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Saturday, February 21, 2026
TopicSportspersons

Topic: Sportspersons

Armed forces’ ‘sports for wellness’ rule cost India. Time to bring back ‘gladiator sportsmen’

Until 1970s, Indian armed forces allowed units to spare military training for some men to help them focus only on sports. Then came the outcry to ban sports competitions.

India must think beyond glory of medal winners. Many things still holding us back in sports

Today's sportspersons are rarely in the game because of choice. Winning medals will remain a matter of luck if India doesn't create a sporting culture beyond cricket.

Fiercely Female: Story of Dutee Chand who broke ground as India’s 1st openly homosexual athlete

Published by Westland Books, ‘Fiercely Female: The Dutee Chand Story' by Sundeep Mishra will be released on 22 June on ThePrint’s ‘SoftCover’.

Hanuma Vihari to Sunil Chhetri — Indian sportspersons are finally showing up during crisis

Yes, #IndiaAgainstPropaganda was an embarrassment. But move away from the mainstream and you’ll see many sportspersons backing worthy causes.

Observers are the moral conscience of Indian sports

It is ideal to have legends like Mary Kom and Sushil Kumar as observers, but only once they retire from the game.

On Camera

Youth Congress, your foolish protest helped the Modi govt climb out of the AI summit hole

In tactical terms, the shirtless protest was worse than a self-goal. Suddenly, the fiascos of the AI Summit were forgotten, and the Youth Congress’s disruption became the issue.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

MoD, IAF agree on some exemptions to HAL for Tejas Mk1A, but no compromise on ‘must-have’ capabilities

IAF is fine with accepting the aircraft with 'must-haves', even if some other steps remain pending, which may take at least another year, it is learnt.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.