India's first Winter Olympian, Shiva Keshavan, on Monday urged the authorities to come forward and help the athletes who are left to battle all odds in their quest to bring laurels to the country. Taking part in a panel discussion under the banner 'International Convention on Business of Sports', organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here, the youngest ever athlete to officially qualify for the Olympic Games in luge said, "We sportsmen are always very altruistic. We focus so much on doing well in our respective disciplines that nothing else matters to us. But, the government should come forward and help us nonetheless." The 34-year-old athlete from Manali took part as an independent participant in 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics due to the suspension of Indian Olympic Association (IOA). However, as the ban was lifted while the Games were still on, he ended up competing under the Indian flag. "I have taken part in five Winter Olympics without a coach. I always wanted to be trained under a good coach. But later, I realised that I wasted a lot of time chasing a lot of things," said Keshavan who finally found a coach in American Duncan Kennedy but had to part ways after a short stint due to financial constraints. "The government was only paying for a part of his (Kennedy's) salary," he said.
Shiva Keshavan reveals why he feels 'stabbed in the back' after giving his all for the country for 20 years and what keeps him going despite all the recent problems affecting him.
The Indian team is unlikely to get a new coach anytime soon with the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee member Sourav Ganguly today saying it will take another couple of months to find a suitable candidate for the high-profile position. This means the team will be without a full-time coach during its tour of Zimbabwe beginning June 11. "It will happen in the next couple of months. I am not too sure if it happens before the Zimbabwe tour because it is not too far away," said Ganguly, who is on the advisory panel, alongside Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. Post the short tour of Zimbabwe, India travel to the West Indies for a four-match Test series in July-August. Since Duncan Fletcher's departure, India played under the guidance of team director Ravi Shastri, whose tenure ended with the World T20 in March-April.
Shiva Keshavan wants to overcome a recent injury and end his international career with a flourish during the Pyeongchang Games, starting this week.
A breakthrough will come from what we teach and how, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
However, the former Australia captain, admitted that a good start by the Indian batsmen might pose a threat to Australia.
Touched by India's support in the aftermath of Phillip Hughes's death, Cricket Australia Director and former pacer Michael Kasprowicz has praised the visitors for being considerate in accepting the changed series schedule following the tragedy.
Former White House contender Christie's endorsement to Trump just ahead of the 'Super Tuesday' -- in which primary elections would be held in 11 states -- is expected to what is supporters said "seal the deal" for the 69-year-old reality TV star-turned-politician.
Pleased with his fast bowlers show in the 169-runs win over Sri Lanka, skipper Virat Kohi said that it augurs well for the tours to Australia and New Zealand.
Svetlana Kolesnichenko, the new standard bearer for artistic aquatics, added another European Championships gold to her huge collection of international medals when she took the synchronised swimming solo technical title on Monday.
Having scored a match-winning 75-ball-100 against England in the second One-Day International on Wednesday, Suresh Raina attributed his success to Team Director Ravi Shastri's pre-match pep talk.
The waiting ends for England's new Test captain Joe Root on Thursday when he leads his side out for the start of a four-match series against South Africa at Lord's on Thursday, nearly four months after his appointment.
Series already in their pocket, a rampaging India would look to keep the foot on the pedal and press for a clean sweep when they take on England in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer in Leeds on Friday.
India will be looking for resurrection against Afghanistan.
India's bowlers may have come under severe criticism for a below-par showing in the recent Test series in Australia but head coach Duncan Fletcher has defended them, saying the thrashing they got from the home side's batsmen was due to the inexperience of some of them.
Former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer backed under-fire limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying the time has not yet come to write him off, in Kolkata, on Monday.
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Newly-elected Board of Control for Cricket in India president Anurag Thakur, on Sunday, said the Board will advertise for the post of the coach of the Indian team.
Senior Board of Control for Cricket in India functionary Rajeev Shukla says the decision to give Team Director Ravi Shastri an extension till the 2016 World Cup was based on his good performance and rapport with the players.
Former India bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad said that Zaheer Khan's second spell is becoming a 'struggle' for the veteran left-arm pacer and also stated that none of the current India bowlers have the required variations to bowl with new field restrictions in ODI cricket.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India rubbished a report that it had held discussions with former England coach Andy Flower about taking over as the chief coach of the Indian team in place of incumbent Duncan Fletcher following the country's dismal show in South Africa and New Zealand.
Former India cricketer and the national team director, Ravi Shastri said it would be his endeavour to get left-handed batsman Suresh Raina back in the Test side in Mumbai on Monday.
After taking an unassailable 3-0 lead following the nine-wicket victory in the fourth One-Day International against England, India is likely to give a break to some of their key players in the inconsequential fifth and final match at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday.
Goals by Andrea Barzagli and Mario Lemina propelled Juventus to a 2-0 win at Atalanta Bergamo on Sunday and allowed them to restore their three-point advantage at the top of Serie A.
Gavaskar has held a position in the ICC as well, and the batting great said positions have never affected his service to the game as he speaks to serve the sport.
Wriddhiman Saha was effusive in his praise for India's new Test captain Virat Kohli and said the team was all fired up under the elegant Delhi batsman.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Asserting that the Indian cricket team does not require "more coaches" than what it already has right now, Director Ravi Shastri has said he might just be there "longer" than expected.
However, the BCCI instead named Ganguly to a three-member advisory committee, which also includes greats Indian Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman.
It will come as little comfort to India after going 2-0 down in the four-match Test series against Australia but the young touring party have already put on a much better showing than the much vaunted 2011-2012 vintage.
Whenever there is an international match at the EdenGardens, its curator Prabir Mukherjee finds himself in the news for all the wrong reasons. This time the septuagenarian finds himself in the eye of the storm for denying India's star batsman Rohit Sharma a chance to have a look at the wicket.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be put through the wringer when the four-Test series starts in Adelaide.
Newly re-elected British Prime Minister David Cameron is working out his first one-party Cabinet made up of Conservative party MPs without any Liberal Democrat coalition considerations of the past.
A New York doctor, the first person in the city to be diagnosed with Ebola, was released from hospital today after fully recovering from the virus, as Mayor Bill de Blasio declared that the city is now Ebola-free.
The challenge for Virat Kohli's team is not just winning the four-Test series, but winning it handsomely.
Chelsea maintained their stranglehold on the Premier League by beating Sunderland 1-0 on Wednesday to register their 10th successive win and move six points clear at the top of the table.
The all-powerful working committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India retained former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri as Director of the Indian cricket team till next year's ICC World Cup while deciding to hold its Annual General Meeting in Chennai on November 20.
The series against the West Indies is India's only chance to iron out flaws before embarking on the tough tour of Australia. Hence, skipper Mahendra Singh hinted that the hosts will try out a few things in the home rubber against the Caribbeans, starting in Kochi on Wednesday.
Suresh Raina, whose century in the second ODI helped India regain its confidence back after successive defeats in Tests against England, has extensively worked hard on tackling short pitch deliveries in the hockey turf.
American champion Tyson Gay continued his impressive buildup to next month's World championships on Thursday by winning the 100 metres at Lausanne's Athletissima Diamond League meeting in 9.79 seconds.
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