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India's bid to host the 2036 Olympics is not merely an attempt to make a statement internationally but also a well thought out plan to create world-class infrastructure, bolster the economy and tackle pressing social issues affecting the country's youth, says Minister of State for Sports Raksha Khadse. In an exclusive interview to PTI, the 38-year-old three-time Lok Sabha MP from Maharashtra's Raver constituency, dismissed criticism from some quarters that the country needs to focus more on becoming a sporting powerhouse before aiming for something as expensive as hosting the Olympics. "Preparing to host events like the 2036 Olympics or the 2030 Commonwealth Games is about creating world-class infrastructure, economic investment, and legacy systems that directly benefit athlete development," she asserted in the interaction at her office here. "Sports is also a way to deal with so many issues such as depression and even drug addiction. And keeping all this in mind, when you bring an
Cricket will feature six teams battling for top honours when the sport returns to the Olympics at the 2028 Los Angeles Games after a gap of 128 years. This was confirmed by the organisers on Wednesday. Cricket last featured at the Olympics in the 1900 edition of the Games in Paris, where a one-off, two-day match between Great Britain and France was held, which is now recognised as an unofficial Test. At LA 2028, cricket will be played in the T20 format, with six teams competing in both the men's and women's competitions. Every team will be able to name a 15-member squad as a total of 90 athlete quotas have been allocated for each gender. The International Cricket Council (ICC) consists of 12 full members in Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Zimbabwe. Another 94 countries form the associate members group. Qualification criteria for the 2028 Games are yet to be confirmed for the cricket
Sailing the Whitsunday islands. Surfing an iconic Gold Coast break. Rowing in a crocodile-inhabited river in Rockhampton. Extra tourism-focused venues and a new 60,000-seat Olympic stadium to be built in inner-city parkland have been unveiled as part of a major overhaul of planning for the 2032 Brisbane Games. David Crisafulli, the third premier of Queensland state in the almost four years since the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2032 Games to the capital of Queensland state, announced the latest plans on a rainy Tuesday. He said it's not going to be like last year's Paris Olympics or the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, promising instead it'll be uniquely-Queensland. It's been more than 1,340 days since that IOC decision in 2021, and local organisers still haven't started the Olympic venue construction program. "The time has come to just get on with it get on with it, and build," Crisafulli said, marking his 150th day in office. "We are going to start immediately.
Newly-elected International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kristy Coventry was expectedly guarded on India's bid to stage the 2036 Games, saying she will reveal her "ideas" on the selection of future host in coming days. The 41-year-old Coventry was elected president of the IOC on Thursday to become the first woman and first African to get the biggest job in world sports. Asked if there is any chance of India's bid to be converted to "accelerated targeted dialogue" before incumbent president Thomas Bach leaves office on June 23, Coventry said, "At the end of the day there is a process in place and that process is ongoing and that will remain, as far as I know, for the next few months." "I do think that we need to involve the members in the selection of future host and I have few ideas and may be willing to share those, may be next week," she said at the press conference after her election. She will take charge as IOC president from Bach on June 23, the Olympic Day, after three
Kirsty Coventry was been elected president of the International Olympic Committee as the first woman and first African to get perhaps the biggest job in global sports aged just 41. The Zimbabwe sports minister and two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist got a stunning first-round win in the seven-candidate contest after voting by nearly 100 of her colleagues in the IOC membership. It had been the most open and hard-to-call IOC presidential election in decades with no clear front-runner before the vote.
India's Lakshya Sen fought his way back to reach the second round of the All England Championships on Tuesday, while compatriot HS Prannoy was eliminated in the opening round of the men's singles competition here. Lakshya, ranked 15th in the world, came from behind to defeat Chinese Taipei's world No. 37, SU Li Yang, with a 13-21, 21-17, 21-15 win in the opening round of the Super 1000 event. The 23-year-old from Almora will face Indonesia's third seed Jonatan Christie next. Lakshya had defeated Christie en route to his fourth place finish at the Paris Olympics last year. Prannoy, a bronze medallist at the 2023 World Championships and Asian Games, struggled against France's Toma Junior Popov, who is ranked 17th. Prannoy fought for 53 minutes before going down 19-21, 16-21. In the mixed doubles, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath had a tough outing against China's world No. 7 pair of Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui, losing 6-21, 15-21 in 51 minutes. After losing the first ga
Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya will chair a two-day meeting with his state-level counterparts, senior administrators, and key government officials here to "exchange ideas and craft a roadmap" for India's Olympic preparations. The March 7-8 gathering will be held at Kanha Shanti Vanam in the city. India is eyeing a double digit medal haul at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and is also bidding to host the 2036 Olympics for which a letter of intent has been sent to the International Olympic Committee. "The deliberations will focus on enhancing sports governance, grassroots talent identification, infrastructure development, inclusivity, and fostering collaborations," the sports ministry stated in a press release. Key focus areas of the brainstorming session will be an overview of various government schemes and co-ordination with states on the subject. Sports infrastructure development partnership with corporates, talent search, and promotion of good governance will also come ...
India is focussing not just on strengthening infrastructure capabilities, but also intellectual preparedness as it eyes hosting rights for the 2036 Olympic Games, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha said on Wednesday. The former track and field star noted India's engagement with the quadrennial international games goes beyond competitive sports to embrace its true spirit of promoting peace and cultural exchange. She was addressing the 1st International Olympic Research Conference at Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) near Dehgam in Gandhinagar district. The four-day conference has been organised by the Bharat Centre for Olympic Research and Education (B-CORE) of the RRU, an institution of national importance under the Union home ministry. In her address, Usha said thanks to the conference, representatives of various Olympic studies and research centres from across the world as well as experts from diverse fields have converged in India. "India's engagement with the .
For a state that witnessed two elections of great significance this year and accounted for more than 20 per cent of athletes in India's Paris Olympics contingent, it is only fitting that the year's top newsmakers came from two fields: politics and sports. Add to the mix, the issues of farmers and farming -- farmers' protest remained a constant underrunning theme in the state's sociopolitical discourse through the year -- and Haryana's 2024 round-up is almost complete. As Haryana seemed to be settling into the regular humdrum of daily politics after high-pitched election season came the unsettling news of the passing of its five-time chief minister and political stalwart Om Prakash Chautala. He died on December 20 at the age of 89. The state entered 2024 with a great deal to look forward to for everybody: a BJP looking to repeat the 2019 feat of winning all 10 LS seats and also retaining power in assembly, a Congress emboldened by projections it would wrest back a large number of ...