World Sports

Badminton  Guru Gopichand and his Hall of Fame:  The former All-England champion's academy is the nursery and finishing school of Indian shuttlers   Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Jaya he Bharata Bhagya Vidhaata...' The strains of the National Anthem pierce the strong morning wind blowing past the portico of the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in the Gachibowli area of Hyderabad. Singing the anthem are the best of Indian badminton: Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap, P.V. Sindhu, RMV Guru Sai Dutt and at least 20 others. It is a ritual they perform twice a week for inspiration. Pullela Gopichand Before stepping inside the academy, many of the players bend down, touch the floor and then their forehead. It is a gesture that tells you what this gurukul means to each one of them. If they were badminton players 10 years ago in India, an academy like this would have been unthinkable. Today it is a dream come true, thanks to the perseverance of one man-national badminton...

The birth of football in India and its glory days The victorious Mohun Bagan team with the IFA Shield : 1911 The past 3-4 years have seen India host the Indian Super League (ISL) and most recently, the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The inaugural match of the World Cup saw hosts India being beaten 3-0 by the United States and despite this huge loss, pundits praised India's performance, claiming that it was too good for "newcomers" like India. Since some years, words like "newcomers", "new entrants" have been used frequently by the sports media to describe Indian football, especially since the start of the ISL. Usage of such words might lead one to believe that India is really an unskilled, backward nation in terms of football with absolutely zero history and heritage. Yes, there are people who believe India started playing football only in the 21st century, but, the reality is quite the opposite. Indian football actually has a rich football heritage...