An obsession with being 'neat, tidy and stylish' almost led her to archery, says world champion and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who feels a chance meeting with her eventual coach changed her career plans.
The 47-year-old has developed swelling in both his legs after his injections could not be administered due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Usha may soon discover that winning four gold medals at the Asian Games and qualifying for the Los Angeles Olympics is a walk in the park compared with the challenges of stabilising governance at the IOA, observes Kanika Datta.
Suspension, internal mudslinging and factionalism overshadowed some stellar performances by Indian archers as the sport went from bad to worse with just a few months left for Tokyo Olympics in an eventful 2019. The biggest blow to Indian archery came in August when World Archery suspended the national federation after two warring groups conducted parallel elections in Delhi and Chandigarh in a clear defiance of the international body's guidelines.
'The Paris Olympics has once again blessed the Indian sports marketing landscape with fresh faces and promises.' 'Expect at least one biopic.'
'Mood is upbeat as first teams arrive in the Olympic Village,' says India's Chef-de-Mission Gagan Narang
Buoyed by the record medal haul at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha on Sunday supported the government's plan to place a proposal to host the 2036 Olympics.
Kumari, a veteran in the World Cup Finals with four silver medals, came out on top in the shoot-off.
The triumphant Indian women's recurve team, which clinched the World Cup Stage IV crown in Poland, returned home in the wee hours to a lukewarm response.
You don't prep for 2028 but for 2040, or even 2044. Sustained sporting excellence is based on mass support, grassroots development, and funding - and it is this trifecta India needs to work on, systematically, asserts Prem Panicker.
India has promised to bear the cost of shooting and archery events at the Commonwealth Championships and wants the results to count towards the overall medal tally at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The Indian women's recurve team earned Olympic quota for the 2016 Rio Games by entering the final, while the men's trio failed to advance after giving away a handsome lead, at the Archery World Championships, in Copenhagen, on Tuesda
Transition struggle for Indian archers in forgettable 2022
'Although a Commonwealth Shooting Championships is amongst one of several ideas being discussed with the ISSF, nothing has been formally proposed, let alone agreed upon'
India's shooting ace Apurvi Chandela attained the World No 1 position in the women's 10m air rifle event while compatriot Anjum Moudgil rose to second.
At a time when his former teammate Sawaiyan Majhi has been appointed Indian recurve coach, the 33-year-old would look to bring his playing career back on track with a second medal from the Asian Games in Indonesia.
Led by Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, India will seek to showcase its ascendency as a sporting power at the Asian Games, which opens formally on Saturday after an unprecedented one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mongolia can take a lifetime to happen but rewards the intrepid traveller with enduring memories of a surreal, delightful land.
Three wushu players from Arunachal Pradesh, who were to take part in the World University Games beginning on Friday in Chengdu, were issued 'stapled visas' by the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, which led to the entire team being held back while the players from other sports left the country.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju advised the Boxing Federation of India to be transparent and resolve the Nikhat Zareen-Mary Kom in the best possible manner.
The return of shooting, which was controversially dropped from the Birmingham CWG earlier this year, is a welcome development for India.
Former Olympian and chief coach Limba Ram says the Archery Association of India has done 'grave injustice' to Mangal Singh Champia, who was denied a place in the team for the Rio Olympics.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
India has been battling a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced many countries to ban travellers from India.
'Hockey India will not like its hockey athletes to peak 35 days before the Asian Games 2022 and would like the athletes to peak at the right time i.e. during the Asian Games 2022.'
The contingent comprises 277 men and 247 women athletes. In the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the Indian contingent featured 541 athletes across 28 disciplines.
Last year, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Raninder Singh, wanted the Indian government to boycott the 2022 Commonwealth Games if shooting was dropped from the programme.
Madhya Pradesh archers without any pre-match day practice concluded their campaign with two silver and one bronze
'It was a great response. We have our responsibilities in place, 'said IOA president Suresh Kalmadi after his presentation.
One day, Jadhav's sports teacher at his Zilla Parishad School in Sarade, Vikas Bhujbal, found some promise in him and asked him to compete in athletics to earn a better living.
Boxing and weightlifting federations were given 18 months time to set their house in order to be considered for the 2028 Games.
Archery was one discipline which generated a lot of hype in the run-up to the Olympics and the let-down was one of the big blows to India's hit-and-miss overall campaign of one silver and one bronze medal show in Rio 2016.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
IOA wants flexibility with calendars
The novel coronavirus outbreak has prompted India to withdraw from next month's shooting World Cup in Cyprus, the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) revealed on Friday.
The Sports Ministry is set to establish 1000 Khelo India Centres (KIC) at the district level across the country with the help of sporting champions, who will be remunerated for providing their expertise. The centres will either be run by a past champion or have them as a coach.
The IOA will push for tennis, archery, rowing, canoeing and kayaking, basketball and judo at the general body meeting of the federation in Melbourne next month.
The Indian Olympic Association on Monday said it will bid for either the 2026 or 2030 Commonwealth Games while also agreeing to withdraw its boycott call for the 2022 Birmingham edition over shooting's exclusion. The country hosted the 2010 edition in New Delhi.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra made the announcement during the send-off ceremony in New Delhi on Monday.
Soon after the new dates were announced, IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta said, "Indian Olympic Association along with the National Sports Federations welcome and support the new dates for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which will be held from 23 July to 8 August, 2021."
