Sjoerd Marijne, the Indian women’s hockey coach, with the team during the recent tour of Argentina.
| Photo Credit: x@thehockeyindia

Haryana’s Deepak Punia on his way to winning his quarterfinal bout against statemate Rahul Hooda in the men’s 92kg freestyle category in the Senior Open Ranking Wrestling tournament, in Nandininagar, Gonda, Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. May 10, 2026.
| Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA

India women hockey team coach Sjoerd Marijne.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: BISWARANJAN ROUT

Valsamma, while reminiscing about the glory days, feels a lot has to be done if the State wants to regain its lost sheen.
| Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat

New Delhi:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday announced cash prizes for armed forces’ personnel who won medals at the recently-concluded Asian Games and said whether on a battlefield or a playground “a soldier always performs” because of dedication, discipline, hard work and the desire to do something for the nation.

“Within a soldier, there is a player; within a player, there is a soldier,” he said during his address at a felicitation function held here.

The performance of the players also “reflected the image” of a rapidly growing and powerful ‘new India’, Mr Singh was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the the defence ministry.

He felicitated medal winners, other participants and support staff from the country’s armed forces, who were part of its contingent at the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou.

He interacted with a total of 76 players and staff, who attended the event, and congratulated them for their excellent display at the Games.

Had a wonderful interaction with the Asian Games medal winners from the Armed Forces. Their success and spirited performance will inspire India’s youth. Wishing them the very best for their future endeavours.

The Government led by PM Shri @narendramodi has worked assiduously… pic.twitter.com/kv0v8ZaDxA

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) October 17, 2023

On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, Mr Singh announced cash prizes to the armed forces personnel, who brought laurels to the country and once again proved their mettle at an international event by “bagging 16 individual medals (3 Gold, 6 Silver and 7 Bronze) and eight team medals (2 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze) at the Games”, the statement said.

“Gold medal winners will be given Rs 25 lakh; silver medallists will get Rs 15 lakh and bronze medal winners will be awarded Rs 10 lakh. A contingent of 88 soldiers, including three sportswomen, participated in 18 disciplines at the Games, which were held from September 23 to October 8,” it added.

Mr Singh lauded the efforts of the players, including those who gave their best, but could not win medals.

He reminded them of ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh, who missed a medal in the 400-m race in the 1960 Olympics in Rome by a whisker, but became a guiding star of Indian athletics. Milkha Singh is an inspiration for all even today, the defence minister said.

Defence Minister Singh exuded confidence that these medals and performance will inspire the country’s youth to come forward in sports.

“You are not just representing a medal, but are also representing a narrative of excellence of Indian society. You are a great medium to provide inspiration to the youth,” he told the gathering.

Mr Singh commended the armed forces personnel for always being among the medal winners at different Games.

“Be it a battlefield or a playground, a soldier always performs because of dedication, discipline, hard work and the desire to do something for the nation. These virtues help in bringing medals for us in sports. Within a soldier, there is a player; within a player, there is a soldier,” he said.

He also pointed out that the performance of the players reflected the image of a rapidly growing and powerful ‘new India’.

“Many studies show that the progress in sports of any nation is more or less proportional to the economic prosperity of that country. In this context, as India is becoming an economically strong nation, our medals are also increasing in every field,” Mr Singh said.

He emphasised that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is “witnessing growth in every field” such as defence, infrastructure, health and education.

“Be it the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, India’s development journey is being discussed everywhere. Recently, American financial company JP Morgan Chase released the ‘Government Bond Index – Emerging Markets’ which guides investors. It has included India for the first time. It is the result of our growing economic strength.

“Now, there is an ambition to become the best; a vision to create the best and action to take the country to greater heights. The world is today recognising India’s growth story,” he asserted.

Mr Singh said the government is making relentless efforts to develop sports culture in India.

“On one hand, we have worked to increase awareness about sports among the youth through Fit India and Khelo India campaigns; on the other, through the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, we are committed to increasing India’s medal count in the Olympics. Today, our country is taking steps to host the Olympic Games in 2036. I am confident that with the support of the government, our athletes will take India to the top of the medals tally through their hard work, dedication and passion,” he said.

The ceremony was also attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh and senior officers of Sports Control Board of respective services, the statement said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The FIR filed by the Delhi Police cites tax evasion cases being faced by companies such as Xiaomi and Vivo in India. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

FIR links NewsClick case to legal aid for Chinese companies

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Stock markets rally after RBI keeps repo rate unchanged

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Hangzhou Asian Games | Aman fights his way to bronze as Bajrang finishes without a medal

Aman Sehrawat booked his Asian Games ticket the hard way but there was always a question whether he would be as good as Ravi Dahiya, Olympic silver medalist and the man who rules in his weight category. On October 6, the 20-year old proved he was with a bronze in the 57kg here that stood out among the three India won in wrestling on the day for Aman’s resilience and determination. 

Hangzhou Asian Games | Satwik-Chirag enter final, keep first-ever gold medal hopes alive

‘Ice and fire’ was how Sattwiksairaj Rankireddy described his doubles partnership with friend Chirag Shetty as he embraced him. Satwik is the Iceman to Chirag’s Maverick. 

Tilak Varma plays a shot during the 2022 Asian Games men’s semi-final cricket match between Bangladesh and India in Hangzhou in China’s eastern Zhejiang province on October 6, 2023. Varma scored a half-century.
| Photo Credit: AFP

India crushed Bangladesh by nine wickets on Friday to power into the gold medal match in Hangzhou as they bid to win the Asian Games title on their first attempt.

Awaiting their young, but still formidable, side in Saturday’s title-decider will be Pakistan or Afghanistan, who meet later.

Twenty20 cricket has been played at the Asian Games twice before, at Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014, with Bangladesh and then Sri Lanka crowned champions.

India did not take part and are playing at an Asiad for the first time.

On an overcast day at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field, they won the toss and chose to field on a pitch that has been susceptible to spin.

It proved to be the case again, with Bangladesh stumbling to 96/9. Sai Kishore grabbed 3/12 and Washington Sundar 2/15.

Only three Bangladesh batters made double figures, led by Jaker Ali’s unbeaten 24.

While Bangladesh struggled, India made it look easy, steaming to their target in 9.2 overs for the loss of one wicket. Tilak Varma was 55 not out and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad unbeaten on 40.

Their chase got off to a horror start with quarter-final century-maker Yashasvi Jaiswal out for a duck in the first over, caught at fine leg.

But fellow opener Gaikwad quickly seized back control, plundering 20 from the third over including two big consecutives sixes off fast bowler Ripon Mondol.

Varma got in on the act in the next over, also crashing straight sixes, this time off Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, as they raced to 50-1.

In contrast, while opener Parvez Hossain Emon hit a six in their second over, Bangladesh had found runs hard to come by.

India got the breakthrough in the fifth over with Mahmudul Hasan Joy holing out to Jaiswal at mid-on off Kishore for five.

Most of India’s big names, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, are at home for the one-day World Cup, but their squad in Hangzhou still has some top talent.

Spinner Sundar has played all three formats of the game for his country and Bangladesh couldn’t cope with his tricky offbreaks.

Skipper Saif Hassan and Zakir Hasan were both out in the space of three balls.

Emon ground 23 off 32, but he too succumbed to spin, shanking to cover off Varma as Bangladesh crawled to 36-4 in the ninth over.

Gaikwad’s decision to deploy Kishore again paid immediate dividends with Afif Hossain and Shahadat Hossain both out to soft dismissals, before Ali’s late flurry.

Army says officer injured in ‘grenade accident’ at a post in J&K’s Rajouri

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Amit Shah suggests uniform anti-terrorism structure under NIA for all States 

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INDIA parties speak up for arrested AAP MP Sanjay Singh; Congress gives qualified support

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India, Canada in conversation on parity of diplomatic staff: MEA

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Reports say dozens have been killed and wounded as drone strikes hit a Syrian military ceremony

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EU Parliament decries ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Nagorno-Karabakh

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Chinese firm sold satellites for intelligence to Russia’s Wagner: contract

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Musk’s X strips headlines from news links

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Asian Games | Indian compound archery teams’ domination complete

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A flood affected locality at Singtam, in Gangtok district, Wednesday, October. 4, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

10 dead, 22 army men among 82 missing as flash flood wreaks havoc in Sikkim; PM Modi dials CM

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UAPA case against NewsClick for plot to disrupt sovereignty of India: police

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Akshata Murty makes U.K. political stage debut for ‘best friend’ PM Sunak

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Former Russian journalist sentenced in absentia for Ukraine war criticism

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Nepal town imposes lockdown and beefs up security to prevent clashes between Hindus and Muslims

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Lawyers of Imran Khan in Pakistan oppose his closed-door trial over revealing official secrets

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Tata Group to focus on coffee as core business category for future

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Asian Games | Neeraj defends title, quartermilers take gold as India manages best-ever medal haul in athletics

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Women take part in a candlelight vigil against the “killing” of two missing students by unknown miscreants and demand peace in Manipur, Imphal. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Four arrested in Manipur for abduction, killing of two Meitei students

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No shortage of TB drugs in India: Union Health Ministry

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Over 9.2 lakh sites host cleanliness drive; PM appeals for swachhata

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AFSPA extended in four districts of Assam, withdrawn from four others

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Congress, AAP back protest seeking restoration of old pension scheme

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Students make 154 sculptures of Mahatma Gandhi

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Demand for inquest into Khalistan activist’s death in Birmingham likely on October 2

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Biden says there’s ‘not much time’ to keep aid flowing to Ukraine and Congress must ‘stop the games’

President Joe Biden said Sunday that American aid to Ukraine will keep flowing for now as he sought to reassure allies of continued U.S. financial support for the war effort. But time is running out, the President said in a warning to Congress. “We cannot under any circumstances allow American for Ukraine to be interrupted,” Mr. Biden said in remarks from the Roosevelt Room after Congress averted a government shutdown by passing a short-term funding package late Saturday that dropped assistance for Ukraine in the battle against Russia.

Turkiye strikes suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq after suicide attack in Ankara

The Turkish Defence Ministry says its warplanes have carried out raids on suspected Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Sunday following a suicide attack on a government building in the Turkish capital. A Ministry statement said some 20 targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were “destroyed” in the aerial operation, including caves, shelters, and depots. Earlier, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near an entrance of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, injuring two police officers. A second assailant was killed in a shootout with police on Sunday, the interior minister said.

Indonesia to launch China-funded high-speed rail, first in Southeast Asia

Indonesia is set to launch Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway on Monday, a delayed multibillion-dollar project backed by China that will cut travel between capital Jakarta and another major city by hours. The Chinese-made bullet train named “Whoosh” is built to take more than 600 people to and from Jakarta and the Javan city of Bandung in 45 minutes and is part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

GST revenue growth slowed to 10.2% in September

Growth in India’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues slowed to a 27-month low of 10.2% in September, from around 10.8% in the previous two months. However, collections improved 2.3% over August revenues to touch ₹1,62,712 crore. Revenues from domestic transactions, including services imports, were 14% higher than the tax collected from these sources during September 2022. This is the fourth time that the gross GST kitty has crossed the ₹1.60 lakh crore mark in 2023-24, the Finance Ministry said. 

Hangzhou Asian Games | Abhay’s performance in the final is one for the history books

Abhay Singh is a proud product of the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai. The 23-year-old made his alma mater proud by rising from the ashes to help India regain the men’s team gold medal in Hangzhou with a dazzling performance in the third and final rubber against Pakistan in the summit clash. It was an outstanding performance that will go down in history books as one of India’s finest wins in the Asian Games.

Teams deal with warm-up games conundrum

Not much to gain for us. Priority is to look after the players. Just a formality.” That was the crux of India captain Rohit Sharma’s brief chat with the host broadcaster after winning the toss against England in Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match. No wonder then that India would not have been too disappointed when a thunderstorm that started minutes before the start of play washed the game out. As a result, India left for Thiruvananthapuram for its last warm-up game with only four players training on the pre-match day.