Yogeshwar Dutt emerged the costliest Indian grappler in the inaugural Pro Wrestling League (PWL) auctions in New Delhi on Tuesday.
>There's still hope and plenty to play for, says Rediff.com's Aruneel Sadadekar.
In what comes as a late reaction following the backlash received over Salman Khan's appointment as Goodwill Ambassador for India for Rio Olympics, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has now turned to cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar to be the Indian contingent's ambassador.
Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has undergone an elbow surgery
Bajrang Punia met Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and said he has been assured that his case will be looked into.
Amidst the dilemma of double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar and Narsingh Yadav fighting each other for a place in the World Championships, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has decided to hold selection trials of the senior grapplers on July 6-7.
Bollywood star Salman Khan's appointment as the Indian Olympic contingent's goodwill ambassador has not gone down well with star wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, who feels a sportsperson should have been chosen for the role. Salman, who is playing the role of a wrestler in his upcoming film 'Sultan', was named goodwill ambassador by the Indian Olympic Association on Saturday in the presence of star woman boxer M C Mary Kom, hockey captain Sardar Singh, and shooter Apurvi Chandela among others. Yogeshwar, the London Olympics bronze-medallist, said he cannot understand what purpose such an appointment will serve for the athletes. "Everybody has the right to promote movies in India, but Olympics is not a place to promote films." Yogeshwar tweeted in Hindi. "Can anyone tell me what the role of goodwill ambassador is? Why are you fooling the public?" he added.
With little over a week left for the beginning of Rio Olympics, the Indian athletes have started arriving in batches here for the sporting extravaganza. Most of the disciplines have begun sending their teams in batches and others are expected over the next few days. At the dining hall during breakfast on Wednesday, Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent, Rakesh Gupta had a short and pleasant meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, who was there to see the Olympic Village.
The PM appealed to politicians, members of the film fraternity, sportspersons, businessmen, spiritual leaders and members of the media to encourage increased voter participation and urged them to inspire more people to come out and vote during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Shooter Ronjan Sodhi picked for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the selection committee.
'I will be writing to every member of the Indian Olympic team and offering them any help they may want.'
The dagger insignia on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's wicketkeeping gloves put India's cricket administrators on collision course with the ICC after the BCCI declined the world body's "request" to have it removed.
He has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after knocking off some established global stars in the 57kg but hardly shows any emotion.
Seventeen shooters, prominent among who is Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, are among 45 athletes selected by the government for financial assistance under the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.
The Indian duo of Thanackal Gopi and Kheta Ram put up an inspired show and clock their personal best timings to finish 25th and 26th respectively in the men's marathon at the Rio Olympics on Sunday.
As the curtains come down at the Tokyo Olympics, here's a glance at the medallists and those who came within touching distance of glory.
Bajrang Punia says that he has learnt from his mentor Yogeshwar Dutt that conquering big names is the only way to earn a big name.
The counting will begin at 8 am, and as per the Election Commission's COVID-19 guidelines, a candidate, his poll agent and counting agent can remain present in the counting hall, officials said, adding various measures have been taken to ensure social distancing and avoid crowding.
Wrestler Sandeep Tomar secured an Olympic quota place for India in the men's 57kg freestyle category with a bronze-medal finish on the final day of the 1st World Olympic Qualifying tournament in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Many top athletes around the globe might be pulling out of the Rio Olympics due to Zika virus concern but chef de mission of the Indian Olympic contingent Rakesh Gupta said they are taking every possible step to address any possible risk. "We are concerned about Zika virus but we are taking every possible precaution for the Indian contingent that will travel to Rio. Whatever advisory we have received from the international body we have forwarded that to the players and federations," Gupta said on the sidelines of an event where Amul became the official sponsor of the Indian contingent.
Extensive arrangements have been made due to the COVID-19 pandemic including personal protective equipment kits for election staff, more polling booths, thermal screening, sanitisers, masks and gloves for voters and markings to ensure social distancing, officials said.
Haryana government has directed sportspersons employed with it to deposit one-third of their earnings from commercial and professional commitments to the state sports council
Kaur, daughter of martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, received support from her college -- the Lady Shri Ram college -- which termed her act as sensible and brave.
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India's schedule on the ninth day of the competitions at the Asian Games in Incheon on Sunday.
It's a sport that is synonymous with power for most, but India's Rio Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik says her achievements on the mat are not just because of brawn but also brain.
Bajrang Punia (men's 65kg) posted an impressive victory on the penultimate day of the Asian Wrestling Championship on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in large numbers. "Today, there are bypolls taking place in various places across India. I urge those voting in these seats to vote in large numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy," he said in a tweet.
Former India batsman and Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir slammed the appointment of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan as the 'goodwill ambassador' for the Indian contingent for the Rio Olympic Games scheduled to be held in August. "Look I believe in that as well, especially if there are no shortage of real sportsmen in this country and people have done some massive things in this country. I am for the country as well, I am for Olympic sports. I would have been more happy if someone like Abhinav Bindra or someone (sportsperson) had been made the brand ambassador," Gambhir said in Mumbai on Monday, at the launch of Sansui's new Curve 4K Ultra HD LED TV series.
Confident but not complacent ahead of his WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight title defence this Saturday, Indian boxing star Vijender Singh has been working with a strength coach -- John Joyce -- to prepare for the face-off against former world champion Francis Cheka.
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The Queen's Baton of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games was taken at the historic India Gate by the country's top sportspersons in a low-key event on the first day of its India stop on Saturday.
Indian wrestling is well and truly on an all-time high as the country, in what turned out to be a double delight, on Friday earned a maiden World Cup berth on the back of its best-ever sixth-place finish in men's free-style at the World Championships in Budapest.
World Championship silver medallist wrestler Amit Kumar rued that a bad umpiring decision at the end of his bout cost him a deserving gold medal in the final of the 55kg category against Iran's Hassan Farman Rahimi.
The Rio Olympics bronze medalist shared the stage with Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha during the Whisper 'Like a Girl' campaign. When asked about the recent trend of making biopics on sportsmen, Sonakshi said that she will be thrilled to star as Sakshi if at all a movie was made based on the wrestler's life.
'People taunted me, saying 'You are a woman, why are you wrestling?'
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
Some stellar performances by seasoned veterans and promising youngsters continued to raise the bar in Olympic sports but there was heartbreak in equal measure when corruption scandals blighted India's favourite obsession, cricket, in a see-saw year for the country's sportspersons.
The 34-year-old two-time Olympic medallist proved that class is permanent, and that the youngsters still have a long way to go, at least in his weight category -- the men's 74kg freestyle.
Virat Kohli? M C Mary Kom? Neeraj Chopra?
Counting of votes is underway in assembly byelection to 58 seats in 11 states including Madhya Pradesh where the results will decide the fate of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.
Sandeep Sejwal said the prize money on offer for every gold won is just too tempting.
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