Terry Walsh quit as coach of India's men's hockey team on Tuesday after his demands were not met by Hockey India and the Sports Authority of India. The 60-year-old Australian, who guided India to the men's hockey gold at the Incheon Asian Games, however, said he could return if his demands are met.
Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal stood just one win away from clinching her maiden China Open title after she stormed into the finals of the USD 700,000 Super Series Premier tournament in Fuzhou.
Saina, who had won a silver medal two years ago at Jakarta, gave everything in a battle of attrition but Okuhara's never-say-die attitude helped her to outmanoeuvre the Indian in an energy-sapping sem-ifinal clash at the Emirates Arena.
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.
The Sports Ministry dropped para-sports coach Satyanarayana from the list of this year's Dronacharya awardees due to a criminal case pending against him, but made no changes to the names recommended for the Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Celebrated Indian woman boxer L Sarita Devi comfortably outpunched Zsofia Bedo of Hungary to make a winning start to her professional career in the IBC Fight Night at the at the Khuman Lampak Stadium, in Imphal on Sunday.
The world champions now have 19 points while Poland, 8-1 winners over Gibraltar, are on 17.
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.
By removing headgear, it has changed the way boxers and coaches prepare, it has changed tactics. Now you have to defend better, use good techniques to protect your head.
The 22-year-old, who has won a bronze at the 2013 and 2014 editions, disposed off Sun Yu 21-14, 21-9 in 39 minutes at the Emirates Arena.
Star grappler Yogeshwar Dutt heaved a sigh of relief after clinching a spot for the World Championships by beating Amit Kumar Dhankhar, who had gone to court last year against the Olympic medallist alleging favouritism.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
An obsession with being 'neat, tidy and stylish' almost led her to archery, says world champion and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who feels a chance meeting with her eventual coach changed her career plans.
Under attack over his absence from Rajya Sabha, Sachin Tendulkar on Friday said there was a medical emergency in his family that kept him away from Delhi and he did not mean disrespect to any institution.
H S Prannoy scored his second successive victory over three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei, while Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth also registered contrasting wins to advance to the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open Super Series Premier, in Odense, on Thursday.
The 34-year-old two-time Olympic medallist proved that class is permanent, and that the youngsters still have a long way to go, at least in his weight category -- the men's 74kg freestyle.
The London Olympics bronze medallist will next play seventh seed Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, who knocked out two-time defending champion Spain's Carolina Marin 21-18, 14-21, 21-15 in the other quarter-final.
India's legendary sprinter Milkha Singh said on Wednesday that doping is like cancer and the government needs to take some strict measures to curb this menace.
Putting behind a controversial past and bringing home an Asian Games gold medal is no mean feat. Discus thrower Seema Punia says, despite lack of government recognition, gold was all she dreamed of at the recently-concluded continental games in Incheon.
PV Sindhu's gallant effort to become India's first ever World Champion ended in a heart-wrenching defeat against Nozomi Okuhara in an epic final, in Glasgow, on Sunday.
Arsenal had scored 10 goals in two matches against BATE Borisov in the same competition in 2017 but never looked like being as prolific in the freezing temperatures of Belarus.
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.
Former chief national wrestling coach Vinod Kumar expressed relief and contentment over Delhi High Court's directive to the Centre to confer him with the Dronacharya award.
England manager Roy Hodgson appeared to play down the old rivalry between Scotland and England when he said Tuesday's friendly was just another game, despite the intense atmosphere likely at Celtic Park.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
After the euphoria over winning the gold medal at the Asian Games, Indian hockey suffered a major jolt on Tuesday with the resignation of the team's chief coach, Terry Walsh.
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.
Usain Bolt's lack of form combined with his late withdrawal from the Jamaican 100 metres national trials on Thursday have raised more doubts about the future of the world's fastest man.
Meet first-time Indian athletes hoping to make an impression in Rio.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu edged past Japan's Nozomi Okuhara to advance to the semi-finals of the All England Championship, in Birmingham, on Friday.
South Waziristan, in north-west Pakistan, is regarded as the home of the Taliban. Forget playing any sport, but girls here rarely go to school. Under such circumstances, how does a girl realise her dream to be a sportsperson.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu suffered another heart-wrenching defeat against World No 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan to finish as runner-up at the Dubai Super Series Final in Dubai on Sunday.
Pankaj Advani held his nerve to edge past David Causier of England and enter the final of the World Billiards Championship (Time format) by a mere five points, in Leeds, on Wednesday. Eyeing another grand double (points and time format in the same year) after clinching the 150-up short format title last week, the Indian ace led last year's runner-up by a comfortable 400 points at one stage before settling for a 1180-1175 victory.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
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.
Zinedine Zidane had few equals as a player but heading into his first Champions League final as a coach, he admits that unlike Atletico Madrid counterpart Diego Simeone he still has much to learn. The former France playmaker, who was promoted from Real's reserve team to replace Rafa Benitez in January, steered the side to a runners-up finish in La Liga and Saturday's final in Milan. Real have won 21 out of 26 games under Zidane and lost two, scoring 71 goals and giving away 18. Simeone led Atletico to their second Champions League final in three years. "He has everything that a coach needs but above all, he knows his team and his players well, which is the most important thing," Zidane told a news conference on Tuesday.
