Leonard Barsoton of Kenya and Ethiopia-based Bahraini athlete Desi Jisa set new course records in the men's and women's elite international section en route to winning titles at the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K marathon.
The Walther rifle imported by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who retired from international cricket on Saturday, is the same model which another champion sportsperson, Abhinav Bindra, had used to win a historic individual gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Bollywood star Salman Khan's appointment as the Indian Olympic contingent's goodwill ambassador has not gone down well with star wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, who feels a sportsperson should have been chosen for the role. Salman, who is playing the role of a wrestler in his upcoming film 'Sultan', was named goodwill ambassador by the Indian Olympic Association on Saturday in the presence of star woman boxer M C Mary Kom, hockey captain Sardar Singh, and shooter Apurvi Chandela among others. Yogeshwar, the London Olympics bronze-medallist, said he cannot understand what purpose such an appointment will serve for the athletes. "Everybody has the right to promote movies in India, but Olympics is not a place to promote films." Yogeshwar tweeted in Hindi. "Can anyone tell me what the role of goodwill ambassador is? Why are you fooling the public?" he added.
'Olympics is once in four years, and athletes have only one shot at glory, and it's important to have a holistic approach, use science, use medicine, use technology and engineering in training and that will make a difference'
Shooter Avani Lekhara scripted history on Monday as she became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, firing her way to the top of the podium in the R-2 women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event in Tokyo.
A trainee of former Olympian shooter Suma Shirur, Avani Lekhara became India's first woman gold medallist at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo on Monday when she shot a total of 249.6 in the 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1.
Unsparing on the under-performing shooters but equally scathing on coaches and the national federation, the Abhinav Bindra-led National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) review committee hardly minced words as it chastised the Rio Olympics flop show while recommending a systematic overhaul.
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.
'A dream moment', said the country's sports fraternity in unison as it celebrated the resurgence of Indian hockey at the Tokyo Olympics after the women's team advanced to its first ever semi-final, in Tokyo, on Monday.
Congratulatory messages pour in for badminton superstar PV Sindhu on winning her second Olympic medal on Sunday.
Cricket legend Rahul Dravid reckons there could be "a sense of doubt, hesitancy and fear" initially in the minds of athletes, as well as people in general, when sport resumes in the post coronavirus pandemic world. The novel coronavirus pandemic has led to either cancellation or postponement of all sporting activities worldwide, including the Tokyo Olympics.
The Sports Ministry has chosen 152 athletes across disciplines for Rs. 50,000 allowance per month for their preparations for next year's Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The National Rifle Association of India on Sunday welcomed the appointment of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as sports minister, saying the Olympics silver medallist would "add immense value to the development and growth of sports".
The man with the golden arm could surpass some, if not all, top cricketers -- the demigods who stand well above athletes from other disciplines in India
Olympic champion Neeraj admitted that his comeback from outside the medal position midway into World Athletics javelin throw final was 'challenging, but he knew that a good throw was around the corner.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach is baffled by India's lack of sporting success and will meet the country's Prime Minister later this month seeking more fund for the athletes, the country's Olympic association said on Wednesday.
Former World champion Dola Banerjee expects India's archers to break their Olympics medal jinx at the Rio de Janeiro gathering from August 5 to 21.
Faced with severe criticism from various quarters on the composition of Indian contingent for the Asian Games, the government is set to make a U-turn and name managers in 23 disciplines out of 28 the country will compete in the multi-sporting event.
How the 22-year-old Indian reached the Show Court at US Open, finding himself against 20-time Grand Slam Champion Roger Federer after beginning the year outside 350.
Aiming to improve its standing as a sporting nation globally, India is trying to adopt the models followed by Australia and United Kingdom.
'I have grown up in an environment where the dominant narrative of Indian sporting achievement was -- We can't.' 'These achievers have fought hard, built on each other's body of work and knowledge, and have today changed the script to -- We can,' notes Rahul Dravid,cricketing legend.
Sourav Ganguly emphasised the need for playing day/night Tests to attract more spectators to stadiums.
India's greatest ever Olympian Sushil Kumar strongly feels that panels similar to one headed by Justice RM Lodha to clean up the Board of Control for Cricket in India mess, is required to bring in more accountability and transparency in functioning of National Sports Federations (NSF).
With her silver from Rio, PV Sindhu is already India's most successful female Olympian but her World Championship triumph also boosted the nation's hopes of a medal in Tokyo next year.
Sindhu is now the joint highest medal-winner in women's singles in the World Championships history with former Olympic champion Zhang Ning of China, who won an identical 1 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze between 2001 and 2007.
Young Indian shooter Lakshay claimed the silver medal in the men's trap event of the Asian Games, in Palembang, on Monday.
Seventy years after Independent India won its first Olympic gold in hockey in London defeating Britain, living legend Balbir Singh Sr. went down the memory lanes and said he was overwhelmed by a sense of patriotism after the triumph.
A summary of Saturday's Track and Field action at the Tokyo Olympics.
Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia has revealed that a "deal" with his six-year-old daughter propelled him to win a record second gold medal in the Paralympics.
Sporting fraternity hails Sindhu's historic World C'ships gold
When Pusarla Sindhu won a gold medal at the 2012 Asian junior badminton championships, her cricketing hero Sachin Tendulkar presented her with a car. One can only guess at the reception the 21-year-old player will receive when she returns into the arms of 1.3 billion Indians after becoming the country's most successful female Olympian with her silver-medal performance in Rio. The fact that she had been beaten 19-21 21-12 21-15 by Spanish world number one Carolina Marin in the final mattered little for a country that until Friday had won a solitary bronze at these Games.
The abundance of talent is complemented by a confident approach which the likes of Manu Bhaker, Mehuli Ghosh, Anish Bhanwala and Anjum Moudgil will display at the Games.
Deepak Kumar and Divyansh Singh Panwar finished a lowly 26th and 32nd respectively in the men's 10 metres Air Rifle event of the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday
The NRAI has sent the names of champion pistol shooters Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma for the prestigious Arjuna Award, according to federation sources.
This time, India may win as many as 17 medals at the Games.
Renowned pistol shooter Jaspal Rana praised army subedar Vijay Kumar for clinching an Olympic silver medal, but felt the over-hyped build-up to Abhinav Bindra and Ronjan Sodhi's participation in the London Games could have affected their focus and led to their failure.
India lost the World Cup semi-final to Australia by 95 runs but that did not stop cricketers and other athletes the world over from acknowledging their good work in the mega event.
India has just 28 Olympic medals to its credit since making a debut back in 1900.
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.
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.
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