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.
'Everyone has to recalibrate their plans, preparations, peaking, meaning the tournaments they will play in in the lead-up to the Olympics.'
This is Rai's second medal having claimed the top prize in 10m air pistol mixed event with Heena Sidhu on Monday.
From Michael Clarke to Rohit Sharma, the global cricket fraternity on Thursday woke up singing paeans to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hours after India's most successful skipper sprang a surprise by stepping down from limited overs captaincy. Former England skipper Michel Vaughan described Dhoni as one of the greatest captains to have ever led a cricket team. "Even one of the greatest captains of all time decides enough is enough ... Well done @msdhoni on an incredible leadership term," Vaughan wrote on his Twitter page.
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.
Known for his Zen-like poise and preparation bordering on self-flagellation, the Olympic gold medallist shooter has mastered the art of defying expectations from a nation of 1.2 billion that has rarely tasted success in Olympic sport.
'I don't think we have ever had so many top players either in singles or doubles,' says badminton legend Prakash Padukone.
The sheer diversity of medal winners was a heartwarming aspect of the Games for India. There were medals from squash, although not gold, there were nine medals from boxing, 12 from wrestling, 16 from shooting and nine from weightlifting.
The focus is firmly trained on teen sensation Manu Bhaker as the fancied Indian shooting team eyes a head start at the 21st Commonwealth Games
>There's still hope and plenty to play for, says Rediff.com's Aruneel Sadadekar.
A star-studded Indian shooting contingent will begin their Rio Olympics campaign on Saturday with in-form Jitu Rai hoping to launch the country's medal haul in an event which will also see his more illustrious senior colleague Abhinav Bindra aiming to end his glorious career on a high.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
As the curtain comes down on 2014, here's a look at the five best performances over the last 12 months. And, guess what? Two Indian sportsmen figure in the list!
Looking back, the Indians had rubbed their hands in delight at the variety of marquee events at home the sporting calendar of 2017 offered, and they now look forward, with optimism and anticipation, to a challenging 2018.
The Indian men ended their campaign in the pistol events on a winning note, shooting down a silver medal in the 25m centre fire event even as the women's team exited from the 50m three-position competition without success at the Asian Games, on Friday. The men pistol shooters - spearheaded by London Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar - clinched second place with a total score of 1740, two behind gold medallists China.
Criticised for lack of planning, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) decided to accept the recommendations of Abhinav Bindra-led review committee, which looked into Indian shooters' flop show in Rio Olympics, in 'toto' and said it will form a separate panel to ensure the implementation of the suggestions.
Captain Rani Rampal's clinical strike helped India beat South Africa 1-0 to seal their place in the semi-finals of the women's hockey event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, on Tuesday.
India assured themselves of at least another silver medal in the 17th Asian Games after the trio of Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Sandeep Kumar entered the final of the compound men's team archery event in Incheon on Thursday.
Indian men ended their campaign in the pistol events on a winning note by shooting down a silver medal in the 25m centre fire event even as the women's team exited from the 50m three-position competition without success at the Asian Games in Incheon on Friday.
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.
As preparations for the Rio Olympics gather pace, India may be headed for yet another paltry medal haul.
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.
Indian sports had a lot to celebrate despite a decrease in the medal count at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
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.
Commonwealth and Asian Games champion shooter Jitu Rai talks to Harish Kotian about his journey from a farmer in a remote village in Nepal to the Indian army to emerging one of world's best shooters.
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.
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.
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