Page 31 - 2024 Olympics

India Open 2024: Mentor Vimal Kumar to get Lakshya new coach post Olympics

Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen will have a new coach after the Paris Olympics, said his mentor and former India coach Vimal Kumar, who has taken over the duties till the Summer Games. The 22-year-old from Almora has parted ways with Anup Sridhar, who was hired at the beginning of the year keeping in mind the Paris Olympics in July-August. "Anup was hired till Olympics but Lakshya wanted to try out few things, so they mutually decided to part ways," Vimal told PTI on Tuesday. "He needs to have a younger coach travelling with him. But there is hardly any time. So we will be able to hire someone only after the Olympics. I will be travelling with him till the Olympics." Sen is currently ranked 17th in the Olympic Games qualification rankings and needs to stay inside the top 16 by April-end to make the Paris Games cut. Commonwealth Games champion Sen claimed the Canada Open Super 500 title in July, besides three semifinal finishes at the Thailand Open Super 500, US Open Super 300 and

India Open 2024: Satwik-Chirag favourites, Prannoy real hero for Gopichand

The chief coach of the Indian national team Pullela Gopichand discussed at length all the possibilities of the Indian shuttlers in the Olympic year and at the Indian Open 2024

Unjust to disqualify Manavjit, will take issue to logical conclusion: NRAI

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has termed the disqualification of trap shooter Manavjit Singh by organisers of the Asia Olympic Qualifiers in Kuwait as "unjust" and "unfair", and is ready to take the issue to its "logical conclusion". The NRAI also said that the rules quoted by the Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC) while barring the former world champion from competition due to a 'faulty' gun stock were "unsubstantiated" and "frivolous". Manavjit was on Saturday not allowed to take part in pre-event training and, on Sunday, was disqualified from competition. Manavjit had alleged on Saturday that the technical director, Abdullah Hamidi, was playing politics, perhaps because "they were scared" of India winning the Olympic quota. NRAI senior vice-president Kalikesh Singhdeo told PTI on Sunday that the issue had been taken up with both the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) and ASC. "The NRAI is taking it up with the ISSF and ASC. Last night, we lodged an

Women's Hockey Olympic Qualifiers: India beat NZ 3-1 to keep hopes alive

India on Sunday rose from the ashes to tame New Zealand 3-1 with a spirited performance in their second pool match of the FIH Women's Olympic Qualifier to keep alive their hopes of securing a ticket to Paris Games. The Indians, who dropped a rung to seventh in the world rankings released on Saturday, did not have the best of starts in the tournament, losing to lower-ranked United States 0-1 in their opening Pool B match. In contrast, New Zealand registered an easy 3-0 win over Italy on Saturday. But it was complete turnover from the Indians on Sunday. Leaving behind the USA disappointment, the Indians produced all-round hockey on Sunday and used every corner of the turf to build their attacks with short and crisp passes. This was what India's chief coach Janneke Schopman pointed after USA match and the girls seemed to have attentively listened to the Dutch, which was evident from the team's much-improved performance on Sunday. Salima Tete had a brilliant game and was involved in

Didn't play to our strength: Schopman on Indian women's hockey loss vs USA

India did not have the best of starts in the FIH Women's Olympic Qualifier, losing 0-1 to USA in their opener here on Saturday, and the team's chief coach Janneke Schopman admitted that her side didn't play to their strength. Having missed the opportunity to book Paris Olympics ticket through last year's Asian Games, it is world no. 6 India's only chance to qualify for the quadrennial extravaganza. India wasted chances galore, including as many as seven penalty corners and some from open field play, to start their campaign on a disappointing note here. And Schopman said her wards were guilty of straying away from their style of play. "I know we are a good team, we weren't the lesser team even though we lost. We were outsmarted. We created chances but did not have composure and confidence on the ball that I am used to see in training and in matches previously," Schopman said after the match. "We rushed a little bit, we were forcing and may be that's because we were 0-1 down. We hav

Shooter Vijayveer Sidhu clinches 17th Paris Olympics spot for India

India's Vijayveer Sidhu clinched a 17th Paris Games quota place for the country while clinching a silver medal in the men's 25m rapid-fire event at the Asia Olympic Qualifiers here on Saturday. The 21-year-old team bronze-medallist at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, joins senior country-mate Anish Bhanwala in securing a Paris berth in the 25m rapid fire. Anish had bagged the Olympic quota with a bronze medal in the Asian Championship in Changwon, Korea, last year. Vijayveer did not have to wait for a medal to secure a quota place. He earned it by qualifying for the final in fourth place with a score of 577. Four out of the six finalists on Saturday were eligible for quota places and the youngster, who hails from Chandigarh, did it in style by shooting 28 in the elimination round to clinch silver behind Kazakhstan's Nikita Chiryukin, who shot 32 for the gold medal. Rapid-fire pistol is traditionally a strong event for India as Vijay Kumar had bagged a silver at the 2012 London

FIH Women's Hockey Olympic Qualifiers: Profligate India lose 0-1 to USA in

A profligate Indian team squandered chances galore to lose 0-1 to lower-ranked United States of America in its opening match of the FIH Women's Olympic Qualifier here on Saturday. Ranked sixth in the world, India dominated the possession and created numerous scoring chances, including as many as seven penalty corners, but failed to breach the American defence. USA, ranked 24th in the world rankings, scored the solitary goal of the match through Abigail Tamer in the 16th minute of the Pool B match. The defeat would make India's road to Paris tougher as it will be up against stronger teams in next matches. There was hardly anything to separate the two sides in the first quarter which witnessed a keenly-contested battle. Both teams managed a few circle penetration but goals eluded the two sides. The Indians, however, were guilty of not using both the flanks unlike USA who build their attacks from both corners. India's woes from penalty corners remained unchanged as they wasted as ma

Budweiser's AB InBev becomes Olympics' first beer brand global sponsor

The International Olympic Committee has signed Anheuser-Busch InBev as the first beer brand in the 40-year history of its sponsorship program, which earns billions of dollars for the organization and international sports. The deal was announced Friday by the IOC and AB InBev the Belgium-based brewing giant whose brands include Budweiser, Corona, Michelob and Modelo for the next three Summer and Winter Games. The Paris Olympics open on July 26, and the deal also includes the 2026 Winter Games in northern Italy, then the likely prize asset the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Corona Cero, the zero-alcohol version of the Corona brand that is ranked second most valuable worldwide in the brewing industry, will be global beer sponsor of the Olympic Games, the heads of the IOC and AB InBev said. The value of the deal was not disclosed, though the IOC has said some of its sponsors pay more than $300 million to be in the TOP (The Olympic Partner) program for a four-year commercial ...

Eyeing Paris Olympics berth, Indian women's team opens campaign against US

Putting behind the disappointment of finishing third at Asian Games, the Indian women's team will look to cash in on home advantage and secure a ticket to Paris as it faces the USA in its FIH Olympic Qualifiers opener here on Saturday. Hosts India, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, US, Chile and New Zealand are the eight teams vying for the top three slots here to book their Paris berths. The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11 this year. World number five Germany are the highest ranked team in the tournament, while India are a rung below in sixth. New Zealand are ninth in the rankings chart, followed by Japan (11th), Chile (14th), US (15th), Italy (19th) and Czech Republic (25th). India are placed in Pool B alongside New Zealand, Italy, and the United States, while Germany, former Asian Games champions Japan, Chile and Czech Republic are in Pool A. After the US game, India will meet New Zealand (January 14) and Italy (January 16). The semi-finals will be p

Paris 2024: Sports Ministry approves Jena and Chanu's training overseas

The Sports Ministry on Thursday approved Asian Games silver medallist javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena's proposal to train in Australia, while also funding Tokyo Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu's month-long rehab training in the US ahead of the Paris Games. Jena will be training in Gold Coast, Australia for 78 days, while Chanu will head to the US for training in St. Louis. She will be having regular sessions with Dr Aron Horschig and will be accompanied by chief coach Vijay Sharma. "MYAS, under its Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) will fund Jena, his coach and physiotherapist's airfare, boarding & lodging expenditures, along with cost for availing training and massage facilities, medical and local travel expenses and Medical Insurance cost among other expenditures," the Ministry said in a release. "Ministry, under TOPS funding will cover her (Mirabai) and her coach's airfare, boarding & lodging cost, gym expenses, medical insurance cost among other expenditures." The ...

Varun, Esha seal Shooting Olympic quota with golds at Asian Qualifiers

Young Indian shooters Varun Tomar and Esha Singh on Monday secured two Olympic quota places for the country with gold medals in the men's and women's 10m Air Pistol events of the Asian Qualifiers here. The duo's qualification took the total number of Indian shooters bound for Paris to 15, equalling the highest-ever tally that was achieved in the Tokyo Games. India can add more to the group headed for the Games in July-August this year when the remaining qualifiers are held. India secured six medals on Monday, including two team golds, at the continental event's opening day. The 20-year-old Tomar shot 239.6 in the final to claim the top position, while Arjun Cheema won the silver medal with a score of 237.3. Mongolia's Davaakhuu Enkhtaivan (217.2) won the bronze medal. Earlier, Tomar (586), Cheema (579) and Ujjawal Malik (575) shot a total of 1740 to win the 10m air pistol team gold, while Iran and Korea claimed the silver and bronze medals respectively. Tomar, a former junior wor

Explained: Race to Paris badminton rankings, its connection with India Open

The race to Paris will decide the participants for the Paris Olympics Badminton tournament. India's HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen in men's singles could qualify directly

Confident of entering 3rd successive Olympics: India women's hockey captain

Indian women's team is confident of booking a third successive Olympic berth and its knowledge of the conditions here will put it in good stead ahead of the eight-team hockey Olympic Qualifiers, said attacking midfielder Navneet Kaur on Monday. The Indian team, led by Savita Punia, had won the Asian Champions Trophy at the same venue of Marang Gomke Jaypal Singh Mundha AstroTurf Hockey Stadium in November last year. The hosts defeated Japan 4-0 in the final to secure their second consecutive title in the competition. "Arriving in Ranchi early has helped us gain quite a few sessions on the main pitch and it has also helped us acclimatise to this weather," Navneet said in a Hockey India release. "Since we have also played in this venue before, during the Women's Asian Champions Trophy, we know the pitch well." Fuelled by their historic fourth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Indian side spent about a week understanding the conditions. The Indian members also visited and

Malaysia Open: Indian shuttlers hope for bright start in Olympic year

With the Paris Olympic qualification at stake, top Indian shuttlers, including HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen, will hope to begin the new season on a bright note when they start their campaign at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament here on Tuesday. A lot will be on the line for Indian shuttlers in the next four months as they zoom through a hectic calender, hoping to get inside the world's top-16 by April end to book their berths for the Paris Games. Frontrunner in the Olympic race, world no. 8 Prannoy, had a sensational season with maiden bronze medals at the World Championships and the Asian Games and a title-run at the Malaysia Masters super 500. He also registered a final finish at the Australia Open super 500. The 31-year-old, seeded 8th, will hope to continue his rich vein of form when he opens against Denmark's Anders Antonsen, who made a successful comeback from an injury by winning the Korea Open in 2023. All eyes will also be on Lakshya and Kidambi Srikanth as t

Dipa Karmakar tops all-around event in Artistic Gymnastics Senior Nationals

Olympian Dipa Karmakar hogged the limelight on the second day of the Artistic Gymnastics Senior National Championship as she topped the all-around performance with a total of 49.55 points here on Wednesday. Railways emerged champions in the women's team category with 182.60 points while Maharashtra finished second with 169.95. West Bengal were third with 166.80 points at the Gymnastics Centre in Kalinga Stadium here. Hosts Odisha finished fourth with 164.65 points. Dipa, representing Tripura, aggregated 49.55 points. She recorded 13.40 on Vault, 10.65 on Uneven Bars, 13.10 on Balance Beam and 12.40 on Floor Exercise. Expressing her delight at topping all-around category, Dipa said, "I'm competing in Senior Nationals after eight years, I feel great about it, and I am really happy with my today's performance. I'll try to do well tomorrow as well, there will be competition on individual apparatus." Railways' Pranati Das (47.00) and Swastika Ganguly (45.30) finished second and third .

Iconic moments on the field await fans once again: Sports calendar 2024

From Euro to Olympics and everything else that would keep sports fans buzzing in 2024

Savita Punia to lead Indian women in hockey Olympic Qualifiers, Ranchi

Veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia will continue to lead the side and Vandana Katariya will be her deputy as Hockey India on Saturday named an 18-member Indian women's team for the Olympic Qualifiers scheduled to be held in Ranchi from January 13 to 19. India will take the field in Ranchi looking to finish as one of the top three teams in the competition and secure qualification for the Paris Olympics 2024. "The FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Ranchi is an important tournament on our Paris Olympics journey. It is imperative that we live up to the expectations and all the players in the squad are working to secure qualification," Indian Women's chief coach Janneke Schopman said in a release. "After careful consideration, we have chosen a well-balanced team with immense skill and experience in all departments. Also, Savita and Vandana have faced high-pressure situations numerous times in their career so far. They are well equipped to guide the rest of the team as the Captain and ...

I envy today's athletes because I was in wrong era: Anju Bobby George

India's first ever World Athletics Championship medallist Anju Bobby George says that she competed "in the wrong era", praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's eagerness for promoting and transforming sports in the country. Speaking at a programme organised at the PM's residence on Christmas, the legendary long jumper said: "As a sportsperson, I was here for almost 25 years and I'm seeing a lot of changes. When I got India's first global medal 20 years ago, even my department was not ready to give me a promotion. "But after Neeraj (Chopra) got a medal, I have seen the changes the way we are celebrating... I envy them because I was in the wrong era," Anju said during the event. Anju, who won a bronze medal in the women's long jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris, spoke about women empowerment and also how the country now also celebrates athletes' accomplishments. "Women empowerment is not just a word now. Every Indian girl is ready to dream and they know their .

MOC approves racewalker Priyanka Goswami's proposal to train in Australia

Sports Ministry's Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) has approved racewalker Priyanka Goswami's proposal to train in Australia under coach Brent Vallance. Priyanka, who has qualified for the Paris Olympics, will be training in a high-altitude training centre near Canberra, Australia and will also compete in a few local competitions to prepare for next year's continental showpiece. The financial assistance will cover Priyanka's airfare, boarding/lodging costs, expenditure for sports science support, coaching fee and out-of-pocket allowance among other expenditures. Besides Priyanka, the MOC also approved proposals of Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) development group Greco Roman wrestlers Ashu (67kg), Suraj (55kg) and Ronit Sharma (48kg) for an international training camp in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The government will cover the costs of the three wrestlers, their coach, physiotherapist and sparring partners' airfare and boarding/lodging costs along with out-of-pocket allowance for the three

IOA to conduct seminar with Nada for athletes prior to Paris Olympics 2024

"We want to educate the athletes bound for the Olympic Games on the anti-doping rule violations to ensure proper compliance during the games," IOA President PT Usha said