Rediff.com brings you a collection of some of the odd and unusual sports images from around the world in recent weeks.
Dipa Karmakar's achievement, says Divya Nair, has lessons for us all.
The Indian won 21-7 21-7 in the summit clash that lasted just 38 minutes.
India assured themselves of at least another silver medal in the 17th Asian Games after the trio of Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Sandeep Kumar entered the final of the compound men's team archery event in Incheon on Thursday.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap speaks to Harish Kotian/Rediff.com about his recent triumph over world No. 1 Chen Long of China and why he wants the Indian Badminton League to be revived.
Amiya Kumar Mallick, 21, will undergo a four-month training stint in Kingston, Jamaica, under the watchful eyes of Glenn Mills at the Racers Track Club. Mills is the club's head coach and has worked with the two fastest men in the world currently -- Bolt and Yohan Blake.
'Some of the good wrestlers are making really good money.' 'If you look at their lifestyles, they are no less compared to our cricketers.'
Scotland will vote on whether it will be an independent country or will remain a part of the United Kingdom on September 18. With the vote coming up next week, a look at ten famous Scots.
P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth continued their impressive run at the Malaysia Open, progressing to the semi-finals of the women's and men's singles competition with a straight-game wins in the US$ 700,000 world tour super 750 tournament, in Kuala Lumpur.
Ace Indian discus thrower Vikas Gowda got a morale booster ahead of the upcoming Asian Games as he finished overall fourth in the prestigious IAAF Diamond League Series to pocket $ 3,000 prize money.
National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand remained tightlipped about his split with Saina Nehwal, saying he doesn't want to talk about the issue as the Asian Games is just round the corner.
The UK has relaxed its immigration rules giving greater flexibility to students and businesses that employ and sponsor international migrants.
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 sudden postponement of the boxing trials for the Asian Games has left Olympic bronze medallist MC Mary Kom fuming as she termed the last-minute schedule change as highly unprofessional' on the part of the organisers.
India's Manika Batra and Mouma Das lost 3-0 to Tianwei Feng and Mengyu Yu of Singapore in the women's sinlges final.
India's badminton queen PV Sindhu revealed that working with new coach Kim Ji Hyun along with the guidance from Pullela Gopichand has been instrumental in taking her game to the next level.
London Olympics bronze medallist MC Mary Kom declared her intention to bow out on a high at the Rio Games in 2016, saying it could be her last tournament.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Rahi Sarnobat beat all expectations to become India's first woman shooter with an Asian Games gold and the low-profile wushu players delivered their best ever performance even in defeat on another high-yielding day for the country at the regional showpiece.
Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Rana Mujahid is "frustrated" that the national sport is struggling to lure sponsors due to lack of international success in recent years and felt the scene was much better in India.
Meet first-time Indian athletes hoping to make an impression in Rio.
Fighting for an Olympic ticket on the unfamiliar legal turf, Sushil Kumar's glorious wrestling career may meet an unceremonious end when the Delhi High Court pronounces its verdict on Monday on who gets to board the flight to Rio between him and Narsingh Yadav. An unfavourable verdict for Sushil may not be the end on the legal front as he can still challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court. But it could well signal the end of the road for perhaps the greatest Indian Olympian, who won two back-to-back medals. With less than two months left for the Olympics, starting August 5, future look bleak for the unassuming grappler from Haryana whose injuries played a part in the entire sequence of events leading up to Monday. The Delhi High Court, in its last hearing on Thursday, gave clear indications that it was likely to give a judgement in favour of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in the tiff over selection trials in the men's 74kg freestyle category. The Delhi High court had observed that it did not find "any statutory mandate" to hold trials before the Olympics.
Indian teen sensation P V Sindhu made sure of a second consecutive bronze medal at the World Badminton Championships, but it was curtains for Saina Nehwal after she was beaten in straight games in the women's singles quarter-finals at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen on Friday.
'We keep climbing one step and slipping three. In 2004, our relay team was 7th in the world. Then we slipped from there. Otherwise, today our 4x400 metres relay team would have been gearing for a medal at the Rio Games.' 'If we need to compete at the world level, our thinking needs to be at world level. You can't have akhada thinking.'
The turn of the Olympic cycle has ushered in a new generation of riders plotting to overthrow track queen Anna Meares, but the seasoned Australian is confident of being in top gear to defend her sprint title at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
The 27-year-old London Olympics bronze medallist hard broke a sweat as she cruised past her Swiss opponent 21-11, 21-12 in just 33 minutes at the Emirates Arena.
India sprinter Dutee Chand, who qualified for the Rio Olympics, at an event in Almaty, Kazakhstan on Saturday, tells Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com that she gives her best when pushed by better and faster athletes.
Known for his Zen-like poise and preparation bordering on self-flagellation, the Olympic gold medallist shooter has mastered the art of defying expectations from a nation of 1.2 billion that has rarely tasted success in Olympic sport.
Former coaches say that it will be a tough call. The WFI faces the tedious dilemma of youth versus experience, rising star up against the country's most celebrated athlete.
The Wrestling Federation of India issued show cause notice to four wrestlers, including the Phogat sisters - Babita Kumari and Geeta - and handed them temporary suspension for indiscipline.
Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap knocked out top seed Lee Hyun Il of Korea in the men's singles opening round of the US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Anaheim, United States.
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) Director General Navin Agarwal confirmed that they found two samples taken fromNarsingh Yadav positive for dope.
The government stuck to its decision not to name any manager for 23 out of the 28 disciplines in which India are taking part in the upcoming Asian Games even though the Indian Olympic Association and National Sports Federations slammed the move.
P V Sindhu cemented her position as a dominant force on the world stage with an Olympic silver medal while Saina Nehwal continued to battle with injuries in a year, which saw Indian badminton take giant strides at the global platform. It turned out to be a watershed year for Sindhu, who reached the upper echelons of world badminton with a silver medal at Rio Games -- an achievement also for her mentor and chief coach Pullela Gopichand, who became the only Indian coach to produce two Olympic medallists. On the other hand, for the first part of the year, it was Saina's battle with injuries which dominated the headlines even though she was considered to be the best bet for India at Rio. The Indian ace fought against time to recover from an Achilles tendons and went on to win the Australian Super Series.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
PV Sindhu survived a scare against Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi before prevailing 19-21, 23-21, 21-17 in a thrilling singles match that lasted an hour and 27 minutes.
>There's still hope and plenty to play for, says Rediff.com's Aruneel Sadadekar.
As the year 2016 draws to a close, vote for the best Indian sportsperson of the year.
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.
India's shaky defence conceded a goal 15 seconds from the hooter to go down 2-3 against Belgium in their opening game of hockey World Cup at the Kyocera Stadium on Saturday.
