Page 5 - Olympics

Best of BS Opinion: A trial for free speech, India's Olympic-sized ambition

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Is India ready to host a big-ticket sporting event like the Olympics?

The income-expenditure mismatch notwithstanding, India should make a bold push for hosting the Games

Indian hockey team can aim for gold in LA 2028 Olympics: PR Sreejesh

Riding high on the success of winning a bronze medal in Paris ending a four-decade-long dry spell the Indian hockey team now aims to build on this momentum with hopes of clinching gold at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, ace goalkeeper P R Sreejesh said on Friday. The former national team captain, who announced his retirement after the Paris Olympics, told journalists in the Bihar capital that he saw the state as the future "sports hub". "I see many positive developments in Bihar, particularly at the sports complex in Rajgir, which now features an astro turf and will host the women's Asian Cup Trophy tournament later this year," Sreejesh remarked. He added, "I see no reason why Bihar cannot emerge as the country's next sports hub. I have met sports department officials here and found many initiatives, like establishment of a sports university, quite impressive". Sreejesh, who has taken up a new assignment as the coach for the junior men's hockey team, said he had set his eyes on

Australian coach fired for supporting Korean athlete at the Paris Olympics

Swimming Australia has fired coach Michael Palfrey over comments made at the Paris Olympics where he said he hoped a South Korean athlete would beat Australian swimmers. Palfrey told South Korean television he hoped South Korea's Kim Woo-min would win the men's 400-meter freestyle in Paris, an event that featured Australians Sam Short and Elijah Winnington. I really hope he can win, but ultimately I really hope he swims well, Palfrey said in Paris during the Games. He added, Go Korea. Swimming Australia said in a statement Friday that it had terminated Palfrey due to a breach of his employment agreement. It added Palfrey brought "himself into disrepute and causing serious damage to his and Swimming Australia's reputation, and adversely affecting Swimming Australia's interests." The statement said Palfrey would retain his coach accreditation status. Palfrey, who previously worked with Kim as an adviser, was told along with Australia's other swimming coaches to end any association

Ugandan Olympic athlete dies after being severely burned by her partner

Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died at a Kenyan hospital where she was being treated after sustaining 80% burns on her body due to an attack by her partner. A spokesperson at the hospital, Owen Menach, confirmed her death on Thursday. Cheptegei was receiving treatment at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret city. Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said Monday that Cheptegei's partner, Dickson Ndiema, bought a jerrican of petrol, poured it on her and set her ablaze during a disagreement Sunday. Ndiema was also burned, and was being treated at the same hospital. Cheptegei's parents said their daughter bought land in Trans Nzoia to be near the county's many athletic training centers. A report filed by the local chief states that the couple was heard fighting over the land where the house was built before the fire started.

If we want big change in sports, we must take big steps: Manu Bhaker

"We won six medals, with eight others finishing in the fourth spot. I am sure India can do way better than this," Bhaker said

Smiling with the enemy: North Korean Olympians in hot water over selfie

Human Rights Watch has condemned the situation, urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to protect athletes from harassment and abuse

Olympic medalists Manu Bhaker, Aman Sehrawat to appear on Big B's KBC 16

Amitabh Bachchan will celebrate the victory of Olympic medalists Manu Bhaker and Aman Sehrawat in his quiz show KBC 16. The makers of the show shared the promo

Paddy Upton believes sports can help improve corporate work culture

Upton highlights several key lessons, including the importance of overcoming constant errors and cultivating a positive culture through strong leadership and open feedback

Aman Sehrawat one of the best wrestlers in the world: Coach Lalit Kumar

Dronacharya Award-winning trainer says he is confident that India will produce more champions

I shed 4.6 kg before Olympic match; it was challenging: Wrestler Sehrawat

Sehrawat, who is the under-23 World Champion, started training at Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi when he was 10 years old. A year later his parents died and the stadium became his second home.

BS@50: These 50 game-changing moments transformed India's sports history

From hockey team's gold rush at Olympics and Kapil Dev holding aloft Prudential World Cup to Neeraj Chopra's superlative throw in Tokyo, here's India's journey via 50 milestones in sports since 1975

Paris to inaugurate Paralympics with 'never seen before' opening ceremony

Just weeks after hosting the Olympics, the summer of sports in Paris begins its final chapter Wednesday with the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games. More than 4,000 athletes with physical, visual and intellectual impairments will compete in 22 sports over the next 11 days. Organizers are promising a spectacular show to open the Games. Once again it's being held outside the confines of a stadium, but unlike the Olympic opening ceremony, which featured a boat parade on the Seine River, the Paralympic ceremony is happening exclusively on land, with athletes parading down the famous Champs-Elyses to the ceremony at the Place de la Concorde. Artistic director Thomas Jolly, who also led the opening ceremony for the Olympics, said the event will showcase the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody", and promised performances that have never been seen before." Organizers say more than 2 million tickets have been sold for the Paris Paralympics. Competition begins Thursday

Para-athletes laud Svayam and PCI for transportation accessibility

Accessibility organisation Svayam, which is partnering the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), has been lauded by top para-athletes like table tennis player Bhavina Patel for making transportation accessible for them during their stay in the national capital before heading to Paris for the Paralympics starting on Wednesday. Svayam donated special vehicles that can accommodate wheelchairs without the athletes having to be displaced to board and deboard, ensuring greater mobility. Patel thanked SAI (Sports Authority of India), and the Table Tennis Federation of India among others for the initiative. "Svayam has played an important role by providing special vehicles that enhance accessibility and travel comfort, highlighting their crucial role in improving our overall experience and performance," she said in a press release issued by PCI. Para discus thrower Sakshi Kasana also appreciated the organisation, which started as an online portal providing information on policies, laws, and

Scindia inaugurate shooting range named after Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday inaugurated a shooting range named after Manu Bhaker, who won two bronze medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the function to inaugurate the shooting range in Jiwaji Club here, he also made a video call to Bhaker to inform her. "A shooting range for 10 meter air pistol and rifle has been inaugurated at Jiwaji Club in Gwalior," Scindia told Bhaker in the video call. The Union minister also fired a few shots at the new range.

Swapnil received key chain to ward off evil at Paris, says Coach Deepali

Shooter Swapnil Kusale isn't really superstitious but when fellow mates Akhil Sheoran and Shriyanka Sadangi gifted him a small key chain to ward off evil eye, he readily accepted it before boarding the flight to Paris for the Olympics. Swapnil has found himself being defeated by fate in several top-notch competitions, including the Asian Games in 2023 and the 2022 World Championships in Cairo, where just one shot -- and a few decimal points -- pushed him to fourth place. But in Paris, the 29-year-old set the record straight, becoming the first Indian ever to win a bronze medal in 50m rifle 3-positions event at the Olympics. While Akhil and Shriyanka, both 50m rifle 3-positions shooters, had secured Olympic quota places for the country, they could not make the cut for the Games following the Olympic Selection Trials conducted by the National Rifle Association of India. "Just before I was to travel to Paris, My best friends Akhil and Shriyanka came to meet me and gifted a key chain t

Viacom18 gains the highest-ever viewership for Olympics in India

The opening ceremony was made available across Sports18 Network, Colors Network, VH1, and MTV, besides being free on JioCinema

Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi runs 4th fastest 800 meters in history

Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi ran the fourth-fastest 800 meters time in history Thursday at the first major track meet after the Paris Games. Wanyonyi clocked 1 minute, 41.11 seconds 0.08 faster than his winning time in Paris two weeks ago to tie Wilson Kipketer's mark in 1997 that was a world record then. Only Wanyonyi's fellow Kenyan David Rudisha has run the 800 faster. I'm so happy to have run that crazy time here in Lausanne, Wanyonyi said. I really loved the crowd here. It was a fast early start to the storied Athletissima meet as the global Diamond League circuit resumed after a pause for the Olympics. Jakob Ingebrigtsen regained his authority in the men's 1,500 after a shocking fourth place in Paris to beat Olympic champion Cole Hocker by more than two seconds. In the men's 200, Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo kept his form despite a return trip home to Botswana to win in 19.64 seconds easing into the line. It was a great race for me here today, said the 21-year-

Daniela Chirinos, 5-time Olympic cyclist for Venezuela, dies aged 51

Daniela Larreal Chirinos, a five-time Olympic cyclist who competed for Venezuela over the course of a decade, has died. She was 51. Larreal was found dead at home in Las Vegas the afternoon of Aug. 15 after a friend called police for a welfare check, according to a police report. The friend told officers he had not heard from Larreal for several days, which was out of character for her. Further details weren't immediately available, but Luis Vidal, a police department spokesperson, said homicide detectives were not called to investigate. The Clark County coroner's office said it was still working to determine the cause and manner of her death. The Venezuelan Olympic Committee confirmed Larreal's death in a statement in Spanish on the social platform X, saying it was saddened by the loss of an athlete with an outstanding career in track cycling and whose accomplishments at the Games filled us with much pride. Larreal competed in five Olympics, beginning with 1992 in Barcelona throug

Brand value of Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker skyrockets after Olympic success

While Neeraj Chopra has been identified as the highest-valued non-cricketer among Indian sportspersons, Manu Bhaker is also finalising big deals