Russia is banned from competing for their country due to an alleged state-backed doping scheme, but the International Olympics Committee (IOC) has allowed it to send so-called neutral athletes who have no history of drugs-cheating.
Swimming authorities need to increase the number of doping tests to preserve the sport's credibility and stop fans turning away according to Britain's triple world champion and double world record holder Adam Peaty.
Rafael Nadal had taken anti-inflammatories and undergone intensive physiotherapy to alleviate a lower back problem and still planned to compete in Buenos Aires next month, his spokesman said on Wednesday.
Martina Hingis has no plans of returning to play singles on the women's tour after a courageous performance in a Fed Cup defeat by Agnieszka Radwanska in Zielona Gora, Poland, on Saturday in her first major match in eight years.
Bollywood star Salman Khan's appointment as the Indian Olympic contingent's goodwill ambassador has not gone down well with star wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, who feels a sportsperson should have been chosen for the role. Salman, who is playing the role of a wrestler in his upcoming film 'Sultan', was named goodwill ambassador by the Indian Olympic Association on Saturday in the presence of star woman boxer M C Mary Kom, hockey captain Sardar Singh, and shooter Apurvi Chandela among others. Yogeshwar, the London Olympics bronze-medallist, said he cannot understand what purpose such an appointment will serve for the athletes. "Everybody has the right to promote movies in India, but Olympics is not a place to promote films." Yogeshwar tweeted in Hindi. "Can anyone tell me what the role of goodwill ambassador is? Why are you fooling the public?" he added.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) may have thrown the Olympic door open for professional boxers but it is unlikely that Indian star Vijender Singh would be able to grab the opportunity even though he is keen to make it. Professional boxers would be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games in August in Rio de Janeiro provided the decision is ratified at the AIBA Extraordinary Congress on June 1 when the proposal would be put to vote. The plan is to allow pro boxers qualify for Rio via the AIBA-affiliated World Series of Boxing (WSB) and AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) event. Both these events, originally scheduled for May, could be pushed back to last week of June to give national federations enough time to send their entries. "If given a chance, I would definitely try to qualify for the Olympics. Who would want to miss an opportunity if it is there," Vijneder told PTI from Manchester where he is training for his next pro fight on March 12 in Liverpool. However, the question is whether there is any realistic opportunity for him to give it a shot. The 30-year-old middleweight's schedule is sorted till June 11 when he will make his pro debut in India by fighting for his maiden title -- the WBO Asia belt.
Dozens of fans fought a savage battle on the terraces at a Brazilian championship match on Sunday, interrupting play for more than one hour and leaving at least three people reportedly hospitalised in serious condition.
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, who will play this week in the Rio Open, downplayed public concerns over risks linked to the Zika virus in the Brazilian city that will host the Olympics in August, saying "people are living completely normal lives."
Here's a collection of some of the best photos from around the world shot in the last 24 hours
Sports authorities across the world are scrambling to find out more about the mosquito-borne virus as they make plans for the games in August.
A Greek soccer match was delayed on Friday when players staged a sit-down protest in a moving tribute to migrants who have lost their lives trying to reach Greece's Aegean islands.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck the winning goal to help Real Madrid become European champions, while Marin Cilic made an impressive comeback after a ban to claim the US Open crown in September. Also, Germany defeated Argentina to become football world champions. Rediff.com brings you the last instalment of the Best Sports Photos of the Year!
The United States will bid for the 2024 Olympics, seeking to host the Summer Games for the first time since 1996.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
One of Brazil's largest builders, Andrade Gutierrez, will confess to paying bribes for 2014 FIFA World Cup contracts and business with state-run companies Petrobras and Eletrobras, a newspaper report said on Friday.
Real Madrid will welcome back the added firepower of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and striker Karim Benzema when they entertain promoted Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday.
Rediff.com recaptures these and other exciting sporting moments from the week gone by....
'You can never break performance into black and white, there will always be grey and that's the nature of sport' 'My interest just lies in seeing how we can do better'
In the twilight of his career and prone to injuries like never before, ace Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt is still eager to continue and insists that the thought of retirement has not even crossed his mind yet.
Inbee Park has two words for doubters who thought she should sit out the Olympics and give her spot to another South Korean: gold medal.
The decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), imposed a four-year ban on Russia participating in a range of top-flight sporting tournaments, a period covering the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2022 soccer World Cup.
Jubilant teenager Sara Ahmed became the first Egyptian woman to stand on an Olympic podium when she finished third in the women's 69kg at Riocentro on Wednesday.
The disappointment of missing out on an individual Olympic double has not left Allyson Felix, but the world 400 metres champion could still win three gold medals at the Rio Games.
Veteran American Kristin Armstrong claimed a third consecutive road time trial gold to deny former Russian doper Olga Zabelinskaya what would have been a controversial triumph on a rain-soaked course at the Rio Games on Wednesday.
Brazil's first gold medallist of the Rio Olympics basked in her new-found fame on Tuesday, with Judoka Rafaela Silva taking aim at the racism that first threatened to defeat her and then became the affront that spurred her to greatness.
Annemiek van Vleuten suffered three fractured vertebrae and a concussion after a horrifying high-speed crash in the Olympic women's road race on Sunday but the Dutch rider said she will be fine and was more disappointed at missing out on a medal.
Brazil's athletes were not subject to dope tests for almost a month before the Rio Olympics, the country's sports ministry has said while refuting allegations it was a political decision to ensure the Games were not plunged further into crisis.
The 72-year-old master strategist ensured that the Congress's internal conflict ended and took on the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shivraj Singh Chouhan -- the state's longest ever serving chief minister.
The Indian hockey teams at the Olympics are facing a shortage of chairs and Television sets at the Games Village and chief coach Roelant Oltmans has complained that the players' apartments are not properly furnished. In a letter to Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent Rakesh Gupta, Oltmans complained about unfurnished accommodation provided to both the men's and women's hockey teams. "The apartments of the Rio Olympics are not furnished properly," Oltmans, who is also the High Performance Director of Indian hockey, wrote in his letter.
With little over a week left for the beginning of Rio Olympics, the Indian athletes have started arriving in batches here for the sporting extravaganza. Most of the disciplines have begun sending their teams in batches and others are expected over the next few days. At the dining hall during breakfast on Wednesday, Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent, Rakesh Gupta had a short and pleasant meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, who was there to see the Olympic Village.
Australian swimming has moved on from the debacle in the London pool four years ago and it's 'disrespectful' to keep reminding the Olympic team about it in the leadup to Rio de Janeiro, 100 metres freestyle world record holder Cate Campbell has said.
Brazil overwhelmed Peru with three goals in a superb first half to set up a crushing 5-0 victory on Saturday and cruise into the Copa America quarter-finals.
Roberto Firmino had a goal chalked off late in the first half after the referee awarded a foul against the hosts, before substitute Gabriel Jesus found the net on the hour mark only for a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review to deem Firmino offside in the build-up. Brazil meet Peru in their final group game on Saturday with both sides needing only a draw to seal their place in the quarter-finals
US sprinter Justin Gatlin believes he is steadily catching up with Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt as the two head towards a likely showdown at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games next year.
Chile have never beaten Argentina in open play in 27 Copa America meetings in 100 years yet have twice in 12 months dashed the hopes of Lionel Messi's team of lifting a major trophy.
The last thing members of Brazil's Olympic sailing team want to talk about is the water.
The Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit could be axed after this season due to the country's economic crisis, Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Saturday.
Seven Indian shuttlers, including Saina Nehwal and Jwala Gutta, officially earned qualification berths for the August Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after the much-awaited BWF world rankings were released on Thursday. Friday's rankings were used to determine the Olympic qualifiers in each of the five categories -- men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles -- from the points accumulated in the period between May 4, 2015 and May 1st, 2016. Four years ago, five Indians had qualified at London Olympics. This year, London Olympics bronze medallist Saina would be representing India in her third Games, while the women's doubles pair of Jwala and Ashwini Ponnappa will also play their second Olympics in August. Besides, K Srikanth and P V Sindhu earned their maiden Olympic berths in men's singles and women's events respectively. For the first time, India will have two women's singles players playing in the Olympics.
World number two Rory McIlroy has said he still resents the Olympic Games for forcing him to choose between Britain and Ireland and revealed that Tiger Woods sends him texts in the early hours.
The drone photography community Dronestagram released a collection of their favourite drone photography of the year.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances