A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
>There's still hope and plenty to play for, says Rediff.com's Aruneel Sadadekar.
A star-studded Indian shooting contingent will begin their Rio Olympics campaign on Saturday with in-form Jitu Rai hoping to launch the country's medal haul in an event which will also see his more illustrious senior colleague Abhinav Bindra aiming to end his glorious career on a high.
Sandeep Sejwal said the prize money on offer for every gold won is just too tempting.
A cracker of a contest is on the cards when a confident India takes on a resurgent Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament, in Bhubaneswar, on Saturday.
A day after his dramatic announcement to quit, Terry Walsh decided to continue as India's chief hockey coach after the country's top sports officials assured him that his concerns will be addressed in a fresh contract.
India were left to rue a missed opportunity in tennis with Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna's losing in the semi-finals of the mixed doubles after Lalita Babar became the first woman in three decades to enter the final of a track event, on Day 8 of the 2016 Olympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday.
Having offered an unconditional apology for an emotionally-charged protest during the Asian Games medal ceremony, Indian boxer L Sarita Devi hoped that her outburst will ensure better judging at next month's World Championship in Korea.
Hockey greats Balbir Singh (Sr) and Ajit Pal Singh hailed India's Asian Games gold medal-winning effort but felt the players still have a mountain to climb to succeed at the World and Olympic level.
Ethiopian Tesfaye Abera won the Mumbai Marathon crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 9 minutes and 46 seconds on Sunday.
Not satisfied with winning the WTA Finals doubles crown with Zimbabwean Cara Black, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza wants to clinch the women's doubles Grand Slam title before hanging up her tennis shoes.
The photo-op obsessed North Korean dictator has not been seen in public for 37 days
The gold medal in men's javelin throw F46 category in the Rio Paralympics made Devendra Jhajharia the most successful Indian para athlete ever but he is in no mood to stop here and is eyeing for a treble in the 2020 Tokyo Games. The 35-year-old Jhajharia, a left-hand amputee, is the only Indian para athlete to have won two gold medals in the Paralympics, the earlier one being the yellow metal he won in 2004 Athens. "I am not stopping here after the Rio success. I have enough gas in my tank and I will definitely go for gold in Tokyo. I know my body and I can still train two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening rigorously everyday, just like I did in the build-up to the Rio Paralympics," Jhajharia told PTI in an interview.
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.
Bollywood superstar Saif Ali Khan signed up as brand ambassador for Olympic Gold Quest on Monday and immediately pledged Rs 20 lakh a year to support the training of athletes for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Indian boxer L Sarita Devi's refusal to accept her bronze medal on the podium went against the values of sportsmanship, Asian Games organisers said on Thursday, adding they were reviewing the incident and could take action against her.
World No. 40 Anirban Lahiri will be a part of the International Team, which will take on United States in the biennial Presidents Cup in Korea.
Pursuing a largely unrewarding Olympic sport in a cricket-obsessed country requires adjustments but heptathlete Swapna Barman has taken it to a new level -- squeezing six toes in each shoe designed for five.
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.
As the first Indian female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, Dipa Karmakar knows she has to pull off something spectacular if she wants the world to take notice.
As the curtain comes down on 2014, here's a look at the five best performances over the last 12 months. And, guess what? Two Indian sportsmen figure in the list!
Brazilian soccer legend Pele is doing 'fine' and will be discharged from a Sao Paulo hospital early on Thursday after he was admitted for stomach pains, one of his aides said.
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.
Six-time champions India notched up their second successive win in the men's kabaddi competition after thrashing Thailand 66-27 in a Group A preliminary-round match at the 17th Asian Games.
The Indian men ended their campaign in the pistol events on a winning note, shooting down a silver medal in the 25m centre fire event even as the women's team exited from the 50m three-position competition without success at the Asian Games, on Friday. The men pistol shooters - spearheaded by London Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar - clinched second place with a total score of 1740, two behind gold medallists China.
After capping off his remarkable career as a full-time marksman by winning two bronze at the Asian Games in Incheon on Tuesday, India's lone individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra said he will only be a 'hobby shooter' from now on.
A round-up of Indians' showing on the fifth day of the 17th Asian Games, in Incheon, on Wednesday.
All but written off after a string of injuries wrecked havoc on his career four years ago, enigmatic boxer Akhil Kumar staged a remarkable comeback to make the 10-member Indian men's team for the Asian Games, in Incheon, South Korea.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
When Dipa Karmakar launches into her soaring vault at the world championships, chances are that none of her rivals will be aware that the foundations of the skill were built on makeshift apparatus made by stacking several crash mats on top of each other.
India dominated the range and the ring as Shreyasi Singh's double trap gold shored up the medal tally while the entire men's Indian boxing contingent made the semi-finals to be assured of podium finishes in an unprecedented performance on Day 7 of the 21st Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast on Wednesday.
India golfer Anirban Lahiri is making the country proud and on India's 68th Independence Day, he gave his countrymen a couple of big reasons to be proud.
Smart cities can provide more safety, better management of traffic congestion, a low-carbon environment and better services.
The first Indian to compete at the prestigious Presidents Cup in Korea next week, Anirban Lahiri on how he realised his dreams which got ignited only last year.
India's unhindered supremacy in the kabaddi competition at the Asian Games continued as both the men's and women's teams successfully defended their respective gold medals with hard-fought final triumphs over Iran in Incheon on Friday.
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza feels the five medals that the team has managed to grab at the ongoing Asian Games is a pretty good performance given that the country did not come with the best unit.
The Indian badminton team went down fighting against hosts South Korea (1-3) in the women's team badminton semi-finals to settle for their maiden bronze medal at the Asian Games in Incheon on Sunday.
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.
A resurgent Indian hockey team, with its penetrative attack and solid defence, can actually challenge for the top spot in the Champions Trophy.
'No matter how severe sanctions the UN security council imposes on North Korea, the impact of the sanctions would depend on how faithfully they are enforced by China,' says Dr Rajaram Panda.
