A round-up of all the results from the 17th World Athletic Championships in London
Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand announced his retirement from football on Saturday after being released by Queens Park Rangers.
The sport's governing body said on Tuesday that the seven had all met the "exceptional eligibility criteria" after satisfying the board that they have been training in an environment that passes the necessary anti-doping requirements.
The Rio Olympics bronze medalist shared the stage with Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha during the Whisper 'Like a Girl' campaign. When asked about the recent trend of making biopics on sportsmen, Sonakshi said that she will be thrilled to star as Sakshi if at all a movie was made based on the wrestler's life.
Suspension, internal mudslinging and factionalism overshadowed some stellar performances by Indian archers as the sport went from bad to worse with just a few months left for Tokyo Olympics in an eventful 2019. The biggest blow to Indian archery came in August when World Archery suspended the national federation after two warring groups conducted parallel elections in Delhi and Chandigarh in a clear defiance of the international body's guidelines.
Thoughts of retirement, even at 35, are like a pack of lies for champion boxer MC Mary Kom, who says she is far from relinquishing the queendom she has carved out for herself in all these years.
An Olympic quota place pocketed, Indian boxer Shiva Thapa (56kg) ended his campaign with a silver medal after losing in the final of the Asian/Oceania Qualifying Tournament Qian'an, China on Friday. The 22-year-old Assamese, who is a World Championship bronze-medallist, went down 0-3 to Thailand's Chatchai Butdee in the summit clash. Butdee is the reigning Asian champion. Shiva had booked his ticket to Rio de Janeiro by making the finals yesterday after beating Kazakhstan's Kairat Yeraliyev. Meanwhile, it was a heartbreak once again for L Devendro Singh (49kg), who missed a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympics. The Commonwealth silver-medallist, who lost in the semifinals a day prior, went down in the box-off for the Olympic slot on Friday.
England coach Fabio Capello will be without at least six of his first-choice side for Wednesday's friendly against Germany in Berlin after midfielders Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard withdrew from the squad on Monday.
Simone Biles showed the world why she is an Olympic champion-in-waiting as she and her American teammates blew away the opposition by almost 10 points in women's gymnastics qualifying at the Rio Games on Sunday.
Dipa Karmakar's coach Bishweshwar Nandi never used corporal punishment over his ward during a career spanning more than 15 years, but he used to attack the the star gymnast "psychologically" to stir up her emotions, that resulted in a historic fourth place finish in Rio. Revealing the secret of his training, the Dronacharya awardee coach said, "In this era of scientific training, corporal punishment is a strict 'no-no'." "I've to attack her psychologically. At times she would break down and was so hurt that she would plead, 'don't tell me like this, it's more painful than getting caned', but that's my technique.
India were left to rue a missed opportunity in tennis with Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna's losing in the semi-finals of the mixed doubles after Lalita Babar became the first woman in three decades to enter the final of a track event, on Day 8 of the 2016 Olympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday.
His repeated requests for rehabilitation ignored, Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Parupalli Kashyap is flummoxed after being sent air tickets to join the Indian badminton squad at the South Asian Games despite being laid low by an abdominal strain.
Usain Bolt is determined to concrete his legacy by capping eight years of sprint dominance by defending his 100, 200 and 4x100 metres relay titles in Rio in what he has said will be his final Olympics.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is planning to have India and Pakistan play their home and away matches in Europe if the arch-rivals face off in the Olympic qualifying tournament for a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Midfielder Steven Gerrard will miss England's friendly against Germany in Berlin on Wednesday after picking up a groin strain in Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
While the people who run athletics are dreading the day Usain Bolt leaves their stage, Canadian Andre de Grasse must be licking his lips at the prospect after emerging as the man most likely to fill the void.
John Terry has been ruled out of England's World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan on Saturday with a back problem and Rio Ferdinand will take over the captaincy, manager Fabio Capello said on Friday.
World number two Rory McIlroy has said he still resents the Olympic Games for forcing him to choose between Britain and Ireland and revealed that Tiger Woods sends him texts in the early hours.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) may have thrown the Olympic door open for professional boxers but it is unlikely that Indian star Vijender Singh would be able to grab the opportunity even though he is keen to make it. Professional boxers would be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games in August in Rio de Janeiro provided the decision is ratified at the AIBA Extraordinary Congress on June 1 when the proposal would be put to vote. The plan is to allow pro boxers qualify for Rio via the AIBA-affiliated World Series of Boxing (WSB) and AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) event. Both these events, originally scheduled for May, could be pushed back to last week of June to give national federations enough time to send their entries. "If given a chance, I would definitely try to qualify for the Olympics. Who would want to miss an opportunity if it is there," Vijneder told PTI from Manchester where he is training for his next pro fight on March 12 in Liverpool. However, the question is whether there is any realistic opportunity for him to give it a shot. The 30-year-old middleweight's schedule is sorted till June 11 when he will make his pro debut in India by fighting for his maiden title -- the WBO Asia belt.
Teen golf sensation Aditi Ashok scripted history on Sunday as she became the first Indian woman to win a Ladies European Tour title by clinching the Hero Women's Indian Open in Gurgaon.
Kynan Chenai gave himself an advance birthday gift by securing a quota place for the Rio Olympics but London Games silver medallist Vijay Kumar's hopes of earning a berth went up in smoke at the Asia Olympic Qualifying Competition for shooting, in New Delhi on Thursday.
Dipa Karmakar will look to secure an Olympic berth with 'some good performances' at back-to-back Artistic Gymnastics World Cups
Phelps, who was suspended last year by USA Swimming after his arrest on drunk driving charges, is entered in the 100-metre butterfly on Thursday, 100m backstroke and 400m freestyle on Friday and 200m individual medley and 100m freestyle on Saturday.
'I didn't think before the start of the Olympics that I would make it to the final and win a medal.' 'I just thought of going there and giving my best, taking one match at a time.'
Australian swimming great Grant Hackett has posted a photo of himself on social media with cuts and bruises to his face and accused his brother of assault, a day after the triple Olympic champion was arrested for a disturbance at his family home.
India's top shuttlers have missed his court-side presence this year but national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand says he can't really help cutting down on travelling as that would come in the way of finding the next crop of world-beaters.
Although he thrives on the pressure of the big race, Usain Bolt says he is looking forward to watching the next one from the sidelines.
With Sushil Kumar's chances of participating in the second season of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) next to nil, another star India wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt is also likely to opt out of the upcoming event taking the sheen away from the tournament.
For a discipline that has given Indian athletes only the Olympian's tag, the country's track and field participants will begin their campaign in the Rio Olympics on Thursday, with little hope to break the 116-year-old medal jinx.
Brazil and AC Milan playmaker Kaka may require an operation on his left knee, Globo television reported on Wednesday. The World player of the Year will be examined on Friday by Brazil team doctor Jose Luis Runco in Rio de Janeiro to decide whether he will have to undergo surgery, Globo said.
With Serena Williams vying to safeguard her World No 1 ranking and Djokovic fighting off a wrist injury, expect to see a few surprises at the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year
The World No 4, recovering from a knee surgery, eyes January return for Hopman Cup, Aus Open
Sweden ended Germany's hopes of a third women's World Cup win, coming from behind for a surprise 2-1 quarter-final victory on Saturday thanks to goals from Sofia Jakobsson and Stina Blackstenius.
Teen golf sensation Aditi Ashok scripted history as she became the first Indian woman to win a Ladies European Tour title by clinching the Hero Women's Indian Open in Gurgaon on Sunday.
Sindhu said she is working on her technique to iron out the flaws.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Sreejesh has a painful right knee due to a ligament injury that generally takes two to three months to heal, a team source said on Wednesday, ahead of India's preliminary league fixture against Japan.
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Hockey greats Balbir Singh (Sr) and Ajit Pal Singh hailed India's Asian Games gold medal-winning effort but felt the players still have a mountain to climb to succeed at the World and Olympic level.