In an unprecedented move, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the country's highest sporting award, will be conferred on four athletes this year. The Sports Ministry announced on Monday that Olympic medalists P V Sindhu and Sakshi Malik will be honoured alongside trail-blazing gymnast Dipa Karmakar and ace shooter Jitu Rai.
Olympic bronze medal-winning wrestler Sakshi Malik is all set to be conferred with the country's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
'I did work with him for few a days because my Federation asked me, saying 'just give him a chance and see if it works for you'. But it was sort of miserable. I don't want to work with him. I don't find him competent enough'
It was mixed day for Indian shooters at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup as Olympic medallists Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang failed to qualify for the final round of the men's 10m Air Rifle event, while Jitu Rai progressed to the qualification round in 50m Pistol on the opening day at Fort Benning, United States on Thursday.
The Meerut-based Rizvi shot a world record 242.3 in the 10m air pistol event's final to beat reigning Olympic champion Christian Reitz of Germany (239.7) to win the top prize.
Indian shooter Manavjit Sandhu rallied to third place after the second day of qualification in the Men's Trap Shooting event at the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup being held at Rio di Janerio's Olympic Shooting Centre.
The official said Sukhvinder's brother Satpal possibly transferred Rs 2.50 lakh from Canada to his cousin Jitu Singh alias Jita in Gwalior to facilitate the November 7 killing.
Jitu Rai became the first Indian shooter to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics after bagging a quota place with an impressive silver medal-finish at the 51st Shooting World Championships, in Granada.
Former Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra will lead the 25-member Indian shooting contingent in the third leg of the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup (Rifle/Pistol), to be held in Munich from May 19 to 26. The Indian team comprises of 17 shooters and eight officials. But with the Rio Games less than three months away, all eyes will be on those shooters, who are selected to represent India at the Olympics. Apart from Abhinav, other Indian shooters in the World Cup team who will also be heading to Rio include the likes of Jitu Rai, Gagan Narang, Chain Singh, Apurvi Chandela and Ayonika Paul, Gurpreet Singh, P N Prakash and Heena Sidhu.
Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai and young Mehuli Ghosh failed to make the Indian shooting squad for the upcoming Asian Games, even as a few unheralded faces were picked for the quadrennial extravaganza, starting in Indonesia, from August 18.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Indian shooters Jitu Rai won gold while Gurpal Singh bagged silver in men's 50m Pistol at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Monday.
Gold medal-winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was the undisputed star as the Indian track and field team returned from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to a warm reception in New Delhi.
Women archers were on target in the individual events, while Manoj Kumar scripted a triumph of the underdog in the boxing ring on the fifth day of the Rio Games.
Beijing Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra fired India to the men's team bronze in the 10m air rifle event while booking his berth in the eight-man finals with the fifth-best score in the qualifications on Day 4 of the Asian Games in Incheon on Tuesday.
Rahi Sarnobat, on Wednesday, became the first Indian woman shooter to win an Asian Games gold medal as she triumphed after prevailing in a double shoot-off in the 25m pistol event in Palembang.
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.
The number of Indian teenagers winning medals at the big stage has gone up exponentially
India's Test cricket captain Virat Kohli has been recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the nation's biggest sporting honour, by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
He joins pistol shooter Jitu Rai, rifle shooters Apurvi Chandela and Gagan Narang, who all had sealed berths earlier.
Indians will enter the upcoming Olympics with heightened expectations
Jitu Rai struck gold twice with his pistol while Kerala's swimming sensation Sajan Prakash continued to shatter records and accumulate gold medals, adding a fifth to his tally, on the fifth day of competitions in the 35th National Games in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
With little over a week left for the beginning of Rio Olympics, the Indian athletes have started arriving in batches here for the sporting extravaganza. Most of the disciplines have begun sending their teams in batches and others are expected over the next few days. At the dining hall during breakfast on Wednesday, Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent, Rakesh Gupta had a short and pleasant meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, who was there to see the Olympic Village.
India earned their second gold medal at the 17th Asian Games after the men's compound archery team bagged the yellow metal by getting the better of South Korea, in Incheon on Saturday.
Rio Paralympcs silver medallist remains upset over being ignored for Khel Ratna this year and feels exception should have been made by the awards committee, like it had done in 2016.
Five-time chess world champion Anand and nine-time world champion Sethi will be mentoring the high-profile athletes signed up by Olympic Gold Quest, who are looking to improve India's showing from the last Games in London when they won six medals.
National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) President Raninder Singh took upon himself the blame for the shooters' dismal outing at the Rio Olympics, saying it was a mistake on his part to allow the athletes to train with personal coaches.
They may have been hitting the bulls eyes often in recent years but Indian shooters will still have their task cut out when they take to the range for the 51st World Championships starting in Granada, Spain on Monday, eyeing as many Olympic quotas as possible.
Commonwealth and Asian Games champion shooter Jitu Rai talks to Harish Kotian about his journey from a farmer in a remote village in Nepal to the Indian army to emerging one of world's best shooters.
India's shooters failed to impress on the third day of competitions in the 51st Shooting World Championship as trap ace Manavjit Singh Sandhu missed out on a final berth by a whisker while Rahi Sarnabot and Anisa Sayyed disappointed in women's 25 metres pistol, in Granada.
Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela has qualified for next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after clinching a 10m air rifle bronze in the ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) in Changwon, Korea.
Celebrated boxer M C Mary Kom will be conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award, while world champion shuttler P V Sindhu will get the Padma Bhushan among eight sportspersons named for the prestigious honours on Saturday. She is one of seven eminent personalities to be awarded the Padma Vibhushan this year.
Shooter Shreyasi Singh entered the 2010 Commonwealth Games shattered and with grief, gloom for company following the sudden demise of her father.
Country's largest paramilitary force CRPF has decided to appoint Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu as it's brand ambassador and bestow the honorary rank of Commandant on the ace badminton player. Official sources said the force has moved a formal proposal in this regard to the Union Home Ministry and after getting required sanctions, Sindhu will be honoured and presented the rank badges and camouflage combat fatigues of the CRPF at a ceremonial event.
Indian shooters Prakash Nanjappa, Amanpreet Singh and Jitu Rai made a clean sweep in the 50m pistol event at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships
The focus is firmly trained on teen sensation Manu Bhaker as the fancied Indian shooting team eyes a head start at the 21st Commonwealth Games
Jitu Rai, on Wednesday, continued his imperious form in the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup as he won gold in the 50m-pistol event at Karni Singh Shooting Range, in New Delhi.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, hosted the National Sports awardees, including Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu and bronze winner Sakshi Malik, at his 7 Race Course Road residence in New Delhi.
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