Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra hopes India's medal haul can touch the double-digit mark in Tokyo, which will be an unprecedented achievement.
The frustration for aspirant Olympians has been palpable and athletes like table tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran have been forced to innovate to stay sharp during the lengthy lockdowns.
The Planning Committee encouraged athletes to maintain their physical fitness and strictly follow their diet charts. AFI's Planning Committee conveyed its message to athletes during an online meeting with the national campers, coaches and support staff.
Batra said athletes and officials travelling abroad for training and competitions should be careful and restrict their movements. India's own COVID-19 daily case count surpassed the 3 lakh mark on Thursday with more than 2,000 deaths.
Like all of us, Bollywood's favourite pastime is to catch up on the latest shows and films on OTT.
Vij said that sportspersons' objection to the government plan is not justified.
The Padma Bhushan was conferred on 17 personalities including N Chandrasekharan, chairman of Tata Sons, Krishna and Suchita Ella of Bharat Biotech, Cyrus Poonawalla, Satya Nadella, chairman of Microsoft, Sunder Pichai, chairman of Google.
India has huge expectations from these champions. Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi and Norma Godinho glance at their chances at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Slipping out of the usual top-five was seen as a real possibility in absence of shooting but phenomenal success in athletics and lawn bowls propelled India to a commendable fourth place finish at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
'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.'
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.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
A summary of major figures and facts at the Tokyo Games.
Tokyo should remain the benchmark and source of inspiration till at least Paris 2024. In the shorter run, India's preparations for the Asian and Commonwealth Games next year must begin based on lessons learnt now, asserts Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry.
The Athletics Federation of India has threatened action against all those who do not perform well in the Olympics after deciding not to withdraw long jumper M Sreeshankar and 20km race walker KT Irfan from the Tokyo Games despite a dip in their form.
Athletes and officials from eight disciplines of archery, badminton, table tennis, hockey, judo, gymnastics, swimming and weightlifting landed in Tokyo
the silver lining is that the men's 4x400m relay team is set to qualify for the World Championships as it is placed at 14th out of 16 to make the cut.
The world braced up to a post-Bolt era but for India there was no momentous change as the country's athletes did nothing for the global audience to take note of.
"#HimaDas speaking to media after her SF win at #iaaftampere2018 @iaaforg Not so fluent in English but she gave her best there too. So proud of u #HimaDas Keep rocking & yeah,try ur best in final!" the AFI wrote on its Twitter handle.
'I did not have the privilege of someone holding my hand and guiding me. I had to chart my own journey.'
Delhi High Court clears Indian judoka Jasleen to compete at CWG
A student of Delhi's Ramjas College, Antil was an able-bodied wrestler before his accident. A para athlete in his village initiated him to the sport in 2018.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unfurl the national flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Sunday to celebrate the country's 75th Independence Day and two Mi-17 1V helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will shower flower petals at the venue for the first time ever.
The sheer diversity of medal winners was a heartwarming aspect of the Games for India. There were medals from squash, although not gold, there were nine medals from boxing, 12 from wrestling, 16 from shooting and nine from weightlifting.
Confined to their hostel rooms at NIS Patiala amid the coronavirus-forced lockdown, some athletes, led by star sprinter Hima Das, have requested the sports ministry to allow them to train outdoors within the campus, which is out of bounds for outsiders right now. Deputy chief national athletics coach Radhakrishnan Nair, who is supporting the move, said that the Hima-led campers at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) are expecting a reply from the ministry in a day or two.
Well aware of their preparations and formative years, Modi's conversations touched upon the making of their success stories and also some fun queries like the one posed to world champion P V Sindhu.
The AFI has also asked its athletes to download the Government of India's 'AAROGYA SETU' App for tracking COVID-19 positive cases near them.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was left red-faced during Sunday's felicitation ceremony to award cash prize to Asian Games medallists as the parent body got multiple names wrong on the cheques and even missed out on one.
"The unfair and discriminatory" rules have drawn sharp criticism from the Indian Olympic Association, which has written to the Games' organising committee requesting it to ensure that mechanisms to prevent COVID-19 do not have any "adverse and detrimental impact" on performance of athletes.
It is difficult to predict who among the Indians will reach the final
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.
India's top-five finish not a given this time
"Our patience is a sign of our self-confidence, but no one should make the mistake of testing it," Gen Naravane said.
A look at the top 10 tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Yohan Blake had to settle for a second bronze and Elaine Thompson a single silver as Jamaica's vaunted sprinters failed to fire in the relays on the final day of athletics at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
Virat Kohli has emerged as the most valued celebrity in India for the fifth year in a row, topping the Duff & Phelps Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2021 despite seeing a dip in his brand value to $185.7 million last year from a high of $237.7 million in 2020. The annual report explained that brand Kohli faced a decline following the cricketer's resignation from the ODI (One Day International) and T20 captaincy and "associated exchanges" with the Board of Control for Cricket in India and recent on-field outcomes. "However, we believe that with the reduced workload after stepping down from captaincy, Kohli can focus now on what he is known for - his batting - and continue his journey on becoming the world's best batsmen," it added.
Ace Indian archer Deepika Kumari confessed on Monday that she needs to stop buckling under the pressure of performing at the Olympic Games and approach the biggest sporting stage from a different perspective to achieve desired results in future.
With the two silver and one bronze on Tuesday, India stood fourth in the medal tally with two gold, five silver and six bronze at the end of the third and penultimate day.
Even with an ongoing pandemic, theatres in many states functioning at 50 per cent occupancy, a quieter social life and fewer movies, Bollywood still managed to pack in plenty of drama and trauma, fun and festivity, love and war into the year.
Tea with Twinkle... Arjun celebrates... Tara meets a special friend...
