Educator and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's indefinite hunger strike has entered its 20th day, with doctors warning of his critical health condition. Despite this, Wangchuk is resolute in his call for a peaceful march to Parliament on July 20, coinciding with the Monsoon Session's opening, to protest alleged examination irregularities and demand the Union education minister's resignation.
'Our conversations were usually brief and limited to 'Apna 100 per cent dena hai (we have to give our 100 per cent)'. Apart from that, we enjoyed some banter. Sometimes I would make fun of her, sometimes she would of me.'
'Don't let anyone limit your dreams.'
Esha Singh won gold in the women's 25m pistol final at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, setting a new world record score of 43. This is India's first medal at the Munich World Cup.
At 22, Manu Bhaker has already become one of India's greatest athletes by winning two medals in the same Olympics.
Jaspal Rana's obsession with shooting behind Manu's Olympic success
Young Parth Rakesh Mane finished seventh in the men's 10m air rifle competition at the ISSF World Cup in Munich. The 18-year-old shooter from Maharashtra also broke the junior national record in qualification. Other Indian shooters participated in the event, with mixed results.
Indian shooter Esha Singh credits her mental fortitude, developed after the Paris Olympics, for her recent success, including a world-record gold at the ISSF World Cup in Munich.
Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is also highlighting how the Indian sports scene is changing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Following is India's schedule on Day 7 of the Paris Olympics on Friday: (All timings in IST)
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 75, wishes poured in from across the country, with sporting icons Gautam Gambhir, R Praggnanandhaa, and Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker sending their heartfelt messages.
The duo finished seventh in Qualification 2 after topping the first phase with 582 at the Asaka Range.
Olympians Elavenil Valarivan and Arjun Babuta proved an unstoppable pair, clinching the 10m air rifle mixed team gold with a flawless display as Indian shooters continued their dominance at the Asian Championship (Rifle/Pistol) on Sunday.
India's shooter Rahi Sarnobat claimed the silver medal after enduring a weapon malfunction in the women's 25m pistol event of the President's Cup in Wroclaw, Poland on Tuesday.
India's ace shooter Manu Bhaker on Tuesday received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a government hospital in Jhajjar, Haryana, three months before the Tokyo Olympics where she will enter as one of India's brightest medal hopes.
Ramita Jindal ended seventh in the final of the 10m air rifle women's competition.
In the qualification round 21-year-old Simranpreet, who had won a silver at the World Cup in Lima earlier this year, shot 585, while Esha tallied 585 to finish fifth and fourth respectively and make the final.
India's schedule on Day 7 of the Paris Olympics on Friday.
The 19-year-old Bhaker, ranked No. 2, was pegged back by a technical glitch involving her gun after an impressive start saw her take one of the places in the top eight.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya revealed that 1342 athletes have been removed from the Khelo India programme in the last three years due to poor performance and doping violations, while 2905 new athletes have been inducted.
A day before the Tokyo-bound Indian shooting contingent hits the range for its first training session in Croatia, Manu Bhaker's pistol will give way to a pen and the shooting gear to her study materials, as she logs in for her BA fourth semester exam.
In the ranking match 1, Bhaker qualified for the medal round as the third qualifier with an aggregate for 14 points, along with Germany's Doreen Vennekamp (14 points), while Esha was eliminated.
Jaspal Rana questions Sports Ministry, NRAI for ignoring Manu's credentials for Khel Ratna
Priya Ghanghas's journey from a small boxing academy in Haryana to becoming the Asian Boxing Champion is a testament to dedication, talent, and a coach's unwavering belief.
Manu Bhaker and partner Sarabjot Singh will compete in the 10m air pistol mixed team bronze medal play-off match on Tuesday.
'To win the Olympic gold medal, I have been really working really hard for the past five years now, and it has always been my dream.'
Tokyo Olympics medal prospect Manu Bhaker has demanded action against two Air India employees for allegedly 'harassing' and 'insulting' her while the ace shooter tried to board a flight to Bhopal from Delhi.
This is the first time India will be hosting two Olympic quota competitions.
The India Basketball League (IBL), backed by former NBA stars, is set to launch in 2027 with the aim of building a professional basketball ecosystem in India. The league hopes to tap into India's expanding youth culture and create a sustainable professional structure for Indian basketball.
The team will be accompanied by six coaches -- Deepali Deshpande, Samaresh Jung, Manoj Kumar, DS Chandel, Ronak Pandit and Ved Prakash -- and two physios.
The onus will be on Manu Bhaker, Yashaswini Singh Deswal in women's 10m air pistol, and the men's 10m air rifle duo of Divyansh Singh Panwar and Deepak Kumar to bring India success on the second day of shooting event at Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
India's teenage shooting stars Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary smashed the qualification World record before clinching the 10 metres air pistol mixed team gold in the 12th Asian Airgun Championship in Taoyuan, Taipei, on Wednesday.
The more experienced Heena Sidhu suffered a similar fate, as she was placed 25th with 571.
Talented shooter Suruchi Singh came up with yet another commanding performance to clinch the women's 10m air pistol gold in the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha.
Bhaker beat a two-time World Cup Finals winner and the host country's Alejandra Zavala, with a 10.8 in the last shot of the 24 shot final, to come out on top with a score of 237.5.
The national shooting federation NRAI chose current form over pedigree to pick the squad for the mega event and it will be hoping they hit the bullseye at the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux.
Pistol ace Manu Bhaker has got a new electronic target installed at the makeshift shooting range at her home in Haryana in place of an archaic manual machine that was breaking down frequently and hampering her Olympics preparation. The old machine was causing her "immense irritation".
Check out how India's athletes fared on Day 8, Saturday, August 3, 2024:
Indian shooters selected for the two stages of the World Cup in Argentina and Peru have begun their final phase of preparations for the season ahead.
For someone who took to shooting just a little over two years ago, winning two gold medals at a global event of this magnitude would easily qualify as some achievement.
