A bitter court battle, followed by an embarrassing dope scandal, before some redemption through an Olympic medal -- Indian wrestling in 2016 mirrored the script of a Bollywood potboiler in which Sakshi Malik emerged as the new star on the horizon. For most part of the year, wrestling hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, making it a tumultuous Olympic build-up after two-time medallist Sushil Kumar found himself ousted from contention just a couple of months before the Games in Rio. The chain of events that set in ended up disgracing the sport before Sakshi emerged an unlikely saviour in the Brazillian city.
The reason: Vitaly Mutko has delivered victories on the sports field for the past decade and a half to match Putin's ambition of restoring national pride, and the Russian leader stands by the people who give him loyal service.
A relieved Narsingh Yadav has said he is eager to go to the Olympics now and win a medal for the country.
With Narsingh's participation in serious doubt, Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com spoke exclusively to Sushil Kumar's coach Satpal Singh.
World indoor 1500 metres champion Abeba Aregawi has been suspended from Swedish athletics after she tested positive for a banned substance, the national federation said on Monday.
Chanu has decided to present her case before the hearing panel of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) in Hungary.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Russia could be banned from participating in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics if proposed changes to the World Anti-Doping Agency Code announced on Thursday are fast-tracked.
The International Judo Federation -- which lists Russian President Vladimir Putin as its honorary president -- will allow the sport's Russian squad to participate in the Olympics, its head told Reuters on Tuesday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Sanjita Chanu will be conferred with the Arjuna award as per a 2018 Delhi High Court order, which directed the selection committee to consider her and keep the decision in a sealed cover to be disclosed only if she was absolved of the doping charges.
Over 500 dope tests every year in the last four years, specialised diet and nutritional supplements only from Germany -- these are the ingredients that went into the Indian weightlifters' sensational haul of five gold medals at the 21st Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast.
On Wednesday, the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) wrote to the sports ministry to comply with the High Court order.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
American Ursula Papandrea will continue to lead the sport's governing body as Acting President.
By forcing Kenyan athletes to undergo additional drugs tests before allowing them to compete in Rio, the International Olympic Committee is trying to intimidate his countrymen, a former running champion said on Wednesday.
The newly chalked Futures Tours Programme (FTP) and the hefty compensation of Rs 850 crore to now-defunct Indian Premier League franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala will be discussed extensively when Board of Control for Cricket in India's Special General Meeting is held in New Delhi on Monday.
Individual Russian track and field athletes assessed as clean will be able to compete for their country in Brazil, the Olympic Games' top official said on Tuesday, diluting a blanket ban the sport's global federation had called for.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Continuing to back dope-tainted wrestler Narsingh Yadav, a top Wrestling Federation of India official on Friday claimed the 74-kg freestyle wrestler would have clinched the silver medal had he taken part in the Rio Olympics instead of being banned for four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
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.
More sporting bodies sanctioned Russian and Belarusian athletes on Tuesday over Russia's invasion of Ukraine
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Russia still needs to demonstrate a "cultural shift" in its commitment to clean sport if its track and field athletes hope to compete under the nation's flag again, IAAF President Sebastian Coe said on Friday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Barred from international competition, Russia is training its athletes at a series of special domestic tournaments and banking on hopes a doping ban will be lifted in time for this year's Rio Olympics.
Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford has branded the International Olympic Committee's decision not to impose a blanket ban on Russia at next month's Rio Games as "spineless" and expressed surprise that more athletes were not speaking out.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India insisted that the number of playing days per year for the ever-busy cricketers will decrease.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt on the national sports budget as the central government on Monday allocated Rs 2596.14 crore for the financial year 2021-22 -- a reduction of Rs 230.78 crore when compared to the amount earmarked initially for the previous year.
Jamaica's Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt has "no problem" with plans by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to test the hair follicles of athletes in a bid to clamp down on drug cheats in sport.
The sports ministry, on Thursday, received a hike of Rs 258.2 crore in the union budget for 2018-19, presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley in the Parliament in New Delhi.
Russian long jumper Darya Klishina will compete at the Rio Olympics after her ban from the Games was struck down by sport's highest court on the eve of her event.
In the wake of the latest findings of the McLaren report, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has ruled out taking the 2018 World Cup from Russia.
The coach of Brazil's national swimming team says China's Olympic champion Sun Yang tried to elbow and kick a female swimmer.
With the Rio Olympics less than three weeks away, the IOC on Monday promised "the toughest sanctions available" after a report found Moscow had concealed hundreds of positive doping tests in many sports ahead of the Sochi winter Games.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
World athletics' governing body has suppressed a 2011 survey that reveals that up to a third of the world's top competitors admitted using banned performance-enhancing techniques, Britain's Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD/WDR reported.
Jamaica's twice Olympic 200 metres champion Veronica Campbell-Brown was suspended by her national federation on Tuesday following a positive test for a banned diuretic at a meeting last month.
