Page 30 - Olympics

India's UPI goes live at Galeries Lafayette, eyes Paris Olympics boost

Ambassador of India to France and Principality of Monaco Jawed Ashraf launched UPI by live use

High costs, safety worries hurt Paris Olympics turnout; hotel bookings drop

Flight bookings to the French capital - an indicator of tourist activity - are expected to increase by 10 per cent year-on-year from June 6 onwards

Wrestler Bajrang Punia calls Nada arrogant, says he is being targeted

Wrestler Bajrang Punia on Monday alleged that NADA was targeting him for pointing out flaws in their system and vowed to challenge the arrogance of the National Anti-Doping Agency, which he claimed wants to end his sporting career. Bajrang was suspended by NADA for the second time on June 24 after the wrestler got relief from the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) of the agency. The ADDP had lifted the first suspension on the grounds that NADA had not officially charged him for doping by serving the wrestler a formal notice. NADA then issued the notice to the Tokyo Games medallist and suspended him again. "This shows how NADA is targeting me, they don't want me to continue wrestling at any cost," Bajrang posted on X. Bajrang was suspended for refusing to provide his sample during the selection trials held in Sonepat on March 10. He had lost the trials and thus missed out on the chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics. The 30-year-old multiple-time World Championship medallist

Simone Biles to return to Olympics. All details of US Gymnastics team

Simone Biles is eager for a chance to put the Tokyo Olympics firmly in her rearview mirror. Three years after she memorably pulled out of multiple finals to protect her mental health and safety a decision that came with a backlash that still litters her social media feed Biles headlines a U.S. women's gymnastics team filled with familiar faces eyeing a shot at redemption in Paris. Biles will be joined by reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, 2020 floor exercise champion gold medalist Jade Carey, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles and 16-year-old newcomer Hezly Rivera, who will find herself competing next to a couple of her idols as the Americans try to reclaim the spot atop the Olympic podium they ceded to Russia in Japan. Meet the oldest women's gymnastics team the U.S. has ever taken to the Games. Simone Biles returns for a third shot at Olympic glory: The 27-year-old Biles has long been in a class of her own. She will arrive in Paris as the most decorated women's gymna

Paris Olympics likely to impact Air France KLM ticket sales this summer

France will host the Olympic Games from July 26 to Aug. 11, which has caused some people to rethink their travel plans, the company said in a statement

Rajpal, Narang in race to replace Mary Kom as India's CDM in Paris Olympics

Olympic medallist shooter Gagan Narang and Davis Cup captain Rohit Rajpal have emerged as strong contenders to become Indian contingent's chef de mission in Paris Games, a position which fell vacant after MC Mary Kom withdrew due to personal reasons, IOA sources told PTI on Sunday. Six-time world champion Mary Kom had resigned from the position in April, saying she was left with no choice but to step down owing to compelling person reasons. She was named CDM by the Indian Olympic Association in March this year. "Most likely it will be Gagan or Rohit for the role of chef de mission. It's a huge responsibility and they are capable of managing it. Having said that, weightlifting federation's Sahdev Yadav's name was also being considered," an IOA source told PTI on the sidelines of the send-off ceremony for India's Olympic contingent here. It has been learnt that badminton legend Prakash Padukone was also offered the position but the former All England Champion refused to take up the ..

Paris Olympics 2024: Medal contender Anshu Malik suffers shoulder strain

Anshu Malik, who is a strong medal contender at the Paris Olympics, has suffered a shoulder strain during training, forcing the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to seek a status report from the wrestler. Anshu had won a silver medal at the recent Ranking Series event in Budapest in the women's 57kg, losing the final to China's Kexin Hong. The 22-year-old Anshu had qualified for the Games by winning a gold medal at the Asian Olympic Qualifier in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in April. After the Budapest event, Anshu returned to her centre -- Mirchpur academy in Haryana -- and a week back suffered a strain on left shoulder. "During a practice session, she suffered strain and as a precautionary measure, she stopped training. She also underwent an MRI and there is nothing to worry. The scan is clean. Two days back she started training again," Anshu's father and coach Dharamveer Malik told PTI. "We will leave for Japan for a training camp in a few days," added Dharamveer. WFI President Sanja

Olympics 2024: Siachen warrior Sandeep now aims for Paris glory in shooting

Indian shooter Sandeep Singh's steely resolve to fight his inner demons and come back stronger as a sports shooter came in the hostile environment of Siachen, the highest battle-field in the world, where he endured temperatures as low as -40 degrees C and stayed in a tent cooking his own food like a caveman. Sandeep, the 10m air rifle shooter, who showed great determination to hang on in the face of stiff challenge from rival shooters to win the Olympic Selection Trials and secure a Paris berth earlier this year, said that grind in the tough environment, will help him achieve success in Paris. "It's like you are alone in the snowy wilderness at -40 degrees C. The food also you have to prepare alone in the camp," Sandeep, 28, told PTI on the sidelines of the ceremonial send-off of the Paris-bound Indian athletes and the unveiling of the playing kits of the contingent here on Sunday. Sandeep, who overcame the challenge of world champion shooter Rudrankksh Patil in the trials to secure

Paris 2024: Indian mixed 4x400m relay team fails to make Olympics cut

The Indian mixed 4x400m relay team failed in its bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics despite setting a national record as it missed the target time exactly by a second on the final day of the National Inter-State Championships here on Sunday. India fielded two teams -- A and B -- in the mixed 400m relay event which also has Sri Lanka and Maldives invited by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) so that the timings are counted for world ranking purposes. Three national teams are required to make an event an international one. The Indian team's target was to clock 3:11.87 to go past Kenya (3:11.88) and take the 16th and the last spot. But the India A quartet of Muhammed Anas, Jyothika Sri Dandi, Muhammed Ajmal and Kiran Pahal clocked 3:12.87 to win the race. In the process, the Indian team erased the previous national record of 3:14.12 seconds which was recorded at the Asian Relay in Bangkok in May. Interestingly, Kiran, who won the individual 400m by breaching the Olympic ...

Paris Olympics 2024: Sports Min hopeful of India bettering its medals tally

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday expressed optimism about the Indian contingent setting a new benchmark at the upcoming Paris Olympics, emphasising that sports have been a priority area in recent years. "I am confident that this contingent will sustain India's growth trajectory in sports," said Mandaviya during the ceremonial send-off of the Paris-bound athletes and the unveiling of the playing kits of the contingent. "We saw a spurt from two medals in 2016 Rio to seven in Tokyo as India rose from 67th to 48th (position), largely due to Neeraj Chopra's javelin gold. I am hoping that our athletes will take us even higher on the medal table this time." Attended by athletes, Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, the event also highlighted the government's Target Olympic Podium Scheme in supporting athletes ahead of the Games. "The government has supported athletes through various schemes such as TOPS offer

Paris Olympics: PM Modi highlights firsts of athletes during Mann Ki Baat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Paris Olympic-bound athletes have prepared with "life and soul" for the upcoming Games by participating in nearly 900 international competitions collectively as he launched a campaign to generate online support for the travelling contingent. India won a best ever haul of seven medals three years ago in the Tokyo Olympics with javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra becoming the first athlete from the country to win a gold in track and field. The Prime Minister made the remarks in his 'Mann Ki Baat' radio address, the first after the general elections. The radio broadcast had taken a break in February ahead of the general elections. "Our athletes' performance in Tokyo won the hearts of every Indian. Since the Tokyo Olympics, our athletes have been preparing with all their life and soul. Combined, they have participated in around 900 international competitions," Modi said. After drawing a blank in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, all eyes would be on th

Nada instructs AFI to stop Javelin thrower Manu from competing in Olympic

Javelin thrower DP Manu has been asked to stay away from competitions by the Athletics Federation of India on the instructions of the National Anti-Doping Agency as the Olympic hopeful is suspected to have been caught in the dope net. The 24-year-old Manu, who won a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Championhsips, was more or less certain to qualify for the Olympics through world ranking quota but is set to miss the Paris bus after the latest development. He was in the initial entry list for the National Inter-State Championships which began on Thursday here. But his name has been dropped from the updated roster. AFI president Adille Sumariwalla told PTI that NADA has asked the federation to stop Manu from competitions but he did not confirm whether the athlete has committed a doping offence. "There could be something like that, but we still don't know what is the actual thing. There was a phone call to AFI office (from the NADA) yesterday that he (Manu) be stopped from competitions,"

Olympic champ Herah to miss chance at 3rd straight title in 100, 200 meters

Elaine Thompson-Herah, the two-time reigning Olympic champion at 100 and 200 meters, will miss the Paris Games because of what she said is a small tear in her Achilles tendon. Thompson-Herah went down at the New York Grand Prix this month and had to be carried off the track. She had been signed up to run in the 100 meters this week at Jamaican national championships, but posted on social media Thursday that she withdrew. Funny enough, I got back home with a strong mindset to keep pushing and prepare, she said. But the leg wouldn't allow me to. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won the Olympic 100 in 2008 and 2012, ran 10.98 seconds on Thursday in the opening round and Shericka Jackson ran 10.99. Thompson-Herah had not been signed up for the 200. Her absence leaves America's Sha'Carri Richardson, Fraser-Pryce and Jackson as the top three medal contenders in the shorter sprint in Paris. Thompson-Herah, who turns 32 on Saturday, said she plans on returning. It's a long road but I am will

Wimbledon Cup 2024: Alcaraz, Sinner, Swiatek, Gauff taking over tennis

There is a real shift happening at the top of tennis, a youth movement that long seemed inevitable but never actually arrived until now. As the sport's attention shifts to the grass of Wimbledon, where play begins Monday, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff are the players whose names are on everyone's lips. Alcaraz is the defending men's champion and owner of three Grand Slam titles at the age of 21 after his triumph at the French Open. Sinner, 22, is the top-seeded man at Wimbledon and won the Australian Open in January. Swiatek, 23, is the top-seeded woman and just earned her fourth championship at Roland Garros and fifth major overall. Gauff, the youngest of the bunch at 20, is ranked a career-best No. 2, has reached at least the semifinals at the past three Slam tournaments and won her first such trophy at last year's U.S. Open. While Swiatek has entrenched herself at No. 1 in the women's game, and is now 11-1 against Gauff, neither has been past the ...

Inside Paris 2024: How the Olympic village plans to redefine city living

The Olympic Village, housing athletes during the Games, will later become offices and residences for thousands, addressing Paris's housing crisis

Take a look at India's six-member Archery squad for Paris 2024 Olympics

A six-member team was also announced, with Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai set to make their fourth appearance

Paris Games 2024: Welcome to weird world of men's soccer at Olympics

Kylian Mbapp wanted to be there. France coach Thierry Henry wanted it too. In the end, not even French President Emmanuel Macron could pull enough strings to free up his country's finest soccer player to compete in the Paris Games. Welcome to the weird world of men's Olympic soccer. The world's most popular sport occupies a strange space at the Games confused by compromises and contortions that appear designed to ensure it remains a part of the roster so long as it provides the least possible disruption to teams, players and authorities, whose priorities lie elsewhere. It's become a complete mishmash over the years from being something that was quite important... to something that quite a lot of people would like scrapped because the calendar is so clogged up, soccer author Steve Menary told The Associated Press. Men's soccer has been part of the Olympics since the 1900 Games, also in Paris. The only time it hasn't featured since then was in Los Angeles in 1932 to help promote th

Delhi's Tulika Maan secures Paris Olympics quota for India in Judo

Commonwealth Games silver medallist Tulika Maan on Tuesday secured a Paris Olympics quota for India in judo, according to the international body's list. International Judo Federation (IJF) on Tuesday published a list of judokas who have qualified for the Paris Games and 25-year-old Tulika's name featured in the +78 kg category. The Delhi girl was ranked 36th with 1345 points. The qualification period was between June 22, 2022 and June 23, 2024. "The next step will take place on July 2 when the NOCs (National Olympic Committees) will have to nominate which athletes will represent them, knowing that only one judoka per NOC can participate in the Games in each weight category," the IJF said on its website. "In other words, if a country has several judoka qualified in a given weight category, only one can be chosen to participate this summer." A country can enter a maximum of 14 judokas, seven each for both men and women per bodyweight category. France, as host country, received a sp

Athletes have lost faith in WADA: Olympic gold winners tell US Congress

The USA Olympic athletes have lost faith in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to rid their sports of cheaters ahead of next month's Paris Olympics, two former gold medalists told a House subcommittee. The testimony by Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt followed revelations this spring that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned heart medication ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but were allowed by WADA to compete. Five of those swimmers went on to win medals, including three golds. Phelps is the most decorated swimmer in history and a 23-time Olympic gold medalist. Schmitt, a four-time gold medalist, was part of the US 800-meter freestyle relay team that finished a close second to China at the Tokyo Games. Both the Chinese and U.S. teams broke the previous world record in the relay. We raced hard. We trained hard. We followed every protocol. We accepted our defeat with grace, Schmitt said. Many of us will be haunted by this podium finish that may have been impacted

Paris Olympics: Geothermal rooms, hi-tech recovery space for athletes

Indian Olympic Association to organisers: Ensure all our rooms have fans