He is only the third Indian, and the first in six years, to win a gold medal at this championship.
Source: Facebook
A resident of Miththal village near Bhiwani, Haryana, the farmer’s son has come a long way from where he started. At the age of 10, when he went to a boxing academy in Bhiwani, coach Sanjay Swaran refused to enrol him because he was undernourished.“He was so thin and unhealthy that I refused to his father because Sachin’s weight was less than 30 kg,” Swaran told One India.But Sachin’s father Krishan, whose brother Vijender is a boxer, was insistent and Swaran finally agreed. After his enrolment, the family had to rethink ways to provide for the boxer in-making’s diet. The wheat produced from their farm was just enough to make ends meet for the family. The biggest concern was getting fresh milk, which was an essential part of the diet.
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Fortunately, the farmer found a stray cow that had wandered into the village and had no claimant. He got her tested by a vet and Sachin’s diet problem was solved. Sachin is the third Indian to win gold at a youth world championship after Nanao Singh (2008) and Vikas Krishan (2010). He is also showing progress with every match he plays. Last year, he had nabbed a bronze at the same venue.
“So I was pretty confident going into the youth worlds. Every day, I used to make a call to Mitathal and make strategies for the next round with coach. It’s his hard work that has paid off,” Sachin told The Indian Express.
Bhavina Patel with her medals and trophies[/caption]
Her performance has been impeccable at top level competitions, including world championships like Thailand Open and Japan Open, among others. Bhavina, who has never let disability define her life on or off-court, has represented India in 15 international tournaments so far and brought home 10 medals. What this supergirl needs now is support and heartfelt wishes for her dreams of netting a gold at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics!
Bhavina (left) with other para athletes[/caption]
Smriti Mandhana[/caption]
Smriti Mandhana[/caption]
Smriti Mandhana[/caption]
Smriti Mandhana[/caption]
The Indian Women's Team after winning the T20 series against Australia[/caption]
India End 15-Year Wait, Defeat Belgium For 2nd Junior Hockey World Cup Title[/caption]
Harjeet Singh[/caption]
Harjeet's father, Rampal Singh, is a truck driver[/caption]
Harjeet Singh in action[/caption]
Harjeet Singh with the Asia Cup 2015 trophy[/caption]
Harjeet Singh with fellow hockey player, Harmanpreet Singh (left)[/caption]
Nair was making his way to a temple through river Pampa in Kerala when his boat capsized. He had to wade and float in the choppy waters until a rescue team could reach him. The accident was so severe that six people lost their lives and several went missing.
Like millions of young boys and girls across the country, Nair cites Sachin as his inspiration to pick up the bat in the first place. How now counts Sachin and Rahul Dravid as his idols.
Nair shares a deep connection with Rahul Dravid who has personally mentored him for many years now. In an interview with 
Mahavir Singh Phogat with his daughters; in real life (left) and in the movie 'Dangal' (right)[/caption]
However, while the core of the movie's story holds true to the real life events of Mahavir Singh Phogat, director Nitesh Tiwari allowed himself a few cinematic liberties. Here are a few facts shown in Dangal that differ from what happened in the real life of the Phogats.
(Note: You are now entering spoiler territory. So if you are planning to watch Dangal in the coming days and do not want us to spoil the movie for you, stop reading this!)
A still from Dangal[/caption]
A still from Dangal[/caption]
A still from Dangal[/caption]
Official poster of upcoming biopic, Sachin: A Billion Dreams[/caption]
P T Usha[/caption]
Balbir Singh Sr[/caption]
Kapil Dev[/caption]
Karnam Malleshwari[/caption]
Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav[/caption]
Shankar Laxman[/caption]
Devendra Jhajharia[/caption]
Dipa Karmakar[/caption]
“When the doctor first told me that I had this disease, it still had not completely affected me. I still had my vision; I could still drive. I only lost my ability to do certain things like playing cricket but that’s not something I couldn’t live without. But it started getting worse and my family doctor told me that if I wanted to pursue higher studies, I should do it fast and that’s when it really sunk in,” says Sagar.
But Sagar does not want to talk about his achievements; he would rather focus on his cause. He is passionate about creating support groups for the visually-impaired in India. He has been volunteering at a support group at the Centre for Eye Genetics and Research. “
Today, Sagar has enough vision to see obstructions in his way when he goes running, but he can only cycle when he is with a group. He says that the one lesson he has learnt from life is to never take anything for granted. “I never appreciated even the small things that I could do before I was diagnosed. For instance, right now I can’t even shave. It can be hard when you can’t do the simplest things by yourself. It’s hard when you can’t recognise your friend as they walk past you. I am now appreciative of everything that I have. It took something like this to happen for me to learn that lesson.”
You can donate to Sagar's campaign 
Shiva Prasad[/caption]
At a sports event, he happened to meet T. Seetharam, the General Secretary of the Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Federation of India. Seetharam appreciated Shiva’s fitness and suggested that he take up tennis.
Shiva Prasad at Bangkok Cup 2016[/caption]
TFN is the only multi-day endurance cycling challenge in India, and it has become popular over the past few years. Although the event organizers, Ride-A-Cycle Foundation, receive numerous applications, they restrict the number of participants to 110 every year. These participants belong to all age groups, right from young Siddharth Varma (who is 19 years old) to 71-year-old Russell Bell, the oldest participant. TFN participants are closely connected to each other since they believe in the common goal of completing the tour and testing the limits of their endurance.
The TFN tour can be really tough on the participants, who have to cycle about 160 km. every day. The youngest participant, Siddharth Varma, said “TFN was my 19th birthday gift, and it has been the best gift of my life so far. My father introduced me to the tour. Now that I have completed it, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment as the path wasn’t easy. It tested my mental strength to a large extent.”
Siddharth is a student at Ashoka University in Delhi who intends to major in Psychology. He is interested in adventure sports and martial arts. He heads his own mixed martial arts club at the university, where he teaches other students and prepares them for survival skills. According to him, sports teaches us a lot about life, and we just need to take back all we can get from it. A resident of Gurgaon, he cycles around the city to pursue his passion of cycling.
The TFN does sound crazy and unsafe, but Ride-A-Cycle Foundation ensures that the route is safe. There are motorbikes patrolling through the route to ensure that no one is left behind, and an ambulance follows the cyclists for emergency situations. There are support stations installed for the cyclists throughout the way where they are supplied with water and food. The path is also well-marked, with sign posts guiding the cyclists in the direction they need to take.
Siddharth found the experience of TFN very fulfilling. “TFN helped me calm my body and mind. It taught me patience and endurance. I learnt to interact with different people and I made new friends. The main thing that I learnt was to never give up, specially when you are very close to success,” he comments.
Siddharth encourages youngsters to go outdoors and exercise for a while. He believes that it gives peace to the body and the mind. For all those unsure of cycling 160 km. every day and taking up the TFN challenge, we can take inspiration from people like Siddharth, who accomplished this challenge at such a young age.
(The author is a young writer who writes regularly on culture, art, lifestyle, and offbeat travel topics for cultural magazine Caleidoscope.)
If you are a cycling enthusiast, and enjoy the challenge of cycling up to 160 km. a day, 
But being a female wrestler came with its own set of challenges. Fortunately for her, her father took her side for ten years, supporting her pursuit of the sport.
Mahima Rathod is the only female wrestler from her village.[/caption]
Wrestling seems to run in Rathod blood; Mahima’s great-grandfather was a well known wrestler. Her grandfather and his eight brothers were wrestlers who moonlighted as farm laborers to pay the bills.
Mahima’s father, Raju Rathod and her uncle, Santosh Rathod, both started wrestling at an early age along with their father.
Mahima's father Raju Rathod was once a wrestler too and now he is coaching his daughter.[/caption]
Mahima started wrestling when she was 6 years old.[/caption]
Raju faced his share of name-calling and jibes, continued to do what he was doing. The state-level players he was familiar with encouraged him by giving him information about girls’ wrestling in India.
Mahima has won many dangals, district level matches and state level matches too.[/caption]
Later this year, Mahima will represent the state of Maharashtra in the national wrestling championship at Patna. Her first match is on 14th January 2017.
To participate in the 40kg category she needs to loose at least 3 kilograms. Apart from this she also has to cope with her studies as she will be appearing for her 10th board exams this year. She is striving hard to find a balance.
Her daily routine is grueling; she wakes up at 4 in the morning and studies for an hour. Then she exercises for an hour, and heads to school at 7 a.m.. After class, she attends tuitions till 5 p.m. after which she practices for as long as she can on the wrestling ground.
But at present, Mahima requires a special diet and training to reach the international level.
Parsharam Narwade (Extreme Left) wants to raise funds for Mahima.[/caption]
As TBI readers, you can lend your support by contacting Raju Rathod on 9011984333 or donating 
All I want to say to people who want to change careers is – don’t change careers and do something just because it sounds cool. If you want to do it, do the best you can. If you are giving up something to do something else, then you have no choice but to be among the best in the country at it. Because if are giving up what you know, to go and do something that you don’t know much about – you have no option but to be the best at it because you have given up your strength, and there is no point in doing it otherwise.
But I worry about the romance and the publicity associated in our media with all this stuff – I fear that a lot of people who would have done very well in normal traditional careers, might just go astray because it is considered to be cool to be different…Because people are doing it, you also don’t have to do it because your strength might be something else. So I worry a little, because I am hugely energised by young India. This is the finest generation India has ever had. And that is why I am so pissed by the negativity that abounds in the media because India, I believe is going through its most positive phase.
It already is, enormously. Look at India and Afghanistan. See what cricket has done to Afghanistan. Suddenly, Afghanistan is an identity. Cricket is forming a bridge between India and Afghanistan – politically it is right or wrong is a different story. All of a sudden Afghanistan has gone from being level five, to playing T-20 world cup. It is the most incredible story. Sport has been a huge healer there. Sport is an escape. It allows you to escape, but very differently from the way movies allow it. They allow that in a very fantasy-driven way. Sport allows you to escape, but escape into the real world.
Find another profession, because it doesn’t exist. When I started the profession did exist because it was a government-controlled media, but today the profession definitely doesn’t exist because people are fishing in the wrong pond. People are searching for batting and bowling averages and career records. The correlation between them and a good broadcast has never been established. So if you are a very bright young kid who understands the game, feels the emotion, follows analytics, and tells a great story, it's not the television channels alone that are looking for you but also a plethora of websites. You need to have a mix between analytical and emotional commentary, because sport is drama and you cannot forget the drama around sports.
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Kerala has been a paradox of progressive movements and modern thought co-existing with traditional customs and taboos. Gender segregation starting from schools itself is one area where the light of modernity is yet to be seen. Girls are usually not given entry in playgrounds or accorded the same freedom or chances to play sports as much as boys. Transgenders, as in other areas, had been an ostracized lot too. This is the reason why individual feats by females in sports are considered exceptions and not the norm, even when such champions are celebrated and applauded by all.
It is in this backdrop that Yuvasamithi decided to showcase a model of gender neutrality in the sports ground, by organizing a Gender-Neutral Football League (GNFL) as part of its SCRIBES science-cultural fest, which is an event that gathers youth from all over the state and includes discussions, film screenings and performances. The league-level tournaments were kicked-off at the Government High School ground at Pilicode in Kasaragod district on January 15, where teams comprising of men, women and transgenders played against each other in true spirits of the sport. It was a ‘Fives’ or Five-a-side affair in which each team consisted of two male players, two females and one transgender/queer player. If a transgender/queer player was absent, one female player could be included as a replacement. Five teams fought with each other and the winners were given prizes in a public function attended by activists and local community leaders and people’s representatives. Esha Kishore, a transgender activist and dancer who played in the tournament described playing football as a first-time experience in her Facebook post.
This is not for the first time that such an attempt is being made. In 2016, another set of football matches were conducted as a friendly affair by the members of a WhatsApp group in Thrissur, where male and female players came together. The initiative by Yuvasamithi is unique, for this is the first instance of such a tournament being organized with a schedule, rules and regulations, and including transgender players. The tournament, even though conducted as a humble affair, has made its own impact on social media and in the newspapers as well.
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