The turning point in his career was undoubtedly Nepal where he was sent as ambassador and acted with a cool head.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The All India Football Federation is set to recommend Sunil Chhetri for the country's fourth highest civilian award -- the Padma Shri -- a huge recognition for the nation's all-time leading goal-scorer should he get the honour.
Requesting the International Boxing Association to revoke the provisional suspension on L Sarita Devi, Boxing India President Sandeep Jajodia said her unconditional apology and her impeccable past disciplinary record would form the crux of her defence in front of the world body.
Lonato Shotgun Worlds: India's male trap shooters disappoint on Day 1
Virat Kohli's woeful form continued as India 'A' were shot out for a paltry 135 by Australia 'A' in the second unofficial 'Test' in Chennai on Wednesday.
Three Sikh men and a woman, convicted of carrying out a revenge attack on Lt Gen Brar for his role as commander of Operation Blue Star in 1984 were on Tuesday sentenced by a British court to between 10 and 14 years in prison.
Satish Kumar (+91kg) entered the semi-finals of the Asian Boxing Championships, joining L Devendro Singh (49kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Vikas Krishan (75kg) who had earlier assured themselves of medals and places in the October World Championships.
Chennaiyin FC lifted their game to a level befitting the occasion and sent fancied Bengaluru FC crushing to a painful 2-3 defeat, clinching the Indian Super League title in style, in Bangalore, on Saturday.
Worried about the administrative logjam in Indian boxing, recently-crowned WBO Asia Pacific champion Vijender Singh pleaded with the officials to put together a new federation at the earliest for the sake of country's pugilists.
He is the only Indian to get a start in an Europa League game but the country's numero uno goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu revealed that Bengaluru FC pays him much more than what he used to get at Norwegian club Stabaek FC.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
World Championships bronze-medallist Shiva Thapa (56kg), on Thursday, became the first Indian boxer to make the cut for this year's Olympics by entering the Asian Qualifying Tournament's final but the celebrated M C Mary Kom (51kg) failed to book her Rio Games ticket after losing in the last-four stage, in Qian'an, China.
Banks recovered Rs 18,933 crore (Rs 189.33 billion) worth of bad loans during the April-December period.
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.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said monetisation of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) assets is based on the principle of value creation for the government and investors and would bring about a paradigm shift in infrastructure augmentation and maintenance. Chairing the National Workshop with the states/UTs on Asset Monetisation organised by Niti Aayog, the minister sought the collaboration of states for the holistic development of infrastructure. She said India can become a $5 trillion economy, while striking the right balance between fiscal imperatives and socio-economic welfare, through active collaboration between the public and private sector.
Punjab footballer Tony Sandhu and Kabaddi player Mangi Bagga from Punjab's Shahkot started the initiative to help protesters with accommodation at the Singhu border. The makeshift arrangement is currently being used by approximately 2,000 people.
Influential skipper Sunil Chhetri has been ruled out of India's World Cup qualifier against Iran owing to a groin injury, dealing a body blow to the beleaguered outfit's prospects of putting up a fight. The match for Russia 2018 World Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 is slated to be played in Tehran on Thursday. A 22-member team on Monday left for the forthcoming game. Six players from the list of 28 probables, including injured striker Chhetri, didn't travel with the squad. "We had to take some bold decisions and we have to travel to Tehran without our influential captain Sunil Chhetri," national coach Stephen Constantine said. "He will be badly missed." Chhetri has been ruled out following a groin injury which he had picked up in the I-League.
The Indian shooting contingent is gearing up to earn more Olympic quota places in the Asian Shooting Championship that gets underway in Doha from Friday.
India finally tasted victory after five straight losses in their 2018 football World Cup qualifying campaign as they beat Guam by a solitary goal in Bangalore on Thursday.
Microsoft's Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella, in communication with employees, said the company will align its cost structure with revenue and customer demand.
US President Trump "presented the Legion of Merit to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership in elevating the US-India strategic partnership," O'Brien said in a tweet.
Determined to keep the Olympic dream alive despite the long-standing administrative mess, a spirited Indian boxing team, featuring the likes of M C Mary Kom and Shiva Thapa, will take off on Monday night for the Asian Qualifiers in Qian'an City, China. Ten men and three women form the 13-strong team which will be in action from March 25. In the men's competition, only the top three boxers in each weight category will make the Olympic cut with the third spot decided via a box-off between the two bronze-medallists. In the women's draw, only the gold and silver medal winners will qualify for Rio de Janeiro. In the absence of a recognised federation, the Indians will once again compete under the flag of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). "It is going to be a very tough tournament because not many from the Asian region qualified during last year's World Championships. I am expecting around 30 countries and more than 250 boxers to be there at this event," national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu told PTI ahead of the team's departure.
Joining the bandwagon of companies slashing mobile Internet tariffs, telecom operator Tata Docomo on Tuesday announced a cut in its 2G and 3G mobile Internet rates by a whopping 90 per cent from 10 paise to 1 paisa per kilobytes from July 1.
Though Kerala Blasters battled valiantly, Chhetri scored the winner with a brilliant header in the 55th minute to preserve his side's unbeaten record in the ISL.
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.
Rising Indian boxer Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar(64kg) endured draining contests but came out triumphant to enter the quarterfinals on a bitter-sweet day for India in the World Boxing Championships in Almaty (Kazakhstan) on Monday.
Code Name: Tiranga, on the other hand, is a disaster.
India's highest ranked squash player and World No 15 Saurav Ghosal and women's No 1 seed Joshna Chinappa toyed with their respective rivals to defend their titles successfully in the 38th Bombay Gymkhana-HSBC Maharashtra State Open Senior Squash Championship in Mumbai on Saturday.
One lakh copies of the three agri laws were burnt at the Singhu border alone, said Paramjeet Singh of Samyukta Kisan Morcha.
FC Goa took the lead through Igor Angulo (20th minute) and Redeem Tlang (23rd) before Suresh Wangjam (33rd) reduced Bengaluru's deficit.
Needing to overturn a 0-1 first leg defeat in their away match on September 27, Bengaluru conceded a goal in as early as the fourth minute when Nuriddin Davronov converted a penalty, to put the Tajikis 1-0 up.
Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Mandeep Jangra took just over a minute to force his rival out of the contest with a bloodied face and book a pre-quarterfinal berth in the Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok.
Chennaiyin FC stand in the way as Bengaluru FC, the model club of Indian football, seek a triumphant conclusion to what has been a remarkable maiden campaign in the Indian Super League, in Bengaluru on Saturday.
A star-studded Indian shooting contingent will begin their Rio Olympics campaign on Saturday with in-form Jitu Rai hoping to launch the country's medal haul in an event which will also see his more illustrious senior colleague Abhinav Bindra aiming to end his glorious career on a high.
Mumbai crushed Saurashtra by an innings and 21 runs in the final to win their 41st Ranji Trophy title, in Pune, on Friday.
It was the first meeting between the countries in more than two decades and has been dubbed 'The Earth Derby' as it features nations that are home to a third of the world's population.
A police officer said that during the investigation names of two suspects residing in Pakistan and Germany, both from banned Sikh organisations, have emerged.
Volunteers from a multitude of non-profit organisations have been supplying coffee, tea, milk, jaggery, dates, and peanuts to the farmers in their trolleys and sheds.