Japan is not making any preparations to postpone the 2020 Olympics, the government's top spokesman said on Wednesday, stressing Tokyo's resolve to host the event as scheduled despite the global spread of coronavirus.
From the gritty wrestlers of the akharas to gravity-defying moves by Paralympic athletes, Rediff.com has all that and more snapped right here...
There is a 'very low risk' of further international spread of Zika virus as result of the Olympic Games to be held in Brazil, the heart of the current outbreak linked to birth defects, World Health Organization (WHO) experts said on Tuesday.
A series of recent scandals engulfing officials working on the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Games
Swiss court rejects Russia's appeal against Olympic doping ban. The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said the sanctions, which also bar Russia from hosting or bidding for major sporting events during a two-year period, would come into force on Thursday and end on December 16, 2022.
Damaging wind gusts, a fresh doping controversy and the robbery of a visiting government minister presented the Rio Games with a perfect storm of problems on Sunday, forcing organisers to scramble to keep the world's biggest sporting event rolling on.
The World Athletics Championships have been moved back 11 months to July 2022 to avoid clashing with the Tokyo Olympics, which have themselves been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak, the sport's governing body said on Wednesday. World Athletics confirmed in a statement that the event, which is usually held every two years, would now take place from July 15-24 in 2022 in Eugene, Oregon.
Chopra opened the competition with an effort of 83.03m before having two foul throws. After a fourth throw of 83.36m, Chopra sent the javelin to 88.07m amid loud cheers from a sizeable audience at the NIS Patiala.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
After devoting years to the difficult pursuit of perfection, some fall wayward.
Sponsors also worry that organisers have not told them what contingency plans there are in case the pandemic derails the Games again this year.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Sakina Khatun, who has not been included in the Indian contingent to represent the country at Commonwealth Games 2018 in the Gold Coast
The two sexual assault charges stem from an incident in 2012, court documents showed.
Major corporate sponsors of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are standing by the International Olympic Committee after the Games were postponed and experts familiar with the deals said the companies would not likely seek the return of billions of dollars committed to the agreements. Fourteen global companies including Coca-Cola Co, Procter & Gamble Co and Intel Corp spent $500 million this year and have committed close to $4 billion on multi-year contracts that designate them as top-tier sponsors, according to research firm Global Data.
Russia has never had a state-sponsored doping programme, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, after the association of National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) called for a temporary blanket ban on Russia from international sport.
London Olympic chiefs unveiled the first furnished apartments at the athletes' village on Thursday, including extendable beds for taller sportsmen and boldly coloured sports-themed duvets.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Some in the crowd grimaced as the snow came pelting down, but most seemed to enjoy it.
Indian para athlete and Arjuna Awardee Amit Kumar Saroha from Haryana won the gold medal in men's club throw (F-51) at the recently concluded 2016 French Open Athletics Championship in Paris. The event was held on May 23 and 24. Amit's effort of 26.58m broke the Asian record which he had himself set at last year's World Championships in Doha on way to winning a silver. Amit has already qualified for the 2016 Rio Paralympics scheduled to be held this September, and the 2016 French Open Athletics Championship was part of his preparation for Rio 2016, for which he is one of India's biggest medal prospects.
The Mobile Mosque, a fully-equipped 48-square-metre prayer room that opens up on the back of a parked truck, can be widened in seconds and the vehicle also includes Arabic signage and outdoor water taps for pre-worship cleaning. The Yasu Project, the organisation behind the enterprise, plan on pitching up outside venues during the Tokyo Olympics, which run from July 24 to August 9.
Differently-abled sportspersons participating in the 15th National Para-Athletics Championships have been put up at unfurnished and unhygienic accommodations.
The Savoy hotel in London is celebrating the Olympic Games in style -- preparing some pastries, savouries, cup cakes for an Olympic-themed charity where all the money taken after selling the items will be sent to the Paralympics Organising Committee.
Rio Paralympcs silver medallist remains upset over being ignored for Khel Ratna this year and feels exception should have been made by the awards committee, like it had done in 2016.
American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, was suspended for six months by USA Swimming on Monday following his recent arrest on a drunken driving charge.
Devendra Jhajharia, on Tuesday became the first para athlete to receive India's highest sporting honour -- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- along with hockey star Sardar Singh, who has endured trying times off the field in the last one year.
The International Olympic Committee's decision to reject calls to ban all Russian competitors from the Rio Olympics could lead to "lesser protection for clean athletes," the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Sunday.
Tokyo has mostly delivered on that hope, despite some early teething problems.
Belgian Paralympian Marieke Vervoort has said she is still considering euthanasia but contrary to media reports, will not be ending her life immediately after the Games in Rio. The 37-year-old, who won a silver medal in the 400 metres wheelchair race on Saturday, suffers from an incurable and degenerative spinal condition and signed euthanasia papers in 2008 in Belgium, where it is legal. Belgian media reported before the Games that she might take her life after Rio, but Vervoort rejected the reports in an emotional media conference on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Several anti-doping agencies, including those of the United States and Canada, want a complete ban on Russia competing at the Rio Olympics if next week's key report into allegations of state-backed doping at the 2014 Sochi winter Olympics is damning, they said on Saturday.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says his sport can have a huge influence on helping the post-pandemic world address the global health crisis and is making plans to ensure that it is ready to take on that responsibility.
Sanjay Kapoor elected AICF President, Chauhan retains secretary's post.
"The fastest man on no legs", triple paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius is aiming to qualify as an able-bodied athlete for the Delhi Commonwealth Games but remains non-committal on whether he would actually participate in the mega-event.
'We are now able to confirm a cover up that dates back until at least 2011 and continued after the Sochi Olympic Games. It was a cover up that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an institutionalised and disciplined medal-winning conspiracy'
Sprint king Usain Bolt ramped up his preparations for the Rio Olympics by pulling away to post a time below 10 seconds in the 100 metres at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting.
Rio Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik, Virat Kohli are in the list
Snow blankets Games, delays Gu's return to competition
In his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat which he began by paying tributes to the 18 soldiers who died in the Uri attack on September 18, Modi said, "this cowardly act was enough to shake the entire country. There is mourning as well as anger in the country."
Despite the phenomenal rise of the People's Republic, all is not rosy in the Middle Kingdom and the Ox Year may be one of the most difficult of the People's Republic's 60 years of existence. The economic crisis has also brought its tale of desperation, not only in China, but also in Tibet. China watchers agree that it could be a time bomb.
