Sachin Tendulkar, Vishwanathan Anand dropped from government's sports advisory panel

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and chess legend Vishwanathan Anand have been excluded from All India Council of Sports (AICS) -- a government advisory panel created for assistance on matters relating to development of sports.

AICS, which was formed by BJP government in 2015 by n sports minister Sarbananda Sowal, has welcomed former cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Krishnamachari Srikkanth as new members on panel.

Two or famous sports personalities that were t included in panel are badminton’s chief national coach Pullela Gopichand and former Indian football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia.

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Reports claim that names of Sachin Tendulkar and Vishwanathan Anand were t considered for panel as two had been mostly absent in  committee meetings. While, as per reports, Tokyo Olympics preparations had kept  Pullela Gopichand busy, allowing little time to attend AICS.

Or new members who have joined AICS this term are Limba Ram (archery), PT Usha (athletics), Bachendri Pal (mountaineering), Deepa Malik (para-athlete), Anjali Bhagwat (shooting), Renedy Singh (football), and Yogeshwar Dutt (Wrestling).

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Pullela Gopichand hopeful of best-ever Olympics in Tokyo

India's top players, including ace shuttler PV Sindhu, may t be going through best of times but national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand is still hopeful of best-ever Olympics outing in Tokyo.

"We have had some good performances in last couple of Olympics. This time we will go into Olympics with a world champion in our team (PV Sindhu), and hopefully, with some good preparations, we can come back with better performances than what we have had in previous games," said Gopichand.

PV Sindhu is currently reigning women's singles world champion having clinched title by beating Japan's zomi Okuhara at Basel, Switzerland in August last year.

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