Page 9 - Paris

Quota belongs to country, not to athlete: Bindra backs Olympics' selections

Olympics gold winner Abhinav Bindra on Thursday said promising shooter Rudrankksh Patil was unfortunate to miss the flight to Paris Games, but emphasised that the quota belongs to the country and not to one athlete. Patil, who had bagged a 10m air rifle quota for the Paris Olympics, could not find a place in the 15-member Indian squad for the quadrennial extravaganza after finishing behind Sandeep Singh and Arjun Babuta in the selection trials organised by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). As per the Olympic guidelines, a country can only send top two shooters in one event from trials to the Games. See, it's not a call. It's a matter of selection. There's a due process laid out and they followed the process, Bindra told the media here on the sidelines of the IISM Convocation Ceremony 2024. You'll ask the same question in case the process was not followed. But a fair process was put out for everybody, and it was followed, Bindra added. Bindra further explained his ...

Knee surgery went well, wants to return to action soon: Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic said the surgery on his right knee went well after he was injured during the French Open and added Thursday that he hopes to return to competition as soon as possible. Djokovic had an operation in Paris on Wednesday, two days after he hurt the knee early in the second set of a five-set victory against Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round. The 37-year-old from Serbia withdrew from the clay-court Grand Slam tournament where he was the defending champion on Tuesday, so he was unable to play in the quarterfinals. In the past day, I had to make some tough decisions after sustaining a meniscus tear during my last match. I'm still processing it all but I am happy to update you that the surgery went well. I am so appreciative of the team of doctors who have been by my side, Djokovic wrote on social media on Thursday, when he posted a photo showing him with crutches and the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I'm going to do my best to be healthy and fit to return to the court

Vistara Paris-Mumbai flight gets bomb threat, makes emergency landing

A Mumbai-bound Vistara flight with 306 persons onboard from Paris received a bomb threat after which a full emergency was declared at the city airport prior to its arrival here, a source said. The flight landed at 10:19 am on Sunday, the source said. Vistara on Sunday reported that its," flight UK 024 from Paris' Charles de Gualle airport to Mumbai received a hand written note on an airsickness bag threatening a bomb," said the source. Following this, full emergency was declared at 10:08 am, as per the source, who added that the flight landed at 10:19 am. "There were 294 passengers and 12 crew onboard the Paris-Mumbai flight," the source said. Vistara in a statement confirmed that "a security concern has been noted by our staff while onboard the airline's flight UK 024 operating from Paris to Mumbai on 2 June 2024." Following the protocol, the airline immediately informed the relevant authorities, a Vistara spokesperson said in the statement. It also said that the flight has lan

Paris aims for most sustainable Olympics, organisers admit plan not perfect

Of all the decisions Paris Olympics organisers made about where to hold each sport, sending surfing competitions to the other side of the world in the Pacific waters of Tahiti provoked the strongest reactions. Tahitians and others railed against the building of a new viewing tower on Teahupo'o reef because of fears it would hurt marine life. But organisers say it wasn't just the world-class waves that lured them to the French territory 16,000 kilometres away. Paris Olympic officials had set an ambitious target of halving their overall carbon footprint compared with the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games. Tahiti's surfing reef is too far offshore for fans to see the action clearly from the beach, so organisers say they calculated that most would watch on television instead of taking flights, a major source of carbon emissions. And fewer spectators, they said, would require little new construction, another key emissions source. We actually did the math, said Georgina Grenon, director

Uber to offer Seine river cruises, day trips in Paris during Olympics rush

Uber also plans to make a significant investment in driver incentives and discounts for riders

Priority to return to calm amid unrest: Macron in riot-hit New Caledonia

President Emmanuel Macron arrived Thursday in riot-hit New Caledonia, having crossed the globe by plane in a high-profile show of support for the French Pacific archipelago wracked by deadly unrest and where Indigenous people have long sought independence from France. Macron, who briefly spoke to reporters after his arrival at La Tontouta International Airport, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the New Caledonian capital of Noumea, said he viewed a return to calm as the top priority. He said that his wish, along with that of his ministers and the government, was "to be alongside the people and see a return to peace, calm and security as soon as possible. Macron added he plans to meet with local officials and discuss the resources needed to repair the damage wrought by days of shootings, arson and other violence that has left at least six dead and a broad trail of destruction estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of euros (dollars). We will discuss questions of economic ...

Paris Olympics: Opted for athletics due to father's passion, says Jyothika

An academically-inclined child is a dream realised in most Indian households and that's why Olympic-bound runner Jyothika Sri Dandi aspired to be a doctor before she realised that her father would be happier seeing her excel in sports. The 23-year-old from Tanuku town in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, secured 97 per cent in Class X while studying at the Montessori School at her home town. But, her father Srinivasa Rao, a body-builder in his younger days, nudged her into taking interest in sports as he wanted to see her in the Olympics some day. That dream is going to be a reality in less than three months' time. Jyothika was part of the Indian women's 4x400m relay team that qualified for the Paris Olympics during the World Relays in Bahamas earlier this month. "I got 97 per cent in class X and when I was in school I actually wanted to be a doctor. But, once I started doing sports, I could not go back and think about becoming a doctor," Jyothika, who is taking part in the

France gets $16 bn in foreign investments as part of 'Choose France' event

That amount represents an increase from last year's summit, which brought in 13 bn euros

Nisha Dahiya secures India's fifth Paris Olympic quota in woman wrestling

Nisha Dahiya became the fifth Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the Paris Olympics after prevailing over Romania's Alexandra Anghel in the 68kg semifinals at the World Olympic Qualifiers here on Friday. This will be the first time India will have five women wrestlers at the quadrennial extravaganza. This was a day after all six Greco-roman wrestlers came up with forgettable performances. Nisha, a World U-23 bronze medallist and Asian Championships silver-medal winner last year beat Anghel 8-4 by points to enter the final and secure another Olympic quota for India. This will be the first time that five Indian woman wrestlers will be competing in the Olympics. Against Anghel, Nisha zoomed to a 8-0 lead with a flurry of attacks in the first period. She began with a right leg attack and converted that into a takedown. She quickly followed that up with a two-pointer and rolled her rival for a comfortable 6-0 cushion. Before the end of first period, she had taken what became an ...

Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, will Schengen visa woes ease?

While France is the most sought-after destination amongst all Schengen countries, the wait time for its visa and the rejection rate for Indians are high

Taylor Swift draws five times as many US luxury travelers as Olympics

Now, Swift fever is reaching Europe, where many cities-including Paris-maintain limitations on ticket resales, preventing prices from reaching the five-digit sums that some consumers have paid in US

Want to stay in a Paris museum or balloon house? Airbnb plans to list them

Airbnb, an accommodation platform, is now offering its customers a chance to stay in unique places that are much more than just holiday rentals

A city scarred by terrorism prepares an Olympic opening without walls

Since the 2015 deadly Islamist attacks, France has become sadly accustomed to terrorist threats and to soldiers patrolling its crowded squares and train stations

Paris Olympics: Policing to include checks for some of city's residents

Special anti-terrorism measures being put in place to safeguard the unprecedented opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on the River Seine will also apply to all buildings along the route, meaning people who work and live there and their guests will be subjected to background security checks, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said on Thursday. Those affected will be cross-checked against security services' databases, to see whether they have previously been flagged as suspected Islamist extremists or for other radicalism, Nunez said. The wildly ambitious July 26 ceremony is proving to be a gargantuan security challenge. Athletes will be paraded through the heart of the French capital on 94 boats along a six-kilometre (nearly four-mile) stretch of the Seine, from east to west. They will be accompanied by 87 other boats for security, media and other people. All of the parade route will be inside a high-security zone that Nunez described as an "anti-terrorism perimeter". He said it wi

Paris will become no-fly zone to safeguard 2024 Olympic opening ceremony

Skies over the Paris region will be closed for six hours as part of the massive security operation for the July 26 opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the Paris airports operator said Wednesday. Augustin de Romanet, chairman of Aroports de Paris, said airlines are being warned in advance about the closure and told they will have to fly around the restricted airspace. For six hours, there won't be any aircraft over the Paris region," he said on France Info radio. The no-fly zone will extend for a radius of 150 kilometers (93 miles) around Paris, the civil aviation authority and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin have said. The unprecedented waterborne ceremony on the River Seine running through the French capital is the stiffest single security challenge for Paris Games organizers, with crowds of more than 320,000 people expected to line the waterway. At least one French military AWACS surveillance aircraft will police the skies during the Olympics, using its powerful radar to wa

Vinesh Phogat secures women's 50kg category Paris Olympics quota for India

Looking as dominant as ever, Vinesh Phogat on Saturday locked Paris Olympics quota in women's 50kg category, reaching the final at the Asian Olympic Qualifier without conceding a single point, here Saturday. It is India's second quota place for the Paris Games as Antim Panghal had earned a quota in the 53kg category with her bronze medal winning show at the World Championships last year. The 29-year-old Vinesh has now secured her third straight Olympic quota, having featured in Rio Games (2016) and in Tokyo (2020) earlier. Vinesh, who was a prominent face of protest against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, dished out a strong performance, demolishing her opponents one by one. As is her wont, Vinesh looked for that one opportunity to subdue Miran Cheon in her opening bout and grabbed it after measuring her Korean rival for about 30 seconds. Once she grabbed Cheon and pushed her down for a take down, the bout ended in a jiffy, in one minute and 39 seconds. It was difficu

Paris 2024: Things to know about the flame-lighting ceremony in Greece

A priestess prays to a dead sun god in front of a fallen Greek temple. If the sky is clear, a flame spurts that will burn in Paris throughout the world's top sporting event. Speeches ensue. On Tuesday, the flame for this summer's Paris Olympics will be lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony. It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens venue used for the first modern Olympics in 1896. Here's a look at the workings and meaning of the elaborate ceremony held among the ruins of Ancient Olympia ahead of each modern Olympiad. COULDN'T THE FRENCH JUST LIGHT IT IN PARIS? Couldn't the Academy Awards just be announced in a conference call? The pageantry at Olympia has been an essential part of every Olympics for nearly 90 years since the Games in Berlin. It's meant to provide an ineluctable link between the modern event a

Nike pins hopes on Olympic Games in Paris to win back market share

Nike spotlighted its 'Air' cushioning technology, used in everything from marathon shoes to sneakers, and its knit materials that make shoes lighter

In a first, Paris Olympics 2024 gold medalists to get $50,000 prize money

With this, World Athletics (WA) will become the first international federation to award prize money at an Olympic Games.

France asks for foreign police, military help with Paris Olympics security

France says it has asked 46 countries if they would be willing to supply more than 2,000 police officers to help secure the Paris Olympics this summer, as organizers finalize security planning for the French capital's first Games in a century while on heightened alert against potential attacks. The Interior Ministry said Friday that the request for foreign security assistance was made in January, seeking nearly 2,185 reinforcements. The officers are sought to help with Games security and the spectator experience and to strengthen international cooperation," the ministry said. This is a classic approach of host countries for the organization of major international events, the ministry added. It noted that France sent 200 of its gendarmes to soccer's World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and also welcomed 160 officers from other European security forces for the Rugby World Cup that France hosted last year. Separately, the French Defense Ministry has also asked foreign nations for small numbers