A look at the few bright spots, the many worries, and moments that made for a distinctly indelible 2020.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on sports calendars across the globe, resulting in cancellation and postponement of events, but it has also provided sportspersons a rather unexpected break. Indian sportspersons including some chess players plan to use the time to train and also be with their families.
Vinesh, Dutee, Bhaker also among nominees for 'BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year'.
India had a disappointing finish at the 37th Chess Olympiad in Italy.
Anindya Dutta relies on facts and figures rather than back stories to trace the history of Indian spin bowling, says Partha Basu.
P V Sindhu won the ESPN's 'Female Sportsperson of the Year' award while young shooter Saurabh Chaudhary bagged the honour in the male category.
Celebrated boxer M C Mary Kom will be conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award, while world champion shuttler P V Sindhu will get the Padma Bhushan among eight sportspersons named for the prestigious honours on Saturday. She is one of seven eminent personalities to be awarded the Padma Vibhushan this year.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
In January, Visa's chief executive officer, Al Kelly, said during an earnings call that "there's been a burst of the balloon in valuations in the fintech world". Noting that the trend of lower valuations "is a helpful characteristic of the current environment", he added: "We will look for capabilities and management teams that will bring more value to Visa than we can bring ourselves." Data from KPMG's Pulse of Fintech H2'22 shows that global fintech investment - via mergers and acquisitions (M&As), private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) firms - at $164.1 billion in 2022, was down 31 per cent over the year before. Indian fintechs held up better during this timeframe, attracting $6 billion, or a fall of 24 per cent.
Sreehari Nair could not put up with turgid and self-serious ones like Super Deluxe and Gully Boy. His list of favourite Indian movies of 2019 contains just five names.
Indian cricketers took to Twitter to convey birthday wishes to Chahal on his special day.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Shah Rukh Khan said all individuals are 'incomplete' in their own way despite any amount of 'power and stardom' as he wished the Indian Paralympic Contingent for the Asian Para Games 2018 at their send-off ceremony.
Mahi, Palak and 2 other Indians enter final at Asian Youth & Junior Boxing C'ships
Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand set to return to FIDE World Cup after 15 years with an aim to seal a berth at the 2018 Candidates tournament.
Chess player Soumya Swaminathan has been left a bit shaken by the storm triggered by her pullout from a tournament in Iran over the issue of compulsory headscarf but remains firm in her belief that religious diktats should not extend beyond places of worship.
In a kind gesture, Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand is giving financial support to the Indian team in their preparation for the World Blind Chess Championship to be held in Belgrade, Serbia from August 26 to September 4.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
Olympic bronze-winning Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh was on Tuesday added to the list of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardees, taking the total number of this year's winners to an unparalleled 12.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Defending champion Viswanathan Anand holds the edge going into the fifth game as white in his World Championship match against Boris Gelfand at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team will felicitate World Chess champion Viswanathan Anand on the opening day of their first cricket Test against England, beginning in Chennai on December 11. Dhoni will present Anand with a one carat diamond ring, worth approximately Rs 5 lakh, at a function organised by the All India Chess Federation.
Viswanathan Anand will not take part in the Doha Asian Games where chess will figure as a medal sport for the first time.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Paralympic gold-winners Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Manish Narwal were also given the Khel Ratna at a dazzling awards ceremony on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
Virat Kohli has set the bar high for the husbands and lovebugs out there. Check out some of them who take a cue from their inspirational leader...
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
With Viswanathan Anand resting, the Indian team managed to hold their own against the favourites before Yu Yangyi subdued B Adhiban with black pieces to secure another victory in the tournament.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Avinash Sable's national mark headlines strong showing in IGP 2
Chhetri's first professional contract was with Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan at a tender age of 17. It was a big challenge to overcome for a teenager and he buckled under pressure at times.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Aruna Anand, Viswanathan Anand's wife and manager, speaks about his preparation ahead of the World Chess Championship against Magnus Carlsen, which begins in Sochi on Friday.
Mountaineer Bachendri Pal was, on Friday, conferred with the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, while Gautam Gambhir, BajranG Punia and Sunil Chhetri, among others, received the Padma Shri.
The All India Chess Federation on Thursday felicitated Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand for retaining the world chess championship title.
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar says he followed his father's advice of not taking shortcuts in his journey and has passed on the same message to his son Arjun.
Former India coach Anil Kumble is in the running for the Coach of the Year award in the inaugural edition of the Indian Sports Honours, instituted by the RP-SG Group in association with the foundation of skipper Virat Kohli.
