OGQ has launched a crowd funding campaign to assist training and preparation of their potential medal winning athletes -- Irfan KT (Race Walking), Vikas Gowda (Discus Throw), Ayonika Paul and Pooja Ghatkar (both Rifle Shooting).
Indian ace Saina Nehwal's ascent to the top of women's badminton was officially confirmed.
With her silver from Rio, PV Sindhu is already India's most successful female Olympian but her World Championship triumph also boosted the nation's hopes of a medal in Tokyo next year.
PV Sindhu finally fetched India its first ever World Championships gold in the sport but spent rest of the year struggling for form.
Praneeth said he needs to work on his fitness to trouble big players such as two-time world champion Kento Momota.
'I don't think we have ever had so many top players either in singles or doubles,' says badminton legend Prakash Padukone.
P V Sindhu secured her fifth World Championships medal following a stunning comeback while B Sai Praneeth became the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to grab a podium place in badminton's prestigious event, in Basel, on Friday.
Riding on her stupendous performance at the prestigious All England Championship, India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has regained the world number two spot again in the latest rankings released by the Badminton World Federation.
Former All England champion Prakash Padukone tipped PV Sindhu to be the world number one in the near future, but Saina Nehwal's coach Vimal Kumar was of the view that both the Olympic medallists could dominate world badminton in the next 5-7 years. While Saina became the first Indian shuttler to win an Olympic medal - a bronze - at 2012 London Olympics, Sindhu did one better by winning a historic silver at the Rio Games this year. "Definitely, Sindhu is capable of reaching the number one place," Padukone told reporters at the Olympic Gold Quest workshop for junior athletes in Bengaluru.
Legendary Prakash Padukone was revered as the world number one player during his hey days before the modern day computerised ranking system was introduced.
Here's a round up of everyone who's someone who attended the GQ Men of the Year Awards held in Mumbai over the weekend.
Bollywood superstar Saif Ali Khan signed up as brand ambassador for Olympic Gold Quest on Monday and immediately pledged Rs 20 lakh a year to support the training of athletes for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Indian won 21-7 21-7 in the summit clash that lasted just 38 minutes.
In-form PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth will look to break new grounds as they spearhead India's charge for an elusive gold at the 18th Asian Games badminton event which begins with the team competitions, in Jakarta, on Sunday.
Prakash Padukone backed Sindhu to win the World Championship crown soon after two consecutive silver medal performances in the prestigious event.
Sporting fraternity hails Sindhu's historic World C'ships gold
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Saina Nehwal has once again resumed her partnership with long-time mentor and former coach Pullela Gopichand and would be starting her training at his academy in Hyderabad after recovering from a thigh strain.
While praising the Indian men hockey team's progress under the guidance of coach Roelant Oltmans, former international Viren Rasquinha did not hold out a realistic chance for the country to climb the medals podium at the upcoming Rio Olympics.
PV Sindhu shared her happiness on winning second consecutive silver at the BWF World Championships.
2019 became a 'Year to Remember' in Indian sports for trailblazing performances in Olympic disciplines
'Everyone has to recalibrate their plans, preparations, peaking, meaning the tournaments they will play in in the lead-up to the Olympics.'
Success in sports stems mostly from teamwork. Now and then there comes a captain, on whose singular strength an entire squad makes huge strides. One such titan, now departed for the Elysian Fields, was The Hindu's Sports Editor Srinivasaraghavan Krishnan.
She will meet World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying for the title on Sunday.
Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra today said that the country should aim to win 'double digit' medals at the Tokyo Olympics
P V Sindhu's glorious run in the World Badminton Championships ended in the semi-finals, when she was beaten by Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon at the Tianhe Indoor Stadium in Guangzhou, China, on Saturday. The 18-year-old Hyderabadi, who had beaten former world No. 1 Shixian Wang in straight games in Friday's quarter-finals, failed to reproduce the form she displayed in the earlier rounds and lost 10-21, 13-21.
At 17 and 20 respectively, Satwik and Chirag form a formidable pair that has proved its mettle in international badminton, often punching above their weight, only to fall short of podium finishes.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
The first Indian woman to clinch a silver medal at the World Championship in the 2015 edition at Jakarta, Saina has been struggling ever since, limping out of the Olympics last year with a knee injury.
Young Kidambi Srikanth continued his meteoric rise in world badminton as he ended the season by becoming only the third Indian male shuttler to break into the top-five, reaching a career-high fourth after hovering in the 40s in the beginning of the year.
National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand remained tightlipped about his split with Saina Nehwal, saying he doesn't want to talk about the issue as the Asian Games is just round the corner.
India's top shuttler Saina Nehwal has split with National coach Pullela Gopichand and sought the help of former chief coach Vimal Kumar to prepare for the prestigious Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Asian snooker champion Aditya Mehta beat tournament favourite Liang Wenbo of China 3-0 to win the snooker gold at the World Games at Cali, Colombia, on Tuesday.
Carolina Marin broke Indian hearts as the World No.1 beat second seed Saina Nehwal in straight game to lift the World Championships title in Jakarta.
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has promised "surgical" precision in distribution of funds to athletes preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games, asserting that centralisation of the process has made bureaucratic hurdles a thing of past.
H S Prannoy, feels a high ranking would help players avoid meeting top shuttlers in early rounds, while conceding that the primary focus should be on winning big events.
With the Sports Ministry set to include Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
A decade after his triumph at the All England badminton championship, Gopichand cherishes the famous victory, writes Bikash Mohapatra.
India's Saina Nehwal breezed into the women's singles World Badminton Championships final after beating local girl Lindaweni Fanetri in Jakarta, on Saturday.
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