Besides the duo, 2017 World Weightlifting Champion in the 48kg category, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and former Asian Games gold medallist tennis player Somdev Devvarman were conferred with the Padma Shri award.
MC Mary Kom pulled no punches as the celebrated Indian boxer announced her intention to stretch her career by another "three-four" years and while the 2018 Asian and Commonwealth Games remain her "main focus", Tokyo Olympics, she said, is also not out of the radar yet. The London Olympics medallist and five-time world champion recently 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. The 33-year, a mother of three, is back in the ring with renewed hopes.
Every medal is a story of struggle, says the indomitable M C Mary Kom, who considers her fifth Asian Championship gold medal special as it came despite the many roles she has had to play outside the ring in the past one year.
Sports Ministry has cleared a 804-member Indian contingent, including 572 athletes, for the Asian Games but said it will bear the expense of 755 members with 49 out of 232 officials allowed at no cost to government.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old mother-of-three defeated China's Wu Yu 5-0 in the light flyweight (48kg) category quarterfinals to enter the last-four stage and be assured of at least a bronze.
Indian boxer Pavitra (60kg) advanced to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games after out-classing Pakistan's Rukhsana Perveen in a bout that did not go beyond the opening round, in Jakarta, on Saturday.
Assured of an Olympic berth, Indian boxer Vikas Krishan (75kg) settled for a bronze medal in the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) World Qualifying Tournament.
Mary Kom will represent the Asian bloc in the group
India's Jwala Gutta on Tuesday confirmed she will reunite with former partner Ashwini Ponnappa.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu says the triumph did not just lessen the pain of her Olympic failure but also ensured that missing her elder sister's wedding was not for nothing.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Six-time champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) was beaten by Turkey's Busenaz Cakiroglu in the semi-finals and had to settle for a bronze medal in the World Women's Boxing Championships, in Ulan-Ude, on Saturday.
The haul of 64 medals at the Commonwealth Games, in July-August, which included 15 gold, should act as the ideal springboard for the Indian contingent to better its medal tally at Guangzhou, China, four years ago.
Virat Kohli sent the shutterbugs into a clicking frenzy as he received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
The swimmers led India's charge on Saturday by winning 7 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze as they completely dominated the pool yet again.
World cup gold medallist Heena Sidhu was in third position in the precision round of 25 meter women pistol event, which was topped by Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anisa Sayyed at the 57th National Shooting Championship in New Delhi on Monday.
Haryana wrestler Sakshi Malik has come a long way in her fairy-tale journey to etch her name in the sporting history of the country.
Top seed Vikas Krishan (75kg) and Gaurav Bidhuri (56kg) advanced to the quarter-finals, giving India a good start at the Asian Boxing Championships in Tashkent on Monday.
Olympic bronze medallist M C Mary Kom has resumed training in Bengaluru post her eight-month long family break from the boxing ring after winning the gold medal in last year's Asian Games.
Shuttler P V Sindhu scripted a new chapter in Indian Olympic history with unprecedented feat but the embattled Narsingh Yadav's dreams lay in tatters after being slapped with a four-year doping ban on a bitter-sweet day for the country at the Rio Games.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Indian wrestling's new star Bajrang Punia, on Sunday, set his eyes on a 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medal after his triumphant Asian Games campaign in Jakarta.
London Olympics bronze-medallist MC Mary Kom led the charge as six Indian boxers stormed into the final with comprehensive wins to remain in hunt for all the 10 medals on offer at the 12th South Asian Games, in Shillong, on Sunday.
Yogeshwar Dutt is aiming for a yellow metal at next year's World Championships and thereby earn an automatic berth in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Women archers were on target in the individual events, while Manoj Kumar scripted a triumph of the underdog in the boxing ring on the fifth day of the Rio Games.
World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) and GeeBee Boxing silver medallist Dinesh Dagar (69kg) confirmed their places in the final, while Ankush Dahiya (64kg) and Ananta Pralhad Chopade (52kg) made it to the semi-finals.
Vijayveer Sidhu, 16, shot a gold in the 25m standard pistol event for junior men after combining with Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu and Adarsh Singh to claim the team gold on the last day of the ISSF World Championships.
The boxers hardly broke a sweat while scooping all the seven gold medals up for grabs, while the shooters ended their campaign with an outstanding tally of 25 gold medals to ensure India's reign at the top remained unchecked in the 12th South Asian Games in Guwahati on Monday. On the penultimate day of competition, the Indian was perched at the top with 289 medals (173 gold, 86 silver and 30 bronze).
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
A hoped-for fight to the finish for the year-end number one ranking at next month's ATP World Tour Finals in London will likely be a coronation for Rafael Nadal, who is virtually guaranteed ending 2017 top of the pile.
Forced to take the legal route after being denied the honour initially, Indian boxer Manoj Kumar will be bestowed the Arjuna Award as the Sports Ministry has finally accepted his nomination.
The focus is firmly trained on teen sensation Manu Bhaker as the fancied Indian shooting team eyes a head start at the 21st Commonwealth Games
It's a sport that is synonymous with power for most, but India's Rio Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik says her achievements on the mat are not just because of brawn but also brain.
MC Mary Kom inched one step closer towards her sixth gold medal at the Women's World Boxing Championships after beating Kim Hyang Mi of North Korea in the semi-finals of the 48kg.
Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav has no further hurdle in his path for his 74kg freestyle bout on August 19 as his coach said he would not have to appear for any reinstatement test.
Manish Kaushik has announced his arrival on the senior scene in grand fashion.
Long-distance runner Kavita Raut's Olympic qualification was the icing on the cake on yet another impressive day for India at the 12th South Asian Games, in Guwahati, on Friday. Firmly entrenched atop the overall standings, India increased their medal tally to 248 -- including 146 gold, 79 silver and 23 bronze.
'Problem is that the sports code is nowhere prescribing that trial is mandatory. It has given flexibility and autonomy to the organisation to decide (mode of selection)'
