Three super girls conferred Khel Ratna along with Jitu Rai

August 29, 2016

New Delhi, Aug 29: It was a celebration of woman power in sports as Olympic stars PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar were today conferred India's highest sporting honour -- the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- along with shooter Jitu Rai in a gleaming awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan here.

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For the first time in the history of National Sports Awards, four athletes were chosen for the Khel Ratna honour, owing to the three girls' superlative show at the Rio Olympics.

In 2009, three athletes -- boxers Vijender Singh and M C Mary Kom and wrestler Sushil Kumar -- had been given this award together.

Shuttler Sindhu won a historic silver in the women's singles, Sakshi won India's first ever medal (bronze) in women's wrestling while Dipa grabbed a piece of history for herself with a fourth place finish in artistic gymnastics with her now famous Produnova vault.

Shooter Jitu Rai was always a contender after consistently producing medal-winning performances in the last two years, including gold at the Asian and Commonwealth Games along with a silver at the World Championships.

The four Khel Ratnas, who were greeted with a loud round of applause when they walked up to receive their awards from President Pranab Mukherjee, received a medal, certificate and cash prize of Rs. 7.5 lakh each.

Also honoured were 15 Arjuna awardees who received statuettes, certificates and award money of Rs.5 lakh each.

Long distance runner Lalita Babar, who finished a creditable 10th in the 3000m steeplechase in the Rio Games, boxer Shiva Thapa, only the third Indian to win a World

Championships medal last year, and hockey players VR Raghunath and Rani Rampal were among those who received the Arjuna award.

Cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, who was also selected for the Arjuna Award, missed out on the ceremony as he is in the United States with the Indian team for a Twenty20 series against the West Indies.

Teen Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the first Indian athlete to become a world champion at any level with a gold medal at the U-20 World Championship, was also among the Arjuna winners this year.

Goalkeeper Subrata Paul was the lone footballer in the list of Arjuna awardees, which also included shooter Apurvi Chandela and wrestler Vinesh Phogat.

Vinesh received her award while seated on wheelchair as she is recovering from a knee injury sustained in her second-round bout during the Rio Olympic Games.

This year's Dronacharya Award was conferred upon six coaches, the most notable among them being Dipa's coach Bishweshwar Nandi and India Test team captain Virat Kohli's mentor Raj Kumar Sharma.

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: India's men's team skipper Virat Kohli congratulated the Harmanpreet Kaur-led women's side for reaching its maiden final of the T20 World Cup in Australia, saying the outfit's performance is something to be "proud" of.

The Indian women's team advanced to the the summit clash owing to a superior group stage record, after the semifinal clash against England was abandoned without a ball being bowled at the Sydney Cricket Ground due to persistent rain.

"Congratulations to the Indian Women's team on qualifying for the @T20WorldCup final. We are proud of you girls and wish you all the luck for the finals," Kohli tweeted.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag also took to Twitter to wish the Indian side luck for the final which is scheduled to be played in Melbourne on Sunday.

"...A reward for winning all the matches in the group stage. Congratulations @BCCIWomen and wishing you glory this Sunday #T20WorldCup," Sehwag said.

Former India Test specialist VVS Laxman hailed the side for its unbeaten record in the tournament so far.

"Would have been great to see the match, but many congratulations to @BCCIWomen for making it to the finals of the #T20WorldCup . A reward for winning 4 out of 4 in the group stages. Wishing the girls the very best for the finals on #WomensDay"

India have been in red-hot form in the tournament winning all four of their group A matches.

They began with a win over defending champions Australia followed by victories against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka to top group A with eight points from four matches.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will take on the winner of the second semifinal between hosts Australia and South Africa in the summit clash.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

New Delhi, Feb 20: Grappler Divya Kakran on Thursday became the second Indian woman to win a gold medal at the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championship.

Divya, a bronze medallist at Asian Games 2018, earned her first gold by winning all her four bouts against Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Japan.

Her final bout against Naruha Matsuyuki of Japan was the closest one but she managed to outclass her opponent 6-4 to seal her name on the gold medal. The 68 kg category was played in round-robin format as only five wrestlers were in the fray.

India is likely to add some more medals to its tally when Nirmala Devi, Pinki, and Sarita go out to grapple for the yellow metal in their respective weight categories.

Three-time Commonwealth championship gold medallist, Nirmala Devi (50 kg) first defeated Munkhnar Byambasuren of Mongolia in the quarterfinals by 6-4 to reach the semis.

In the semi-finals, Nirmala got the better of Dauletbike Yakhshimuratova of Uzbekistan by 10-0 and will play against 2018 Under-23 World Champion Miho Igarashi of Japan for the gold medal.

Pinki (55 kg) started her day on a winning note against Shokhida Akhmedova of Uzbekistan by 12-4 in round 3 and lost to Kana Higashikawa of Japan to enter the semis where she defeated Marina Zuyeva of Kazakistan by a score of 6-0.

Pinki will play in the gold medal bout against Dulguun Bolormaa of Mongolia.

Sarita (59 kg) will now face Battsetseg Altantsetseg of Mongolia in the gold medal bout after winning against her opponents in the qualifiers, quarterfinals and semi-final by a score of 10-0, 11-0 and 10-3, respectively.

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News Network
February 14,2020

Los Angeles, Feb 14: Tributes to the late Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers legend who died last month in a helicopter crash, will play a major role in Sunday's 69th NBA All-Star Game.

This year's annual showcase of league talent will be played in Chicago and feature numerous nods to Bryant, a five-time NBA champion who also matched a league record with four NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player awards.

Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star, died at age 41 on January 26 in a crash near Los Angeles that also took the life of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.

All-Star teams guided by LeBron James of the Lakers and Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will compete to win each of the first three quarters, which will all start 0-0 and last 12 minutes.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the clock will be turned off and a final target score will be established by taking the leading club's cumulative score through the first three quarters and adding 24 points -- the number representing the jersey number worn by Bryant for the final 10 seasons of his NBA career.

The first team to reach the cumulative target score will win the NBA All-Star Game.

All-Star Game jerseys will also honor Bryant and his daughter.

Team Giannis players will wear jersey number 24 in tribute to Kobe while Team LeBron players will wear jersey number two, the number his daughter wore when playing youth basketball.

Both teams will wear jersey patches displaying nine stars, representing the nine people who were killed in the crash.

Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning singer Jennifer Hudson, a Chicago native, will perform a special tribute to Bryant, his daughter and the others who were killed in the crash. Her performance will begin the night ahead of the player introductions.

James and Antetokounmpo each chose their squads from available starters and reserves voted and selected to the All-Star contest.

Team LeBron starters will include James, his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, NBA scoring leader James Harden of Houston, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and Slovenian guard Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.

Team Giannis starters include the Greek big man, Cameroon stars Joel Embiid of Philadelphia and Pascal Siakam of Toronto and guards Kemba Walker of Boston and Trae Young of Atlanta.

A record eight All-Star Game players from outside the United States also include Frenchman Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz on Team Giannis and Team LeBron reserves Ben Simmons of Australia and the Philadelphia 76ers, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis of Indiana and Serbian Nikola Jokic of Denver.

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