Tennis ace Rohan Bopanna, hockey great P R Sreejesh and table tennis legend Sharath Kamal, are gearing up for one last hurrah at the Asian Games, starting in Hangzhou, from September 23.
Manav Thakkar pulled off a memorable 3-1 win over world No 33 Kao Cheng-Jui to enter the men's singles pre-quarter-finals of the Asian Table Tennis Championships.
Jharkhand defeated Maharashtra 2-1 to bag the bronze medal.
Six-time World Champion Mary Kom, bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, will be assisted by luger Shiva Keshavan, who has been appointed the deputy chef de mission.
The Mission Olympic Cell is also considering higher incentives for retired Olympians and world-class players who want to take up coaching, in an effort to retain top talent within India.
Terming the incident unfortunate, the national carrier Air India has tendered an apology to the Indian table tennis team, who were denied boarding on the Delhi-Melbourne flight on Sunday.
The sports ministry cleared the final contingent that also features 140 support staff and officials, of which 72 "have been approved at cost to the Government" to meet the "requirements" of the travelling sportspersons.
Neeraj Chopra's preparatory camp in Switzerland gets ministry approval
'We have done everything in our power to help him take his game to the next level and become a star player.'
'She told me I had no class, I have no education and to see what happens when we get outside the US.'
India can be among top five nations in table tennis, feels G Sathiyan
The high court had on September 23 stayed the TTFI's rule mandating compulsory attendance at the National Coaching Camp for selection in international events and had asked the Centre to conduct an inquiry into Batra's complaint against the sports body. On Friday, the court was informed by the Centre's counsel Apoorv Kurup that the enquiry report was ready and the judge asked them to file it in a sealed cover before it.
Manika Batra has become the first Indian woman table tennis player to enter the quarterfinals of an elite WTT event following her victory over world number 14 Nina Mittelham at the Grand Smash event in Jeddah.
The Indian women's team came from behind to beat Spain 3-2 in its final group game and progressed to the knockout phase.
The excitement was palpable at the India Community Centre's (ICC) recent 4th annual fundraiser after three of its table tennis players -- Ariel Hsing, Lily Zhang and Timothy Wang -- were chosen to represent the United States at the London 2012 Olympics. The Indian Community Centre in California has coached all three players representing the US in table tennis at the Games.
The 32-year-old clinched his fourth gold medal at his third Olympics by defeating compatriot Fan Zhendong 11-4, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7.
Justice Rekha Palli, who was hearing Batra's petition alleging that the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) was carrying out its selection processes in a non-transparent manner and targeting certain individuals such as herself, said that based on the committee's report, she would consider the issue of appointing an administrator to run the national sports body.
Manika Batra has lost her baggage containing sports equipment, while returning home from a tournament in Peru
The Indian men's table tennis team assured itself of its third consecutive bronze medal at Asian Championships.
From 11-year-old to 60-plus, Olympics is playground for all
Sharath Kamal struggled in the first game but pulled himself up just in time to beat Portugal's Tiago Polonia 2-11, 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 in 49 minutes.
Deepa Malik, who won the silver medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, said she is happy to see Bhavinaben Patel carry forward her legacy of winning a medal at the Games.
Gopichand, who is often credited with creating a pipeline of top badminton players by identifying them at a young age, described the move by the games' organisers' as appalling.
Diya Chitale and Manush Shah had also sought the HC's intervention in the matter.
Tennis star Sania Mirza arrived at the Games Village of the Rio Olympics and so did the table tennis squad while the Indian hockey team won its practice match against Spain.
Double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra is among only three track and field athletes retained in the sports ministry's revamped TOPS core group.
At almost 57, Ni Xialian has competed in the 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics, achieving her best result when, aged 37, she reached the last 16 in Sydney. She hopes Tokyo 2020 will go ahead.
Bhavinaben Patel scripted history on Friday, becoming the first Indian table tennis player to secure a medal in the Paralympics after entering the semi-finals with a stunning straight-game win over world No. 5 Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia in the women's singles Class 4 event, in Tokyo. The 34-year-old won her quarter-final 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in 18 minutes.
After scripting history with a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics on Sunday, paddler Bhavinaben Patel said nerves played a role in her defeat in the gold medal match against World No 1 Zhou Ying.
How India's athletes fared at the Paris Paralympic Games on Friday.
Manika Batra could not be more thrilled about bossing the World No. 2 from China earlier this week but to beat the top-10 players more often, the Indian table tennis trailblazer knows she needs to do more on the tactical and fitness front.
The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) will make a fresh attempt to organise a training camp at the end of June but top players including Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan are not ready to travel anytime soon as the situation remains "unsafe".
There could be no place more appropriate for Djokovic to finally break free of his tie with Margaret Court on 24 Grand Slam singles titles than in her own backyard at Melbourne Park, where he has won the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup 10 times.
A look at India's schedule at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, July 27, 2024:
The IOA had announced her appointment on March 21.
Manika Batra went down fighting to Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico 3-4 in the round of 32 at the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban.
India needs people like Rahul Dravid and Pullela Gopichand, who have done an excellent job in producing young talent in their respective disciplines, for tennis to develop in the country, says eight-time Grand Slam doubles champion Leander Paes.
Manika Batra wants to break the top-30 barrier in the near future
Ayhika Mukherjee, ranked 155, punched way above her weight to pull off a brilliant 3-1 win against World No 1 Sun Yingsha.
