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M. C. Mary Kom, Sportstar of the Decade at the 2021 Sportstar ACES Awards, said, “I have been fighting so long, almost 20 years. Being a woman, a girl, a mother – it is not an easy task.”

In this issue

01-05-202141 STORIES

Novak Djokovic is one of the all-time great tennis players.

Does Novak Djokovic have the perfect game?

Not only does Novak Djokovic have the momentum, confidence and determination to surpass Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, but he also boasts the diverse

Paul Fein

The warrior diet involves eating one meal a day and restricting intake of macronutrients and calories for the rest of the day. For example, begin your day with water and vegetable juices.

Food For Thought

Should a competing athlete explore intermittent fasting?

The human body is well suited to regular short periods of fasting, and a daily overnight fast of 8-10 hours or even longer is standard for most people

Ryan Fernando

Closer to our times, philosophy and sport came together when Mike Tyson was forcing himself on a model at a party. The philosopher A. J. Ayer (left) asked him to desist, at which point Tyson turned to him angrily and said, “Do you know who the f*** I am? I’m the heavyweight champion of the world.” Ayer, then 77, replied, “And I am the former Wykeham Professor of Logic at Oxford. We are both eminent men in our field. I suggest we talk about this like rational men.”

Philosophy has a long way to catch up with sports

All sporting arguments have their philosophical base — competition, collaboration, ethics, aesthetics, cheating, sacrifice and so on. Yet they continu

Suresh Menon

Kane Williamson pointed out the fickle nature of the T20 format, while seeming not to pay too much attention to the 'underdogs' tag

Kane Williamson: India is the best team in the world

“It’s great that over the space of two years albeit with a lot of disruption, there is going to be the WTC final and for us as a side to be one of tho

The victorious Gokulam Kerala team which won the I-League title this season.

Gokulam Kerala, a fillip to the beautiful game in god’s own country

Homegrown professional clubs from the State had run into troubled waters after the initial excitement. Both FC Kochin and Viva Kerala had to be wound

P. K. Ajith Kumar

New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson in action against Australia in the Perth Test in 2019. “The Black Caps is an amazing outfit with players who work very hard. These are exciting times to be part of NZC but I do want to play Test cricket,” says the fast bowler.

KKR speed gun Lockie Ferguson's key to success

New Zealand and KKR quick Ferguson likes to send the stumps cartwheeling with the bails lighting up like fireworks.

Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya

Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya

Harshal Patel became the first bowler to take a five-wicket haul against Mumbai Indians, but missed out on a hat-trick.

Harshal Patel joins Anil Kumble in IPL record books

Royal Challengers Bangalore's Harshal Patel picked up five wickets against Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2021 opener in Chennai on April 9.

Coach W. V. Raman talks to the Indian women's cricket team in Lucknow.

World of cricket: Of rusty comebacks, fake fielding and DLS confusions

The Indian women’s limited-overs series loss against South Africa at home is a wake up call for the BCCI to design more tournaments for the girls. Ban

Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya

Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya

Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani (in red) scores his side’s second goal against Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League. United won 3-1.

Euro Leagues: United closes in on City rival, Real Madrid moves top with El Clasico win

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils won a fourth consecutive PL contest, coming from 0-1 behind to take out Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 recently, thanks mainl

Mary also received the Sportswoman of the Decade (Individual Olympic Sports) honour at the 2021 Sportstar ACES Awards.

Timeless Mary Kom's significant decade

M. C. Mary Kom, Sportstar of the Decade at the 2021 Sportstar ACES Awards, said, “I have been fighting so long, almost 20 years. Being a woman, a girl

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma greets Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Mohammed Siraj at the end of the first match of the 2021 Indian Premier League. RCB won the match off the last ball, with two wickets in hand.

On The Write Line

Gavaskar on fake fielding: It’s batsman’s responsibility to be aware

It’s deception that makes a player win, so to penalise a player or a team for that is ridiculous to say the least. If the batsman is going to be decei

Sunil Gavaskar

Abhinav Bindra conferred with Sportstar Aces Inspirational Giant of Indian Sports honour

An inspiration to a new generation of Indian shooters, Bindra made history when he won the 10m air rifle event at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Viswanathan Anand with the Sportstar Aces Moment of the Decade Award.

Viswanathan Anand wins Sportstar Aces Moment of the Decade

Anand won the World Rapid Chess Championship in 2017 in Riyadh by beating Vladimir Fedoseev 2-0 in the final tie-break.

World champion P.V. Sindhu displaying the Sportstar 'Sportswoman of the Decade' Trophy (racquet sports) and the 'Moment of the Decade' Trophy for her 2019 World championship title-triumph at her residence in Hyderabad.

PV Sindhu wins Sportstar Aces Moment of the Decade

In August 2019, Sindhu erased every painful memory of the past 10 years when she put forth a commanding performance to defeat Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 2

Chief national badminton coach P. Gopichand with the Sportstar Aces 'Coach of the Decade' trophy at his Academy in Hyderabad.

Pullela Gopichand wins Sportstar Aces Coach of the Decade

A champion shuttler who turned into a highly successful coach, Gopichand has the distinction of producing two Olympic medallists in Saina Newal and P.

PV Sindhu wins Sportstar Aces Racquet Sports Sportswoman of the Decade

The holder of five world championships medals as well as silver medals from Olympics, the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, the South Asian Games a

Kidambi Srikanth wins Sportstar Aces Racquet Sports Sportsman of the Decade

Kidambi Srikanth, who is the only Indian male badminton player to be ranked No. 1 in the world, has carved himself a legacy over the last decade.

Manpreet Singh has scored 19 goals in 267 appearances for India, has participated in two Olympics.

Manpreet Singh wins Sportstar Aces Team Sports Sportsman of the Decade

Manpreet made his international debut in 2011 at age 19 and has been a symbol of newfound confidence during a period of resurgence for Indian hockey.

Rani Rampal received the Arjuna Award in 2016 and was named the 2019 World Games Athlete of the Year.

Rani Rampal wins Sportstar Aces Team Sports Sportswoman of the Decade

In 2020, Rampal became the first woman hockey player and only the third from the sport to receive the Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour.

Joginder Sharma

Joginder Sharma receives Sportstar Aces Giant off the Field honour

Sharma, who is posted in Hisar as deputy superintendent of the Haryana police, implemented the lockdown rules and maintained law and order while ensur

Sushil Kumar wins Sportstar Aces Olympic Sports Sportsman of the Decade

Sushil has carved a niche for himself in Indian sport, bettering his bronze in the 66kg freestyle at the Beijing Olympics by winning silver at London

Ajay Thakur, who serves as a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Himachal Police, during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Ajay Thakur receives Sportstar Aces Giant off the Field honour

Ajay was instrumental in conducting daily checks and his videos requesting people to stay indoors were widely shared across social media.

Akhil Kumar pooled in money to provide food and hand sanitisers during COVID-19 lockdown.

Akhil Kumar receives Sportstar Aces Giant off the Field honour

Akhil worked round the clock to maintain law and order while also providing additional support, ensuring that people remained indoors during COVID-19

Dr Pawan Munjal, Hero MotoCorp’s chairman, managing director and chief executive officer, with the Sportstar Aces Award.

Hero MotoCorp wins Sportstar Aces Best Corporate for Promotion for Sports

In addition to promoting cricket in the 1990s, Hero has also promoted multiple disciplines including football, field hockey and golf.

Anand also helped India share a historic gold medal with Russia at the Online Chess Olympiad in August 2020.

Viswanathan Anand wins Sportstar Aces non-Olympic Sports Sportsman of the Decade

Anand triumphed at the World Rapid Chess Championship in Riyadh in 2017 at age 48, after winning the more prestigious classical chess category at Sofi

Koneru Humpy climbed to second in the world in March 2020, displacing reigning world champion Ju Wenjun.

Koneru Humpy wins Sportstar Aces non-Olympic Sports Sportswoman of the Decade

In 2019, Humpy won her first world title in Moscow in the rapid chess category, a moment that was made more significant as she had returned to the spo

India's cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar has 100 international hundreds.

Sachin Tendulkar honoured with Sportstar Aces Inspirational Giant of Indian Sport

The World Cup win was also a special moment for Little Master Sachin Tendulkar, who got his hands on a World Cup in his sixth attempt.

G.R. Viswanath was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Sportstar ACES Awards.

GR Viswanath honoured with Sportstar Aces Lifetime Achievement Award

G. R. Viswanath belongs to a rare club of sportsmen, who retain their halo long past their retirement, when the crowd parts out of sheer respect and t

Sachin Tendulkar hoisted on the shoulders of the Indian cricket team after the World Cup win.

2011 World Cup-winning men's cricket team wins Sportstar Aces National Team of the Decade

The World Cup win was also a special moment for Little Master Sachin Tendulkar, who got his hands on a World Cup in his sixth attempt.

Since making her debut at the age of 16, Mithali has enjoyed tremendous success in all formats.

Mithali Raj wins Sportstar Aces female cricketer of the decade

Mithali Raj is the most capped player in the history of the women’s game, having featured in 10 Tests, 214 ODIs and 80 Twenty20 Internationals.

MS Dhoni wins Sportstar Aces male cricketer of the Decade

MS Dhoni’s six against Sri Lanka that won India the 2011 World Cup finds a place in the annals of seminal global sporting moments.

Cadets of the Anantapur Sports Academy holding the Sportstar Aces Award.

Anantapur Sports Academy wins Sportstar Aces Sports for Good Honour

Launched in 2000, the Anantpur Sports Academy has used sports as a medium to bring about social change among rural youth, and runs 131 grassroots cent

WNBA commissioner hopes to have limited fans at start of new season

In a wide-ranging interaction, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke about the future of the league, the role of the Indian market and more.

Shankar Narayan

Bengaluru FC players with the Sportstar Aces club of the decade.

Bengaluru FC wins Sportstar Aces Club of the Decade

With two I-League titles, two Federation Cups, an Indian Super League crown and a Super Cup, BFC was the most successful Indian football club of the l

Neeraj Chopra

Neeraj Chopra wins Sportstar Aces Track and Field Sportsman of the Decade

Neeraj Chopra recently bettered his own national record with an 88.07m throw at the third Indian Grand Prix in March, where he returned to competition

Krishna Poonia wins Sportstar Aces Track and Field Sportswoman of the Decade

In addition to the Commonwealth Games gold, Poonia won bronze medals at the Doha and Guangzhou Asian Games in 2006 and 2010, respectively.

Narain Karthikeyan is the first Indian to race in Formula One.

Narain Karthikeyan wins Sportstar Aces Motorsports' Sportsperson of the Decade

In the last decade, Narain Karthikeyan has taken part in the Super Formula and Super GT championships in Japan, winning three podiums.

Anand Singh Khati, president of the Railways Sports Promotion Board, with the Best PSU for the Promotion of Sports honour.

Indian Railways wins Sportstar Aces Best PSU for Sports Promotion of Sports

The past decade has seen Railways sportsmen and teams win honours and medals at major international events, including the Olympics.

Deepa Malik is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics.

Deepa Malik wins Sportstar Aces Para Sports Sportswoman of the Decade

Deepa Malik made history in 2016 when she won the silver medal in the F53 shot put event at the Rio Paralympics.

Devendra Jhajharia with the Sportstar Aces Sportsman of the Decade (Para Sports) Awards.

Devendra Jhajharia wins Sportstar Aces Para Sports Sportsman of the Decade

Jhajharia, who was the first Paralympian to be awarded the Padma Shri in 2012, was bestowed with India’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khe

This is the Odisha's third Sportstar Aces honour in a row, having won the award in 2019 and 2020 as well.

Odisha wins Sportstar Aces 2021 Best State for Promotion of Sports

Odisha won the Best State for Promotion of Sports award at the Sportstar Aces Awards 2021 Giants of the Decade.

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