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.
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.
'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
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.
Deepika managed to stay in the top 10 in the qualification round with a total score of 663.
Kumari, a veteran in the World Cup Finals with four silver medals, came out on top in the shoot-off.
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.
Mongolia can take a lifetime to happen but rewards the intrepid traveller with enduring memories of a surreal, delightful land.
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.
Transition struggle for Indian archers in forgettable 2022
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
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.
While Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, a total of 25 athletes including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, athletes Eldhose Paul, Avinash Sable have been nominated for the Arjuna Award this year.
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.
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.
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.
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
Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, 25 sportspersons, including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, track and field athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable, were conferred with the Arjuna Award.
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.
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.
Madhya Pradesh archers without any pre-match day practice concluded their campaign with two silver and one bronze
India has been battling a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced many countries to ban travellers from India.
'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'
'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.'
Boxing and weightlifting federations were given 18 months time to set their house in order to be considered for the 2028 Games.
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.
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
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."
A top official from the national federation of a prominent Olympic sport asked if Batra would deem the competition good enough if shooting is brought back into the CWG fold.
Indian athletes led the way in providing the Indian Olympic Association their feedback on how to restart national camps amid the coronavirus pandemic but a lot of national federations missed the deadline for submission of response, leaving IOA president Narinder Batra disappointed. On May 5, the IOA, while conceding that the risk of athletes losing motivation in the ongoing lockdown is real, sought their views along with those of coaches and other stakeholders on how to restart outdoor training.
The contingent comprises 277 men and 247 women athletes. In the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the Indian contingent featured 541 athletes across 28 disciplines.
HS Prannoy, Sameer Verma and Sourabh Verma are the men's singles players who have decided to withdraw while doubles specialists Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy have also opted out. Leading Indian women's singles players PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal - both previous Olympic medallists - are making the trip to England, as are their male counterparts Kidambi Srikanth and B Sai Praneeth.
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.
'Everyone has to recalibrate their plans, preparations, peaking, meaning the tournaments they will play in in the lead-up to the Olympics.'
Indian athletes, including the boxers and shooters, hit the ground running as they started their pre-Olympic training, hoping to live up to massive expectations in the pandemic-hit Games in Tokyo.
