More than 100 members of the Indian contingent, including 52 athletes from various sports, will take part in the Paris Paralympics opening ceremony, which will be held outside a stadium for the first time in the Games' history, here on Wednesday.
The Tokyo Games, from July 23 to Aug. 8, coincide with the year's hottest weather in Tokyo where the temperature can rise to 35 degree Celsius (95F) or more. The 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics were held in October.
'United by Emotion' was revealed as the motto for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics on Monday as organisers look to hammer home the message of diversity and inclusion. Tennis player Naomi Osaka, who was born in Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother but raised in the United States, narrated the motto's promotional video.
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.
Tokyo 2020 organisers said on Friday that work on the Aquatics Centre was finished in February meaning that all the venues built for this year's Olympics have been completed on time. The Aquatics Centre, which will host swimming and diving events at Tokyo 2020, was one of eight new venues built for the Summer Olympics, in addition to the athletes' village.
The defending Olympic champion Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah ran a scorching 10.82 to advance and she almost slowed towards the finish line. She was all smiles and thumbs up after a performance that made a clear statement of intent that she was not yet ready to relinquish her title.
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.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said on Tuesday that athletes would not be forced to get COVID-19 vaccinations ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, but he said they should as a "demonstration of solidarity" with the Japanese.
Thangavelu had won the Rio Paralympics T-42 high jump gold by clearing 1.89m.
Some of the most dazzling and dramatic moments of the Games came from women.
India have sent an 84-strong contingent of para-athletes, the largest ever in the country's history -- a heady mix of youth and experience, for the Paralympic Games, starting in Paris on Wednesday.
Two sparring partners -- her teammates in Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), a physiotherapist and a masseuse have already been quarantined in the new hostel at the JLN complex.
Here's what you need to know about the Tokyo Games
As the curtains come down at the Tokyo Olympics, here's a glance at the medallists and those who came within touching distance of glory.
Japan is being scorched by an intense heatwave that has prompted fears of similar extreme weather when the sporting showpiece takes place in the country.
Olympic softballers hunt roaming bear, no luck finding it so far
Organisers should be prepared to act swiftly to ban spectators or declare another state of emergency if needed, the experts said. If spectators are allowed, rules should be strict, such as limiting fans to local residents, the experts said.
The National Stadium, set to host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, is one of the venues that has been successfully secured for 2021.
Normally a star-studded display teeming with celebrities, the Tokyo Olympics ceremony was low-key, with fewer than 1,000 people in attendance, strict social distancing rules and signs calling on spectators to "be quiet around the venue."
Kenya's Amos Serem won the race in 8:06.90 seconds, while Morrocos's Soufiane El Bakkali (8:08.60s) and Kenya's Amin Jhinaoui Mohammed (8:09.68s) were second and third respectively.
Bajrang Punia banned, Phogat turns politician, WFI suspension, litigations, and lost medals: How Indian wrestling stagnated in 2024
Gold in Rio. Silver in Tokyo. Bronze in Paris. Mariyappan Thangavelu is a Paralympic legend.
Shinzo Abe had been all but synonymous with Tokyo 2020, heavily involved in the winning bid in 2013 and dressing up as video game character Mario during the closing ceremony of the Rio Games three years later.
The next challenge for Tokyo organisers is developing measures to help prevent a COVID-19 outbreak during the Games and how much the delay will cost Japanese taxpayers.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch-lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia this week will be staged without spectators as organisers protect the event from the coronavirus, Greece's Olympic Committee said on Monday. The Olympic torch will be lit in Olympia at a scaled-down ceremony on March 12 before a seven-day relay that will culminate with a handover ceremony in Greece on March 19.
Tokyo's Olympic 2020 contract allows it to postpone the Games until the end of the year, Japan's Olympics minister said on Tuesday, amid concern the coronavirus could disrupt the event. To curb the coronavirus, Japan's government has asked schools to close and encouraged the curtailment of events, including sports meetings, that could attract large crowds.
Reigning World champion Pramod Bhagat continued India's fine showing at the Tokyo Paralympics with a gold medal in the badminton SL3 class event, in Tokyo, on Saturday. The 33-year-old Bhagat, who is also the world No. 1 and current Asian champion, scored a 21-11, 21-16 win over Japan's Daisuke Fujihara in the first SL3 class semi-final, which lasted 36 minutes.
Kyodo said the government had concluded that welcoming fans from abroad would not be possible given public concern about the coronavirus and the detection of more contagious variants in many countries, Kyodo cited the officials as saying.
India's goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who will end his illustrious 18-year career after the Paris Olympics, had conceded only five goals in four games at the men's hockey event, which gives him a save rate above 90 percent for the tournament.
Japan has largely avoided the kind of explosive coronavirus outbreaks that have devastated other countries
Japan is eager to quell fears the Games might be called off, postponed or moved to a different location due to the virus. And despite its optimism over the Olympics, Japan has cancelled numerous sporting events.
Neeraj ran in fast, did the crossover. The javelin flew out of his hands and he did not look towards the sector. He just knew he had bettered the first attempt. The moment the javelin left his hand, he knew he had done it.
Except for shooting, a major Olympic sport, most of the top stars in other disciplines will give the National Games a miss.
The India hockey team had won it's first Olympic medal in 41 years at the Tokyo Games.
Tokyo should remain the benchmark and source of inspiration till at least Paris 2024. In the shorter run, India's preparations for the Asian and Commonwealth Games next year must begin based on lessons learnt now, asserts Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry.
Plans that had been almost a decade in the making were shredded as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the IOC and Japanese government to take the unprecedented decision to postpone the Olympics for a year.
Another downgrade for Tokyo Olympics that have their pomp and public spectacle overshadowed by COVID-19
Construction delays at two key Olympic venues could force Tokyo Games organisers into a reshuffle of test event schedules, the organising committee said.
'Our task is to organise Olympic Games and not to cancel Olympic Games. This is why we are working day and night to organise safe Olympic Games.'
Tokyo residents are deeply divided on whether they should go ahead with the Olympics mid-pandemic
