India's weightlifting campaign at the Rio Olympics ended in disappointment, with Sathish Kumar Sivalingam finishing fourth in the men's 77kg Group B category on Wednesday.
Teenager Ashish Kumar, who fetched India its first medals in gymnastics, at the Commonwealth Games, had thought of quitting the sport at one stage.
'Today's result has changed them, not just people in our community but for entire India, it's an inspiration. For a girl of Muslim community to do so well, it gives others, not just our community, confidence that our girls can also do this.'
He became the first Indian to win a bronze and silver in different categories in gymnastics and Ashish Kumar on Saturday said he could have claimed a gold had the apparatus arrived on time for the Commonwealth Games.
Nirupama Sanjeev was an unbeatable star of Indian tennis for over 10 years before she bid adieu in 2003. But after making a successful comeback last year, the former India No 1 is now eyeing nothing less than a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Northern Ireland boxer Sean McComb has been fined and banned from the Gold Coast's nightclub districts for the rest of the Commonwealth Games after being involved in an altercation with bouncers at a local bar.
Led by Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh, Indian pugilists stole the limelight on the ninth day of the competitions with four of them storming into the finals of their respective weight categories at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, on Friday.
Tokyo should remain the benchmark and source of inspiration till at least Paris 2024. In the shorter run, India's preparations for the Asian and Commonwealth Games next year must begin based on lessons learnt now, asserts Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry.
With this performance, Bajrang yet again sounded a warning to his opponents that he will be a strong medal contender at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Commonwealth Games silver-medallist L Devendro Singh (49kg) stormed into the quarter-finals, while the experienced Manoj Kumar (64kg) entered the last-16 stage in the International Boxing Association's World Olympic Qualification tournament after notching comprehensive victories in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Akhil Kumar made a perfect start to his professional career with a technical knock-out of Australia's Ty Gilchrist in the junior welterweight category at the 'Battleground Asia' in Mumbai on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar spearheaded a sparkling show as Indian grapplers dominated the wrestling arena with three gold medals after the shooters ended their campaign on a rousing note with five more podium finishes on sixth day of competitions in the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Tuesday.
Defending champion Geeta Rani failed to live up to expectations as he finished a disappointing fourth in the women's 75+kg category in the weightlifting event of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi on Sunday.
Sandeep Chaudhary claimed the top honours with a best throw of 60.01m, which he managed in his third attempt.
Star grappler Yogeshwar Dutt heaved a sigh of relief after clinching a spot for the World Championships by beating Amit Kumar Dhankhar, who had gone to court last year against the Olympic medallist alleging favouritism.
The International Weightlifting Federation dropped the doping charge against Indian weightlifter K Sanjita Chanu due to "non-conformities" in the handling of her sample but the Commonwealth Games gold-medallist has demanded an apology and compensation for the "trauma" she has endured. The IWF made the decision based on the recommendation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The 26-year-old, who claimed innocence since the beginning, was informed about the final verdict via an e-mail, signed by IWF's legal counsel Lilla Sagi.
Phogat, who will make her MMA debut against South Korea's Kim Nam-hee at One Championship's Age of Dragons event in Beijing on Saturday,
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Star boxer Vijender Singh packed a punch while assuring himself of a medal in what proved to be a good outing for Indian pugilists on Day 7 of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Wednesday.
Dipika Pallikal had long back taken the chill pill for the fever that forced her out of the home Commonwealth Games and fours years on, India's top squash player is looking ahead to the Games in Glasgow, where she is aiming for medals in all three categories.
India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, star wrestler Vinesh Phogat, TT player Manika Batra and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu were on Tuesday picked for this year's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the sports ministry's selection committee.
With her sights firmly set for the 2018 Commonwealth and Asian Games, Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik feels that quality preparation can only happen if there are at least two extended camps in foreign countries every year. "Before Olympics, we went to Spain for a training camp and we got to practise with a lot of quality wrestlers. I believe for better performances we need more foreign exposure where we compete with the top wrestlers from other countries," Sakshi, who is face of Delhi Sultans franchise in the Pro-Wrestling League (PWL) told PTI.
After failing to secure the team quota at the World Championships in June last year, the Indian women's archery team will have their last shot to secure the full Olympics quota in Paris, as a separate tournament is planned ahead of the World Cup in June next year.
Parupalli Kashyap regained his place inside the top 10 in the latest BWF's world ranking, release on Thurday.
Ace Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has become the first Indian to receive a nomination in the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards to be held, in Monaco, on February 18.
Para-athlete Anandan Gunasekaran clinched his third gold and javelin thrower Shivpal Singh added another for the country as India continued their fine showing at the ongoing 7th CISM World Military Games, in Wuhan, China, on Thursday.
Out of competitive action for over a year, five-time world champion M C Mary Kom will return to the ring in an invitational tournament to be held in Mongolia next month.
Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal is currently in a tight spot in her bid for a Tokyo Olympics singles berth but a couple of good performances in the coming weeks can put her back in contention, her mentor Parupalli Kashyap said on Friday. Saina, a 2015 World Championship silver medallist and two-time Commonwealth Games champion, is racing against time to make the cut for her fourth successive Olympics.
Geeta has not competed much since she attempted to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games unsuccessfully.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
India's boxers are remembered only during a big event, says Olympics medal hope Akhil Kumar. 'Before and after that no one cares.'
The Indian weightlifting squad, which won a whopping 27 medals, including 17 gold, in the Commonwealth Senior and Junior Championships in Malaysia made a clean sweep of the team trophies.
Delhi boy Tejaswin Shankar produced a record-shattering performance as Indians struck two gold and a silver medal to launch their Commonwealth Youth Games campaign on a rousing note in Apia, Samoa, on Monday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
The Indian boxers' campaign in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers was off to a disappointing start with all three in action, on Saturday, including former Commonwealth Games champion Manoj Kumar (64kg), bowing out with opening round losses in Qian'an, China.
Indian lifter Sarabjit Singh broke four national records as the two-day weightlifing selection trials, part of the test event for Commonwealth Games 2010, concluded at Jawahar Lal stadium on Sunday.
'It has made things easier for me in terms of planning for Olympics'
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu will have an outside chance of a podium finish for India when the weightlifter begins her campaign in the women's 48kg category at the Rio Olympic Games on Saturday.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist weightlifter Sanjita Chanu has failed a dope test, the international federation said on Thursday.
