Bolstered by Australian Open triumph, India ace shuttler Saina Nehwal says she is now working on her half smashes under the watchful eyes of coach Vimal Kumar to get closer to the goal of winning a gold medal at next month's Rio Olympics. "The victory in Australia came at just the right time. I was really looking forward for some change and nothing boosts confidence like winning. I needed a win to keep believing that I am on the right track," the 26-year-old told PTI.
The All India Football Federation on Wednesday extended the contract of national team head coach Wim Koevermans by four months till October next year.
Rising Indian boxer Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar(64kg) endured draining contests but came out triumphant to enter the quarterfinals on a bitter-sweet day for India in the World Boxing Championships in Almaty (Kazakhstan) on Monday.
Eden Hazard is disputing Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's assertion that the attacking midfielder is due a rest, the 23-year-old insisting that he plays consistently better when fed a steady diet of action.
- 'I hope our training on creating early pressure will be evident when we go into the competition'
City are 18 points clear of second-placed Liverpool after beating Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and need just four wins from their final nine games to be sure of the title.
Frustrated by Indian Olympic Association's refusal to grant them recognition, Boxing India President Sandeep Jajodia said he was 'baffled' by IOA's logic.
Asked about Saina Nehwal, whose 2012 London Games bronze medal winning show was a path breaker for Indian women's badminton, Padukone is confident that the 26-year-old former World number one will be regain her best form.
Former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia said on Tuesday that a merger of the newly floated Indian Super League (ISL) and the long-running I-League is neither going to happen nor is it advisable.
Teen sensation Shiva Thapa (56kg) reaffirmed his status as the rising star of Indian boxing, becoming the youngest pugilist from the country to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Championships in Amman, Jordan, on Monday. India, suspended internationally for nearly a year due to administrative wrangling in the federation, rounded off the campaign with a gold, two silver and a bronze medal while fighting under the International Boxing Association's flag.
India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid strongly believes that the recent decision by the BCCI working committee to put a cap on players getting only one shot at Colts World Cup will prevent age fudging by players. Ravindra Jadeja ('06 & '08), Vijay Zol ('12 and '14), Sandeep Sharma ('10 and '12), Sarfaraz Khan ('14 and '16), Ricky Bhui ('14 and '16) and Avesh Khan ('14 and '16) are some players in recent times who have played in two U-19 global meets. "Being allowed to play only one U-19 World Cup will mean people are less motivated to alter the age. Honestly, U-19 cricket should be more about exposure and less about results.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is racing to be fit for Sweden's Euro 2016 qualifiers against Russia and Liechtenstein in Stockholm, but won't risk playing with pain-killing injections.
Olympian Sumit Sangwan (81kg) and Vikash Malik (60kg) fought through intense bouts to enter the pre-quarterfinals but Mandeep Jangra (69kg) bowed out after a stiff second-round contest on a mixed day for India in the World Boxing Championships in Almaty on Sunday.
The selection of the Indian team for the World Boxing Championships has run into a controversy with three pugilists, including Arjuna awardee Dinesh Kumar, threatening to take the panel to court even as Olympian Akhil Kumar vowed to sue one of them for dragging his name into the furore.
Defender Jerry Lalrinzuala scored a spectacular long range goal as India beat Nepal 1-0 in the final to win the South Asian Football Federation Under-16 Championship at the Dasharath stadium in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
Sacked Australia coach Mickey Arthur has been left "extremely upset and disappointed" after his confidential lawsuit against Cricket Australia was leaked to the media leading to a massive controversy.
India's top boxer Vijender Singh was knocked out after an intense second-round contest on a day of mixed fortunes for India that saw Shiva Thapa and comeback-man Nanao Singh punch their way in to the pre-quarters at the World Boxing Championships in Almaty. Kazakhstan.
PR Sreejesh is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world at the moment, but he feels that the absence of an experienced back up custodian is a major worry.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two stunning goals and took his international tally to 70 as he led Portugal to an emphatic 3-0 win over Hungary in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
The opening day of the Hero Hockey World League Final witnessed a major upset as lower-ranked Argentina put up a spirited display to outclass London Olympic silver medallist Netherlands 5-2, while world number two Australia eked out a narrow 3-2 win over Belgium in Pool B at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Friday.
Not focussing on grassroot development over the years has led to the players learning the basics only late in their career, says national coach Stephen Constantine.
If a keen tussle for a ticket to Rio Games between double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar and rising star Narsingh Yadav grabbed headlines off the mat, the youngsters showed the sport's bench strength in a country that gave the world the much-touted Pro Wrestling League this year.
Vijender Singh (75kg) turned in a solid showing despite being down with viral fever to beat Sweden's Hampus Henriksson in his opening bout at the World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Thursday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is all set to push the case of banned pacer Mohammad Amir to at least allow him to resume domestic cricket when the International Cricket Council (ICC) executive board meet in London from October 17 to 19.
Languishing at the bottom of the heap in the ongoing I-League, Churchill Brothers showed remarkable resilience as they outclassed a formidable Sporting Clube de Goa 3-1 to win their maiden Federation Cup title at the floodlit Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal was the only bright spot in what turned out to be a dismal day for the Indian badminton team as it crashed out of the prestigious Sudirman Cup after a 1-4 loss to three-time champions Korea in a Group 1D tie, in Dongguan China, on Wednesday.
'I have certainly gained the respect of my rivals by consistently maintaining my ranking inside the top-10 mark.' 'I have beaten all these top players at least once and there will be no fear factor when I face them at Rio.'
Unsparing on the under-performing shooters but equally scathing on coaches and the national federation, the Abhinav Bindra-led National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) review committee hardly minced words as it chastised the Rio Olympics flop show while recommending a systematic overhaul.
Upbeat over winning the China Open and moving up to the fourth spot in the latest BWF rankings, star shuttler Saina Nehwal says she is working on becoming the best in the world.
Dropping a bombshell, Sachin Tendulkar has disclosed that the then India coach Greg Chappell had made a "shocking" suggestion to him to take over India's captaincy from Rahul Dravid months before the 2007 World Cup in West Indies.
Sports Minister Jitendra Singh responded to his senior colleague in the government Veerappa Moily's letter to him in connection with Jwala Gutta's ongoing impasse with the BAI, saying that he will examine her case and see how he can extend support to her.
Vikash Malik (60kg), Sumit Sangwan (81kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) joined Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) in the quarter-finals, on Tuesday, making it one better than the previous best India achieved in the 2011 edition in Azerbaijan.
Former hurdler and Athletics Federation of India's selection panel head G S Randhawa has protested the Dronacharya award to be conferred on K P Thomas.
The meeting between officials of All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner IMG-Reliance to discuss the final plans relating to the ambitious IPL-style football tournament scheduled on Tuesday has been postponed to later this week.
Crowned the world number one, Saina Nehwal celebrated her numero uno status with a straight-game demolition of Japanese Yui Hashimoto, while Kidambi Srikanth too saw off Xue Song of China to reach their maiden finals at the Yonex Sunrise India Super Series.
Wrestler Bajrang Kumar's scuttled trip to the USA for a crucial competition was brought back on track by Olympic bronze-medallist Yogeshwar Dutt, who convinced SAI officials in New Delhi to sanction his expenses for the Dave Schultz Memorial International Tournament in Colorado Springs.
Indian cricket, it seems, pays overwhelming obeisance to a vapid, old adage: The more it changes, the more it remains the same.
Having slumped in the rankings, champion shuttler Parupalli Kashyap tells Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com how he plans to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
Vijender Singh gives up amateur boxing to turn full-time professional, perhaps the words ring truer than ever.
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.
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