Sports Minister M S Gill found himself in fresh controversy on Tuesday after he snubbed top grappler Sushil Kumar's coach Satpal Singh by asking him to step aside during a photo opportunity at his residence in Delhi.
It was a great day for Indian wrestlers, who won seven medals, including three gold in the recently-concluded Junior Asian Wrestling Championships at Jakarta, Indonesia.
With only one Asian Games gold to show after four days of competition, India's hopes of improving on their medal tally in China four years ago are diminishing fast.
Eleven days of action have failed to bring India, that won a record six medals in London four years ago, a single podium finish and there's growing desperation to end this poor run.
A turbulent run-up to the Rio Games behind him, Narsingh Yadav will be eyeing a fairytale climax while old warhorse Yogeshwar Dutt would look to bid adieu with a second straight medal when India begin their Olympic wrestling campaign on Monday.
Indian wrestlers' domination at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi continued on Sunday with three more grapplers making it to the final.
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.
The committee also picked 19 sportspersons for the Arjuna Award, including the likes of cricketers Ravindra Jadeja and Poonam Yadav, track and field stars Tejinder Pal Singh Toor, Mohammed Anas and Swapna Barman.
The 36-year-old Jhajharia, who is the first Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals, was the first choice of the awards selection committee.
Shooter Ronjan Sodhi picked for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the selection committee.
India finished second in the final pecking order, with more than 100 medals, as the curtain came down on the Commonwealth Games, on Thursday. A look at the some statistics from the Games.
Long-serving archery coach Purnima Mahato and women's hockey coach Narendra Singh Saini were among five sporting personalities who were recommended for the prestigious Dronacharya award this year.
Aiming to improve its standing as a sporting nation globally, India is trying to adopt the models followed by Australia and United Kingdom.
India's 572 athletes hope to return home with an overflowing treasure chest of medals.
India had to be content with two silver and bronze medals each on the penultimate day in the Sr Asian wrestling championships.
These athletes made India proud four years ago.
Rathore said the government was 'leaving no stone unturned' to train 200 elite athletes for the 2020 Olympics
Sushil Kumar, a bronze medal winner at the Beijing Olympics last year, missed out on another medal when he lost in the semi-finals of the Wrestling World Championships in Denmark.
Teenager Deepak Lather, on Friday, became the youngest Indian weightlifter to claim a Commonwealth Games medal, clinching a bronze in the men's 69kg category.
'I was not nervous because I had to wrestle strong opponents. It is a World Championship and qualifying for the Olympics was very important for me, so that nervousness was there'
Here is a flashback of the top moments from the just concluded quadrennial Games...
Fighting for an Olympic ticket on the unfamiliar legal turf, Sushil Kumar's glorious wrestling career may meet an unceremonious end when the Delhi High Court pronounces its verdict on Monday on who gets to board the flight to Rio between him and Narsingh Yadav. An unfavourable verdict for Sushil may not be the end on the legal front as he can still challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court. But it could well signal the end of the road for perhaps the greatest Indian Olympian, who won two back-to-back medals. With less than two months left for the Olympics, starting August 5, future look bleak for the unassuming grappler from Haryana whose injuries played a part in the entire sequence of events leading up to Monday. The Delhi High Court, in its last hearing on Thursday, gave clear indications that it was likely to give a judgement in favour of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in the tiff over selection trials in the men's 74kg freestyle category. The Delhi High court had observed that it did not find "any statutory mandate" to hold trials before the Olympics.
An Olympic event since 1900, water polo has recently been gaining in popularity across the United States but has a long tradition in Eastern Europe, whose national men's teams are perennial medal contenders.
Devendra Jhajharia, on Tuesday became the first para athlete to receive India's highest sporting honour -- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- along with hockey star Sardar Singh, who has endured trying times off the field in the last one year.
India's most decorated wrestler Sushil Kumar, considers next month's Commonwealth Games the first step towards accomplishing his 'unfulfilled' dream of winning an OIympic gold medal.
Virat Kohli? M C Mary Kom? Neeraj Chopra?
While skill is not an issue with Vinesh, holding off strong candidates for six minutes is a big challenge, she herself had admitted recently.
There was ecstasy and agony in equal measure for the Indian contingent on Friday.
India's fledgling Olympic campaign on Wednesday received a sensational boost with unheralded grappler Sushil Kumar clinching a bronze medal and boxer Vijender Kumar assuring himself of at least a bronze to give the country a record three medals for the first time ever.
One of India's strongest Olympic medal hopes, ace shooter Manu Bhaker feels preparations 'cannot get better' than the ongoing training-cum-competition tour of Croatia as she works on her consistency ahead of the Tokyo Games.
'Somehow the Flying Sikh has endured in people's memory.'
The 23-year-old champion wrestler's Asian gold medal tells us that tough times don't last, tough people do.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
His plea for selection trial dismissed by the Delhi High Court, double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar will again approach the Wrestling Federation of India and then a larger bench of the same HC in his quest for competing at the Rio Olympics before deciding on whether to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
Rio Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik, Virat Kohli are in the list
Touched with Paralympian Mariyappan Thangavelu's gesture to donate Rs 30 lakh from his prize money to his school, Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Monday said that all athletes backed by the government should try to set up academies or centres of their own to inspire the youth. Mariyappan, who scripted history at Rio Paralympics after winning a gold medal in high jump, has donated Rs 30 lakh from his 2 crore prize money towards his government school in Tamil Nadu.
India cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were on Monday recommended for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by the awards selection committee.
India has huge expectations from these champions. Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi and Norma Godinho glance at their chances at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra made the announcement during the send-off ceremony in New Delhi on Monday.
