Author: S Kannan

There has been little good news for Indian weightlifting recently, be it from the Paris 2024 Olympics or the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year. It would be easiest to blame Mirabai Chanu, the diminutive girl who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Sadly, she was unable to win medals in the two big events in Hangzhou and Paris. It takes one champion to respect the efforts put in by another. The Ironwoman of Indian weightlifting, Karnam Malleswari, who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, is still very hopeful about the sport’s…

It was heartening to see photos of tennis legend Leander Paes meeting Mansukh Mandaviya, the Sports Minister, in New Delhi on Thursday. Holding the ‘Hall Of Fame’ trophy presented to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bronze medallist recently, memories came flooding back of what all Paes had achieved in his career in singles and doubles. At the same time, a cryptic post from Sumit Nagal on X (Twitter), caught the eye. It read: “Maybe it’s time to get players in the front row as well.” The reference was to a photo posted from Stockholm, Sweden, where India will be taking on…

At a time when India struggles to get its best players on board to represent the country in the prestigious Davis Cup away tie against Sweden, one man still enjoying himself on the ATP Tour is Rohan Bopanna. At Level 44, as he likes to call himself, the tall Coorgi is at home in Bengaluru for a break before he again steps out in the quest for more wins, ranking points and titles. In an exclusive chat with RevSportz, Bopanna spoke of how the year has been satisfying and there is a lot more work to be done. Reminded about…

Manu Bhaker was asked by Jaspal Rana, her coach, to take a three-month break from shooting after she had pushed all limits to win two bronze medals for India at the Paris Olympics. A third medal eluded her in the sports pistol final on August 3, 2024. If 90 days was the prescribed break, 40 are already over. Manu has spent time attending several interactions and felicitation functions. She has been featured as the superstar of the Olympics. Nothing wrong in that. The challenge begins once she returns, hopefully, to the shooting ranges in November. It will be like starting…

Champion or cheat, the debate over Jannik Sinner will not end anytime soon, even as the 23-year-old Italian won the US Open with a flourish against Taylor Fritz in New York. If Aryna Sabalenka is the queen of hard courts in the 2024 tennis season., Sinner has done the same by winning the Australian Open and the US Open. A massive difference between the wins in Melbourne and noisy New York have been the circumstances under which Sinner has emerged tops. From a frosty relationship with colleagues in the locker room to Nick Kyrgios taking periodic swipes at Sinner, life…

The tiger tattoo on her forearms and the sting she packs into her shots alone are not what define Aryna Sabalenka as a powerhouse on the tennis court. At the US Open final in noisy New York on Saturday night, the 26-year-old Belarussian showed how strong she is physically and mentally, outhitting Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 to win her maiden US Open. It was raining cats and dogs and the retractable roof had been rolled over. In such conditions, wherein there are changes in the conditions, as it becomes indoor hard court and not outdoor hard court, the players do…

Navdeep Singh may be short in height but turned out to be tall in stature as he sealed India’s seventh gold medal as the Asian nation finished with a rich haul of 29 medals from the Paralympics in Paris and Chateauroux. If there was drama and excitement needed at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday night, Navdeep and Iran’s Sadegh Beit Sayah provided it. The Indian, competing in the F41 category, which is for “short athletes” did well to come up with a 47.32 metres effort with the javelin. It was initially silver but Sayah’s 47.64 metres, a…

Sport is non-stop. Preparations, too, cannot be halted for a long time. India’s heroes will soon return from the Paris Paralympics with a rich haul, and there will be celebrations at home. However, what is most important is that planning for the next Olympic cycle begins at the earliest. In less than a day, the men’s hockey team will be competing at the Asian Champions Trophy in Hulunbuir, China. Both coach Craig Fulton and captain Harmanpreet Singh realise that resting on the laurels of a bronze medal from Paris 2024 will be futile. The team has to look ahead, minus…

Raja Randhir Singh, 78, is excited about assuming office as the high-profile President of the Olympic Council of Asia in New Delhi on Sunday. In an exclusive interview with RevSportz, the seasoned athlete-turned-administrator spoke of how much contribution he has made to sports in India and abroad in various capacities. “Kannan, you know best, how long I have been working for the OCA, it stretches over four decades and in various capacities. To become the President unanimously is a matter of prestige not just for me but India,” said Randhir with a smile. He may have lost weight and is…

It was heartening to see Mariyappan Thangavelu win a hat-trick of medals in three different editions of the Paralympics. It showed his stomach for a fight in a highly competitive field, the T43 category of men’s high jump, at the Paris Paralympics. He smiled after the medal-winning effort, not something he does often. Celebrations in Periavadagampatti, his village in Salem district, Tamil Nadu, late on Tuesday night were loud. Firecrackers were burst to hail his ‘three-peat’ effort, where Mariyappan was involved in a great contest with Ezra Frech and Sharad Kumar, also from India. At one stage, Mariyappan was in…