Three Union ministers came out in support of boxer Sarita Devi as sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal sought a report from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on pugilist's controversial loss against Korean boxer in the semi-final of the Asian Games in Incheon.
Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, who had sought time till August 10 to prepare for Asian Games and World Championship trials, are set to leave for Kyrgystan and Hungary respectively.
Faced with the prospect of India's hockey team being ousted from the race to Olympics, the Sports Ministry has called a meeting of the IOA, Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation on October 14 to resolve the dispute related to the game's governance in the country.
Terming the IOA-IOC saga as a turning point, Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Jitendra Singh said the entire episode is a blessing in disguise for Indian sport.
Barely 10 days left for the extended deadline to expire for picking the Indian wrestling team, the IOA ad-hoc panel has yet again failed to set a date for the Asian Games trials.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Friday decided at its Special General Meeting (SGM) that it will start functioning at 'no cost to the government' model if its request to lift the suspension is not considered by the Sports Ministry.
IOA's ad-hoc panel plans trials for Asian C'ships from May 17.
Union Minister and All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel said that the involvement of chargesheeted persons in the affairs of IOA has brought "a messy situation" in Indian sports and tarnished the image of national federations.
A day after Indian Olympic Association secretary-general Randhir Singh warned of serious repercussions on disbanding of some important committees, the apex sports body said it will soon set up the Ethics Committee and Arbitration Commission.
The disbanding of the Ethics and some other committees of the IOA by its General Body recently, on Monday, came under sharp criticism from its Secretary General Randhir Singh who urged the acting president to revive and ratify them without further delay.
In a new twist to controversial elections of the IOA, the International Olympic Committee warned of a possible ban on the national sports body if government regulations are followed in its poll on December 5.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) welcomed FIH's decision to conduct next year's Olympic Qualifiers in India and said by recognising only Hockey India as the National Federation for the sport, the world body has vindicated its stand.
Antim Panghal along with several other wrestlers were out on the streets to protest against IOA ad-hoc panel's "unfair" decision to exempt Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat from the Asian Games trials.
Salman Khan, whose appointment as IOA's goodwill ambassador in April was slammed by Olympic medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and legendary sprinter Milkha Singh, seemed to have no clue about who Dipa Karmakar was and how she fared so far at the Rio Games.
'I also have full faith in the Government of India, who I am sure will take the correct step in the right direction in this regard. However, as the IOA President, I sincerely hope the athletes, under no circumstances, are denied their rights'
The Sports Ministry on Saturday suspended Wrestling Federation of India's (WFI) assistant secretary Vinod Tomar, a fallout of the grapplers' allegations of sexual harassment and corruption against the sports body's chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik on Thursday advised the country's wrestlers to participate in the Nationals conducted by the ad-hoc committee in Jaipur and not in the event organised by the suspended national federation.
Sport Minister Ajay Maken said he doesn't have the confidence that the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) can live up to the standards of transparency that hosting an international event like the Olympics or Asian Games demands.
Indian Olympic Association, on Thursday, said no leniency would be shown to the 10 Kabbadi players and three athletes who flunked dope tests recently and asked the federations to crack the whip on guilty sportspersons.
Celebrated Indian grappler Yogeshwar Dutt neither praised nor criticised the new selection policy of the IOA-constituted ad-hoc panel for wrestling, which states that Olympic quota winners will have to compete against a challenger to book a ticket to the Paris Games.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday lauded World Athletics' decision to award USD 50,000 to all its gold-medallists in the Paris Olympic Games and said he would like to see such incentive being given in other global competitions as well.
The IOA was ready to make a presentation to the 2026 organisers to explain to them how including those two disciplines could 'increase the stature of the event'
The ad-hoc panel announced that it will host the senior national championships in Jaipur from February 2-5.
Yogeshwar asked all the wrestlers to approach IOA and lodge their protest against such unfair decision.
The IOA elections were due last December but have been held up by a court case seeking to change its constitution in line with rules stipulated by the national sports code.
The trials were initially planned for February 27-29 but got postponed
Following sports minister Ajay Maken's public statement that arrested Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi should be replaced as its president, the Indian Olympic Association will meet on May 23 to discuss the issue.
WFI's ad-hoc panel to work with just one member for at least a week
Calling the working agreement between Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation a 'bizarre live-in relationship', IOA acting President Vijay Kumar Malhotra on Tuesday said the two federations for one discipline will never be accepted.
Either Sanjay Kumar Singh or 2010 CWG champion Anita Sheoran will become the next WFI President.
Punia had trained in Russia to prepare for the trials, which are being organised by the IOA ad-hoc panel.
The reigning U23 Asian champion Sujeet Kalkal slammed the IOA ad-hoc committee for granting direct entry to Bajrang Punia for the Asian Games.
Out of approved assistance of Rs 1.07 crore, the first instalment of Rs.83.19 lakh, representing 75 per cent of the approved grant, has been released to the IOA.
In a reprieve to the suspended Indian Olympic Association, the International Olympic Committee has decided to extend the deadline for adopting an amended constitution, the draft of which is currently being reviewed by the world body.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi on Tuesday ruled out giving any monetary assistance to the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) in paying the US$ 375,000 fine to the game's world body because it is related to doping.
The Supreme Court on Friday permitted the Indian Olympic Association and Hockey India to field the men's and women's teams in the October Commonwealth Games. The order was passed after Hockey India's rival Indian Hockey Federation admitted that it is not affiliated to the International Hockey Federation.
The International Olympic Committee has fixed the dates of the joint meeting with the Indian Olympic Association and Sports Ministry in the second week of next month to find a way towards resolving the issues that led to the country's ban from the Olympic family.
The Gauhati High Court on Sunday stayed the Wrestling Federation of India elections, scheduled for July 11.
