He said the time was right to strengthen and popularise table tennis in India, especially with 27 Indian paddlers currently in top 100 and 17 of them in top 50 in the world rankings.
Eager to fetch an Asian Games gold on his comeback to competitive wrestling after a long hiatus, star freestyle grappler Sushil Kumar will head to Georgia for a ten-day tune-up ahead of the continental showpiece.
Suresh Kalmadi, president of the Indian Olympic Association and chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising committee to be held in New Delhi in 2010, said that it was a painful decision to suspend the Indian Hockey Federation and see the exit of former super cop K P S Gill as the president of the ailing Federation.
Russia was banned from taking part in or hosting world championships, including the World Cup as part of doping sanctions imposed by WADA.
Pullela Gopichand called P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal -- his two most successful pupils -- as 'precious diamonds'.
The NRAI has sent the names of champion pistol shooters Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma for the prestigious Arjuna Award, according to federation sources.
Singh shot a score of 587 (291 in precision and 296 in rapid) in the individual competition to grab the gold ahead of American Henry Leverett (584) and Korean Lee Jaekyoon (582).
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
The ban prevents India from taking part in the weightlifting competition at December's Asian Games.
'The WFI has taken a decision in principle to let these wrestlers prepare on their own and not disturb them. On their requests, we have decided to let them skip the trials as they are best bets in their weight categories and hardly face any competition'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra today said that the country should aim to win 'double digit' medals at the Tokyo Olympics
Indian high jumper Tejaswin Shankar finished sixth in his CWG debut.
IOA president Suresh Kalmadi said India's bid is fully backed by Pakistan, Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries.
'Technically we are as good as anyone else,' said IOA secretary general Randhir Singh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes that poured in for Badminton Association of India president Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta, who passed away in Lucknow after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday.
With the US education system operating independently from the government, universities are adopting varying strategies when it comes to Covid vaccination.
The ranges are bursting at the seams with young talent and Indian shooting's present state could be a harbinger of hope for a perfect future.
Two leading Indian athletes -- Mandeep Kaur and Juana Murmu have been suspended and face the prospect of a two-year ban after flunking an out-of-competition dope test.
Sacked as Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief, the embattled Suresh Kalmadi got the full backing of the Indian Olympic Association, the national apex sports body which he heads, in its General Body Meeting (GBM) in New Delhi.
Shailaja Pujari is believed to have returned a positive test following random out-of-competition testing by WADA officials.
Over 500 dope tests every year in the last four years, specialised diet and nutritional supplements only from Germany -- these are the ingredients that went into the Indian weightlifters' sensational haul of five gold medals at the 21st Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast.
The change means that Panghal, an Asian Games gold-medallist in 49kg, will now have to move to 52kg, while Thapa and Kaushik will have to forego the 60kg division and move up to the newly-created 63kg. Thapa is a three-time Asian Championships medallist and a world bronze-medallist, while Kaushik won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games last year.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is considering participating in the World Championships later this year after it emerged that he has qualified for the showpiece event.
Sports Minister Jitendra Singh was far from impressed as he took stock of India's preparations for next year's Commonwealth and Asian Games in a meeting with SAI officials here and expressed dissatisfaction with the progress made so far.
Former badminton World No 1 Lee Chong Wei has been nominated for Malaysia's 2014 sportsman of the year award.
A resolute Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) advanced to the finals with impressive victories but the legendary M C Mary Kom (51kg) and world number one Amit Panghal (52kg) settled for bronze medals at the Asian/Oceanian Olympic Qualifiers, in Amman, on Tuesday. Also ending with bronze medals were Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg). All the six boxers have already secured their tickets to the Olympic Games by making the semi-finals but Krishan and Kaur will come back with at least silver medals after entering the finals.
Usain Bolt and his Jamaican team mates who won the 4 x 100m relay at the 2008 Beijing Games have been told by the country's Olympic Association to return their gold medals following Nesta Carter's failed drug test.
Mary Kom will represent the Asian bloc in the group
Ontario says it will introduce football for the first time if its bid for the event is successful.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have become 'incubators' of terrorism, and pose a threat to Russia and all constituents of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) of former Soviet republics, Russian security chief said on Tuesday. "These countries have become an 'incubator' of terrorism and extremism, which are spreading into the region, CIS countries and the whole world," Director of Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov was quoted as saying.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian javelin thrower to win an Asian Games gold medal as he shattered his own national record by clearing a distance of 88.06m, in Jakarta, on Monday.
Commonwealth Games women's 100 metres gold medallist has tested positive for a banned stimulant, Games Federation chief Mike Fennell said on Monday. Oludamola's sample contained the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine, which was added to the World Anti Doping Agency's (WADA) list of banned substances for the first time this year.
Commonwealth Games Federation chief Michael Fennell on Thursday apologised for a freak accident resulting in injuries to three Ugandan officials, including the team's Chef de Mission, at the Games Village in the early hours of Wednesday.
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry president and Bharti Enterprises vice president Rajan Bharti Mittal chaired a symposium on corporate leadership on climate change in the presence of the Prince of Wales, who is here in connection with the Commonwealth Games.
Vijay Kumar Malhotra, senior vice-president of Indian Olympic association and The General Association of National Sports Federations (GANSF) urged the government to ensure that President of India inaugurates the Commonwealth Games.
The NADA Disciplinary Panel hearing the case of 12 dope-tainted athletes, including seven in Commonwealth Games squad, remained inconclusive and said participation of the athletes in the mega event was left to their respective federations.
Mike Fennell, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, was more than assertive when he held the Organising Committee of the Delhi Commonwealth Games responsible for the mess and delay in building infrastructure for the Games scheduled to be held in New Delhi from October 3-14.
Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell inspected the Commonwealth Games Village on Friday and said "considerable improvements" have been made there even as embattled the organisers continued their sprint against time to complete preparations for the October 3-14 event.
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