With mind and body both more willing now, the only way for the World No 3 is up, says Dhruv Munjal.
P V Sindhu, will have to punch above its weight to salvage any hopes of a medal after being handed a tough draw in the badminton event at the 18th Asian Games.
>There's still hope and plenty to play for, says Rediff.com's Aruneel Sadadekar.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
India will not take part in baseball, bowling, fencing, karate, modern pentathlon, rugby, softball, soft tennis and triathlon because of the athletes' poor standards.
Women dominated this year's Padma awards for sports with tennis star Sania Mirza and ace shuttler Saina Nehwal getting the nod for the Padma Bhushan, while archer Deepika Kumari was chosen for the Padma Shri in New Delhi, on Monday.
Also seen in action for India will be the shuttlers, boxers, the women's hockey team and the table tennis players among others.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
A summary of sports events and persons in the news over the weekend.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
It was a day when India counted the silvers, a total of five, even though there was no gold in the tally.
Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth won their respective singles matches, while Satwik Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa triumphed in the mixed doubles to help India outclass Malaysia in the final and clinch the gold medal in the Mixed Team badminton gold medal match at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap knocked out top seed Lee Hyun Il of Korea in the men's singles opening round of the US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Anaheim, United States.
Some stellar performances by seasoned veterans and promising youngsters continued to raise the bar in Olympic sports but there was heartbreak in equal measure when corruption scandals blighted India's favourite obsession, cricket, in a see-saw year for the country's sportspersons.
'It was a big relief to get it out of the way. Now he can concentrate on future progress.'
India's 572 athletes hope to return home with an overflowing treasure chest of medals.
Rising Indian midfielder Manpreet Singh was named the 'Junior Player of the Year' by the Asian Hockey Federation in its Congress held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
They shut up the naysers with sheer success.
Away from the cricket field, it was a year in which Sania Mirza was unarguably the biggest success story with her staggering 10 titles on the Tour -- two of them Grand Slams.
Two unassuming young women saved India the humiliation of returning empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time since Barcelona in 1992 with awe-inspiring performances at Rio.
Leander Paes... Sania Mirza... Pankaj Advani.. Saina Nehwal... Ravichandran Ashwin... Anirban Lahiri... Vijender Singh... Who is India's Sportsperson of 2015?
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Behind sprinter Dutee Chand's rise is a hidden journey filled with pain and hardship.
An Olympic campaign saved by the fortitude of three women, a cricket team that rediscovered itself under a bold and zealous Virat Kohli -- Indian sports in 2016 was a dramatic mix of highs and lows wherein athletes mostly raised the bar but administrators found new ways to embarrass the country.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
The haul of 64 medals at the Commonwealth Games, in July-August, which included 15 gold, should act as the ideal springboard for the Indian contingent to better its medal tally at Guangzhou, China, four years ago.
'Shooting is number one.' 'Archery, wrestling, badminton and boxing.' 'These are the five where we stand the best chance of winning a medal.'
'Put cricket, first and foremost, at the centre of every decision you take.' 'The bottom line must always be the sport that we love.' Rahul Dravid as eloquent as always in his M A K Pataudi Memorial Lecture.
Full text of Rahul Dravid's Pataudi Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.
A round-up of Indians' showing on the fifth day of the 17th Asian Games, in Incheon, on Wednesday.
'The blood that runs in the veins of our family can never be anti-national.' 'They called Kanhaiya a traitor for questioning the Indian Army. Do they know that our cousin was killed by militants in Manipur while serving with the CRPF?' Archana Masih/Rediff.com travelled to the land of Lal Salam, Lal Sitara and comrades to find out what moulded India's most talked about student leader, Kanhaiya Kunar.