India's top pistol shooter Heena Sidhu secured an Olympic quota for the country after she led from start to finish and claimed the gold medal in women's 10-m air pistol on Day 1 of competition at the Asia Olympic Qualifiers for Shooting, in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
She couldn't make the cut through qualifiers but star woman boxer M C Mary Kom's Olympic dream is not quite over yet as India has decided to seek a wildcard entry for her in the Games scheduled from August 5 this year. Mary Kom (51kg) had missed out on qualifying for the Olympics after bowing out in the second round of last month's World Championships -- the second and final qualifying tournament for women for the Games. The 33-year-old was required to make at least the semifinals to be assured of an Olympic berth in the mega-event in Astana, Kazakhstan. "She has been a phenomenal athlete and looking at her overall contribution to the sport, we have decided to request for a wildcard for her. However, her application will be among the many that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) will examine before taking a final decision," Chairman of the ad-hoc committee currently running boxing in India, Kishen Narsi, told PTI. Mary Kom, who is called 'Magnificent Mary' by AIBA, is a five-time world champion besides being a bronze-medallist from the London Olympics. The multiple-time Asian champion could not get an Olympic quota place in either of the two qualifying events for women boxers and is keeping her fingers crossed for a wildcard.
Sindhu was made to toil hard by China's He Bing Jiao
Disgraced Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte is joining the 'Dancing With the Stars' cast, ABC television announced on Tuesday, as the gold medalist said he thought reaction to his tale about being held up at a Rio de Janeiro gas station had been blown out of proportion.
A veteran of four consecutive Olympics, legendary Leslie Claudius, bemoaned the disastrous display of the Indian hockey team in the London Olympics where it touched its nadir and finished last, and said the national game is "dead".
Parupalli Kashyap, who surprised all and sundry by reaching the quarter-finals of the badminton men's singles event at the London Olympics, is disappointed to return empty-handed from London but said the experience has made him more mature as a shuttler.
Yohan Blake believes if not for Usain Bolt, he would have been the fastest man in the world.
Reuters reported last week that several Russian national team boxers returning from London had posted online pictures or videos that appeared to show them flouting self-isolation rules imposed to slow the spread of the virus.
Djokovic said he was '50-50' about competing at the Tokyo Olympics
Fellow Indian Kidambi Srikanth also jumped two places to sit at the 12th spot, while Lakshya Sen continued to be the best-placed Indian male shuttler at world number 9.
'I'm least bothered about the rankings of Kashyap or Srikanth. I want to make it on my own by winning titles.'
Kidambi Srikanth made a winning start but PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy were ousted
Chief National coach Pullela Gopichand, who guided India to two Olympic medals, has opted out of India's Olympics-bound badminton contingent to create space for Indonesia's Agus Dwi Santosa, who trains singles shuttler B Sai Praneeth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded India's athletes for their spectacular showing at the Tokyo Olympics, saying their tremendous show has inspired the youth of the country.
With his sights firmly on a medal, shooter Ronjon Sodhi will look to emulate compatriot Gagan Narang when he takes to the range for the double trap event at the London Olympic Games on Wednesday.
Jana Novotna, who lifted the Wimbledon title 26 years ago in 1988, tragically died in 2017 following a battle with ovarian cancer aged 49.
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 Delhi high court on Wednesday barred Suresh Kalmadi from attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 27. However, the sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman claimed he had only sought permission to attend the IAAF Council meeting in London.
Mary Kom has inspired young girls in the country to take up the sport.
Yogeshwar questions 'unfair' trial exemption given to 6 wrestlers by IOA ad-hoc panel
In a country where winning an Olympic medal is a rarity and bagging two in a row a distant dream, India's lone double-Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar revealed that he was advised to 'bow out on a high' after his bronze-medal feat at the 2008 Beijing Games.
India's Pooja Rani out-punched Algeria's Ichrak Chaib in her opening bout to enter the quarter-finals of the 75kg boxing competition in her maiden Olympic Games in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Beijing Games gold medallist Abhinav Bindra crashed out of the 10m Air Rifle event at the London Olympics with a dismal display in the qualifying rounds, but compatriot Gagan Narang kept alive India's hopes by advancing to the medal round in London on Monday.
'During the grass court season, I unfortunately experienced a setback with my knee, and have accepted that I must withdraw from the Tokyo Olympic Games.'
Facing the wrestling fraternity's wrath for accepting exemption from the Asian Games trials, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia on Monday said they are hurt that young wresters dragged them to the court.
India's 16-member squad for Rio Olympics was announced on Tuesday in New Delhi. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will lead the side with SV Sunil as the vice captain.
Chijindu Ujah has been provisionally suspended since Ostarine and S-23 -- both substances prohibited by world anti-doping organisation WADA -- were detected in his A and B samples following the final.
India's chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand admitted to crammed BWF itinerary causing a problem but at the same time believes that onus is on a player of PV Sindhu's calibre to adapt to the calendar instead of complaining about it. Apart from the World Championships gold, Sindhu failed to win any other tournament last year.
The spotlight is on wrestler Sushil Kumar to fetch India a medal in the London Olympics as he now remains the main hope for the country, and the 2008 Beijing Games hero says he is determined to give his best.
Beijing Games gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra on Monday insisted that he has no plans to retire from the sport after crashing out of the London Olympics by failing to make the finals of the 10m air rifle event in London.
Indian archers would look to make amends for the flop-show in London when they take aim in the 31st Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Friday -- archery and football kick-start before the official opening ceremony of the Games.
Star wrestler Sushil Kumar created history on Sunday, scripting his name as India's best-ever individual Olympian by winning a silver medal at the London Olympics. The Indian grappler put up a superb show to reach the final, but was outclassed by Japan's Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu 3-1 in the gold medal bout of the 66kg class.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), on Thursday, denied sending any list of Olympic probables, sans Sushil Kumar, to the Indian Olympic Association, insisting that the two-time medallist is not yet out of contention for the Rio Games.
The Army on Wednesday charged the National Rifle Association of India of having a "biased selection policy" after one of its officer Lt Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was excluded from the 2012 London Olympics shooting squad.
Manjunath will play Taipei's Yu Jen, who was lucky to progress after fifth seed Rasmus Gemke retired in the second game after pocketing the first.
Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal is currently in a tight spot in her bid for a Tokyo Olympics singles berth but a couple of good performances in the coming weeks can put her back in contention, her mentor Parupalli Kashyap said on Friday. Saina, a 2015 World Championship silver medallist and two-time Commonwealth Games champion, is racing against time to make the cut for her fourth successive Olympics.
Canada and Australia said they would not be sending athletes to the Tokyo Olympics if the Games went ahead as scheduled in July and August this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Here is a list of previous cancellations, boycotts and changes of venues of the Summer and Winter games.
Britain's Andy Murray, bristling with confidence after ending a three-year wait for another Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, will seek to make history in Brazil by becoming the first man to win successive Olympic gold medals in men's singles tennis.
Sports Minister Ajay Maken, on Monday, said that the International Olympic Committee should keep the sentiments of Bhopal Gas tragedy victims in mind and drop Dow Chemicals as sponsors of next year's London Olympics.
Kynan Chenai gave himself an advance birthday gift by securing a quota place for the Rio Olympics but London Games silver medallist Vijay Kumar's hopes of earning a berth went up in smoke at the Asia Olympic Qualifying Competition for shooting, in New Delhi on Thursday.
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