The money-spinning Indian Premier League has mulled a closed-door edition in a desperate bid to avoid cancellation as the deadly COVID-19 sent Indian sports into quarantine after a government directive for fans to be kept away from all action to prevent the pandemic from spreading.
Amid a growing chorus in the party for his elevation, Tamil Nadu sports minister and son of Chief Minister M K Stalin, Udhayanidhi, was elevated as the deputy CM on Saturday with additional responsibility, in a cabinet reshuffle that saw the return of V Senthil Balaji to the council of ministers two days after securing bail in a money laundering case.
The Sports Ministry is set to establish 1000 Khelo India Centres (KIC) at the district level across the country with the help of sporting champions, who will be remunerated for providing their expertise. The centres will either be run by a past champion or have them as a coach.
Indian wrestlers have not missed a medal since the 2008 Beijing Games and the onus is now on Vinesh Phogat & Co to continue the trend.
Indian football team's head coach Igor Stimac has called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to ensure the team's participation at the Asian Games.
India will go unrepresented in five categories at the upcoming Zagreb Open in Croatia as Bajrang Punia, Antim Panghal and three others didn't give consent for their selection to the ad-hoc panel that announced a 13-member team on Tuesday.
A defiant Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will challenge its suspension by the Sports Ministry in court next week and has also called for an Executive Committee meeting in New Delhi on January 16 to discuss the way forward.
Fearing serious repercussions, the Indian Olympic Association, on Wednesday, asked the sports ministry to immediately resolve the controversy surrounding Kosovan boxer Donjeta Sadiku's visa.
'This is a structural measure with no time limit which will strengthen the commitment of the professional clubs and La Liga with Spanish sport.'
While Djokovic has challenged his visa cancellation, Voracova, a 38-year-old doubles specialist, decided to leave, telling Czech news site idnes.cz she would not challenge because of the time it would take to wait and not train ahead of the Australian Open later this month.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju is hoping India would be abe to organise sporting events in a phased manner by September-October, saying it will help in boosting the confidence of people amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sports Ministry had resumed training camps of some Olympics disciplines in the last week of May and Rijiju said events will also gradually start in the near future.
All India Football Federation (AIFF) appealed to the Sports Ministry, leading to this favorable decision.
The national football team is currently ranked 18th in Asia and the sports ministry's rule states that in team sport, only those in top-eight will get the nod.
The Ad hoc committee is tasked with overseeing and supervising WFI's operations, which include athlete selection, submitting entries for athletes to participate in international events, organising sports activities, handling bank accounts, managing the website, and other related responsibilities.
From wrestlers' protest to WFI elections: Timeline
Keeping their players' "safety and security" in mind, Mohun Bagan Super Giant have decided against travelling to Iran for their AFC Champions League 2 match against Tractor FC owing to the existing volatile situation in the west Asian nation.
The 16th Brics Summit beginning Tuesday in Kazan, Russia, is expected to see more focus on creating a sharper energy policy for Brics that ensures closer partnership among members in both energy security and energy transition, official sources said. The same is expected to be a part of the Kazan declaration, currently being negotiated, they added.
Shooter Bhowneesh Mendiratta's proposal for financial assistance towards a week-long training camp with foreign coach Daniele Di Spigno has also been approved.
It was learnt that 35 registered players, including seven foreigners, wrote to the club that they didn't wish to go to Iran.
Boxer-cum-politician Vijender Singh has said he has no qualms about admitting that he has paid an emotional price for the decision to make a political switch from the Congress to the BJP, but insisted that he had his reasons to do so.
The ban on Paralympic Committee of India notwithstanding, Sports Ministry has requested the International Paralympic Committee to allow Indian athletes to participate in world competitions under the country's national flag.
After seeking a delay in the Asian Games trials, the protesting wrestlers have now written to the Sports Ministry.
BCCI claimed that it had made the application in March and waiting for the clearance letter, a sports ministry official said it is yet to get it.
Deepa Malik, the first Indian woman to claim a medal in the Paralympic Games, has retired from active sports, a decision she took before becoming the Paralympic Committee of India president earlier this year but revealed only on Monday. The 49-year-old, who won a silver in shot put F53 category in the 2016 Rio Paralympics, was elected PCI president in the elections held in February under the directives of Delhi High Court. PCI has been denied recognition by the sports ministry.
WFI elections now to be held on August 7
Vinesh Phogat returned her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award to the government protesting against the election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh-loyalist Sanjay Singh.
The Sports Ministry-IOA row over the tenure limit guidelines has been settled and both have agreed to "work together with mutual respect and understanding", the International Olympic Committee said in a statement.
The former Olympian acknowledged that while the PHF's financial situation was challenging and that players had faced delays in their travel allowances and daily subsistence payments, these issues did not justify abandoning the national team and bringing disrepute to the country.
Apprehensions following the imposition of GST on sports equipment has forced the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) to 'approach' the finance ministry and take up the cudgels on behalf of a very concerned shooting community.
How will Russian athletes be cleared to compete at Paris 2024?
Non-emergency services, such as OPD and diagnostics, and elective surgeries at city-based health facilities, including at Centre-run AIIMS, Safdarjung hospital and RML hospital, are hit since Monday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
Sri Lanka was unable to progress to the Super 8s stage, finishing third in Group D behind South Africa and Bangladesh, who advanced.
With an aim to avoid controversy on giving away sports awards, the government decided to grant 90 per cent weightage to medal winners of Olympics, Asian and Commonwealth Games and World Cup/World Championships held once in four years for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awards.
Former world champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu's proposal to train in Paris ahead of the Olympic Games was on Monday cleared by the government.
Senior sports administrator V K Malhotra on Wednesday lashed out at M S Gill, saying the "meddlesome rent-a-quote" Sports Minister was out to usurp the autonomy of the National Sports Federations (NSF).
Kiren Rijiju said the coronavirus-forced nationwide lockdown, which has been extended till May 17, forced his ministry to delay the resumption of the training camps at Sports Authority of India (SAI) centres. The lockdown was earlier meant to end on May 3.
The National Rifle Association of India on Sunday welcomed the appointment of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as sports minister, saying the Olympics silver medallist would "add immense value to the development and growth of sports".
"He has taken the decision to step aside. He had no idea that the IOA was going to do this yesterday and has declined any post till his name is clear," Kalmadi's lawyer Hitesh Jain told a TV channel.
The Indian Olympic Association has been given time till Friday to reply to the show-cause notice issued by Sports Ministry which has threatened derecognition of the sports body if it does not reverse its decision to appoint scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as Life Presidents.
