The spotlight will be on Neeraj Chopra and Hima Das while Dutee Chand would look to prove a point when India's track and field athletes begin their campaign in the Asian Games in Jakarta on Saturday.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia clinched India's first gold medal in the 18th Asian Games after defeating Takatani Daichi of Japan in the men's 65 kg freestyle title bout, in Jakarta, on Sunday.
The eight players picked for the Asian Games have been training without a full-time coach and most of them don't train regularly with Kumari and Poncha, who has been a longtime national coach.
The Indian men's handball team had lost to Chinese Taipei 28-38 in its first group match on Monday.
Dipa Karmakar will look to secure an Olympic berth with 'some good performances' at back-to-back Artistic Gymnastics World Cups
Saina Nehwal, who won the tournament last year before going through a lean patch, lost 19-21, 13-21, 5-21 to Sayaka Takahashi in 50 minutes.
Senior players Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa lost their matches against Joey Chan and Annie Au, 1-3 and 0-3, respectively. Sunayna Kuruvilla, who is Pallikal's cousin, kept India in the hunt with a fighting win over Tze Lok Ho in the second singles.
Harendra Singh's outburst against umpiring after India's quarter-final loss to Netherlands in the ongoing World Cup didn't go down well with the world body (FIH) and its president Narinder Batra.
Saina Nehwal made a rampaging start to her London Olympics build-up by winning the Thailand Open last week and the Indian ace will now look to test her game against the Chinese when she starts her campaign in the Indonesia Super Series Premier in Jakarta on Wednesday.
'I was expecting that (Khel Ratna) but there were other deserving athletes. It is fine. I will continue to strive for it'
Vinesh Phogat created history, becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in wrestling at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
Indian table tennis men's team settled for a historic bronze medal after losing 0-3 to South Korea in a lop-sided semifinal at the 18th Asian Games, in Jakarta, on Tuesday.
The Indian men's team did almost the unthinkable by beating fancied Japan 3-1 in the quarter-finals to assure the country its first-ever medal in table tennis in the history of the Asian Games, in Jakarta, on Monday.
The 22-year-old from Odisha has long lived with the condition which naturally produces high testosterone levels and for a year saw her unable to run in International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) competition.
Fouaad Mirza on Sunday became the first Indian to win an Asian Games individual medal in the equestrian event since 1982 besides guiding the country to a second-place finish in the team competition, in Jakarta.
In the Diamond League Final, he will face the world's best in the event, including Olympic champion Thomas Roehler of Germany and last year's winner, Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic.
World champion P V Sindhu frittered away a one-game lead and lost 21-16, 16-21, 19-21 to Japan's Sayaka Takahashi in 66 minutes.
Rahi Sarnobat beat all expectations to become India's first woman shooter with an Asian Games gold and the low-profile wushu players delivered their best ever performance even in defeat on another high-yielding day for the country at the regional showpiece.
Sports Ministry has cleared a 804-member Indian contingent, including 572 athletes, for the Asian Games but said it will bear the expense of 755 members with 49 out of 232 officials allowed at no cost to government.
However, the WFI decided to give Ritu, who competes in the 50kg category, a chance to compete in the 53kg since she had missed out on the Asian Games trials due to a flight issue.
"We can't be overwhelmed by defeats or victories. It won't lead you anywhere," Sushil added.
Indian boxer Pavitra (60kg) advanced to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games after out-classing Pakistan's Rukhsana Perveen in a bout that did not go beyond the opening round, in Jakarta, on Saturday.
With her sights firmly set for the 2018 Commonwealth and Asian Games, Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik feels that quality preparation can only happen if there are at least two extended camps in foreign countries every year. "Before Olympics, we went to Spain for a training camp and we got to practise with a lot of quality wrestlers. I believe for better performances we need more foreign exposure where we compete with the top wrestlers from other countries," Sakshi, who is face of Delhi Sultans franchise in the Pro-Wrestling League (PWL) told PTI.
Ekta Bhyan won India's fourth gold at the Asian Para Games by topping the women's club throw event in Jakarta.
Canada and Australia said they would not be sending athletes to the Tokyo Olympics if the Games went ahead as scheduled in July and August this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Here is a list of previous cancellations, boycotts and changes of venues of the Summer and Winter games.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.86m at the ACNE League meeting in Potchefstroom, South Africa, making an impressive return after recovering from an elbow injury. The 22-year-old Indian, who missed the entire 2019 season due to the injury, breached the Olympic qualification mark of 85m in his fourth attempt and secured the top place at the international event on Tuesday.
But Saina, who had lost in the quarter-finals last year, is set to gain 3600 points having made it to the World Championships final this year. Saina will therefore, now have 82, 792 points to her tally, giving her the World No 1 title again.
Rejuvenated after a month-long break from a hectic BWF schedule, Sindhu and Srikanth prevailed over Japanese shuttlers Aya Ohori and Kenta Nishimoto in women's and men's singles respectively.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal advanced to the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Super Series Premier tournament with a comfortable straight-game win over local favourite Fitriani Fitriani in the women's singles event in Jakarta on Thursday.
Former badminton No 1 Lee Chong Wei returned home to Malaysia and said he faced a three-week wait for the verdict from his doping hearing.
'Need a couple of upsets to win medal at Asian Games'
Swapna Barman's claim to fame before landing in Jakarta was as the athlete with 12 toes but the 21-year-old will return home having forged a new identity after winning India's first Asian Games gold in the heptathlon.
Born with six toes on each foot, Swapna is stubborn from childhood, said the secretary of the Jalpaiguri District Athletics Association Ujjal Das Chowdhury, who has followed Swapna's career from close quarters.
Vinesh Phogat's gold medal was India's first since women's wrestling was introduced at the Asian Games in 2002.
India's 4x400m women's relay team on Thursday clinched its fifth consecutive gold medal in the Asian Games in Jakarta to maintain a remarkable domination in this event in the continental showpiece.
India's Virdhawal Khade marginally bettered his long-standing National record to get closer to a second Asian Games medal as he qualified for the men's 50 metres freestyle final, clocking 22.43s, which was third fastest time in the heats, in Jakarta, on Tuesday.
The Indian teenager will train at Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence from November 7-24.
Defending champion Seema Punia settled for a bronze in the women's discus throw event in the Asian Games in Jakarta on Thursday.
India cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were on Monday recommended for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by the awards selection committee.
