Category: SPORTS

The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics was her “worst fear” and India’s medal hopeful Vinesh Phogat says the extended wait is going to be tougher than competing at the Games. In an unprecedented move, the 2020 Tokyo Games was on Tuesday pushed to next year due to COVID-19 pandemic that is wreaking havoc on the world. Star wrestler Vinesh was “deeply disappointed” when she learned of the postponement. “This was every athlete’s worst fear and it has come true. Everybody knows that competing at the Olympics is the toughest test…

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The cancellation of this year’s IPL looks inevitable with the BCCI under tremendous pressure after the declaration of a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. When the BCCI postponed the IPL to April 15 earlier this month, it said conducting the tournament would only come into the picture if the pandemic subsides. However, there hasn’t been any remarkable change in the situation with positive cases crossing the 500-mark in India, including 10 deaths. Speaking to PTI, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly did not have much to say…

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BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said he “doesn’t have an answer” on the fate of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) amid a nationwide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The BCCI suspended the IPL, originally scheduled from March 29, to April 15 after government suspended all visas, barring few categories like diplomatic and employment, making it impossible for foreign players to participate. Amid the ongoing complete lockdown, it is becoming increasingly difficult for all the stakeholders to work out an alternate plan. COVID-19 has so far claimed 11…

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The Indian Olympic Association on Monday said it will “wait and watch” for at least a month before taking any call on Tokyo Olympics participation after Canada created a flutter by becoming the first nation to pull out of the showpiece due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The north American nation’s withdrawal added to the International Olympic Committee’s woes after a host of top athletes and powerful sports bodies rammed up pressure on the IOC to postpone the quadrennial extravaganza in July-August. However, India is ready to wait for a while…

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As the deadly coronavirus spreads around the globe, doubts grow over whether the 2020 Olympic Games, set for Tokyo from July 24 to August 9, will go ahead. AFP Sport looks at who’s saying what as the debate becomes even more heated: “Of course we are considering different scenarios, but we are contrary to many other sports organizations or professional leagues in that we are four-and-a-half months away from the Games.” — International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach on Friday. “No solution will be ideal in this situation, and this…

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The COVID-19 pandemic has isolated her from the world outside but iconic Indian boxer M C Mary Kom says the forced slowdown of life as usual has also redefined the meaning of freedom for her. Mary Kom has self-isolated at her Delhi residence since returning from the this month’s Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Jordan where she booked herself a second Olympic berth. The precautionary measure was necessitated by a training trip to Italy before landing in Jordan even though the entire Indian team got COVID-19 negative certificates from the IOC.…

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The India Open badminton tournament was on Friday suspended at least till April 12 after the sport’s world governing body decided to halt all events from March 16 due to the coronavirus pandemic.The Badminton World Federation (BWF) said in a statement that the escalation of the COVID-19 outbreak globally has forced it to cancel or postpone all tournaments from March 16 to April 12.The situation, it said, has been aggravated by heightened travel and quarantine restrictions in place and the subsequent extreme logistical complications this causes to the movement of…

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An inspired performance by Thorgan Hazard against his former club helped Borussia Dortmund claim a crucial three points in the title race with a 2-1 win away at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday.The match was tense throughout and featured a Bundesliga season-high 10 yellow cards, with players from both teams needing to be pulled away from each other by Dortmund coach Lucien Favre at full-time.”It was a difficult game. Gladbach are efficient and our first half wasn’t great,” said Favre.”But after it was 1-1, we played well – and that was…

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Former Brazilian football star Ronaldinho’s lawyer denied on Thursday that he and his brother had used fake passports to enter Paraguay.The World Cup winner and his brother were questioned for more than seven hours by the public prosecutor in Asuncion after allegedly entering Paraguay using forged documents.Ronaldinho had been invited to the Paraguayan capital by a foundation for needy children, and to promote his new book.The 39-year-old and his brother went to the prosecutor’s office in the morning alongside Paraguayan lawyer Adolfo Marin.”They decided voluntarily to stay and submit themselves…

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Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri, who is going through a rough patch this season, will hope for a turnaround when he tees off at the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament. Lahiri has endured his longest stretch without a top-10 finish at the start of the wrap-around season since he got onto the PGA Tour in late 2015. The 32-year-old has slipped to 480th in the rankings, the lowest in almost a decade since November 2009. The Palmer Invitational tournament has been on Lahiri’s schedule for last three seasons, though the results…

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