Page 22 - Asian Games

Our defence requires improvement before Asian Games 2023: Pawan Sehrawat

Without devaluing their recent triumph, Indian kabaddi team captain Pawan Sehrawat said their defence requires a lot of improvement heading into the Asian Games. Pawan has recently led the team to the title win at the Asian Kabaddi Championships, a much-needed boost ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games in September-October this year. "I still believe we have to work a lot on improving our defence as a team because I was not completely satisfied with some of our performance at the Asian Championships," he said. "The Asian Games are going to be more challenging so we need to refocus and put in maximum effort during the upcoming camp so that we can dominate our opponents at the competition. "Nonetheless, we will make sure we devise a game plan for each team at the tournament, we will approach each game after a lot of preparation and complete concentration." The Asian Kabaddi Championships which was held in Busan, South Korea, saw Pawan return to competitive action for the first time sin

Indian women's hockey captain Savita up for challenge from top teams

Indian women's hockey team skipper Savita Punia on Tuesday said they are no more intimidated by top-ranked opponents and playing stronger sides instead brings out "a different kind of energy" in her teammates. After finishing a creditable fourth at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and a lowly ninth at the World Cup the following year, the Indian team has scripted some new highs under coach Janneke Schopman and Punia. They won the Commonwealth Games bronze and the Nations Cup in 2022 and are now gearing for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, in September-October. "For last two-three years after the Olympics, whenever we played against any top team be it in the Pro League, World Cup, or the Commonwealth Games, never have we lost by a big margin," Savita told reporters during a virtual media conference from their SAI Camp here. "This is the big improvement. The new-found confidence in the team, the mindset that we have now for our opponents is different. "Maybe it was not the same five-six years ag

Asian Games 2023: IOA ad-hoc panel pushes back decision on wrestling trials

The IOA ad-hoc panel members met on Tuesday but could not finalise a date to conduct wrestling trials for the Asian Games and World Championship as the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) was still sitting on its request for July 15 deadline extension. The IOA is supposed to give names of all participating Indian athletes to the Asian Games organisers by July 15 and it had requested them to extend the deadline to August 10 so that it could provide the protesting wrestlers enough time to be ready. Six wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat, among others, had requested the sports ministry to grant them additional time to prepare for Asian Games trials. They had contended that they are not in good physical shape to appear in trials due to their 38-day long protest against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The ad-hoc panel, on its part, had exempted them from Asian Games and

We're more determined than ever to finish on the top at Asian Games: Savita

The Indian women's hockey team is more determined than ever to claim the gold medal in the upcoming Asian Games after suffering a heart-breaking loss in the final in 2018 edition, said Commonwealth Games (CWG) medallist skipper Savita. The Asian Games is scheduled to be held in Hangzhou in September and October. "In the last Asian Games, we came close to winning the gold medal; and losing only by a goal to Japan (1-2) in the final was heart-breaking. This time we feel that we are more determined than ever before to finish on the top," Savita said in the latest episode of Hockey Te Charcha, a podcast series launched by Hockey India. "Every player in the team knows that we have to win the gold to earn direct qualification for the Paris Olympics. This is the best scenario for us, so that post-Asian Games, we can shift focus on the FIH Pro League and then Paris 2024." Having taken over the captaincy post Tokyo Olympics, Savita emphasised that she is enjoying the dual role of goalkeepin

Explained: Why athletes from Arunachal face visa issues for events in China

Three karatekas from Arunachal Pradesh have qualified for the Asina Games to be held in Hangzhou, China. They are now worried about making it to the Chinese capital without visa issues

Phogat shares letter seeking additional time from Asian Games trials

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Sunday made public a letter that some of the protesting wrestlers had written to the sports ministry, requesting the extension of the dates for trials for the Asian Games as well as the World Championships later this year. Vinesh shared a picture of the letter which mentions no date on social media on Sunday which mentions six wrestlers requesting for some extra time for training ahead of the trials. These wrestlers have been protesting against the president of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment since the start of the year. The ad-hoc panel of the Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) had earlier exempted the protesting wrestlers from taking part in the trials, which was heavily criticised by coaches and parents of the other wrestlers including Yogeshwar Dutt. The ad-hoc panel had also requested the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to extend the date of submission for entries by one month, from it

Asian Games: Why Indian cricket team's presence could be a game changer

It is learnt that BCCI will send both men's and women's teams to the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China

Did not ask for exemption from trials, just for time to prepare: Wrestlers

Facing opposition from fellow wrestlers for receiving exemption from Asian Games trials, the protesting wrestlers on Saturday denied demanding such a favour from IOA and said they will quit wrestling if it is proved. London Olympic bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt on Friday questioned if these grapplers were agitating to get such favours and exhorted the junior wrestlers, their coaches and parents to raise voice against this injustice. "We did not ask for exemption from trials, just asked for time to prepare," said Sakshi after going live on social media. "If you had problems with one-bout trial, you should have gone to the sports minister. But you chose to spread poison through social media," Bajrang said. "We are ready to quit wrestling if it is proved that we asked for exemption. We never wrote any letter for exemption." It was first reported by PTI on Thursday that six protesting wrestlers -- the trio, Bajrang's wife Sangeeta Phogat, Sakshi's husband Satywart Kadian and Jitende

Protesting wrestlers want to train in US to prepare for Asian Games trials

After seeking a delay in the Asian Games trials, the protesting wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, have now written to the Sports Ministry that they want to train in Michigan, US to prepare for the trials. The wrestlers had earlier requested the Sports Ministry to push the trials to the month of August as they needed enough time to be in good physical and mental shape ahead of the trials. "They have written directly to Sports Minister Anurag Thakur. The minister has forwarded the request to the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC), which is yet to discuss the issue," a Sports Ministry source told PTI. "Vinesh, Bajrang, Sakshi Malik, Satyawart Kadian and Sangeeta Phogat have written the letter," he added. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has to submit the names of all the participating athletes to Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) by July 15 and thus the ad-hoc panel needs to conduct trials before that. The IOA has approached the OCA to extend the deadline to accommodate t

Bhavani Devi become first Indian fencer to win medal in Asian Championships

Olympian C A Bhavani Devi on Monday created history by progressing to the semifinal of the women's sabre event at the Asian Fencing Championships in Wuxi, China, assuring India its maiden medal at the event. Bhavani stunned reigning world champion Misaki Emura of Japan 15-10 in the quarterfinals to script history. Misaki had won the women's sabre gold medal at the 2022 World Fencing Championships held in Cairo. In the semifinal, Bhavani will be up against Uzbekistan's Zaynab Dayibekova and will look to better the colour of her medal. The 29-year-old Bhavani had received a bye in the round of 64 before beating Dospay Karina of Kazakhstan in the next round. Bhavani then upset third seed Ozaki Seri 15-11 in the pre-quarterfinals. Fencing Association of India secretary-general Rajeev Mehta congratulated Bhavani on her historic achievement. "It is a very proud day for Indian fencing. Bhavani has achieved what no one could achieve before. She is first Indian fencer to win a medal at t

Wrestlers want Asian Games trials in Aug, IOA approaches OCA for extension

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday approached the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), seeking an extension of the July 15 deadline for providing details of the country's wrestling squad for the Asian Games after the protesting grapplers requested the Sports Ministry to conduct trials in August. The IOA is required to submit lists of squads of all sporting disciplines to the OCA by July 15 and the apex sports body has already asked all the national federations to submit the final names of their respective selected players by June 30. The protesting wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, are now keen to compete in the Asian Games trials but need time to be in good physical shape, as they hardly got time to prepare due to their long-drawn protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. It has been learnt that the wrestlers wrote a letter to Deputy Sports Secretary SPS Tomar on Friday and the ministry official forwarded the request on Saturday to

Wrestlers express intent to take part in Asian Games selection trials

A day after calling off their protest against outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh having received assurance from the government, the wrestlers on Thursday expressed intent to take part in the Asian Games selection trials scheduled to be held later this month. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday said that all national federations are aiming to finalise the squads for the Asian Games, well before the July 15 deadline set by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The Games are set to take place in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had on April 27 announced that a three-member ad-hoc committee A two-member ad hoc committee of Bhupender Singh Bajwa and Suma Shirur, which is running the day-to-day affairs of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) since May 4 will be conducting the selection trials most likely in the last week of June. However, the wrestlers want some more time to get ready for the trials. "We want to take

India win two gold and one bronze in Asian U-20 Athletics Championship

Fast-rising Rezoana Mallick Heena and Bharatpreet Singh clinched a gold medal each in women's 400m race and men's discus throw respectively to launch India's campaign at the Asian U-20 Athletics Championship on an emphatic note, here on Sunday. Heena clocked 53.31 seconds -- just a tad below her personal best of 53.22s -- to win the gold. She had also won a gold in the Asian U-18 Athletics Championships in Tashkent in April. Bhartpreet picked up the second gold for India with a best throw of 55.66m on the opening day of competitions. Antima Pal won India's third medal of the day -- a bronze -- in the women's 5,000m race with a time of 17 minutes and 17.11 seconds.

Govt approves foreign training for Olympian sailors ahead of Asian Games

Olympian sailors -- Nethra Kumanan, Vishnu Saravanan, Varun Thakkar and KC Ganapathy -- will train and participate in competitions at various places abroad till September in preparation for the Hangzhou Asian Games later this year. This was decided after the Sports Ministry approved the proposal of the four Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) sailors towards foreign training and competitions from May to September. While Nethra will be training in Gran Canaria, Spain till September, she will also head to Keil, Germany (Kiel Week), followed by Marseille, France (Olympic Test Event) and Scheveningen, Netherlands (World Sailing Championship) for various competitions. Vishnu, on the other hand, will be training and competing at various locations (Valencia, Milan, Dublin, The Hague, Croatia and Mumbai) in the coming months. He is set to compete in the EurILCA Europa Cup, ILCA Open Asian Championship, Marseille Olympic Test Event, and World Championship (Olympic qualifiers) before heading

PKL 9 to help me prepare for Asian Games selection: S Korea's Woosan Ko

South Korean defender Woosan KO is appearing in the Pro Kabaddi League for the first time in his career. The player says the training sessions with the team will help him prepare for selection trials

Next target is Asian Games, 2024 Olympics: Naveen after clinching CWG gold

After clinching the gold medal in the Men's Freestyle 74kg category final, Naveen said that he will focus on performing better in Asian Games and 2024 Paris Olympics.Indian wrestler Naveen won the gold medal in the Men's Freestyle 74kg category final after defeating Pakistan's Muhammad Sharif Tahir in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.He defeated Muhammad Sharif Tahir at the Coventry Arena Wrestling Mat B on Saturday."I'm very happy that I won a gold medal for the country. I prepared well & executed it. I played without any pressure and felt happy to beat a Pakistani player. My next target is Asian Games and 2024 Olympics," Naveen told ANI.Naveen sealed a 9-0 victory by points against Tahir in the gold medal match and clinched India's third gold of the day at the CWG.Naveen was dominant in the first period and did not let his opponent take any points. The Indian grappler took a 2-0 lead in the first period by pinning his opponent.In the final three minutes, Naveen managed to ..

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