The haul of 64 medals at the Commonwealth Games, in July-August, which included 15 gold, should act as the ideal springboard for the Indian contingent to better its medal tally at Guangzhou, China, four years ago.
Life insurance companies are balancing the increasing use of celebrity endorsers by limiting the association to short, event-led campaigns.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
An Olympic campaign saved by the fortitude of three women, a cricket team that rediscovered itself under a bold and zealous Virat Kohli -- Indian sports in 2016 was a dramatic mix of highs and lows wherein athletes mostly raised the bar but administrators found new ways to embarrass the country.
Uncertainty is so intrinsic to sports that elite athletes will not have much trouble coping up with a pandemic-forced lockdown, believe India's top sports psychologists as they become a part of their journey into an unchartered territory. Rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, which has impacted minds as much as health and productivity, sports pyshologists Dr Chaitanya Sridhar, Nanaki J Chadha, and Keerthana Swaminathan are dealing with athletes across disciplines and economic spectrum, being their "sounding board, friend" and enabling them to process the magnitude of the situation.
India will not take part in baseball, bowling, fencing, karate, modern pentathlon, rugby, softball, soft tennis and triathlon because of the athletes' poor standards.
The abundance of talent is complemented by a confident approach which the likes of Manu Bhaker, Mehuli Ghosh, Anish Bhanwala and Anjum Moudgil will display at the Games.
Shah Rukh Khan said all individuals are 'incomplete' in their own way despite any amount of 'power and stardom' as he wished the Indian Paralympic Contingent for the Asian Para Games 2018 at their send-off ceremony.
Part of an eight-member team of elite sportspersons to identify and help prospective medal winners from across the country for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, the former India cricket captain was optimistic about Indian sport moving in the right direction.
'Everyone has to recalibrate their plans, preparations, peaking, meaning the tournaments they will play in in the lead-up to the Olympics.'
'If the appointment of Salman Khan helps promote sports in our country, then what's the harm?'
The organisers have become savvier about marketing the game.
India's list of non-cricket sports stars is growing, but when it comes to endorsement deals, the bulk of the money is spent on a handful of cricketers.
Even as politics engaged him more, he never hid his way of life. On one occasion, Morarji Desai pleaded with him to stop drinking publicly. "You stick to your pissky and I'll stick to my whisky'' he is supposed to have told him.
The Indian cricket legend said though he grew up playing cricket, not many know that he enjoys other sports as well.
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Triple Olympic gold medal winner and five-time World record holder Stephanie Rice reveals how she plans to get an Olympic medal for India in swimming in 2028.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
'Nobody will think like him. It was a treat for us to listen to him. He was meticulous in his argument. We got trained by listening to him,' says senior criminal lawyer R Shanmugasundaram, who had known Ram Jethmalani for almost 40 years.
Courage beyond Compare, as the name suggests, profiles Indian paralympic sports stars who despite physical disability, have fought the odds to become world class, champion athletes.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
'Shooting is number one.' 'Archery, wrestling, badminton and boxing.' 'These are the five where we stand the best chance of winning a medal.'
Following badminton World No 1 Lee Chong Wei's provisional ban, Rediff.com brings you ten top sports persons who gave in to drugs - one of the mighty perils that has affected modern sporting culture.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap knocked out top seed Lee Hyun Il of Korea in the men's singles opening round of the US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Anaheim, United States.
Banned by basketball's governing body and a source of controversy at the Asian Games, hijabs were worn freely at the archery tournament in Incheon on Friday as athletes struggled to comprehend how a headscarf could cause such an uproar.
A summary of sports events and persons in the news over the weekend.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
'Let us see the tricolour flutter and soar as we park our vehicles, as we play cricket in the gullies, as we surf the Internet, as we enter our places of worship,' says Ankita Athawale.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza was spotted in the 17th Asian Games village in Incheon on Wednesday.
'No country can go from zero to hero at the Olympics.' 'A hundred Indians now feature in the world's top 25 and that's progress,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Just by making a few simple changes in your diet and lifestyle you can reverse diabetes and avoid the many problems that come with being diabetic.
'Put cricket, first and foremost, at the centre of every decision you take.' 'The bottom line must always be the sport that we love.' Rahul Dravid as eloquent as always in his M A K Pataudi Memorial Lecture.
Beautiful glimpses into Dilip Kumar's life with Saira Banu.
'In her insecurity, she destroyed the institutions of democracy.' 'She packed Parliament with her supporters with loyalty being more important than ability; she superseded judges; she corrupted the civil service.' 'She knew how to use people against each other and was quite a master of that.' 'She would do this with calculated skill and in the bargain cause enmity between brothers, split up families.'
Full text of Rahul Dravid's Pataudi Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.
