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.
World Athletics on Tuesday suspended the qualification period for the Tokyo Games from April 6 to November 30, 2020, following consultation with its Athletes' Commission, continental association presidents and the Council. India's Deputy chief national coach Radhakrishnan Nair the decision would disappoint many Indian athletes.
Just being able to compete again is bigger relief for Neeraj Chopra than booking an Olympic berth, and the star javelin thrower says his comeback after a lengthy injury lay-off has given him hope that the hard times are well and truly over. Chopra qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.86m at the ACNE League meeting at Potchefstroom on Tuesday, after missing the entire 2019 season following a surgery on his elbow.
The year-long suffering she faced following the controversial "gender test" in 2014 has hurt promising sprinter Dutee Chand so much so that she still feels that she may get trapped and her resurrected career may be in ruins again. Two years ago, Chand's dreams of representing her country at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games came crashing when an indefinite ban was imposed on her, barring her from taking part in women's competitions due to her higher levels of testosterone (hormones primarily produced by male). Dutee fought the case at the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Switzerland which upheld her appeal, citing no clear cut link with higher levels of these hormones with enhancement in performance. She returned to competitions last year and broke the national record in 100m dash recently. "I'm not able to trust anyone. I am scared that I might get trapped again. I hardly have any friends," Dutee told reporters on the sidelines of the GAIL Indian Speedstar event. "I prefer to train alone at SAI camp in Hyderabad. I don't train at national camp at NIS Patiala. Some of the 4x400 relay members don't like me," she added.
Last three weeks have been sleepless roller coaster: Tejaswin after CWG inclusion
Shivpal returned home from South Africa just a few days before the suspension of international flights. He is currently at NIS Patiala, where he is training indoors because of the nationwide lockdown.
Livid with detractors for casting aspersions on her achievements because of a dope-tainted past, Asian Games gold medallist discus thrower Seema Punia said she has been 'ill-treated' by authorities, including the national federation, for many years now.
She threw a distance of 63.72m in the women's discus throw at the National Inter-State #Athletics Championship to punch her ticket to the Games.
A day after the Ministry of Home Affairs allowed sports complexes and stadia to open without spectators, National Sports Federations were deliberating ways to facilitate training of at least the Olympic-bound athletes. The lockdown has been extended till May 31.
Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has undergone an elbow surgery
Shot putter Karanveer Singh will be pulled out of the Indian team for the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok starting next week.
The son of a financially constrained tailor in Srinagar, Adil Altaf blazed to glory in the Boys 70km road race on Saturday.
Shot-putter Tajinder Singh Toor on Monday qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a new national record at the Indian Grand Prix 4 in Patiala.
Tokyo-bound AFI medical commission chairman AK Mendiratta dies of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 lockdown had wreaked havoc on her mental health to such an extent that discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur had started trying her hand in cricket to handle the psychological toll of the shutdown.
World Athletics Championships to be held in Doha from September 27.
Before joining national camp in early 2015, he was training at Tau Devi Lal Stadium at Panchkula after being shifted from Shivaji Stadium at Panipat.
'We don't know the cause of death. We will know it later after post mortem'
Sensational media reports of widespread blood doping in world athletics has also pointed the finger of suspicion at Indian athletes, though experts in the country are not very clear about how it could have happened.
'For years we train for the Olympics and when we are this close, how can we stop training?'
A Parliamentary Standing Committee praised the government for the wrestling and boxing facilities at the Sports Authority of India's Sonepat Center but pointed out that "excellence needs to be replicated for other sports disciplines".
The boxing camp is due to begin in the next couple of weeks for just the Olympic-bound.
In a bid to nab the four core group athletes who reportedly disappeared before dope tests were conducted by National Anti-Doping Agency in Patiala, the country's doping watchdog has asked chief coach Bahadur Singh to submit a report on the episode by next week.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said a team has been formed to draw up a post-lockdown Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be followed by athletes, coaches and other staff during outdoor training that will resume in a "planned manner". He assured the athletes that their training will resume soon but given the risks the coronavirus pandemic poses, the process will involve consultations with home and health ministries.
'Most of our elite athletes are in national camps so they are safer.' 'They don't have to go out to buy vegetables or groceries; they are not as exposed as we are.' 'Most of them work for government organisations, they get salaries and stipends.'
For star sprinter Hima Das, the two months of coronavirus-forced national lockdown was not all about confinement inside her room at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala as she improved her cooking and painting skills besides doing yoga. All the track and field campers at the NIS were forced to remain indoors since mid March only to be given go ahead to train outdoors from Monday, with focus on fitness without specialised-event training initially.
Verma wins compound individual gold, opens tally for India.
Sprinter Revathi Veeramani is part of the 4x400m Indian mixed relay team in the Tokyo Games, starting July 23.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
Mirabai Chanu will enter Birmingham, as title favourite.
World champion and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu says the injury is not as bad as first thought and she would need just two weeks of training to be competition ready.
The postponement of the Tokyo Games and a break in training due to the COVID-19 lockdown last year brought with it a shoulder issue for the weightlifter that could have led to a completely different result, something Chanu had been worried about.
Asian Games gold medal-winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday donated a total of Rs 3 lakh to the central and Haryana state relief funds to combat the coronavirus pandemic in India. Chopra is currently in self-isolation at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala after flying back from a training trip in Turkey.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday during his one-day whirlwind visit to discuss ways to take Indian sports forward amid speculation that the country might bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
In 20th edition of his radio programme 'Mann ki Baat', Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about water conservation, Rio Olympics and other subjects.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances