India has appointed Frederic Soyez as the chief coach of the national junior men's hockey team, replacing PR Sreejesh. Soyez brings extensive international coaching experience, including multiple Olympic Games and World Cups.
Frederic Soyez, a decorated Frenchman, has been appointed as the chief coach of the Indian national junior men's hockey team, replacing PR Sreejesh. Soyez brings extensive experience, including coaching at multiple Olympic Games and World Cups.
Marathoners are spending the precious few moments of downtime before Saturday's competition focused on strategy and rest, and do not fear Olympic cancellation
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.
In a setback to India's medal chances in tennis at the Tokyo Olympics, Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan missed the cut for men's doubles, which also rules out the country's presence in the mixed team competition -- its best chance for a podium finish.
Mirabai Chanu will miss the Asian Championships due to a shoulder injury sustained during the National Championships. Komal Kohar is expected to replace her in the Indian team.
'I had a deja vu moment on court. I had match point on the same side of the court, went for the same serve and was telling myself the same things. I had goosebumps, it was really special. It's great to win here again.'
Neeraj Chopra will head to the Olympic Training Centre in Switzerland from May 25, while shooter Manu Bhaker has jetted off to Italy after the Sports Ministry approved their foreign exposure proposals in view of this year's Commonwealth and Asian Games.
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.
Neeru Dhanda finished seventh in the women's trap final at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup, continuing India's medal drought in the competition. Despite a strong comeback in qualification, she was eliminated early in the final. Australia's Penny Smith won gold, setting a world record.
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.
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.
Indian badminton players Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, and Unnati Hooda were eliminated from the Japan Open Super 750 tournament on Wednesday.
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.
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.
Indian golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri are set to lead the home challenge at the DP World India Championship, scheduled for October 15-18 at the Delhi Golf Club. The tournament will feature a star-studded international field including Major winner Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Ryan Fox, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Luke Donald, and Viktor Hovland. Both Sharma and Lahiri expressed excitement about competing on home soil, highlighting the event's significance for Indian golf.
Ayush Shetty's silver medal at the Asia Championships has positioned him as a potential men's singles contender for India, boosting the nation's badminton prospects as they prepare for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Legendary Indian hockey player P R Sreejesh has urged the men's team to ignore the ongoing jersey colour controversy and focus on ending the 50-year World Cup medal drought. He dismissed concerns about the saffron jersey, noting past colour changes, but questioned the visibility argument. Sreejesh emphasised that if players approved the change, the debate should cease, and politics should be kept out of sports. He also expressed confidence in the team's ability to perform despite the off-field distractions.
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.
Following is India's schedule at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, July 24.
India's para shot putter Soman Rana won the gold gold medal in the men's F57 event para shot put event at the Commonwealth Games.
PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen progressed to the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament with straight-game wins. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also advanced, while Kidambi Srikanth and other Indian players were eliminated.
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.
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.
Indian women's hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne acknowledges the tight schedule between the World Cup and Asian Games but expresses confidence in the team's ability to manage the physical demands. Former captain MM Somaya also highlighted the importance of the World Cup as preparation for the Asian Games, where a gold medal secures a spot in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Indian badminton prodigy Tanvi Sharma, 17, secured her first BWF World Tour title by defeating Vietnam's Thuy Linh Nguyen in straight games at the Taipei Open Super 300, becoming the youngest champion in the tournament's history.
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
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.
Tokyo Olympics organisers added that they are working on more than 200 ideas to simplify and reduce costs for the rescheduled Games.
Ace Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was awarded 'Best Male Athlete of the Year 2025' at the inaugural Indian Athletics Awards. Chopra expressed his emotional connection to the award, given in the presence of multiple generations of athletes. The ceremony also honoured Parul Chaudhary as Best Female Athlete and P T Usha with a Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising significant contributions to Indian athletics.
'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.'
PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and Kidambi Srikanth secured victories in their respective singles matches at the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament, while other Indian players experienced mixed results.
The torch was designed with input from children from the areas most severely damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Indian boxer Preeti Pawar advances to the final of the Asian Boxing Championships, while Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain are eliminated in the semi-finals.
Japan has largely avoided the kind of explosive coronavirus outbreaks that have devastated other countries
No spectators were present in the stadium, where the Games' opening and closing ceremonies will be held,
"Athletes' health and well-being are always at the heart of our concerns," IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement.
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.
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.
