Nine-times Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis on Sunday called for the 2020 athletics season to be scrapped and July's Tokyo Games to be postponed until 2022 because of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed thousands. With the uncertainty now of whether there will be a Games in 2020 and the tightening of people's movement by governments to try to control the virus, "we are in the twilight zone," Lewis said.
Indian weightlifters are set to compete in the Asian Championships, aiming to leverage home advantage and gain momentum for the upcoming Commonwealth and Asian Games.
Vijay Amritraj gets Padma Bhushan; Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur receive Padma Shri
Little-known retired swimmer Naoko Imoto will be a last-minute stand-in to receive the Olympic flame during a scaled back handover in Athens on Thursday, Tokyo 2020 organisers said. The Tokyo 2020 team had contacted Imoto, who lives in Greece, only hours before making the announcement on Wednesday evening in the Japanese capital.
Mo Farah will not race for a third successive 10,000 metres gold medal in Tokyo this year after he again failed to make the Olympic qualifying time in the British Athletics Championships in Manchester on Friday - his last realistic chance to do so.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia said he has already cleared a major milestone, the Olympics qualifier round and now his focus was on the Tokyo Games. after the Asian Wrestling Championship he started working on his weaknesses.
According to the organisers, based on the feedback from the NOCs and NPCs, it is expected that a significant proportion of Games participants will have been vaccinated before arriving in Japan. The new MoU adds to these efforts.
Indian women boxers dominated the Asian Boxing Championships, securing four gold medals and topping the medal tally. Minakshi Hooda, Preeti Pawar, Priya Ghanghas, and Arundhati Choudhary all won their respective finals. The team's success also secured Commonwealth and Asian Games spots for several boxers.
Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea reached the quarter-final of the French Open, while Matteo Berrettini is rediscovering his confidence after a win.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch was lit by the rays of the sun in ancient Olympia on Thursday to mark the final step towards the July 24-Aug 9 Games, currently in question because of the coronavirus pandemic. Actress Xanthi Georgiou, in the role of high priestess, used a parabolic mirror in a scaled-down ceremony closed to spectators at the site of the ancient Greek Olympics to ignite the torch and mark the start of a torch relay. The torch will be handed over to Tokyo Games organisers in Athens on March 19.
Following is India's schedule at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, July 24.
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.
Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra became the first Indian pairing to qualify for the mega event in Tokyo, beating World No. 8 duo of Sang-Su Lee and Jihee Jeon 4-2 in the final of the Asian Qualification Tournament in Doha.
After the Sports Ministry withdrew the recognition of 54 National Sports Federations (NSFs), Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra raised concerns saying that if things will continue to go ahead like this then India should not be hoping for any medal in the Tokyo Olympics next year. Following a High Court order, the Sports Ministry withdrew the recognition of 54 NSFs, including the All India Football Federation, Hockey India, and Athletics Federation of India.
Komal Kohar secured a bronze medal for India in the women's 48kg weight class at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar. She lifted a combined 177kg. Chinese Taipei dominated the event with a gold and silver finish.
Six-time World champion M C Mary Kom's (51kg) pursuit of a second Olympic medal ended in the pre-quarterfinals of the Tokyo Games as she went down to 2016 edition's bronze-medallist Ingrit Valencia in a fiercely-fought showdown.
Japan will hold the Summer Olympics regardless of the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic
Tokyo Olympics organisers added that they are working on more than 200 ideas to simplify and reduce costs for the rescheduled Games.
The Indian Olympic Association on Thursday backed the International Olympic Committee's assertion that the upcoming Tokyo Olympics will weather the coronavirus pandemic and be held on time without a glitch. The IOC and the Tokyo Games organisers are adamant that the Games will start on July 24 as scheduled despite the coronavirus pandemic crippling health care systems and destroying economies across the world.
P. R. Sreejesh has voiced his frustration after his contract as head coach of the India U-21 hockey team was not renewed, alleging Hockey India prefers foreign coaches despite his successful tenure.
Former India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has criticised Hockey India's decision to replace him as U-21 coach with a foreign appointment, despite his successful tenure.
'Coaches have been trying to create match situations like when it is 18-all or 19-all. I am focusing on how I have to play and win those moments, so I hope it will help.'
Udayan Mane, Milind Soni and Manav Shah are tied for the lead at the IGPL Invitational South Africa after the first day. Gaganjeet Bhullar and Karandeep Kochhar are also in contention.
Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain expressed frustration over inadequate training opportunities after crashing out in the first round of the World Boxing Championships, saying she always doesn't get the training she "truly needs".
Japan has largely avoided the kind of explosive coronavirus outbreaks that have devastated other countries
Komal Kohar won a bronze medal in the women's 48kg weight class at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar. She lifted a combined 177kg. Huang Yi Chen of Chinese Taipei won gold.
The torch was designed with input from children from the areas most severely damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
No spectators were present in the stadium, where the Games' opening and closing ceremonies will be held,
The Indian contingent was largely satisfied with the food and facilities provided at the Olympic Games Village, but a request has gone out to the Indian Embassy for 100 plus electric kettles to meet the athletes' requirement of warm water.
"Athletes' health and well-being are always at the heart of our concerns," IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement.
The 51-year-old, who was associated with the Indian women's team from 2017 to 2021, will be supported by Matias Vila as analytical coach.
The team has only one goalkeeper in Sreejesh, which means promising Krishan Bahadur Pathak missed out on an Olympic berth
Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Friday said she does not have much time to grieve over her Tokyo Games debacle and is gearing up for future challenges while young Anshu Malik suggested that a sports psychologist should be attached with the team to help them overcome nerves at big stage like the Olympics.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach says the Tokyo Games would have to be scrapped if the event cannot be held next year due to the COVID-19 crisis. In March, the IOC and Japanese government took the unprecedented decision to delay the Games, which had been due to start in July, for a year due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Two-time Olympic medallist Gurjant Singh has retired from international hockey after a successful career, citing a back injury and the desire to give younger players a chance.
India's Uber Cup campaign concluded with a 0-5 defeat to China, despite a promising start from PV Sindhu. The Indian team struggled to capitalise on opportunities against the formidable Chinese side.
Former Indian men's hockey team goalkeeper and member of the 1972 Munich Olympics bronze medal-winning side Manuel Frederick died in Bengaluru on Friday morning.
The six people, who included a man in his 20s and another man in his 30s, helped on the relay in the southern prefecture of Kagoshima on April 27.
The COVID-19 lockdown had wreaked havoc on her mental health to such an extent that discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur had started trying her hand in cricket to handle the psychological toll of the shutdown.
Indian javelin thrower Sachin Yadav is set to make his Diamond League debut in Rome on June 4, marking his first international event since the 2025 World Championships. He will face tough competition, including former world champion Anderson Peters and season leader Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage.
