He may have missed out on a gold medal by the thinnest of margins, but the ever-smiling Murali Shreeshankar, who won a historic silver medal in men's long jump at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Thursday, says this is just the beginning; he is hungry for more success.
However, top Indian sprinter Dutee Chand crashed out of the CWG after finishing 27th overall in the preliminary heat races. The national record holder (11.17s) clocked a disappointing 11.55 seconds to finish fourth in heat number 5.
The Indian boxing team, which landed in Birmingham on Monday, wasted no time as they immediately started their practice for the mega-event.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist weightlifter Achinta Sheuli has been expelled from the Paris Olympics preparatory camp after he was caught entering the women's hostel at night at NIS Patiala.
India's top-five finish not a given this time
Such was Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang's dominance in the 65kg competition that he won three of his four bouts inside first rounds.
The CGF chief is also expected to meet Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju.
Achinta Sheuli ended up adding the sixth medal to India's tally by capturing a gold medal.
Batra will now take on Singapore's Jian Zeng in the last eight-clash later tonight.
The boxers say they are seeing a focus on the players and their needs for the first time in years
'I'm not in favour of the boycott. In sports, you never use the word boycott. My fundamental principle is either we withdraw permanently or go and compete'
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.
However, with the Asian Games now postponed to next year owing to the COVID-19 situation in China, HI decided to pick a strong team for the prestigious event, scheduled to begin from July 28.
German hockey captain Moritz Furste knows a thing or two about consistency and he feels the ability to deliver even performances in a series of games is the "little missing piece" in India's admirable resurgence in the last one decade.
The IOA chief had earlier called for an Indian boycott of the 2022 CWG in Birmingham over the axing of shooting from the Games programme due to logistical issues.
The 76kg category had eight wrestlers while the 68kg class featured nine wrestlers, where minnows like Bangladesh, Mauritius, Cameroon, Tonga and New Zealand were part of the field.
India's judoka Tulika Maan gave her all but came up short against Scotland's Sarah Adlington in the final to settle for a silver medal in the women's 78kg category in the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday.
Tennis star Rohan Bopanna, who is set to be crowned world number one in the doubles format, was on Thursday selected for the prestigious Padma Shri honour by the government along with six other athletes including veteran squash player Joshna Chinappa.
Delhi High Court clears Indian judoka Jasleen to compete at CWG
Several Indian elite middle and long-distance athletes currently training in Colorado are competing in Portland Track Festival.
Coaches may come and go but late Nikolai Snesarev will have a special place in star steeplechaser Avinash Sable's heart for his contribution in his overall growth as an international athlete.
The Birmingham Organising Committee has decided to exclude shooting from the 2022 Games, citing logistical issues.
In the first singles, Sharath went down 7-11, 14-12, 3-11,9-11 against Clarence.
Avinash Sable does not want to be just a participant at the Olympics and believes he can a win a medal at the Paris Games beginning later this month.
'It was tough financially for the first few years but my friends and family supported me and once he did well at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, there was no looking back.'
Vinesh's appeal against her disqualification was also rejected by the ad-hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
IMAGES from the women's T20I played between Australia and India, at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Friday.
P V Sindhu, on Tuesday, suffered an injury scare but there is no immediate threat to her participation in the Commonwealth Games starting next month.
The designated women's coach of the Indian team, Anindita Chakraborty, was conspicuous by her absence in the knockout fixture. Instead, men's coach S Raman sat on the courtside as India women's were shocked by Malaysia in the quarter-finals.
CGF has maintained that shooting has never been a compulsory sport in the Games.
India held their nerves in the shootout to emerge winners.
Harmanpreet, who was seen swinging golf clubs during training on Wednesday, stayed back in the team hotel. With the team having a morning game, it is unlikely that it will go for the opening ceremony on Thursday night.
IOA president P T Usha on Sunday slammed the revolting executive council members, saying they 'seem more focused on self-serving power play and monetary gain'
Shooting has been excluded from the 2022 Birmingham Games roster due to logistical issues.
Sen, a product of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, has been in the form of his life for about a year now.
It's ice-cream time for Nikhat
The other Indian in the fray, Bhawna Jat finished eighth and last with a personal best time of 47:14.13.
The former world champion ended with a total lift of 201kg (88kg+113kg), which is far from her personal best.
It was a memorable swansong at the Commonwealth Games for Abhinav Bindra as the ace marksman bagged the 10m Air Rifle gold medal in a gripping finale.
It was largely made possible by Manika Batra, who ended up winning four medals, the most by an Indian in Gold Coast.
