The Bal Puraskar was conferred by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who gave digital certificates to the awardees using blockchain technology developed by IIT Kanpur.
Olympic medal-winning wrestler Sakshi Malik does not endorse the Indian Olympic Association's call for a boycott of the 2022 Commonwealth Games but at the same time feels that dropping shooting from the event's roster is "wrong on the athletes."
The celebrated MC Mary Kom needs to win just one bout to secure herself a medal, while Vikas Krishan got a bye into the men's pre-quarterfinals as Indian boxers were handed reasonably good draws in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on Tuesday.
Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat had to settle for a bronze medal at the Asian Games four years ago but with experience and momentum on her side, she is hopeful of clinching a gold in Indonesia this month.
Sateesha Rai, who was stripped of a medal at the Manchester Commonwealth Games after testing positive, is in the team for the Melbourne Games.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
'I didn't go for the World Championships to see someone else take my place at the Olympics.'
Indian wrestlers continued to disappoint at London Olympics, as Yogeshwar Dutt lost his pre-quarter-final bout in the men's 60kg freestyle category at the ExCel Arena on Saturday. Yogeshwar, a gold medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, gave a tough fight to four-time and reigning World champion Besik Kudukhov of Russia but eventually lost 0-3 on classification points.
Former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) stunned ex-Olympic bronze-medallist Evaldas Petrauskas in a fiercely-contested opening bout to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the Rio Games.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Som Bahadur Pun, Akhil Kumar, Vijender Kumar and Suranjay Singh advanced in the 13th Senior World Boxing Championships.
India's Siril Verma climbed a whopping 11 rungs to take the number one spot in the junior men's singles category of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings on Thursday.
India's shooting ace Apurvi Chandela attained the World No 1 position in the women's 10m air rifle event while compatriot Anjum Moudgil rose to second.
India's boxing ace Vijender Singh outclassed Trinidad and Tobago's Aaron Prince in the men's 75kg category to reach the semi-finals and assure himself of a medal at 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Indian contingent would be aiming to make it all good with strong medal-winning performances when the acutely-low-on-buzz Commonwealth Games start
The committee also picked 19 sportspersons for the Arjuna Award, including the likes of cricketers Ravindra Jadeja and Poonam Yadav, track and field stars Tejinder Pal Singh Toor, Mohammed Anas and Swapna Barman.
The 25-year-old lifter faltered at crucial moments and had to set for the silver medal in the men's 56kg category at the weightlifting competition.
Bajrang Punia says men's camp should start on schedule.
There was no stopping the gold rush in wrestling as two more were added to the tally by Vinesh Phogat (50kg) and Sumit (125kg) but Olympic bronze-medallist Sakshi Malik (62kg) had to be content with a third-place finish in the Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast, on Saturday.
The Birmingham Organising Committee has decided to exclude shooting from the 2022 Games, citing logistical issues.
While skill is not an issue with Vinesh, holding off strong candidates for six minutes is a big challenge, she herself had admitted recently.
Yogeshwar Dutt says it was not a difficult decision to quit the mat since he did it for his favourite student Bajrang Punia, who he thinks can go on to become India's first wrestler to win an Olympic gold.
Indian weightlifters continued their gold rush in the Commonwealth Championships, adding 10 more medals to their 16-medal haul on the second day of the competition in Apia, Samoa, on Thursday. After the second day, India's medal tally swelled to 31, including 21 gold.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Manika Batra cruised to the semi-finals of the women's singles even as experienced paddler Mouma Das ended her campaign in the Commonwealth Games table tennis event.
There was no disgruntled coach to lock him out as shown in the Bollywood blockbuster movie Dangal but Mahavir Phogat still missed watching daughter Babita Phogat's silver-winning campaign at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on Thursday after he could not lay his hands on tickets to get inside the venue.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
India's chances of grabbing a London Olympics berth in weightlifting suffered a blow as their main medal hope Katulu Ravi Kumar finished sixth in men's 69kg category on the third day of Senior Asian weightlifting championships at Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Thursday.
N Soniya Chanu bagged a bronze in women's 48kg category to open India's medal account on the opening day of Senior Asian Weightlifting Championships at Pyeongtaek, South Korea.
Top Indian javelin thrower Davinder Singh Kang has been suspended provisionally by the world athletics governing body after he returned positive for a steroid in an out-of-competition test last week.
Star grapplers Bajrang and Babita Kumari qualified for next month's World Wrestling Championship after emerging victorious in their respective weight categories in the final selection trials at the SAI training centre in Sonepat.
Asian silver medallist Kavinder Singh Bisht (57kg) and Sanjeet (91kg) advanced to the pre-quarter-finals with hard-fought wins in the World men's Boxing Championships.
The provisional suspension on the 11 dope tainted athletes, including one in the Commonwealth Games squad, was lifted by the NADA disciplinary committee following WADA's decision to shift the banned stimulant from 'non-specified' to 'specified' substance category.
Reigning Youth National Champion Surender Singh, on Saturday assured himself at least a bronze medal in the ongoing Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Mann by advancing into the semi-finals of the 75kg category.
Indian weightlifter Sanjita Chanu said she will challenge the provisional suspension imposed on her for allegedly failing a dope test, insisting that she is innocent.
The fire back in her belly after overcoming the Rio Olympic heartbreak, celebrated Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom has decided to go back to the light flyweight 48kg division amid speculation that it is among the two categories that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) is pushing for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Bajrang Punia says that he has learnt from his mentor Yogeshwar Dutt that conquering big names is the only way to earn a big name.
MC Mary Kom advanced to the final but Shiva Thapa settled for a bronze medal after an upset semi-final loss in the India Open boxing tournament for men and women in New Delhi on Wednesday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
World Championships silver-medallist Anjum Moudgil is expecting a good performance from the Indian shooting team, which she calls the best in the world, at the Tokyo Olympics later this year. India has seen a host of young shooters make their mark on the world stage since the last Olympics in 2016.
