Page 12 - Olympics

US exits beach volleyball in Paris without a medal after men's QF loss

Miles Partain and Andy Benesh couldn't stop the slide so the United States is leaving beach volleyball at the Paris Olympics without a medal for the first time. The 21-14, 21-16 loss to the Qatari team of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan in the quarterfinals on Wednesday made it the first American medal shutout since the sport was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Partain and Benesh carried American hopes with both women's teams and the other men's team already out of the tournament. I wish one of our teams did (win a medal), Partain said. We did the best we could. Benesh said the lack of American medals in the sport at the Paris Games was not necessarily because of a drop in the team's level, but more because the general standard of play has gone up. It's a little bit different than it was 20 years ago. There's a lot of competition around the world," Benesh said. "As a fan of beach volleyball it's fun to watch, people are playing with different styles in men'

Olympics: Oleksandr punches his way to gold after heartbreak in Tokyo

Oleksandr Khyzhniak was one minute away from winning an Olympic gold medal three years ago when he was rocked by one miraculous punch. Khyzhniak went down, the fight was stopped and the most fearsome boxer in Tokyo had to settle for silver. The middleweight from Ukraine decided he would wait three years to make it right. Khyzhniak got his epic redemption Wednesday night at the Paris Games with a gold medal finally around his neck but only after he paid for it in time, sweat and pain. Khyzhniak beat Nurbek Oralbay of Kazakhstan 3:2 in a thrilling final at Roland Garros, securing the championship that evaded him in heartbreaking fashion in Tokyo. The fighters unloaded on each other for three action-packed rounds, but Khyzhniak clinched the win by dominating a final three minutes filled with a jaw-dropping number of uppercuts, combinations and power punches for an Olympic fight. When Khyzhniak's hand was raised, the 29-year-old dropped to his knees in cathartic relief. Even though he

Land of Usain Bolt shines in field events, Jamaica bags Olympic discus gold

Don't look now, but Jamaica, that Caribbean island known for producing elite sprinters such as Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, is now a field-event power. Roje Stona's gold in the discus throw Wednesday gave Jamaica its fourth medal in the field events at the 2024 Olympics after winning just two in history. Meanwhile, the country's sprinters have only one medal so far in Paris. For a country of 3 million people, that's extremely impressive, said three-time Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser, an American who had a front-row seat for Stona's performance as his coach/training partner. Stona set an Olympic record with his throw of 70 meters (229 feet, 8 inches). That follows silvers for Wayne Pinnock in the men's long jump and Shanieka Ricketts in the women's triple jump, and a bronze for Rajindra Campbell in the men's shot put. We should put more support into the field events. Discus, shotput I mean, everything, said Stona, the first discus thrower from his country to wi

Olympic champion Andrade inspires girls at her hometown gym in Brazil

As she practiced her complex moves and somersaults, aspiring gymnast 14-year-old Manuela Kriegel kept gazing at one of the walls of the Bonifcio Cardoso gym outside the Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo. It featured a painting of a national hero Olympic champion and hometown favorite Rebeca Andrade with two medals, a gold and a silver, that Andrade won at the Tokyo Games three years ago. This is outdated now, Kriegel told The Associated Press on Tuesday after she finished her warm-up routines. Outdated indeed. The 25-year-old Andrade won four more medals at the Paris Olympics, including gold in the floor exercise with a narrow victory over star U.S. gymnast Simone Biles. The Guarulhos native has become the most decorated Olympian in the history of the South American nation, with six medals. Dozens of girls lined up with their parents in the early hours of Tuesday at the public gymnasium where Andrade started her career 15 years ago. Some of those hopeful athletes in Guarulhos tra

Olympic doubles bronze medalists Fritz-Paul win singles matches in Montreal

Olympic doubles bronze medalists Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul won their opening singles matches Wednesday in the National Bank Open. The ninth-seeded Fritz beat Mariano Navone of Argentina 6-4, 6-1 and the 10th-seeded Paul topped Luciano Darderi of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (2). It was a solid match, Fritz said. I feel like the level, probably from both of us, went up a bit in the second set. We started playing longer points. Fritz will face American Sebastian Korda in the second round. Coming off his second ATP Tour title Sunday night in Washington, Korda led Vasek Pospisil 2-1 in a night match when the Canadian retired because of a back injury. Fellow Americans Ben Shelton and Brandon Nakashima also advanced, with qualifier Nakashima set to face Paul in the second round. Shelton, seeded 11th, edged doubles partner Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, and Nakashima beat Canadian wild-card Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 7-5. I think the consistency in my tennis is improving every week, Shelton said. I'm .

You didn't lose, yet you've been defeated: Bajrang Punia on Vinesh Phogat

India woke up to another shock on Thursday after a heartbroken Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling, prompting an outpouring of support from the sporting community. The 29-year-old, who was disqualified for being 100gm overweight ahead of her 50kg category gold medal bout in the Olympics on Wednesday, announced her decision to retire on social media, saying she doesn't have the strength to continue anymore. India's Tokyo Olympics bronze medal winner Bajrang Punia led the tributes for Vinesh, saying she did not lose yet she has been defeated. "Vinesh, you did not lose but yet you have been defeated. For us, you will always be a winner and along with being India's daughter you are India's pride as well, he said in a post in Hindi. Sakshi Malik, the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympics medal a bronze at 2016 Rio de Janeiro said all that has transpired with Vinesh is a "defeat of every daughter of our country". Vinesh you were not the one who lost. It's t

Olympics Hockey Bronze medal match: India vs Spain live timings, streaming

India vs Spain: The live match for the bronze medal will begin at 5:30 PM IST. India has won the men's hockey gold eight times, with their last gold medal coming in 1980.

Why Vinesh Phogat chose the 50 kg weight category amidst uncertainty

Vinesh Phogat, who typically competes in the 53 kg category, decided to switch to the 50 kg weight category for her bid in the Paris Olympic Games

Paris Olympics: Meet Neeraj Chopra's rivals for Javelin throw gold medal

Neeraj Chopra's Javelin throw final at Paris Olympics 2024 will begin at 11:55 PM IST on August 8. Who are the Neeraj Chopra's top competitors? Check details here

Olympics 2024: Lin Yu reaches gold-medal bout amid gender misconceptions

Boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan has advanced to the gold-medal bout in the women's featherweight division, winning her third consecutive bout while dealing with widespread scrutiny regarding misconceptions about her gender at the Paris Olympics. One day after welterweight Imane Khelif of Algeria reached her weight division's final with a third straight victory in Paris, Lin defeated Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey 5:0 on Wednesday night. Lin will fight for gold on Saturday. Lin and Khelif have dominated all of their Olympic bouts despite the massive distractions created by the fallout from the Olympic-banished International Boxing Association's decision last year to disqualify both fighters from the world championships for allegedly failing an eligibility test. Both fighters have responded to this unwelcome spotlight by making two of the best tournament runs of their lengthy amateur careers. Just like Khelif, Lin has never been a dominant champion in her sport, but that hasn't stopped ma

Olympics 2024: Algerians rally behind gold as Khelif advances to final

Relatives and neighbors erupted in cheers on Tuesday when Algeria's Imane Khelif advanced to the Olympic final in women's boxing, winning a clear unanimous decision over Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand. In Ain Mesbah, the rural cinderblock-built town where the boxer was raised, legions of supporters convened on her uncle's home to watch Khelif's match. With news camera lights shining on the gathering, they drank orange juice, waved flags and whistled as Khelif jumped around the ring in excitement about advancing to Friday's gold medal match. Between the quarterfinals and the semifinals, we were on edge, said Rachid Khelif, referencing the wave of uninformed speculation about his niece's gender. We were afraid that these attacks would affect her psychologically. But thank God, we saw Imane in a good state of mind. Few Algerians could have imagined that a 25-year-old welder's daughter from the drought-stricken Tiaret region could unite the population in such a way. But the ...

Paris Olympics: Quincy Hall wins gold in 400 meters, makes strong comeback

Quincy Hall became the latest American to electrify Olympic track and field with an out-of-nowhere comeback on Wednesday, sprinting from far behind in the 400 meters to reel in three runners and capture the gold medal. Hall, buried in fourth place as the runners rounded the last bend, outran the runner on his outside, then two more to the inside to cross the line in 43.40 seconds, the fourth-fastest time ever, then dropped to the track to do snow angels to celebrate. Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith finished second and Muzala Samukonga of Zambia finished third. Hall is the first American since LaShawn Merritt in 2008 to capture gold in the one-lap race. His victory came an evening after American Cole Hocker came from far behind late to beat the favorites in the men's 1500. The win came about an hour after Noah Lyles advanced to the final of the 200 meters despite finishing second to Letsile Tebogo in his semifinal. Lyles will race for the gold medal on Thursday.

Olympics 2024: China wins gold in artistic swimming, US bags silver

China took gold in the artistic swimming team event Wednesday night at the Paris Olympics, with the United States getting silver and Spain taking bronze. China dominated in the absence of Russia, which had won every gold medal in artistic beginning with the 2000 Sydney Games. China finished with 996.1389 points, ahead of the Americans' 914.3421 and Spain's 900.7319. It was the first U.S. medal in the sport since 2004. It was a big medal for China, and also a step forward for the sport, which changed its name from synchronized swimming several years ago to update its image. Some swimmers still call it synchro. There is attention to the sport that has never happened before, said Adam Andrasko, who heads USA Artistic Swimming. This is an absolutely different sport. The smiles, the makeup and hair gelatin remain, but this is no longer the water ballet beneath flowery rubber caps that your grandparents watched. Wednesday's acrobatic routines, after technical and free routines on Monda

Paris Olympics 2024: India schedule on August 8, live time (IST), streaming

India at Olympics: Neeraj Chopra to men's hockey team- check India's schedule, live match timings on Day 13 of the Olympics 2024

Wrestler Antim Panghal to be deported from Paris for disciplinary breach

In a major embarrassment for the country, Antim Panghal and her entire entourage is being deported from Paris for a major disciplinary breach where the young wrestler handed her official accreditation card to her sister who was caught by security while leaving the Games Village. Panghal had crashed out of the Paris Olympics after losing her opening bout in the women's 53kg during the day. "The Indian Olympic Association has decided to fly wrestler Antim and her support staff back after a disciplinary breach was brought to IOA's notice by the French authorities," an IOA statement said. While IOA did not share what the disciplinary breach was, a source shared the details with PTI. "Instead of heading to the Games Village, she reached the hotel where her coach Bhagat Singh and sparring partner Vikas, who is actually her coach, were staying. Antim asked her sister to go to the Games Village and come back with her belongings. Her sister was caught for impersonation and was taken to a ..

Vinesh Phogat's Olympics heartbreak: Wrestler disqualified after weigh-in

She had to work harder on her fitness levels so that she remained at the top of her game against quicker and more agile wrestlers in this category

Olympics have gap that streaming platform Netflix is trying to fill: Report

Just as Drive to Survive forged a deeper connection between fans and Formula 1 auto racing, the IOC hopes these projects will pique awareness and interest among a new generation of Olympics fans

'It's part of game', Vinesh Phogat tells Indian coaches after losing medal

"It's part of the game," a brave Vinesh Phogat told the Indian coaches who met her after her shock disqualification from the Paris Olympics for weighing 100g more than the permissible limit in the women's 50kg category here on Wednesday. Women's national coach Virender Dahiya and Manjeet Rani met the feisty wrestler, who had caused a flutter at the wrestling arena by beating world number one and defending champion Yui Susaki in the opening round on Tuesday. As the nation prepared to celebrate Vinesh's medal-winning run -- she was assured of at-least a silver -- Vinesh was disqualified when she could not ace the second weigh-in. "It sent a shockwave through the wrestling contingent. The girls were feeling pretty low after the news broke. We met Vinesh and tried to console her. She was brave. She told us, 'it's hard luck that we missed the medal, but it is part of the game'," Dahiya said, sharing the details of their meeting. "Several IOA officials were also there to meet her." Ther

Why are 16 athletes taking part in 3000m steeplechase final instead of 15?

The men's 3000m steeplechase final in the Paris Olympics, which will also feature India's Avinash Sable, will now have 16 instead of 15 athletes fighting for a place on the podium.

PM Modi directed IOA to act on Phogat's Olympic disqualification: Minister

Union Sports Minister told Parliament that Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed IOA President PT Usha, who is currently in Paris, to take immediate action on Vinesh Phogat's disqualification