Was it badminton sensation PV Sindhu, who became the first Indian to win the World Championships gold medal? Or is it the young shooting progidy Saurabh Chaudhary? Or his India colleague Elavenil Valarivan, who recently took over as World No 1? What about India's heroes on the cricketing field -- Virat Kohli? Rohit Sharma?
The Ministry has invited only e-mail applications this year due to the pandemic.
With professional soccer at a virtual standstill around the globe, fans in need of their weekly fix are turning to the Belarusian Premier League to fill the void as it carries on with matches despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Will India finally reach the elusive double-digit mark? Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry, for one, is willing to stick his neck out on the possibility.
It is the first break in the four-year cycle for the summer Olympics since the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled because of World War Two.
Sports Ministry officials clarified that they are yet to receive any form of communication on Indian men's hockey team coach Paul van Ass, who claims to have been sacked by Hockey India.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Mehta said if the government so directs, the IOA, in coordination with the concerned National Sports Federations (NSFs), can facilitate the vaccination
The IOA also said that the decision will now relieve the Indian athletes of having to train amidst lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Indian Olympic Association General Body Meeting started off on a stormy note on Sunday with close to 50 demonstrators under the banner of Clean Sports India protesting against the association's officials, who have been chargesheeted in corruption cases.
Rising Indian midfielder Manpreet Singh was named the 'Junior Player of the Year' by the Asian Hockey Federation in its Congress held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
After the Sports Ministry withdrew the recognition of 54 National Sports Federations (NSFs), Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra raised concerns saying that if things will continue to go ahead like this then India should not be hoping for any medal in the Tokyo Olympics next year. Following a High Court order, the Sports Ministry withdrew the recognition of 54 NSFs, including the All India Football Federation, Hockey India, and Athletics Federation of India.
India captain Sardar Singh has been nominated by the Hockey India for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
Shooting has provided some rare Olympic joy for India
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Referring to the trio's fight for share in BCCI revenue for players back in 2001-02, sehwag said it went a long way in guaranteeing financial security that is enjoyed by the current crop of players.
The FIH has issued a veiled threat to block India's participation in the 2012 London Olympics in case the government does not grant Hockey India the status of National Sports Federation and if all lawsuits, including the one filed by IHF against it, are not terminated.
The tally from the weekend showed 37 new cases on Sunday with most testing positive after arrival at the airport
India's top-five finish not a given this time
Hosts India blew away a goal lead and conceded two late goals to go down 1-2 against Belgium to finish sixth in the Hero Hockey World League Final on a chilly evening at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, in New Delhi on Saturday.
While K P S Gill was credited with rooting out insurgency in Punjab, international rights groups accused him of violating people's rights.
India has always been a difficult place to work for foreign hockey coaches due to difference of opinion with national federations and bureaucratic hurdles.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
All the top action from Day 13 of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing on Thursday.
Calling on the IOA to sort out the administrative mess which led to India's suspension from the Olympic movement, IHF patron KPS Gill has said that the overhauling should put in place a system so clean and efficient that it becomes a model for the world to follow.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Indian cricket team had last toured Pakistan in 2007, and after that, no team across any sport in the country has toured Pakistan.
In a tit-for-tat response, Sports Ministry has virtually prompted the Government to pull out from upcoming sporting events in India, who decided against touring Pakistan for a cricket series citing a diplomatic stand-off following the recent Mumbai terror attacks.
Poland, which has long been critical of Lukashenko and harboured many activists from Belarus, has granted her and her husband humanitarian visas.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Following their passion paid off for Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth with their fantasy sports platform Dream11 entering the unicorn club with a valuation of over $1 billion.
India were drawn against their Pakistan for an away Asia-Oceania Zone Group 1 fixture.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
It's only when Gold moves away from Akshay Kumar's blundering Bangla and hockey humbug to become a story of grace among go-getters that it comes close to becoming the movie it should have been, says Sukanya Verma.
The process to pick this year's national sports awards has been delayed because of the nation-wide lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic and the applications will be invited next month, a Sports Ministry official said. The ministry generally invites the nominations for the awards in April while the ceremony to confer them is held on August 29 on the occasion of National Sports Day celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.
The company will get title rights and branding opportunities at major FIH tournaments including the men's and women's World Cup in 2006.
Hockey India cracked the whip on Saturday, slapping a two-year ban on star players Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh for repeated indiscipline. The national federation imposed the sanction on Sandeep and Sardara after a marathon meeting, which was attended by Hockey India's top brass, including its secretary-general Narinder Batra.
Diljit Dosanjh's striking self-possession, like the champion he's portraying, doesn't let it come in the way of a performance that screams g-o-a-l, feels Sukanya Verma.
Devendra Jhajharia, on Tuesday became the first para athlete to receive India's highest sporting honour -- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- along with hockey star Sardar Singh, who has endured trying times off the field in the last one year.
