Saina Nehwal has become the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the All England Super Series badminton championship.

With a line-up boasting of Olympic hero Vijender Singh, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar and Asian champion Suranjoy Singh, India are firm favourites for a second title triumph at the Commonwealth Boxing Championships starting in New Delhi on Friday.

Australian Olympic cycling gold medalist Lionel Cox has died of pneumonia, the Australian Olympic Committee said. He was 80.

World champion marksman Manavjit Singh Sandhu lived upto his top billing and clinched the trap gold in the ISSF World Cup at Acapulco, Mexico.

An Olympics that began with the death of a luger ended with an exuberant celebration of Canada - reflecting a determined comeback by the host country's organisers and athletes.

Riding on Sayali Gokhale's stunning win, the Indian women team sailed into the semifinals of the Uber Cup Asia Zone qualifier but it was curtains for their male counterparts in the Thomas Cup in Nakornratchasima, Thailand on Friday.

Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh will spearhead India's challenge in the 5th Commonwealth Boxing Championships to be held at the Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi from March 10-18.

Australia's discus world champion Dani Samuels will give the Commonwealth Games a miss if security risks become too high but Olympic silver medallist hurdler Sally McLellan said he would travel to India come what may.

Chetan Anand lost his singles match but India still managed to roll over hosts Thailand and top their group after Arvind Bhat and RMV Gurusaidutt won their respective ties in the Thomas Cup (Asia Zone) qualifiers in Nakornratchasima today.

Chetan Anand shepherded the Indian men's team to a 5-0 rout of Cambodia but the women shuttlers went down to Japan 1-4 despite Saina Nehwal's victory over Ai Goto in the Thomas and Uber Cup Asia Zone qualifiers in Nakornratchasima, Thailand on Tuesday.

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal pulled off a thrilling victory over world number eight Zhou Mi as Indian women defeated formidable Hong Kong in their Uber Cup(Asia Zone) opener in Nakornratchasima, Thailand today.

Samaresh Jung remained true to his nickname 'Goldfinger' and notched up one of India's three gold medals on Sunday, as the country's shooters continued their dominance at the top of the table by taking their medal count to 17 on day four of the Commonwealth Championships in New Delhi.

With fitness problems and form plaguing his career last season, ace Indian shuttler Arvind Bhat has decided to cut down on tournament appearances this year and dedicate more time to training.

Despite the training-run death earlier in the day of a luger from the country of Georgia, the Olympics' opening ceremonies were launched on Friday night with a jubilant countdown by the crowd filling BC Place Stadium.

Shooters Surendra Singh Rathod and Om Prakash and paddler Madhurika Patkar etched their names in the record books, as India finished on top with 90 gold, 55 silver and 30 bronze medals to end its dominating journey in the 11th South Asian Games in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra missed his third gold by a whisker but Suma Shirur bagged her second yellow metal in the final of triple match competition in men's and women's 10m air rifle at the 33rd InterShoot tournament in the Hague, The Netherlands.

Surendra Singh Rathod shot his way to the record books, scoring 1172 in the 50m rifle three position which earned him his third gold as Indian shooters clinched both the gold medals up for grab in the 11th South Asian Games here today.

The appointment of a Ukrainian coach by the shooters themselves has not gone down well with Sports Minister M S Gill, who said they should have showed more patience but the marksmen argued they could not wait longer for things to happen.

Leander Paes equalled the record for most Grand Slam title triumphs by an Indian as the veteran and his Zimbabwean partner Cara Black clinched the Australian Open mixed doubles Championship with a straight-set win here today.

World champion Viswanathan Anand outmaneuvered Russian Vladimir Kramnik in the 12th round to rise to the third spot in the elite group 'A' of the Corus Chess Tournament here.

Aiming to test themselves against top Asian rivals ahead of the Commonwealth Championships in March, Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh and three other Indian boxers will leave for China tomorrow morning to compete in an invitational prize money event starting February 1.

Saina Nehwal's challenge at the Malaysian Super Series was cut short in the quarterfinal stage, as the Indian squandered a one-game lead to crash out of the badminton tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Clearing the way for Indian weightlifters' participation in the Commonwealth Games, the game's governing body has decided against imposing a ban on the Indian Weightlifting Federation and let it off with a $500,000 fine.

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal cruised to the quarter-finals with a straight-game win but Chetan Anand bite the dust in the singles event of the Malaysian Super Series tournament in Kuala Lumpur today.

Repeat offenders Shailaja Pujari and Vicky Butta were slapped with life bans, while four others were barred for four years as the International Weightlifting Federation cracked the whip on Indian dope cheats.