with Suresh Kalmadi as president for a fourth consecutive term.
Triple Olympic gold medalist sprinter Usain Bolt will take part in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi said in Port of Spain.
The Indians in Beijing celebrated the Independence Day on Friday with Ambassador Nirupama Rao hoisting the tri-colour at a function at the embassy. Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi and other key Indian Olympic Association members also attended the ceremony.
Golf's inclusion in the 2016 Olympics, has prompted the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to seek government help for making the sport popular and enhance the country's chances of winning a medal in Rio de Janeiro.
Despite being absolved of the dope charge, weightlifter Monika Devi's chances of taking part in the Beijing Olympics were dashed on Sunday, as the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) rejected her entry in the competition. The Indian Olympic Association's request to allow Monika to participate was turned down by the IWF, IOA president Suresh Kalmadi said in a statement in Beijing.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was named the flag bearer of the Indian contingent for the Beijing Games starting August 8. Rathore was India's lone medallist in the Athens Games where he claimed silver in the double trap event.
Tennis duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will have added responsibility to return with an Olympic medal from Beijing, especially after the Indian Olympic Association accommodated extra support staff for them, a favour that eluded boxer Akhil Kumar.
The bitter war of words between 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and Games Federation CEO Mike Hooper should not have happened, Sports Minister M S Gill said, promising to do all he can to resolve the issues between the two.
The alliance between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party is on the rocks, in Pune.
The Indian Olympic Association on Thursday backed the Asia Cup-winning hockey players' statements on the "step-motherly treatment" meted out to them, saying Olympic sportspersons' achievements go unnoticed in the country.
Facing a severe backlash for appointing scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as life presidents, the Indian Olympic Association has been forced to revoke its controversial decision.
Cracking the whip on the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the Sports Ministry on Friday suspended the Olympic body till the time it reverses the decision to appoint the scam tainted duo of Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala its Life Presidents.
Impressed with Indian athletes overwhelming performance at the 11th South Asian Games Dhaka, IOA president Suresh Kalmadi has promised cash incentives for the star performers of the country.
The Indian Olympic Association will not abide by Sports Ministry's direction to reply to the show-cause notice by Friday on the controversial elevation of Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as life presidents as it will first consult its parent international body.
India's Olympic head has urged China to make training facilities available after the Beijing Olympics so that Indian athletes can prepare for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
The Indian Olympic Association-run ad-hoc committee said Harender Singh will be in-charge of the team till 2010 and a foreign coach will appointed.
Dismissing claims that the infrastructure for the 2010 Commonwealth Games would not be ready in time, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi assured that things would be in place by December next year. The Commonwealth Games will be held in New Delhi in October 2010.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi was on Sunday greeted by a host of dignitaries, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on her 62nd birthday.
Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi hopes to start work on the bid for the 2020 Olympics after staging the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Apparently trying to inject a sense of urgency into the preparations for next year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, CWG Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi is eyeing to rope in Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi as "a leader for the Games".
The Indian Olympic Association obtained support from the Olympic Council of Asia "against the Government's interference" in their autonomy and functioning.
Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi on Tuesday denounced former Indian Hockey Federation chief KPS Gill's move to convene an executive committee meeting of the disbanded body, calling it illegal. Reacting to the news that Gill has convened a meeting on Friday, Kalmadi said the move defied logic.
IOA president Suresh Kalmadi has invited Rahul Gandhi along with other young Parliamentarians to participate in the Indian leg of the Olympic torch relay at the behest of the organisers. Besdies Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada and Sachin Pilot would also be invited. Kalmadi has also assured the relay, which had seen worldwide protests, would go without any hiccup in India.
The Indian leg of the Olympic Torch relay received a shot in the arm on Monday with champion cricketer Sachin Tendulkar volunteering to join the April 17 run in Delhi. Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi confirmed Tendulkar's participation in the relay, which is witnessing protests by pro-Tibetan supporters worldwide.
About 450 athletes from 18 teams including from ten states would contest for the honours at the five-day event.
Eight-time Olympic hockey champions India may not have made the cut for Beijing Games for the first time in 80 years, but four of its coaches will be at the hockey tournament to study the strategy of other participating nations.
London Olympics chiefs have promised assistance for India as it prepares to stage the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Friday announced that India will host the 2010 hockey World Cup. After the FIH board meeting in Hyderabad on Friday, a decision was made that the 2010 World Cup will be held in New Delhi.
The organisers of the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi have claimed that the venues would be ready by the end of 2009.
Formula One management had approved two sites on the outskirts of New Delhi to build a circuit, IOA president Suresh Kalmadi said.
Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi urged the government to reinstate hockey and football in the priority list after the recent success of the two teams in international tournaments.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi on Tuesday felicitated the Indian hockey team for their commendable performance at the Azlan Shah Cup and said the team's next priority is to perform at the 2010 World Cup and qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Kalmadi said it is the IOA's responsibility to improve the image of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) after it was in news for all wrong reasons in recent months.