A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Rahul Gandhi has not erred by not engaging with Muslim conservatives. After all, they had misled his father in 1986 to legislate a misogynistic law after the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case, which helped the BJP rise at the cost of the Congress, says Mohammad Sajjad.
Star Australian opener David Warner has labeled the International Cricket Council's crackdown concerning on-field player behaviour "a bit of a joke". In the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup, the ICC made it clear they would be adopting a firmer stance on player behaviour, particularly exchanges between opponents as well as over-zealous wicket celebrations. But Warner, who was Wednesday night crowned Allan Border Medallist as Australia's player of the year, believes the crackdown has diminished the entertainment value of the sport. "It's been tough with the crackdown of the ICC at the moment - I'm not going to have a pot shot at them but it's becoming a bit of a joke," he told cricket.com.au. "The players can't celebrate as much. "Back in the day I used to love watching Glenn McGrath bowl to the West Indians, and them bowling to us, and (the bowlers) getting in the faces of the batsmen.
Having a young, untested leader makes sense for the Tamil Nadu BJP. But the new state president's immediate concern will be to gain acceptance within the state unit that is still in the grip of those with a strong RSS background, says N Sathiya Moorthy
As part of the charm offensive, New Delhi has invited global regulators -- including the FDA -- to visit Indian production units to get first-hand evidence of measures taken to ensure the quality of locally manufactured generics.
GIFT is a financial centre almost entirely devoid of bankers and, indeed, of people.
Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin does not face any threat to his full-fledged succession as DMK chief, just now. If he were to face any threat, it would only be against 'non-performance' as the party boss, N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Modi should not feel shy of proclaiming as the meaning of secularism regard for all religions in proportion to their numbers in tune with the spirit of democracy and adopting it as State policy,' says B S Raghavan.
An overview of India's underwhelming performance in athletics
National Anti-Doping Agency Director General Navin Agarwal says all the Rio Olympics-bound sportspersons have undergone testing for banned substances and are dope-free. He, however, conceded that there were issues regarding testing of a few Rio-bound sportspersons as they were not available at the 'whereabouts' provided by them as mandated under the Anti-Doping Administration Management System (ADAMS) of the World Anti-Doping Agency, but NADA was able to get their testing done later on.
"Will anybody want a servant that who is on vacation when needed at home? And nobody knows where he is," he continued.
Street art has emerged from its rebellious underground existence to a growing art genre in its own right. Ritika Bhatia maps the Indian leg of the movement.
The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India over the spot-fixing scandal in the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League and also questioned the return of Narayanswami Srinivasan as its president.
To elect, or re-elect a chief minister, the AIADMK needs to call only the MLAs for a meeting. But to elect a new general secretary, it would have to conduct direct elections with all registered cadres participating and voting. And that is just the beginning of its problems, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The PM added that developing the infrastructure in the north-east region is being given top priority by the government.
If we ignore Pakistan and direct our energies to more important issues at the UN, our position against internationalising Kashmir would be strengthened.
Narayanaswami Srinivasan was on Monday cleared of match-fixing and scuttling the probe into it that followed the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League, but the findings of the Justice Mudgal Committee have left Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals exposed, as their respective officials, Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, were indicted of illegal betting.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
After the United Nations declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day in December last year at India's request, the officers in the Ministry of Ayush began ideating about how to celebrate it in the country.
The Supreme Court has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India to follow the recommendations of the Justice R M Lodha Committee and "save trouble".
Just to be clear, "love jihad" -- a concept that claims that Muslim men court Hindu women to convert them to Islam purely to take over India -- doesn't exist, says Mitali Saran
'I am hopeful of getting all six seats from Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, either for the BJP or with our allies.' 'The same is true about Meghalaya.' 'We will have to work hard in Mizoram and in Tripura.' 'In Assam, we won seven seats. In 2019 election, we will add to this number.'
Even without Shah's TN visit and the rest, the increasing bonhomie between the BJP and the AIADMK factions in the state have become more visible than ever in the post-Jaya era, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The people of the state can be won over by love, and not by swords.'
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.
'I recall an encounter I had with a US Congressman of Cuban origin, who was hostile to India because of our continuing goodwill for Cuba.' 'He asked me why India was still friendly with Cuba and I gave him an honest answer that it was rooted in historical and friendly ties.' 'He took it as an affront and spread the word that an Indian diplomat had defended Fidel Castro in his chamber!'
Now that an elected chief minister is at the helm, it is high time the Centre initiate discussions to appoint a full-time governor at the earliest, given that the state is set to face some challenging times, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Will the 2016 assembly election be Stalin's to lead the DMK in?
Barring Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, all players have declared their allegiances to IPL franchises over their respective countries' domestic sides ahead of the upcoming Champions League Twenty20.
To no one's surprise, the first question directed at Indian Ambassador to the United States Dr S Jaishankar -- at the end of his first public address since he assumed his duties in December -- was about the controversial Devyani Khobragade episode.
'He represented the warmth, gentleness and goodness that existed in Hindi cinema before Bollywood became a loud commodity.' Aseem Chhabra on the legendary actor he admired for over 40 years.
Aziz Haniffa, who has covered every Indian Prime Minister's visit to the US since Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, gives us a peek into what's happening in Washington, DC on the eve of the Modi-Trump summit.
The curative petition and other legal remedies still available to Yakub Memon are part of his rights as a prisoner condemned to death. Does the Maharashtra government want to deprive him of these rights, asks Jyoti Punwani.
Inscrutable have been the ways of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. She is a political strategist and tactician rolled into one that her unpredictable ways have won the day for her - mostly, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Indian intelligence agencies have often claimed that left-wing extremists are trying to make inroads in the militancy-hit regions of north-east to foment further unrest. But Jaideep Saikia, noted terrorism and conflict analyst, claims, "People who speak of Maoism taking roots in the north-east have not read history".