Articles by "Olympics"
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Hello Jammu News at 8:56:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Jun 23 :   The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), along with its member units, Sunday joined millions from around the world in celebrating Olympic Day.

On this very day, 125 years ago, Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee and revived the Olympic Games.

India's lone individual Olympics gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra, IOC Honorary Member Randhir Singh, IOA President Narinder Batra and IOA Secretary Genera Rajeev Mehta took part in the celebration.

Every year, Olympic Day sees Olympic Committees and Associations, international and national sports federations, organising committees of Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, National Olympian Associations and Young Ambassadors around the world organised and participate in a myriad of sports activities to promote a healthy and active lifestyle.

This year, 13 State Olympic Associations in India, including those of Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal, organised various sporting activities, competitions, educational seminars and Olympic Day Run as part of their celebration on Olympic Day.

Joining the Olympic day celebrations, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju urged the people to stay active for good health and reminded athletes to stay committed to clean sports.

IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said, "Our greetings to all on the 125th anniversary of the Olympic movement. The power of Olympism has a lasting positive impact on people's well being every day. This year, the Indian Olympic Association aims to reach out to more on Olympism, through activation, cultural and educational programmes.               [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 11:42:00 AM 0


Buenos Aires, Oct 8 (PTI) Thangjam Tababi Devi became India's first judo medallist at the Olympic level, claiming a silver at the ongoing Youth Games after losing to Venezuela's Maria Giminez in the finals of the women's 44kg category here.

Tababi Devi, an Asian cadet champion hailing from Manipur, lost 0-11, also conceding a penalty point in the process, in the summit showdown that lasted a little over two minutes on Sunday night. 

India have never won an Olympic medal in judo either at the senior or the youth level.

The 16-year-old defeated Ana Viktorija Puljiz of Crotia 10-0 in the semifinals. Prior to that, she defeated Bhutan's Yangchen Wangmo 10-0 in the round of 16 before getting the better of Erza Muminoviq of Kosovo in the quarterfinals. 

Her silver was India's second medal at the ongoing Games after shooter Tushar Mane also clinched the second position in the men's 10m air rifle competition.

However, in swimming, national champion Srihari Natraj could not qualify for the men's 100m backstroke finals after finishing 9th in the semis. Only the top-eight make the finals. 

Nataraj clocked 56.48sec, which was better than his Heats timing of 56.75sec. 

India won just two medals -- a silver and a bronze -- in the last Youth Olympics in 2014 in Nanjing in China.

India's best performance at the Games came in its inaugural edition in 2010 when the nation fetched six silver and two bronze medals. 

The country is being represented by 47 athletes at the ongoing Games, its biggest ever contingent.
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Hello Jammu News at 5:54:00 PM 0

New Delhi, Sep 5: Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has promised "surgical" precision in distribution of funds to athletes preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games, asserting that centralisation of the process has made bureaucratic hurdles a thing of past.

Speaking to on the sidelines of a function to felicitate medal winners of the recently-concluded 18th Asian Games in Indonesia, Rathore elaborated on the initiatives, that he feels, have put India on the path of becoming a sporting powerhouse.

"We have very clearly and very professionally divided our working between grassroots and elite sportspersons. The elite athletes are being looked after by a different set of professional people so that there is no bureaucracy," Rathore, an olympic silver-medallist in double-trap shooting, said.

"We have just begun working on systems that can connect the athletes to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) absolutely straight, transparent and quick," he added.

TOPS was instituted in 2014 to fund athletes considered strong medal prospects for the Olympics. Currently, the athletes are picked by a committee and the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC), under the Sports Authority of India Director General, is entrusted with the task of disbursing funds to those selected.

The MOC has representation from the national federations and various project officers appointed by SAI.

Rathore said funds are no longer an issue for Indian sports as lot of corporate houses have started contributing "generously".

"We have now funds available for grassroots to elite. A lot of corporates are coming on board. They are putting in funds. Earlier, the funds were going in different directions but now we are combining and concentrating the flow," he said.

Asked about his expectations from the Tokyo Olympics, especially after the country's best ever medal haul of 69 in the Asian Games, he said no effort would be spared in making the athletes battle-ready for the challenge.

"We have already started working for 2024 and 2028 Olympics. The 2020 Olympics is right next around the corner and in our celebrations (for the Asiad success), we haven't forgotten (that) and reminded the athletes (as well).

"Our real achievements will come in 2024 and 2028 Olympics. But nothing will be left undone even now. Very precise and surgical support will be provided to each athlete so that they give their best (in Tokyo). This period of 600 odd days is a lot, a lot can change positively for us," the Minister said.

Explaining the workings of the TOPS committee, Rathore said members are not just tracking the performances of athletes but also their rivals. The committee comprises, among others, badminton great Prakash Padukone and former boxing federation secretary General P K M Raja.

"These professional people of TOPS are not just following our own athletes but they are following their opponents as well.They are connecting with sports science and trying to give the athletes the best," he explained.

The Minister said the performance of the coaches and the concerned National Sports Federations (NSFs) is also being periodically monitored by the government.

"Every three month, one sport has to give a presentation on what it has achieved so far. This team (the TOPS committee) is professionally observing the improvements, it is also looking after what's happening on the injury front for an athlete so that it can be kept to minimum," he said.

Rathore was critical of the state governments' role in promotion of sports.

"...sports is a state subject but citizens ask me and the central government 'what are you doing'?. The Prime Minister is living upto (these questions) and doing much more," Rathore said.

"We have a supplementary role, however, we are doing in every aspects. It is the state governments who should be responsible for sports. How many state governments have supported sports and what is their budget?" he questioned.

"We have the Sports Code and we are working on it. We are also combining the efforts of various federations," he said, referring to the long-pending national sports bill, which is expected to streamline administration.

Lauding India's haul of 15 gold, 24 silver and 30 bronze medals in the Asiad Rathore said it was heartening to see youngsters such as the teenage shooters deliver at the big stage.

"It's very promising. The personal best scores have come at the Asian Games, usually they happen at practice. This is a new-found confidence among the athletes," the Minister said.

Rathore reiterated that the Khelo India School Games, which started only this year, will be a game-changer for Indian sports.

He, however, remained non-committal on the possibility of India hosting any big-ticket event like Commonwealth or Asian Games in the near future.

"If the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games were held in your own country, you could decide which events to skip and which event to include to increase your medals tally.

"We have gone out and performed outside the country against odds," he signed off. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 4:40:00 PM 0

Changwon, Sep 3: Anjum Moudgil and Apurvi Chandela became the first set of Indian shooters to secure quota places for the 2020 Olympics by winning a silver and finishing fourth respectively in the women's 10m air rifle event of the ISSF World Championship here Monday.

Moudgil finished second on the podium behind Korean Hana Im (251.1) and ahead of bronze-medallist Eunhea Jung (228.0), who is also from Korea.

The 24-year-old Moudgil shot a total of 248.4 in the eight-women final to open the Indian senior squad's medal account in the prestigious tournament.

While the equally talented Chandela aggregated 207 to finish fourth but still made the cut since a country can avail two Olympic quota places in this event.

The International Shooting Sport Federation's (ISSF) premier tournament assumes added significance as it is the first Olympic quota event for the Tokyo Games, offering as many as 60 berths across 15 events.

Both Moudgil and Chandela's sequence of scores in the finals included quite a few high 10s, an indication that the two were shooting well.

Earlier in the qualifications, Moudgil and Chandela finished fourth and sixth respectively.

Though the two shooters have secured quotas, as per the stated policy, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) will take the final call on selection, based on the aggregate scores of shooters (in international tournaments and selection trials) leading up to the Olympic Games.

In the men's 10m air rifle event, Asian Games medallist Deepak Kumar cleared the qualification but finished sixth in the highly competitive final which was dominated by Russia and Croatia.

India had on Sunday bagged two medals in the junior events, even as the seniors failed to make the finals of mixed events in 10m air rifle and air pistol. The junior events are not offering quotas. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 4:07:00 PM 0

Jakarta, Aug 27: Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu remained in the hunt for a historic Asian Games gold medal after a tense win but Saina Nehwal settled for a bronze following her 10th straight defeat against world number one Tai Tzu Ying, here today.

World number three Sindhu beat Akane Yamaguchi 21-17 15-21 21-10 for her second win over the Japanese at the Asian Games, having beaten her in the team championship as well.

The energy-sapping 65-minute match featured a 50-shot rally in the decider, which Sindhu won.

World number 10 and Olympic medallist Saina played with good intensity but lost 17-21 14-21 to a superior Tzu Ying, who stood out with her court coverage and retrieving in the 32-minute contest.

Coming into this match, Saina had lost last nine matches against Tzu Ying, including three in the 2018 season.

Sindhu will now fight it out with Tzu Ying to win India's first ever individual gold in badminton.

The Indian will have to punch above her weight as she has not managed to beat the Chinese Taipei shuttler in the last contests.

Syed Modi's bronze in men's singles at the 1982 Games in New Delhi was the only individual medal for India at the Asian Games.

Sindhu was sluggish at the start, making unforced errors but recovered quickly to be in control.

Yamaguchi played an attacking game but the tall Sindhu had strokes to counter her rival.

Sindhu dominated the rallies and created an 11-8 lead at first break. The Indian remained solid at the net, using a variety of stroke to force the Japanese world number 2 to make errors.

A long rally ensued at 20-17 but Yamaguchi sent a smash wide to put the Indian ahead.

In the second game too Sindhu remained the dominant player but unforced errors crept in and she lost the lead.

Yamaguchi pulled off a stunning point, leading at 14-12 after forcing an error from Sindhu, who kept retrieving the shuttler, using one smash after another.

Sindhu struggled to contain errors from there and lost the game by hitting a forehand wide.

The Indian reeled off four points in a row to shoot to 7-3 in the deciding game, before taking the break with a 11-7 lead. She also won a sensational 50-shot rally to pull away 16-8.

With such a big lead at hand, Sindhu finished the match in her favour with a superb smash.

Both Saina and Tzu Ying attacked each other's backhand but it was the Chinese Taipei player who scored more points. She raced to a 4-1 lead in the opening game.

Saina changed her strategy a bit by hitting more deep returns and then looked for drop shots. It worked for her and soon it was 8-8.

Tzu Ying though kept spraying smashes on Saina's backhand and took the first break with a narrow 11-10 lead.

The Chinese Taipei shuttler took four straight points to zoom to a 15-10 cushion, leaving Saina to play the catch up game.

Tactically sound and supremely fit Tzu Ying retrieved almost everything thrown at her.

At 19-16, Tzu Ying hit another smash on Saina's backhand to grab her first game point and converted it when the Indian sailed over the baseline.

In the second game also, Saina was again playing the catch up game. Tzu Ying never looked like losing control though Saina tried hard to breach her rival's defense.

Saina led for the first time in the match when Tzu Ying left a shuttle and it fell in at 12-12. A net chord also helped Saina take a point but Tzu Ying reclaimed lead on an unforced error from Saina.

Tzu Ying cruised to win from there with Saina sending a backhand wide. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 6:25:00 PM 0



Gold Coast, Australia, Apr 12: Two-time Olympic medallist and veteran Indian wrestler Sushil Kumar defeated South Africa's Johannes Botha to clinch gold in men's wrestling 74kg category here at the ongoing Commonwealth games on Thursday.
This was India's 29th medal at the ongoing Commonwealth games. India now has 14 gold, six silver and nine bronze.
The two-time Olympic medallist had bagged gold medal in the freestyle 66kg in 2010 Commonwealth games in New Delhi.
It took just 80 seconds for Sushil to bag the medal for the country as he maintained a supreme right from the start to ensure that there was no slip-up without even allowing his South African opponent to launch a fight back. The Indian wrestler outclassed Botha in the first round 10-0 and was awarded the victory on his technical superiority over his opponent. 
Earlier, Rahul Aware defeated Canada's Steven Takahashi in the 57kg freestyle final to clinch Gold.
Women wrestlers Babita Kumari claimed Silver and Kiran took Bronze in their respective categories.
The 2014 Glasgow Games gold medallist, Babita lost in the final 2-5 to Canada's Diana Weicker to finish second in the 53kg.
Kiran won Broze by defeating Katouskia Paridhaven of Mauritius in the women's Freestyle 76kg category. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 2:01:00 PM 0


Seoul, Jan 9: North Korea is to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, taking place in South Korea in February, officials from the South say, according to the BBC News.
The breakthrough announcement came as the countries met for their first high-level talks in more than two years.
The delegation will include athletes, officials and supporters.
South Korea also proposed holding family reunions during the Winter Olympics for people separated by the Korean War.
The issue is a highly emotional one for both countries, and South Korea has constantly been pushing for more reunions to take place.
The reunions are expected to take place during the Lunar New Year holiday, which falls in the middle of the Pyeongchang Games.
Seoul also called for athletes from both Koreas to march together at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. It's not yet known how North Korea responded to those offers.
The last time both countries marched together under the Korean Peninsula flag was more than 10 years ago, at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
The talks began early Tuesday in the Panmunjom "peace village" in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) at the border.
Speaking afterwards, Seoul's vice unification minister Chun Hae-Sung told journalists: "The North side proposed dispatching a high-level delegation, National Olympic Committee delegation, athletes, supporters, art performers, observers, a taekwondo demonstration team and journalists" to the Games. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 2:30:00 PM 0

NEW YORK, Nov 2: So far next year's Winter Olympics have kicked up more buzz about the threat of flying missiles than athletic excellence and U.
S. Olympic officials sought to put the focus back on the sport at a 100-day countdown in Times Square on Wednesday.
Hours after the Olympic flame arrived in South Korea on its way to Pyeongchang, around 40 past and prospective Olympians - including gold medal-winning downhill skier Lindsey Vonn - were on hand to mingle with fans and the media.
Security was understandably high only a day after a 29-year-old Uzbek immigrant mowed down pedestrians on a bike path in Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring more than a dozen others.
United State Olympic Committee Chief Executive Scott Blackmun and the athletes, though, were more concerned with downplaying the risks of a Games that will take place roughly 70 miles (84 km) from the border with North Korea.
"The opportunities like this to hang out with these men and women more than offsets all the logistical challenges," Blackmun said.
"Sochi had challenges.
Rio had challenges.
London had challenges.
Whether Pyeongchang is more or less (of a challenge) is really not the question for us.
It's 'Are we preparing our athletes to the greatest extent possible?'.
" Threats and insults exchanged between U.
S. President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un in recent months have heightened tensions on the peninsula but the team had received no new guidance on security or travel restrictions from the U.
S. State Department, Blackmun said.
Blackmun also said that Pyeongchang-bound U.
S. athletes would face no new guidance on what they could do when not competing, despite embarrassing behavior by swimmer Ryan Lochte and some of his team mates at the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil.
Although Team USA would always prefer athletes remained inside the secure areas of the venues and Olympic Village as much as possible, Blackmun accepted that there would be times when they would "leave the system".
"We just ask that they carry their cell phones and stay in touch and make sure their team knows where they're going to be if they get outside of the system," he said.
Blackmun declined to say whether he expected to top the 28 medals, including nine golds, captured by U.
S. athletes in 2014 in Sochi.
"We have athletes that we think can do pretty well .
.
.
but we don't talk about medal count," he added.
According to a forecast from Gracenote, a unit of media ratings tracker Nielsen Holdings Plc, the U.S. should take home 29 medals from Pyeongchang, comprising 10 golds, seven silvers and a dozen bronzes.
Gracenote does not forecast a U.
S. medal in men's ice hockey, which is typically one of the marquee events of the Games but diminished this time with no NHL players participating for the first time in 24 years.
"I like our chances," countered Brian Gionta, who has recently retired after 15 years as a forward in the NHL.
"I think we're all pretty much in the same boat."
The women's ice hockey team is looking for gold for the first time since the event's debut in 1998 with Canada having won all four since.
"It's been 20 years since we won a gold medal, and that's our main focus right now," said forward Hilary Knight, who owns two Olympic silver medals.
"It's gold or bust."
The Winter Olympics take place from Feb.
9-25 next year. REUTERS
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