Page 26 - Olympics

Threat of attacks, fear for families: How Ukrainians trained for Olympics

The fear of death has been a constant in an average Ukrainian's life ever since the war with Russia broke out in 2022 and that includes the majority of the country's 143-strong athlete contingent here for the Olympics beginning on Friday. Even in normal circumstances, the pressure to perform on the biggest sporting stage can take a toll on the best in the business. In the case of Ukrainian athletes, it's hard to imagine how they were able to train for the mega-event with missile attacks and air sirens becoming a part of their lives for the past 29 months. Electricity almost became non-existent with power grids destroyed by the conflict. In the eyes of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the athletes who are in Paris are already "heroes" and that is what he told them in a virtual address on Wednesday. Teenaged diving sensation Oleksiy Sereda and slalom canoeist Viktoriia Us were part of the call with president Zelenskyy. Speaking to PTI outside the Athletes' Village, both Sered

Katie Ledecky hopes clean races at Olympics after Chinese doping scandal

Katie Ledecky hopes for clean races at the Olympics. Hope was just about as far as she was willing to go on Wednesday. The US swimming star is looking to add to her six individual gold medals when she races in the 400, 800 and 1,500 meters at the Paris Games. Her schedule begins with the loaded 400 on Saturday, including Ariarne Titmus and Summer McIntosh. The 27-year-old Ledecky is competing in her fourth Summer Olympics. But, it's the first one since a doping scandal involving nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the Tokyo Games and were allowed to compete with no ramifications. The controversy has raised major concerns about the seriousness of anti-doping efforts. I hope everyone here is going to be competing clean this week, Ledecky said. But, what really matters also is: Were they training clean? Hopefully, that's been the case. Hopefully, there's been even testing around the world. There is an ongoing US investigation of the

Olympics 2024, today's India schedule: Deepika, Tarundeep in action

The goal of Indian archers to win medals in Paris 2024 would depend heavily on today's ranking round. Check India's archery schedule, live match timings here

Olympic soccer preview: Spain women seek gold after lifting World Cup

Coach Montse Tom proclaimed that Spain's women's soccer team has "insatiable ambition" heading into the Olympics. That mentality has served the squad well. La Roja is seeking to become the first team to win a gold medal in France after lifting a Women's World Cup trophy. "We have a group of players who love what they do. We take them to work, work and work," Tom said. And in that work, their enjoyment comes out and their talent shines and they can be competitive, because we have footballers who have an insatiable ambition and mentality. Loaded with talent, including reigning Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati and two-time former winner Alexia Putellas, Spain won the World Cup despite turmoil surrounding the squad. Before the tournament even started in Australia and New Zealand, more than a dozen players stepped away from the national team, citing poor treatment of the squad. Then-coach Jorge Vilda was peppered with questions about the mutiny throughout the event. After the 1-0 vict

Manika to play Britain's Hursey, Sharath to take on Slovenia's Kozul

Ace Indian paddler and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manika Batra will take on Great Britain's Anna Hursey in the women's singles opening round, while veteran men's player Achanta Sharath Kamal will clash with Deni Kozul of Slovenia on July 27, according to the draws announced on Wednesday. Manika, who is seeded 18th at the Games here, had become the first women's table tennis player from India to make it to the round of 32 in singles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. In other opening round matches, Harmeet Desai will take on Abo Yaman of Jordan in men's singles, while 25-year-old Sreeja Akula, seeded 16th, will open her campaign against Swedish player Christina Kallberg. Commonwealth Games champion Sharath Kamal is spearheading a six-member Indian table tennis contingent with the 41-year-old all set to make his fifth appearance at the Olympics. Manika, on the other hand, will play at her third successive Games. Gnanasekaran Sathiyan, a member of India's gold medal-winning men's .

Canada women's soccer coach to step aside because of drone incidents

Canada women's soccer coach Bev Priestman said Wednesday she'll step away from the team's opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a pair of drone incidents. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee's integrity unit after it said drones were flown over practice sessions earlier in the week. Two staff members assistant coach Jasmine Mander and Canada Soccer analyst Joseph Lombardi were sent home, the Canadian Olympic Committee said Wednesday. I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program, Priestman said in a statement. Accordingly, to emphasize our team's commitment to integrity, I have decided to voluntarily withdraw from coaching the match on Thursday. In the spirit of accountability, I do this with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld. The Canadians are the defending gold medalists. In her statement, Priestman also apologized to New Zealand. On .

Olympics 2024 controversy: How VAR denied Argentina victory vs Morocco?

In the final moments of added time, Argentina's Medina scored a controversial equaliser, causing Moroccan fans to react violently by throwing objects onto the field. Check what happened next here

Olympics 2024: Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in chaotic opening game in Paris

The game proved to be an exciting encounter between two teams that have been producing some decent results for themselves in recent times

Paris Olympics 2024 HIGHLIGHTS: NZL beat Guinea 2-1, DOM hold out Egypt for goalless draw

Paris Olympics 2024 HIGHLIGHTS: ARG beaten 1-2 against MAR, ESP beat UZB 2-1

Indian archers aim to break medal jinx, eye first Games medal in Paris

A different year and another Olympics, but for Indian archers, the target will be the same -- fetching their first ever medal at the Games. More or less regular at the Olympics since debuting back in 1988, the archers will kick off the nation's Paris campaign here on Wednesday with the qualification rounds at the Les Invalides gardens here. For the first time after London 2012, India will have a full six-member squad after both the men's and women's teams qualified on the basis of rankings. This means they will compete in all the five events. Veterans Tarundeep Rai and Deepika Kumari, appearing in their fourth Olympics, will lead their young teammates, hoping to securing at least a top-10 finish in the qualification round to ensure a favourable draw. Each archer will shoot 72 arrows and the scores in the qualification round of 128 athletes from 53 countries will decide the seeds for the main knockout competition beginning with the women's team finals on Sunday. The qualifying roun

Kushare eyes Paris final round after Neeraj Chopra's morale-boosting advice

'Just focus on training and don't get scared by the fame of the opponents' is the mantra Paris Games-bound high jumper Sarvesh Kushare learnt from none other than Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. Kushare said Chopra's advice has boosted his confidence as at one point in time this year, he was not even sure of making the Paris Games cut. He made it to the Olympics through world ranking quota. The Paris Games automatic qualification mark was 2.33m. From doing practice on fodder-made makeshift mat to becoming the first Indian high jumper to qualify for the Olympics, Kushare has come a long way. "I have not met Neeraj bhai for a long time, but when we met last time, he told me to focus on training and not be afraid of the fame of the opponents. He always keeps giving important tips," Kushare told PTI Bhasha in an interview from Poland where he is training along with other Paris-bound Indian athletes. "He (Chopra) is my idol and he gave us confidence by winning

When TT great Sharath Kamal ran into Roger Federer during the Olympics

From lunching alongside tennis icon Roger Federer to taking a set off Chinese legend Ma Long, India's flag-bearer for Paris Olympics, Achanta Sharath Kamal, on Wednesday recalled the most memorable moments from his five appearances at the Games so far. The 42-year-old table tennis legend helped the Indian men's team qualify for the first time in history and is believed to be set for his final appearance at the Games. The multiple-time Commonwealth Games gold-medallist believes that qualifying as a team could become the catalyst of growth for table tennis in India. For someone who has a huge bank of memories from the Olympics having made his first appearance in 2004, Sharath recalled running into Federer at a dining hall in his debut Games. "One day I was just out for lunch and as I was entering from this side, there was another person coming from the other side with a tennis bag and hair let loose. I feel like I have seen him somewhere. I couldn't recognise who he was with his hair

Mind Games: Understanding psychological challenges of being an Olympian

Human excellence is often closely linked to human fortitude and Olympics is the prime example of it. The Paris Games, starting on Friday, will be a gathering of 10,500 athletes, 117 of them from India, competing for a mere 329 medals. Needless to say, talent alone won't decide who finishes on the podium. It will also boil down to the mind and how one can discipline it to cope with the grandeur and pressure of the big moments. Visualisation, blocking out the noise and being focussed are among the techniques that are often talked about but are they as easy to implement in a highly competitive environment? "There is a lot of pressure (already) in sports and when you compete at the Olympics, you have to be someone who has gone through a lot of highs and lows as well," explains Dr Divya Jain, a sports psychologist with Fortis Healthcare. "In sports, you're confronted with winning and losing on a day-to-day basis, so it's not about winning every time; it's about how you recover, how qui

NZ Olympic football team furious with drone flying over training session

New Zealand says it has complained to the International Olympic Committee's integrity unit after a drone flown over a New Zealand women's soccer team training session was found to be operated by a member of the Canadian team's support staff. Defending Olympic champion Canada and New Zealand meet in their opening match at the Olympic tournament on Thursday. The drone incident occurred earlier this week, the New Zealand Olympic Committee said Wednesday. Team support members immediately reported the incident to police leading to the drone operator, who has been identified as a support staff member of the wider Canadian Women's football team, to be detained, the NZOC said in a statement. The NZOC has formally lodged the incident with the IOC integrity unit and has asked Canada for a full review. The Canadian Olympic Committee has apologized to the NZOC and New Zealand Football. The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair play and we are shocked and disappointed, the statement said.

No ACs at Olympic Games Village: How athletes will beat the heat in Paris?

At Games Village, the cooling system utilises a combination of ventilation and shading devices to keep the different facilities and accommodations cool. 2500 temporary ACs will be installed as well.

Paris Olympics 2024: Today's football matches, live timings (IST) streaming

Paris Olympics 2024 today's football schedule: Eight football matches will be played at the Paris Olympics 2024 today. Jio Cinema will live streaming the Paris Olympics in India.

Decoded: Adidas-Bella Hadid controversy & its link to 1972 Munich Olympics

Adidas took down an ad campaign that was launched last week to revive its iconic SL72 shoes ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024, featuring supermodel Bella Hadid

Ben Hallock eyeing elusive Olympic medal with US men's water polo team

Ben Hallock won in high school in Southern California. He won in college at Stanford. He won as a professional at Pro Recco, one of the top water polo clubs in the world. Hallock has won everywhere he has played except for the Olympics. And the 6-foot-6 center desperately wants to check that box this summer. I'd throw every single medal away that I have now for a medal in Paris, Hallock said. Without a doubt. Paris has just about arrived for Hallock and a U.S. men's team looking for the program's first medal since it won silver in 2008. The U.S. faces Italy on the first day of men's group play on Sunday. To get back on the podium, to somehow stay in contention into the final days of the grueling tournament, the U.S. is going to need more from the talented Hallock than it has ever seen before. And perhaps more importantly, more from Hallock's teammates. I mean I think it just always goes back to details, said Hallock, 26. I've played the sport for a long time, and the small details

Athletes of Indian heritage look to take Paris Olympics 2024 by storm

India would not be limited to the Indian contingent in the upcoming Paris Olympics. PTI takes a look at some Indian-origin athletes who will be representing their adopted countries at the Paris Games: Rajeev Ram (Tennis, USA) ================= Perhaps the most well known athlete on the list. The 40-year-old was born in Denver, USA to parents who migrated from Bangalore. Steeped in academics, Ram's father Raghav, who passed away in April 2019, due to pancreatic cancer, was a botanist while his mother Sushma worked as a scientific technician. But Ram chose to break tradition and pursue tennis. "I am very proud to be of Indian heritage and represent the community in any way I can. In tennis, there are not many of us from the community. Any success that we can achieve as a closed group can inspire the next generation to excel," Rajeev had once said. Playing for the USA, Rajeev has achieved considerable success. The tennis doubles specialist won five Grand Slams titles including four

Once a track-and-field powerhouse, Kerala witnesses slump in athletics

It's not a dire situation yet, but the dwindling number of athletes from Kerala in India's Olympic contingents shows that the growth of athletics in the state, which was once a track-and-field powerhouse, has certainly hit a disheartening flat-line. These numbers will summarise the situation before the deep dive: India's athletics squad for Paris Olympics has 29 members (18 men and 11 women). Kerala will be represented by four members -- Muhammed Anas, Muhammed Ajmal, Mijo Chacko Kurian (all men's 4x400m relay), and Abdulla Aboobacker (men's triple jump). In the Tokyo Olympics, Kerala made its presence through Yahiya, Noah Nirmal Tom, Alex Antony, KT Irfan, MP Jabir and M Sreeshankar in the track and field events. The state had better representation at the Rio Games in 2016 through Anas, Jinson Johnson, T Gopi, Jisna Mathew, Tintu Luka, OP Jaisha and M Renjith. Along with the diminishing overall numbers, a close look will reveal another anomaly -- a female athlete from the state is