The bond between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Karachi-born Mohammad Bashir aka 'Chacha Chicago' blossomed during the 2011 World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan and has only grown stronger since then. Such is the attachment that Bashir has flown to Manchester from Chicago (approximately 6000 kms) for Sunday's high-octane Indo-Pak contest without a match ticket.
When Pusarla Sindhu won a gold medal at the 2012 Asian junior badminton championships, her cricketing hero Sachin Tendulkar presented her with a car. One can only guess at the reception the 21-year-old player will receive when she returns into the arms of 1.3 billion Indians after becoming the country's most successful female Olympian with her silver-medal performance in Rio. The fact that she had been beaten 19-21 21-12 21-15 by Spanish world number one Carolina Marin in the final mattered little for a country that until Friday had won a solitary bronze at these Games.
President Pranab Mukherjee presented five Padma Vibhushan, eight Padma Bhushan and forty-three Padma Shri awards at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
They shut up the naysers with sheer success.
Check out the complete schedule of Indian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics
Two unassuming young women saved India the humiliation of returning empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time since Barcelona in 1992 with awe-inspiring performances at Rio.
As preparations for the Rio Olympics gather pace, India may be headed for yet another paltry medal haul.
An Olympic campaign saved by the fortitude of three women, a cricket team that rediscovered itself under a bold and zealous Virat Kohli -- Indian sports in 2016 was a dramatic mix of highs and lows wherein athletes mostly raised the bar but administrators found new ways to embarrass the country.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances