'That secularism in India is at risk is alarming for someone like me. I'm born secular,' Anjolie Ela Menon, the well-known painter, tells Pavan Lall.
Deepa Malik became the first Indian woman para-athlete and the oldest to be conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
Sania Mirza's was officially named for the coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on Friday. The Hyderabadi lady is only the second tennis player to be nominated for the country's highest sport honour.
M C Mary Kom pulled no punches as she lambasted critics and challengers after securing her second Olympic appearance. Her reference was to the selection controversy that preceded the qualifiers when former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen sought Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju's intervention while demanding a trial bout against the Manipuri. The ill-tempered and hyped trial bout was won by Mary Kom.
Five-time World champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) pipped arch-rival Pinki Jangra to the India's women's squad, while World Championships bronze medallist Shiva Thapa (56kg) made the cut in a star-studded men's boxing team for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in China from March 23.
Manjit Singh came from nowhere to snatch the men's 800m gold for the biggest medal of his life but finals continued to be a riddle for P V Sindhu
Asian silver-medallist Sumit Sangwan (91kg) and former junior World champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) were among eight Indian boxers to make the finals, while five others settled for bronze medals in the 56th Belgrade International Tournament in Serbia.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography Playing It My Way saw its launch in the national capital today as the event celebrated the book's crossing a record 200,000 copies.
In a letter addressed to Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra, IOC's Director (Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations) James Macleod expressed the world body's satisfaction with the written guarantee from the Indian government on the issue.
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.
M C Mary Kom, who is also a sitting Rajya Sabha MP, said the alarming increase in the number of rapes in the country has left her feeling "hurt and helpless" while star shuttler Saina Nehwal condemned the 'ghastly crimes'.
'Jaan hai to jahaan hai' 'It's a good decision because everyone is disturbed. Athletes' health is paramount'
Here's a look at the top 10 tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities
The World Championship gold medallist is among nine Indian boxers in the finals of the second Asian women's boxing championships.
The IOC said the refusal of visas for competitors went against the principles of the Olympic charter relating to discrimination and political interference from the host country.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, on Sunday, congratulated star India shuttler P V Sindhu for winning the Korea Open Super Series title in Seoul.
Sarita (60kg), who was banned for a year due to her emotional outburst at the Asian Games medal ceremony after losing a controversial semi-final bout, returned to the country from the Chinese city of Qian'an on Friday. The Manipuri fought three bouts and won two of them during the competition which featured rivals from hosts China, Korea, Mongolia and Thailand.
The deadly COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented postponement as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Japanese government and the athletes world over agreed that Olympics in July-August this year could not have gone ahead in the present circumstances.
Rediff.com gives you a look at films in the past that have captured the lives of sporting icons, and their rise to glory, on the silver screen.
Asian silver-medallist Sumit Sangwan (91kg) and World silver-medallist Sarjubala Devi (51kg) are among four Indian boxers assured of medals after scoring facile victories in the inaugural India Open, for men and women, in Delhi on Monday.
A round-up of Indians' showing on the fifth day of the 17th Asian Games, in Incheon, on Wednesday.
2019 became a 'Year to Remember' in Indian sports for trailblazing performances in Olympic disciplines
India's Manika Batra and Mouma Das lost 3-0 to Tianwei Feng and Mengyu Yu of Singapore in the women's sinlges final.
Floyd Mayweather tops the Forbes list of best paid athletes for the fourth time in seven years, followed by soccer superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Tributes pour in for Hockey great Balbir Singh Sr.
'There is a deep sense of satisfaction in knowing that you know how to do your job and can go on to the next film with confidence.' Irudhi Suttru director Sudha Kongara chats about her film's success.
India's most decorated woman boxer MC Mary Kom today rued that the sport is as good as "dead in India" because there has been no competition happening with national association in a limbo. "Boxing in India is almost dead. There are no major competitions held for the past two years in India. I miss tears welling up in my eyes when I see the Indian flag going up after I had won a medal in an international event," Mary Kom said at inauguration of Ultimate Boxing Championship organised by Phoenix Market City in Bengaluru.
Will India finally reach the elusive double-digit mark? Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry, for one, is willing to stick his neck out on the possibility.
Representatives of several northeastern organisations on Monday rejected the committee formed by the Centre to suggest remedial measures to address their concerns.
All but written off after a string of injuries wrecked havoc on his career four years ago, enigmatic boxer Akhil Kumar staged a remarkable comeback to make the 10-member Indian men's team for the Asian Games, in Incheon, South Korea.
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.
Besides the five Indian films that are playing at the Toronto International Film Festival this year -- a rather large collection at an international film festival, says Aseem Chhabra -- there are more films with an Indian connect.
Unbeaten with demolishing victories in the previous three contests, star Indian boxer Vijender Singh will take on a slightly more experienced Hungarian Alexander Horvath in his fourth professional bout on March 12 in Liverpool. Vijender is preparing for a homecoming to India in June when he will fight maiden title bout -- the WBO Asia belt. The in-form middleweight has been unbeaten in the circuit, having clinched all his three wins by knockouts in only six rounds of action since his pro debut last October. Vijender will have no time to rest as he has another big fight lined up just three weeks' later at the Harrow Sports Centre, London, as he builds towards his ground-breaking title opportunity in India. Horvath comes into the fight against Vijender with a record of five wins from seven fights. The 20-year-old has the edge in experience over Singh with 31 rounds under his belt and has no fear of fighting abroad, taking bouts in Slovakia and France. "It's my absolute dream to fight back home in India in front of my countrymen and women so I won't let Horvath get in my way of that at all," stated Vijender Singh. "I need to continue my unbeaten record and it's important that I put on a commanding performance against Horvath and then next at Harrow to keep on course for my title shot and my homecoming," he said. Speaking about his opponent, Vijender said he does not consider Hungarian a major threat. "Horvath is a good solid opponent, maybe he will give me a few new tests, he has done more rounds than me and has a bit more experience, but will that compete with the power that I have and when I start landing my shots. "I don't believe that he'll be standing around for too long," he said. "I'm really excited as this is my first fight of the year and there are big plans ahead so I aim to make a very big statement of intent in Liverpool against Horvath that will show that I'm ready to fight for a title later this year."
'I am actually quicker now than before,' Boxing legend Mary Kom tells Pavan Lall.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that a combination of proper infrastructure and guidance along with passion can help India in becoming a 'sporting nation'.
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.
Vijayveer Sidhu, 16, shot a gold in the 25m standard pistol event for junior men after combining with Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu and Adarsh Singh to claim the team gold on the last day of the ISSF World Championships.
