Tag: Tokyo Olympics

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In a first, Arab athletes secure five Olympic medals

The Saudi athlete was left with a silver medal despite going agonizingly close to a gold, but it capped a dramatic day for Hamdi after he had beaten Japan’s Ryutaro Araga 2-0 in a stunning semifinal win….reports Asian Lite News

Tokyo Olympics marked an historic and dramatic event for Arab athletes competing at this year’s Tokyo Olympics after five medals were won across four different sports.

It was late heartbreak for Saudi Arabia’s Tarek Hamdi in the final of the Men’s Karate Kumite +75kg, as he was disqualified during his bout with Sajag Ganzjadeh of Iran, who departed the mat at Nippon Budokan arena on a stretcher.

The Saudi athlete was left with a silver medal despite going agonizingly close to a gold, but it capped a dramatic day for Hamdi after he had beaten Japan’s Ryutaro Araga 2-0 in a stunning semifinal win.

And the medal win landed him the honor of being gifted SR5 million ($1.3 million) by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sports and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, according to Al Arabiya.

It was better news in the karate for Egyptian Feryal Abdelaziz, who won the first Olympic karate gold medal in women’s over-61 kilogram kumite, beating Azerbaijan’s Iryna Zaretska to win Egypt’s second Olympic gold medal since 1948.

The 22-year-old Abdelaziz went ahead on a yuko with 28 seconds left in a cagey final bout. She scored again three seconds later and hung on for a 2:0 victory.

And the day got even better for Egyptian sport when Ahmed Elgendy won silver in the men’s Modern Pentathlon.

The Egyptian, 21, who also competed and won gold at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, pushed the eventual winner — Britain’s Joseph Choong — hard to the line with a strong finish in the fourth round of shooting.

Elsewhere, a remarkable day for Arab sport was rounded off with Bahrain’s Kalkidan Gezahegne beating out heavily-fancied, world-record holder Letesenbet Gidey to a silver medal place in the women’s 10,000m race — which was won by star of the Tokyo Games Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.

And finally, Qatar’s men’s Beach Volleyball duo made their first appearance on the Olympic podium when they sealed a bronze medal by beating their Latvian opponents 2-0.

ALSO READ: UAE calls for global cooperation to accelerate vax supply

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-Top News India News Sport

Olympic hockey: India win bronze, a medal after 41 years

Pic credits Twitter@Olympics

India fought back brilliantly from a two-goal deficit to score an impressive 5-4 win that reminded its fans of the glory days…reports Asian Lite News

 India defeated Germany 5-4 in a high-intensity goal fest to win the bronze medal in men’s hockey, their first medal in Olympics after a gap of 41 years.

India fought back brilliantly from a two-goal deficit to score an impressive 5-4 win that reminded its fans of the glory days when the Indians were a force to reckon with in World hockey.

Simranjeet Singh scored two goals while Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinderpal Singh, and Mandeep Singh scored a goal apiece for India while for Germany Oruz, Furk, Nicolas Whellen, and Windfeder were on target.

Meanwhile, India’s Vinesh Phogat started her campaign in the Tokyo Olympics women’s 53kg wrestling with a comfortable win against Sweden’s Sofia Mattsson in a Round of 16 bout on Thursday.

Vinesh, who had to withdraw from the Rio Olympics five years ago with a serious injury, overcame Sofia Mattsson, bronze medallist in the Rio Olympics,7-1 on points to make it to the quarterfinals.

Vinesh, the reigning Asian champion, next faces Belarus’ Vanesa Kaladzinskaya, who beat Romania’s Andreea Ana in her opening bout, in the quarterfinals.

The 26-year-old Vinesh will go into that bout with a lot of confidence as she beat Mattsson 13-0 in their only previous meeting at the 2019 world championships.

ALSO READ: India’s pride reaches home
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-Top News COVID-19 World

Olympic city Tokyo’s daily Covid cases cross 3,000 for 1st time

Tokyo

The Japanese government has placed Tokyo under a fourth state of emergency from July 12 to August 22…reports Asian Lite News

The number of new Covid-19 cases in Tokyo reached 3,177 for the first time in a single day, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced on Wednesday.

The all-time high comes just a day after Tokyo, hosting the Olympics since last week, marked 2,848 daily infection cases Tuesday, topping the earlier record of 2,520 cases logged on January 7, the Xinhua news agency reported.

As the virus spread rapidly elsewhere, the nationwide tally of daily cases of infection reported on Tuesday exceeded 7,000 for the first time since May 12, nearing its record figure of about 8,000 recorded in early January.

Olympic organizers have pledged to perform strict restrictions for “safe and secure” games and emphasised that the number of infection cases among athletes and others associated with the sporting events is very low, while a fifth wave of the pandemic stimulated by the highly contagious Delta variant is putting pressure on hospitals in the Olympic host city.

Tokyo Olympics

The Japanese government has placed Tokyo under a fourth state of emergency from July 12 to August 22, as restaurants and bars are required to stop offering alcohol and close early.

Tokyo’s neighbouring prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, which are currently under looser quasi-emergency restrictions, are also witnessing the peak of infection cases with a number of their residents traveling to the capital.

Governors of the three prefectures are considering asking the government for the declaration of emergency states for their regions.

ALSO READ: Pfizer recommends 3rd Covid shot for Delta variant

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India News Sport

India’s pride reaches home

The 26-year-old had tweeted ahead of her departure from Tokyo on Monday….reports Asian Lite News

Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who won silver medal in the 49kg category on Saturday to open India’s medals tally at the Tokyo Olympic Games, arrived here in the Capital on Monday.

The 26-year-old had tweeted ahead of her departure from Tokyo on Monday.

“Heading back to home. Thank you #Tokyo2020 for memorable moments of my life,” tweeted Mirabai, who won India’s second medal in weightlifting at the Olympics after the bronze in 2000 Sydney Olympics by Karnam Malleshwari.

ALSO READ: Mirabai Chanu Wins India’s First Medal at Tokyo Olympics

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-Top News India News Sport

Mirabai Chanu Wins India’s First Medal at Tokyo Olympics

Mirabai Chanu wins India's first medal at Tokyo Olympics. (Image Credits: Team India Twitter)

With the silver at the Olympics, Mirabai Chanu has now won medals in the Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships and World Championships, reports Asian Lite News

Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu bagged a historic silver medal in the women’s 49kg weightlifting at the Tokyo International Forum to lift the gloom after four top pistol and rifle shooters flattered to deceive on Saturday.

Mirabai, ranked third in the world, had a total lift of 202kg with 87kg in snatch and 115kg in clean and jerk. This is India’s second medal in the sport after Karnam Malleswari’s bronze in the 69kg category at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Hou Zhihui of China won the gold medal, setting a new Olympic record of 210kg. She set the record too in snatch with 94kg and 116kg in clean and jerk. Indonesia’s Windy Cantika Aisah took home the silver medal with a total lift of 194 kg.

With the silver at the Olympics, Mirabai has now won medals in the Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships and World Championships.

Mirabai started off with a lift of 84kg in her first attempt at snatch. She went better in her second attempt, lifting 87kg. In the final attempt, she couldn’t lift 89kg. But her second attempt, also her personal best in snatch, was good enough to be placed second, behind Zhihui.

Zhihui, the overwhelming favourite in the event, lifted 88kg in the first attempt followed by an Olympic record of 92kg. She bettered her own mark with 94kg in the final attempt of snatch.

In clean and jerk, Mirabai had a confident lift of 110kg in the first attempt and 115kg in the second attempt. Though she couldn’t lift 117kg in the final attempt, she was able to confirm a silver medal in the Olympics.

Mirabai Chanu
Screen grab via Team India Twitter

The 26-year-old Mirabai was deemed as a medal prospect for India at the Olympics which opened on Friday after a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the lead up to the Olympics, Mirabai had set a new world record in clean and jerk (119kg) in a bronze-medal show of 205kg, at the Asian Championships in Tashkent in April this year.

In the process, Mirabai has now completed a redemption path which started from the disappointment at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Her debut at the Olympics in the 48kg category was a horror show, unable to lift in all three attempts of clean and jerk. The effect was so hard that Mirabai had to take the help of a sports psychologist to get over the happenings of Rio.

Five years from Rio, toughened up mentally and richer in experience, Mirabai completed the turnaround at Tokyo by becoming the second Indian woman and fifth individual overall to win a silver medal at the Olympics.

Mirabai Chanu
Mirabai Chanu wins India’s first medal at Tokyo Olympics. (Image Credits: Team India Twitter)

She worked hard and rectified every point of error to be the best version of herself. Injuries, especially a mysterious pain in the lower back, came in her way but that didn’t stop Mirabai from reaching the podium in Tokyo. Her training in St Louis, USA led to finding ways of improving fitness and snatch technique, her bugbear for a long time.

With the Olympic rings in her earrings, Mirabai lifted her way to glory at Tokyo. On realising that she had won a medal, the diminutive Manipuri broke down and hugged her coach in jubilation.

The silver medal around her neck and the smile behind the mask indicated the completion of a turnaround, erasing the pain of Rio with the joy at Tokyo.

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Tokyo Olympics Kicks Off With Glittering Opening Ceremony

With the emergence of COVID-19, many athletes had to train for the showpiece event in isolation and this was the highlight during the Opening Ceremony as performers showed how they have been connected by their hope and shared passion, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk

After much debate on the fate of the Tokyo Olympics thanks to the COVID-19 situation, the Games were finally declared open on Friday as fireworks kickstarted the Opening Ceremony here at the Japan National Stadium.

With the emergence of COVID-19, many athletes had to train for the showpiece event in isolation and this was the highlight during the Opening Ceremony as performers showed how they have been connected by their hope and shared passion.

After the fireworks and lighting show, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach was welcomed on the stage. The IOC had decided that only six officials will be allowed per contingent.

During the ceremony, parading athletes observed physical distancing. At the beginning of the ceremony, the Japanese flag entered the Olympic Stadium and after that, the light show began.

This year’s Olympics will feature a record 33 sports comprising 339 events. The initial video which kicked off the ceremony showed Tokyo’s elation at winning the bid to host the Games and then the stadium went into darkness as the 2020 event had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

There have been questions raised in Japan over the hosting of the Olympics even when the host nation has been witnessing a surge in Covid-19 infections and total Games-related cases have risen to 106. Even though the Opening Ceremony kicked off, protestors took to the streets to voice their unhappiness of the Games going ahead in Tokyo.

The torch relay had recently concluded its journey through Tokyo having spent most of the 15-day final leg of its nationwide tour off roads and away from the public.

UAE in Tokyo

The event was attended by Shehab Ahmed Al Faheem, UAE Ambassador to Japan, and Azza bint Suleiman, Assistant Secretary-General of the National Olympic Committee for Administrative and Financial Affairs.

The UAE is participating for the tenth time in the Olympics. Its first participation was in the Los Angeles Games.

The country’s delegation comprises five athletes competing in four sports, which are shooting, swimming, athletics and judo.

Saif bin Futais, the shooter of UAE National Team will compete in the Skeet Shooting on 25th and 26th July while Victor Skertove will compete in under 73-kilogramme judo competition on 26th July. Swimmer Youssef Al Matrooshi will compete in the 100-metre freestyle competition the following day while Ivan Romanko will participate in the over 100-kilogramme judo competition on 30th July, before runner Mohamed Hassan El Noubi competes in the 100-metre race on 31st July.

The Emirati delegation in Tokyo visited several clinics in the Olympic Village, including a physiotherapy room, and explored its medical equipment and the village’s various preparations and first aid services. They also visited the village’s training halls and shooting range.

Games Organising Committee said the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be unlike any other because they will take place in the face of the coronavirus pandemic – an obstacle far beyond anything we have ever faced. Concept of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony is “United by Emotion”.

It said the UAE “will aspire to reaffirm the role of sport and the value of the Olympic Games, to express our gratitude and admiration for the efforts we all made together over the past year, and also to bring a sense of hope for the future.”

“We hope it will be an experience that conveys how we all have the ability to celebrate differences, to empathise, and to live side by side with compassion for one another.” (ANI/WAM)

ALSO READ: UAE Eases Entry Restrictions For Expo Participants

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-Top News Sport USA

Jill Biden to attend Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony

Joe Biden and wife Jill.

This year’s games will be held with no fans in the stands, after a state of emergency was declared in Tokyo….reports Asian Lite News

First lady Jill Biden will attend the opening ceremony of the summer Olympics in Tokyo, the White House announced Tuesday, even as the city has entered a new state of emergency over a rise in coronavirus cases.

Biden will attend the opening ceremony on July 23 without President Joe Biden. The last time she attended the games was in 2010, when she and her husband led the U.S. delegation to the Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada.

This year’s games will be held with no fans in the stands, after a state of emergency was declared in Tokyo.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters previously that a team had been sent to Tokyo to assess the feasibility of Jill Biden’s visit. Last week, she said that despite the increase in coronavirus cases, the president still supports U.S. athletes traveling there for the competition.

Were well aware of the careful preparations, including the public health measures necessary to protect athletes, staff, and spectators, that the government and international committee has undertaken, which is why, as we said, we support the Games moving forward, Psaki said.

ALSO READ: Biden backs protesters in Cuba as stir intensifies

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-Top News Sports USA

US Lawmakers urge IOC to find alternative locations for Olympics

olympics

This comes as legislators in nine other countries took similar action in a coordinated international effort….reports Asian Lite News

Top US lawmakers from the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced a resolution on Monday (local time), urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to move the 2022 Winter Games, citing human rights violation against Uyghur by the Chinese government.

This comes as legislators in nine other countries — United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Lithuania, Italy, Czech Republic — and the EU Parliament took similar action in a coordinated international effort.

The resolution introduced on Monday in the US Congress urges the IOC to publicly clarify its policies on association of the games with gross human rights violations in Xinjiang province.

It initiates an emergency search process for alternative replacement facilities for the 2022 games should persecution of the Uyghurs and other grave abuses continue. Moreover, the resolution offers a public set of actionable recourses should the IOC note infringements on the freedom of expression during Olympics games.

“In the face of genocide, Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China are looking to the world for support. By turning a blind eye to the PRC’s gross human rights violations in Xinjiang, the IOC is betraying its own charter and legitimizing the PRC’s actions at a time when the international community should be lock-step in condemnation,” said Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Meeks.

“The CCP’s genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities is the moral test of our time. By granting the CCP an opportunity to cover up its atrocities and improve its image on the global stage, the IOC is violating its own principles and tarnishing its own brand. I’m proud to stand with Members on both sides of aisle, alongside allies from other democratic countries, in holding the IOC and CCP accountable,” said Foreign Affairs Ranking Member McCaul.

In May, a bipartisan bill was introduced pressing American corporate sponsors of the IOC to urge the international committee to move the games–and cutting off US government contracts to companies that continue to subsidize the games if they remain in Beijing.

Chair Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul previously led a bipartisan bill pushing the State Department to urgently ensure American athletes are fully informed of ongoing human right abuses in China and risks to freedom of expression for athletes and participants in the 2022 Olympics.

Ranking Member McCaul and Chair Meeks also led a bipartisan resolution that advanced through the House Foreign Affairs Committee condemning the ongoing abuses in Xinjiang as genocide and urging urgent action by the United States government.

Despite numerous reports and mounting evidence, China continues to deny allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang province. (ANI)

ALSO READ: More than 10,000 Tokyo Olympic volunteers quit
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More than 10,000 Tokyo Olympic volunteers quit

Olympics

Organisers pledged to stage safe Games through a strict hygiene protocol. But despite all the assurances, doubts and worries persist…reports Asian Lite News

Around 10,000 volunteers for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have quit, partly due concern over coronavirus infections, Japanese organisers said on Wednesday.

“There is no doubt that one of the reasons is the concern over coronavirus infections,” organising committee chief executive Toshiro Muto told reporters in Tokyo.

Olympic organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have pledged to stage safe Games through a strict hygiene protocol. But despite all the assurances, doubts and worries persist, reports DPA.

Volunteers, who make up the largest group of participants, don’t know whether they will be tested, let alone vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“There is zero information about that,” Barbara Holthus, deputy director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo, said in an interview. She has signed up as a volunteer for the Olympics.

Another reason pointed by the organisers for the withdrawal of so many volunteers is the Games’ postponement by a year, now set to start on July 23.

Around 1,000 volunteers have also withdrawn in protest against the sexist comments by former organising committee president Yoshiro Mori, who resigned following the scandal.

The 10,000 withdrawals are from the 80,000 volunteers for the competition sites, but organisers say they don’t expect any problems because of that due to the absence of foreign fans.

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