With a jam-packed schedule brimming with both legendary athletes and captivating storylines, Paris 2024 promises unforgettable moments.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that the government will keep in close touch with all relevant groups to ensure a virus outbreak does not have affect the Summer Olympics. Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto said organisers are not considering cancelling the Olympics, which start on July 24.
She couldn't make the cut through qualifiers but star woman boxer M C Mary Kom's Olympic dream is not quite over yet as India has decided to seek a wildcard entry for her in the Games scheduled from August 5 this year. Mary Kom (51kg) had missed out on qualifying for the Olympics after bowing out in the second round of last month's World Championships -- the second and final qualifying tournament for women for the Games. The 33-year-old was required to make at least the semifinals to be assured of an Olympic berth in the mega-event in Astana, Kazakhstan. "She has been a phenomenal athlete and looking at her overall contribution to the sport, we have decided to request for a wildcard for her. However, her application will be among the many that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) will examine before taking a final decision," Chairman of the ad-hoc committee currently running boxing in India, Kishen Narsi, told PTI. Mary Kom, who is called 'Magnificent Mary' by AIBA, is a five-time world champion besides being a bronze-medallist from the London Olympics. The multiple-time Asian champion could not get an Olympic quota place in either of the two qualifying events for women boxers and is keeping her fingers crossed for a wildcard.
The 25-year-old will join Aparna Popat and Abhinn Shyam Gupta in the badminton event at Athens.
India's Avinash Sable qualified for the men's 3000m Steeplechase final, finishing fifth in his heat with a time of 8:15.43 seconds.
A resolute Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) advanced to the finals with impressive victories but the legendary M C Mary Kom (51kg) and world number one Amit Panghal (52kg) settled for bronze medals at the Asian/Oceanian Olympic Qualifiers, in Amman, on Tuesday. Also ending with bronze medals were Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg). All the six boxers have already secured their tickets to the Olympic Games by making the semi-finals but Krishan and Kaur will come back with at least silver medals after entering the finals.
Dhillon finished second with 52 hits.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
India's first world badminton champion P V Sindhu said her next aim is to bag the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
The former captain, however, rejected Norman's claim of factionalism in HI, saying all is well within the federation.
Just 18 months after pairing up, the young mixed doubles pair of Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath rise to World No 33.
Indian rowers Swarn Singh Virk along with Manjeet Singh and Sandeep Kumar booked their berths in the upcoming London Olympics after winning their individual events in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers at Chung Ju, Korea.
India's biggest table tennis contingent ever has arrived at the Olympic Village, ready to make a mark in Paris.
Really pained by events in Indian wrestling but hopeful of two medals: Yogeshwar Dutt
Last year's open-water swim competitions took place at the French capital's Parc de la Villette in northern Paris.
Asian Games gold-medallist Indian heptathlete Swapna Burman said she will leave no stone unturned to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but achieving the qualification standard will be a tough task.
With Vikas Krishan making the cut for Olympics in the 75kg category, the door is shut on the much celebrated Vijender Singh, who was eyeing qualification to the Rio Games ever since the International Boxing Association (AIBA) allowed professional boxers to compete in the quadrennial showpiece.
Indian shot-putter Om Prakash Karhana on Friday qualified for the 2012 London Olympics as well as next month's World Championships after clinching gold in an IAAF meet at Szombathely in Hungary.
The 26-year-old Avinash Sable, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 3000m steeplechase event during the World Athletics Championships last year, became the first Indian to run a half marathon under sixty one minutes.
An unprecedented seven Indian shuttlers are set to qualify for the Olympics Games at Rio de Janeiro when the official BWF rankings are released on Thursday.
US skating mourns athletes lost in plane crash
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year suspended AIBA, the International Boxing Association, over issues surrounding its finances and governance and took over the boxing competition and qualification for the 2020 Olympics.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will go ahead with the trials in the men's freestyle 74kg category despite a postponement request from the injured Sushil Kumar. Sushil, who has been struggling to revive his career, has pulled out of Friday's trials citing a hand injury and had requested trials in his category to be postponed.
Golfer Siddikur Rahman has become Bangladesh's first athlete to qualify for Olympics after finishing 56th in the final eligibility rankings for the Rio Games.
India exploited a rusty German defence, punching three goals as the Harmanpreet Singh-led side outclassed the world champions to make a winning start to the London leg of the FIH Pro Hockey League in London on Saturday.
The discus thrower made the grade after finishing third with a throw of 63.29 meters in an IAAF meeting, in Szombathely, Hungary, recently.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Jitender Kumar (51kg) became the fifth Indian pugilist to make the cut for Beijing Olympics after winning the third-place playoff in the Asian Boxing Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan on Sunday.
Five Indian athletes have qualified for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games to be held in August in Singapore after their impressive performance in the Asian Area Qualification Championships.
Indian boxer Vikas Krishan (69kg) was out-punched 0-5 and left with a bloodied eye by local favourite Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa as he bowed out of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
Asian Games gold medallist Sudha Singh qualified for the upcoming London Olympics in the 3000m steeplechase by breaking her own National record in the VIII meeting Iberoamericano de Atletismo championship in Huelva, Spain.
Both made sure of semi-final berths in the 12-nation men's Olympic hockey qualifying tournament.
Jamaica's dominance in the women's 100 and 200 metres came to an abrupt end in Paris
India will have an unprecedented seven boxers in the Olympic Games after teen sensations Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) earned their London tickets by advancing to the finals in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan.
'I need mental conditioning and support staff to deal with the mental aspect.'
Mandeep Singh struck twice as a below-par India struggled past minnows Russia 4-2 in the first-leg of the two-match hockey 2020 Olympic Qualifier, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday.
Davis Cup heavyweights Australia and the United States eased through the first qualifying round on Saturday but Britain were knocked out as Japan hit back from 2-1 down to win 3-2, while Denmark staged a dramatic comeback to overcome Serbia.
The shortlisted players will attend a series of coaching camps at SAI Centre Bangalore from March 5.
Asian champion Vikas Krishan (60kg) and Shiva Thapa (54kg) assured themselves of not just a medal but also a berth in the Youth Olympic Games after qualifying for the semi-finals of the World Youth Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan on Friday.
Bindra reminded the squad that "success is not a one-off event".
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