All posts tagged: Paris Olympics 2024

More women than men at LA Olympics, boxing legend Mary Kom says ‘current generation will get opportunities’ | Sport-others News

More women than men at LA Olympics, boxing legend Mary Kom says ‘current generation will get opportunities’ | Sport-others News

The Los Angeles Olympics are more than three years away. But already, the Games have secured a place in the history books — for the first time, there will be more women competing at the Olympics than men. Following years of steady rise in their participation numbers, the scale tipped in the favour of women athletes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday decided to shrink the men’s football competition from 16 teams to 12. At the same time, the Olympic body expanded the women’s tournament by four teams, taking the total to 16. The addition of two teams in women’s water polo and one extra weight category in women’s boxing, taking the total to 12 and 7 respectively, meant that women will have more spots (5,655) than men (5,543) over 36 sports. ‘Momentous decision’ “It’s a momentous decision, one that will encourage a lot of women to get into sports,” boxing legend Mary Kom, who won the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, told The Indian Express. “The current generation will get …

‘Told my dad I’d win a medal’: Esha Singh bags silver at Buenos Aires World Cup | Sport-others News

‘Told my dad I’d win a medal’: Esha Singh bags silver at Buenos Aires World Cup | Sport-others News

Two years after winning twin silver medals in the 10m Air Pistol and 25m Pistol events at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, 20-year-old Esha Singh clinched her first ISSF World Cup medal in the women’s 25m Pistol final at the ISSF World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a field featuring top contenders like Paris Olympics 10m air pistol bronze medallist Manu Bhaker, and Paris Olympics 25m Pistol bronze medallist Veronika Major, Esha held her nerve. She recovered from seventh place after the first series in the final to finish second behind China’s Yujie Sun, kicking off the 2025 international season with a World Cup silver. The Hyderabad native had a quick conversation with her father after the medal ceremony and was eager to share what she had told him before the event. Story continues below this ad “I had told my father that his daughter would win a medal in Argentina, and that’s exactly what I did today. Of course, winning a World Cup medal is always special, but starting the season with a …

Jake Paul-Mike Tyson and other influencer bouts compromised safety, says World Boxing chief | Sport-others News

Jake Paul-Mike Tyson and other influencer bouts compromised safety, says World Boxing chief | Sport-others News

World Boxing (WB) President Boris van der Vorst on Monday expressed concern over pugilists’ safety being compromised in the recent surge of influencer boxing events and stressed on the need for the use of protective gear in these bouts. Van Der Vorst’s comments gain significance in the light of the fight between YouTube influencer Jake Paul and former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, which went ahead last November after being postponed due to the 58-year-old boxing legend suffering an ulcer ailment. Admitting that “even my daughters were hooked to the event,” and he himself had conducted a much smaller influencer boxing event in the Netherlands, Van Der Vorst indicated that not all precautions are taken over such high-profile bouts. Story continues below this ad “Such fights are nice for newer audiences but the safety of the boxers is a big question. The event I sanctioned in the Netherlands had thicker gloves with head guards in order to guarantee a safe outcome,” Vorst told The Indian Express. World Boxing was recently given provisional status by the …

As the Olympics return to LA, India women’s hockey coach wants players to create legacy like ‘Dhyan Chand in 1932’ | Hockey News

As the Olympics return to LA, India women’s hockey coach wants players to create legacy like ‘Dhyan Chand in 1932’ | Hockey News

On his second day in Los Angeles, Harendra Singh went on a ‘pilgrimage’: visiting the hallowed ground — at least in Indian history — where, way back in 1932, Dhyan Chand’s wizards put on one of the most complete and ruthless shows in Olympic history. The Coliseum doesn’t look anything like it did back then — after hundreds of millions worth of makeover, the simple bowl-shaped stadium is now among the swankiest arenas which hosts major sporting events like the Super Bowl. But Harendra stood at the edge of the turf — a perk he could enjoy, being the high-performance director of the USA women’s hockey team — and dipped into nostalgia. “We have only read about Dhyan Chand dada in books or heard his stories. Standing there, I tried to imagine how they would have felt that day, what the atmosphere would have been like… You could feel it,” Harendra said. Story continues below this ad He’d done this in Berlin, too. Way back in 1997, while playing club hockey in France, Harendra took …

Jaspal Rana will continue as my coach: Manu Bhaker | Sport-others News

Jaspal Rana will continue as my coach: Manu Bhaker | Sport-others News

Eyeing glory in next World Championship, double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker said Jaspal Rana will continue to be her “coach” despite the Dronacharya awardee being roped in as the High Performance trainer for pistol discipline by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). Rana, a four-time Asian Games gold medallist, had a very bitter and public fallout with Manu before the Tokyo Olympics but they reconciled before last year’s Paris Games, where the latter made history by bagging two bronze medals. “Honestly, I only have to say one thing that he (Rana) is my coach all I know and he is very good at what he does. He is very, very talented and he has been a great coach for me. Story continues below this ad “All I know and all I can say is that he is my coach. Of course, he can be anyone else’s coach as well but for me he is my coach,” Manu said after winning the BBC Sportswomen of the Year 2024 award at a glittering function here …

Saurabh Chaudhary tops shooting selections trials, makes it back to Indian pistol team for World Cups | Sport-others News

Saurabh Chaudhary tops shooting selections trials, makes it back to Indian pistol team for World Cups | Sport-others News

Tokyo Olympics finalist Saurabh Chaudhary marked his return to the national team after topping the average scores in selection trials 1 and 2 at the Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi on Friday, ending a long absence from the squad that saw him miss out on the Paris Olympics. Chaudhary scored an average of 584.85, the best among all shooters, including Paris Olympics 10m Air Pistol mixed event bronze medallist Sarabjot Singh, who is currently eighth in the national rankings with an average of 580.625. Chaudhary will now be part of the Indian shooting squad heading to the World Cups in Peru and Argentina in April. His last appearance in the Indian team was in 2023 at the Asian Championships, where he finished a lowly 35th, after a poor qualifying session that saw him put up only 569 on the board. Story continues below this ad Chaudhary’s omission from the national squad came after not putting up consistently high scores in trials and national competitions, something that has become crucial in a domestic scenario …

A French club, Lebrun siblings connect to Manav Thakkar’s growth

A French club, Lebrun siblings connect to Manav Thakkar’s growth

Mumbai: Manav Thakkar, India’s No.2 male paddler, noticed how the Lebrun brothers, the French siblings who have taken the table tennis world by storm, would “invent stuff” post training sessions even as the others would wind down. They’d play a quick game with two bounces on the table, or with just high balls, or simply stationed at the net. Indian paddler Manav Thakkar attained his career high ranking at 56 in July 2024 (WTT Global / X) “It would last only for 10-15 minutes, and there is no goal as such in what they do,” Thakkar said. “But who knows, maybe once in 10 or 20 times, that would come in handy.” The 24-year-old Thakkar has had a ringside view to the meteoric rise of 18-year-old Felix (world No.4) and 21-year-old Alexis (world No.16) — they are also the No.1 men’s doubles pair — training and playing alongside them in France. That is also helping spur the growth of Thakkar, who has risen to world No.59 from outside the top 100 until mid-2023. For about …

Raygun musical in a new avatar: Days after a musical on Olympic breakdancer was cancelled, the show will have new name and reference | Sport-others News

Raygun musical in a new avatar: Days after a musical on Olympic breakdancer was cancelled, the show will have new name and reference | Sport-others News

Days after a musical by Australian comedian and musician Steph Broadbridge based on breakdancing Olympian Raygun was cancelled over legal issues between the Olympian and the musician, it has emerged that the duo have ‘resolved everything’. According to The Guardian, the Australian breakdancer had come to an agreement with Broadbridge post which the musical will have a different name and a poster. Earlier in September, Broadbridge had announced the musical ‘Raygun the Musical’ and the show was cancelled with Raygun’s lawyers approaching the musician in the first week of December days before the musical’s release. “The Australian Olympic breaker said on Thursday “we’ve come to an agreement” after a “wild ride”, meaning the show could proceed with a different name and poster. Gunn also insisted “we have not sought any costs from all this” despite her lawyers asking the promoter, Anthony Skinner, for $10,000 to cover legal fees,” the Guardian report said. Australian Rachel Gunn, who is famously known as Raygun under her breakdancing name, had become famous for her unconventional moves, which received no …

Athletics: Noah Lyles on getting Covid before his 200m Paris Olympics race | Sport-others News

Athletics: Noah Lyles on getting Covid before his 200m Paris Olympics race | Sport-others News

In the second season of the Netflix documentary ‘Sprint’, there’s that one moment from the Paris Olympics where American sprinter Noah Lyles finishes third in the 200m event. A favourite to win gold, Lyles drops to the floor at the end and eventually they need a wheelchair to take him out of the Stade de France. Later on, he revealed that he had been suffering from Covid for three days and tried his best to keep things under wraps. But months later when he sat down to watch the documentary, the feeling of ‘what if’ remained for him. “Yeah, I’m proud of the moment,” Lyles said, according to the Guardian. “But it’s still so hard to watch because I can only constantly just think what if. What if I didn’t get (Covid)?” One of the reasons Lyles managed to even get to the track in Paris was because of the laxer conditions revolving around Covid in the French capital for the 2024 Olympics. The documentary catches Lyles, in his usual bashful ways, screaming at one …

‘Feeling good to win a match after a really long time’: Lakshya Sen

‘Feeling good to win a match after a really long time’: Lakshya Sen

Since his heartbreaking loss to Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the bronze medal playoff at the Paris Olympics in August, Lakshya Sen had played three tournaments. But he could not win a single match. There was no problem with his physical fitness, but the mental block affected him. After making a comeback to the BWF World Tour in October after a two-month break, in all three tournaments – Artic Open, Denmark Open and Kumamoto Masters Japan – he conceded losses after winning the first game, as he had to against Lee in Paris. On Wednesday, Lakshya overcame his third game jinx by scripting a 21-14, 13-21, 21-13 win over the Malaysian Olympic bronze medallist at the China Masters Super 750 in Shenzhen, China. It was Lakshya’s fifth win against Lee in eight outings. Lakshya was relieved to register a big win after five gruelling losses. He lost to Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics. “I feel good to win a match after a really long time. Things have been a little …