The 23rd edition of the Mawana Sugars Indian Open Marathon has logged a record entry field of almost 9,000 runners for the race to be held on February 19. The number of registered runners far exceeded the 6,000 plus achieved last year.

The Indian Open marathon is the only marathon to be run through some of the most scenic parts of the Central capital, including the Rajpath, Parliament Street and the Raisina Road before it winds its way back to the India Gate for the finish. The race will be run in a loop measuring 10.5 kilometres, which will run four times for the full marathon and twice for the half-marathon.

The Red Bull Stratos team is making final preparations for their attempt to break Colonel Joe Kittinger's 52-year-old record, a freefall from 31,333 meters (102,800 feet) during his historic "Excelsior III" project in 1960. Joe Kittinger has been involved as an advisor to the Red Bull Stratos project from the very beginning and serves as a mentor to the 41-year-old Austrian athlete.

Felix Baumgartner has already completed record-breaking B.A.S.E jumps in some of the world's most spectacular locations, such as the World Financial Center T101 in Taipei, one of the world's tallest buildings. He also did one of the lowest B.A.S.E. jumps ever when he leapt from the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. In 2003 Baumgartner used carbon wings attached to his body to become the first man to skydive across the English Channel.

Mumbai, the city which has produced many a hockey great, will now have a refurbished arena in which future hockey stars will be born. The Mumbai stadium will now be fully equipped to host an International tournament. In preparation for the first edition of the path breaking World Series Hockey event, the Mumbai Hockey Association has completed the up gradation process for the stadium which will play host to the Mumbai franchise in the biggest hockey tournament in the world.

The renovation included the laying of a new top-of-the-line turf that is also being used for the 2012 London Olympics; installation of brand new floodlights capable of providing lighting at three different intensities i.e. 600, 800 and 1200 Lux for domestic, national and international matches respectively; a cutting edge electronic scoreboard along with the addition of a fresh manual scoreboard; the addition of a stand for video recording by coaches; a modern players dugout; a technical table for officials; and contemporary dressing rooms for the players among other facilities.

London will be the focus of the sporting world when it stages the 2012 Laureus World Sports Awards Ceremony on Monday, February 6. The Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognise sporting achievement, are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners, as voted by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 47 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time, will be unveiled at a globally televised Awards Ceremony staged at Central Hall, Westminster, in London.

Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which supports 91 community sports projects around the world. Since its inception, Laureus has raised €40 million for projects which have improved the lives of more than one-and-a-half million young people.