Chosen by schoolchildren across Japan and announced before a gymnasium of cheering pupils in Tokyo, the as yet unnamed blue character will be the mascot for the Olympics and the pink cherry blossom-inspired one for the Paralympics.
The flame will be flown in special safety lanterns to Switzerland for a ceremony at the United Nations in Geneva on Thursday
PCB was caught in a deadlock with the ACC for demanding additional compensation on organising chartered flights between Pakistan and Sri Lanka during the Asia Cup.
Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom has decided to join the rest of India's Olympic-bound boxing team in Italy for training to avoid the added restrictions on those travelling to Tokyo from India amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is looking to become a permanent member of the Olympic Movement following the inclusion of T20 cricket in the programme of 2028 Olympics, its chairman Greg Barclay said on Monday.
Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Up to 10,000 domestic spectators will be allowed in Tokyo 2020 venues, Olympics organisers said on Monday, a decision that cuts against the recommendation of medical experts who said holding the event without fans was the least risky option.
Plans that had been almost a decade in the making were shredded as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the IOC and Japanese government to take the unprecedented decision to postpone the Olympics for a year.
The rearranged Tokyo Games must be held "at any cost" in 2021, Japan's Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto said on Tuesday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
A defiant Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will challenge its suspension by the Sports Ministry in court next week and has also called for an Executive Committee meeting in New Delhi on January 16 to discuss the way forward.
At a meeting with Yoshihide Suga on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in the British seaside resort of Carbis Bay, US President Joe Biden also raised a range of other issues including COVID-19, North Korea, China and climate change, the White House said in a statement.
Thomas Bach has virtually complete control over the body and by far the biggest influence on whether the Games will go ahead or not. With the Games having only been cancelled in the past due to World Wars One and Two, Bach will undoubtedly do everything in his power to protect the IOC's prime product
The next challenge for Tokyo organisers is developing measures to help prevent a COVID-19 outbreak during the Games and how much the delay will cost Japanese taxpayers.
Environmental groups have accused the Olympic movement of taking a giant step backwards in Athens
Mike Fennell, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, was more than assertive when he held the Organising Committee of the Delhi Commonwealth Games responsible for the mess and delay in building infrastructure for the Games scheduled to be held in New Delhi from October 3-14.
Soon after the new dates were announced, IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta said, "Indian Olympic Association along with the National Sports Federations welcome and support the new dates for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which will be held from 23 July to 8 August, 2021."
With the Tokyo Games due to begin on July 24, organisers have set up a task force to coordinate with public health authorities over the epidemic.
The three wushu fighters from Arunachal Pradesh were issued stapled visas instead of stamped ones, India's foreign ministry said.
The WFI, while announcing the trials on March 10-11, also included the names of Bajrang (65kg freestyle), Vinesh (55kg) and Sakshi (62kg), who had announced her retirement from the sport in "frustration" the day Sanjay Singh was elected president.
London 2012's head of health and safety Lawrence Waterman has called for the IOC to be 'responsible' and postpone the Games; 'People's safety and health should come before the costs of delaying contracts'.
Japanese organisers have decided to ban spectators from venues of the Olympics
Bach's two-day visit to Tokyo is likely to bolster Japan's efforts to stage the Olympics, but will do little to assuage the concerns of a public deeply worried about the spread of the virus.
'I have no doubt that when she was prevented from meeting Kejriwal, she felt humiliated.'
After dropping Chinese sportswear company Li Ning as India's Olympic kit sponsor, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said the country's athletes will not wear branded apparel in the upcoming Tokyo Games even as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) claimed that the search is on for a new partner.
With neither partner seemingly willing to consider scrapping the event as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc globally, we consider the options available, and possible scenarios:
The Tokyo organising committee plans to reserve an entire hotel located a few kilometres away from the athletes' village
The government's top spokesman Katsunobu Kato told reporters on Monday he was unaware of any decision on the issue.
Nearly 80% of the Japanese public are now opposed to holding the Summer Games as scheduled this year, recent polls show.
Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel complex to be venue, says Amit Shah
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted that India will leave "no stone unturned" in its efforts to organise the 2036 Olympics as the government expressed a strong desire to host the biggest sporting event in the world.
An athlete at the Commonwealth Games is in a 'serious' condition at a Gold Coast hospital after contracting malaria, organisers said on Friday.
The torchbearer's face will likely be seen by hundreds of millions of people watching around the world.
Tokyo 2020 organising committee chief executive Toshiro Muto said, on Tuesday, it is not clear who will pay the extra costs arising from the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.
Some Ukrainian athletes see their nation's current blanket ban on competing against Russians and Belarusians -- regardless of the flag athletes from those two countries compete under -- as a self-inflicted wound damaging sports stars' careers.
With the Tokyo Olympics set to start on July 23, here is some trivia from the first two editions of the modern Olympics held in 1896 and 1900.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Donald Trump talked by phone for about 50 minutes Friday morning and agreed to 'strengthen cooperation' on fighting the novel coronavirus, but did not discuss postponing the Olympics or holding them without spectators, Japanese officials said.
'Bindra calls to suspend training camps after Games postponement'
As an admirer of Japan for close to half a century, I care for Japan and expect Suga to respect the sentiment of his people and cancel the Olympics without further delay, says Rajaram Panda.
Globally recognised organisations including the CDC, the Clinton Foundation, and domestic pharmaceutical and health care companies have sent their teams to visit the centres and study the concept, reports R Krishna Das.
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