Page 20 - Olympics

Olympics 2024: Donald Trump criticises opening ceremony, calls it disgrace

Former US president Donald Trump has criticised the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris, calling it a "disgrace", amidst outrage over a scene which critics say parodied Leonardo da Vinci's acclaimed painting "The Last Supper." I thought that the opening ceremony was a disgrace, actually. I thought it was a disgrace," Trump, the Republican Party's presidential candidate for the November 5 general elections, told 'The Ingraham Angle' on Fox News on Monday night. I am very open-minded. But I think, what they did was a disgrace, he said in response to a question. House Speaker Mike Johnson has also condemned the opening ceremony. Last night's mockery of the Last Supper was shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world who watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, he said in a post on X. The war on our faith and traditional values knows no bounds today. But we know that truth and virtue will always prevail. The light shines in the darkness, and the .

2 female boxers meet Olympics rules after gender test issue at WC: IOC

Two female boxers at the Paris Olympics who were disqualified at the 2023 world championships after being judged to have failed gender eligibility tests have complied with all rules to fight at the games, the IOC said Monday. Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria are competing at their second Summer Games. Both finished outside the medals at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement. The 28-year-old Lin is a two-time worlds gold medalist and the 25-year-old Khelif won a silver at the 2022 tournament. Both were removed from their competitions in New Delhi last year at the world championships, run by the International Boxing Association which has been banished from Olympic boxing since before the Tokyo Games. The different status of

Olympics 2024: 17-yr-old Canadian Summer McIntosh wins gold in 400-meter IM

Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh claimed the first gold medal of her just-burgeoning career Monday night with a dominating victory in the 400-meter individual medley at the Paris Olympics. The 17-year-old McIntosh collected her first medal of any color on the opening night of swimming, taking a silver in the 400 freestyle behind Ariarne Titmus and ahead of Katie Ledecky. Now, McIntosh has the most prized color of all. I try to take every event very individually and just do my work, but starting off for me getting on the podium is definitely a great way to start, McIntosh said. You try to continue to get better and better. She pushed the pace hard through the first half of the grueling race the butterfly and backstroke legs to leave everyone in her wake except American Katie Grimes. McIntosh was under her own world-record pace, but couldn't keep it going. She touched in 4 minutes, 27.71 seconds, more than three seconds off the mark of 4:24.38 she set at the Canadian trials in .

Paris 2024: Manika becomes 1st Indian TT player to reach Olympics pre-QFs

Manika Batra made history by becoming the first Indian table tennis player to reach the singles pre-quarterfinals at the Olympic Games with a fluent 4-0 win over world number 18 and home favourite Prithika Pavade here on Monday. The 29-year-old Manika dominated from start to finish for a 11-9 11-6 11-9 11-7 win over Prithika, who has Indian roots. It turned out to be one of the most memorable matches for an Indian table tennis player in Olympics history. Manika had reached the round of 32 at the Tokyo Olympics and she bettered that performance on Monday. "I am happy that I beat a French player in Paris. I defeated a higher-ranked player. I did not think of creating history and making the pre-quarters, there are more rounds, I will take it match by match and give my best as I always do," Manika told PTI after her match. Manika's ploy to attack Prithika's backhand proved very effective but that was not the strategy she had devised before the match. "I had planned to play to her fore

Paris Olympics 2024: India schedule on July 30, live time (IST), streaming

Day 4 will see manu Bhaker and Sarabjot bronze in the 10m air pistol bronze medal match. Indian hockey team take on Ireland in their pool B match. Satwik and Chirag will be taking on Indonesia.

Olympics 2024: Ramita Jindal finishes 7th in 10m air rifle women's final

Indian shooter Ramita Jindal ended seventh in the final of the 10m air rifle women's competition at the Olympic Games here on Monday. Ramita, 20, shot 145.3 in a high-quality eight-women final. The young Indian shooter was placed seventh after 10 shots (104.0), when the elimination began. In danger of being eliminated, a 10.5 pushed Ramita to sixth place even as Norway's Hegg Jeanette Duestad made an exit. But the Indian could not save herself after that. In the qualifications on Sunday, she performed exceedingly well to make the final in the fifth place. Ramita, the Hangzhou Asian Games bronze-medallist in the event, beat World Championship medallist Mehuli Ghosh and Tilottama Sen at the domestic trials to make it to Paris Games.

Olympic 2024: Freestyle BMX star Hannah Roberts aims for gold in Paris

Hannah Roberts looked perfectly at ease relaxing on a covered porch on a rainy July morning in Michigan, just weeks before she left for the Paris Olympics, content that she had put in the work necessary to win the gold medal that escaped her in Tokyo. For the past three years, the best freestyle BMX rider of her generation has been driven by the silver she took home instead. If I'm being honest, Roberts told The Associated Press, while keeping an eye on the rambunctious kids she was babysitting, I don't know whether silver or bronze would make too much difference for me. And maybe it's better for me the first time not to win. I think if I would have walked away with gold, I wouldn't have had the motivation to keep going forward. Now, the 22-year-old Roberts is coming off her fifth world title in a seven-year span, and again the heavy favorite to win Olympic gold. The competition begins Tuesday at the urban sports park built at Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris. Hannah is .

Beach volleyball at Eiffel Tower stadium draws crowds for social media post

Lena Von Schonlaub used Eiffel Tower Stadium as a backdrop for her own personal photo shoot. Von Schonlaub shifted her head from side to side, smiling big while she held her phone in front of her face and clicked over and over. Paris' iconic Eiffel Tower hovered right behind her, overlooking the site where beach volleyball is being played at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It has been one of the most popular attractions of the Olympics, drawing hundreds of people looking for the best photo to post on their social media pages. The perfect setting for a digital age. "I think it's the most beautiful location you can have," said Von Schonlaub, who traveled to Paris from Munich, Germany. "It's Instagrammable." The sand and upbeat DJ music always give beach volleyball the feel of a party. The sport has been played at plenty of iconic sites, including Copacabana Beach at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where beach volleyball is very popular. But for many athletes and visitors, Eiffel Tower

Olympics: Kerala cyclist's 22,000 km journey to cheer for Neeraj Chopra

India's star athlete Neeraj Chopra will have a special supporter at the Paris Olympics: a Kerala cyclist who has travelled all the way from Calicut, riding more than 22000 kilometers over two years. Fayis Asraf Ali's arrival in the French capital was the culmination of a long journey on his Surly bicycle that took him across 30 countries, beginning on August 15, 2022. Ali set off with a mission to cycle from "India to London to spread peace and unity". Having cycled across 17 countries, he stopped in Budapest one August afternoon last year, when he came to know that the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist was staying across the street. The ace javelin thrower was with the athletics contingent for the World Championships in which claimed another historic win. A few hurried calls to a "known Kerala coach" led to a "dream meeting" with his sporting idol. "I got a few minutes to talk to the Indian athletes and Neeraj told me since 'you are going to London why don't you come to Paris for th

Vandalism hits communication lines in France during Paris Olympics

The French government says multiple telecommunications lines have been hit by acts of vandalism, affecting fiber lines and fixed and mobile phone lines as cities around France are hosting events for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The scale of the impact is unclear, as is whether it has affected any Olympic activities. The vandalism came after a rson attacks hit train networks around France on Friday, hours before the Olympics opening ceremony. Marina Ferrari, secretary of state in charge of digital affairs, posted on X that damage in several regions overnight Sunday to Monday affected telecommunications operators. She said that led to localized impact on access to fiber lines and fixed and mobile telephone lines. Paris 2024 Olympics organisers would not immediately comment. A French police official said at least six of France's administrative departments were affected, which include the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille, hosting Olympic soccer and sailing ...

Olympics 2024: Ponnappa-Crasto stare at early exit after group stage defeat

India's Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto were staring at an early exit after suffering their second consecutive group stage defeat in the women's doubles badminton competition at the Paris Olympic here on Monday. The Indians went down 11-21 12-21 to the world number four Japanese duo of Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida in the 48-minute Group C match. They had lost their opener against South Korea's Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong. Ponnappa and Crasto, world number 19, are currently placed third in their group behind the Japanese and the South Koreans. The two top ranked pairs from each group qualify for the quarterfinals. "A bit disappointed because this was the only shot we had for a chance to get to the quarters. Not the way we wanted to play but they were very strong. I wish we had given them a better fight. We have one more match and hope we can win that," Ponnappa said after the game. "They were very strong, offensively and defensively. Defensively we were a bit lacking to

High stake matches await men's basketball teams in Paris Olympics

No team has reached the quarterfinals yet in the men's basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics. No team has been eliminated, either. That said, Tuesday and Wednesday sure seem like make-or-break days for some nations and medal chances might evaporate very quickly for those which stumble again. With all 12 teams having been in action on either Saturday or Sunday, everyone in the men's tournament at Pierre Mauroy Stadium gets Monday off. For some, that provides a chance to regroup and practice. For others, like the U.S. which rolled past Serbia in its opener, led by Kevin Durant's brilliant return from a calf issue it brings a day to relax, recover and go be Team USA fans. It's huge," U.S. coach Steve Kerr said Monday. And it's also important for us to allow our players to enjoy the Olympic experience, for them to be able to go and watch some of the other sports, be with their families. It's a huge part of this. That's what today is about, and then we'll lock back in ...

Olympics: Harmanpreet Singh rescues late 1-1 draw for India vs Argentina

Skipper Harmanpreet Singh rescued India by converting a last-minute penalty corner as they held former champions Argentina to a 1-1 draw in a Pool B hockey match of the Paris Olympics here Monday. India had fluffed as many as nine penalty corners before Harmanpreet found the net, firing the ball into the top corner. Argentina were left to rue the missed penalty stroke by Maico Casella in the 36th minute. It was Lucas Martinez, who had put his side ahead in the 22nd minute with a field goal and Harmanpreet, who had struck against New Zealand in the dying moments, found the net a minute before the final hooter. Harmanpreet did not feel that India fared poorly. "To be honest, we created a lot of chances. There were lots of open slots and counter balls. Finishing is where we need to do better. Even in 50-50 balls we have to give 100 percent and in 100 per cent ball, we need to convert with effort. We will keep that in mind going forward," Harmanpreet told PTI. The India captain was a

Olympic uniforms designed by Tarun Tahiliani: A hit or miss for team India?

This was the first time a fashion designer had been commissioned to create official ceremonial attire for Team India

Olympics 2024: Will Manu Bhaker win second Bronze for India on July 30?

Becoming the first Indian woman to win a medal in shooting at the Olympic Games, Manu Bhaker will be walking in with a high morale for that second bronze medal.

Manu-Sarabjot duo enters bronze medal round, Ramita finishes 7th in final

A confident Manu Bhaker placed herself in contention for a second Olympic medal as she combined with Sarabjot Singh to make the bronze playoff in the 10m air pistol mixed team event but Ramita Jindal ended seventh in the 10m air rifle women's competition here on Monday. The 22-year-old Bhaker came into the mixed team qualifications after winning a historic bronze medal in the 10m women's air pistol event on Sunday. Bhaker and Sarabjot finished with a total of 580 to make the medal round to be held on Tuesday. The Indians will face Koreans Oh Ye Jin and Lee Wonho, who shot 579, in the bronze-medal match. The other Indian pair of Rhythm Sangwan and Arjun Singh Cheema finished 10th with a score of 576 and failed to make it to the medal rounds. Turkiye, who equalled Qualification Olympic Record with 582, and Serbia (581), who finished second, respectively, will contest the gold-medal match. Bhaker was sensational with her 98s in the first two series, but a 95 in the third set pulled t

Paris Olympics 2024: In another attack, France's telecom lines vandalised

The attack comes days after arson attacks on France's train networks on the day of Olympics opening ceremony

Decoded: Olympics 2024 opening ceremony backlash over 'Last Supper' parody

Olympics 2024: According to the ceremony's artistic director, Thomas Jolly, the scene was designed to reference pagan gods, aimed at celebrating community tolerance

Govt spent Rs 2 crore on Manu Bhaker's training: Sports Minister Mandaviya

Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya credited Khelo India and TOPS initiatives for driving sports talent across the country

Triathlon training cancelled: What is the controversy surrounding Seine?

2024 Paris Olympics: The Olympic triathlon training session was cancelled on Monday for the second consecutive day due to poor water quality of the Seine River