Sachin Tendulkar was there to bring a capacity crowd on its feet and the cultural splendour was there for all to see as the 35th National Games were declared open here today with a colourful opening ceremony even as organisational chaos continued to take sheen off the event.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
FIFA legends Carlos Valderrama and Marcel Desailly on Wednesday advised the Indian colts to view the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup as a huge opportunity to shine on the international stage and perform to their potential.
An angry Saina Nehwal slammed the Sports Ministry after the Olympic bronze medallist's name was not included for the prestigious Padma Bhushan award -- India's third highest civilian award.
Springing a surprise, Vijayakanth-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam on Wednesday struck an alliance with the four-party People's Welfare Front for the May 16 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu with the actor-turned-politician being declared as the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance.
Olympic bronze medallist Gagan Narang on what made him start the Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation way back in 2011 when he himself in the midst of his own shooting career.
Sunita Iyer, lists the10 lesser known facts about the golden girl of Indian tennis.
A day after National Security Guard Lt Col Niranjan Kumar and Garud Commando Gursewak Singh were slain in the Pathankot air base attack, their remains were brought home for the last rites. Locals, family members and politicians gathered to pay their respects to these heroes.
In a significant but tricky move, Sports Minister Vijay Goel has said that a resolution has been passed to transfer sports from the State List of the Indian Constitution to the Concurrent List in a meeting of the National Sports Federations called by the government in New Delhi.
Legendary athlete P T Usha expressed hope that her student Tintu Luka would win gold medal in the 800 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this year.
A young man was killed in Florida on February 26 because he was black and wore a hoodie. When his killer was acquitted on July 13, Roopa Unnikrishnan's faith in the justice system was shattered, forcing her to look at life through the prism of colour.
National Anti-Doping Agency chief Navin Agarwal confirmed the former India captain was tested by NADA officials in March but declined to elaborate further.
India's national football coach Stephen Constantine on Friday anointed towering goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu as captain for Saturday's international friendly against higher-ranked Puerto Rico at the suburban Andheri Sports Complex ground in Mumbai. "Gurpreet Singh Sandhu will captain the team on Saturday against Puerto Rico," Constantine announced at the fag end of the pre-match media conference to give a huge boost to the 24-year-old, one of the youngest players to lead the national football team.
'Use your emotion well. My own Vedanta guru would say, "Anger should be like a handkerchief. Take it out of your pocket, use it, and then return it to your pocket".'
US start-ups crash and burn frequently, so why the concern about start-up losses in India? The principal reason, says Kanika Datta, is that Indian start-ups clone ideas from the US. Flipkart, Ola, Oyo, Paytm are all variations of ideas developed in the US.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Photographer Pravin Talan's 2016 Calendar is a page-turner which celebrates talent.
Mithali Raj will come out with her autobiography next year which will provide a candid and revealing look into her personal and sporting life.
Maharaj Krishan Kaushik was appointed coach of the senior men's hockey team on Wednesday, just two days after chief coach Michael Nobbs was shown the door because of non-performance.
Rediff.com brings a list of sportsmen who got hitched this year...
New Zealand's finest batsman was defined by one innings, one tournament and one seriously damaged knee.
10-year-old Praggnanandha is the world's youngest chess International Master. His sister Vaishali is a Woman's International Master.
Abhirup Bhattacharaya reveals why Dada, who celebrates his 46th birthday on July 8, is one of India's most successful captains.
Defending Indian cricket team's often-criticised character of crumbling under pressure, former captain Sourav Ganguly claimed that the current side under Mahendra Singh Dhoni is much better in responding to difficult situations than the other Indian teams in the past.
Triple jumper Renjith Maheswary finished sixth in the heats and the women's 4x400m relay team last as India's campaign in the World Athletics Championships ended in Moscow on Friday.
But this project is changing that -- one public artwork at a time.
With the country's boxing administration in a shambles, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said on Wednesday that the top pugilists may not be able to compete in the upcoming Asian Games under the national flag if the elections are not held as per schedule next month.
Invoking the age-old cultural bonds between India and Iran, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said it was time for the two countries to "march together" by regaining the "past glory" of historical ties
His chances of a third successive Olympic appearance hanging in balance, two-time medallist Sushil Kumar will not hesitate in going to Court if his demand for a trial against Narsingh Yadav is not accepted by the Wrestling Federation of India.
Why not agree that, yes, India is a Hindu country though not all Indians are Hindus? And that for those who are not, our Constitution is sturdily secular and always will be, says Karti Sandilya.
Former hurdler and Athletics Federation of India's selection panel head G S Randhawa has protested the Dronacharya award to be conferred on K P Thomas.
Indian chess diva Tania Sachdev holds forth on women in the sport.
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.
If only Mahabharat was a made-for-radio special instead of a half-heartedly animated demo reel masquerading as a children's fantasy, writes Sukanya Verma.
The gold medal in men's javelin throw F46 category in the Rio Paralympics made Devendra Jhajharia the most successful Indian para athlete ever but he is in no mood to stop here and is eyeing for a treble in the 2020 Tokyo Games. The 35-year-old Jhajharia, a left-hand amputee, is the only Indian para athlete to have won two gold medals in the Paralympics, the earlier one being the yellow metal he won in 2004 Athens. "I am not stopping here after the Rio success. I have enough gas in my tank and I will definitely go for gold in Tokyo. I know my body and I can still train two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening rigorously everyday, just like I did in the build-up to the Rio Paralympics," Jhajharia told PTI in an interview.
While Smriti Irani might bristle with faux indignation at the 'malicious' newspaper report, it is very clear that just as Teacher's Day was hijacked by her boss and a day of celebration became an assignment, the first attack on Christmas as a holiday has been made in the war on India's cosmopolitan way of life, says the Mango Indian.
'Success comes only to those who dare and act,' says proud father Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
From being a national level swimmer to playing a swimmer on the show Swim Team, Pooja Banerjee shares her long journey.
Meet 28 year-old Dusyant Sridhar who is a techie by day and an Upanyasakar after work, giving discourses on ancient scriptures.
It would be unfair to expect India to bedazzle crowds with eye-catching football. This team is built around stability, writes Dhruv Munjal
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