It was another good year for PV Sindhu, who won the India Open Super Series and Korea Open Super Series titles, besides bagging the silver at Glasgow World Championship and finishing as runners-up at Hong Kong Open last month.
Her reluctance to appear for BAI trials could well end her chances of representing the flag
Team India will compete in 15 sporting disciplines as well as four disciplines in the para sports category.
In an official communication to concerned national sports federations, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has informed them about about the staying arrangements and the need to undergo an RT-PCR test for COVID-19 72 hours prior to their arrival in the UK.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Friday recommended Kidambi Srikanth for the Khel Ratna award after the top Indian shuttler apologised for pulling out of a tournament midway and show-caused his teammate H S Prannoy for slamming the federation after not being nominated for the Arjuna honour.
'Compared to three or four years back, I have cut down on my time as an active chess player. I have long aspired to come into the chess administration and this opportunity as the deputy president will be a huge learning curve for me'.
Sachin Tendulkar has no hesitation in terming India as favourites going into the World Cup but what makes him happier is the team's ability to be competitive 'in any part of the world and on any surface'.
Sanjay Mishra to become new BAI general secretary
Indian Olympic Association's acting president Anil Khanna called it a 'gender-neutral contingent' with 108 men and 107 women being part of the touring party.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
Crowned the world number one, Saina Nehwal celebrated her numero uno status with a straight-game demolition of Japanese Yui Hashimoto, while Kidambi Srikanth too saw off Xue Song of China to reach their maiden finals at the Yonex Sunrise India Super Series.
As many as 14,000 runners from across 15 countries will be lining up to take part in a nearly month-long initiative to raise funds for coaches and support staff in various sports amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers said on Thursday. Championed by celebrated national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, and Arjuna Awardees Ashwini Nachappa and Malathi Holla, 'Run to the Moon' will conclude on July 21 to coincide with the 51st anniversary of man's first landing on the moon.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
The committee will also be suggesting measures for making the code acceptable to all the stakeholders so that a balance is struck between autonomy of National Sports Federations.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
List of international sports events affected by the coronavirus that has killed over 900 people and infected more than 40,000 in China
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that the government will keep in close touch with all relevant groups to ensure a virus outbreak does not have affect the Summer Olympics. Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto said organisers are not considering cancelling the Olympics, which start on July 24.
The World Badminton Federation charged eight female players with misconduct on Wednesday after four Olympic doubles teams had attempted to 'throw' matches to secure a more favourable draw later in the tournament.
After bringing home just two medals from the Rio Olympics, India needs to be realistic in its preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Games and should narrow its focus to a handful of sports, says former All England badminton champion Prakash Padukone. P.V. Sindhu's silver medal in the badminton women's singles and a bronze from wrestler Sakshi Malik at the Rio Games was considered a sorry return for a nation of 1.3 billion people. India have won a total of 28 medals since first competing at the Olympics in 1900 but a government think tank has come up with a strategy it hopes will help the country to 50 medals in 2024, including prioritising 10 sports.
India's top-five finish not a given this time
Mary Kom said she merely left it on the federation and did not pressurise it to rule in her favour.
Pullela Gopichand called P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal -- his two most successful pupils -- as 'precious diamonds'.
Kim had developed a good rapport with Sindhu, who time and again acknowledged the Korean's role in her success.
Top shuttlers, including Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth, are likely to leave for Malaysia and Singapore via Doha to participate in the last two Olympic qualifiers next month due to travel bans imposed by the two countries in the wake of unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases in India.
The IOA also said that the decision will now relieve the Indian athletes of having to train amidst lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
India has been battling a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced many countries to ban travellers from India.
Badminton in the country received a massive fillip on Saturday with Indian Open granted a Super Series status for a three-year period starting next year. So far a Grand Prix event, the tournament staved off the challenge from Swiss Open to bag the honour, riding on the support it got from non-European countries in the World Badminton Federation (WBF) Executive Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Insurance companies are going all out to grab eyeballs.
On the last day of the competition, Yash Vardhan and Shreya Agrawal bagged three gold medals each.
American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, was suspended for six months by USA Swimming on Monday following his recent arrest on a drunken driving charge.
The former national champion won a berth following the withdrawal of players in the qualification list.
Using a sledgehammer to fix some ills can cut down a game at its peak, warns Shekhar Gupta.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
While Abhinn Shyam Gupta runs into a top-ranked\n\nplayer in the opening round of the Olympics.
2019 became a 'Year to Remember' in Indian sports for trailblazing performances in Olympic disciplines
Former women world number one shuttler Zhou Mi of Hong Kong has been suspended for two years for failing a drug test, World badminton Federation said on Saturday.
Vijayveer Sidhu, 16, shot a gold in the 25m standard pistol event for junior men after combining with Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu and Adarsh Singh to claim the team gold on the last day of the ISSF World Championships.
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.
