India's list of non-cricket sports stars is growing, but when it comes to endorsement deals, the bulk of the money is spent on a handful of cricketers.
Iran's Sepehr Boroujeni Safari emerged as the surprise gold medal winner ahead of the Indian fancied duo of Gurpreet Singh and Jitu Rai, who settled for silver and bronze respectively in the men's 10m air pistol event at the 8th Asian Air Gun Championship in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
The super charge led by athletes, boxers and tennis players in the last seven days of the Asian Games not only provided the impetus to the floundering Indian campaign but also scripted a memorable climax as the country recorded its best ever performance at the sporting event.
Ester Ledecka became the first person in Winter Olympics history to capture gold medals in unrelated events after the Czech won the snowboard parallel giant slalom on Saturday to go with her stunning Alpine skiing super-G gold.
Olympic sailing began an 11-day regatta on Monday with near perfect winds as competitors showed little fear of heading back into waters criticised for sewage-borne pathogens and floating garbage.
Rediff.com's Norma Godinho and Laxmi Negi glance at the athletes and disciplines likely to win medals for India at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Norway's Birk Ruud claimed the first men's freeski Big Air Olympic gold
The sheer diversity of medal winners was a heartwarming aspect of the Games for India. There were medals from squash, although not gold, there were nine medals from boxing, 12 from wrestling, 16 from shooting and nine from weightlifting.
India dominated the range and the ring as Shreyasi Singh's double trap gold shored up the medal tally while the entire men's Indian boxing contingent made the semi-finals to be assured of podium finishes in an unprecedented performance on Day 7 of the 21st Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast on Wednesday.
He joins pistol shooter Jitu Rai, rifle shooters Apurvi Chandela and Gagan Narang, who all had sealed berths earlier.
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.
PV Sindhu appears 'vulnerable' on the counter-attack and that is a big factor in her losing many a title clashes, including recent loss to Saina Nehwal in the singles final at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, observed former India coach Vimal Kumar.
Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom (51kg) and World Championship bronze-winner Shiva Thapa (56kg) were given the top billing in the Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament draw held in Qian'an, China on Friday.
Indian shooters continued to shine at the 17th Asian Games, clinching the bronze medal in men's 10m air pistol team event, but Jitu Rai could not emulate his golden feat and finished fifth after promising much in the earlier part of the individual finals in Incheon on Sunday.
Speaking at a felicitation function for the Commonwealth Games medal winners in New Delhi, Rathore said there was no dearth of money in Indian sports but the funds will have to be used for justified purposes by both the athletes as well as the federations.
Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai and young Mehuli Ghosh failed to make the Indian shooting squad for the upcoming Asian Games, even as a few unheralded faces were picked for the quadrennial extravaganza, starting in Indonesia, from August 18.
The team reached Dubai on Saturday after being held up for over two hours in the flight, of which close to one hour was mid air
The 28-year-old's comment came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with 2018 Commonwealth Games medallists in the national capital on Monday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
'Saurabh is my room partner from Asian Games and now also. We learn from each other and we both share our shooting experience with each other. We both try to give our best every time'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unfurl the national flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Sunday to celebrate the country's 75th Independence Day and two Mi-17 1V helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will shower flower petals at the venue for the first time ever.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Another Haryana athlete, Rahul Kumar, who finished second in the men's 20km race walk event with a time of 1:20:26, also qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.
'Shooting is number one.' 'Archery, wrestling, badminton and boxing.' 'These are the five where we stand the best chance of winning a medal.'
India's in-form shooter Jitu Rai gave the country its first gold medal in the 17th Asian Games, cutting through a tough field to finish on top in the 50m pistol event in Incheon on Saturday.
Mary Kom, who claimed an unprecedented sixth gold by winning the 48kg summit bout in the Women's World Championships, in New Delhi, said she became a smarter fighter in the later part of her career.
India's campaign in the Sochi Winter Olympic Games came to a disappointing end with Himanshu Thakur finishing 72nd in the men's giant slalom event.
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.
They showed big hearts. They were unfazed by the stature of their rivals and that's what is very important. You respect your rival but don't get intimidated by his CV, says India's High-Performance Director Santiago Nieva.
Sports Ministry formally recognises yogasana as competitive sport.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Impressed with the performance of the Indian shooting contingent in Gold Coast, ace marksmen Jitu Rai is worried about the adverse effect that non-inclusion of the sport in the 2022 Birmingham Games will have on young talents.
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.
'When we are playing at our best, it's very difficult to beat us.'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Day 11: What's hot at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics
Young Apurvi Chandela wants to be at the 'top of her game' as she aims for a maiden Olympic appearance at next year's Rio Games by fulfilling the stringent selection criteria that the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) has set for the Indian shooters.
What a year Sania Mirza, Leander Paes, Saina Nehwal, Vijender Singh and Anirban Lahiri had!
Jwala Gutta said that before comparing ourselves to badminton giants like China and Japan, India should look to improve the quality of doubles' players. Jwala also questioned the logic of holding the national camp only at the Gopichand academy.
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