Indian women's team captain Ritu Rani and senior's men's team drag-flicker V R Raghunath were on Wednesday recommended by Hockey India for the Arjuna Award.
Top seed Sameer, who won the Swiss Open earlier this year, had to dig deep into his reservoir to outwit compatriot Pratul Joshi 16-21, 26-24, 21-7 in 55 minutes. In another quarter-final, Gurusaidutt, a former Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, recovered from a game down to beat Malaysia's Lim Chi Wing 13-21, 22-20, 21-11 in 59 minutes.
Sports Ministry formally recognises yogasana as competitive sport.
The Indian men's hockey team will have to guard against complacency when it takes on lower-ranked Russia, while a tricky contest awaits their female counterparts against United States in the two-legged Olympic qualifiers.
Asian silver-medallist Sumit Sangwan (91kg) and World silver-medallist Sarjubala Devi (51kg) are among four Indian boxers assured of medals after scoring facile victories in the inaugural India Open, for men and women, in Delhi on Monday.
Rediff.com introduces you to the athletes who have brought India glory in Birmingham.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan has refused to follow in the footsteps of Pakistan Hockey Federation which announced this week that it would boycott future international events in India.
Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin kicked and punched down opponents and barriers as she became the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal by taking taekwondo bronze in the 57kg category on Thursday.
Shen Duo was not even alive when the Atlanta Olympics took place, born the following year. Now a teenager, she is suddenly emerging as China's best chance to end their drought.
"Winning a medal at Tokyo 2020 is the target," the 23-year-old Sandeep said.
Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik crashed out in the first round while compatriot Vinesh Phogat's campaign also ended in a whimper as Indian grapplers continued with dismal show at World Wrestling Championship.
Sumit Sangwan (91kg) and Nikhat Zareen (51kg) were among three gold medallists in India's stupendous campaign at the 56th Belgrade International Boxing Tournament in Serbia. India ended the tournament with three gold, five silver and five bronze medals.
India's Avinash Sable qualified for the final of the men's 3000m steeplechase under dramatic circumstances after he initially failed to make the cut despite bettering his own national record in an eventful race in the World Championships.
Neeraj is currently ranked fourth in the new rankings of the international federation.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Livid with detractors for casting aspersions on her achievements because of a dope-tainted past, Asian Games gold medallist discus thrower Seema Punia said she has been 'ill-treated' by authorities, including the national federation, for many years now.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
This time, India may win as many as 17 medals at the Games.
'Women's voices are too high or too low, or they are seen as too short or too tall, or too fat or too thin, to be great leaders.' 'These judgments wear us down.'
Dipika Pallikal said the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) needs to have a structure in place for Indians to become a formidable force at the world level.
'Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that I would ever get to join such an illustrious group of players'
M C Mary Kom pulled no punches as she lambasted critics and challengers after securing her second Olympic appearance. Her reference was to the selection controversy that preceded the qualifiers when former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen sought Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju's intervention while demanding a trial bout against the Manipuri. The ill-tempered and hyped trial bout was won by Mary Kom.
Sindhu says the path to the Tokyo Olympic gold will be a tough one as now her opponents will look to exploit her weaknesses and she will need to add something new to her game to achieve success.
Thirteen of the country's boxers -- seven men and six women -- are assured of at least bronze medals after advancing to the last-four stage of the marquee continental championship.
The ranges are bursting at the seams with young talent and Indian shooting's present state could be a harbinger of hope for a perfect future.
Putting behind a controversial past and bringing home an Asian Games gold medal is no mean feat. Discus thrower Seema Punia says, despite lack of government recognition, gold was all she dreamed of at the recently-concluded continental games in Incheon.
Drawing confidence from Saurabh Chaudhary's Zen-like calm and lethal efficiency with pistol, shooting coach Amit Sheoran says his most famous ward will be well-placed both mentally and skill-wise whenever the Tokyo Olympics are held. It doesn't matter to the world-beater if the next Summer Games are held tomorrow, after a year or even after 10 years, according to the coach.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Nikhat was hoping to challenge Mary Kom in the 51kg trials.
The 15-year old Indian Formula BMW junior and rookie astounded the Asian racing fraternity with a brilliant victory in Round 4 of Formula BMW Asia.
Prabodh Tirkey will lead the 16-member Indian hockey team at the seven-nation junior Challenger tournament starting in Poland.
Was it badminton sensation PV Sindhu, who became the first Indian to win the World Championships gold medal? Or is it the young shooting progidy Saurabh Chaudhary? Or his India colleague Elavenil Valarivan, who recently took over as World No 1? What about India's heroes on the cricketing field -- Virat Kohli? Rohit Sharma?
In a bout which had very few clear punches, Mary Kom prevailed 9-1 to make the squad
The team for the Asia-Oceania round includes Sanam Singh, Rupesh Roy and Sumit Gupta.
The source said logistics became a big issue for almost all the participating countries.
One of India's most consistent rifle shooters in recent times, Ravi was down after failing to win an Olympic quota despite displaying good form in the last World Championship.
A decision to take part in junior tournaments from February 2004 was taken at a meeting of the ACC in London.
India's sprint sensation Hima Das doesn't want to be left behind in studies either and is juggling between training and board exams these days.
Neeraj's gold and three other athletics silver medals, along with Saina Nehwal's badminton singles bronze, propelled India's overall medal count to 41 (8 gold, 13 silver, and 20 bronze).
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