Olympic heroes boxer Vijender Singh, wrestler Sushil Kumar, along with four-time world champion woman pugilist M C Mary Kom, were on Saturday conferred the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in a glittering ceremony in New Delhi. For the first time in the history of national sports awards, three sportspersons were individually bestowed India's highest sporting honour, which comes with an enhanced cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh and a newly-designed statuette.
Not a man for diplomatic circumlocution, wrestler Sushil Kumar on Wednesday said it would have been injustice if he was denied the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award even after winning the bronze medal in Beijing Olympics.
India's batting great Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday gave his best wishes to India's Olympic-bound contingent and lauded them for continuing their preparations despite the many challenges posed by COVID-19.
World Champion boxer Nikhat Zareen said she has adopted a combative approach where "whatever happens I have to fight and give my best."
Tokyo's grand opening on Friday will have none of that splendour or grandiosity.
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Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been named goodwill ambassador of the Indian contingent for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro - an unprecedented appointment in the run-up to the quadrennial extravaganza. The announcement was made in the presence of Olympic medallists and Rio star athletes such as boxer M C Mary Kom, hockey captain Sardar Singh, and shooter Apurvi Chandela, among others. Speaking on this new association with IOA Salman said, "I am honoured that Indian Olympic Association has chosen me as the goodwill ambassador for the Indian contingent for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
World championship trials would be held from March 7 to 9, followed by the Asiad trials from March 10 to 13.
By removing headgear, it has changed the way boxers and coaches prepare, it has changed tactics. Now you have to defend better, use good techniques to protect your head.
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Mary Kom (51kg) will open her campaign against Dominica's Miguelina Hernandez on July 25; Panghal gets bye into pre-quarters.
The AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships is taking place in an indoor stadium from Thursday through to November 24 but teams are complaining about a toxic smog hanging over the city, caused by seasonal burning of crop stubble and emissions from vehicles and industry.
Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports led the tributes for the champion pugilist.
'Vijender Singh is the talent that India has in professional boxing and I would want to fight him in India soon.'
The World Championship gold medallist is among nine Indian boxers in the finals of the second Asian women's boxing championships.
Nikhat Zareen punched her way to a second successive gold title at the Women's World Boxing Championship in New Delhi.
Men joined the gold quest through Gaurav Solanki (52kg) and Vikas Krishan (75kg) as the team rejoiced its best ever medal haul at the mega-event on Saturday.
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Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
Nikhat Zareen, Manisha Moun and Parveen Hooda, who brought honour to the country at the women's World Boxing Championships 2022, were felicitated by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.
The 21-year-old from Haryana then landed a flurry of punches in the third round as the last three minutes were closely-fought between the two. But Nitu defended tightly and looked in control to emerge victorious.
a look at the country's athletes' showing at the Tokyo Games on Thursday.
The National Rifle Association of India on Sunday welcomed the appointment of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as sports minister, saying the Olympics silver medallist would "add immense value to the development and growth of sports".
Indian pugilist Sonia Lather was assured of a medal in the 57kgs at the AIBA World Women's Boxing Championship, only the colour had to be decided on Friday in a thrilling final in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Veteran boxer Sarita Devi, who is currently serving a provisional suspension, has found support from cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar who has written a letter to the Sports Minister urging him to support her and ensure that her career is not terminated prematurely.
'During a match, there is a lot of noise from the stadium -- cheers for sixes and fours -- but the batter focuses on the ball, not the pressure.' 'If you don't take pressure and focus on your duty, you can overcome stress easily.'
Impressed with the hockey team's showing at the recently-concluded Asian Games, Sports Minister Sarbanada Sonowal said the gold medal triumph could act as a "trigger" for more good things to come.
Bollywood star Salman Khan's appointment as the Indian Olympic contingent's goodwill ambassador has not gone down well with star wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, who feels a sportsperson should have been chosen for the role. Salman, who is playing the role of a wrestler in his upcoming film 'Sultan', was named goodwill ambassador by the Indian Olympic Association on Saturday in the presence of star woman boxer M C Mary Kom, hockey captain Sardar Singh, and shooter Apurvi Chandela among others. Yogeshwar, the London Olympics bronze-medallist, said he cannot understand what purpose such an appointment will serve for the athletes. "Everybody has the right to promote movies in India, but Olympics is not a place to promote films." Yogeshwar tweeted in Hindi. "Can anyone tell me what the role of goodwill ambassador is? Why are you fooling the public?" he added.
Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sarita Mor and Sakshi Malik, who staged a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar for three days demanding the sacking of the WFI president, posted identical tweets on the micro-blogging site, expressing their dismay.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
Indian athletes, including the boxers and shooters, hit the ground running as they started their pre-Olympic training, hoping to live up to massive expectations in the pandemic-hit Games in Tokyo.
India's Lovlina Borgohain reflects on her victory over former World champion Nien-Chin Chen in the Olympics 69kg bout on Friday.
Do you think the IOA has done the right thing in apponting Salman as the brand ambassador which they clam is to the motivate the athletes and also increase awareness of Olympic sports in the country? Or do you think the appointment is just a gimmick?
Shiva Thapa (60kg) won a place in India's boxing team for the Asian Games after winning in the trials, while Sarjubala Devi clinched the 51kg spot in the women's squad -- a category that was thrown open after M C Mary Kom pulled out of the equation due to a shoulder problem.
Medals galore at most tournaments they gloved up for and an administrative recovery that heldout promise of a better future -- there were loads to celebrate in Indian boxing this year, during which quite a few punched above their weight.
The debutant duo of Gaurav Solanki (52kg) and Manish Kaushik (60kg) advanced to the quarterfinals, continuing Indian boxers' fine preliminary run at the Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast, on Monday.
2020 could well have been a year of biopics with females taking centre-stage. After Chhapaak, it was time for Shakuntala Devi and Gangubai Kathiawadi to release later in the year with many more in the pipeline for 2021.
In a massive fillip to the recently-formed Boxing Federation of India, the Sports Ministry has granted recognition to the body which was voted to office last month.
