All posts tagged: Inspire Institute of Sport

Rishabh Das becomes the first Indian to go sub-two minutes in 200m Backstroke

Rishabh Das becomes the first Indian to go sub-two minutes in 200m Backstroke

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Maharashtra swimmer Rishabh Das created history at the Sydney Open 2026 by becoming the first Indian to clock under two minutes in the 200m backstroke event. The young backstroke specialist recorded a time of 1:59.84 in Sydney, improving his own national record of 2:00.14 set earlier this year at the NSW State Open in March. His latest effort marked another milestone in Indian swimming, where breaking the two-minute barrier in the event had long remained elusive. 🚨#news l 🇮🇳 Rishabh Das breaks the 2-minute barrier in 200m Backstroke, setting Best Indian Time at the Sydney Open 2026🏆 The first Indian man to ever go sub-2 minutes (1:59.84) in the 200m Backstroke, surpassing his Previous best: 2:00.14 📸: Agnel’s Swimming#RishabhDas… pic.twitter.com/OxNqTtHIl7 — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) May 16, 2026 Japan’s Hidekazu Takehar won the event with a timing of 1:57.11, while the United States’ Lee Se-bom finished second in 1:57.27. Australia’s Stuart Swinburn claimed third place with a time of 1:58.04. Das finished fifth overall in the final but once again underlined his growing reputation as one …

Sajan Prakash’s quest to get one second better than his best | Sports News

Sajan Prakash’s quest to get one second better than his best | Sports News

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Sajan Prakash is obsessed with the idea of getting better by one second these days. One second better than his personal best time in the 200m butterfly event, which came five years ago. Every time he plunges into the pool or enters the gym, a time of around 1:55 is on his mind. For, if he can better his best (1:56.38) by just one second, he walks off from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July-August with a medal around his neck. The 32-year-old believes this will likely be his final year as a competitive swimmer. So, he is determined to go out with a podium finish. The one-second math in his mind is simple: in Birmingham four years ago, James Guy won bronze clocking 1:56.77, Chad le Clos took silver with 1:55.89 and Lewis Clareburt raced away to gold in 1:55.60. At the recent Singapore National Age Group Swimming Championships, Sajan claimed a silver medal with 1:57.09. So, he spent all of the last few weeks averaging between 60 to 70 kilometres in the pool. …

Lakshmi Devi missed Olympics by barest of margins, now she powers Indian female rowers’ rise

Lakshmi Devi missed Olympics by barest of margins, now she powers Indian female rowers’ rise

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Deep in her heart, Narengbam Lakshmi Devi carries the pain of missing out on the 2012 London Olympics. By an agonisingly slim margin. Competing in the Asian Continental Olympic qualification regatta in South Korea’s Chungju, Lakshmi had finished fourth in the single sculls semi-final. Had she finished just one better, she would have been on the flight to the British capital, a historic first for an Indian female rower. Fourteen years from that near-miss, India has still not had a female rower making the cut for the Olympics. Lakshmi, now working as an assistant coach with the women’s team under national coach Ratheesh DB, is trying her best to change that. As she stands at a vantage point overlooking the 18 girls testing their will and endurance against the serene blue waters of the RWP-3 water body at Bellary, she can see them going where she couldn’t. “When our female rowers qualify for the 2028 or 2032 Olympics, only then will our goal be achieved,” she says with a smile. The sport in India has …

Behind the scenes of Avinash Sable’s comeback: Asian Games in sight, 8:30 first target

Behind the scenes of Avinash Sable’s comeback: Asian Games in sight, 8:30 first target

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5 min readApr 25, 2026 07:00 AM IST Avinash Sable has jumped over hurdles and navigated water jumps expertly on track, but the stumbling blocks he encountered during recovery post an ACL and meniscus surgery have tested his resolve to make a comeback. At last year’s Monaco Diamond League, Sable, the Asian Champion, landed in a water pit with his leg apart to avoid landing on a competitor who had fallen. But in a split second, he took a bad tumble when the other athlete got back on his feet. Sable was left clutching his right knee in pain. Four years ago, Sable won a historic silver for India in the 3000M steeple chase in Birmingham to become the first Indian to medal in the event at the CWG. In a field comprising three Kenyans, Sable was breathing down the neck of gold-medal winner Abraham Kibiwot till the finish line. Nine months since the Monaco DL, Sable, who finds it difficult to land smoothly without pain after clearing a hurdle, has yet to book his …

IIS to host International Women’s Wrestling Camp in partnership with UWW

IIS to host International Women’s Wrestling Camp in partnership with UWW

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Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), on Sunday, announced a first-of-its-kind International Wrestling Camp for Women, in collaboration with United World Wrestling (UWW) in Bellary, Karnataka. The International Women’s Wrestling Camp will take place at the IIS Vijayanagar facilities, between January 15 and 30 2025. The camp, which will bring together elite athletes and coaches from over eight countries including Estonia, Mauritius, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Mongolia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Namibia, is a landmark moment for IIS, whose collaboration with UWW is intended to give Indian wrestling a much-needed boost. “This is the first instance that a UWW camp is being held at IIS, which makes it a moment of great pride for everyone in the wrestling community. We hope this initiative proves beneficial to our young wrestlers, helping them gain better exposure and learn from the best in the world,” said Manisha Malhotra, President of the Inspire Institute of Sport. A total of 30 wrestlers and eight coaches are expected to attend, with more expected to confirm their participation. Renowned wrestlers like Medina Kuanyshbek (Mongolia), Aruuke …

‘Too many risks’: Women wrestlers encouraged to wean away from last-day fast weight loss | Sport-others News

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At any wrestling championships, the common sight is of athletes in raincoats running rounds of indoor mats on eve of competition. Most of them are also fasting. Wrestlers cramming last-minute sweating, dehydrating and starving to force-fit into their weight categories isn’t something new. But is it healthy? Dr Samuel Pullinger, head of Sports Science at JSW’s Inspire Institute of Sport training centre at Vijayanagar in Karnataka, is trying to wean away the centre’s women wrestlers from this punishing pre weigh-in regime. Often considered a heroic struggle which it is and fairly global, the basis of the practice however is unhealthy. Having noticed a constant stream of Anterior Cruciate Ligament knee injuries and rash of ligament tears, he has now insisted there would be no more sauna and wet suits-facilitated melting of weight. “There were too many risks, the ACL and other serious injury count was high after too much weight was suddenly dropped and that offset any other power advantage. I decided to initiate them into gradual weight loss in the weeks preceding with help …