When is comes to Indian tennis, it has to be the year of Sania Mirza! The Hyderabadi ace set aside all controversies and soared. Having overcome career-threatening injuries she was back to winning ways. Sania won her third mixed doubles Grand Slam title and wrapped up a dream season with the year-end finale trophy even as India's established male tennis players found the going tough in 2014.
With Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal agreeing in principle to Terry Walsh's demands, the ball is now in the Australian's court to take a call on whether to continue as India's chief hockey coach and the Sports Authority of India expects him to make up his mind in the next 4-5 days.
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.
Dropped from India's women's hockey squad for the Olympics, skipper Ritu Rani reveals her side of the story to Rediff.com's Aruneel Sadadekar.
'I am actually quicker now than before,' Boxing legend Mary Kom tells Pavan Lall.
India's best medal hope, five-time World boxing champion M C Mary Kom lived up to expectations as she beat Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan to win the gold medal in the flyweight category (48-51kgs) at the Asian Games, in Incheon, on Wednesday.
India's Yogeshwar Dutt beat Yusupov Zalimkhan of Tajikistan 1-0 to win the gold medal in the men's freestyle 65 kg wrestling event at the Asian Games in Incheon.
The Indian squash contingent on Thursday assured its best ever showing at the Asian Games in Incheon by reaching the men's and women's team semi-finals, ensuring it returns home with medals in all four categories on offer.
India wasted chances galore in their 1-2 defeat against arch-rivals and defending champions Pakistan in a keenly-contested Pool B match of the men's hockey competition at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on Thursday.
Veteran star Leander Paes is set to combine with Rohan Bopanna for the doubles rubber during the Davis Cup tie against Serbia, Indian captain Anand Amritraj confirmed today but he says nothing has been decided on the Asian Games squad as yet.
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.
The hosts will face arch-rivals Pakistan for a place in the final, the latter scoring 4-2 upset win over eight-time champions The Netherlands earlier in the day.
Sania Mirza's was officially named for the coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on Friday. The Hyderabadi lady is only the second tennis player to be nominated for the country's highest sport honour.
Impressed with the hockey team's showing at the recently-concluded Asian Games, Sports Minister Sarbanada Sonowal said the gold medal triumph could act as a "trigger" for more good things to come.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, felicitated the medal winners from the recently-concluded Asian Games over a breakfast meeting at his residence and said sportspersons do as much for the country as political leaders.
She understands the emotion behind L Sarita Devi's tearful protest on the Asian Games podium but M C Mary Kom, who became the first Indian woman boxer to win gold at the mega-event, said faced with a similar crisis, she would have shown dissent differently.
It was gold rush for India on the opening day of the South Asian Games with the country's wrestlers, swimmers and weightlifters showing their regional dominance by making a near clean sweep of top honours on Saturday. India clinched 14 gold and five silver medals on a highly productive day to top the medals tally with an overall count of 19.Sri Lanka, despite having a higher overall medal count of 21, occupied the second spot in the table owing to alesser tally of gold medals (4). Wrestlers were the stars for India, grabbing as many as five gold medals followed by the swimmers who clinched four gold and three silver medals. The weightlifters added three gold medals to the tally after the cyclists had opened India's account with two gold and an equal number of silver medals in the morning. Three women and two male grapplers finished on top of the podium as the proceedings went on expected lines on the opening day of the competitions.
A pall of gloom shrouded the Pakistan hockey community after the national team failed to qualify for the Olympics.
Thailand's gold medal-winning golf team let their hair down with a shopping trip to Seoul on Monday, but behind the smiles and giggles the trio said they are deadly serious about their sport.
Saina Mirza and Saketh Myneni proved too strong for the Chinese Taipei combination of Hsien Yin Peng and Hao Ching Chan to win the gold in the mixed doubles final at the Asian Games.
Vikas Krishan Yadav has learned from the bitterest experience that he can leave nothing to chance in the Olympic ring and it is a lesson the Indian boxer will carry with him to the Rio Games.
- 'I hope our training on creating early pressure will be evident when we go into the competition'
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.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Favourites India prevailed 3-2 over arch-rivals Pakistan to reclaim the Asian Champions Trophy hockey, presenting a perfect Diwali gift to the nation in Kuantan, Malaysia on Sunday. Goals from Rupinder Pal Singh (18th minute), Yousuf Affan (23rd) and Nikkin Thimmaiah (51st) helped India surmount the challenge from Pakistan, who rallied from two goals behind through strikes by Muhammad Aleem Bilal (26th) and Ali Shaan (38th) in the title clash of the fourth edition of tournament. This was the first time the teams were meeting in the final of a continental tournament since India dethroned Pakistan as the Asian Games champions in Incheon, South Korea in 2014.
Nirmala Sheoran produced a forgettable performance in the women's 400m semi-finals to finish among the bottom trio as India's disappointing show in the World Athletics Championships continued on the fourth day on Monday.
India cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were on Monday recommended for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by the awards selection committee.
P V Sindhu became the country's first-ever woman silver medal winner in the Olympic Games after coming second best against world champion Carolina Marin of Spain in a pulsating clash for the gold in the badminton singles on Day 14 of competition.
Harish Kapadia is the only Indian to win mountaineering's most prestigious award.
India's regional supremacy at the South Asian Games went unchallenged. The hosts were crowned overall champions for the 12th consecutive time after a record-breaking haul of 308 medals.
'I didn't go for the World Championships to see someone else take my place at the Olympics.'
Sports Minister Jitendra Singh was far from impressed as he took stock of India's preparations for next year's Commonwealth and Asian Games in a meeting with SAI officials here and expressed dissatisfaction with the progress made so far.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'It is important to keep new tricks in your bag to win at the biggest event of world sports.'
India captain Sardar Singh asserted that they have a lot to play for in the ongoing Hockey World League Semifinals.
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.
Local hero Kei Nishikori claimed his second Japan Open title on Sunday, overcoming familiar foe Milos Raonic 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4 in the final under a closed roof at the Ariake Colosseum.
Somdev Devvarman stoutly defended his decision to skip the Asian Games, saying "it did not make any sense" playing in Incheon for three weeks at a time when he is striving to return to the top-100.
With the country's boxing administration in a shambles, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said on Wednesday that the top pugilists may not be able to compete in the upcoming Asian Games under the national flag if the elections are not held as per schedule next month.
Dope-tainted Narsingh Yadav admitted that his career would be over if the four-year ban imposed on him by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) is not reviewed and said that the country should take up his case as India lost out on an Olympic medal in wrestling.
