A 29-member Indian squad on Monday left for Malaysia to take part in the Commonwealth Senior and Junior Weightlifting Championships in the backdrop of a series of dope flunks which left the national federation with the prospect of being banned internationally.
Alarmed that the recent dope flunk by three weightlifters could send out a negative image of the country ahead of next year's Commonwealth Games, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday formed a four-member committee to look into the matter and submit a report within a week.
Indian weightlifters' participation in next year's Commonwealth Games is in jeopardy as the national federation is facing the prospect of a one-year ban after a third positive dope test.
The Sports Ministry dropped para-sports coach Satyanarayana from the list of this year's Dronacharya awardees due to a criminal case pending against him, but made no changes to the names recommended for the Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards.
For the first time, three top sportspersons -- boxers M C Mary Kom and Vijender Singh, and wrestler Sushil Kumar -- were selected for the country's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. While the prestigious award was previously shared by two sportspersons in 1996-97 and 2002-03, Wednesday marked the first time that three were picked for the coveted honour for outstanding performances in 2008-09.
The negative publicity surrounding the series of dope flunks by lifters has forced the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to forfeit itself the right to host Asian Youth and Junior Championships in December, a top official of the federation said on Tuesday.
The Indian weightlifting squad, which won a whopping 27 medals, including 17 gold, in the Commonwealth Senior and Junior Championships in Malaysia made a clean sweep of the team trophies.
Indians continued their impressive show at the Commonwealth Senior and Junior Weightlifting Championships, adding 11 more medals, including six gold, on the second day of the event in Penang, Malaysia, on Thursday.
Competing in the backdrop of a series of dope flunks, Indian weightlifters began their Commonwealth Senior and Junior Championship campaign by winning six gold and four silver medals in Penang, Malaysia, on Wednesday.
India added four gold and one bronze on the third day on Sunday to reign supreme on top of medal standings in the 11th South Asian Games in Dhaka.
Bajrang Punia was nominated for the Khel Ratna by the Wrestling Federation of India following his twin gold medals at this year's Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and Jakarta Asian Games.
The World Championship is one of the ten qualifying events for the 2020 Japan Olympics.
The wrestlers will be in action at the same venue, where the weightlifters signed off a phenomenal campaign
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has suspended Deputy Sports Minister Yury Nagornykh, who was named in a report on the doping of Russian athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the government said on Monday.
Unhappy with the Sports Authority of India's flip-flop over the dope testing episode involving weightlifter Monika Devi, Sports Minister M S Gill on Wednesday appointed former Chief Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy to inquire into all aspects of the matter. Krishnamurthy has been asked to submit his report within a week, sources in the Sports Ministry said.
The 'B' sample test of Manipuri weightlifter Monika Devi, who was stopped from taking part in Beijing Olympics on dope charges, has returned positive for a banned substance in a WADA-accredited laboratory in Tokyo.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
China's top backstroke swimmer Ouyang Kunpeng has been banned for life for doping, officials confirmed on Friday, dealing the host nation an embarrassing blow just 42 days before the start of the Beijing Olympics. Ouyang tested positive for the anabolic steroid clenbuterol, Zhao Jian, head of the anti-doping office at the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) confirmed.
Yamini S snatched another gold medal for India, winning the women's 58 kg weightlifting event and breaking the Games record on the fourth day of the third edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune on Wednesday.
'The feeling that we were Olympic champions only dawned on us when we reached India.'
Weightlifter L Monika Devi was on Tuesday unanimously chosen ahead of Shailaja Pujari to represent the country at the Beijing Olympic Games after a selection trial in Bangalore, bringing to an end a selection controversy and allegations of bribery. Monika, who won a silver and two bronze medals at the Asian Championships in Japan, in April-May, to book the lone berth for India, will compete in the 69kg category while Shailaja (75kg) will be the reserve lifter.
Following is the schedule of Indian contingent on the seventh day of the Asian Games on Saturday.
'I don't think that I have done anything great. I haven't won any Olympic gold medal.'
Indian boxer Pavitra (60kg) advanced to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games after out-classing Pakistan's Rukhsana Perveen in a bout that did not go beyond the opening round, in Jakarta, on Saturday.
Weightlifter Monika Devi, who was forced to give the Beijing Olympics a miss due to bungled dope test, has threatened not to take part in any national or international event until the officials who "wrongly accused" her of failing the test are punished. Monika, a 69kg category lifter, said she is a victim of politics in sports.
Weightlifter Monika Devi was on Saturday cleared of dope charges by Sports Authority of India but there appeared to be little chances of her taking part in the Beijing Olympics.
Forty-five athletes have failed dope tests after their samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games were re-analysed, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday.
A scarcity of gold medals in the first few days of the Olympics is leading China to reflect on its past obsession with finishing first, amid agreement that being champion is no longer everything.
The WADA investigation found that the sample analysis methods of the NDTL were not upto the mark. The NDTL can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne in the next 21 days.
The names of flag bearers in order of the country's entry into the Olympic stadium.
A Nigerian woman weightlifter and an Angolan male swimmer have tested positive for banned substances at the All Africa Games.
The banned substance Stanozol was found in the weightlifter's sample after a random out-of-competition test by WADA.
'I know a few of the Surrey guys and they are not what people make them out to be a lot of the time. But if anyone in that dressing room does think they are a big dog, they will need to sit down for a little while because there is a proper big dog coming'
The device's top quality, above Apple and other smartwatches, is its battery life. The 46 mm one can run for at least three days on full use and over a week on limited use, says Veer Arjun Singh.
Thailand put a dent in China's Asian Games armour on Monday, snatching a weightlifting gold and a world record, to end the Chinese monopoly of the sport in Doha.
India will be looking to its shooters to restore national pride in Doha.
India's weightlifters will miss the Asian Games after the latest in a series of doping scandals but the country is looking to its shooters to restore national pride in Doha.
Badminton Association of India (BAI) President Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta announced a reward of Rs. 50 lakhs for P V Sindhu after she settled for a historic silver medal at the Rio Olympics. BAI also announced a reward of Rs. 10 lakhs for Dronacharya awardee coach Pullella Gopichand who trained Sindhu to achieve this feat. The World No. 10 lost to Spain's Carolina Marin by 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 in the thrilling final match held at Riocentro. This is India's first silver Medal in Badminton.
Disgraced woman weightlifter Pratima Kumari, who tested positive for testosterone, pleaded innocence and accused coaches Pal Singh Sandhu and Leonid Taranenko of hatching a conspiracy against her.
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