Page 37 - Olympics

IOA replaces all four deputy chefs de mission nominated by previous regime

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has replaced all the four deputy chefs de mission for the Hangzhou Asian Games appointed by the previous dispensation led by Narinder Batra. However, Wushu Association of India chief Bhupender Singh Bajwa, who was appointed chef de mission for the Games in January 2022 by Batra, has been retained. Batra had appointed Ajay Kumar Singhania (secretary-general, Badminton Association of India), Swapna Banerjee (president, Bengal Olympic Association), Gurudatta Bhakta (secretary-general, Goa Olympic Association) and Hariom Kaushik (executive board member, Netball Federation of India) as deputy chefs de mission. But the Hangzhou Asian Games, earlier scheduled in September 2022, got postponed by a year because of a surge in Covid-19 cases in China and the IOA too saw new office-bearers under legendary Indian sprinter PT Usha taking charge of the National Olympic Committee in December last year. The new deputy chefs de mission appointed for the Games, schedu

Paris 2024: Shooter Rajeshwari Kumari earns India's seventh Olympic quota

Shotgun shooting runs in her family, and trap exponent Rajeshwari Kumari showed why she is among the best in the country when she earned a seventh 2024 Paris Olympic quota place by finishing fifth in the ISSF World Championship here on Thursday. The 31-year-old, daughter of legendary shotgun shooter and one of the top sports administrators the country has produced, Randhir Singh, made it to the finals in an extremely tough field but bad luck forced her to miss out on a medal. Rajeshwari also became the second trap shooter after Shagun Chowdhary to ever earn an Olympic quota in women's trap. In a heartbreak for the shooter, she could score only 19 out of 30 shots in the final. Despite the below-par score in the finals, Rajeshwari was elated at having clinched the Olympic quota. "I am feeling great. It's unbelievable. It's finally done. It's done for the country. I mean I wish I could win a medal but this is great. Paris," said Rajeshwari after the final. The daughter of Randhir --

Cricket at Olympics 2028: Los Angeles to host five-team event, say reports

It would be the first Olympic cricket witnessed since a one-off gold medal match in the 1900 Games in Paris. The gold was won by Great Britain which beat a club representing France in a Test match

India will host Olympics in future, says Sports Minister Anurag Thakur

India will organise the Olympics in future, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said on Thursday, insisting that hosting quality tournaments across various disciplines will help the country become a sporting super power. Earlier this month, Australia's Victoria state withdrew as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to increasing cost. Replying to PTI's query if India is thinking of hosting the 2026 CWG, Thakur said "India will organise the Olympics in future." "We are working in that direction and when the right time comes we will give you the good news. India wants to host the Olympics. "Our athletes are performing well and the federations are becoming more accountable. There is transparency, accountability and professionalism," Thakur said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Asian Junior and Youth Weightlifting Championships. India is hosting the Asian Junior and Youth Weightlifting Championships for the first time from July 28 to August 5 at the Gautam Buddha Universit

Indian hockey teams aim for Paris berth via Hangzhou Asian Games

Indian men's and women's hockey teams are keen to win the gold medal at the upcoming Asian Games to secure direct qualification for the next year's Paris Olympics. The men's team, who ended a 41-year wait for an Olympic medal winning a bronze at Tokyo Games, will compete in the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai from August 3 in the build-up to the Hangzhou showpiece in September-October. "We have important matches coming up as we inch closer to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. We are excited about our upcoming tour as it also gives us a great opportunity to play against quality teams," Indian men's team skipper Harmanpreet Singh told Hockey India. India will battle it out against the likes of South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan and China in the Asian Champions Trophy. "These matches will be crucial for us as we prepare for the all-important Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled later this year. We are aware of what is at stake, and we are not taking anything for granted. In addition to t

LVMH to sponsor Paris Summer Olympics 2024 in a first for luxury group

The announcement by Europe's most valuable company ends months of speculation over its participation in the sporting event, which starts in a year's time

Olympics 2024 pushing Paris to confront crack cocaine use on city streets

Neighborhoods in northeast Paris have struggled for years with the scourge of crack cocaine and its use in public. The Summer Olympics, kicking off a year from Wednesday, are offering an impetus to tackle the problem. Yet despite a surge in arrests and new promises of tougher security around the 2024 Paris Games, some residents question whether the newfound focus is just pushing users elsewhere instead of treating medical and mental health problems, a lack of housing and jobs and other deeper ills at the root of the crack crisis. Residents in the 18th and 19th arrondissements, or districts, of the French capital have long complained about the open-air crack use in their neighborhoods that stands in sharp contrast to the postcard-perfect tourist areas of Paris farther south. Small groups of people could be seen using illicit drugs on Sunday at the Porte de la Chapelle metro station and a nearby tram stop located across the street from a new multi-purpose arena that is slated to host

PV Sindhu slips to world no. 17, her lowest ranking in over a decade

PV Sindhu slips to world number 17 in the BWF rankings released on Tuesday, slipping a further five places as the star grapples with inconsistent performance

Olympic qualifiers: Pak to host international hockey event after 19 years

Pakistan is set to host an international hockey event after nearly 19 years with the International Hockey Federation (FIH) allocating the Olympic qualifying rounds to the country for early next year. Pakistan, which last hosted an FIH event back in 2004, will host eight teams in Lahore from January 13 to 24 next year. "Pakistani hockey fans have been deprived of seeing international hockey stars at home for 20 years now and the FIH Olympic qualifiers will no doubt boost the sport in Pakistan again," said Haider Hussain, the Secretary-General of the FIH. He said the Pakistan Hockey Federation had succeeded in convincing the FIH to allocate the event to Pakistan after much lobbying in the apex body. "We are happy many countries supported our stance that if international hockey returns to Pakistan it will help boost the game again in the country." Unfortunately, Pakistan has failed to qualify for the last two Olympic Games in 2016 and 2021 but Hussain said he was hopeful that fans wo

2024 Olympics: Flame to be carried for 68 days before cauldron is lit

The Olympic flame for the 2024 Paris Games will pass through 64 departments including five overseas and 400 towns over 68 days before the cauldron is lit. Organizers announced the route for the torch relay on Friday at a Paris university. Paris 2024 is the greatest collective project in our history, organizing committee president Tony Estanguet said. The torch relay plays an important role because it has the capacity to touch so many people. The torch will be lit by the sun's rays on April 16 in Ancient Olympia, Greece. It will then be carried around the nation before its handover in Athens. The flame will leave Athens on April 27 aboard a three-mast ship named Belem for the French port of Marseille a former Greek colony founded 2,600 years ago. The Belem was first used in 1896, the same year the modern Olympics came back. It will be skippered by French navigator Armel Le Clac'h, winner of the solo around-the-world race Vende Globe in 2017. The crew will reach Marseille on May

IOC banishes boxing body, but sport will still be at 2024 Paris Games

The International Boxing Association was banished from the Olympic family on Thursday, ending a years-long dispute fuelled by defying advice and instructions from the IOC. Boxing, however, will keep its status as an Olympic sport at the 2024 Paris Games. The International Olympic Committee voted to de-recognize the IBA at a specially called meeting an outcome that was inevitable after being recommended two weeks ago by the executive board, a body chaired by IOC president Thomas Bach. The vote was 69-1, with 10 members abstaining. Boxing was never really in danger of being kicked out of the Olympics over the four years since the IOC suspended the sport's governing body in an effort to force changes. "We highly value the sport of boxing. We have an extremely serious problem with IBA because of their governance," Bach told IOC members during their online meeting. The dispute centered on the IBA's management under presidents from Uzbekistan and Russia who the IOC disapproved of, its

Best wishes to Indian contingent: PM Modi on Special Olympics World Games

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday wished the Indian contingent at the Special Olympics World Games, saying "we are proud of every athlete representing us at the games". "As the Special Olympics World Games commence in Berlin, my best wishes to the Indian contingent," Modi said in a tweet. "We are proud of every athlete representing us at the games. May they shine brightly through their spirit, determination and resilience," he said.

Dentsu no more IOC broadcast partner in Asia due to corruption charges

Facing corruption charges linked to the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese marketing giant Dentsu will no longer be a major broadcast rights holder in Asia. The International Olympic Committee said Thursday it has awarded exclusive rights for four Olympics from 2026 to 2032 to the Switzerland-based, Chinese-owned sports marketing agency Infront. The 22-market Asian deal includes Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Taiwan and Vietnam, but not China, Japan or South Korea. A statement from the IOC and Infront did not mention Dentsu, which was the called the gatekeeper for selling Asian rights to broadcasters starting with the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics through the 2024 Paris Summer Games. Dentsu and other companies were charged in February by prosecutors in Japan for collusion in commercial contracts for the Tokyo Olympics. A former Dentsu executive is implicated in a separate bribery case linked to Olympic sponsorship. Dentsu helped Tokyo win the hosting contest in 2013, after losing the previous vot

Delhi HC permits govt to release funds for Indian team for Special Olympics

The Delhi High Court has allowed the Centre to release funds to enable the participation of the Indian team in the upcoming Special Olympics World Games, 2023, modifying a 2022 order barring the government from providing assistance to sports federations not compliant with laws governing sports administration. The court passed the order after the Centre said it was finding it difficult to release money to facilitate the participation of athletes in the Special Olympiad in view of its earlier direction. The government told the court that it had granted permission on earlier occasions to release funds to help Indian teams participate in various sporting events. "In view of the above, this Court is inclined to permit the Union of India to release money for travel expenses, accommodation, etc. for the participation of Indian team in Special Olympics World Games, 2023," said a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad in an order passed on June 2. Specia

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

India set for Round 2 draw for AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament

The Indian women's football team has been placed in Pot 4 along with Iran and North Korea for the final draw of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament Round 2

PT Usha calls wrestlers' protest indiscipline, who said what so far!

From Kapil Dev to Neeraj Chopra, many have spoken in support of the wrestlers

Business side of sports very fragmented: JSW Sports' Manisha Malhotra

No consolidation has been made to create an industry of sports, she says

4 million apply for tickets for Paris Olympics in lottery: Report

Four million applications were received for an online lottery where winners get to buy tickets for next year's Paris Olympics, the local organizing committee said Friday. They hope to sell 1.3 million tickets for the 2024 Games as a result of the latest draw. Applications ended Thursday evening and winners will know early next month if they have been successful. They can start buying from May 11 and have a 48-hour timeslot to do so. They'll be told 48 hours beforehand when their slot is. Figures on which countries the 4 million lottery applications came from, and whether more men or women applied, were not available. The five countries who bought the most tickets, and other statistics, will be made known after the sale has finished in June. By then, organizers expect that about half of the 10 million tickets for the Paris Games will have been sold. A total of 3.2 million tickets were sold from the first phase of sales, featuring packages, with the top buyers coming from Britain an

Initiative aimed at strengthening India's road to Olympics launched

A multi-year, systematic and synchronised programme for grassroots sports development and strengthening India's road to the Olympics has been launched. The Delhi-based Society for Transformation, Inclusion, and Recognition through Sports (STAIRS) launched its latest initiative 'One India One Goal' on Saturday with Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik unveiling the logo and merchandise of the initiative. The programme seeks to create a participatory sports development model directly aimed at increasing the number of stakeholders, from participants to policymakers. "The 'One India One Goal' program is based on three pillars - 'Play to Play', 'Play to Win', and 'Play to Earn' - covering the complete lifecycle of a player. It will be executed in the flagship STAIRS Funnel Model of grassroots sports development," a statement from STAIRS said. As a part of the programme, STAIRS also plans to open youth clubs and promote training academies where child