With only one Asian Games gold to show after four days of competition, India's hopes of improving on their medal tally in China four years ago are diminishing fast.
The focus is firmly trained on teen sensation Manu Bhaker as the fancied Indian shooting team eyes a head start at the 21st Commonwealth 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.
Looking back, the Indians had rubbed their hands in delight at the variety of marquee events at home the sporting calendar of 2017 offered, and they now look forward, with optimism and anticipation, to a challenging 2018.
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.
Some stellar performances by seasoned veterans and promising youngsters continued to raise the bar in Olympic sports but there was heartbreak in equal measure when corruption scandals blighted India's favourite obsession, cricket, in a see-saw year for the country's sportspersons.
As preparations for the Rio Olympics gather pace, India may be headed for yet another paltry medal haul.
Criticised for lack of planning, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) decided to accept the recommendations of Abhinav Bindra-led review committee, which looked into Indian shooters' flop show in Rio Olympics, in 'toto' and said it will form a separate panel to ensure the implementation of the suggestions.
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.
India's 572 athletes hope to return home with an overflowing treasure chest of medals.
London Olympics bronze medallist M C Mary Kom was on Monday voted the 'Most Valuable Player' of India's campaign at the Incheon Asian Games, at a felicitation for the medal winners by the contingent sponsors, Samsung India.
Indian men ended their campaign in the pistol events on a winning note by 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 in Incheon on Friday.
Away from the cricket field, it was a year in which Sania Mirza was unarguably the biggest success story with her staggering 10 titles on the Tour -- two of them Grand Slams.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah handed over urns containing the ashes of the late leader to the party's state unit chiefs.
'If we manage to transform even one homophobic person, that will be a victory for the film.'
Two unassuming young women saved India the humiliation of returning empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time since Barcelona in 1992 with awe-inspiring performances at Rio.
An Olympic campaign saved by the fortitude of three women, a cricket team that rediscovered itself under a bold and zealous Virat Kohli -- Indian sports in 2016 was a dramatic mix of highs and lows wherein athletes mostly raised the bar but administrators found new ways to embarrass the country.
A round-up of Indians' showing on the fifth day of the 17th Asian Games, in Incheon, on Wednesday.
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