On a comeback trail after serving her one-year ban, Asian Games bronze-medallist L Sarita Devi will be seen in competitive action from December 1 as part of a 13-strong Indian team of 10 men and 3 women for the training-cum-competition event in the Chinese city of Qian'an.
With less than five months to go until the scheduled start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on July 24, questions have been raised as to whether the Games can go ahead. IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell discussed changes to qualification processes with various international sporting federations last week.
The IOA was supposed to provide details of the country's vaccinated athletes to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by May 27 and had asked the national federations to share the information.
The Indian men's boxing team's final campaign at the 35th Boxam International Tournament in Castellon, Spain was derailed by a positive COVID-19 case in the side, resulting in three withdrawals from the summit clashes.
Determined to keep the Olympic dream alive despite the long-standing administrative mess, a spirited Indian boxing team, featuring the likes of M C Mary Kom and Shiva Thapa, will take off on Monday night for the Asian Qualifiers in Qian'an City, China. Ten men and three women form the 13-strong team which will be in action from March 25. In the men's competition, only the top three boxers in each weight category will make the Olympic cut with the third spot decided via a box-off between the two bronze-medallists. In the women's draw, only the gold and silver medal winners will qualify for Rio de Janeiro. In the absence of a recognised federation, the Indians will once again compete under the flag of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). "It is going to be a very tough tournament because not many from the Asian region qualified during last year's World Championships. I am expecting around 30 countries and more than 250 boxers to be there at this event," national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu told PTI ahead of the team's departure.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
The Indian shooters will begin training at the venue from July 19, having got their rooms allotted at the games village after arriving in Tokyo in the wee hours of Saturday.
List of international sports events affected by the coronavirus that has killed over 900 people and infected more than 40,000 in China
Taking a strict action, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) has provisionally suspended India's woman boxer Laishram Sarita Devi for refusing to accept the bronze medal at the Asian Games podium ceremony.
Host cities were allowed to propose additional sports as part of he IOC's "Agenda 2020" reforms with an aim to help host countries' most played sports gain exposure via the Olympics.
National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu says the four-year-long administrative logjam cannot escape blame for all that has gone wrong with the once flourishing sport.
A tough draw will put their grit to test when the three-member Indian boxing team begins its Olympic campaign, aiming to lift the gloom that pervades the sport back home owing to the long-standing administrative mess.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that the government will keep in close touch with all relevant groups to ensure a virus outbreak does not have affect the Summer Olympics. Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto said organisers are not considering cancelling the Olympics, which start on July 24.
'Team India's participation in the Olympics couldn't have ended on a sweeter note'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes that poured in for Badminton Association of India president Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta, who passed away in Lucknow after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday.
Fearing serious repercussions, the Indian Olympic Association, on Wednesday, asked the sports ministry to immediately resolve the controversy surrounding Kosovan boxer Donjeta Sadiku's visa.
Wrestling, axed from the 2020 Olympic programme by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February, has a good chance of coming back after making sweeping changes, IOC vice-president Thomas Bach said.
The Azlan Shah Cup is the latest sporting event to be hit by the deadly coronavirus, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives and infected 86,000 people across the world.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
Concerned about the administrative logjam in Indian boxing, Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom said future seems dark for the country's pugilists, who are losing motivation to train.
Krrish, Ravi enter semis of Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) might have allowed professional boxers to compete in the Olympics but India's biggest pro star Vijender Singh will not be seen in the Rio de Janeiro Games as he hasn't been left with any time or chance to make the cut. In a landmark decision, AIBA today threw the Olympic doors open for professional boxers after an extraordinary congress in Lausanne, Switzerland voted overwhelmingly in favour of the move. The decision has, however, been met with a mixed response with some like Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis calling it "foolish" and "preposterous" while others like Amir Khan welcoming the step. In India, AIBA's decision brought the focus on Olympic medallist Vijender, who turned professional last year. The 30-year-old, a former amateur world No.1 in middleweight, is enjoying an unbeaten run in his pro career and is scheduled to fight for the WBO Asia title belt on July 16 in the national capital.
Mehwish surprised everyone by visiting the Abdul Sattar Edhi Hockey Stadium in Karachi last week during the National Championship where she met with the players and also tried her hand at playing the game.
The IOC said the refusal of visas for competitors went against the principles of the Olympic charter relating to discrimination and political interference from the host country.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Led by young flag-bearer Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the athletes, clad in blue suits, waved to the crowd with small flags in their hands.
The list of international sporting events affected by a new virus outbreak in China grew on Wednesday with skiing World Cup races in Yanqing cancelled and Olympic women's football in Australia in doubt over concerns about athletes' safety. Badminton, tennis and basketball were among other sports whose governing bodies were rearranging events, weighing possible changes or monitoring the implications of the outbreak.
A top official from the national federation of a prominent Olympic sport asked if Batra would deem the competition good enough if shooting is brought back into the CWG fold.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
'If a person whom Vijender had thrashed earlier is now a World champion, why can't Vijender be champion now too?'
Claiming that Indian Olympic Association chief Abhay Singh Chautala was ineligible to attend the August 25 Special General Body Meeting in Delhi, Clean Sports India president Ashwini Nachappa has asked the International Olympic Committee not to heed to the decisions taken by 'few corrupt officials and politicians' in that conclave.
The IOA also said that the decision will now relieve the Indian athletes of having to train amidst lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The novel coronavirus outbreak has prompted India to withdraw from next month's shooting World Cup in Cyprus, the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) revealed on Friday.
Some of the world's elite shooters will transform their living rooms into competition ranges on April 15 for a first-of-its-kind international online championship, the coronavirus lockdown triggering another out of the box thinking. An electronic target setup, beside a mobile phone with internet connection, is all they require to shoot in the championship.
Seven Olympic and six Paralympic disciplines were identified for support at a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
'Sarita is the most abused and unsupported Indian boxer of all time.'
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