Austrian star Marcel Hirscher finally bagged Olympic gold when he produced a brilliant slalom run to storm to a dominant victory in the men&#39;s alpine combined on Tuesday.

Alexis Pinturault claimed silver for France with his team-mate Victor Muffat-Jeandet taking an astonishing bronze after finishing 29th fastest in the opening downhill.

Hirscher, 28, has been the outstanding skier in the World Cup in recent years, his 55 career wins the bedrock of a startling six consecutive overall crystal globes.

Already guaranteed to go down in alpine history as one of the best skiers of all time, Hirscher had said he was after an &quot;amazing&quot; Olympic gold to cap his career, his previous best a slalom silver from Sochi four years ago.

But he had also played down his expectations in the combined following a couple of mediocre downhill training runs.

There was to be no messing on a downhill course shortened because of blustery winds, however, and the canny Austrian took full advantage of the abbreviated run to finish an impressive 12th fastest, 1.32sec off German Thomas Dressen&#39;s lead time.

Come to the slalom, a discipline in which he has won six times this season on the World Cup circuit, Austria&#39;s favourite sporting son stepped up to the gate and promptly delivered the fastest time of 45.96sec.

It was an aggressive yet measured piece of skiing that gave him a combined time of 2min 06.52sec, 0.23sec ahead of Pinturault, with Muffat-Jeandet at 1.02sec.

&quot;I was the favourite after the downhill,&quot; said Pinturault, who was 10th fastest in the speed event and started his slalom with a 0.28sec lead over Hirscher.

&quot;But after what Marcel has shown since the start of the season, especially in slalom, it was very tough for me to be able to come close.

&quot;I&#39;m just very happy,&quot; said Pinturault, winner of Bormio&#39;s World Cup combined in December. &quot;He was just stronger than me today.&quot;

Muffat-Jeandet laid down a slalom run just one-hundredth of a second slower than Hirscher, paying the price for a big mistake on the top third of the downhill.

&quot;I was so annoyed by the downhill,&quot; he said.

&quot;But at the end of the day I stayed very focused. I always believed in it.&quot;

Austrian slalom specialist Marco Schwarz was fourth, one place ahead of American Ted Ligety, who was seeking a third Olympic gold medal having won the combined back in Torino in 2006.

The Norwegian threat petered out disappointingly despite two-time former world combined champion Aksel Lund Svindal finishing second fastest in the downhill.

Svindal, 35, was a non-starter in the slalom, while team-mate Kjetil Jansrud, fourth fastest in the downhill, eventually came in seventh, 2.15sec off the pace and one place behind a third Frenchman, Thomas Mermillod Blondin.

Among the top eight, Austrian pair Vincent Kriechmayr and reigning Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer, along with Italian duo Dominik Paris and Peter Fill, all failed to finish the slalom course.

&nbsp;

Alexis Pinturault claimed silver for France with his team-mate Victor Muffat-Jeandet taking an astonishing bronze after finishing 29th fastest in the opening downhill

Austrian star Marcel Hirscher finally bagged Olympic gold when he produced a brilliant slalom run to storm to a dominant victory in the men's alpine combined on Tuesday. Alexis Pinturault claimed silver for France with his team-mate Victor Muffat-Jeandet taking an astonishing bronze after finishing 29th fastest in the opening downhill. Hirscher, 28, has been the outstanding skier in the World Cup in recent years, his 55 career wins the bedrock of a startling six consecutive overall crystal globes. Already guaranteed to go down in alpine history as one of the best skiers of all time, Hirscher had said he was after an "amazing" Olympic gold to cap his career, his previous best a slalom silver from Sochi four years ago. But he had also played down his expectations in the combined following a couple of mediocre downhill training runs. There was to be no messing on a downhill course shortened because of blustery winds, however, and the canny Austrian took full advantage of the abbreviated run to finish an impressive 12th fastest, 1.32sec off German Thomas Dressen's lead time. Come to the slalom, a discipline in which he has won six times this season on the World Cup circuit, Austria's favourite sporting son stepped up to the gate and promptly delivered the fastest time of 45.96sec. It was an aggressive yet measured piece of skiing that gave him a combined time of 2min 06.52sec, 0.23sec ahead of Pinturault, with Muffat-Jeandet at 1.02sec. "I was the favourite after the downhill," said Pinturault, who was 10th fastest in the speed event and started his slalom with a 0.28sec lead over Hirscher. "But after what Marcel has shown since the start of the season, especially in slalom, it was very tough for me to be able to come close. "I'm just very happy," said Pinturault, winner of Bormio's World Cup combined in December. "He was just stronger than me today." Muffat-Jeandet laid down a slalom run just one-hundredth of a second slower than Hirscher, paying the price for a big mistake on the top third of the downhill. "I was so annoyed by the downhill," he said. "But at the end of the day I stayed very focused. I always believed in it." Austrian slalom specialist Marco Schwarz was fourth, one place ahead of American Ted Ligety, who was seeking a third Olympic gold medal having won the combined back in Torino in 2006. The Norwegian threat petered out disappointingly despite two-time former world combined champion Aksel Lund Svindal finishing second fastest in the downhill. Svindal, 35, was a non-starter in the slalom, while team-mate Kjetil Jansrud, fourth fastest in the downhill, eventually came in seventh, 2.15sec off the pace and one place behind a third Frenchman, Thomas Mermillod Blondin. Among the top eight, Austrian pair Vincent Kriechmayr and reigning Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer, along with Italian duo Dominik Paris and Peter Fill, all failed to finish the slalom course.

Austria grabs first Gold as Marcel Hirscher wins men's alpine combined title

Swiss Olympic freestyle skier Fabian Boesch took the less travelled route up an escalator during a break in the team&#39;s pre-Olympic training in Bokwang, South Korea.

Switzerland yet to claim a medal in the ongoing 23rd winter games.

Currently, Germany is leading the medals tally with four Gold, one Silver and two Bronze.

Norway has the&nbsp;maximum number of medals; two Gold, four Silver and three Bronze.

Americans have picked up the pace quite quickly and have reached number two spot with three Gold, one Silver and two bronze till Tuesday.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfFq2VfAcCj/" data-instgrm-version="8" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:8px;">
<div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.5% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;">
<div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfFq2VfAcCj/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">After 20 years I still couldn&#39;t figure out how these things work! Am I doing it right? ????: @jonashunziker</a>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/buhsch/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Fabian B&ouml;sch</a> (@buhsch) on <time datetime="2018-02-12T07:54:50+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Feb 11, 2018 at 11:54pm PST</time>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async defer src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Watch another video of&nbsp;Fabian Boesch.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfAo0kDAB1f/" data-instgrm-version="8" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:8px;">
<div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;">
<div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfAo0kDAB1f/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Bobsled Team SUI 1 is ready to get Gold???? w/@jeanpedro #feeltherhythmfeeltherhyme ????: @andriragettli</a>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/buhsch/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Fabian B&ouml;sch</a> (@buhsch) on <time datetime="2018-02-10T08:50:42+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Feb 10, 2018 at 12:50am PST</time>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async defer src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&nbsp;

Swiss freestyle skier Fabian Boesch ascends an escalator by hanging from one arm on the outer side

Swiss Olympic freestyle skier Fabian Boesch took the less travelled route up an escalator during a break in the team's pre-Olympic training in Bokwang, South Korea. Switzerland yet to claim a medal in the ongoing 23rd winter games. Currently, Germany is leading the medals tally with four Gold, one Silver and two Bronze. Norway has the maximum number of medals; two Gold, four Silver and three Bronze. Americans have picked up the pace quite quickly and have reached number two spot with three Gold, one Silver and two bronze till Tuesday. After 20 years I still couldn't figure out how these things work! Am I doing it right? ????: @jonashunziker A post shared by Fabian Bösch (@buhsch) on Feb 11, 2018 at 11:54pm PST × Watch another video of Fabian Boesch. Bobsled Team SUI 1 is ready to get Gold???? w/@jeanpedro #feeltherhythmfeeltherhyme ????: @andriragettli A post shared by Fabian Bösch (@buhsch) on Feb 10, 2018 at 12:50am PST ×

Watch: Swiss Olympian Fabian Boesch ascends escalator in a whole new way

One of the main draws of the Winter Olympics is the opportunity to witness some of the most exciting and nail-biting athletic feats.

The daring events include the bobsled and downhill skiing. Then there&rsquo;s the terrifying skeleton: Imagine barreling down a narrow chute of twisted ice-coated concrete at 125 miles per hour. Now imagine doing that head first, like a human battering ram.

Athletes train for years for these events, but most of these elite athletes possess something that helps them succeed during these high-stakes events: their personality.

Some people have a personality trait that helps them focus in highly chaotic environments like the ones you&rsquo;ll see during the Winter Olympics. It&rsquo;s called a high sensation-seeking personality, and it&rsquo;s a trait that, as a psychologist, I&rsquo;ve long been fascinated with.

Calm in the face of danger

To some extent, we all crave complex and new experiences &ndash; that is, we all seek new sensations.

Whether it&rsquo;s our attraction to the latest shiny gadget or the newest fashion trend, novelty tugs at us. But even though we all share an interest in new sensations, what sets high sensation-seeking personalities apart is that they crave these exotic and intense experiences to an extent that they&rsquo;re willing to risk their health.

What&rsquo;s amazing is that some high sensation-seeking individuals experience less stress and are fearless and calm in the face of danger. For example, 2014 Olympic slalom gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin tears down mountains at speeds of 80 mph. But she recently told Sky Magazine that the experience can feel like it unfolds in slow motion while she&rsquo;s &ldquo;finding a way to control the controllable.&rdquo;

There&rsquo;s neurological evidence to back up the sense of calm that athletes like Shiffrin feel in midst of chaos and danger.

You may have heard of cortisol &ndash; it&rsquo;s the &ldquo;fight or flight&rdquo; hormone, and it can make us feel stressed and overwhelmed.

However, when people with high sensation-seeking personalities have intense experiences, they don&rsquo;t produce that much cortisol. On top of that, they produce higher levels of &ldquo;pleasure&rdquo; chemicals like dopamine.

What&rsquo;s more, researchers have found that people with high sensation-seeking personalities have increased sensitivity to things that could be rewarding (like landing a perfect switch backside 1620) and decreased sensitivity to potential dangers (like the fear of wiping out after doing a triple jump).

High sensation-seeking isn&rsquo;t exclusive to Winter Olympians, of course. It can creep into every aspect of life, influencing the way you interact with other people, the things you do for fun, the music you like, the way you drive and even the jokes you tell.

Leaping before you look

In the 1950s, while studying sensory deprivation, psychologist Robert Zuckerman stumbled upon this sensation-seeking trait. Zuckerman was eventually able to show that sensation-seeking is made up of four distinct components.

Each contributes to an individual&rsquo;s unique way of seeking (or avoiding) sensation. (And you can actually take a test to see where you fall for each of these four components on the sensation-seeking scale.)

The first two &ndash; thrill-seeking and experience-seeking &ndash; were mentioned earlier. But the sensation-seeking personality trait also involves disinhibition and boredom susceptibility.

Disinhibition has to do with our willingness to be spontaneous and our ability to let loose. People with low levels of disinhibition always look before they leap. Those high in disinhibition? They just leap.

Boredom susceptibility boils down to your ability to tolerate the absence of external stimuli. Those with high scores in boredom susceptibility dislike repetition: They tire easily of predictable or dull people, and they get restless when forced to perform mundane tasks.

This last component might be the toughest thing for Olympic athletes who are high-sensation seekers to deal with. In order to be a successful Olympian, you need to spend countless hours practicing dull, repetitive workouts and drills.

It&rsquo;s easy to see how all of these aspects of sensation-seeking personalities might exist in Olympic athletes, whether it&rsquo;s a snowboarder experimenting with a daring new trick or a hockey forward navigating a puck through a maze of defenders.

People with high sensation-seeking personalities don&rsquo;t just crave these situations. In those moments, they&rsquo;re in their element. Where a low sensation-seeking person might crumble, they thrive.

So when you&rsquo;re watching the Winter Olympics and wondering how the athletes can handle the pressures and dangers of competition, just remember: For some of them, chaos and intensity are secret weapons of success.

In the 1950s, while studying sensory deprivation, psychologist Robert Zuckerman stumbled upon this sensation-seeking trait. Zuckerman was eventually able to show that sensation-seeking is made up of four distinct components.

Each contributes to an individual&rsquo;s unique way of seeking (or avoiding) sensation. (And you can actually take a test to see where you fall for each of these four components on the sensation-seeking scale.)

The first two &ndash; thrill-seeking and experience-seeking &ndash; were mentioned earlier. But the sensation-seeking personality trait also involves disinhibition and boredom susceptibility.

Disinhibition has to do with our willingness to be spontaneous and our ability to let loose. People with low levels of disinhibition always look before they leap. Those high in disinhibition? They just leap.

Boredom susceptibility boils down to your ability to tolerate the absence of external stimuli. Those with high scores in boredom susceptibility dislike repetition: They tire easily of predictable or dull people, and they get restless when forced to perform mundane tasks.

This last component might be the toughest thing for Olympic athletes who are high-sensation seekers to deal with. In order to be a successful Olympian, you need to spend countless hours practicing dull, repetitive workouts and drills.

It&rsquo;s easy to see how all of these aspects of sensation-seeking personalities might exist in Olympic athletes, whether it&rsquo;s a snowboarder experimenting with a daring new trick or a hockey forward navigating a puck through a maze of defenders.

People with high sensation-seeking personalities don&rsquo;t just crave these situations. In those moments, they&rsquo;re in their element. Where a low sensation-seeking person might crumble, they thrive.

So when you&rsquo;re watching the Winter Olympics and wondering how the athletes can handle the pressures and dangers of competition, just remember: For some of them, chaos and intensity are secret weapons of success.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-thrill-seeking-personality-helps-olympic-athletes-91210" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

&nbsp;

Some people have a personality trait that helps them focus in highly chaotic environments like the ones you’ll see during the Winter Olympics. It’s called a high sensation-seeking personality.

One of the main draws of the Winter Olympics is the opportunity to witness some of the most exciting and nail-biting athletic feats. The daring events include the bobsled and downhill skiing. Then there’s the terrifying skeleton: Imagine barreling down a narrow chute of twisted ice-coated concrete at 125 miles per hour. Now imagine doing that head first, like a human battering ram. Athletes train for years for these events, but most of these elite athletes possess something that helps them succeed during these high-stakes events: their personality. Some people have a personality trait that helps them focus in highly chaotic environments like the ones you’ll see during the Winter Olympics. It’s called a high sensation-seeking personality, and it’s a trait that, as a psychologist, I’ve long been fascinated with. Calm in the face of danger To some extent, we all crave complex and new experiences – that is, we all seek new sensations. Whether it’s our attraction to the latest shiny gadget or the newest fashion trend, novelty tugs at us. But even though we all share an interest in new sensations, what sets high sensation-seeking personalities apart is that they crave these exotic and intense experiences to an extent that they’re willing to risk their health. What’s amazing is that some high sensation-seeking individuals experience less stress and are fearless and calm in the face of danger. For example, 2014 Olympic slalom gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin tears down mountains at speeds of 80 mph. But she recently told Sky Magazine that the experience can feel like it unfolds in slow motion while she’s “finding a way to control the controllable.” There’s neurological evidence to back up the sense of calm that athletes like Shiffrin feel in midst of chaos and danger. You may have heard of cortisol – it’s the “fight or flight” hormone, and it can make us feel stressed and overwhelmed. However, when people with high sensation-seeking personalities have intense experiences, they don’t produce that much cortisol. On top of that, they produce higher levels of “pleasure” chemicals like dopamine. What’s more, researchers have found that people with high sensation-seeking personalities have increased sensitivity to things that could be rewarding (like landing a perfect switch backside 1620) and decreased sensitivity to potential dangers (like the fear of wiping out after doing a triple jump). High sensation-seeking isn’t exclusive to Winter Olympians, of course. It can creep into every aspect of life, influencing the way you interact with other people, the things you do for fun, the music you like, the way you drive and even the jokes you tell. Leaping before you look In the 1950s, while studying sensory deprivation, psychologist Robert Zuckerman stumbled upon this sensation-seeking trait. Zuckerman was eventually able to show that sensation-seeking is made up of four distinct components. Each contributes to an individual’s unique way of seeking (or avoiding) sensation. (And you can actually take a test to see where you fall for each of these four components on the sensation-seeking scale.) The first two – thrill-seeking and experience-seeking – were mentioned earlier. But the sensation-seeking personality trait also involves disinhibition and boredom susceptibility. Disinhibition has to do with our willingness to be spontaneous and our ability to let loose. People with low levels of disinhibition always look before they leap. Those high in disinhibition? They just leap. Boredom susceptibility boils down to your ability to tolerate the absence of external stimuli. Those with high scores in boredom susceptibility dislike repetition: They tire easily of predictable or dull people, and they get restless when forced to perform mundane tasks. This last component might be the toughest thing for Olympic athletes who are high-sensation seekers to deal with. In order to be a successful Olympian, you need to spend countless hours practicing dull, repetitive workouts and drills. It’s easy to see how all of these aspects of sensation-seeking personalities might exist in Olympic athletes, whether it’s a snowboarder experimenting with a daring new trick or a hockey forward navigating a puck through a maze of defenders. People with high sensation-seeking personalities don’t just crave these situations. In those moments, they’re in their element. Where a low sensation-seeking person might crumble, they thrive. So when you’re watching the Winter Olympics and wondering how the athletes can handle the pressures and dangers of competition, just remember: For some of them, chaos and intensity are secret weapons of success. In the 1950s, while studying sensory deprivation, psychologist Robert Zuckerman stumbled upon this sensation-seeking trait. Zuckerman was eventually able to show that sensation-seeking is made up of four distinct components. Each contributes to an individual’s unique way of seeking (or avoiding) sensation. (And you can actually take a test to see where you fall for each of these four components on the sensation-seeking scale.) The first two – thrill-seeking and experience-seeking – were mentioned earlier. But the sensation-seeking personality trait also involves disinhibition and boredom susceptibility. Disinhibition has to do with our willingness to be spontaneous and our ability to let loose. People with low levels of disinhibition always look before they leap. Those high in disinhibition? They just leap. Boredom susceptibility boils down to your ability to tolerate the absence of external stimuli. Those with high scores in boredom susceptibility dislike repetition: They tire easily of predictable or dull people, and they get restless when forced to perform mundane tasks. This last component might be the toughest thing for Olympic athletes who are high-sensation seekers to deal with. In order to be a successful Olympian, you need to spend countless hours practicing dull, repetitive workouts and drills. It’s easy to see how all of these aspects of sensation-seeking personalities might exist in Olympic athletes, whether it’s a snowboarder experimenting with a daring new trick or a hockey forward navigating a puck through a maze of defenders. People with high sensation-seeking personalities don’t just crave these situations. In those moments, they’re in their element. Where a low sensation-seeking person might crumble, they thrive. So when you’re watching the Winter Olympics and wondering how the athletes can handle the pressures and dangers of competition, just remember: For some of them, chaos and intensity are secret weapons of success. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Opinion: Love for thrill may help you to be an Olympic athlete

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Wednesday pledged to attend the&nbsp;Winter Olympics in South Korea, ending speculation he would snub the event after an emotional war of words with Seoul over a deal on wartime sex slavery.

&quot;I would like to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics to cheer on Japanese athletes if conditions allow me to do so,&quot; Abe told the conservative Sankei Shimbun newspaper.

&quot;The Olympic Games is a festival for peace and sports and Japan is poised to host Tokyo 2020,&quot; he was quoted as saying, referring to the Summer Games in the Japanese capital.

Jiji Press and the Yomiuri Shimbun daily also reported Abe is set to attend the opening gala of the Winter Olympics hosted by the South Korean city on February 9.

Abe had previously hinted he might skip the event to concentrate on passing a national budget bill, in a move widely seen as posturing after a spat with Seoul over the decades-old row.

The issue of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops in World War II has roiled relations between the neighbours -- both US allies and both threatened by nuclear-armed North Korea.

The issue is a highly emotional one in Seoul while a majority of Japanese feel they have atoned enough for the country&#39;s wartime aggression including the comfort women issue, after numerous apologies and statements on the war.

But South Korea sparked anger in Japan by hinting at a review of a landmark 2015 deal that Tokyo believes buried the issue once and for all.&nbsp;

&quot;I&#39;d like to meet with President Moon (Jae-In),&quot; Abe was quoted as saying, adding: &quot;I would like to tell him directly that we can by no means accept South Korea&#39;s unilateral request for additional measures concerning the deal over the comfort women issue.&quot;

Moon recently urged Japan to offer a &quot;heartfelt apology&quot; to the victims.

Ousted president Park Geun-Hye&#39;s government struck the deal with Japan under Abe, under which both countries said the issue was resolved &quot;finally and irreversibly&quot;.

Under the deal -- that included a fresh Japanese apology -- South Korea promised not to raise the issue again and Japan transferred 1 billion yen (now $9 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting the victims.

&nbsp;

Media reports claim that Abe is set to attend the opening gala of the Winter Olympics hosted by the South Korean city on February 9

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Wednesday pledged to attend the Winter Olympics in South Korea, ending speculation he would snub the event after an emotional war of words with Seoul over a deal on wartime sex slavery. "I would like to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics to cheer on Japanese athletes if conditions allow me to do so," Abe told the conservative Sankei Shimbun newspaper. "The Olympic Games is a festival for peace and sports and Japan is poised to host Tokyo 2020," he was quoted as saying, referring to the Summer Games in the Japanese capital. Jiji Press and the Yomiuri Shimbun daily also reported Abe is set to attend the opening gala of the Winter Olympics hosted by the South Korean city on February 9. Abe had previously hinted he might skip the event to concentrate on passing a national budget bill, in a move widely seen as posturing after a spat with Seoul over the decades-old row. The issue of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops in World War II has roiled relations between the neighbours -- both US allies and both threatened by nuclear-armed North Korea. The issue is a highly emotional one in Seoul while a majority of Japanese feel they have atoned enough for the country's wartime aggression including the comfort women issue, after numerous apologies and statements on the war. But South Korea sparked anger in Japan by hinting at a review of a landmark 2015 deal that Tokyo believes buried the issue once and for all. "I'd like to meet with President Moon (Jae-In)," Abe was quoted as saying, adding: "I would like to tell him directly that we can by no means accept South Korea's unilateral request for additional measures concerning the deal over the comfort women issue." Moon recently urged Japan to offer a "heartfelt apology" to the victims. Ousted president Park Geun-Hye's government struck the deal with Japan under Abe, under which both countries said the issue was resolved "finally and irreversibly". Under the deal -- that included a fresh Japanese apology -- South Korea promised not to raise the issue again and Japan transferred 1 billion yen (now $9 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting the victims.

Japan PM Abe 'to attend Olympics' despite sex slave spat

The number of Russian athletes eligible to take part at next month&#39;s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang has been reduced from a pool of 500 to 389, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday.

The IOC last month banned Russia from taking part at Pyeongchang over state-sponsored doping, but clean Russian competitors will be allowed to participate under strict conditions, and under a neutral flag.

&quot;As of today, the original pre-registration pool of 500 athletes has already been reduced by 111 by the panel,&quot; the IOC said in a statement, following the recommendation of an independent invitation review panel.&nbsp;

&quot;For others in the remaining pool of athletes, pre-conditions such as further pre-Games tests and reanalysis from stored samples have been required,&quot; it said.

&quot;Only if these requirements are met can the athletes be considered for the invitation.&quot;

The IOC added that &quot;more than 80 per cent of the athletes&quot; in the pool did not take part at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where the level of doping reached its peak.

None of the 42 Russian athletes handed lifetime Olympic bans for doping at Sochi remain on the list, with 39 of them set for an appeal hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport&nbsp;next week in Geneva.

The panel also recommended 51 coaches and 10 medical staff cannot be invited to the Olympics which run from February 9 to 25.

&quot;All our decisions were taken by consensus of the panel for each individual athlete, all of which were reviewed anonymously,&quot; said chair panel and former French&nbsp;sports minister Valerie Fourneyron.

&quot;It was not easy to put this list together, but we wanted to be absolutely sure that only clean athletes from Russia can be invited to participate in the Olympic Winter Games.&quot;

The final list of Russian athletes invited to take part in South Korea will not be published until after a delegation registration meeting in Pyeongchang on January 27.

Russia originally topped the medals table in Sochi before losing 13 of 33 medals after an independent report, commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, revealed evidence of widespread doping over several years.

&nbsp;

"The original pre-registration pool of 500 athletes have already been reduced by 111 by the panel," the IOC

The number of Russian athletes eligible to take part at next month's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang has been reduced from a pool of 500 to 389, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday. The IOC last month banned Russia from taking part at Pyeongchang over state-sponsored doping, but clean Russian competitors will be allowed to participate under strict conditions, and under a neutral flag. "As of today, the original pre-registration pool of 500 athletes has already been reduced by 111 by the panel," the IOC said in a statement, following the recommendation of an independent invitation review panel. "For others in the remaining pool of athletes, pre-conditions such as further pre-Games tests and reanalysis from stored samples have been required," it said. "Only if these requirements are met can the athletes be considered for the invitation." The IOC added that "more than 80 per cent of the athletes" in the pool did not take part at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where the level of doping reached its peak. None of the 42 Russian athletes handed lifetime Olympic bans for doping at Sochi remain on the list, with 39 of them set for an appeal hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport next week in Geneva. The panel also recommended 51 coaches and 10 medical staff cannot be invited to the Olympics which run from February 9 to 25. "All our decisions were taken by consensus of the panel for each individual athlete, all of which were reviewed anonymously," said chair panel and former French sports minister Valerie Fourneyron. "It was not easy to put this list together, but we wanted to be absolutely sure that only clean athletes from Russia can be invited to participate in the Olympic Winter Games." The final list of Russian athletes invited to take part in South Korea will not be published until after a delegation registration meeting in Pyeongchang on January 27. Russia originally topped the medals table in Sochi before losing 13 of 33 medals after an independent report, commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, revealed evidence of widespread doping over several years.

Winter Olympics: IOC cuts number of Russians eligible for Games

India&#39;s legendary runner Milkha Singh in one of our casual conversations at the front lawn of his posh Chandigarh bungalow, told me, &quot;If you are looking for another Milkha Singh, you must go to villages, smaller towns. Kids, there are hungry, hungry not only to do something big but also for food. Kids in bigger cities do not want to work hard. They might play popular sports and not get into less fancy sport like athletics.&quot; His words struck me like cold bite on a relatively warm April morning.

&nbsp;

His words have stood the test of time! India&#39;s leading track and field athletes have come from lesser known towns or cities or villages. Let&#39;s take a reality check. P.T. Usha came from a village named Payyoli in the Kozhikode district of Kerala. Anju Bobby Gorge hailed from Cheeranchira village of Kottayam, Kerala. Tintu Luka, the Asian Games gold medalist, is from Valathode again from Kerala. Milkha Singh himself was Govindupra, a village in Pakistan&#39;s Punjab province.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The trend for athletics to move from big rural to urban has picked up speed in the last decade. While we have cricketers, shuttlers, tennis players buzzing in the rural areas the sleeping giant in urban India is beginning to wake up and earn a name for themselves in a world, where they are looked down upon, in a world where they hold no place, in a world where they find it difficult to sleep with their bellies filled.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

One such story emerges from a lesser heard part of New Delhi -- far away from the blistering national capital -- along the railway tracks of Bada Bazar, Azadpur. Nisar Ahmed, who lives in a 10x10 shack -- literally -- has risen from the slums and earned a name for himself. He is just 15 but holds the national records in the Under-16 100 and 200 metres. He has broken his own timings five times and still remains unbeaten.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

What makes him stand out is the question?

&nbsp;

Well for starters his personal best timing for the 100m is 10.85 seconds -- Bolt holds the record 9.58 seconds -- and in 200m is 22.08 seconds -- the Jamaican holds it at 19.19. Yes, the 15-year-old is yards away from the world record but he is not that far off too! If he stays on track, puts his head down and works hard, you never know he might win us a medal or two at the Olympics. He might just gift the Flying Sikh his last wish -- watching an Indian win a gold in track and field at the Olympics -- before he travels to the other side!

&nbsp;

&quot;Running happened to me by accident. My coach Surendar Singh spotted me at one of the local events and gave me proper running shoes. He has worked hard on me and when he saw potential in me, he asked Sunita Rai (Sports Authority of India&#39;s coach) to take me under her wings. And ever since I have improved,&quot; Ahmed said.

For now, Ahmed -- the son of a rickshaw puller and a housemaid -- is all set to train at Racers Track Club in Kingston -- Usain Bolt&#39;s workplace. In a unique partnership between Gas Authority of India and Anglian Medal Hunt, has selected 16 athletes -- including Nisar -- between the age group of 15-18 to train at the Kingston track for a month.

&nbsp;

&quot;I am really excited that I am going to the same place where legends like Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and a lot more have trained. It is a huge opportunity for me to go there and just soak in the atmosphere. I will be able to watch them train, monitor what they eat closely and pick up a trick here and there. I will try and make the most of it,&quot; the U-16 national record holder said.&nbsp;

But sadly Nisar Ahmed is flirting with danger. He is falling into the trap of seeking money. Yes, he is not well to do. Yes, he has gone to sleep empty stomach. Yes, his family is struggling. Yes, he deserves a better lifestyle. Yes, his family deserves a decent home. Yes, he deserves a mattress to sleep for eight hours.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

But not this way.

&nbsp;

Pullela Gopichand, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Vijender Singh, Mary Kom and a lot more of India&#39;s sporting icons -- again hailing from smaller cities -- never sought money or sponsorship to climb up their ranks. They were old-fashioned that way. They kept their head down, trained hard, performed when it mattered and moreover made waves in their own sport. A quote that comes to mind as I finish this piece is one of my favourite quotes from Rocky Balboa. A character I always draw inspiration from.

&nbsp;

In the fifth part of the Rocky Balboa movie, Sylvester Stallone hands out an advise to his son, Robert Rocky Jr. Balboa. Balboa says, &quot;Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain&#39;t all sunshine and rainbows. It&#39;s a very mean and nasty place and I don&#39;t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. But it ain&rsquo;t about how hard you hit; it&rsquo;s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.. It&rsquo;s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That&rsquo;s how winning is done.&quot;

&quot;Now, if you know what you&rsquo;re worth, then go out and get what you&rsquo;re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not point fingers and blame other people. Cowards do that and that ain&rsquo;t you. You&rsquo;re better than that!&rdquo; he concluded.

&nbsp;

From what I have seen of Nisar, he can be anything but a coward. He has the gut to go all the way. Hope he stays on course going forward and does not fall into the trap of seeking money. The kid has it in him to go the distance. Just needs to be guided along.

&nbsp;

So Nisar, go out there and get what you deserve. Don&#39;t use poverty as an excuse and seek money. Financial benefits will come along and so will the medals.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;&nbsp;

Nisar Ahmed is the son of a rickshaw puller and a housemaid -- is all set to train at Racers Track Club in Kingston -- Usain Bolt's workplace.

India's legendary runner Milkha Singh in one of our casual conversations at the front lawn of his posh Chandigarh bungalow, told me, "If you are looking for another Milkha Singh, you must go to villages, smaller towns. Kids, there are hungry, hungry not only to do something big but also for food. Kids in bigger cities do not want to work hard. They might play popular sports and not get into less fancy sport like athletics." His words struck me like cold bite on a relatively warm April morning. His words have stood the test of time! India's leading track and field athletes have come from lesser known towns or cities or villages. Let's take a reality check. P.T. Usha came from a village named Payyoli in the Kozhikode district of Kerala. Anju Bobby Gorge hailed from Cheeranchira village of Kottayam, Kerala. Tintu Luka, the Asian Games gold medalist, is from Valathode again from Kerala. Milkha Singh himself was Govindupra, a village in Pakistan's Punjab province. The trend for athletics to move from big rural to urban has picked up speed in the last decade. While we have cricketers, shuttlers, tennis players buzzing in the rural areas the sleeping giant in urban India is beginning to wake up and earn a name for themselves in a world, where they are looked down upon, in a world where they hold no place, in a world where they find it difficult to sleep with their bellies filled. One such story emerges from a lesser heard part of New Delhi -- far away from the blistering national capital -- along the railway tracks of Bada Bazar, Azadpur. Nisar Ahmed, who lives in a 10x10 shack -- literally -- has risen from the slums and earned a name for himself. He is just 15 but holds the national records in the Under-16 100 and 200 metres. He has broken his own timings five times and still remains unbeaten. What makes him stand out is the question? Well for starters his personal best timing for the 100m is 10.85 seconds -- Bolt holds the record 9.58 seconds -- and in 200m is 22.08 seconds -- the Jamaican holds it at 19.19. Yes, the 15-year-old is yards away from the world record but he is not that far off too! If he stays on track, puts his head down and works hard, you never know he might win us a medal or two at the Olympics. He might just gift the Flying Sikh his last wish -- watching an Indian win a gold in track and field at the Olympics -- before he travels to the other side! "Running happened to me by accident. My coach Surendar Singh spotted me at one of the local events and gave me proper running shoes. He has worked hard on me and when he saw potential in me, he asked Sunita Rai (Sports Authority of India's coach) to take me under her wings. And ever since I have improved," Ahmed said. For now, Ahmed -- the son of a rickshaw puller and a housemaid -- is all set to train at Racers Track Club in Kingston -- Usain Bolt's workplace. In a unique partnership between Gas Authority of India and Anglian Medal Hunt, has selected 16 athletes -- including Nisar -- between the age group of 15-18 to train at the Kingston track for a month. "I am really excited that I am going to the same place where legends like Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and a lot more have trained. It is a huge opportunity for me to go there and just soak in the atmosphere. I will be able to watch them train, monitor what they eat closely and pick up a trick here and there. I will try and make the most of it," the U-16 national record holder said. But sadly Nisar Ahmed is flirting with danger. He is falling into the trap of seeking money. Yes, he is not well to do. Yes, he has gone to sleep empty stomach. Yes, his family is struggling. Yes, he deserves a better lifestyle. Yes, his family deserves a decent home. Yes, he deserves a mattress to sleep for eight hours. But not this way. Pullela Gopichand, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Vijender Singh, Mary Kom and a lot more of India's sporting icons -- again hailing from smaller cities -- never sought money or sponsorship to climb up their ranks. They were old-fashioned that way. They kept their head down, trained hard, performed when it mattered and moreover made waves in their own sport. A quote that comes to mind as I finish this piece is one of my favourite quotes from Rocky Balboa. A character I always draw inspiration from. In the fifth part of the Rocky Balboa movie, Sylvester Stallone hands out an advise to his son, Robert Rocky Jr. Balboa. Balboa says, "Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. But it ain’t about how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.. It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done." "Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not point fingers and blame other people. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!” he concluded. From what I have seen of Nisar, he can be anything but a coward. He has the gut to go all the way. Hope he stays on course going forward and does not fall into the trap of seeking money. The kid has it in him to go the distance. Just needs to be guided along. So Nisar, go out there and get what you deserve. Don't use poverty as an excuse and seek money. Financial benefits will come along and so will the medals. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Nisar, go out there and get what your worth

Germany is leading the medal tally with 3 gold and 1 bronze. They grabbed two gold medals thanks to women&#39;s biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier and Andreas Wellinger pair of gold medals thanks to women&#39;s biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier and Andreas Wellinger.

But Norway and Netherlands bagged maximum medals and stands at number 1 and 2 respectively when it comes rank by total medals.

The Dutch vaulted up the medal leaderboard by sweeping the podium in the women&#39;s 3,000-meter speedskating competition while nabbing a silver in the men&#39;s short-track contest.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Highlights Day 2 ❤ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PyeongChang2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PyeongChang2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Olympics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Olympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/8rXe57Uc47">pic.twitter.com/8rXe57Uc47</a>
&mdash; Olympics (@Olympics) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympics/status/962859516244115456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

The United States is officially on the board thanks to 17-year-old Redmond Gerard&#39;s gold-medal finish in the men&#39;s slopestyle final at Phoenix Snow Park.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
11FEB Snowboard - Men&#39;s Slopestyle Final Results 
2/11 스노보드 - 남자 슬로프스타일 
 
Gold???? GERARD Redmond / USA???????? 
Silver???? PARROT Max / CAN???????? 
Bronze???? McMORRIS Mark / CAN???????? 
 
Congratulations! 축하합니다! <a href="https://t.co/6JlhDNG3aC">pic.twitter.com/6JlhDNG3aC</a>
&mdash; PyeongChang 2018 (@pyeongchang2018) <a href="https://twitter.com/pyeongchang2018/status/962516223228493826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

All eyes are on Russian athletes as they had <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/doping-row-because-us-cant-beat-us-fairly-russia-fm-32533">faced doping criticism</a> ahead of 23rd Winter Games, they were even banned but the clean athletes were permitted to take part in the winter games.

The Olympic Athletes from Russia have won just one bronze medal but they are considered as one of the most challenging squads. Still, there is a long way to go let&#39;s see how Russia would come along after the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/doping-row-because-us-cant-beat-us-fairly-russia-fm-32533">doping scandal</a>.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/untitled%20design%20(1)-20180212040442.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Medal Tally till February 11. (Others)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

The most controversial squad, Democratic People Republik of Korea (North Korea) has not even opened their account and South Korea has bagged just one bronze medal.

One of the key events, women ice hockey, where unified Korean team has participated faced a tragic defeat in the first match by Switzerland team.

&nbsp;

Till Sunday, Germany had grabbed 3 gold and 1 bronze medals and Norway won maximum medals; 1 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze

Germany is leading the medal tally with 3 gold and 1 bronze. They grabbed two gold medals thanks to women's biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier and Andreas Wellinger pair of gold medals thanks to women's biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier and Andreas Wellinger. But Norway and Netherlands bagged maximum medals and stands at number 1 and 2 respectively when it comes rank by total medals. The Dutch vaulted up the medal leaderboard by sweeping the podium in the women's 3,000-meter speedskating competition while nabbing a silver in the men's short-track contest. Highlights Day 2 ❤ #PyeongChang2018 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/8rXe57Uc47 — Olympics (@Olympics) February 12, 2018 × The United States is officially on the board thanks to 17-year-old Redmond Gerard's gold-medal finish in the men's slopestyle final at Phoenix Snow Park. 11FEB Snowboard - Men's Slopestyle Final Results 2/11 스노보드 - 남자 슬로프스타일 Gold???? GERARD Redmond / USA???????? Silver???? PARROT Max / CAN???????? Bronze???? McMORRIS Mark / CAN???????? Congratulations! 축하합니다! pic.twitter.com/6JlhDNG3aC — PyeongChang 2018 (@pyeongchang2018) February 11, 2018 × All eyes are on Russian athletes as they had faced doping criticism ahead of 23rd Winter Games, they were even banned but the clean athletes were permitted to take part in the winter games. The Olympic Athletes from Russia have won just one bronze medal but they are considered as one of the most challenging squads. Still, there is a long way to go let's see how Russia would come along after the doping scandal. Medal Tally till February 11. (Others) × The most controversial squad, Democratic People Republik of Korea (North Korea) has not even opened their account and South Korea has bagged just one bronze medal. One of the key events, women ice hockey, where unified Korean team has participated faced a tragic defeat in the first match by Switzerland team.

Germany, Norway lead medals tally in Winter Games

WION&#39;s pick of the week

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/in-pics-amid-political-tensions-peace-olympics-begins-683">In Pics: Amid political tensions, &#39;peace&#39; Olympics begins</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/manchester-men-remembers-munich-massacre-673">Manchester United &amp; fans remember Munich massacre</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/valentines-day-foils-david-beckham-other-plans-31966">Valentine&#39;s day foils David Beckham &#39;other&#39; plans</a>

&nbsp;

<big>Winter Olympics</big>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/germany-norway-lead-the-medal-tally-at-23rd-winter-games-32548">Germany, Norway lead medals tally in Winter Games</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/pyeongchang-2018-winter-olympics-hit-by-cyber-attack-source-not-revealed-32496">Pyeongchang 2018: Winter Olympics hit by cyber attack, source not revealed</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/trump-and-kim-appeared-at-opening-ceremony-of-winter-olympics-32393">&#39;Trump&#39; and &#39;Kim&#39; appeared at opening ceremony of Winter Olympics</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/watch-shiva-keshavan-marks-last-appearance-at-winter-olympics-32414">Watch: Shiva Keshavan marks last appearance at Winter Olympics</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/watch-pita-taufatofua-dual-olympian-to-watch-out-for-32336">Watch: Pita Taufatofua returns to Winter Olympics with different game</a> 
&nbsp;

<big>Cricket</big>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/former-pakistani-cricketer-salman-butt-to-play-in-bangladesh-31975">Former Pakistani cricketer, Salman Butt to play in Bangladesh</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/wion-exclusive-prithvi-shaw-shares-memories-of-u-19-world-cup-31987">Will get opportunities, just need to grab them: U-19 captain Prithvi Shaw tells WION</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/unstoppable-kohli-hits-34th-odi-ton-takes-india-to-3036-32131">3rd ODI: Unstoppable Kohli hits </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/unstoppable-kohli-hits-34th-odi-ton-takes-india-to-3036-32131">34th</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/unstoppable-kohli-hits-34th-odi-ton-takes-india-to-3036-32131"> ton, takes India to 303/6</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/here-is-what-sehwag-said-to-afridi-while-playing-cricket-on-ice-32309">Here is what Sehwag said to Afridi while playing cricket on ice</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/pepsicos-ceo-indra-nooyi-appointed-icc-first-independent-female-director-32322">ICC appoints Indra Nooyi as its first independent female director</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/south-african-legacy-of-winning-in-pink-continues-32463">South African legacy of winning in &#39;pink&#39; continues</a>

&nbsp;

<big>Football</big>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/fc-bayern-youth-cup-army-public-school-set-to-represent-india-at-allianz-arena-munich-31852">FC Bayern Youth Cup: Army Public school set to represent India at Allianz Arena, Munich</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/messis-best-buddy-might-leave-barca-in-summers-32332">Messi&#39;s best buddy might leave Barca in summers</a>

&nbsp;

<big>Others</big>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/nfl-eagles-upset-patriots-41-33-to-win-super-bowl-31806">NFL: Eagles upset Patriots 41-33 to win Super Bowl</a>

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Weekly compilation of sports and other related news (February 5 to February 11)

WION's pick of the week In Pics: Amid political tensions, 'peace' Olympics begins Manchester United & fans remember Munich massacre Valentine's day foils David Beckham 'other' plans Winter Olympics Germany, Norway lead medals tally in Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018: Winter Olympics hit by cyber attack, source not revealed 'Trump' and 'Kim' appeared at opening ceremony of Winter Olympics Watch: Shiva Keshavan marks last appearance at Winter Olympics Watch: Pita Taufatofua returns to Winter Olympics with different game Cricket Former Pakistani cricketer, Salman Butt to play in Bangladesh Will get opportunities, just need to grab them: U-19 captain Prithvi Shaw tells WION 3rd ODI: Unstoppable Kohli hits 34th ton, takes India to 303/6 Here is what Sehwag said to Afridi while playing cricket on ice ICC appoints Indra Nooyi as its first independent female director South African legacy of winning in 'pink' continues Football FC Bayern Youth Cup: Army Public school set to represent India at Allianz Arena, Munich Messi's best buddy might leave Barca in summers Others NFL: Eagles upset Patriots 41-33 to win Super Bowl

WION Sports News: Top sports results this week

Indian luger Shiva Keshavan has made his final appearance at the 23rd Winter Games as his Olympic journey comes to an end at the Pyeongchang Games this weekend with a familiar lament about the country&#39;s winter sports apathy.

He will compete in his sixth consecutive Games at the Olympic Sliding Centre.

India&#39;s flag bearer at Winter Olympics shared his view exclusively to WION.

&quot;We have made only marginal steps forward as far as Winter Sports are concerned. It&#39;s little unfortunate because the talent is there but you have to invest in the talent because it&#39;s a very competitive field internationally.&quot;

&quot;Sports is lots more than just a competition. It has a big role in society diplomacy and even in ideals and principles. Koreas marching together is a huge step towards diplomacy.&quot;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/opening%207-20180210120737.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Luger Shiva Keshavan carries India&#39;s flag at the opening ceremony of 23rd Winter Games. (Reuters)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

There will be few compatriots to wish him well in the preliminary runs on Saturday, with cross-country skier Jagdish Singh the only other athlete to qualify from the country of 1.25 billion.

He was the nation&#39;s sole athlete at the 1998 and 2002 Games and has never had more than a handful of teammates since.

Four years ago at Sochi, he was unable to compete under his country&#39;s flag due to an IOC ban of the Indian Olympic Association for electing corruption-tainted officials.

The ban was lifted during the Games after the Association held another election but not until after Keshavan&#39;s event.

&quot;It&#39;s hard to give up the sports lifestyle and the Olympic movement, I love it and what it stands for,&quot; he said on Friday.

&quot;But I&#39;m sure I&#39;ll stay involved in the sport because I want to build it up in India now and focus on that.&quot;

Keshavan will carry India&#39;s flag for the fifth time in the opening ceremony.

&quot;It&#39;s part of the bigger problem, let&#39;s say, for sports, and especially winter sports, in India, and it&#39;s why I think it&#39;s time for me to take a step back as an athlete and go and give a much-needed push, because there is no reason why we should not be having a big team and not doing well,&quot; said Keshavan.

Since debuting at the 1964 Games, India has never come close to claiming a Winter Games medal and are unlikely to break the drought in Pyeongchang.

&quot;We have the natural resources, we&#39;re not a poor country, we have a big enough talent pool and there&#39;s a lot of passion as well but something is missing,&quot; Keshavan added.

&quot;We don&#39;t have the culture or the tradition of winter sports so I think I can fill in that role a little bit.&quot;

&nbsp;

Luger Shiva Keshavan carried the Indian flag for the 5th time at 23rd Winter Games, watch his exclusive interview with WION

Indian luger Shiva Keshavan has made his final appearance at the 23rd Winter Games as his Olympic journey comes to an end at the Pyeongchang Games this weekend with a familiar lament about the country's winter sports apathy. He will compete in his sixth consecutive Games at the Olympic Sliding Centre. India's flag bearer at Winter Olympics shared his view exclusively to WION. "We have made only marginal steps forward as far as Winter Sports are concerned. It's little unfortunate because the talent is there but you have to invest in the talent because it's a very competitive field internationally." "Sports is lots more than just a competition. It has a big role in society diplomacy and even in ideals and principles. Koreas marching together is a huge step towards diplomacy." Luger Shiva Keshavan carries India's flag at the opening ceremony of 23rd Winter Games. (Reuters) × There will be few compatriots to wish him well in the preliminary runs on Saturday, with cross-country skier Jagdish Singh the only other athlete to qualify from the country of 1.25 billion. He was the nation's sole athlete at the 1998 and 2002 Games and has never had more than a handful of teammates since. Four years ago at Sochi, he was unable to compete under his country's flag due to an IOC ban of the Indian Olympic Association for electing corruption-tainted officials. The ban was lifted during the Games after the Association held another election but not until after Keshavan's event. "It's hard to give up the sports lifestyle and the Olympic movement, I love it and what it stands for," he said on Friday. "But I'm sure I'll stay involved in the sport because I want to build it up in India now and focus on that." Keshavan will carry India's flag for the fifth time in the opening ceremony. "It's part of the bigger problem, let's say, for sports, and especially winter sports, in India, and it's why I think it's time for me to take a step back as an athlete and go and give a much-needed push, because there is no reason why we should not be having a big team and not doing well," said Keshavan. Since debuting at the 1964 Games, India has never come close to claiming a Winter Games medal and are unlikely to break the drought in Pyeongchang. "We have the natural resources, we're not a poor country, we have a big enough talent pool and there's a lot of passion as well but something is missing," Keshavan added. "We don't have the culture or the tradition of winter sports so I think I can fill in that role a little bit."

Watch: Shiva Keshavan marks last appearance at Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics has started, fans are encouraging their country and favourite athletes.

The theme of this years Olympics is unity and peace and even the opening ceremony was marked by a show of unity between North and South Korea.

But unfortunately, people dressed up as U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on Friday were swiftly being shown out by security staff.

The &#39;fakes&#39;&nbsp;caused a commotion when they appeared in the stands during the Opening Ceremony.

&quot;We&#39;re getting along great,&quot; said the Kim lookalike, who declined to give his name.

&quot;We wanted to surprise everyone and bring world peace and then we&#39;re being escorted out by security guards, which I think is really unfair,&quot; he added. &quot;Doesn&#39;t everyone want peace?&quot;

Athletes from both countries entered the arena under a flag depicting a unified Korea as American Vice President Mike Pence and Kim&#39;s sister, Kim Yo Jong, watched on from a VIP box.

&quot;Is my sister getting the same treatment? &quot; the Kim lookalike said as he was escorted out of the stadium.

&nbsp;

Two people dressed up as U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on Friday were swiftly being shown out by security staff

The Winter Olympics has started, fans are encouraging their country and favourite athletes. The theme of this years Olympics is unity and peace and even the opening ceremony was marked by a show of unity between North and South Korea. But unfortunately, people dressed up as U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on Friday were swiftly being shown out by security staff. The 'fakes' caused a commotion when they appeared in the stands during the Opening Ceremony. "We're getting along great," said the Kim lookalike, who declined to give his name. "We wanted to surprise everyone and bring world peace and then we're being escorted out by security guards, which I think is really unfair," he added. "Doesn't everyone want peace?" Athletes from both countries entered the arena under a flag depicting a unified Korea as American Vice President Mike Pence and Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, watched on from a VIP box. "Is my sister getting the same treatment? " the Kim lookalike said as he was escorted out of the stadium.

'Trump' and 'Kim' appeared at opening ceremony of Winter Olympics

The ice hockey was one of the key&nbsp;events of 23rd Winter Games as for the first time in history joint Korean team was supposed to appear at Olympics.

The first combined Korean team in Olympic history suffered a resounding 8-0 defeat to Switzerland in women&#39;s ice hockey at the Pyeongchang Winter Games on Saturday.

Watched by a high-level North Korean delegation and South Korean President Moon Jae-in -- and a North Korean cheerleading squad -- the team was no match for the Swiss.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
The cheers from the crowed lighted up the atmosphere at the Women&rsquo;s Ice Hockey Game between Team Corea and Switzerland! ????????코리아 팀의 아이스하키 경기에 펼쳐진 열띤 응원전이 펼쳐졌습니다!응원에 힘입어 멋진 경기를 펼치는 선수들! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%EC%BD%94%EB%A6%AC%EC%95%84?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#코리아</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%ED%99%94%EC%9D%B4%ED%8C%85?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#화이팅</a>!????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PyeongChang2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PyeongChang2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pyeongChang?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#pyeongChang</a> <a href="https://t.co/dcFdYi5qa5">pic.twitter.com/dcFdYi5qa5</a>
&mdash; PyeongChang 2018 (@pyeongchang2018) <a href="https://twitter.com/pyeongchang2018/status/962322626310848517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Alina Muller scored four while Phoebe Staenz and Lara Stalder both struck twice to rout the Korean team, who had only played together once before and looked out of their depth.

The Koreas also play Japan and Sweden in Group B. It was the first time the Koreas, who marched together at Friday&#39;s opening ceremony, have competed side-by-side at an Olympics.

&nbsp;

The first combined Korean team in Olympic history suffered a resounding 8-0 defeat to Switzerland in women's ice hockey

The ice hockey was one of the key events of 23rd Winter Games as for the first time in history joint Korean team was supposed to appear at Olympics. The first combined Korean team in Olympic history suffered a resounding 8-0 defeat to Switzerland in women's ice hockey at the Pyeongchang Winter Games on Saturday. Watched by a high-level North Korean delegation and South Korean President Moon Jae-in -- and a North Korean cheerleading squad -- the team was no match for the Swiss. The cheers from the crowed lighted up the atmosphere at the Women’s Ice Hockey Game between Team Corea and Switzerland! ????????코리아 팀의 아이스하키 경기에 펼쳐진 열띤 응원전이 펼쳐졌습니다!응원에 힘입어 멋진 경기를 펼치는 선수들! #코리아 #화이팅!????#PyeongChang2018 #pyeongChang pic.twitter.com/dcFdYi5qa5 — PyeongChang 2018 (@pyeongchang2018) February 10, 2018 × Alina Muller scored four while Phoebe Staenz and Lara Stalder both struck twice to rout the Korean team, who had only played together once before and looked out of their depth. The Koreas also play Japan and Sweden in Group B. It was the first time the Koreas, who marched together at Friday's opening ceremony, have competed side-by-side at an Olympics.

Switzerland trounces unified Korean ice hockey team

Pyeongchang Winter Olympics organisers said on Saturday that 11 new cases of a virus that causes vomiting and diarrhoea had been confirmed at the Games, bringing the total to 139.

The number of new norovirus cases is a steep drop-off from the 42 new cases confirmed on Thursday and 54 a day earlier.

The virus had broken out in the leadup to Friday`s opening ceremony in Pyeongchang and led to some 1,200 security staff being quarantined. Organisers had to call in military personnel to replace them. 
 
As yet, no athletes have been confirmed to have contracted the highly contagious virus. An outbreak at last year`s World Athletics Championship in London forced competitors from several countries to miss events.

POCOG said several agencies were cooperating to stifle the outbreak, with water quality being tested and inspections taking place at venues, restaurants, hotels and worker accommodation.

The number of new norovirus cases is a steep drop-off from the 42 new cases confirmed on Thursday and 54 a day earlier

Pyeongchang Winter Olympics organisers said on Saturday that 11 new cases of a virus that causes vomiting and diarrhoea had been confirmed at the Games, bringing the total to 139. The number of new norovirus cases is a steep drop-off from the 42 new cases confirmed on Thursday and 54 a day earlier. The virus had broken out in the leadup to Friday`s opening ceremony in Pyeongchang and led to some 1,200 security staff being quarantined. Organisers had to call in military personnel to replace them. As yet, no athletes have been confirmed to have contracted the highly contagious virus. An outbreak at last year`s World Athletics Championship in London forced competitors from several countries to miss events. POCOG said several agencies were cooperating to stifle the outbreak, with water quality being tested and inspections taking place at venues, restaurants, hotels and worker accommodation.

Olympics: Norovirus outbreak tapers off as Games get underway

With all the ethical and political problems facing the Olympics, do they still matter?

As someone who proudly wears his Olympic heart on his sleeve &mdash; I competed in the 1964 Games in Tokyo and have been involved in a variety of roles ever since &mdash; I get asked that question all the time, especially when another Games approach. And my answer is still in the affirmative.

While circumstances change, and I&rsquo;d like to think I make a fresh calculation each time, I still believe the Olympics contribute a net benefit to humanity. I&rsquo;m excited about the forthcoming Winter Olympic and Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

For those of us who pursue and watch sports, it&rsquo;s the only forum where the entire world gets to compete on a multi-sport basis. While it&rsquo;s the polar countries that excel, the Winter Olympics and Paralympics will attract competitors from an estimated 90 national communities, representing more than two-thirds of the world&rsquo;s population.

In an increasingly privatized sports place, with a hardening monoculture of fewer and fewer sports and competitors, the Olympics provide the greatest range of national and regional accessibility.

Provides support, visibility

For Canadians, it&rsquo;s the primary place where athletes in the rarely publicized but culturally important sports of skiing, skating, luge, skeleton and bobsled have recognized opportunities &mdash; and with few exceptions, the only time Canadian women and para-athletes get any significant support and visibility.

If it wasn&rsquo;t for the Olympics to stimulate government investment in women&rsquo;s and para sports and the worldwide coverage to attract advertisers, women and para-athletes would be even more underfunded and invisible in mainstream sports coverage than they are now.

So for those who believe in an equitable, broadly based and accessible sports system, the Olympics provide a very important incentive &mdash;and even legitimization.

It&rsquo;s also fantastic sport, and gives us a chance to see remarkable athletes from all across Canada go up against the best from other countries, and represent Canada to the world. I&rsquo;ll be glued to my television.

<figure class="align-right zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204333/original/file-20180131-157470-1w1c2qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204333/original/file-20180131-157470-1w1c2qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" /></a>

<figcaption>
Author and former Olympian Bruce Kidd, seen here in a 1963 race in Philadelphia. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP

What&rsquo;s more, the Olympics make a genuine effort to affirm and encourage humanitarian international and intercultural education and exchange &mdash; no mean contribution in this increasingly war-torn, nativist and xenophobic world.
</figcaption>
</figure>

Bringing people together

In my long experience, this is real and sets the tone for the millions of sporting exchanges between people of widely different backgrounds that occur around the world throughout the year.

The joint North and South Korean team that will march and compete together in Pyeongchang, and the resumption of communication that it has initiated, is just one example where the Olympics and international sport have brought bitterly divided people into the same room for peaceful exchange.

The Olympics contribute significantly to the development of sports around the world, especially among the poorest countries, distributing a big share of its television revenue &mdash; US$509 million from 2017-20.

One priority is sport for refugees. The very first Refugee Olympic Team, made up of athletes from refugee camps in four different countries, competed in Rio in 2016. Many Olympic athletes, such as Canada&rsquo;s Rosie MacLennan, have been inspired by their experiences to contribute to sport for development across the Global South.

To be sure, the Olympics face a host of daunting challenges, including the ginormous costs of staging games, corruption in governance, human rights abuses and doping.

<figure class="align-left zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204334/original/file-20180131-157491-1w07cdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204334/original/file-20180131-157491-1w07cdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" /></a>

<figcaption>
Calgary is considering a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which would return the Games to the Prairies city for the first time since 1988. Here figure skater Brian Orser carries the Canadian flag at opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Calgary. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)
</figcaption>
</figure>

The issues are so formidable that fewer and fewer cities are interested in hosting them, and in some liberal-democratic countries, voters have turned back bids. It remains to be seen whether Calgary will actually go ahead with plans <a href="http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Recreation/Pages/Calgary-2026-Olympic-bid/Olympics-Bid-2026.aspx">to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics</a>.

Addressing many challenges

But I would also say the Olympic leadership is preoccupied with addressing these challenges. One solution to rising costs is to use existing facilities as much as possible, spread out new facilities, placing them where they are most needed as Toronto did for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games, and reduce seating for spectators, recognizing that most of the world watches on television. The Olympics vigorously tries to prevent and punish doping, as the current spat with Russia readily indicates.

While the Olympics have introduced important reforms in recent years, including transparent financial accounting and an affirmation against discrimination based on an athlete&rsquo;s sexual orientation, it&rsquo;s not easy to introduce and implement progressive change in way that keeps the entire world together.

I am enraged by the Russians&rsquo; state-directed doping in Sochi and support Canadian Olympic leaders who call for them to be banned from Pyeongchang. Yet I have European friends who fear Russian isolation and applaud IOC president Thomas Bach&rsquo;s diplomatic gymnastics to balance sanctions and representation.

A big-tent approach requires a low threshold if you want everyone there. If we only competed with countries that shared our values, we would have very few competitors indeed. But it makes the world of Olympic sports very difficult to govern.

I&rsquo;m quite happy if people continue to be critical of Olympic practices or blind spots &mdash; I&rsquo;m critical of some of them too &mdash; but to give up on the project because the international sports world is not perfect would be really short-sighted. It would also deny Canadians an opportunity to participate in, and contribute to, a humanitarian movement that&rsquo;s still very important.

&nbsp;

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-the-olympics-still-matter-90215" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;&nbsp;

In an increasingly privatised sports place, with a hardening monoculture of fewer and fewer sports and competitors, the Olympics provide the greatest range of national and regional accessibility.

With all the ethical and political problems facing the Olympics, do they still matter? As someone who proudly wears his Olympic heart on his sleeve — I competed in the 1964 Games in Tokyo and have been involved in a variety of roles ever since — I get asked that question all the time, especially when another Games approach. And my answer is still in the affirmative. While circumstances change, and I’d like to think I make a fresh calculation each time, I still believe the Olympics contribute a net benefit to humanity. I’m excited about the forthcoming Winter Olympic and Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. For those of us who pursue and watch sports, it’s the only forum where the entire world gets to compete on a multi-sport basis. While it’s the polar countries that excel, the Winter Olympics and Paralympics will attract competitors from an estimated 90 national communities, representing more than two-thirds of the world’s population. In an increasingly privatized sports place, with a hardening monoculture of fewer and fewer sports and competitors, the Olympics provide the greatest range of national and regional accessibility. Provides support, visibility For Canadians, it’s the primary place where athletes in the rarely publicized but culturally important sports of skiing, skating, luge, skeleton and bobsled have recognized opportunities — and with few exceptions, the only time Canadian women and para-athletes get any significant support and visibility. If it wasn’t for the Olympics to stimulate government investment in women’s and para sports and the worldwide coverage to attract advertisers, women and para-athletes would be even more underfunded and invisible in mainstream sports coverage than they are now. So for those who believe in an equitable, broadly based and accessible sports system, the Olympics provide a very important incentive —and even legitimization. It’s also fantastic sport, and gives us a chance to see remarkable athletes from all across Canada go up against the best from other countries, and represent Canada to the world. I’ll be glued to my television. Author and former Olympian Bruce Kidd, seen here in a 1963 race in Philadelphia. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP What’s more, the Olympics make a genuine effort to affirm and encourage humanitarian international and intercultural education and exchange — no mean contribution in this increasingly war-torn, nativist and xenophobic world. Bringing people together In my long experience, this is real and sets the tone for the millions of sporting exchanges between people of widely different backgrounds that occur around the world throughout the year. The joint North and South Korean team that will march and compete together in Pyeongchang, and the resumption of communication that it has initiated, is just one example where the Olympics and international sport have brought bitterly divided people into the same room for peaceful exchange. The Olympics contribute significantly to the development of sports around the world, especially among the poorest countries, distributing a big share of its television revenue — US$509 million from 2017-20. One priority is sport for refugees. The very first Refugee Olympic Team, made up of athletes from refugee camps in four different countries, competed in Rio in 2016. Many Olympic athletes, such as Canada’s Rosie MacLennan, have been inspired by their experiences to contribute to sport for development across the Global South. To be sure, the Olympics face a host of daunting challenges, including the ginormous costs of staging games, corruption in governance, human rights abuses and doping. Calgary is considering a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which would return the Games to the Prairies city for the first time since 1988. Here figure skater Brian Orser carries the Canadian flag at opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Calgary. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson) The issues are so formidable that fewer and fewer cities are interested in hosting them, and in some liberal-democratic countries, voters have turned back bids. It remains to be seen whether Calgary will actually go ahead with plans to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Addressing many challenges But I would also say the Olympic leadership is preoccupied with addressing these challenges. One solution to rising costs is to use existing facilities as much as possible, spread out new facilities, placing them where they are most needed as Toronto did for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games, and reduce seating for spectators, recognizing that most of the world watches on television. The Olympics vigorously tries to prevent and punish doping, as the current spat with Russia readily indicates. While the Olympics have introduced important reforms in recent years, including transparent financial accounting and an affirmation against discrimination based on an athlete’s sexual orientation, it’s not easy to introduce and implement progressive change in way that keeps the entire world together. I am enraged by the Russians’ state-directed doping in Sochi and support Canadian Olympic leaders who call for them to be banned from Pyeongchang. Yet I have European friends who fear Russian isolation and applaud IOC president Thomas Bach’s diplomatic gymnastics to balance sanctions and representation. A big-tent approach requires a low threshold if you want everyone there. If we only competed with countries that shared our values, we would have very few competitors indeed. But it makes the world of Olympic sports very difficult to govern. I’m quite happy if people continue to be critical of Olympic practices or blind spots — I’m critical of some of them too — but to give up on the project because the international sports world is not perfect would be really short-sighted. It would also deny Canadians an opportunity to participate in, and contribute to, a humanitarian movement that’s still very important. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Do the Olympics still matter?

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday blasted the International Olympic Committee&#39;s decision not to invite 15 Russian athletes and staff who had their life bans for doping lifted to the Pyeongchang Games.

&quot;The IOC Commission has taken a shameful decision. This decision is unfair, unlawful, immoral and politically charged,&quot; Medvedev wrote on his Facebook page.

&quot;The court has taken a decision in this case. After that, its decision has been overturned by a group of people who have placed themselves above the court, the IOC, the athletes and fans.&quot;

He added: &quot;This decision has little in common with&nbsp;sports. Its goal is to do political damage to Russia.&quot;

&quot;And now politics has defeated the rules of law and decency.&quot;

Earlier on Monday, the IOC ruled that 15 Russian athletes and staff who controversially had their life bans for doping lifted last week will not be invited to Pyeongchang.

The decision was taken after a special panel &quot;unanimously recommended that the IOC not extend an invitation to the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang 2018 to the 15 individuals&quot;, a statement said.

&quot;The OAR IG (Olympic Athlete from Russia Implementation Group) confirmed that no additional invitations will be extended to these 15 individuals,&quot; the IOC said.

The 15 were among a group of 28 Russians who had been banned for life from the Olympics for doping, but whose suspensions were overturned at the Court of Arbitration for&nbsp;Sport&nbsp;on Thursday.

They included 13 athletes and two ex-athletes now working as support staff. The other members of the 28 have either retired or are unavailable for undisclosed reasons.

The IOC has barred Russia from the Pyeongchang Olympics, which open on Friday, over a widespread doping conspiracy. But 169 Russians who have passed strict anti-doping protocols will compete under a neutral flag.

The IOC announcement comes after the body&#39;s president, Thomas Bach, slammed the CAS decision as &quot;extremely disappointing and surprising&quot; and called for reforms to the independent&nbsp;sports&nbsp;tribunal.

&quot;We have some concerns about the quality of this decision,&quot; Bach told reporters on Sunday, questioning why the court didn&#39;t take into account the &quot;systemic manipulation of the anti-doping system in Russia&quot;.

&nbsp;

Dmitry Medvedev on Monday blasted the International Olympic Committee's decision not to invite 15 Russian athletes and staff who had their life bans for doping lifted to the Pyeongchang Games

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday blasted the International Olympic Committee's decision not to invite 15 Russian athletes and staff who had their life bans for doping lifted to the Pyeongchang Games. "The IOC Commission has taken a shameful decision. This decision is unfair, unlawful, immoral and politically charged," Medvedev wrote on his Facebook page. "The court has taken a decision in this case. After that, its decision has been overturned by a group of people who have placed themselves above the court, the IOC, the athletes and fans." He added: "This decision has little in common with sports. Its goal is to do political damage to Russia." "And now politics has defeated the rules of law and decency." Earlier on Monday, the IOC ruled that 15 Russian athletes and staff who controversially had their life bans for doping lifted last week will not be invited to Pyeongchang. The decision was taken after a special panel "unanimously recommended that the IOC not extend an invitation to the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang 2018 to the 15 individuals", a statement said. "The OAR IG (Olympic Athlete from Russia Implementation Group) confirmed that no additional invitations will be extended to these 15 individuals," the IOC said. The 15 were among a group of 28 Russians who had been banned for life from the Olympics for doping, but whose suspensions were overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday. They included 13 athletes and two ex-athletes now working as support staff. The other members of the 28 have either retired or are unavailable for undisclosed reasons. The IOC has barred Russia from the Pyeongchang Olympics, which open on Friday, over a widespread doping conspiracy. But 169 Russians who have passed strict anti-doping protocols will compete under a neutral flag. The IOC announcement comes after the body's president, Thomas Bach, slammed the CAS decision as "extremely disappointing and surprising" and called for reforms to the independent sports tribunal. "We have some concerns about the quality of this decision," Bach told reporters on Sunday, questioning why the court didn't take into account the "systemic manipulation of the anti-doping system in Russia".

Russian PM Medvedev slams IOC verdict

Jordan Greenway, the first African-American US Olympic ice hockey player, hopes to inspire black youth to his sport the way Tiger Woods did in golf or Serena Williams has in tennis.

&quot;I just really want kids out there to do something different, go against the colour barrier in the sports world,&quot; Greenway said. &quot;You see African-American players in other sports like basketball and football. I want kids to feel all right to go try something different.&quot;

The 20-year-old Boston University star forward is one of four collegians on the US roster and helped the Americans win the 2017 World Junior Championships, scoring three goals and setting up five more.

&quot;It&#39;s a proud feeling to win a gold medal for the USA and I want to have that feeling again on the biggest stage,&quot; Greenway said.

&quot;Winning a gold medal is a feeling you can&#39;t put into words. That&#39;s motivating me every day to work hard. I couldn&#39;t be more excited. I always had a dream to play in the Olympics. I didn&#39;t think it was going to happen.&quot;

Greenway has his chance because the National Hockey League, which had shut down for every Winter Olympics since 1998 so players could compete in the Games, decided against the move this season, opening the door for Europe-based talent, minor-leaguers and top collegians.

Not that Greenway isn&#39;t good enough for the NHL. He was a 2015 second-round NHL Draft pick by Minnesota, 50th overall, and at 6-foot-6 (1.97m) and 227 (103kg) pounds he&#39;s the largest player on the US Olympic roster.

&quot;Jordan&#39;s size and ability will be a big factor in penalty kills and power play,&quot; US coach Tony Granato said. &quot;His versatility will bring something special as a player.&quot;

Jordan accepts his racial pioneer role with pride and responsibility.

&quot;Being the first African-American, I&#39;m really honoured by that. Hopefully, I&#39;ve been a role model to other African-American kids to go out and do something different.

You don&#39;t see a lot of African-Americans playing hockey. Hopefully, I can inspire them.&quot;

Greenway has 24 goals and 57 assists in under three seasons with a perennial college power and could play a major role in the American men&#39;s quest for their first gold since 1980.

&quot;Our college guys, I think they can compete in the NHL right now,&quot; Granato said. &quot;They are going to have a major impact on how we do.&quot;

Greenway wouldn&#39;t have it any other way.

&quot;I want to make an impact any way I can,&quot; Greenway said. &quot;I&#39;ll put in all the effort I&#39;ve got.&quot;

&nbsp;

"I just really want kids out there to do something different, go against the colour barrier in the sports world," says Jordan Greenway.

Jordan Greenway, the first African-American US Olympic ice hockey player, hopes to inspire black youth to his sport the way Tiger Woods did in golf or Serena Williams has in tennis. "I just really want kids out there to do something different, go against the colour barrier in the sports world," Greenway said. "You see African-American players in other sports like basketball and football. I want kids to feel all right to go try something different." The 20-year-old Boston University star forward is one of four collegians on the US roster and helped the Americans win the 2017 World Junior Championships, scoring three goals and setting up five more. "It's a proud feeling to win a gold medal for the USA and I want to have that feeling again on the biggest stage," Greenway said. "Winning a gold medal is a feeling you can't put into words. That's motivating me every day to work hard. I couldn't be more excited. I always had a dream to play in the Olympics. I didn't think it was going to happen." Greenway has his chance because the National Hockey League, which had shut down for every Winter Olympics since 1998 so players could compete in the Games, decided against the move this season, opening the door for Europe-based talent, minor-leaguers and top collegians. Not that Greenway isn't good enough for the NHL. He was a 2015 second-round NHL Draft pick by Minnesota, 50th overall, and at 6-foot-6 (1.97m) and 227 (103kg) pounds he's the largest player on the US Olympic roster. "Jordan's size and ability will be a big factor in penalty kills and power play," US coach Tony Granato said. "His versatility will bring something special as a player." Jordan accepts his racial pioneer role with pride and responsibility. "Being the first African-American, I'm really honoured by that. Hopefully, I've been a role model to other African-American kids to go out and do something different. You don't see a lot of African-Americans playing hockey. Hopefully, I can inspire them." Greenway has 24 goals and 57 assists in under three seasons with a perennial college power and could play a major role in the American men's quest for their first gold since 1980. "Our college guys, I think they can compete in the NHL right now," Granato said. "They are going to have a major impact on how we do." Greenway wouldn't have it any other way. "I want to make an impact any way I can," Greenway said. "I'll put in all the effort I've got."

Olympics: Hockey pioneer hopes to inspire black kids

The Olympic Games have long remained a matter of pride and prestige, not just for the host city, but for the entire nations; it is exactly the reason why nations spend billions of dollars for a month of sporting extravaganza. And it&rsquo;s no surprise that host governments more often than not find themselves in a larger debate that revolves around the cost-benefit analysis of the spectacle.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Many of the economists have argued, time and again, that cost of hosting the games outweigh perceived tangible and intangible gains, and hosts often lend themselves in the pool of large debts and liabilities. Unsurprisingly, International Olympic Committee (IOC) had to award hosting rights for 2024 and 2028 summer Olympics after unanimous votes, as there was virtually no competition, with single hosting bids from Paris and Los Angeles respectively.

&nbsp;

It wasn&rsquo;t a long ago when IOC sessions had to deal with competitive bidding from multiple candidate cities, with subsequent rounds of voting and elimination, before awarding host city rights. The trend indicates that hosting Olympics is not perceived to be as lucrative as it was in the past. Viral photographs of deserted and abandoned 2004 summer Olympic venues in Athens, often referred to as &lsquo;new ruins of Athens&rsquo; narrate the perfect story. The larger question in the debate is &ndash; &ldquo;How beneficial it is for the city and the country to host a sporting extravaganza such as Olympics?&rdquo;

&nbsp;

Much of the discourse on hosting Olympics revolves around the cost and revenue analysis, and measures &lsquo;success&rsquo; in terms of the economic viability or profitability of the games. Yes, economics is one of the most important considerations in the debate; but not the only aspect. Much of the twentieth century witnessed games being publicly funded and hosted by advanced economies, as they had better infrastructure and capabilities to stage the games. With costs associated with hosting rising, the public funding of the games became increasingly difficult. In 1972, Denver became the first city to reject the hosting rights after a public referendum that opposed additional public spending for the 1976 winter games, which were eventually hosted by Austria&rsquo;s Innsbruck.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;With advanced economies becoming increasingly reluctant to hosting, emerging and developing economies entered the arena and have successfully hosted the games &ndash; be it Tokyo in 1964, Mexico City in 1968, Seoul in 1988 or Beijing in 2008 and, most recently, it was Rio de Janeiro in 2016. With high GDP growth rates and growing economic activities, cities in developing world have often been &lsquo;better&rsquo; in hosting the games than their developed counterparts with sluggish growth profile. Moreover, emerging economies have more incentives to host - as it gives them an opportunity to showcase their culture, economy and attractiveness to the world &ndash; an open invitation to global investors; it is one of the reasons why I argue India should bid for the summer games in 2032 or 2036.

&nbsp;

India&rsquo;s tryst with multilateral sporting event is often exemplified by our recent experience with Delhi Commonwealth Games and widespread corruption and mismanagement associated with it. But, it is not our only experience. We have also hosted Asian Games twice, the first edition of games in 1951 and again in 1982, and were characterised neither by corruption nor mismanagement. Being one of the fastest growing major economies India is best poised to host the games, and we must take this opportunity to showcase our best &ndash; spectacular yet affordable games. Growing reluctance among advanced economies provides a good opportunity for India to bid for the games with the lower budget.

&nbsp;

Budget overruns have often been one of the reasons for the large debts for host governments. As Jasmin Guenette notes, since 1968, every Olympic Games (summer and winter) produced final costs that went over and above the estimates, e.g. 1976 Montreal games witnessed a ten-fold increase in actual costs overestimates. India&rsquo;s story of cost overrun for Delhi Commonwealth Games is particularly troublesome. Reports suggest that expenses reached over INR 70,000 Cr. in 2010, from initially estimated INR 617.5 Cr. in 2002. If such is the precedence, it is difficult to argue that India can host &lsquo;affordable&rsquo; games. Yet, this experience can also be remembered as a constant vigil for organising &lsquo;transparent&rsquo; and &lsquo;within budget&rsquo; games.

&nbsp;

Many argue that a &lsquo;low-income&rsquo; nation, such as India should rather spend on welfare schemes &ndash; from health and education to housing, and not on Olympics. Indeed, we need to spend more on welfare but that does not mean curtailing &lsquo;aspirations&rsquo; of young and growing nation, especially when we have no reservations about spending millions on statues and memorials. In case of Olympics, at least, we are building and improving our utilities, infrastructure and sporting facilities.

&nbsp;

Recently, India&rsquo;s first and only individual Olympic gold medalist, Abhinav Bindra suggested that India should only bid to host, if we have a &lsquo;realistic chance&rsquo; of winning 40 Gold. Host country winning more than 35 Gold Medals is also a rare feat, reached only by a handful of countries, the most recent one being China in Beijing.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Brazil clinched yellow metal only seven times in Rio (2016), Australia scored 16 in Sydney (2000), Greece scored six in Athens (2004) while Spain clinched 13 in Barcelona (1992) and the list goes on. For India, even five Gold Medals with an overall score of 20 as a host should be hailed as a good performance, given the sporting infrastructure and culture that we have as on date. The enthusiasm and excitement associated with hosting could prove to be a vital catalyst in developing a vibrant sporting culture for an otherwise cricket-enthusiast India.

&nbsp;

With a strong and stable economy and decades of sustained GDP growth rate over 5%, India has much to leverage and gain with a bid for summer Olympics.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

With a strong and stable economy and decades of sustained GDP growth rate over 5%, India has much to leverage and gain with a bid for summer Olympics.

The Olympic Games have long remained a matter of pride and prestige, not just for the host city, but for the entire nations; it is exactly the reason why nations spend billions of dollars for a month of sporting extravaganza. And it’s no surprise that host governments more often than not find themselves in a larger debate that revolves around the cost-benefit analysis of the spectacle. Many of the economists have argued, time and again, that cost of hosting the games outweigh perceived tangible and intangible gains, and hosts often lend themselves in the pool of large debts and liabilities. Unsurprisingly, International Olympic Committee (IOC) had to award hosting rights for 2024 and 2028 summer Olympics after unanimous votes, as there was virtually no competition, with single hosting bids from Paris and Los Angeles respectively. It wasn’t a long ago when IOC sessions had to deal with competitive bidding from multiple candidate cities, with subsequent rounds of voting and elimination, before awarding host city rights. The trend indicates that hosting Olympics is not perceived to be as lucrative as it was in the past. Viral photographs of deserted and abandoned 2004 summer Olympic venues in Athens, often referred to as ‘new ruins of Athens’ narrate the perfect story. The larger question in the debate is – “How beneficial it is for the city and the country to host a sporting extravaganza such as Olympics?” Much of the discourse on hosting Olympics revolves around the cost and revenue analysis, and measures ‘success’ in terms of the economic viability or profitability of the games. Yes, economics is one of the most important considerations in the debate; but not the only aspect. Much of the twentieth century witnessed games being publicly funded and hosted by advanced economies, as they had better infrastructure and capabilities to stage the games. With costs associated with hosting rising, the public funding of the games became increasingly difficult. In 1972, Denver became the first city to reject the hosting rights after a public referendum that opposed additional public spending for the 1976 winter games, which were eventually hosted by Austria’s Innsbruck. With advanced economies becoming increasingly reluctant to hosting, emerging and developing economies entered the arena and have successfully hosted the games – be it Tokyo in 1964, Mexico City in 1968, Seoul in 1988 or Beijing in 2008 and, most recently, it was Rio de Janeiro in 2016. With high GDP growth rates and growing economic activities, cities in developing world have often been ‘better’ in hosting the games than their developed counterparts with sluggish growth profile. Moreover, emerging economies have more incentives to host - as it gives them an opportunity to showcase their culture, economy and attractiveness to the world – an open invitation to global investors; it is one of the reasons why I argue India should bid for the summer games in 2032 or 2036. India’s tryst with multilateral sporting event is often exemplified by our recent experience with Delhi Commonwealth Games and widespread corruption and mismanagement associated with it. But, it is not our only experience. We have also hosted Asian Games twice, the first edition of games in 1951 and again in 1982, and were characterised neither by corruption nor mismanagement. Being one of the fastest growing major economies India is best poised to host the games, and we must take this opportunity to showcase our best – spectacular yet affordable games. Growing reluctance among advanced economies provides a good opportunity for India to bid for the games with the lower budget. Budget overruns have often been one of the reasons for the large debts for host governments. As Jasmin Guenette notes, since 1968, every Olympic Games (summer and winter) produced final costs that went over and above the estimates, e.g. 1976 Montreal games witnessed a ten-fold increase in actual costs overestimates. India’s story of cost overrun for Delhi Commonwealth Games is particularly troublesome. Reports suggest that expenses reached over INR 70,000 Cr. in 2010, from initially estimated INR 617.5 Cr. in 2002. If such is the precedence, it is difficult to argue that India can host ‘affordable’ games. Yet, this experience can also be remembered as a constant vigil for organising ‘transparent’ and ‘within budget’ games. Many argue that a ‘low-income’ nation, such as India should rather spend on welfare schemes – from health and education to housing, and not on Olympics. Indeed, we need to spend more on welfare but that does not mean curtailing ‘aspirations’ of young and growing nation, especially when we have no reservations about spending millions on statues and memorials. In case of Olympics, at least, we are building and improving our utilities, infrastructure and sporting facilities. Recently, India’s first and only individual Olympic gold medalist, Abhinav Bindra suggested that India should only bid to host, if we have a ‘realistic chance’ of winning 40 Gold. Host country winning more than 35 Gold Medals is also a rare feat, reached only by a handful of countries, the most recent one being China in Beijing. Brazil clinched yellow metal only seven times in Rio (2016), Australia scored 16 in Sydney (2000), Greece scored six in Athens (2004) while Spain clinched 13 in Barcelona (1992) and the list goes on. For India, even five Gold Medals with an overall score of 20 as a host should be hailed as a good performance, given the sporting infrastructure and culture that we have as on date. The enthusiasm and excitement associated with hosting could prove to be a vital catalyst in developing a vibrant sporting culture for an otherwise cricket-enthusiast India. With a strong and stable economy and decades of sustained GDP growth rate over 5%, India has much to leverage and gain with a bid for summer Olympics. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Indian dream and economics of Olympics

US gymnast Simone Biles revealed on Monday she was sexually abused by disgraced former USA team doctor Larry Nassar, who was last month jailed for 60 years on child pornography charges.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Biles said she had wrestled with her decision to go public with her story since the scandal broke.

&quot;Most of you know me as a happy, giggly, and energetic girl,&quot; the 20-year-old reigning Olympic all-around champion wrote.&nbsp;

&quot;But lately I&#39;ve felt a bit broken and the more I try to shut off the voice in my head, the louder it screams. I am not afraid to tell my story anymore,&quot; she said.

&quot;I too am one of the many survivors that were sexually abused by Larry Nassar,&quot; the 10-time World Championship medallist added.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Feelings... ???? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MeToo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MeToo</a> <a href="https://t.co/ICiu0FCa0n">pic.twitter.com/ICiu0FCa0n</a>
&mdash; Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Simone_Biles/status/953014513837715457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Nassar has been accused of sexually assaulting more than 100 young girls including several US Olympians.

Biles&#39;s teammates Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas are among the members of USA gymnastics squads who have said they were sexually assaulted by Nassar.

The 54-year-old was sentenced to 60 years in prison in December on child pornography charges.&nbsp;

He could be jailed for life when a further sentencing hearing gets underway in Michigan this week on separate sexual assault charges to which he has pleaded guilty.

In her statement on Twitter, Biles described her torment as she attempted to grapple with the abuse she had suffered.

&nbsp;

Larry Nassar has been accused of sexually assaulting more than 100 young girls including several US Olympians

US gymnast Simone Biles revealed on Monday she was sexually abused by disgraced former USA team doctor Larry Nassar, who was last month jailed for 60 years on child pornography charges. In a statement posted on Twitter, Biles said she had wrestled with her decision to go public with her story since the scandal broke. "Most of you know me as a happy, giggly, and energetic girl," the 20-year-old reigning Olympic all-around champion wrote. "But lately I've felt a bit broken and the more I try to shut off the voice in my head, the louder it screams. I am not afraid to tell my story anymore," she said. "I too am one of the many survivors that were sexually abused by Larry Nassar," the 10-time World Championship medallist added. Feelings... ???? #MeToo pic.twitter.com/ICiu0FCa0n — Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) January 15, 2018 × Nassar has been accused of sexually assaulting more than 100 young girls including several US Olympians. Biles's teammates Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas are among the members of USA gymnastics squads who have said they were sexually assaulted by Nassar. The 54-year-old was sentenced to 60 years in prison in December on child pornography charges. He could be jailed for life when a further sentencing hearing gets underway in Michigan this week on separate sexual assault charges to which he has pleaded guilty. In her statement on Twitter, Biles described her torment as she attempted to grapple with the abuse she had suffered.

'I was sexually abused by Larry Nassar,' says US gymnast Simone Biles

The purpose of Olympic games is to spread the philosophy of creating a peaceful and better world.

Many times we have seen sports mixing with the politics and diplomacy, be it India vs Pakistan cricket match or England vs Wales football match, the rivalry is very evident among players as well as among fans.

The sports diplomacy in Olympic games is something which has a global impact. Sports is definitely considered as &#39;Soft Power&#39; and sometimes such diplomacy may bring peace to many conflicting nations.

Sports diplomacy has the capacity to tackle many international political problems and it may provide a way forward but considering the current situation when North Korea was privileged by IOC, the &#39;other&#39; side of sports diplomacy was seen.

Recently, the International Olympic Committee had &#39;extended the deadline&#39; for North Korea&#39;s participation in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and finally, a few days back, North Korea had announced that it will&nbsp;participate in the event. They are also initiating talks to send an art troupe to the Olympics.

International Olympics Committee (IOC) is very strict when it comes to its rules and guidelines. Recently, they banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympic&nbsp;because it was found guilty of state-sponsored doping, as doping might snag a healthy competition and could hamper the prestige of the Olympics.

Though the doping case may not be a grievous crime against humanity or it might not cause a war.

In past, the nations which were engaged in a war-like situation or violated human rights were banished from the games. Let us recall the events when countries were banned from participating. For example:

In 1920, before World War I, five countries Austria, Hungary, Germany, Turkey and Bulgaria were banned, as they were not invited to the Olympics games in Antwerp, Belgium.

In 1948, after World War II, Germany and Japan were also banned due to their inhumane treatment of prisoners of war.

In 1960, North Korea participated in The Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO) and in the result, the athletes who participated were banned by IOC.

In 1964, a 30 years ban was imposed on South Africa for its racist apartheid regime.

In 1980, the US boycotted Moscow games because of Russian intervention in Afghanistan.

In response to that in 1984, the then-Soviet Union voluntarily did not participate in the Los Angeles Olympic games.

Afghanistan was barred from the 2000 Sydney games for the Taliban regime&rsquo;s discrimination against women.

Kuwait was banned at the 2016 Rio games because of its government&#39;s involvement in Olympic affairs.

IOC stood up for not only for social causes&nbsp;to advocate its stand when it comes to society and humanity, they also remained very firm against corruption as in 2012 London games and in 2014 Sochi games, India was banned due to corruption in the Indian Olympic Association.

When it comes to something which is causing danger to not only humanity but also to the world, nuclear threats, IOC seemed lenient. If banning a country for corruption and barring another for doping is genuine then why a country which is violating the nuclear code of conduct is getting such leverage.

The International Olympic Committee is showing two extremes, one side is appreciated worldwide and the other is questionable.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

&nbsp;

North Korea has violated the nuclear code of conduct constantly but IOC appeared to be lenient. If banning a country for corruption and barring another for doping is genuine then why is North Korea getting such leverage

The purpose of Olympic games is to spread the philosophy of creating a peaceful and better world. Many times we have seen sports mixing with the politics and diplomacy, be it India vs Pakistan cricket match or England vs Wales football match, the rivalry is very evident among players as well as among fans. The sports diplomacy in Olympic games is something which has a global impact. Sports is definitely considered as 'Soft Power' and sometimes such diplomacy may bring peace to many conflicting nations. Sports diplomacy has the capacity to tackle many international political problems and it may provide a way forward but considering the current situation when North Korea was privileged by IOC, the 'other' side of sports diplomacy was seen. Recently, the International Olympic Committee had 'extended the deadline' for North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and finally, a few days back, North Korea had announced that it will participate in the event. They are also initiating talks to send an art troupe to the Olympics. International Olympics Committee (IOC) is very strict when it comes to its rules and guidelines. Recently, they banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympic because it was found guilty of state-sponsored doping, as doping might snag a healthy competition and could hamper the prestige of the Olympics. Though the doping case may not be a grievous crime against humanity or it might not cause a war. In past, the nations which were engaged in a war-like situation or violated human rights were banished from the games. Let us recall the events when countries were banned from participating. For example: In 1920, before World War I, five countries Austria, Hungary, Germany, Turkey and Bulgaria were banned, as they were not invited to the Olympics games in Antwerp, Belgium. In 1948, after World War II, Germany and Japan were also banned due to their inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. In 1960, North Korea participated in The Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO) and in the result, the athletes who participated were banned by IOC. In 1964, a 30 years ban was imposed on South Africa for its racist apartheid regime. In 1980, the US boycotted Moscow games because of Russian intervention in Afghanistan. In response to that in 1984, the then-Soviet Union voluntarily did not participate in the Los Angeles Olympic games. Afghanistan was barred from the 2000 Sydney games for the Taliban regime’s discrimination against women. Kuwait was banned at the 2016 Rio games because of its government's involvement in Olympic affairs. IOC stood up for not only for social causes to advocate its stand when it comes to society and humanity, they also remained very firm against corruption as in 2012 London games and in 2014 Sochi games, India was banned due to corruption in the Indian Olympic Association. When it comes to something which is causing danger to not only humanity but also to the world, nuclear threats, IOC seemed lenient. If banning a country for corruption and barring another for doping is genuine then why a country which is violating the nuclear code of conduct is getting such leverage. The International Olympic Committee is showing two extremes, one side is appreciated worldwide and the other is questionable. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Opinion: When politics & Olympics collide: Games IOC loves to play

The Melbourne cricket club (MCC) World Cricket committee on Wednesday has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to back the bid to have cricket included in the Olympics.

The issue was raised after a meeting on Wednesday&nbsp;and the panel of former cricketers Ricky Ponting, Mike Gatting, Kumar Sangakkara and John Stevenson&nbsp;discussed the game&#39;s return to the Olympics.

The inclusion of cricket in the Olympics will help to promote the game around the world.

&quot;It would be ideal if all the major countries take part. And how we were looking at the 2024 Olympics, I don&#39;t think that&#39;s going to be a reality at the moment because the preparations are well underway. But, 2028 seems a very, very likely target and they are negations and discussions underway,&quot; suggested Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that it is open to cricket&#39;s future inclusion provided all top teams compete. But the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the game&#39;s richest and most influential board, has been rather reluctant.

&quot;It&#39;s one of those things that has frustrated me,&quot; committee chairman Mike Gatting told a news conference.

The Indian board has not been keen on cricket&#39;s Olympic inclusion, partly because of apprehensions that BCCI might lose its autonomy and be answerable to the country&#39;s Olympic committee.

&quot;We would like to urge the BCCI to have&nbsp;a look at it again and try and support the main body of boards who would like to get into the Olympics as soon as possible,&quot;&nbsp;former&nbsp;English cricketer Mike Gatting added.

Cricket was last played at the Olympics in the 1900 Paris Games and the governing International Cricket Council (ICC) has said most of its members backed the inclusion of the 20-overs format in Olympic Games.

&quot;One thing we&#39;re very conscious of not lessening the product that we&#39;re putting out. If cricket makes it into the Olympics it pretty much has to be the best players and showcase the sport for what it actually is,&quot; said former Australian captain Ricky Ponting.

&nbsp;

The inclusion of cricket in the Olympics will help in promoting the game around the world

The Melbourne cricket club (MCC) World Cricket committee on Wednesday has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to back the bid to have cricket included in the Olympics. The issue was raised after a meeting on Wednesday and the panel of former cricketers Ricky Ponting, Mike Gatting, Kumar Sangakkara and John Stevenson discussed the game's return to the Olympics. The inclusion of cricket in the Olympics will help to promote the game around the world. "It would be ideal if all the major countries take part. And how we were looking at the 2024 Olympics, I don't think that's going to be a reality at the moment because the preparations are well underway. But, 2028 seems a very, very likely target and they are negations and discussions underway," suggested Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that it is open to cricket's future inclusion provided all top teams compete. But the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the game's richest and most influential board, has been rather reluctant. "It's one of those things that has frustrated me," committee chairman Mike Gatting told a news conference. The Indian board has not been keen on cricket's Olympic inclusion, partly because of apprehensions that BCCI might lose its autonomy and be answerable to the country's Olympic committee. "We would like to urge the BCCI to have a look at it again and try and support the main body of boards who would like to get into the Olympics as soon as possible," former English cricketer Mike Gatting added. Cricket was last played at the Olympics in the 1900 Paris Games and the governing International Cricket Council (ICC) has said most of its members backed the inclusion of the 20-overs format in Olympic Games. "One thing we're very conscious of not lessening the product that we're putting out. If cricket makes it into the Olympics it pretty much has to be the best players and showcase the sport for what it actually is," said former Australian captain Ricky Ponting.

MCC World Cricket Committee ask BCCI to back Olympics push

The International Olympic Committee has &#39;extended the deadline&#39; for North Korea&#39;s participation in the Winter Olympics, it announced on Monday.

&quot;We will be as flexible as we can be,&quot; an IOC spokesman told AFP over North Korea sending a team to the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea.

Talks between the two Koreas hosted by IOC president Thomas Bach will take place at the Olympic movement&#39;s headquarters in Lausanne on Tuesday.

&quot;We welcome the discussion which will take place... between the governments of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People&#39;s Republic of Korea (DPRK),&quot; the IOC said.

&quot;The IOC has been having discussions with both sides for a long time. In doing so we have kept the door open by extending the deadline for registration, and by offering support to North Korean athletes in the qualification process, whilst always respecting United Nations sanctions.&quot;

On Saturday, North Korea Olympic body member Chang Ung said the isolated state was &#39;likely to participate&#39; in the Pyeongchang Games from February 9-25.

Tuesday&#39;s Lausanne summit comes days after the two Koreas agreed to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years to discuss the North&#39;s participation in the Winter Olympics.

The tentative rapprochement comes after the North&#39;s leader Kim Jong-Un warned in his New Year speech that he had a nuclear button on his desk, but also said Pyongyang could send a team to the Olympics.

The IOC in its statement Monday emphasised that its mission was &quot;always to ensure the participation of all qualified athletes, beyond all political tensions and divisions.

&quot;With regard to the very particular situation on the Korean peninsula we need the political commitment from all parties concerned to make such a participation possible,&quot; it added.

&quot;Once this political commitment is clear the IOC will take the final decision.&quot;

&nbsp;

'We will be as flexible as we can be,' an IOC spokesman said

The International Olympic Committee has 'extended the deadline' for North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympics, it announced on Monday. "We will be as flexible as we can be," an IOC spokesman told AFP over North Korea sending a team to the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea. Talks between the two Koreas hosted by IOC president Thomas Bach will take place at the Olympic movement's headquarters in Lausanne on Tuesday. "We welcome the discussion which will take place... between the governments of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)," the IOC said. "The IOC has been having discussions with both sides for a long time. In doing so we have kept the door open by extending the deadline for registration, and by offering support to North Korean athletes in the qualification process, whilst always respecting United Nations sanctions." On Saturday, North Korea Olympic body member Chang Ung said the isolated state was 'likely to participate' in the Pyeongchang Games from February 9-25. Tuesday's Lausanne summit comes days after the two Koreas agreed to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years to discuss the North's participation in the Winter Olympics. The tentative rapprochement comes after the North's leader Kim Jong-Un warned in his New Year speech that he had a nuclear button on his desk, but also said Pyongyang could send a team to the Olympics. The IOC in its statement Monday emphasised that its mission was "always to ensure the participation of all qualified athletes, beyond all political tensions and divisions. "With regard to the very particular situation on the Korean peninsula we need the political commitment from all parties concerned to make such a participation possible," it added. "Once this political commitment is clear the IOC will take the final decision."

North Korea 'likely to participate' in Winter Olympics, IOC extends deadline

Russian lawmakers should not attend the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics to support athletes unless they are competing under the Russian flag, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin as saying on Friday.

&quot;If we cannot ensure the possibility of our athletes competing under our flag, in the name of our country, we have nothing to do there,&quot; Interfax quoted Volodin as telling lawmakers in parliament.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Russia on Tuesday from next year&#39;s Winter Games after evidence emerged of an &quot;unprecedented systematic manipulation&quot; of the anti-doping system.

The door was left open, however, for Russians to compete as neutrals as long as they satisfy conditions that show they have a doping-free background.

Russian lawmakers should not attend the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics to support athletes unless they are competing under the Russian flag, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin as saying on Friday

Russian lawmakers should not attend the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics to support athletes unless they are competing under the Russian flag, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin as saying on Friday. "If we cannot ensure the possibility of our athletes competing under our flag, in the name of our country, we have nothing to do there," Interfax quoted Volodin as telling lawmakers in parliament. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Russia on Tuesday from next year's Winter Games after evidence emerged of an "unprecedented systematic manipulation" of the anti-doping system. The door was left open, however, for Russians to compete as neutrals as long as they satisfy conditions that show they have a doping-free background.

Russian speaker says lawmakers should shun Olympics if no national flag: Report

Failure is hard to digest. This is exactly what once happened to the newly crowned weightlifting world champion Saikhom Mirabai Chanu.

Mirabai, who brought laurels to the country by clinching a Gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championships last month, actually thought of quitting the sport after receiving flak for her failure to win a medal at the Rio Olympics.

&quot;I was really low after the Olympics. It took me a lot of time to get over the disappointment. I even thought of giving up the sport and stop training. The comments in social media, the criticism against my coach really hurt me,&quot; said Chanu, as reported by PTI.

To overcome the failure at the Olympics, Chanu left no stone unturned and worked on her technique and even went for regular sessions to her psychologist.

&quot;My psychologist also played a big role. I used to go to my psychologist twice in a month but after the Olympics, I started taking sessions every week and it really helped me,&quot; she added as per PTI.

In Rio 2016, Chanu had put up a disappointing performance as she could not get an overall total in women&#39;s 48 kg, after failing to lift the weight in any of her three attempts in clean and jerk section.

But now, after taking India to new heights, Chanu eyes the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games scheduled to take place next year.

Chanu went for regular sessions to a psychologist to get over the Rio loss

Failure is hard to digest. This is exactly what once happened to the newly crowned weightlifting world champion Saikhom Mirabai Chanu. Mirabai, who brought laurels to the country by clinching a Gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championships last month, actually thought of quitting the sport after receiving flak for her failure to win a medal at the Rio Olympics. "I was really low after the Olympics. It took me a lot of time to get over the disappointment. I even thought of giving up the sport and stop training. The comments in social media, the criticism against my coach really hurt me," said Chanu, as reported by PTI. To overcome the failure at the Olympics, Chanu left no stone unturned and worked on her technique and even went for regular sessions to her psychologist. "My psychologist also played a big role. I used to go to my psychologist twice in a month but after the Olympics, I started taking sessions every week and it really helped me," she added as per PTI. In Rio 2016, Chanu had put up a disappointing performance as she could not get an overall total in women's 48 kg, after failing to lift the weight in any of her three attempts in clean and jerk section. But now, after taking India to new heights, Chanu eyes the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games scheduled to take place next year.

'Thought to quit after Rio loss,' says Weightlifting World Champion Mirabai Chanu

The International Olympic Committee Tuesday banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Games over its state-orchestrated doping programme, however, Russian athletes not found guilty of doping will be allowed to compete under the Olympic flag. IOC president Thomas Bach accused Russia of &quot;perpetrating an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and sport&quot;. Reportedly, the ban&nbsp;is believed to be one of the toughest sanction ever levelled by the IOC for drug cheating. The ban came 65 days ahead of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.&nbsp;

The IOC Russia ban was announced after the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) and two subsequent IOC investigations confirmed Russian athletes to have participated in a drug-cheating programme which peaked during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Evidence also pointed at the alleged involvement of senior government officials. Russia&#39;s Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, who served as the country&#39;s sports minister during the Sochi Games has also been banned for life. Mutko currently heads the organising committee for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia. FIFA, in an official statement, said that it has taken note of IOC&#39;s decision on Mutko and stated that &quot;no impact on the preparations&quot; has taken place for the 2018 Russia World Cup. The IOC also suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and its chief Alexander Zhukov. &nbsp;Zhukov said he &quot;apologised&quot; to the IOC on Tuesday for the &quot;anti-doping violations&quot; committed in his country in recent years.&nbsp;

Reportedly, the IOC&nbsp;had an option to take more severe measures against Russian, including a blanket ban that was applied to apartheid-era South Africa from 1964 to 1988. The IOC moderate approach has now enabled some Russian athletes to compete in the Games after confirming to and coming clean out of a stringent testing programme and will participate under the name &quot;Olympic Athlete from Russia&quot; and shall compete under a neutral flag. &quot;No Russian athlete with a previous doping violation will be allowed to compete and no official who had a leadership role at Sochi 2014 will be invited to Pyeongchang,&quot; noted an AFP report. Russia&#39;s flag will not fly at any 2018 ceremony, the IOC said.

Mutko, on the other hand, has said the allegations were an attempt &quot;to create an image of an axis of evil&quot; against his country while Putin has warned that a Russia ban would cause &quot;serious harm to the Olympic movement&quot;. He said forcing Russian athletes to compete under a neutral flag would amount to a national &quot;humiliation&quot;.

For Grigory Rodchenkov, the former Russian laboratory chief and whistleblower who lifted the lid on the cheating scheme, the IOC`s action was a needed step to clean up the Olympic movement.

(With inputs from AFP)

 
&nbsp;

The ban was announced after subsequent investigations confirmed Russian athletes had participated in a state-sponsored drug-cheating programme

The International Olympic Committee Tuesday banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Games over its state-orchestrated doping programme, however, Russian athletes not found guilty of doping will be allowed to compete under the Olympic flag. IOC president Thomas Bach accused Russia of "perpetrating an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and sport". Reportedly, the ban is believed to be one of the toughest sanction ever levelled by the IOC for drug cheating. The ban came 65 days ahead of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The IOC Russia ban was announced after the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) and two subsequent IOC investigations confirmed Russian athletes to have participated in a drug-cheating programme which peaked during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Evidence also pointed at the alleged involvement of senior government officials. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, who served as the country's sports minister during the Sochi Games has also been banned for life. Mutko currently heads the organising committee for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia. FIFA, in an official statement, said that it has taken note of IOC's decision on Mutko and stated that "no impact on the preparations" has taken place for the 2018 Russia World Cup. The IOC also suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and its chief Alexander Zhukov. Zhukov said he "apologised" to the IOC on Tuesday for the "anti-doping violations" committed in his country in recent years. Reportedly, the IOC had an option to take more severe measures against Russian, including a blanket ban that was applied to apartheid-era South Africa from 1964 to 1988. The IOC moderate approach has now enabled some Russian athletes to compete in the Games after confirming to and coming clean out of a stringent testing programme and will participate under the name "Olympic Athlete from Russia" and shall compete under a neutral flag. "No Russian athlete with a previous doping violation will be allowed to compete and no official who had a leadership role at Sochi 2014 will be invited to Pyeongchang," noted an AFP report. Russia's flag will not fly at any 2018 ceremony, the IOC said. Mutko, on the other hand, has said the allegations were an attempt "to create an image of an axis of evil" against his country while Putin has warned that a Russia ban would cause "serious harm to the Olympic movement". He said forcing Russian athletes to compete under a neutral flag would amount to a national "humiliation". For Grigory Rodchenkov, the former Russian laboratory chief and whistleblower who lifted the lid on the cheating scheme, the IOC`s action was a needed step to clean up the Olympic movement. (With inputs from AFP)

Russia banned from 2018 Winter Olympics

&nbsp;Russia&rsquo;s cross country gold medalist Alexander Legkov and compatriot Evgeniy Belov were banned from the Olympics for life on Wednesday over doping at the Sochi 2014 winter Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said.

The two athletes were the first Russians to be sanctioned for anti-doping rule violations following an IOC investigation into allegations of widespread doping among Russians and sample tampering by lab and security officials to give them the edge.

Legkov won gold in the 50km and a silver medal in the 4x10km relay event. The IOC said all of Russia&rsquo;s 4x10km team would be disqualified given Legkov&rsquo;s violation.

Belov did not medal at the Sochi Games.

The IOC did not specify what kind of anti-doping rule violation the skiers had committed but said both of them were &ldquo;ineligible to be accredited in any capacity for all editions of the Games... subsequent to the Sochi Olympic winter Games.&rdquo;

<figure tabindex="-1">
It said more decisions would follow in the coming days as it completes its investigations into Russian competitors.

The IOC is re-testing all Russian athletes&rsquo; samples from the 2014 Games following revelations by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Moscow&rsquo;s discredited anti-doping laboratory, of a scheme to cover up home competitors&rsquo; positive samples.

The Sochi scandal is part of a wider doping affair in Russia that has led to the suspension of the country&rsquo;s anti-doping agency and an international ban for track and field athletes.

The IOC has said it will decide during its executive board meeting on December&nbsp;5-7 about the participation of Russian competitors at the Pyeongchang winter Olympics in February.

Russian track and field athletes were banned from the Rio de Janeiro summer Games following the doping affair.
</figure>

The two athletes were the first Russians to be sanctioned for anti-doping rule violations following an IOC investigation into allegations of widespread doping among Russians and sample tampering by lab and security officials to give them the edge.

Russia’s cross country gold medalist Alexander Legkov and compatriot Evgeniy Belov were banned from the Olympics for life on Wednesday over doping at the Sochi 2014 winter Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said. The two athletes were the first Russians to be sanctioned for anti-doping rule violations following an IOC investigation into allegations of widespread doping among Russians and sample tampering by lab and security officials to give them the edge. Legkov won gold in the 50km and a silver medal in the 4x10km relay event. The IOC said all of Russia’s 4x10km team would be disqualified given Legkov’s violation. Belov did not medal at the Sochi Games. The IOC did not specify what kind of anti-doping rule violation the skiers had committed but said both of them were “ineligible to be accredited in any capacity for all editions of the Games... subsequent to the Sochi Olympic winter Games.” It said more decisions would follow in the coming days as it completes its investigations into Russian competitors. The IOC is re-testing all Russian athletes’ samples from the 2014 Games following revelations by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Moscow’s discredited anti-doping laboratory, of a scheme to cover up home competitors’ positive samples. The Sochi scandal is part of a wider doping affair in Russia that has led to the suspension of the country’s anti-doping agency and an international ban for track and field athletes. The IOC has said it will decide during its executive board meeting on December 5-7 about the participation of Russian competitors at the Pyeongchang winter Olympics in February. Russian track and field athletes were banned from the Rio de Janeiro summer Games following the doping affair.

2 Russian skiers get life bans over Sochi Games doping

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Pro-<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISIS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ISIS</a> media unit Wafa&#39; Foundation continues to threaten 2018 FIFA <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCup</a>, this time using an image of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LionelMessi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LionelMessi</a> in a prison outfit <a href="https://t.co/isB8RDKYAK">pic.twitter.com/isB8RDKYAK</a>
&mdash; SITE Intel Group (@siteintelgroup) <a href="https://twitter.com/siteintelgroup/status/922863797928329216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&nbsp;

Ahead of the FIFA World Cup to be held in 2018, the Wafa Media Foundation,&nbsp; a pro-ISIS group on Twitter, releases a shocking image to threaten fans and followers of football.

The Islamic State&#39;s mouthpiece used the face of the Argentinian football legend Lionel Messi to convey their ideology. The released poster says &#39;Just Terrorism&#39; and &#39;You are fighting a state that does not have failure in its dictionary&#39;. Also in the poster, Lionel Messi is standing behind the bar with one eye crying blood.

The poster is intended to spread terror among football fans, indicating also that the terror group may carry a terror attack during FIFA World Cup. The other posters released by them contain pictures of rifles and explosives. Last week, Wafa Media Foundation published one photo of a fighter carrying a rifle and a time-bomb with the ISIS black flag in front of a football stadium. The official symbol of the 2018 World Cup finals was also included in the image.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/%5B%20br(eakfast)%20+%20(l)unch%20%5Dwww.brunch.com%20(1)-20171025090746.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
The poster says, &quot;Oh, enemies of Allah in Russia, I swear that the fire of the mujahideen will burn them, just wait,&quot;. (Twitter)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Politics has always been part of all sporting events in the recorded history of humankind. When Indian football clubs played with their British counterpart, it was very much a display of nationalist sentiment. In more recent times, every cricket match between India and Pakistan was an extension of the political tension that exists between the two nation. Winning a match has become more than a sporting event, it has come to signify, unfortunately, the superiority of one nation over the other. Political permeation of sports is not limited to the subcontinent; every football match played between and English and Wales football club show the domineering influence of politics, often sidelining the sporting spirit.

For repressive minority groups, sports events have often served as a tool to convey their sufferings to the rest of the world. For instance, recently, American football player Colin Kaepernick initiated a protest against New York police brutality. The NFL players either took a knee during the national anthem before a game or stand with arms locked in silent protest. This bold move started as a result of repeated videos showing police shooting and killing unarmed black men.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/sports%20story-20170926011311.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
NFL protest (Others)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Racism has time again inspired players to protest. In the 1968 Olympics, 200m gold and bronze medalist Tommie Smith and John Carlos respectively took up a public stance against racism. They stood with their heads bowed and raising a black-gloved hand as the American National Anthem played during the victory ceremony.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/tommie%20smith2-20170927050712.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Tommie Smith and John Carlos (Others)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

But, terrorism in sports is something that has caused global concern and condemnation. The threat of terrorism has become a major threat to all major sporting events as causing a debacle there, the terrorists understand well enough, would have global repercussions. Sporting events, such as the Olympics, football tournaments and cricket matches have been targeted, some of them had a larger impact such as the 1972 Olympics in Munich.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/munich-20171026053223.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
The Palestine Liberation Organization terrorist at 1972 Munich Olympics. (Others)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

At the Munich Olympics, eleven Israeli Olympic team members were taken as the hostage and eventually killed, along with a German police officer, by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. The attack was motivated by the desire to release members of the Palestine Liberation Organization held in captivity in Israeli prisons. German neo-Nazis gave logistical help to the commander of the terrorist group, Luttif Afif in carrying out the brutal attack.&nbsp;

The Boston Marathon of 2013 witnessed another bloody chapter in global sports history; two bombs were detonated near the finishing line, leaving three people dead and more than 260 injured. These attacks will always be considered as dark chapters in the history of sports, and the recent one targeting FIFA World Cup is another chapter added to the books on &#39;sports and terrorism&#39;.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/boston-20171026053004.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Double bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured at least 264. (Others)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Terror threat to FIFA World Cup will definitely influence the football festival. Having millions of followers, the Argentinian star is a legend and is also one of the favourites in the football fraternity. The terrorist, thus, very judiciously picked up the poster boy of the game.&nbsp;

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be played across 11 cities in Russia from&nbsp;June 14 to July 15, and the final will be played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Hence, these continuous terrorist threats raise a serious question as to how the Russian government is going to deal with the security issues during the World Cup. Meanwhile, these threats will remain the main concern for football fans and followers, who are eager to visit Russia to support their favourite teams.

Vulnerable targets, media exposure, and international impact are some of the reasons why terrorists have increasingly started targeting sporting venues.

Pro-#ISIS media unit Wafa' Foundation continues to threaten 2018 FIFA #WorldCup, this time using an image of #LionelMessi in a prison outfit pic.twitter.com/isB8RDKYAK — SITE Intel Group (@siteintelgroup) October 24, 2017 × Ahead of the FIFA World Cup to be held in 2018, the Wafa Media Foundation, a pro-ISIS group on Twitter, releases a shocking image to threaten fans and followers of football. The Islamic State's mouthpiece used the face of the Argentinian football legend Lionel Messi to convey their ideology. The released poster says 'Just Terrorism' and 'You are fighting a state that does not have failure in its dictionary'. Also in the poster, Lionel Messi is standing behind the bar with one eye crying blood. The poster is intended to spread terror among football fans, indicating also that the terror group may carry a terror attack during FIFA World Cup. The other posters released by them contain pictures of rifles and explosives. Last week, Wafa Media Foundation published one photo of a fighter carrying a rifle and a time-bomb with the ISIS black flag in front of a football stadium. The official symbol of the 2018 World Cup finals was also included in the image. The poster says, "Oh, enemies of Allah in Russia, I swear that the fire of the mujahideen will burn them, just wait,". (Twitter) × Politics has always been part of all sporting events in the recorded history of humankind. When Indian football clubs played with their British counterpart, it was very much a display of nationalist sentiment. In more recent times, every cricket match between India and Pakistan was an extension of the political tension that exists between the two nation. Winning a match has become more than a sporting event, it has come to signify, unfortunately, the superiority of one nation over the other. Political permeation of sports is not limited to the subcontinent; every football match played between and English and Wales football club show the domineering influence of politics, often sidelining the sporting spirit. For repressive minority groups, sports events have often served as a tool to convey their sufferings to the rest of the world. For instance, recently, American football player Colin Kaepernick initiated a protest against New York police brutality. The NFL players either took a knee during the national anthem before a game or stand with arms locked in silent protest. This bold move started as a result of repeated videos showing police shooting and killing unarmed black men. NFL protest (Others) × Racism has time again inspired players to protest. In the 1968 Olympics, 200m gold and bronze medalist Tommie Smith and John Carlos respectively took up a public stance against racism. They stood with their heads bowed and raising a black-gloved hand as the American National Anthem played during the victory ceremony. Tommie Smith and John Carlos (Others) × But, terrorism in sports is something that has caused global concern and condemnation. The threat of terrorism has become a major threat to all major sporting events as causing a debacle there, the terrorists understand well enough, would have global repercussions. Sporting events, such as the Olympics, football tournaments and cricket matches have been targeted, some of them had a larger impact such as the 1972 Olympics in Munich. The Palestine Liberation Organization terrorist at 1972 Munich Olympics. (Others) × At the Munich Olympics, eleven Israeli Olympic team members were taken as the hostage and eventually killed, along with a German police officer, by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. The attack was motivated by the desire to release members of the Palestine Liberation Organization held in captivity in Israeli prisons. German neo-Nazis gave logistical help to the commander of the terrorist group, Luttif Afif in carrying out the brutal attack. The Boston Marathon of 2013 witnessed another bloody chapter in global sports history; two bombs were detonated near the finishing line, leaving three people dead and more than 260 injured. These attacks will always be considered as dark chapters in the history of sports, and the recent one targeting FIFA World Cup is another chapter added to the books on 'sports and terrorism'. Double bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured at least 264. (Others) × Terror threat to FIFA World Cup will definitely influence the football festival. Having millions of followers, the Argentinian star is a legend and is also one of the favourites in the football fraternity. The terrorist, thus, very judiciously picked up the poster boy of the game. The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be played across 11 cities in Russia from June 14 to July 15, and the final will be played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Hence, these continuous terrorist threats raise a serious question as to how the Russian government is going to deal with the security issues during the World Cup. Meanwhile, these threats will remain the main concern for football fans and followers, who are eager to visit Russia to support their favourite teams.

Munich to Messi: Why terror haunts sports

Star wrestler Sushil Kumar&#39;s coach has applied for the Padma Bhushan award for his pupil.

Although the freestyle Indian wrestler has been presented with the Padma Shri in 2011, Padma Bhushan award is a rank higher, making it all the more prestigious.

Sushil is the only Indian athlete to have won two medals in the Olympics -- a silver and a bronze.&nbsp;

On getting nominated, Sushil said to ANI, &ldquo;Coach Yashveer has applied for Padma Bhushan award for me.&rdquo;

Sushil is the only Indian athlete to have won two medals in the Olympics -- a silver and a bronze

Star wrestler Sushil Kumar's coach has applied for the Padma Bhushan award for his pupil. Although the freestyle Indian wrestler has been presented with the Padma Shri in 2011, Padma Bhushan award is a rank higher, making it all the more prestigious. Sushil is the only Indian athlete to have won two medals in the Olympics -- a silver and a bronze. On getting nominated, Sushil said to ANI, “Coach Yashveer has applied for Padma Bhushan award for me.”

Wrestler Sushil Kumar's coach applies for Padma Bhushan for the wrestler

Australian cyclist Shane Perkins has been given the green light to attain Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin, paving the way for the twice world champion to represent his new country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Melbourne-born 30-year-old won a sprint bronze for Australia at the 2012 Olympics in London but missed out on selection for last year&#39;s Rio Games.

&quot;The President resolved to grant Russian Federation citizenship to Shane Alan Perkins,&quot; the Kremlin said in a statement on its website. 
Perkins posted a picture of himself on Twitter wearing Russia colours on his bike and wrote: &quot;I&#39;m the most excited guy in the world right now! I can make my dreams come true!&quot;

Perkins, a good friend of Russia&#39;s reigning world champion sprinter Denis Dmitriev, who took bronze in the sprint at Rio, began seriously considering defecting less than a year ago, frustrated at being shut out of Australia&#39;s high performance programme, he told local media.

Perkins&#39; father Daryl, a former national champion, raced in the now defunct tandem sprint with Ian Browne at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. They were beaten by the silver medal-winning Soviet Union pair of Imants Bodnieks and Viktor Logunov in the quarter-finals.

Australia has granted citizenship to a number of top Russian athletes over the years, including women&#39;s tennis player Daria Gavrilova, the world number 26, and former European champion speed skater Tatiana Borodulina.

The Melbourne-born 30-year-old won a sprint bronze for Australia at the 2012 Olympics in London but missed out on selection for last year's Rio Games.

Australian cyclist Shane Perkins has been given the green light to attain Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin, paving the way for the twice world champion to represent his new country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Melbourne-born 30-year-old won a sprint bronze for Australia at the 2012 Olympics in London but missed out on selection for last year's Rio Games. "The President resolved to grant Russian Federation citizenship to Shane Alan Perkins," the Kremlin said in a statement on its website. Perkins posted a picture of himself on Twitter wearing Russia colours on his bike and wrote: "I'm the most excited guy in the world right now! I can make my dreams come true!" Perkins, a good friend of Russia's reigning world champion sprinter Denis Dmitriev, who took bronze in the sprint at Rio, began seriously considering defecting less than a year ago, frustrated at being shut out of Australia's high performance programme, he told local media. Perkins' father Daryl, a former national champion, raced in the now defunct tandem sprint with Ian Browne at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. They were beaten by the silver medal-winning Soviet Union pair of Imants Bodnieks and Viktor Logunov in the quarter-finals. Australia has granted citizenship to a number of top Russian athletes over the years, including women's tennis player Daria Gavrilova, the world number 26, and former European champion speed skater Tatiana Borodulina.

Cyclist Perkins gets nod from Putin for Russia switch

Paris is set to host the 2024 Olympic Games after the last candidate Los Angeles announced today it was pulling out of the race. The International Olympic Committee, however, is yet to officially announce the host of the 2024 Olympics.

French President Emmanuel Macron cautiously welcomed Los Angeles&#39; decision to pull out, hailing it as a &quot;very important step&quot; on the road to hosting the Games.

&quot;France notes the decision of Los Angeles to put forward its candidature for 2028 and to reach an agreement with the IOC and Paris,&quot; a statement from Macron&#39;s office said.

The French capital had insisted it wanted to host the Olympics&nbsp;in 2024, on the 100th anniversary of the city&#39;s 1924 Olympics which led to Los Angeles softening its stance and consider hosting the 2028 Games.

Paris had hosted the Olympics twice earlier in 1900 and 1924 but had failed thrice to host it in 1992, 2008 and 2012.

&nbsp;People in the streets of Paris have already started celebrating &quot;victory&quot; even as the French media declared they had &quot;won&quot; this time.

The International Olympic Committee is likely to announce France as the host of the 2024 Olympics at its meeting in Lima in September.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

President Emmanuel Macron cautiously welcomed Los Angeles' decision to pull out, hailing it as a "very important step" on the road to hosting the Games

Paris is set to host the 2024 Olympic Games after the last candidate Los Angeles announced today it was pulling out of the race. The International Olympic Committee, however, is yet to officially announce the host of the 2024 Olympics. French President Emmanuel Macron cautiously welcomed Los Angeles' decision to pull out, hailing it as a "very important step" on the road to hosting the Games. "France notes the decision of Los Angeles to put forward its candidature for 2028 and to reach an agreement with the IOC and Paris," a statement from Macron's office said. The French capital had insisted it wanted to host the Olympics in 2024, on the 100th anniversary of the city's 1924 Olympics which led to Los Angeles softening its stance and consider hosting the 2028 Games. Paris had hosted the Olympics twice earlier in 1900 and 1924 but had failed thrice to host it in 1992, 2008 and 2012. People in the streets of Paris have already started celebrating "victory" even as the French media declared they had "won" this time. The International Olympic Committee is likely to announce France as the host of the 2024 Olympics at its meeting in Lima in September.

Paris likely to host 2024 Olympics after Los Angeles pulls out

More than 2,500 years ago, an Athenian nobleman named Cylon,&nbsp;the first recorded Olympic champion,&nbsp;tried to take over the city of Athens and install himself as its sole ruler.

According to Thucydides and Herodotus, Athenian and Greek historians who wrote about the coup, Cylon enticed an army of followers to enter the city and lay siege to the Acropolis. They were defeated, but Cylon managed to escape.

Now archaeologists in Athens believe they may have found some of the remains of Cylon&#39;s army in a mass grave in Phaleron, four miles (6 kilometres) south of downtown Athens.

The discovery of the 80 skeletons of men is &quot;unequalled&quot; in Greece, said site project director Stella Chrysoulaki.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/000_qk1ri-20170715050053.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
More than 2,500 years ago, an Athenian nobleman named Cyclon tried to take over Athens and become sole ruler. Now archaeologists believe they may have found some of the remains of his army in a mass grave in Phaleron 6, kms south of downtown Athens. (AFP)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&nbsp;

The men, young and well-fed, were found lying in the unmarked grave in three rows, some on their backs while others were tossed facedown on their stomachs. All of the men had their hands in iron chains and at least 52 of them had their hands tied above their heads.

&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/000_qk1z3-20170715045425.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
A photo taken on July 7, 2017 shows a human skeleton with the hands tied in the back stored in a lab at the American School of Archaeology in Athens. (AFP)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

They died from blows to the head, victims of a &quot;political execution&quot; that dates back to between 675 and 650 BC according to pieces of pottery found in the grave, Chrysoulaki said.

At the time, Athens was just being formed and the city was transitioning towards a democracy, Eleanna Prevedorou, a bioarchaeological researcher on the project, said. And it was happening &quot;against a backdrop of political turmoil, tensions between tyrants, aristocrats and the working class,&quot; she added.

&nbsp;

&#39;Crime Scene Investigation&#39;&nbsp;

Bioarchaeological scientists use forensic research, such as DNA profiling, to investigate and ultimately uncover how humans lived and died by examining skeletons.

&quot;We are going to use, roughly speaking, the methods made famous by television series on forensics crime science,&quot; joked Panagiotis Karkanas, laboratory director and geoarchaeologist at the Malcolm H&nbsp;Wiener Laboratory at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens.

Probably the most famous of these TV series, CBS&#39; &quot;CSI: Crime Scene Investigation&quot;, which chronicles the cases of an elite team of police forensics investigators, has spawned the shorthand CSI to describe the technology the agents use. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Karkanas&#39; team, though technically not crime scene investigators, will apply similar high-tech methods using some of the same tools.

They will perform a battery of tests -- particularly gene, radiographic and isotopic analyses -- to uncover the mysteries hidden inside each skull and skeleton fragment.

Whatever clues they gather will give them an idea of how old the men were, whether they were related, where they came from, how healthy they were, and where they stood on the socioeconomic ladder of the times.

But unlike crime dramas, where investigators reveal exactly how and why the crime took place, this cold case will likely not be resolved for five to seven years.

&nbsp;

1,500 skeletons

The mass grave was uncovered in spring last year in one of the largest excavation sites Greece has ever unearthed.

Though the site was found a century ago, large-scale excavation of the complex only began in 2012, when archaeologists discovered a large cemetery containing over 1,500 skeletons dating back to between the eighth and fifth century BC. More than 100 of them bore the marks of a violent death.

Other small-scale excavations since then have unearthed other treasures, including the group of men believed to be part of Cylon&#39;s army. Many of the skeletons found were bound or shackled, and facedown in unmarked graves, sometimes in sandy holes barely big enough to hold a body.

Other skeletons were buried in open pits, placed on funeral pyres and in jars, the preferred coffins at the time for infants and small children.

According to researchers, the cemetery measures about 4,000 square metres (372 square feet) and all 1,500 skeletons will eventually be taken to the laboratory&#39;s facilities for proper study.

At least 10 of the 80 men found are headed to the lab later this year, while the rest will stay as part of an upcoming exposition on the excavation site.&nbsp;

One of the skeletons already at the lab, with his arms twisted behind his back, is a reflection of past Athenian violence. He could have been a &quot;prisoner of war, a criminal or a runaway slave,&quot; Prevedorou said.

&nbsp;

A story to tell&nbsp;

Even the nonviolent deaths, or deaths without historical reference,&nbsp;notably the hundreds of children&#39;s remains found in jars,&nbsp;have a story to tell, Karkanas said. The bones could reveal the children&#39;s lifestyles and diseases, shedding more light on ancient Athenian culture and history.

Most of the recorded ancient history on Athens and Greek life describes the &quot;elite and the victors,&quot; Karkanas added. But to rely solely on those testimonies to understand the past would be like &quot;reading newspapers today to find out what&#39;s going on in the world right now&quot;.&nbsp;

The 80 skeletons may be the army that lay siege to ancient Athens raised by Cylon, a nobleman and the first-ever Olympic champion

More than 2,500 years ago, an Athenian nobleman named Cylon, the first recorded Olympic champion, tried to take over the city of Athens and install himself as its sole ruler. According to Thucydides and Herodotus, Athenian and Greek historians who wrote about the coup, Cylon enticed an army of followers to enter the city and lay siege to the Acropolis. They were defeated, but Cylon managed to escape. Now archaeologists in Athens believe they may have found some of the remains of Cylon's army in a mass grave in Phaleron, four miles (6 kilometres) south of downtown Athens. The discovery of the 80 skeletons of men is "unequalled" in Greece, said site project director Stella Chrysoulaki. More than 2,500 years ago, an Athenian nobleman named Cyclon tried to take over Athens and become sole ruler. Now archaeologists believe they may have found some of the remains of his army in a mass grave in Phaleron 6, kms south of downtown Athens. (AFP) × The men, young and well-fed, were found lying in the unmarked grave in three rows, some on their backs while others were tossed facedown on their stomachs. All of the men had their hands in iron chains and at least 52 of them had their hands tied above their heads. A photo taken on July 7, 2017 shows a human skeleton with the hands tied in the back stored in a lab at the American School of Archaeology in Athens. (AFP) × They died from blows to the head, victims of a "political execution" that dates back to between 675 and 650 BC according to pieces of pottery found in the grave, Chrysoulaki said. At the time, Athens was just being formed and the city was transitioning towards a democracy, Eleanna Prevedorou, a bioarchaeological researcher on the project, said. And it was happening "against a backdrop of political turmoil, tensions between tyrants, aristocrats and the working class," she added. 'Crime Scene Investigation' Bioarchaeological scientists use forensic research, such as DNA profiling, to investigate and ultimately uncover how humans lived and died by examining skeletons. "We are going to use, roughly speaking, the methods made famous by television series on forensics crime science," joked Panagiotis Karkanas, laboratory director and geoarchaeologist at the Malcolm H Wiener Laboratory at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. Probably the most famous of these TV series, CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", which chronicles the cases of an elite team of police forensics investigators, has spawned the shorthand CSI to describe the technology the agents use. Karkanas' team, though technically not crime scene investigators, will apply similar high-tech methods using some of the same tools. They will perform a battery of tests -- particularly gene, radiographic and isotopic analyses -- to uncover the mysteries hidden inside each skull and skeleton fragment. Whatever clues they gather will give them an idea of how old the men were, whether they were related, where they came from, how healthy they were, and where they stood on the socioeconomic ladder of the times. But unlike crime dramas, where investigators reveal exactly how and why the crime took place, this cold case will likely not be resolved for five to seven years. 1,500 skeletons The mass grave was uncovered in spring last year in one of the largest excavation sites Greece has ever unearthed. Though the site was found a century ago, large-scale excavation of the complex only began in 2012, when archaeologists discovered a large cemetery containing over 1,500 skeletons dating back to between the eighth and fifth century BC. More than 100 of them bore the marks of a violent death. Other small-scale excavations since then have unearthed other treasures, including the group of men believed to be part of Cylon's army. Many of the skeletons found were bound or shackled, and facedown in unmarked graves, sometimes in sandy holes barely big enough to hold a body. Other skeletons were buried in open pits, placed on funeral pyres and in jars, the preferred coffins at the time for infants and small children. According to researchers, the cemetery measures about 4,000 square metres (372 square feet) and all 1,500 skeletons will eventually be taken to the laboratory's facilities for proper study. At least 10 of the 80 men found are headed to the lab later this year, while the rest will stay as part of an upcoming exposition on the excavation site. One of the skeletons already at the lab, with his arms twisted behind his back, is a reflection of past Athenian violence. He could have been a "prisoner of war, a criminal or a runaway slave," Prevedorou said. A story to tell Even the nonviolent deaths, or deaths without historical reference, notably the hundreds of children's remains found in jars, have a story to tell, Karkanas said. The bones could reveal the children's lifestyles and diseases, shedding more light on ancient Athenian culture and history. Most of the recorded ancient history on Athens and Greek life describes the "elite and the victors," Karkanas added. But to rely solely on those testimonies to understand the past would be like "reading newspapers today to find out what's going on in the world right now".

Archaeologists go high-tech in 2,500-year-old Greek cold case

American media giant Discovery, the rights holder for the Olympics in Europe, on Thursday announced its backing to the Paris bid to host the 2024 Games.

Discovery, which also owns pan-European television network Eurosport and holds the European rights to the Olympics for the period 2018-2024, said in a statement: &quot;Today, Discovery Communications and Eurosport, Home of the Olympic Games in Europe, met with members of the Paris 2024 Olympic Bid Committee in a show of support for an Olympic Games to be held in Europe in 2024.&quot;

The announcement comes as Paris competes with Los Angeles for the right to host the Games. The winning bid will be named by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lima in September.

There are suggestions that the IOC will decide to award one city the 2024 Games and the other 2028.

&quot;We are excited to show our support for the Paris bid and their quest to bring the 2024 Olympic Games back to Europe,&quot; said Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav.

The IOC&#39;s executive committee will meet on Friday in Lausanne, Switzerland, to discuss the issue of announcing the hosts of the 2024 and 2028 at the same time this year.

The IOC is keen on a joint award in an effort to lock in two host candidates which offer low-risk, high-quality bids at a time when fewer cities are willing to take on the vast expense of staging the Olympics.

Publicly, however, both Paris and Los Angeles bid officials have stuck to the line that they remain focused only on 2024.

The IOC announced in June 2015 that Discovery had acquired the European rights for the Olympics for the six years to 2024 for a sum of 1.3 billion euros ($1.46 billion).

The period also covers the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo as well as the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

(AFP)

American media giant Discovery, the rights holder for the Olympics in Europe from 2018 to 2024, announces its backing to the Paris bid to host the 2024 Games.

American media giant Discovery, the rights holder for the Olympics in Europe, on Thursday announced its backing to the Paris bid to host the 2024 Games. Discovery, which also owns pan-European television network Eurosport and holds the European rights to the Olympics for the period 2018-2024, said in a statement: "Today, Discovery Communications and Eurosport, Home of the Olympic Games in Europe, met with members of the Paris 2024 Olympic Bid Committee in a show of support for an Olympic Games to be held in Europe in 2024." The announcement comes as Paris competes with Los Angeles for the right to host the Games. The winning bid will be named by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lima in September. There are suggestions that the IOC will decide to award one city the 2024 Games and the other 2028. "We are excited to show our support for the Paris bid and their quest to bring the 2024 Olympic Games back to Europe," said Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav. The IOC's executive committee will meet on Friday in Lausanne, Switzerland, to discuss the issue of announcing the hosts of the 2024 and 2028 at the same time this year. The IOC is keen on a joint award in an effort to lock in two host candidates which offer low-risk, high-quality bids at a time when fewer cities are willing to take on the vast expense of staging the Olympics. Publicly, however, both Paris and Los Angeles bid officials have stuck to the line that they remain focused only on 2024. The IOC announced in June 2015 that Discovery had acquired the European rights for the Olympics for the six years to 2024 for a sum of 1.3 billion euros ($1.46 billion). The period also covers the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo as well as the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. (AFP)

2024 Olympics: Media giant Discovery backs Paris bid

Just two cities are competing for the 2024 Summer Olympics&mdash;Paris and Los Angeles&mdash;the lowest number since Seoul and Nagoya (Japan) competed for the 1988 Olympics.

An evaluation commission from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has just visited <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-olympics-ioc-visit-20170512-story.html">Los Angeles</a> and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2024-paris-idUSKCN18C0RN">Paris</a> and will publish a report on their findings <a href="https://www.olympic.org/current-candidature-process-2024">in July</a>. IOC members will finally vote on which city gets the Olympics at an <a href="https://www.olympic.org/current-candidature-process-2024">IOC session</a> in Lima, Peru in September.

Here&#39;s a look at the number of cities that <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=DAHlAPOiu7QC&amp;pg=PA89&amp;lpg=PA89&amp;dq=1916+berlin+amsterdam+bid+olympics&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=GVpu7DJpl7&amp;sig=EhAnwgOWB3zM443ze4DxkT22E9k&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiRuqahuPbTAhXIwI8KHVHICiMQ6AEIUDAH#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">have competed</a> for the summer Olympics since 1896:

<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="600" id="datawrapper-chart-TIx0y" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="//datawrapper.dwcdn.net/TIx0y/2/" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="100%"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">if("undefined"==typeof window.datawrapper)window.datawrapper={};window.datawrapper["TIx0y"]={},window.datawrapper["TIx0y"].embedDeltas={"100":920,"200":723,"300":657,"400":640,"500":626,"600":600,"700":600,"800":600,"900":600,"1000":600},window.datawrapper["TIx0y"].iframe=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-TIx0y"),window.datawrapper["TIx0y"].iframe.style.height=window.datawrapper["TIx0y"].embedDeltas[Math.min(1e3,Math.max(100*Math.floor(window.datawrapper["TIx0y"].iframe.offsetWidth/100),100))]+"px",window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if("undefined"!=typeof a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var b in a.data["datawrapper-height"])if("TIx0y"==b)window.datawrapper["TIx0y"].iframe.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][b]+"px"});</script>

As we can see, with just two cities bidding for the 2024 Olympics, this will be the lowest number in 36 years.

Back in September 2015, IOC <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/16/sport/olympics-2024-los-angeles-paris-rome-budapest-hamburg/">had announced</a> five cities would compete for the 2024 summer Olympics&mdash;Los Angeles, Rome, Paris, Budapest and Hamburg&mdash;but three cities withdrew leaving just Los Angeles and Paris in the running.

<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="429" id="datawrapper-chart-h0l8R" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="//datawrapper.dwcdn.net/h0l8R/1/" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="100%"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">if("undefined"==typeof window.datawrapper)window.datawrapper={};window.datawrapper["h0l8R"]={},window.datawrapper["h0l8R"].embedDeltas={"100":587,"200":495,"300":455,"400":455,"500":429,"600":429,"700":429,"800":429,"900":429,"1000":429},window.datawrapper["h0l8R"].iframe=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-h0l8R"),window.datawrapper["h0l8R"].iframe.style.height=window.datawrapper["h0l8R"].embedDeltas[Math.min(1e3,Math.max(100*Math.floor(window.datawrapper["h0l8R"].iframe.offsetWidth/100),100))]+"px",window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if("undefined"!=typeof a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var b in a.data["datawrapper-height"])if("h0l8R"==b)window.datawrapper["h0l8R"].iframe.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][b]+"px"});</script>

The idea of hosting the Olympics has gradually become an <a href="http://theconversation.com/five-reasons-why-your-city-wont-want-to-host-the-olympic-games-52289">unwelcome and toxic idea</a>. Many worry about the prospect of building up infrastructure for the event that ends up becoming &#39;white elephants&#39; and lie <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2723515/Athens-Olympics-leave-mixed-legacy-10-years-later.html">unused</a> after the Olympics get over.

Reluctance to host the Olympics has grown so much that IOC president Thomas Bach, wary of the lack of quality bids for the 2028 games, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2017/02/18/iocs-bach-welcomes-talk-on-2024-and-2028-olympic-hosts-pick/98092664/">even floated</a> the idea of awarding both 2024 and 2028 games at same time. Paris would get one and Los Angeles the other, but both cities <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2024-wasserman-idUSKBN1802F7">reportedly</a> want to be considered only for 2024.

Because of the opposition to hosting the Olympics, chances are the Games will end up getting hosted only in developed countries where sports infrastructure has already been built up.

<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="252" id="datawrapper-chart-i7Cd8" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="//datawrapper.dwcdn.net/i7Cd8/1/" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="100%"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">if("undefined"==typeof window.datawrapper)window.datawrapper={};window.datawrapper["i7Cd8"]={},window.datawrapper["i7Cd8"].embedDeltas={"100":450,"200":321,"300":295,"400":278,"500":252,"600":252,"700":252,"800":252,"900":252,"1000":252},window.datawrapper["i7Cd8"].iframe=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-i7Cd8"),window.datawrapper["i7Cd8"].iframe.style.height=window.datawrapper["i7Cd8"].embedDeltas[Math.min(1e3,Math.max(100*Math.floor(window.datawrapper["i7Cd8"].iframe.offsetWidth/100),100))]+"px",window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if("undefined"!=typeof a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var b in a.data["datawrapper-height"])if("i7Cd8"==b)window.datawrapper["i7Cd8"].iframe.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][b]+"px"});</script>

We may never see a city in Africa host the Olympics, but that just might not be a bad thing. There has been talk about New Delhi too hosting the Olympics at some point in the future, but India would do well to heed these warning signs.

The 2020 Olympics will have the fewest cities competing for an Olympic Games in 36 years

Just two cities are competing for the 2024 Summer Olympics—Paris and Los Angeles—the lowest number since Seoul and Nagoya (Japan) competed for the 1988 Olympics. An evaluation commission from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has just visited Los Angeles and Paris and will publish a report on their findings in July. IOC members will finally vote on which city gets the Olympics at an IOC session in Lima, Peru in September. Here's a look at the number of cities that have competed for the summer Olympics since 1896: As we can see, with just two cities bidding for the 2024 Olympics, this will be the lowest number in 36 years. Back in September 2015, IOC had announced five cities would compete for the 2024 summer Olympics—Los Angeles, Rome, Paris, Budapest and Hamburg—but three cities withdrew leaving just Los Angeles and Paris in the running. The idea of hosting the Olympics has gradually become an unwelcome and toxic idea. Many worry about the prospect of building up infrastructure for the event that ends up becoming 'white elephants' and lie unused after the Olympics get over. Reluctance to host the Olympics has grown so much that IOC president Thomas Bach, wary of the lack of quality bids for the 2028 games, even floated the idea of awarding both 2024 and 2028 games at same time. Paris would get one and Los Angeles the other, but both cities reportedly want to be considered only for 2024. Because of the opposition to hosting the Olympics, chances are the Games will end up getting hosted only in developed countries where sports infrastructure has already been built up. We may never see a city in Africa host the Olympics, but that just might not be a bad thing. There has been talk about New Delhi too hosting the Olympics at some point in the future, but India would do well to heed these warning signs.

Infographic: Does no one want to host the Olympics anymore?

olympics

Olympics, News on Olympics, stories on Olympics, articles on Olympics, Olympics stories at Wion, Olympics news, Olympics latest news