India's Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu, who captured the imagination of the entire nation by winning a silver medal at the Rio Olympics, has ignored Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali's offer for a 'better coach', saying that her current guru Pullela Gopichand is the 'best coach' for her.
Eleven days of action have failed to bring India, that won a record six medals in London four years ago, a single podium finish and there's growing desperation to end this poor run.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, hailed Saikhom Mirabai Chanu's gold-medal winning effort at the Weightlifting World Championship in Anaheim, USA.
From bitter fights to dope shame, Indian Olympic team's tryst with controversies
While about 8,000 people are in the long list of invitees, the select list features 506 A-listers, including prominent politicians, leading industrialists, top film stars, sportspersons, diplomats, judges and high priests.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu will have an outside chance of a podium finish for India when the weightlifter begins her campaign in the women's 48kg category at the Rio Olympic Games on Saturday.
"I saw the earrings on TV, I gave them to her in 2016 before the (Rio) Olympics. I have made it for her from the gold pieces and savings I have so that it brings luck and success," Leima said from her home in Manipur where a considerable number of relatives, friends and well-wishers gathered to watch Chnau script history in Tokyo.
Mirabai will desperately hope for a different script this time round, one that involves a podium.
The Sydney Games bronze medallist will be in action in the 63ks women's weightlifting event on Wednesday.
PM Modi, Olympian Abhinav Bindra lead country in congratulating Mirabai Chanu on winning Olympic silver on Saturday.
'I am very happy to win the first medal for India at these Games. I don't just belong to Manipur, I belong to the whole country'
Another gold medal in Paris would further elevate Neeraj Chopra's status as the greatest ever athlete in the history of Indian sport.
Congratulatory messages pour in for badminton superstar PV Sindhu on winning her second Olympic medal on Sunday.
An Olympic medal finally around her neck, star Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu on Saturday said she can finally take a break at home without worrying about training after managing just five trips to her place in Manipur in the last five years.
Six athletes from the track and field, shooting and weightlifting disciplines were on Wednesday inducted into the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, with the Sports Ministry including discus thrower Seema Punia and leaving out seasoned shooter Gagan Narang.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu says the triumph did not just lessen the pain of her Olympic failure but also ensured that missing her elder sister's wedding was not for nothing.
Chanu ended India's over two-decade-long wait for a weightlifting medal at the Olympics.
As we celebrate International Women's day on March 8, meet the Indian sportswomen who have made the nation proud with their superlative performances in the sporting arena.
Rediff.com presents India's Olympic wonder-women...
For some, the delayed Asian Games means more time to rest and prepare, for others the postponement has "messed up" their planning.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Newly-crowned weightlifting world champion Saikhom Mirabai Chanu says she thought of quitting the sport after receiving flak for her failure to win a medal at the Rio Olympics.
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.
'We have lost the importance of physical movement. It is important we encourage kids to take up sport.'
Also seen in action for India will be the shuttlers, boxers, the women's hockey team and the table tennis players among others.
The prime minister said everyone in the country is proud of Patel's contribution to India before it attained freedom and during the early years after the nation became independent.
An obsession with being 'neat, tidy and stylish' almost led her to archery, says world champion and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who feels a chance meeting with her eventual coach changed her career plans.
These athletes made India proud four years ago.
