Akhtar Ali played eight Davis Cup ties between 1958 and 1964 and also captained and coached the Indian team.
Sunil Chhetri likened the national team setup with his home and expressed his relief at returning to where he belongs
'RCB is a natural choice for us, mainly due to our long-standing association with Virat Kohli.'
But how much has the national team actually improved?
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
'I've always wanted to be a pilot; setting records is the icing on the cake.'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bhupathi's captaincy on line in Italy tie
India jumped two places to finish 2016 at 135, their best in the last six years, in the FIFA rankings published on Thursday. This is India's six-year highest annual ranking after 2009 when India finished at 134. National coach Stephen Constantine attributed the upsurge to all his players and the staff. "It can't be achieved without the help of the players. We have an exceptional batch of players as we are in the process of building the team for the future," Constantine said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
It all started in Zimbabwe for Manish Pandey and the stylish batsman is back in the African nation with an aim to establish himself in India's limited overs set up during the ODI and T20 series starting on Saturday. Pandey is set to play the first ODI on Saturday at the Harare Sports Club, a venue where he made his India debut in July last year. After making 71 in his debut innings, he went on to play three ODIs in Australia including the one at Sydney where he scored a match-winning 104 to guide India to their sole win of the five-match series. Ahead of the three-match ODI series here, Pandey recalled the time last year when he realised his dream.
The FIFA recommendations have talked about a unified league from 2019-2020 season starting with the existing 10 ISL teams and two others through sporting merit.
In a big blow to the players and officials, I-League side East Bengal have terminated all the existing contracts, citing 'Force Majeure' in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. Left with no option, the players have now knocked the doors of the Football Players Association of India who have assured full support and referred the matter to the world body for players (FIFPro).
Football captain Sunil Chhetri wants India to "set a benchmark" by regularly qualifying for AFC Asian Cup, the continent's premier tournament.
Former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia said on Tuesday that a merger of the newly floated Indian Super League (ISL) and the long-running I-League is neither going to happen nor is it advisable.
Chasing a third successive Asian Games medal, Indian boxer Vikas Krishan (75kg) made a strong start, out-punching Pakistan's Tanveer Ahmed in his pre-quarterfinal bout in Jakarta, on Monday.
There's a need to train 40,000 pilots over the next year-and-a-half.
'Interns, fresh MBBS graduates, nursing students, young doctors and nurses have brought pride to their degrees and their oath by courageously donning the PPE and caring for patients.' 'They are the foot soldiers of this war.'
The Chile national team has restricted the usage of smart phones to two hours per day in a bid to avoid distractions from social media in the run-up to FIFA Under-17 World Cup starting October 6.
'I hope Messi wins something with his national team and not only with his club, then he would have won everything with everyone'
Cricket could be part of the 2028 Olympics as the International Cricket Council is working towards getting the sport included in the roster for the Los Angeles Games.
As the country gets set to celebrate its 74th Independence Day on Saturday, India football team goalkeeper and Arjuna awardee Gurpreet Singh Sandhu wished fans across the world and stated that playing for the country "is a feeling like no other".
Ending speculation around the merger of Indian Super League with I-League, the All India Football Federation on Tuesday virtually recognised ISL as the country's premier league as per a new roadmap, which will have three more seven-month leagues in a hierarchical system from 2017 onwards.
He is certainly not the first to say this but World Cup and Ballon d'Or winner Rivaldo too feels India should follow the 'Japan model' in order to improve the standard of football in the country.
India badminton team have been accorded the top seed this time and are clubbed with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Scotland in Group A.
Reigning silver medallists India will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in a mouth-watering men's hockey contest of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
With exactly 10 days to go for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Local Organising Committee chairman Praful Patel, on Tuesday, declared that India is "100 per cent ready" to host the event.
Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan will lead the singles challenge, while Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan will make the doubles pair for the grass court tie.
Southampton confirmed that they had signed 23-year-old Walker-Peters, who spent the second half of last season on loan at the club. British media put the fee at 12 million pounds.
Salgaocar's Karim Bencherifa was, on Friday, offered a year's contract to become coach of the Indian football team but is unlikely to take up the job. His club made it clear that it will not release him for the national assignment.
Rory McIlroy got the dream start that has eluded him at recent majors to grab the first-round lead at the PGA Championship on Thursday, outshining the two other members of his 'super group' Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth.
Indian football icon Bhaichung Bhutia picked Kerala Blasters youngster Sahal Abdul Samad to be the next big scorer for the country after captain Sunil Chhetri's retirement. One of the youngest members of the Indian line-up, Sahal, who made his debut in the 2019 Kings Cup, has impressed coach Igor Stimac and Chhetri with his dribbling and passing abilities.
The 42-year-old batsman played 31 Tests and scored 1,944 runs, at an average of 34.11. He has five hundreds and 11 fifties in the longest format, with 212 his highest score.
'One state-one vote may not be a good idea in this country. There are Railways, Services, universities, Maharashtra, Baroda. Their arguments have impressed upon us to some extent. We may consider the issue in future debates'
As India's Dattu Bhokanal will be competing in the men's singles sculls rowing event fat the Rio 2016 Olympics, on Saturday, here is a beginner's guide.
'I had to start from zero, so it was very, very frustrating and very consuming-- mentally and emotionally. I threw tantrums. There was a point that I really wanted to quit swimming.'
National Anti-Doping Agency chief Navin Agarwal confirmed the former India captain was tested by NADA officials in March but declined to elaborate further.
Most of East Bengal's foreign players have left home but a few are still here along with the Spaniard Nodar who had preferred to stay back.
The abundance of talent is complemented by a confident approach which the likes of Manu Bhaker, Mehuli Ghosh, Anish Bhanwala and Anjum Moudgil will display at the Games.
The 2011 World Cup hero feels a player already has to deal with an intense pressure while on the field and the thinking about the virus will draw the attention away from focussing on the game.
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