Pramod Bhagat clinched two gold medals as India's Para badminton players returned home with a rich haul of 10 medals from the Brazil Para Badminton International Championships, in Sao Paulo, on Monday.
Paralympic gold-winners Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Manish Narwal were also given the Khel Ratna at a dazzling awards ceremony on Saturday.
Pressure had been building on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its president, Thomas Bach, with some athletes and sporting bodies angry that a seemingly inevitable decision had taken so long.
Bach said Tokyo was 'the best-prepared Olympic city,' in remarks at the start of a three-day virtual IOC session.
Bhagat now has 11 medals, including six gold, two silver and three bronze medals in the world championships. He has the distinction of reaching the finals in all the editions, barring the 2007 and 2017 World Championships.
'No significant impact' on Tokyo 2020 from possible cyber attacks
Olympic organisers say they will not reveal the final torchbearer's identity until the torch arrives in the stadium on live television, watched by billions of spectators.
'Risk for the other residents of Olympic village and risk for the Japanese people is zero'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
The report comes after two members of the Ugandan Olympic delegation tested positive for the coronavirus last month upon arrival in Japan. One tested positive at Narita airport near Tokyo, but the remainder of the team was allowed to travel to a training site.
Their incredible run began at the US Open in 2019, and includes a silver medal at the Paralympics in Tokyo last year.
Athletes have been told to keep their distance from each other, meaning fewer opportunities to mingle and more.
The once-delayed Games are due to start on July 23
The IOC and the Japanese government postponed the Games last month until July 2021 because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. It will be impossible to host the Tokyo Olympic Games next year unless the coronavirus pandemic is contained, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh on Monday said the Indian men's hockey side's main focus is qualifying for the Paris Olympics by winning the Asian Games this year besides giving opportunities to youngsters.
Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju had also said that Olympic-bound athletes will be given priority in the vaccination.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday said it might freeze the world rankings for a while as it works on a "fair solution" to the Olympic qualification process after the coronavirus pandemic forced a postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021. There have been growing calls to freeze the world rankings after cancellations and postponements wrecked the sport's calendar. Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, B Sai Praneeth, Parupalli Kashyap and H S Prannoy have been leading the way in expressing concerns.
The US track and field federation joined another leading US Olympic sport, USA Swimming, in seeking a delay to the Games. Neither US Olympic officials nor the IOC were immediately available for comment on USATF's request.
Japan is currently preparing to extend a state of emergency across much of the nation
The CEOs of Cricket Australia, the National Rugby League and Football Federation Australia, have signed up to the "Pathway to Pay Equality" report by the Male Champions of Change Institute (MCC), which details a milestone-based approach to achieving pay equity between male and female athletes.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday the Olympic torch relay scheduled in the city of Osaka has been cancelled amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
The spread of a new coronavirus could throw "cold water over the growing momentum of the 2020 Games," Tokyo Organising Committee CEO Toshiro Muto said. Japanese government officials including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have said the government would work hard to minimise any impact from the virus outbreak on the Games, which start on July 24.
Following the massive win, congratulations poured in for the champions from all quarters with Sachin Tendulkar leading the nation in wishing the players.
According to government officials quoted by Kyodo late on Wednesday, Japan has begun looking into the possibility of making sure its Olympic and Paralympic athletes are all vaccinated by the end of June.
Reaction to Canada's boycott of the 2020 Tokyo Games in the summer due to concerns about the coronavirus.
In other India-related news, Manish Kaurav (KL3 men 200m) and Manjeet Singh (VL2 men 200m) made it to the finals of their respective events for the first time in the history of the tournament.
IOC chief said he believed more than 80 per cent of residents of the Olympic Village would be vaccinated or booked for vaccination ahead of the Games
Japanese chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato declined to give details but said Japan would make every effort to protect the Games from possible hacking attempts.
The Corporate Survey showed 37 per cent of firms were in favour of cancellation, while 32 per cent want a postponement.
Facing criticism for packing 22 tournaments in five months in its revised calendar, the Badminton World Federation on Wednesday said the disrupted Olympic qualification process will restart only next year with players having the benefit of holding on to the ranking points they have already secured.
The ITTF Executive Committee met on Sunday to further discuss the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the international table tennis event schedule.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
The International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government agreed last month to postpone the Games because of the global coronavirus outbreak. The costs of rearranging the Games and who will pay them have yet to be clarified by either the IOC or the Japanese government.
Holders of tickets for the Tokyo Olympics face an anxious wait as the future of the Games hangs in the balance, following media reports they might not get a refund in case of a postponement or cancellation.
'The Olympics postponement may not be a political body blow to Abe Shinzo, but it is no denying that the economic cost of the postponement of the Games will be heavy for Japan,' observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
'I hope that younger people who have similar struggles can see me and feel safer in the fact that I'm managing okay. True, there are difficulties, but there's nothing unfortunate at all about being both deaf and transgender.'
'I never imagined that a doll would be made on me. It feels great to be recognised by Barbie,' says the World Para-badminton champion who was also honoured by Time magazine.
Seven Olympic and six Paralympic disciplines were identified for support at a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell.
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