Kareena was handed the honour of tossing the coin ahead of the WPL match between RCB and Delhi Capitals on Sunday.
Atkinson, at the grand old age of 73, exclusively tells Laxmi Negi/rediff.com that his heart would love Manny to win, but his head says 'Moneybags' has all the skills to pull it off.
Five-time World champion M C Mary Kom will spearhead a 10-member Indian challenge in the Asian Confederation Women's Boxing Championships in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, from March 16 to 26.
Every medal is a story of struggle, says the indomitable M C Mary Kom, who considers her fifth Asian Championship gold medal special as it came despite the many roles she has had to play outside the ring in the past one year.
Five-time world champion M C Mary Kom entered the final in the 48 kg classs at the Commonwealth Games, beating Sri Lanka's Anusha Dilrukshi , on Wednesday.
The celebrated MC Mary Kom needs to win just one bout to secure herself a medal, while Vikas Krishan got a bye into the men's pre-quarterfinals as Indian boxers were handed reasonably good draws in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on Tuesday.
Multiple World champion and Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom is among the 19 boxers selected for the senior women core group of probables for this year's Commonwealth and Asian Games.
Pinki Rani replaced an injured M C Mary Kom, while Priyanka Choudhary came in for the suspended Sarita Dev in the Indian squad announced for the Women's World Boxing Championships to be held at Jeju, South Korea from November 13 to 25.
'Those who don't believe in my character are free to come to Manipur and stay with me for a few days to know exactly who I am,' says Onler Karong Kom, Mary Kom's husband.
'It is performing for my country which motivates me every day.' 'That is why till the day I can give my best I will continue to be in boxing.'
Coaches being hand-in-gloves with athletes in usage of banned substances to win medals and later financial rewards from the government is well known in Indian sports but few have aired their views in public.
London Olympics bronze-medallist MC Mary Kom led the charge as six Indian boxers stormed into the final with comprehensive wins to remain in hunt for all the 10 medals on offer at the 12th South Asian Games, in Shillong, on Sunday.
After failing to qualify for the Commonwealth Games, India's boxing ace M C Mary Kom bounced back in style, beating Pinki Jangra in the selection trials in Patiala, on Wednesday, to qualify for the Asian Games.
Sukanya Verma returns underwhelmed after watching Mary Kom.
Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom once again led the charge as she packed a powerful punch by assuring herself at least a silver medal in the fly weight category (48-51kgs) after beating Vietnam's Le Thi Bang at the 17th Asian Games, in Incheon on Tuesday.
Ameesha Joshi tells Harish Kotian/Rediff.com what made her and Anna Sarkissian devote much of the last 10 years on a movie on women's boxing in India.
London Olympics bronze medallist M C Mary Kom was on Monday voted the 'Most Valuable Player' of India's campaign at the Incheon Asian Games, at a felicitation for the medal winners by the contingent sponsors, Samsung India.
Mary Kom fought back in the final three minutes but that was not enough to get the judges' nod.
There was a sprinkling of warmth and respect when former World boxing champion MC Mary Kom bumped into Bollywood star Ajay Devgn at an airport on Friday.
Legendary Sachin Tendulkar along with chess wizard Viswanathan Anand and tennis ace Sania Mirza are likely to grace India's first ever day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens.
Nupur Sheoran (80+kg) and the seasoned Pooja Rani (80kg) signed off with silver and bronze medals respectively in non-Olympic weight categories.
Mary Kom has been named as the brand ambassador of the upcoming 10th edition of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women World Championship.
'Will tell BFI to decide what's best for nation'
IOA also announced that Sindhu, India's only woman athlete to win back-to-back Olympic medals, will be the flag bearer of the Indian contingent during the opening ceremony on July 26, alongside ace table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal.
The legend of M C Mary Kom (48kg) grew larger as she added the Commonwealth Games gold to her packed medal cabinet, thrashing Northern Ireland's Kristina O'Hara in the final, in Gold Coast, on Saturday.
'I will try my best to win gold at the Olympics. You can be assured that I will put in more than 100 per cent to achieve it.'
Mary Kom was felicitated by superstar Rajinikanth
She becomes only fifth Indian woman boxer to achieve this feat.
Mary Kom (51kg) claimed her eighth world medal at the recently-concluded championships in Russia and BFI now plans to send the Manipuri boxer for the Olympic qualifiers in China
'It has made things easier for me in terms of planning for Olympics'
India's boxing ace, MC Mary Kom became the first Indian woman on Wednesday to win a gold medal at the Asian Games.
Refusing to share her exact concerns, Mary Kom said she would rather discuss them in the meeting with Mandaviya and BFI top brass.
The last year proved to be a period of reflection for Nikhat Zareen, one that taught her to temper expectations while also strengthening her resolve to fulfil her dream of becoming an Olympic champion.
Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom led the charge as Indian women boxers packed a powerful punch by assuring themselves of medals in each of the three weight categories at the 17th Asian Games, in Incheon on Sunday.
Great Britain's Nicola Adams dashed M C Mary Kom's hopes of making it to final, outclassing the iconic Indian pugilist 11-6 in the women's flyweight (51kg) semi-finals on Wednesday.
India's lone woman boxing hope M C Mary Kom and shooters Sanjeev Rajput and Vijay Kumar are upbeat about their preparations for the upcoming London Olympics.
On a mixed day for India, Laxmi Padiya (81kg) advanced to the quarter-finals but former champion L Sarita Devi (51kg) crashed out with a shock second-round defeat in the sixth women's World Boxing Championships in Barbados.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
'It is totally their own choice. I can't comment on their choices.'
Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) and Minakshi Hooda (48kg) carved their place in Indian boxing history by clinching titles with hard-fought wins at the World Championships in Liverpool.
