And in a once-in-a-lifetime moment, the finalists got to race and dream in front of the eight-time Olympic champion himself.
The Indian men's recurve team produced its most stirring performance in recent memory to stun heavyweights South Korea in a nerve-wracking shoot-off to clinch its first Asian Archery Championships gold in 18 years, in Dhaka, on Friday.
Ariarne Titmus has retired from competitive swimming at the age of 25, ending a stellar career that featured one of the sport's great rivalries with American Katie Ledecky.
What we saw was not just a player finding form; it was a young woman reclaiming belief. Every shot, every sprint between the wickets, every moment of composure was rebellion. A fierce rebellion against doubt, against erasure, against the quiet cruelty of being left out, points out Prem Panicker.
Neeraj Chopra may have clinched the Golden Spike title in his maiden appearance at the meet, but the former Olympic champion was far from satisfied with his performance.
Pranati Nayak secured a bronze medal in the Vault Final at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup in Antalya, Turkey.
Kevin De Bruyne will leave Manchester City after a decade at the club having lifted six Premier League titles, as well as winning the Champions League and Club World Cup in 2023.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
American great Brady Ellison believes India's archers are always "in hunt" for that elusive Olympic medal.
Former World No. 2 Ons Jabeur said she was putting herself first for a change and would take control of her schedule after becoming depressed during a punishing run on tour.
If the men of 1983 gave India a reason to dream, the women of 2025 could give it something rarer -- the courage to live that dream in full daylight, under an open sky that finally belongs to them, points out Prem Panicker.
Neeraj Chopra spoke a bit about his hopes from the next season, his love for all things Swiss and the eager traveller in him who doesn't mind giving in to occasionally unplanned wanderlust.
'I have no idea what's happening right now, I'm not in a dream, it's just crazy. I'm just so happy with my performance these past two weeks.'
The world championships finally caught fire on Tuesday as the fans turned up to say farewell to Yelena Isinbayeva, only for the Russian pole vault queen to roll back the years and win an emotional gold medal against all the odds.
Pranati Nayak, who represented the country at the Tokyo Olympics, came up with a total score of 13.417 in the vault final to finish third, behind American duo of Jayla Hang (13.667) and Claire Pease (13.567).
Kerley leads home American sweep of men's world 100m final
Lieutenant Colonel C Dwarakesh is the only completely blind officer to continue in the Indian Army after losing his eyesight while in service. In his remarkable journey after disability, he enhanced his education qualification, scaled the Siachen Glacier and found purpose in sport.
Abhinav Bindra cautioned the Paris-bound contingent against dwelling on past glories or future expectations
Indian para athletes record best ever finish at World Championship, earn 17 quota places for Paris Games
'if my body is giving me company why should I stop the sport? Some foreign athletes run till 35 or 37. So I wanted to set an example for other athletes that age does not matter,' says MR Poovamma, Arjuna Awardee and the senior-most member of the Paris Olympics-bound Indian women's 4x400m relay team.
Having become the first Indian male athlete to qualify for the long jump finals in the World Championships, the Sreeshankar raised hopes of a historic medal in the showpiece event, but his performance in the finals was way below his season's and personal best of 8.36m.
Neeraj Chopra would now be eyeing a top finish when he goes up against familiar rivals in the prestigious Paris Diamond League
Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh set a new world record in the women's high jump, clearing 2.10 meters at the Paris Diamond League.
The first edition of the World Bowling League backed by celebrity cricketer Virat Kohli and baseball star Mookie Betts, will roll out with six franchises competing in iconic locations early next year.
'We have just scratched the surface because cricket has been around for the longest time.'
The sports ministry cleared the final contingent that also features 140 support staff and officials, of which 72 "have been approved at cost to the Government" to meet the "requirements" of the travelling sportspersons.
Disappointing, wanted to go out on a high: Emotional Devine bids farewell to game
Vijayveer Sidhu won India's fourth gold medal at the ISSF World Cup after he emerged victorious in the men's 25m rapid-fire pistol event in Buenos Aires.
Several Indian athletes secured their spots for the upcoming Paris Olympics, with Jyothi Yarraji becoming the country's first female 100m hurdler to qualify.
Rongali, who had won a silver in the Asian Para Games last year in China, produced a personal best of 10.63m but that was enough for a fifth-place finish in a top-class field.
Rishabh Pant has been nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
India squandered a golden opportunity to return with two titles as both Lakshya Sen and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty signed off with runner-up finishes at the Hong Kong Open Super 500 in Hing Kong on Sunday.
The weight category sports at the Olympics are wrestling, boxing, taekwondo, judo and weightlifting. Most of these are combat sports and weight categories are designed to match athletes with competitors of similar size.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen completed a golden double by capturing the men's 1,500 metres title on the final day of the World Indoor Athletics Championships
Gout Gout underlined his startling potential and earned more comparisons with Usain Bolt by running the 200 metres in a wind-assisted 19.98 seconds at the Queensland state championships.
India tops medal table in SAAF Senior C'ships; Lankan star Pathirage clinches javelin gold
The 2023 World Athletics Championships kicked off in Budapest on August 19.
Germany's Alica Schmidt will compete in the 4x400 metres relay at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sha'Carri Richardson, who won Olympic silver in the 100 at the Paris Games, allegedly pushed Christian Coleman, who then fell into a nearby column after an argument.
Bhavina is a gold medallist in the 2022 Para Commonwealth Games and a bronze medallist at the 2022 Para Asian Games.
