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.
In this pandemic, why can't we have multiple locations for various disciplines, all of it then merged into a virtual convergence called the Olympics instead of one massive event in one city, asks Shyam G Menon.
Sushil Kumar fades, Bajrang Punia rises
The International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government agreed last month to postpone the Games because of the global coronavirus outbreak. The costs of rearranging the Games and who will pay them have yet to be clarified by either the IOC or the Japanese government.
Japan on Friday extended a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas by about three weeks to June 20 as the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of easing less than two months before the Summer Olympics open.
New infections have spiked ahead of the Olympics, which are set to start in July
Spring is here! The cherry blossoms have bloomed. The famous flowers are blooming around the world. The results are always stunning, and the frenzy for the beloved flowers can't be understated. Check out the blooms in the photos below:
India sign off Paralympics with an unparalleled 19 medals: 5 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze.
'As to the breakdown...I also understand that the IOC has stated it is too soon and too early to tell.'
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says his sport can have a huge influence on helping the post-pandemic world address the global health crisis and is making plans to ensure that it is ready to take on that responsibility.
Swapna Barman, on Wednesday created history by becoming the first Indian heptathlete to win an Asian Games gold in Jakarta, a feat he achieved despite competing with pain due to a toothache.
These 12 images that prove we live in a wonderfully weird world!
From sharing medals to defections to gestures on the medals podium to punching horses, the Tokyo Olympics had it all.
Making a comeback after a two-year hiatus, she enters women's doubles quarter-finals of Hobart International.
Sania Mirza and her partner Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic suffered a major blow as they crashed out of the ongoing Qatar Open after going down in the semi-finals.
Plans that had been almost a decade in the making were shredded as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the IOC and Japanese government to take the unprecedented decision to postpone the Olympics for a year.
'I spoke to Roger and Rafa a few days ago and we had a conversation about the near future of tennis. How we can contribute to help lower ranked guys who are obviously struggling the most.'
Qualifying took place at a sunny Suzuka on Sunday morning after being postponed from its usual Saturday slot due to the approach of Typhoon Hagibis.
Serena Williams ended the fairytale run of Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the Australian Open on Thursday with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 win that set up a final against her sister Venus.
Indo-Chinese pair were beaten 6-4, 6-4 by second seeds Martina Hingis and Yung-Jan Chan on Friday.
French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka will join Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal at this year's pre-Wimbledon warm-up event at Queen's Club, Aegon Championships organisers said.
Athletes already qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will need to be picked again by their respective National Olympic Committees to compete at the postponed Games in 2021, the International Olympic Committee said. Those athletes, the IOC said, would keep their qualification but would need to be re-selected for next year by their National Olympic Committee again as they represented a nation and not themselves.
Bach's two-day visit to Tokyo is likely to bolster Japan's efforts to stage the Olympics, but will do little to assuage the concerns of a public deeply worried about the spread of the virus.
Eight images that prove we live in a truly bizarre world.
Asian Games gold-medallist Indian heptathlete Swapna Burman said she will leave no stone unturned to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but achieving the qualification standard will be a tough task.
Last month, the Tokyo 2020 Games were postponed to July 2021 due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
'The limit of not playing the match is really high, it's like it needs to be above 45 degrees and humidity. I think this limit should be a little lower because playing in this condition is not nice for anyone'
Despite former world No 1 Serena Williams not being in action for almost a year, British No 1 Johanna Konta still views Williams as the player to beat at the Australian Open in 2018.
Calls from athletes and federations for a delay in the Games, which is scheduled to run from July 24 to Aug. 9, have intensified as the flu-like virus has brought sport to a grinding halt across the world.
Second seed Novak Djokovic outclassed Roger Federer in straight sets to enter the final of Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday. Seven-time champion Djokovic started off slowly before he took complete control to register an emphatic 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory in the first semi-final.
Tickets have been snapped up in Japan, with over three million sold during the first domestic lottery last May. Hot demand for later sales also left many potential buyers disappointed. Organisers have repeatedly said the July 24 to Aug. 9 Games will go ahead as scheduled but with the rapid spread of the coronavirus bringing the sports world to a virtual standstill fears are growing the Olympics may be cancelled or postponed.
Rohan Bopanna beat Jun Kato 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-4 in the first reverse singles.
The next challenge for Tokyo organisers is developing measures to help prevent a COVID-19 outbreak during the Games and how much the delay will cost Japanese taxpayers.
Scientists and medical experts are concerned about how things might look next summer, a year after the Tokyo Games were postponed.
Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this eye-catching photo feature.
Not even the curse of the pommel horse could halt Japan's march to the men's team gymnastics title at the Rio Olympics on Monday as China's eight-year reign as champions came to an end after a day of slips, trips and stumbled landings.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are just one step away from a US Open semi-final clash but both face tricky challenges to set up what would be their maiden encounter at Flushing Meadows.
India's Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova defeated unseeded pair of Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and Spain's Maria Jose Martina Sanchez 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 to enter the Toray Pan Pacific Open final, in Tokyo on Friday.
Tokyo 2020 organisers received the Olympic flame in a scaled-down handover ceremony in the Greek capital on Thursday, amid the coronavirus spread that has cast doubt on the global, multi-billion dollar event. In a brief ceremony closed to spectators in Athens' Panathenaic stadium, site of the first modern Games in 1896, the torch was received by Tokyo Games representative Naoko Imoto.
India had mixed fortunes at the Australian Open as Leander Paes got off to a winning start in mixed doubles but it was end of the road for the fourth-seeded pair of Sania Mirza and her doubles partner, Czech, Barbora Strycova in the women's doubles event.
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