Part of an eight-member team of elite sportspersons to identify and help prospective medal winners from across the country for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, the former India cricket captain was optimistic about Indian sport moving in the right direction.
'I'm least bothered about the rankings of Kashyap or Srikanth. I want to make it on my own by winning titles.'
Brand ambassadors and their lackeys are busy opposing the idea of being held accountable, even though they are ready to take all the money, says Sunita Narain.
Tennis star Leander Paes and badminton player-turned-coach Pullela Gopichand were selected for the prestigious Padma Bhushan awards while cricketer Yuvraj Singh was among the seven sportspersons chosen for this year's Padma Shri award.
'I have grown up in an environment where the dominant narrative of Indian sporting achievement was -- We can't.' 'These achievers have fought hard, built on each other's body of work and knowledge, and have today changed the script to -- We can,' notes Rahul Dravid,cricketing legend.
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
Nadia Comneci made a superstar entry at the Times of India Sporting Awards.
They shut up the naysers with sheer success.
'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.'
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
'She broke down, I broke down... because it is such an intense film.' 'The lines blurred between being on screen and our real emotions towards each other.' The Kapoor siblings turn reel life siblings in Haseena Parkar.
Having slumped in the rankings, champion shuttler Parupalli Kashyap tells Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com how he plans to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
An Olympic campaign saved by the fortitude of three women, a cricket team that rediscovered itself under a bold and zealous Virat Kohli -- Indian sports in 2016 was a dramatic mix of highs and lows wherein athletes mostly raised the bar but administrators found new ways to embarrass the country.
Behind sprinter Dutee Chand's rise is a hidden journey filled with pain and hardship.
From a laidback boy with poor dietary habits, Kidambi Srikanth has become an attacking player who can quickly deploy his considerable skills against tough opponents, writes Anand Datla
'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.'
As preparations for the Rio Olympics gather pace, India may be headed for yet another paltry medal haul.
The haul of 64 medals at the Commonwealth Games, in July-August, which included 15 gold, should act as the ideal springboard for the Indian contingent to better its medal tally at Guangzhou, China, four years ago.
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