Author: S Kannan

As the first rays of sun are seen in the New Year, looking back at achievements from the sporting arena at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics give fans huge highs. Six medals at the Olympics and 29 medals at the Paralympics brings back wonderful memories. Yet, if one also factors the misses, exactly half a dozen fourth places finishes at the Paris 2024 Olympics, it is a clear sign the medal tally could have been higher. First, a recall of something truly historic – Manu Bhaker winning two bronze medals in the air pistol event, individual, as well as…

The depth in Indian shooting has come to the fore, again. At the ongoing Nationals being conducted by the National Rifle Association of India in New Delhi and Bhopal for pistol and rifle, results coming from fearless juniors is brilliant news. Sample this, one more girl from Jhajjar, Haryana has stormed the air pistol arena answering to the name of Suruchi. When this teenager, unheard of, did well in the air pistol main event, juniors and seniors, it was clear that she was on a mission. And on Saturday, she also won the mixed gold. Suruchi trains at the same…

Like the proverbial Phoenix rising from the ashes, Manu Bhaker showed passion, grit and hunger for success to emerge the queen of Indian sports in 2024 with her sensational performances at the Paris Olympics. At the start of the year, Manu was not even sure if she would make the team, since the National Rifle Association of India had laid down a clear-cut selection policy. It was like, peak and prove yourself in the Olympic Selection Trials (OST) and get selected. The way Manu blazed the trials in New Delhi and Bhopal in the summer heat, there was no doubt…

Just as Indian athletes are celebrated for bringing laurels to the country from the field of play, if one takes a look at officials who have done well in 2024, the name of Jay Shah will come on top of the list. This is a year where Shah, son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, showed that he is young, energetic and still can lead the world of cricket. Shah’s rise to the post of chairman, International Cricket Council (ICC), at 36, has been welcomed by all the major cricket playing nations. The lone exception is Pakistan, where a section…

Any review of Indian sport in 2024 is incomplete without a detailed mention of what the star athletes achieved at the Paris Paralympics as well as the Asia Pacific Deaf Games which concluded recently in Kuala Lumpur. If winning 29 medals in Paris and Chateauroux was an incredible achievement, the 55 medals won in Kuala Lumpur were also defining. All the athletes who have been classified as ‘Para’ athletes or ‘deaf’, overcoming the challenges and excelling in the field of play is worth lavish praise. For those who may think the standard of competition in the Paralympics or the Deaf…

These are interesting times for millions of Formula 1 viewers. As another season ended, and Max Verstappen emerged champion for a fourth time, the narrative was about Lewis Hamilton. For the Briton to show he still has it in him was evident when he tore up the miles on the track in Abu Dhabi to finish fourth, after starting 16th on the grid. For someone who won seven world championships, six with Mercedes, this, though, was nothing big. But it was, for Hamilton had almost threatened to quit the last four races as his F1 form was not what he…

The relationship between an athlete and a coach is sacrosanct. In professional tennis, hire and fire is the norm. Be it winner of 24 Grand Slam titles Novak Djokovic or World No.2 Iga Swiatek, it takes them no time in calling it splits with their coach if things do not work out well. If there is a fantastic exception to the rule, someone who respects a coach like a father figure, it has to be Neeraj Chopra. Known for his sublime skills with the javelin and how he can battle less than full fitness to win medals, Neeraj won hearts…

Every save, every dive, each time he did acrobatic stuff to stop the hockey ball from flying into the cage, goalkeeper PR Sreejesh sent the audience into raptures. Well before the Indian hockey team departed for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Sreejesh had decided this would be his last hurrah. Nobody asked him to step down, nobody asked him to make way for the juniors, it was ‘Sree Anna’s’ own decision. That defines him as one of the best ever goalkeepers India has ever had, someone loved even by rival teams as a wonderful human being . Images from the Yves-du-Manoir…

Karma. That’s one key word Dronacharya Jaspal Rana uses to describe the way his ward Manu Bhaker could peak at the gruelling Olympic Selection Trials (OST) and eventually at Chateauroux, venue for the shooting events at the Paris 2024 Olympics. This was one of the most captivating comebacks by a coach and shooter, after an enormous amount of bitterness which became full-blown news for the media after the Tokyo Olympics. Sample this. When Manu failed to win a big medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, she looked lost. The smile was missing on her face even as the…

Rohan Bopanna will be pairing up with Colombian doubles expert Nicolas Barrientos at the 2025 season opener in Adelaide, to be followed by the Australian Open, starting January 12. Confirming the news, Bopanna said he was looking forward to the new season. “Nicolas is a baseline player and his strengths are speed, return of serve and groundstrokes,” Bopanna told RevSportz on Tuesday. Nicolas is ranked 49th at present in doubles, so Bopanna is hopeful of doing well next year. The good part is Nicolas has plenty of doubles experience and also won an ATP Tour title in 2024. There was…