From the boxing ring to the shooting range to the athletics arena, it was India shining on the penultimate day of the 21st Commonwealth Games where the country claimed its biggest single-day haul of the ongoing edition, ensnaring eight gold medals across five disciplines.
Apurvi Chandela won the gold in the women's 10 metres air rifle event on the concluding day of the 58th National Shooting Championships.
Lakshaya and Kismat Chopra along with Manavaditya Singh Rathore on Thursday bagged the team bronze in the Men's Trap event as India ended their campaign at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup with a total of 24 medals to grab the second place in the overall standings. India finished with a total of nine gold, five silver and 10 bronze medals as the year's second and final Junior World Cup concluded in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
Ace marksman Abhinav Bindra belied expectations after failing to qualify for the finals of men's 10 air rifle event in the 51st ISSF World Championships, his hopes of earning an Olympic quota in this tournament going up in smoke.
Elavenil Valarivan and Anish Bhanwala, two of India's finest young shooters, were on Friday named in a 34-member core group for the Tokyo Olympics. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) released the list of shooters who will be training separately for the quadrennial sporting extravaganza, scheduled to be held next summer after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the Games back by a year.
Bollywood superstar Saif Ali Khan signed up as brand ambassador for Olympic Gold Quest on Monday and immediately pledged Rs 20 lakh a year to support the training of athletes for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
While NRAI has said it has been postponed, SAI says it has been 'principally approved'.
Teenage prodigies Anish Bhanwala, Manu Bhaker and Elavenil Valarivan will carry India's medal hopes in shooting at the Asian Games, beginning in
The national championship silver and junior world championship bronze-medallist, however, could not replicate her qualification form in the final, only managing a sixth-place finish with a score of 116.
After capping off his remarkable career as a full-time marksman by winning two bronze at the Asian Games in Incheon on Tuesday, India's lone individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra said he will only be a 'hobby shooter' from now on.
Chinky Yadav upstaged the experienced Rahi Sarnobat and the fancied Manu Bhaker to win gold as India swept the women's 25m pistol event of the ISSF Shooting World Cup in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Hitting the target with monotonous regularity, Indian shooters' dominance in a phenomenal 2019, at times, made world events look like domestic tourneys. Indian shooting's best show at the Olympics remains the two medals won at London in 2012, but if the shooters' exploits in recent months are anything to go by, the country can easily emulate or better that in Tokyo.
Octogenarian shooter Chandro Tomar, nicknamed 'Shooter Dadi', died on Friday after battling COVID-19.
Seventeen shooters, prominent among who is Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, are among 45 athletes selected by the government for financial assistance under the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Junior shooters deliver 2 gold, 1 silver for India at world championships
The Indian shooters failed miserably when it mattered the most
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
World No 1 Elavenil Valarivan was on Sunday included in a 15-member Indian shooting contingent for the Tokyo Olympics at the expense of quota winner Chinki Yadav, who had claimed a gold in the Delhi World Cup last month.
A round-up of Indian athletes' performances on Day 4 of the Asian Games, in Incheon, on Tuesday.
Manu Bhaker claimed the gold medal in the women's 10am air pistol, while birthday boy Deepak Kumar gifted himself a bronze medal in men's 10m air rifle at the 14th Asian Championship.
An actor of remarkable presence and gravitas, Vikram Gokhale's dramatic eloquence and cocksure authority sparkled every time he had to call on someone's bluff or leave them too tongue-tied to beat around the bush. Often though, his cold, composed stare was enough to put a dolt in place.
"We urge and expect the media to exercise restraint before publishing or reporting on details of the investigation, and report in such a manner that it does not hamper the investigation," the court said.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
The 20-year-old's top prize, however, did not translate into an Olympic quota for India as Apurvi Chandela and Anjum Moudgil have already secured the maximum two berths available per country in last year's World Championships.
The 16-year-old claimed the top honours in the men's 10m air pistol event at the season-opening ISSF World Cup.
The Delhi high court on Thursday refused to stay the release of several movies, purportedly based on the life of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, including Nyay: The Justice which is scheduled to be released on Friday, saying these films are neither portrayed as biopic nor factual narration of what transpired in his life.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist gymnast Dipa Karmakar excelled with a total of five gold medals for Tripura but the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) continued their domination in the overall standings on day six of competitions in the 35th National Games in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
Olympic silver-medallist shooter Vijay Kumar shone bright with a golden double even as half a dozen meet records sank without a trace in the swimming pool on the third day of competitions in the 35th National Games in Thiruvanathapuram on Tuesday.
'Criticism of Uddhav suits the NCP perfectly.' 'NCP members head key ministries in Maharashtra like home, finance and health, yet as chief minister it is Uddhav who is criticised for the state government's shortcomings.' 'Few hold NCP chief Sharad Pawar accountable for the performance of NCP ministers,' argues Sanjeev Nayyar.
A summary of Indian athletes' showing at the Asian Games on Tuesday.
The novel coronavirus outbreak has affected their Olympic preparations but India's top athletes like P V Sindhu and Bajrang Punia say they are optimistic about the quadrennial event going ahead as scheduled despite the current health crisis. Olympic silver-medallist Sindhu says she can understand the apprehensions of fellow shuttlers, including compatriot Sania Nehwal, who is racing against time to qualify for the Games due to the cancellation of tournaments in the wake of the outbreak. The Olympic Games are scheduled to start in Tokyo, from July 24.
A look at the posthumous releases of leading Bollywood actors.
Will India finally reach the elusive double-digit mark? Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry, for one, is willing to stick his neck out on the possibility.
Chandela shot an astonishing 252.9 in the eight-women final, finishing 1.1 points ahead of silver medallist China's Ruozhu Zhao (251.8) points.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
The administrators are busy thrashing out resumption plans but with the COVID-19 pandemic showing no signs of slowing down, India's sportsperson are pleading for caution as discussion rages on whether competitions can resume by August. Top stars from various disciplines want the waiting period to continue, while others pointed out at the loss it would cause in terms of fitness and readiness.
The ranges are bursting at the seams with young talent and Indian shooting's present state could be a harbinger of hope for a perfect future.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Sukanya Verma remembers the star in some of her significant movies.
