The International Boxing Association (AIBA) might have allowed professional boxers to compete in the Olympics but India's biggest pro star Vijender Singh will not be seen in the Rio de Janeiro Games as he hasn't been left with any time or chance to make the cut. In a landmark decision, AIBA today threw the Olympic doors open for professional boxers after an extraordinary congress in Lausanne, Switzerland voted overwhelmingly in favour of the move. The decision has, however, been met with a mixed response with some like Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis calling it "foolish" and "preposterous" while others like Amir Khan welcoming the step. In India, AIBA's decision brought the focus on Olympic medallist Vijender, who turned professional last year. The 30-year-old, a former amateur world No.1 in middleweight, is enjoying an unbeaten run in his pro career and is scheduled to fight for the WBO Asia title belt on July 16 in the national capital.
Sony Corp does not plan to renew its sponsorship contract with FIFA, the governing body for world football, as the Japanese electronics maker needs to prioritise its restructuring efforts, people familiar with the matter said.
The 72-year-old master strategist ensured that the Congress's internal conflict ended and took on the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shivraj Singh Chouhan -- the state's longest ever serving chief minister.
From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. Rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
In a move which could embarrass the Uttar Pradesh government, state Transport minister Durga Prasad Yadav has embarked on a week-long study tour to Brazil with family in tow.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is to investigate Russian doping allegations relating to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, WADA said on Tuesday.
The path to the Olympics is paved with potholes for many athletes but few can claim to have overcome hardship like wrestler Vinod Kumar, who was thrown from a speeding train by a rival's family in India before landing on his feet in Australia.
"The comparison? I see still Ayrton winning the game because in the end Ayrton was such a charming guy and a personality. And obviously if someone loses his life and stays with us in the way of a legend, it's always something special. But I try to see it from a performance point and from a performance point, Lewis is going from one pole position to the next one and Lewis is going from one race win to the next one. Just like Ayrton did."
Russia is banned from competing for their country due to an alleged state-backed doping scheme, but the International Olympics Committee (IOC) has allowed it to send so-called neutral athletes who have no history of drugs-cheating.
Paralympic champion Markus Rehm said he hoped new scientific studies would prove he gains no advantage through his prosthesis and clear him to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.
Accolades poured in for Dipa Karmakar, who became the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics.
A team mate of Japanese badminton Olympic medal hope Kento Momota on Friday confessed to taking the world number two-ranked player to an illegal casino and tearfully begged officials to allow the star to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
BAI has confirmed the services of Tan Kim, who will be joining the Indian team by the end of September to work with the top doubles players.
Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom (51kg) and World Championship bronze-winner Shiva Thapa (56kg) were given the top billing in the Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament draw held in Qian'an, China on Friday.
He is no longer a part the amateur boxing circuit but concerned about the shambolic state of its administration in India, professional star Vijender Singh took up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case in the doping scandal involving international wrestler Narsingh Yadav, who was barred from participating in the Rio Olympics after banned substances were found in his urine samples.
Authorities in Kentucky have charged three men, including a father and son, in connection with the shooting death of Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay's 15-year-old daughter outside a restaurant over the weekend, police said.
Star grappler Yogeshwar Dutt would seek to grab an Olympic quota place in his first opportunity when he spearheads a 17-member Indian campaign at the Asian Olympic Qualification wrestling championship, starting in Astana, Kazakhstan from Friday. It will be a tough three-day competition from March 18-20, considering that only the top two finishers in each weight category here will secure an Olympic berth for a country. This is the second qualifying event for the Rio Games. The first was held last year at the World Championship in Las Vegas, where just one Indian in Narsingh Yadav bagged a quota place for the country in Men's 74kg freestyle. With India's entry at Rio de Janeiro ensured in 74kg category, no one will be competing in this category. Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar also fights in the same weight division as Narsingh. Thus, the squad consists of five grapplers in men's freestyle, six in Greco-Roman and six in female wrestling. London Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar, who pulled out of the 2015 World Championship due to an injury, has the best chance of grabbing an Olympic berth for India as well as a medal.
India kept their Olympic qualification dreams alive by beating lower-ranked Italy in the shoot-out in a classification match of the women's Hockey World League semi-finals at the KHC Dragons Stadium in Antwerp.
Serena Williams, the top-ranked player in women's tennis, said on Tuesday she was shocked to hear her friend and fellow tennis star Maria Sharapova had failed a drug test, but she commended Sharapova for showing courage in taking responsibility.
A team of refugees that will compete at this year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics could number as many as 10 athletes, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Wednesday.
The World No. 2 had pulled out of Badminton Asia Team Championships because of injury earlier this month, and also exempted herself from participating in the Lucknow Open and South Asian Championships to work on her fitness.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) said that the CBI has started its probe into the doping scandal of dope-tainted wrestler Narsingh Yadav after the PMO referred his case to the investigation agency.
Newly-crowned world number one Angelique Kerber has nothing left to prove after clinching the U.S. Open for a second grand slam this year and securing a place in the record books, the German said on Tuesday. The 28-year-old became the oldest player to rise to that rank when the new list was published on Monday, capping a memorable summer that also included the Olympic silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and a Wimbledon final appearance.
Adidas stopped short on Thursday of ending its sponsorship deal with Uruguay's Luis Suarez after FIFA banned him for nine matches for biting an Italy defender, but the German sportswear firm said it would not use him in any further World Cup marketing.
Disgraced Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte is joining the 'Dancing With the Stars' cast, ABC television announced on Tuesday, as the gold medalist said he thought reaction to his tale about being held up at a Rio de Janeiro gas station had been blown out of proportion.
Not even Usain Bolt could overcome a big American lead as the US men sprinted to a convincing victory over Jamaica in the 4x100 metres relay at the IAAF World Relays in Nassau on Saturday.
This week's collection of unbelievably unusual images that show it's an odd, crazy world we live in.
P V Sindhu is hoping to become India's first-ever woman Olympic gold medallist across all sporting disciplines when she takes on World champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the final of women's singles badminton event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, on Friday.
Thiago da Silva won Brazil's first athletics gold of their home Games on an extraordinary, unforgettable Monday night in Rio, producing an Olympic record of 6.03 metres in the pole vault to beat hot favourite Renaud Lavillenie and send the fans into raptures.
India's tennis campaign at the Rio Olympic Games ended in disappointment as Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna were blown away by the Czech Republic team of Radek Stepanek and Lucie Hradceka in the bronze medal play-off in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
Indian duo of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna entered the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles event of tennis competition at the Rio Olympics with a straight-set win over Australian pair of Samantha Stosur and John Peers in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Sania and Bopanna, who are being touted as India's medal hope at the Olympics, won their opening round match 7-5 6-4 in 73 minutes.
Deepika Kumari advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the women's individual recurve event as Indian archers rounded off a good day in office at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
His Olympic medal aspiration blown away by the 'wind', Indian shooter Jitu Rai's Russian coach Smirnov Pavel said efforts should be made to set up ranges in windy conditions in the mountains.
Russian track and field athletes look certain to miss out on this year's world championships after an IAAF task force recommended on Monday that the country's ban should run until November.
Shooter Abhinav Bindra's technical trainer Heinz Reinkemeier denounced Indian media's 'obsession' for Olympic medal and emphasised that an effort can be categorised as 'good performance' even without a medal.
Olympic sailing began an 11-day regatta on Monday with near perfect winds as competitors showed little fear of heading back into waters criticised for sewage-borne pathogens and floating garbage.
Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first American athlete to compete in the Olympics with a hijab, which she wears to adhere to the tenets of her Muslim faith.
Brazil unfurled a vast canvas celebrating its rainforest and the creative energy of its wildly diverse population in welcoming the world on Friday to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, all to the pounding beat of samba, bossa nova and funk.
Hitting the target with monotonous regularity, Indian shooters' dominance in a phenomenal 2019, at times, made world events look like domestic tourneys. Indian shooting's best show at the Olympics remains the two medals won at London in 2012, but if the shooters' exploits in recent months are anything to go by, the country can easily emulate or better that in Tokyo.
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