For Indian hockey, 2016 was a year in which much was promised and achieved as well. It was also a year where India made significant and visible advancements but deep down somewhere the pain of missing out on an Olympic medal will remain for four more years.
Charles Leclerc put Ferrari on pole position for their home Italian Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday in a qualifying session that ended in farce and with drivers under investigation.
Six-time champions and title holders Germany continued their fine form and defeated New Zealand 2-1 in a closely-fought Pool C encounter to virtually seal their place in the quarter-final of the men's Junior Hockey World Cup, in Lucknow on Friday.
Veteran striker Sunil's participation in the mega event was always in doubt ever since he picked up a knee injury during the national camp in the lead up to the Asian Champions Trophy held in Muscat last month.
India swept the International Hockey Federation's annual awards on Wednesday, claiming all the top honours, based on a voting system which was lambasted as a "failure" by men's Olympic champions Belgium, prompting the FIH to say that it would try to figure why some associations did not cast their ballot.
'The way we are playing now, if we continue to play the same hockey, no one can stop us from standing on the podium in Tokyo.'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
The 26-year-old has not always handled the expectations placed on his shoulders after he won the Wimbledon junior title in 2008 with a game style uncannily like Federer's.
The Aussies routed Belgium 7-1 for their second successive victory in the Men's Junior World Cup hockey tournament.
India's hopes of making it to the quarter-finals of the Junior Hockey World Cup were dashed after they were held 3-3 by Korea in their must-win third and final Group C match, at the Dhyan Chand stadium, in Delhi, on Tuesday. A brilliant hat-trick by Seungju You saw the Koreans rally from 1-3 down and snatch a place in the last eight stage.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the US Open played at Flushing Meadows in New York on Tuesday.
Images from the World Athletics Championships on Sunday, Day 3, in Oregon.
The World junior squash runner-up attributed her defeat in the final of the tournament to nervousness.
The top seeded Indian ace was beaten by Egypt's Raneem El Weleily in the final of the World Junior Squash Championships.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the Wimbledon Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Friday.
It was touted as the year which could herald a change in the fortunes Indian hockey, but 2018 turned out to be yet another saga of missed opportunities for the sport.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the Wimbledon Champions at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Thursday
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
India's Karan Rastogi and partner Yi Chu-Huan won the doubles title in the Grade I 40th Astrid Bowl Charleroi Belgian International Junior Championships.
Mick Schumacher, the 19-year-old son of seven-times Formula One world champion Michael, won the European Formula Three title.
The Indian ace will take on second seeded Raneem El Weleily of Egypt in the title match.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the Wimbledon Championships from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Tuesday.
This time, India may win as many as 17 medals at the Games.
'I knew I was the underdog and I was just enjoying it'
IMAGES from Day 1 of the Wimbledon Championships played on Monday.
Factbox on Dutch driver Max Verstappen, who became Formula One's youngest race winner, aged 18, at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.
Liverpool thrashed Atalanta 5-0, Real Madrid boosted their chances of reaching the Champions League knockout stages with a 3-2 home victory over Inter Milan and Bayern Munich came from behind to crush RB Salzburg 6-2.
As the curtains come down at the Tokyo Olympics, here's a glance at the medallists and those who came within touching distance of glory.
Michael Schumacher, the seven times world champion, took his breakthrough win - the first of a record 91 career victories - at the circuit on August 30, 1992.
Goalkeeper P R Sreejesh could feature in his first competitive event in eight months after being named in India's 20-member squad for a four-nation tournament in New Zealand. India will compete with Belgium, Japan and hosts New Zealand at Tauranga and Hamilton in the tournament, beginning January 17.
India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Deepika won the Dhruv Batra Player of the Year award for men and women, respectively, at the Hockey India second annual awards, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
India put up a gallant fight before going down 2-3 to the Netherlands in their opening match of the Hero FIH Junior hockey World Cup, in Delhi, on Friday.
On a good night for English clubs in the Europa League, Manchester United hammered AZ Alkmaar 4-0, while Wolverhampton Wanderers also thrashed Besiktas 4-0 in Group K, and Arsenal came from two goals down to draw 2-2 away to Standard Liege and finish first in their pool. The upset of the night came in Group J as Crivelli scored a 90th-minute winner against Borussia Moenchengladbach to send Basaksehir through and knock the Germans out, with AS Roma grabbing the runner-up spot thanks to a 2-2 home draw with Wolfsberger as the Europa League group stage concluded on Thursday.
Pakistan on Thursday appointed career diplomat Abdul Basit as its new high commissioner to India. Basit, 55, was earlier tipped to take over as foreign secretary but the government recently made several changes in proposed appointments.
Sports Ministry formally recognises yogasana as competitive sport.
Real Madrid have endured a miserable season since Zinedine Zidane left in May, first sacking Julen Lopetegui and then Santiago Solari.
France and Germany will clash in the final of the Junior Men's Hockey World Cup. The French made history when they beat Malaysia via the penalty shoot-out in the first semi-final to make their maiden appearance in the final while the defending champions Germans got the better of the Netherlands 5-3.
The age-old malady of inconsistency remained unaddressed but Indian hockey did take baby steps towards global success in 2017, a year which reaffirmed the nation's continental supremacy in the sport.
