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Tag: india at olympics

  • Russia says ‘happy to help’ India bid for 2036 Olympics

    WHILE IT continues to be ostracised from world sport following the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has supplied to assist India in internet hosting the 2036 Olympics if the bid receives backing from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

    Russia’s Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin mentioned his nation’s “specialists will be happy to help in organising the Olympic Games in India”.

    Although no concrete official transfer has been made, India has repeatedly expressed curiosity to host the 2036 Games with Ahmedabad because the central metropolis.

    Last 12 months, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra proposed a novel multi-city bid that will likely be centred round Ahmedabad as the important thing vacation spot. Two months in the past, Gujarat’s Advocate General Kamal Trivedi informed the Gujarat High Court that “we are preparing for the Olympics of 2036” and that the “Olympic Committee will visit in 2025”.

    On Wednesday, throughout his go to to India, Matytsin informed RIA Sport that Russia was “very happy” that India is hoping to host the Games.

    “If such a dream as hosting the Olympic Games comes true, then this will be another criterion for the stable development of the country. We are always open to interaction and ready to share our experience of hosting the Olympic Games, and we have done this many times, so if a decision is made, then Russian specialists will be happy to help in organising the Olympic Games in India,” Matytsin was quoted as saying.

    Russian state media additionally reported that Matytsin put ahead the proposal of a pleasant soccer match between Russia, ranked 35 on this planet, and 104-ranked India if the latter expressed curiosity.

    ExplainedReaching out

    At this early stage, Russia’s supply is generally symbolic. But it signifies its eagerness to bolster bilateral ties — particularly with India rising as a serious purchaser of Russia’s oil amid sanctions.

    The Minister is main a Russian delegation to the International Convention Against Doping in Sport in New Delhi and held a gathering with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday. Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov was additionally current on the assembly.

    Sports Ministry sources mentioned the ministers explored areas of cooperation in sports activities, together with the alternate of technical data between gamers and coaches.

    Former Croatia president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic heads the IOC fee that can choose the host metropolis for the 2036 Games, with a call to be taken between 2025 and 2029.

    Incidentally, Russia was one of many international locations that confirmed curiosity in internet hosting the 2036 Olympics. However, after its invasion of Ukraine, the nation has been shunned by the world’s sporting our bodies.

    Matytsin informed RIA Sports that “as of May 25, international sports organisations cancelled/ postponed 186 international sporting events planned in Russia in 2022-2023, including 36 major international sporting events”.

    In May, London Mayor Sadiq Khan was quoted as saying by Daily Mail that he was in talks with the International Olympic Committee to deliver the Olympics again to the British capital in 2036 or 2040. Other cities within the fray are Istanbul, Doha, Jakarta, and Cairo, other than a possible joint bid from Berlin and Tel Aviv.

    India had twice thrown its hat within the ring to host the Olympics — for 2024 and 2032 — however couldn’t put collectively a bid. With the hosts for the following three Olympics already determined — Paris in 2024, Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032 — the following alternative will solely are available 2036.

    Ahmedabad has already began investing in infrastructure. In February, through the inauguration of the Narendra Modi stadium, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had mentioned the complicated is able to internet hosting the Olympics.

  • We have turn into fearless since Tokyo Olympics: Gurjit Kaur

    Indian ladies’s hockey group drag-flick specialist Gurjit Kaur says the gamers have turn into fearless since their historic fourth-place end on the Tokyo Olympics.
    Gurjit was one of many architects of the group’s effective run to the semifinals in Tokyo and has been nominated for the FIH Women’s Player of the Year Award 2020-21.
    The 25-year-old defender scored the all-important objective within the beautiful 1-0 win over fancied Australia within the quarterfinals.
    “Even though we missed out on winning the medal by a whisker, there are a lot of positives to take from this dream campaign,” she was quoted as saying by Hockey India.
    “People have began watching us, and I’m positive our efficiency will encourage younger ladies to take up hockey. The Tokyo Olympics 2020 marks the start of a brand new period of Indian hockey.
    “We have gained a lot of confidence, we have become fearless, and going forward it will certainly help us perform well in major tournaments. I also hope we get the same amount of love and respect going forward.”
    Speaking on her nomination for FIH Women’s Player of the Year Award, Gurjit stated it was a reward for her onerous work and sacrifice.
    “It’s an enormous achievement for me to be nominated for the FIH Women’s Player of the Year Award 2020-2021.
    “For an athlete, it’s one of the best moments when all your hard work and sacrifices get recognised at a world level, and I am really happy to see my name on that list. It will give me extra motivation to do even better for the team.”
    The group missed out on a podium by a whisker, shedding to Great Britain within the bronze medal play-off match.
    When requested about that decisive objective in opposition to Australia, which helped the group script historical past on the Olympics, Gurjit stated, “I believe that’s my job, and I simply did it. My job is to drag-flick, and I received an opportunity, which I transformed.
    “No doubt, there’s my identify on the scoresheet, however that doesn’t imply it was mine alone, it was a group objective.
    “Each one of us contributed to it, from the defence line to midfielders, to strikers, who created the penalty corner, and eventually, it was my responsibility to convert it.”

  • Olympics-bound Indian wrestler fails dope take a look at

    Indian wrestling finds itself in the midst of one other doping saga forward of the Olympics after one Tokyo-bound grappler examined constructive for a banned substance. The United World Wrestling (UWW) has provisionally suspended the wrestler for an alleged anti-doping rule violation with impact from Thursday, it’s learnt.
    Eight Indian wrestlers, 4 males and 4 girls, have certified for the Tokyo Olympics, which start on July 23. However, the participation of the wrestler is now unsure and the nation dangers dropping one quota following the failed dope take a look at.
    The id of the wrestler has been withheld due to a pending ‘B’ pattern take a look at. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) mentioned they have been unaware of the incident whereas the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) didn’t remark.
    Wrestling is certainly one of India’s largest medal sports activities and has secured podium locations in three back-to-back Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016).
    At the identical time, it is usually one of many sports activities with most doping instances. As per NADA’s 2019-2020 data, wrestling was the game with the third-highest anti-doping rule violators after athletics and weightlifting. It had accounted for 12 rule violations throughout that interval.
    This is for the second consecutive Olympics that an Indian wrestler has failed a dope take a look at simply earlier than the Olympics. Ahead of the Rio Games 5 years in the past, Narsingh Yadav failed a drug take a look at that grew to become one of many largest scandals in Indian sport. Yadav, who had been chosen after a long-drawn courtroom battle with two-time Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar, accused his rivals of spiking his meals.
    While he was let off by NADA, Yadav was not allowed to compete on the Rio Olympics after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the choice. He was later handed a four-year suspension, which ended final 12 months. Yadav made a return and tried to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics however failed to take action.

  • Kidambi Srikanth holds on to slim Olympic hopes; these assured of Tokyo berth take break

    Left stranded after the ultimate three Olympic qualifiers have been cancelled, Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth nonetheless harbours “some hope” of creating it to the Tokyo Games, his faint optimism resting on the world physique’s assurance of an announcement on the qualification course of.
    Former world primary Srikanth and London Olympics bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal have been all however out of rivalry after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday cancelled the final qualifying occasion in Singapore as a consequence of coronavirus-related journey restrictions.
    The cancellation of the Singapore occasion (June 1-6) was after Malaysia Open and India Open needed to be shelved as a result of well being disaster.
    The BWF, nonetheless, stated it “will issue a further statement on Tokyo Olympics qualifying at a later date.”
    “I could have qualified if I had participated in the qualifiers but there is nothing much I can do about it now. Just waiting to see what BWF says about this whole qualification things, so yeah holding on to some hope,” Srikanth advised PTI.
    “I’m not really thinking about what BWF can do, because whatever I think it will naturally be to make my qualification possible.”
    There is not any match scheduled until August and Telangana too has gone right into a lockdown. Srikanth stated he would now take a break from coaching.
    “I have taken a break. They are trying to get some permission for training. If we get that then probably from next week I will start training.”
    Asked if BWF might have achieved something otherwise, Srikanth stated: “Now we will say plenty of issues as a result of the match will not be taking place however we actually don’t know what is occurring between the organisers and BWF.
    “So, I don’t know what else can be done, may be BWF can communicate things better to players.”
    With no occasions lined-up, Olympic-bound shuttlers reminiscent of P V Sindhu, B Sai Praneeth and males’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, too have determined to take a while off.
    “Definitely disappointed that all the three events got cancelled. I have been training for 7 weeks but now just training without purpose makes no sense,” world no 15 Praneeth stated.
    “I, at least, have Olympics to look forward to and I plan to start training again from next week.”
    Chirag stated “it is difficult to stay motivated” in such unsure occasions.
    “We trained for one and half months for India Open but the situation worsened. Now we are left with no events after constant planning and training,” he stated after returning to Mumbai.
    “Me and Satwik have decided to relax a bit and not think about badminton. We will be back to the camp next week but the main training for the Olympics will be just one and a half month before the event.”
    Sindhu too will take the week off.
    “Coach Park (Tae Sang) had put a good amount of load on Sindhu till last Monday, so now he asked her to take her mind totally off badminton,” Sindhu’s father P V Ramana stated.
    Will the dearth of occasions have an effect on preparation of the gamers?
    “It is not an ideal situation to go into the Olympics without any match practice. But I feel it can be a boon also,” stated Chirag.
    “The top players like the world number ones will need a tune up ahead of Olympics, for them it will be a pressure to perform. For example, Kevin (Sanjaya Sukamuljo) and Marcus (Fernaldi Gideon) have played just one match after a year … so comparatively we would be under less pressure.”
    Praneeth too feels no competitors could possibly be a bonus.
    “I’ve performed solely Swiss Open and All England this 12 months, I assumed I’ll get just a few good wins within the three occasions and get some confidence but it surely’s okay, guess it’s identical for all.
    “It could be an advantage also, since we play each other so much, but in the last one year, I have played just two players, so it could be an advantage.”

  • G Sathiyan requests for TT desk for use in Olympics, says engaged on variations

    Leaving no stone unturned for his maiden Olympics, ace Indian paddler G. Sathiyan has requested the federal government to rearrange the desk which will probably be used on the Tokyo Games.
    The 28-year-old had notched comfy win on the Asian Olympic Games Qualification Tournament in Doha in March to qualify for his maiden Summer Games.
    “I am trying to get a TT table to be used in Olympics so if things can come together, definitely, it’d be one of the best preparations and very intense preparation,” mentioned Sathiyan throughout a digital press-conference organized by Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Friday.
    “I am planning to get the the San-Ei absolute W advance table, which will be used in the Olympics. I have put up the proposal to TOPS. That is one of the tables which is never used in any of the competitions.”
    Sathiyan’s request will probably be thought of underneath the federal government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
    He can also be engaged on including extra selection to his recreation forward of the mega occasion.
    “We’ve been engaged on plenty of technical points in fact, much more into strokes that are extra highly effective. I believe I’ve been an excellent participant on the pace observe, however I believe I must placed on extra energy inject extra energy into the strokes, so engaged on that.
    “I have been working on the variations I think you will be seeing a Sathiyan with a lot of variations on the table…you will be seeing a lot of different kinds of variations in every aspect on my slopes, serves and receives coming into the table, which will give a new flavour when I play the players at the Olympics.”
    Sathiyan, who’s coaching with sparring accomplice Anirban Ghosh in Chennai till the Olympics, is hopeful of coaching on the desk which will probably be used within the Olympics.
    With widespread journey restrictions on India and several other state governments imposing lockdowns, travelling overseas for coaching or competitions is a troublesome job however the world no 38 is content material with coaching at house.
    “So we play some observe matches in Chennai, however that’s what we’re taking a look at. If there’s a mini Indian camp. There’s additionally been talks for a camp to be organized with Sharath (Kamal).
    “There’s a possibility, things get better if I go in and play some matches, but it’s mostly going to be preparation in India.”
    Sathiyan feels taking part in within the Polish and Japanese leagues helped him lot prior to now one yr when worldwide occasions had been scarce.
    “I went to Poland, beginning of April, played some quality matches three or four quality matches and won it at all. So, that really helps in playing the Olympic qualifiers in the national events because match practice is something very important, especially in a sport like table tennis.”
    “Playing Japan League and what is league I was really lucky, despite the circumstances I was able to play quality matches, not only matches, but some high intensity training with top players.”
    Indian desk tennis has improved leaps and bounds prior to now couple of years and Sathiyan feels successful on the Asian Games instilled the idea that India can also problem conventional powerhouses like Japan.
    “The Asian Games I think that is the one event, that changed the overall mindset of the entire Indian TT fraternity. That winning against Japan, a very formidable team in an event like Asian Games, put lot of belief in ourselves in the entire Indian TT community that we can win against the superpowers and that really made a difference.”

  • It’s a bizarre feeling in Tokyo, no environment of Olympic build-up: Arjun Lal

    He made the Olympic lower within the very metropolis which is gearing as much as host the showpiece in lower than three months’ time however Indian rower Arjun Lal Jat stated the Olympic buzz is distinctly lacking in Tokyo because it battles the all-pervading COVID-19 risk.
    The Olympics open in Tokyo on July 23 however Arjun stated the Games will probably be not like any earlier version in the event that they occur.
    “It is less than 80 days for the Olympics but it is weird, there is very little Olympic atmosphere building up. The streets are empty, no people, very few vehicles, though we are told there is lockdown going on,” Arjun informed PTI from Tokyo.
    “I am thrilled to have qualified for the Olympics and I want the Olympics to happen, otherwise all our efforts of four years will go in vain. But if it (Olympics) happens, it will be a totally different one.”
    He and Arvind Singh booked a quota place within the males’s light-weight double sculls occasion after ending second within the closing race on the Sea Forest Waterway on Tokyo Bay on Friday.
    The two rowers practice collectively in Pune at an Army facility. They received a silver within the 2019 Asian Championships in South Korea.
    The 24-year-old Arjun, who hails from Rajasthan, stated the rowers adhered to strict COVID-19 protocols and have been threatened with disqualification in case of a failure to conform.
    “The guidelines and protocols are very strict and we have to follow them, otherwise we will be disqualified,” he stated.
    “Testing for COVID-19 began at the airport on arrival on May 1. We had to wait for the report at the airport. We lost a lot of time there, nearly five hours. After reaching hotel, we underwent three tests since then in the six days,” stated the Naib Subedar in Indian Army.
    “Mingling with even team-mates was not allowed on the lodge and on the competitors venue. Wearing a masks was necessary for all of the occasions aside from consuming, consuming and through coaching and competitions.
    “We have been kept together at a floor of the hotel but have to stay inside our rooms. We are allowed to leave hotel rooms only for eating meals and for going for training and competitions.”
    International spectators have been barred from the Tokyo Olympics, which needed to be postponed final 12 months because of the pandemic. A choice on whether or not home spectators will probably be allowed or not will probably be taken in June.
    The second version of the playbooks issued by the organisers talked about the requirement of two COVID-19 assessments for all Games contributors earlier than their flight to Japan, day by day assessments for athletes and all these in shut proximity and a ban on public transport for all contributors throughout their keep within the nation.
    Although all contributors have been inspired to get vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19, the playbooks state that it’s going to not be a requirement to take part within the Tokyo Olympics.
    All of the principles outlined within the playbooks will apply no matter whether or not a participant has obtained the vaccine.

  • Amidst Covid disruption, Sharath Kamal assured forward of Tokyo

    For the second time in as a few years Achanta Sharath Kamal has entered a interval of uncertainty. There are not any plans to journey overseas for coaching camps as quite a few desk tennis locations have shut their borders to Indians because the Covid-19 wave sweeps by the nation. In the construct as much as his fourth Olympics, journey inside India too has been an issue.
    His blended doubles accomplice Manika Batra needed to journey to Chennai final week to coach with him. The unique plan was for him to apply at her coaching venue in Pune. The lockdown in Maharashtra resulted in change of plans
    And then, he says “I don’t know if (the Olympics) will happen.”
    Training and preparation has continued, but amidst the uncertainty, he says that is essentially the most assured he has been forward of an Olympic Games.
    “My ranking does the talking for that,” says the World No.32 throughout a SAI-organised press convention. “This is the best ranking I’ve had going into an Olympics. In 2004 I was just entering the international field. In 2008 I first broke into the top 100. In 2016, I was just coming back from an injury and even the qualifying stage took a toll on my body.”

    Preparations underway for our blended doubles occasion! Fully targeted on bettering our footwork and higher our coordination! 🏓 #TableTennis #WorkforceIndia #Tokyo2020 @manikabatra_TT @KirenRijiju @Media_SAI @WeAreTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/pQEc0yGEJe
    — Sharath Kamal OLY (@sharathkamal1) April 22, 2021
    He’s been increase the boldness for the previous few years. Bronze medals on the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta definitely had lots to do with it.
    Sharath Kamal spearheaded the boys’s group to a bronze medal end, the nation’s first Asian Games medal within the sport, beating a star-studded Japanese group alongside the way in which. A day later the 38-year-old paired up with Batra to choose up an sudden bronze medal within the blended doubles occasion, beating the South Korean World No.5 duo of Sangsu Lee and Jihee Jeon enroute.
    It’s within the blended doubles occasion the place India’s greatest probability of a medal lies on the Olympics.
    “The main reason (for the confidence) is the medal we won at the Asian Games, where Manika and I were paired up for the first time,” says Sharath, a TOPS-supported athlete.
    “We started to believe that if we can do it at the Asian Games, it can happen at the Olympics too. That is because Asia is the powerhouse of table tennis. The best teams are from here – China, Japan, South Korea. And then there are the subsidiaries of China – Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Singapore. When you can medal at the Asian Games, you have that confidence.”
    The Indian pair have been in Doha over a month again, competing at a blended doubles event the place solely the winner would earn one of many 16 spots out there for the occasion in Tokyo. They overcame the Singaporean duo of Lin Ye and Pang Yew En Koen 4-2 within the semi-final earlier than drawing up towards the highest seeded Korean group they’d crushed in Jakarta.
    They began gradual, shedding the primary two units earlier than taking the subsequent 4 to pull-off one other well-known win.
    “That gives us a lot of confidence and faith that this is going to be the best Olympic Games in terms of performance and results,” he says.
    The pair has continued to try to carry that momentum ahead ever since. The current coaching periods in Chennai have been the primary a part of many scheduled.
    “We’re hoping to have at least five-six days of good practice every month where we completely focus on mixed doubles,” he explains. “We’ve worked on a lot of aspects and training is divided into a few parts. The first is to work on footwork and coordination, the second is a bit more tactical.”
    The contrasting types make them a powerful pair.
    “She can slow down the game when needed, and I can speed it up. That way we can complement each other really well, and the opponent is not comfortable playing us. They want to finish the rally quickly, but we try to prolong the rally and make the opponent move much more than what they like,” Sharath provides.
    He places vicious energy and spin on the ball. Batra, with the lengthy pimpled rubber on her backhand aspect – which she switches mid-rally – performs a misleading sport that may frustrate the hardest opponents. But the World No.62, the very best ranked girls’s participant from India, additionally has a robust forehand that makes a distinction.
    “When Sharath hits his forehand, he opens up the opponent,” 2008 Olympian Neha Aggarwal had advised The Indian Express. “But you need to have a partner who can hit the next shot with just as much power to finish off the rally. He’s never had that kind of partner for a while. But Manika’s new forehand complements his. She can match his intensity.”
    They’ve been doing all they’ll amidst the chaos and uncertainty. With simply 16 groups competing within the blended doubles occasion, they should win solely three matches to safe a medal. The journey started for them three years in the past, when the quietly assured pairing returned with India’s first blended doubles medal on the Asian Games. Now that the blended occasion is making its debut on the Olympics, they hope to repeat their success.

  • NRAI goes by medal chance, not equity, in finalising Tokyo group

    There wasn’t a lot amiss when the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) introduced the group that may be travelling to Tokyo for the rescheduled Olympic Games in July-August. The 16-member squad that can compete in 10 completely different occasions is touted as one of many strongest capturing groups India has ever fielded. Yet, there have been just a few surprises when the group was introduced final Sunday.
    It is essential to know that, identical to in wrestling, an Olympic quota gained by an athlete doesn’t belong to the athlete however to the nation. The nationwide federation then decides who shall be given the quota. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had made it clear that the grappler who wins the quota will go to the Olympics.
    The NRAI, nonetheless, utilized a unique coverage which sees Elavenil Valarivan – the one shooter within the squad to not have gained the quota – make it to the group, and girls’s 25m pistol shooter Chinki Yadav – who gained her quota on the 2019 Asian Championships and a gold on the New Delhi World Cup final week – dropped to the ‘reserve’ bench.
    Policy change
    Before the 2018 season, NRAI had printed a carefully- designed method – that thought of scores over eight main occasions (beginning with the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang to ‘the first World Cup in 2020’), podium finishes, occasion remaining appearances, and granted bonus factors to quota winners – to resolve who shall be despatched to Tokyo.
    The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, nonetheless, pressured that coverage to alter.
    “The policy was designed for a normal situation, but with the pandemic the situation was not going to be normal. So we had to change it,” says Deepali Deshpande, the high-performance coach of the senior rifle group.
    “We had to take into account their current form, but that doesn’t just mean what happened at the New Delhi World Cup. We looked at results that started from the 2019 National Championship (December 2019 to January 2020). Basically, it was the first three months of 2020 and the first three months of 2021 – some part before the pandemic and some part after it.”
    Elavenil Valarivan changed Moudgil within the remaining particular person air rifle squad
    Valarivan in
    The two berths for the ladies’s 10m air rifle occasion noticed a good contest between three shooters – Apurvi Chandela, Anjum Moudgil and Valarivan. Based on the unique NRAI rubric, as of December 2019, Chandela and Moudgil have been prone to obtain the quotas they gained – their respective scores of 632.77 and 631.22 bettered Valarivan’s 630.25.
    At this level although, 20-year-old Valarivan had began to hit her stride and had captured gold on the Rio World Cup and World Cup Final in Putian, China. She’s additionally the present World No. 1 in her self-discipline.
    She continued in that vein of kind on the few home occasions in 2020 and 2021 and changed Moudgil within the remaining particular person air rifle squad.
    Divyansh Panwar and Anjum Moudgil
    Mixed Rifle groups tinkered with
    In the 2019 season, Moudgil had fashioned a robust partnership with Divyansh Singh Panwar within the 10m combined air rifle occasion, profitable gold on the aggressive Beijing and Munich World Cups.
    Valarivan, nonetheless, paired up with Panwar to win gold on the New Delhi World Cup that concluded final week. And her inclusion within the squad for the person occasion has resulted in her changing Moudgil as Panwar’s associate at Tokyo. Instead, Moudgil will group up with veteran Deepak Kumar to kind India’s second combined air rifle group on the Olympics.
    “Somebody shooting an individual event and then at a team event will have an advantage – of having shot a match before – which is what Elavenil and Divyansh will have,” says Deshpande, who can also be Moudgil’s private coach.
    “Both of them are anyway the highest-ranked Indians (Valarivan is World No. 1, Panwar is No. 2). So this was just a case of bringing the best players together to form the team. That was the best option for us.”
    (Source: Twitter)
    Chinki Yadav out
    The 23-year-old from Bhopal, Yadav, picked up her profession’s first senior World Cup medal on the New Delhi occasion. But that was not sufficient for the ladies’s 25 m pistol shooter to maintain the quota place she gained for the Olympics.
    An Olympic quota may be swapped between occasions offered it’s in the identical gender. Therefore, the NRAI took the choice to shift Yadav’s quota to the ladies’s 50m 3-position occasion to permit Moudgil to compete in her pet occasion.
    By shifting Yadav’s quota, India not had most permissible slots within the girls’s 25m occasion – Rahi Sarnobat was the one consultant within the occasion. This meant {that a} path opened up for Manu Bhaker to compete within the occasion.
    India’s Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Manu Bhaker after profitable Gold & Silver medals respectively in Women’s 10m Air Pistol. (indianshooting/Twitter)
    Bhaker to compete in three occasions
    The proficient teenager had already secured an Olympic spot within the 10m air pistol occasion, and with Saurabh Chaudhary has a formidable combined air pistol partnership – they’ve gained gold in every of the final 5 World Cups they’ve paired up in.
    But with Yadav’s quota moved to the rifle occasion, there was an opportunity for Bhaker to earn the remaining 25m occasion quota.
    “Double Starters may be entered in other shooting events provided they have achieved the required MQS (minimum qualification score) and the NOC maximum quota per event is not exceeded,” reads the rule printed by the ISSF.
    The 19-year-old, a distinguished competitor within the sports activities pistol occasion, qualifies as a double starter.
    “When we select teams, we have to look towards the probability of medals, who has the greater chance of getting medals. That’s how we came up with these decisions,” Deshpande says.
    “We can’t think along the lines of ‘let’s give everyone a chance.’ No, at the end of the day, we’re going to try to win medals, so we have to send the shooters with the best chances of winning.”

  • From dancer to sailor: Olympics-bound Nethra Kumanan’s journey

    Nethra Kumanan is a sailor with a creative aptitude. The 22-year-old engineering scholar from Chennai, who grew to become the primary Indian lady sailor to earn a berth for the Olympics on Wednesday, is a skilled dancer, singer, and proficient painter as effectively.
    The second-year BE mechanical engineering scholar etched her identify within the historical past books by incomes the elusive ticket due to her exploits within the Laser Radial race on the Mussanah Open Championship in Oman, an Asian and African qualifier. On Thursday, Nethra completed second behind Emma Charlotte Jeanne Savelon of the Netherlands. She had all however sealed the Olympic spot a day earlier due to factors earned in earlier rounds and the medal was an added bonus.
    Although Nethra was disenchanted in lacking out on the gold medal, she was relieved. “I could have done better and chased (Emma) her but I lost out due to some errors that I could not rectify. I am really happy about earning an Olympic berth. I hope this inspires other young women to take up sailing,” Nethra informed The Indian Express.
    Nethra together with her coach Tamas Eszes and fogeys.
    It was a memorable competitors for the entire Indian crusing contingent as three others certified for the Tokyo Olympics: Vishnu Saravanan (Laser Standard Class) and the pair of Ganapathy Chengappa and Varun Thakkar (49er Class).
    Nethra, who has been coaching in Spain for the final 12 months and a half, developed an curiosity within the sport throughout a summer time camp at school. The soft-spoken athlete had tried her hand at numerous sports activities like tennis, basketball and biking earlier than discovering her real love, crusing. To take up crusing critically she had to surrender on Bharatanatyam courses.
    “I still think Bharatanatyam has taught me a lot. Discipline, hard work and dedication are things I have learnt from the dance form and something that helps me even today,” mentioned Nethra who skilled for six years beneath famend guru Alarmel Valli.
    Nethra Kumanan throughout a dance efficiency together with her group (excessive proper entrance row)
    During her coaching stints, Nethra is commonly shuttling from Chennai to Spain whereas managing her faculty classes on-line. “She trains in Europe for a month and comes back home to stay a couple of months before heading back,” mentioned father VC Kumanan, who runs a software program firm.
    “It’s a matter of great joy that not only her but the others from the Indian team have also qualified. Even though we knew Nethra would pull it off, I was still tense till the last moment. As soon as she qualified I was relieved and glad,” Nethra’s father added.
    Last 12 months due to COVID-related journey restrictions, Nethra was caught in Spain. In hindsight, the teen feels it was a superb studying expertise however again then she grew terribly homesick.
    Nethra’s t-shirt work

    “It was one of the toughest periods for me. I was missing my home and friends a lot. So this time when we went to Oman my family came along,” she mentioned.
    Nethra has been across the crusing circuit. She had taken half within the 2014 Incheon and 2018 Jakarta Asian Games however she got here into the limelight after profitable a bronze on the Hempel World Cup Series, Miami, in January final 12 months. It was a feather in her cap as she was the primary Indian lady to win a World Cup medal in crusing.
    Nethra credit her success solely to her father VC Kumanan who has backed her to the hilt even throughout essentially the most testing occasions.
    “If I am anything today it is due to my father. He has always backed me and is still funding my training. I usually get a little stressed out before competitions but since my parents were here (in Oman) I did not have to deal with that this time. I think I performed better because they were here,” mentioned Nethra.

  • Olympic-bound Sania Mirza included in TOPS after hole of 4 years

    Indian tennis star Sania Mirza was on Wednesday included within the authorities’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), 4 years after she opted out of the programme.
    Sania was chosen within the TOPS throughout the 56th assembly of the Mission Olympic Cell right here.
    The 34-year-old a number of Grand Slam winner had opted out of the scheme when she was chosen final in 2017 due to an damage breakdown which had led to a lay-off.
    “Yes, Sania has been selected in the recent TOPS list,” a Sports Authority of India supply advised PTI.
    Sania has already certified for the Tokyo Olympics primarily based on her protected rating earlier than she took a break from the sport resulting from being pregnant.
    Sania is at the moment ranked 157th on the earth however as per WTA guidelines when a participant takes a lay-off from the sport longer than six months on account of accidents or being pregnant, they’ll apply for a “special ranking” (additionally typically generally known as a “protected ranking”).
    The particular rating of a participant is their world rating after the final match they performed and in Sania’s case, it was the China Open in October 2017. She was ranked world No. 9 at that time.
    So, Sania at the moment has a particular rating of ninth and has already certified for the Tokyo Olympics.
    The particular rankings had been launched by WTA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Sania was inactive for 2 years resulting from being pregnant and solely made her return to the courtroom final 12 months following the delivery of her son on the season-opening Hobart International WTA occasion.
    She partnered Ukrainian Nadiia Kichenok to win the ladies’s doubles title.