Japan will be hosting&nbsp;the 2017 Asian Winter Games (AWG), in the cities of Sapporo and Obihiro, starting Sunday. The Winter Games will run through February 26.&nbsp;

AWG is an international multi-sport event run by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to develop winter sports within its area of coverage. According to the official website, the OCA has 45 member countries.This year, the 8th Asian Winter Games is expected to attract more than 2,000 athletes from 31 countries, competing in five sports, 11 disciplines and 64 events.

With the Winter Games, just a year away from the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchan,&nbsp;it is expected to offer a great stage for athletes to rehearse. Pyeongchang will stage Asia&#39;s first Winter Games outside Japan next year. This will kick-start a cycle of events in Asia with Tokyo hosting the 2020 Summer Games and Beijing the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Keeping with the sportsman spirit, the Japanese government is allowing the North Korean athletes&nbsp;to enter the country to take part in the Games despite Japan&#39;s entry ban on North Korean citizens, as reported in AP.&nbsp;Tokyo will treat the athletes as an exception to its punitive measure taken as part of its sanctions in response to Pyongyang&#39;s nuclear tests and rocket launches.&nbsp;

The Sapporo Games will also feature athletes from Australia and New Zealand.&nbsp;At the request of the Australian Olympic Committee, the Olympic Council of Asia and the Sapporo 2017 organizing committee agreed to allow athletes from the two countries to take part as &#39;guest athletes&#39; in individual sports only, according to AP. However, they won&#39;t be eligible to compete for medals.

The 8th Sapporo Asian Winter Games Organising Committee (SAWGOC) looks to enhance tourism, economic stimulation and greater interest in winter sports in the region.&nbsp;

At present, Republic of Korea leads the medal tally with 14 medals, Japan and China follow with 12 and 9 medals respectively.&nbsp;

(WION) 
&nbsp;

Some 2000 athletes from 31 countries will be competing in five sports across 64 events in Japan

Japan will be hosting the 2017 Asian Winter Games (AWG), in the cities of Sapporo and Obihiro, starting Sunday. The Winter Games will run through February 26. AWG is an international multi-sport event run by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to develop winter sports within its area of coverage. According to the official website, the OCA has 45 member countries.This year, the 8th Asian Winter Games is expected to attract more than 2,000 athletes from 31 countries, competing in five sports, 11 disciplines and 64 events. With the Winter Games, just a year away from the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchan, it is expected to offer a great stage for athletes to rehearse. Pyeongchang will stage Asia's first Winter Games outside Japan next year. This will kick-start a cycle of events in Asia with Tokyo hosting the 2020 Summer Games and Beijing the 2022 Winter Olympics. Keeping with the sportsman spirit, the Japanese government is allowing the North Korean athletes to enter the country to take part in the Games despite Japan's entry ban on North Korean citizens, as reported in AP. Tokyo will treat the athletes as an exception to its punitive measure taken as part of its sanctions in response to Pyongyang's nuclear tests and rocket launches. The Sapporo Games will also feature athletes from Australia and New Zealand. At the request of the Australian Olympic Committee, the Olympic Council of Asia and the Sapporo 2017 organizing committee agreed to allow athletes from the two countries to take part as 'guest athletes' in individual sports only, according to AP. However, they won't be eligible to compete for medals. The 8th Sapporo Asian Winter Games Organising Committee (SAWGOC) looks to enhance tourism, economic stimulation and greater interest in winter sports in the region. At present, Republic of Korea leads the medal tally with 14 medals, Japan and China follow with 12 and 9 medals respectively. (WION)

Japan to host Asian Winter Games

Russia&#39;s Mariya Savinova-Farnosova has been stripped of her 800m London 2012 Olympic Games gold medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday imposed a four-year ban saying there was &quot;clear evidence&quot; she used performance-enhancing drugs.

She is the latest in a growing list of Russian athletes to have past Olympic medals taken away over doping, as the nation struggles to overcome its most widespread doping scandal ever.

The retroactive four-year penalty starts from Aug. 24, 2015, but CAS also disqualified all Savinova&#39;s results from July 26, 2010, to Aug. 19, 2013, thereby stripping her of her 2011 world championships gold, 2013 world silver and 2010 European gold.

South Africa&#39;s double silver medallist Caster Semenya is now in line to be promoted to gold in both the 2012 Olympics and 2011 world championships.

The 31-year-old former 800 metre world and Olympic champion was among the athletes that a commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommended be banned for life in 2015.

&quot;On the basis of clear evidence, including the evidence derived from her biological passport, Mariya Savinova-Farnosova is found to have been engaged in using doping from 26 July 2010 through to 19 August 2013,&quot; CAS said.

It took the action as the decision-making authority while Russia&#39;s athletics federation remains banned over the country&#39;s state-backed doping scandal.

Almost the entire track and field team of Russia were banned from competing at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

More than 100 athletes have so far tested positive in re-tests of samples taken during the London and Beijing 2008 Olympics conducted by the International Olympic Committee. Russia has the most positive re-tests per nation.

(Reuters)

Russia's Mariya Savinova-Farnosova has been stripped of her 800m London 2012 Olympic gold medal after a court found her guilty of doping

Russia's Mariya Savinova-Farnosova has been stripped of her 800m London 2012 Olympic Games gold medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday imposed a four-year ban saying there was "clear evidence" she used performance-enhancing drugs. She is the latest in a growing list of Russian athletes to have past Olympic medals taken away over doping, as the nation struggles to overcome its most widespread doping scandal ever. The retroactive four-year penalty starts from Aug. 24, 2015, but CAS also disqualified all Savinova's results from July 26, 2010, to Aug. 19, 2013, thereby stripping her of her 2011 world championships gold, 2013 world silver and 2010 European gold. South Africa's double silver medallist Caster Semenya is now in line to be promoted to gold in both the 2012 Olympics and 2011 world championships. The 31-year-old former 800 metre world and Olympic champion was among the athletes that a commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommended be banned for life in 2015. "On the basis of clear evidence, including the evidence derived from her biological passport, Mariya Savinova-Farnosova is found to have been engaged in using doping from 26 July 2010 through to 19 August 2013," CAS said. It took the action as the decision-making authority while Russia's athletics federation remains banned over the country's state-backed doping scandal. Almost the entire track and field team of Russia were banned from competing at the Rio 2016 Olympics. More than 100 athletes have so far tested positive in re-tests of samples taken during the London and Beijing 2008 Olympics conducted by the International Olympic Committee. Russia has the most positive re-tests per nation. (Reuters)

Russian athlete found guilty of doping, stripped of Olympic gold

Indian&nbsp;Olympic bronze-medallist Gagan Narang says shooting&#39;s &quot;ecosystem&quot; will take a &quot;hit&quot; if the Indian International Shooting Federation (ISSF) Athletes Committee&#39;s recommendation for mixed-gender team events for future Olympics, starting with the 2020 edition in Tokyo, is ratified by the world body.

In a decision that evoked mixed response, the ISSF Athletes Committee, headed by India&#39;s lone individual Olympic gold-medallist Abhinav Bindra, recommended mixed-gender team events for the Olympic Games. The panel has sought to replace the double-trap men&#39;s event with a mixed-gender trap event, convert the 50m prone men&#39;s event into a mixed-gender air rifle event and the 50m pistol men&#39;s event into a mixed-gender air pistol event.

Speaking to the Press Trust of India (PTI), Narang, one of India&#39;s most versatile shooters, said, &quot;The ecosystem of shooting sport will take a hit with these three events going out of the Olympic program.&quot; The ace shooter, though, promptly added, &quot;But like many others, I will also cross the bridge when we get to it&quot;.

Unlike some of India&#39;s top pistol shooters, Narang is not &quot;deeply saddened&quot; but ready to embrace it. When asked to elaborate on his statement that the ecosystem of shooting will take a hit, Narang said, &quot;Prone is very popular across the world and suppose it is dropped, so many shooters who are shooting prone only will be out.&quot;

He felt the equipment manufacturing units will also be affected. &quot;Weapon manufactures will stop producing weapons, equipment required for 50m prone and 50m pistol events.&quot; Citing another example, he said a 50m range that caters to three events now will cater to two only, if 50m prone and pistol are dropped.

The move follows the International Olympic Committee&#39;s objective of international sport federations working towards a 50 per cent female representation at the Games. Currently, shooting has nine men&#39;s and six women&#39;s events at the Olympics. The 33-year-old Narang is currently not part of his pet event -- 10m air rifle -- in which he won the bronze medal at 2012 London Olympics, but he is determined to regain peak form.

&quot;It has been my bread and butter event ever since I started shooting. Several injuries had set me back. I have had an issue with my heel during the Rio Olympic Games. That came in the way of shooting my best scores. But I have recovered now, changed my equipment, found out the flaws and been able to plug the loopholes. Hopefully, I shall be back to my best in the next few months,&quot; Narang said.

From only prone at the moment, he plans to gradually get back to shooting in other events. Narang will look to get his act right when the year&#39;s first ISSF World Cup begins in the capital on February 22, where there will be no dearth of crowd support.

(PTI)&nbsp;

India's Olympic bronze medallist has mixed feelings about changing men's shooting events to become mixed-gender, and he's not alone

Indian Olympic bronze-medallist Gagan Narang says shooting's "ecosystem" will take a "hit" if the Indian International Shooting Federation (ISSF) Athletes Committee's recommendation for mixed-gender team events for future Olympics, starting with the 2020 edition in Tokyo, is ratified by the world body. In a decision that evoked mixed response, the ISSF Athletes Committee, headed by India's lone individual Olympic gold-medallist Abhinav Bindra, recommended mixed-gender team events for the Olympic Games. The panel has sought to replace the double-trap men's event with a mixed-gender trap event, convert the 50m prone men's event into a mixed-gender air rifle event and the 50m pistol men's event into a mixed-gender air pistol event. Speaking to the Press Trust of India (PTI), Narang, one of India's most versatile shooters, said, "The ecosystem of shooting sport will take a hit with these three events going out of the Olympic program." The ace shooter, though, promptly added, "But like many others, I will also cross the bridge when we get to it". Unlike some of India's top pistol shooters, Narang is not "deeply saddened" but ready to embrace it. When asked to elaborate on his statement that the ecosystem of shooting will take a hit, Narang said, "Prone is very popular across the world and suppose it is dropped, so many shooters who are shooting prone only will be out." He felt the equipment manufacturing units will also be affected. "Weapon manufactures will stop producing weapons, equipment required for 50m prone and 50m pistol events." Citing another example, he said a 50m range that caters to three events now will cater to two only, if 50m prone and pistol are dropped. The move follows the International Olympic Committee's objective of international sport federations working towards a 50 per cent female representation at the Games. Currently, shooting has nine men's and six women's events at the Olympics. The 33-year-old Narang is currently not part of his pet event -- 10m air rifle -- in which he won the bronze medal at 2012 London Olympics, but he is determined to regain peak form. "It has been my bread and butter event ever since I started shooting. Several injuries had set me back. I have had an issue with my heel during the Rio Olympic Games. That came in the way of shooting my best scores. But I have recovered now, changed my equipment, found out the flaws and been able to plug the loopholes. Hopefully, I shall be back to my best in the next few months," Narang said. From only prone at the moment, he plans to gradually get back to shooting in other events. Narang will look to get his act right when the year's first ISSF World Cup begins in the capital on February 22, where there will be no dearth of crowd support. (PTI)

Changing Olympic events will hit shooting's ecosystem: Narang

The newly-formed refugee team competing at this year&#39;s Olympics was one of the highlights in Rio de Janeiro but it is not clear if it will compete at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday.

The IOC unveiled its first team of refugees in June in an effort to raise awareness of the issue and it was one of the feel-good stories of the Rio Olympics.

But it has yet to decide whether to send another refugee team to Tokyo in four years time.

&quot;We will see. The team in Rio was to remind the world of the situation (of refugees),&quot; Pere Miro, the IOC&#39;s Deputy Director General for Relations with the Olympic Movement, told reporters.

&quot;(For Tokyo) this has not yet been decided. To have a team in Rio was not an objective in itself but a means to put this problem to the world,&quot; Miro said. &quot;We will now go step by step.&quot;

The 10-member refugee team, hand-picked by the IOC, hogged the spotlight after marching as the penultimate team before hosts Brazil in the Opening Ceremony at the Olympic stadium on Aug. 5.

More than a million refugees streamed into Europe in the past year alone as they fled fighting in Syria and other countries.

Millions more are housed in camps in countries across the world, having escaped dozens of wars or armed conflicts in their home nations.

The Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) included five athletes from South Sudan, two from Syria, two from Democratic Republic of Congo and one from Ethiopia.

Miro said although a decision on Tokyo had yet to be taken, all national Olympic committees had been tasked with locating any potential Olympians among refugees living in their countries.

As for the 10 refugees who took part in Rio, Miro said the IOC would continue supporting them in their quest for sporting achievement or just a normal life away from war and violence.

&quot;We have not abandoned the 10 athletes,&quot; he said. &quot;We continue working with them. We have the duty to continue working with them.&quot;

(Reuters)

The IOC unveiled its first team of refugees in June in an effort to raise awareness of the issue

The newly-formed refugee team competing at this year's Olympics was one of the highlights in Rio de Janeiro but it is not clear if it will compete at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday. The IOC unveiled its first team of refugees in June in an effort to raise awareness of the issue and it was one of the feel-good stories of the Rio Olympics. But it has yet to decide whether to send another refugee team to Tokyo in four years time. "We will see. The team in Rio was to remind the world of the situation (of refugees)," Pere Miro, the IOC's Deputy Director General for Relations with the Olympic Movement, told reporters. "(For Tokyo) this has not yet been decided. To have a team in Rio was not an objective in itself but a means to put this problem to the world," Miro said. "We will now go step by step." The 10-member refugee team, hand-picked by the IOC, hogged the spotlight after marching as the penultimate team before hosts Brazil in the Opening Ceremony at the Olympic stadium on Aug. 5. More than a million refugees streamed into Europe in the past year alone as they fled fighting in Syria and other countries. Millions more are housed in camps in countries across the world, having escaped dozens of wars or armed conflicts in their home nations. The Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) included five athletes from South Sudan, two from Syria, two from Democratic Republic of Congo and one from Ethiopia. Miro said although a decision on Tokyo had yet to be taken, all national Olympic committees had been tasked with locating any potential Olympians among refugees living in their countries. As for the 10 refugees who took part in Rio, Miro said the IOC would continue supporting them in their quest for sporting achievement or just a normal life away from war and violence. "We have not abandoned the 10 athletes," he said. "We continue working with them. We have the duty to continue working with them." (Reuters)

IOC undecided over refugee team for Tokyo 2020 Games

A girl from an isolated corner of a massive country wanted to be a gymnast. She had no access to proper infrastructure or expertise for training. She had flat feet - a major stumbling block for an aspiring gymnast. 
 
But as the father of India once said, &ldquo;Strength does not come from physical capacity, it comes from indomitable will&rdquo;. 
 
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BJ8SxSZhJ20?list=PLmWa9ZZLlCjt0Jlg7kN3JBNX4LH1sRsGh" width="970"></iframe> 
 
She exercised day in and day out to change the shape of her feet. She had a&nbsp;trainer who believed in her. She trained hard for two decades and she did become a gymnast. 
 
The 23-year-old from Agartala gave goosebumps to the nation as she narrowly missed a medal at the Rio Olympics 2016. 
 
She now aims to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian gymnast to reach an Olympics final

A girl from an isolated corner of a massive country wanted to be a gymnast. She had no access to proper infrastructure or expertise for training. She had flat feet - a major stumbling block for an aspiring gymnast. But as the father of India once said, “Strength does not come from physical capacity, it comes from indomitable will”. She exercised day in and day out to change the shape of her feet. She had a trainer who believed in her. She trained hard for two decades and she did become a gymnast. The 23-year-old from Agartala gave goosebumps to the nation as she narrowly missed a medal at the Rio Olympics 2016. She now aims to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Video: A nation salutes its gymnast

Olympic chiefs on Saturday asked the World Anti-Doping agency to create a new drug testing body, at an Olympic summit in Lausanne, aimed at curbing the powers of federations.&nbsp;

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) made a proposal to overhaul the global anti-doping fight, calling for sports&#39; top court to rule on doping sanctions.

&quot;Sanctions related to doping cases (are) to be delegated to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,&quot; said the statement.

Drug control duties will be withdrawn from the international sports federations with the formation of the proposed new body.

The statement clarified that whereas WADA will control regulations and compliance in the anti-doping fight, the new body will be responsible for testing athletes.

The new body will also have &quot;intelligence and investigation&quot; capabilities, the IOC added, AFP reported.

The proposals must still be approved at WADA&#39;s meeting next month and by the IOC&#39;s full executive board, which meets next in December.&nbsp;

In the past, sports federations were the final authority to decide on punishments for those who were caught cheating. The athletes could further take their appeals to the&nbsp;Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS).

IOC president Thomas Bach insisted that giving&nbsp;the CAS the final authority would increase transparency and consistency within the global anti-doping effort.&nbsp;

Saturday&#39;s outcome will be seen by some as a victory for WADA, after its relationship with the IOC hit historic lows ahead of this summer&#39;s Rio Games.&nbsp;

Some IOC leaders accused WADA of reacting too slowly to evidence that Russia was running a massive state-sponsored doping programme and questioned the agency&#39;s governance.&nbsp;

But by maintaining its supervisory role in the global anti-doping fight and by leading the effort to forge a new testing authority, WADA has been assured a crucial role moving forward.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

&nbsp;

Drug control duties will be withdrawn from the international sports federations with the formation of the proposed new body

Olympic chiefs on Saturday asked the World Anti-Doping agency to create a new drug testing body, at an Olympic summit in Lausanne, aimed at curbing the powers of federations. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) made a proposal to overhaul the global anti-doping fight, calling for sports' top court to rule on doping sanctions. "Sanctions related to doping cases (are) to be delegated to the Court of Arbitration for Sport," said the statement. Drug control duties will be withdrawn from the international sports federations with the formation of the proposed new body. The statement clarified that whereas WADA will control regulations and compliance in the anti-doping fight, the new body will be responsible for testing athletes. The new body will also have "intelligence and investigation" capabilities, the IOC added, AFP reported. The proposals must still be approved at WADA's meeting next month and by the IOC's full executive board, which meets next in December. In the past, sports federations were the final authority to decide on punishments for those who were caught cheating. The athletes could further take their appeals to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS). IOC president Thomas Bach insisted that giving the CAS the final authority would increase transparency and consistency within the global anti-doping effort. Saturday's outcome will be seen by some as a victory for WADA, after its relationship with the IOC hit historic lows ahead of this summer's Rio Games. Some IOC leaders accused WADA of reacting too slowly to evidence that Russia was running a massive state-sponsored doping programme and questioned the agency's governance. But by maintaining its supervisory role in the global anti-doping fight and by leading the effort to forge a new testing authority, WADA has been assured a crucial role moving forward. (WION with inputs from AFP)

International Olympic Committee asks WADA to create new drug testing authority

Olympic bronze medal-winning wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt&nbsp;may get the gold after the winner of his 60kg event failed a dope test, Hindustan Times reported. 
 
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), however, is yet to release a statement confirming that London Games gold&nbsp;medallist&nbsp;Toghrul Asgarov had taken a banned substance. 
 
Thirty three-year-old&nbsp;Dutt had originally won the bronze medal four years back. 
 
But his medal was upgraded to a silver medal earlier this week for similar reasons.&nbsp; 
 
The elevation in Dutt&#39;s medal colour comes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) improved its dope-testing techniques. 
 
Dutt, though, will have to wait for the gold medal. He will also need to clear the doping test. 
 
If he does, he will become the India&#39;s second&nbsp;individual athlete after shooter Abhinav Bindra to win an Olympic gold. 
 
(WION)

Although WADA is yet to confirm, the upgrade is likely to happen because the winner of his 60kg event has reportedly failed a doping test

Olympic bronze medal-winning wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt may get the gold after the winner of his 60kg event failed a dope test, Hindustan Times reported. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), however, is yet to release a statement confirming that London Games gold medallist Toghrul Asgarov had taken a banned substance. Thirty three-year-old Dutt had originally won the bronze medal four years back. But his medal was upgraded to a silver medal earlier this week for similar reasons. The elevation in Dutt's medal colour comes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) improved its dope-testing techniques. Dutt, though, will have to wait for the gold medal. He will also need to clear the doping test. If he does, he will become the India's second individual athlete after shooter Abhinav Bindra to win an Olympic gold. (WION)

Yogeshwar Dutt's bronze medal might turn into gold

Organisers of the 2016 Paralympic Games are giving away half a million tickets 100 days before the start of competition in a bid to boost support for September&#39;s events, officials said on Monday. 
 
Sales have lagged and Rio de Janeiro said it was buying 500,000 tickets to give to city employees, students and the handicapped. 
Before the announcement, only 720,000 oout of the total 3.3 million tickets had been sold, said Donovan Ferreti, director of ticketing to Reuters. 
Ferreti said that number was disappointing but hoped Monday`s announcement would boost interest in the 23 Paralympic events that will take place between Sept. 7 and 18. 
&quot;We are delighted that these students are coming to be part of this unique experience,&quot; said Ferreti. 
Some 392,000 of the free tickets will go to children who get good grades in school, he said. 
Another 47,000 tickets will be given away by the city of Rio for the Olympics, which will be held in South America for the first time between Aug. 5 and 21.

Organisers of the 2016 Paralympic Games are giving away half a million tickets 100 days before the start of competition in a bid to boost support for September's events

Organisers of the 2016 Paralympic Games are giving away half a million tickets 100 days before the start of competition in a bid to boost support for September's events, officials said on Monday. Sales have lagged and Rio de Janeiro said it was buying 500,000 tickets to give to city employees, students and the handicapped. Before the announcement, only 720,000 oout of the total 3.3 million tickets had been sold, said Donovan Ferreti, director of ticketing to Reuters. Ferreti said that number was disappointing but hoped Monday`s announcement would boost interest in the 23 Paralympic events that will take place between Sept. 7 and 18. "We are delighted that these students are coming to be part of this unique experience," said Ferreti. Some 392,000 of the free tickets will go to children who get good grades in school, he said. Another 47,000 tickets will be given away by the city of Rio for the Olympics, which will be held in South America for the first time between Aug. 5 and 21.

Rio gives away 500,000 Paralympics tickets to boost support

The Olympic flag arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday as Japan&#39;s capital gears up to host the 2020 Games. Officials have promised smoother organisation of Games after Rio. 
 
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike on Sunday received the flag at the closing ceremony in Rio and carried it on Wednesday at a ceremony at Tokyo&#39;s Haneda airport.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m very happy that we&#39;re able to bring the flag back after more than 50 years,&quot; Koike said. 
 
The city had hosted the summer Olympics in 1964. 
 
Japan&#39;s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, dressed as Nintendo video game character Super Mario at the ceremony, said,&nbsp;&quot;I want to show Japan&#39;s soft power to the world with the help of Japanese characters.&quot; 
 
Meanwhile, French prosecutors have launched an investigation into alleged bribes linked to Tokyo&#39;s winning Olympic bid, which organisers have denied. 
 
The Games were awarded to Tokyo in 2013, with the city touting itself as &quot;peaceful, reliable, safe, and stable&quot;. 
 
The games in Brazil -- which is embroiled in a political crisis over the impeachment of suspended president Dilma Rousseff -- suffered its own series of setbacks. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

The Games were awarded to Tokyo in 2013, given the city's 'peaceful, reliable, safe, and stable' claim

The Olympic flag arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday as Japan's capital gears up to host the 2020 Games. Officials have promised smoother organisation of Games after Rio. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike on Sunday received the flag at the closing ceremony in Rio and carried it on Wednesday at a ceremony at Tokyo's Haneda airport. "I'm very happy that we're able to bring the flag back after more than 50 years," Koike said. The city had hosted the summer Olympics in 1964. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, dressed as Nintendo video game character Super Mario at the ceremony, said, "I want to show Japan's soft power to the world with the help of Japanese characters." Meanwhile, French prosecutors have launched an investigation into alleged bribes linked to Tokyo's winning Olympic bid, which organisers have denied. The Games were awarded to Tokyo in 2013, with the city touting itself as "peaceful, reliable, safe, and stable". The games in Brazil -- which is embroiled in a political crisis over the impeachment of suspended president Dilma Rousseff -- suffered its own series of setbacks. (With inputs from agencies)

Olympic flag arrives in Tokyo for 2020 Games

As Olympic under-achievers India head home from&nbsp;Rio&nbsp;having failed to win a gold medal, its gate-crashing, selfie-taking officials have been accused of failing to help its athletes taste success.

A string of below-par performances saw India win just two medals at the Games, fewer than the six clinched during their best-ever performance in London four years earlier.

Badminton champion PV&nbsp;Sindhu&#39;s silver towards the end of the&nbsp;Rio&nbsp;Games sparked an outpouring of national pride and celebrations, along with wrestler Sakshi Malik&#39;s bronze.

But reports during the competition of Indian officials seemingly living it up in&nbsp;Rio, while athletes struggled to make it through qualifying, sparked anger back home and raised questions about the commitment of those in charge.

&quot;Officials do not have the welfare of the athletes on their mind. All they are bothered about is having a good time,&quot; Aslam Sher Khan, India&#39;s former hockey Olympian, said.

&quot;While other countries have scripted a turnaround in their fortune like the UK, we sadly continue to languish in mediocrity,&quot; he said.

&quot;We have become the laughing stock of the world.&quot;

Indian sports minister Vijay Goel has described as a &quot;misunderstanding&quot; reports that his entourage tried to muscle unaccredited people accompanying him into Olympic venues.

Rio&nbsp;organisers reportedly accused his entourage of &quot;aggressive and rude behaviour&quot; and threatened to cancel his accreditation, prompting Goel to deny any involvement. 
 
The minister also sparked ridicule on social media after praising one of India&#39;s athletes on Twitter, only to use a photo of a different one.

And the Indian Express newspaper accused him of spending his time in&nbsp;Rio&nbsp;taking selfies with &quot;exhausted Indian athletes&quot;,&nbsp;after posting a picture of himself ringside with just defeated boxer Vikas Krishan Yadav.

The incidents come as little surprise to observers who have long accused sport administrators of being more concerned about protecting their own fiefdoms than targeting success.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics, India suffered the humiliation of being banned from flying its flag at the opening ceremony following corruption concerns.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) suffered a 14-month ban which was only lifted after it elected new leaders, excluding those who had been accused of corruption over the chaotic organisation of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

India&#39;s only individual Olympic gold medallist, shooter Abhinav Bindra, said he was fed up with apathetic officials, some of whom were unqualified for the job and were not being held accountable for a lack of success on the field.

&quot;I won&#39;t get angry and spoil my own health. It happens every time and that is the way it is,&quot; the shooter, who won gold in Beijing in 2008 and finished fourth in&nbsp;Rio, told NDTV network.

&quot;We need a complete overhaul of the system. We need more experts coming in... I have no problem with a politician if he can bring something to the table.&quot; 
 
India&#39;s anti-doping officials were also left red-faced in&nbsp;Rio&nbsp;after wrestler Narsingh Yadav was banned for four years for failing drug tests -- overturning India&#39;s earlier decision to allow him to compete.

Indian officials had cleared Yadav just days before&nbsp;Rio, accepting his defence that a rival spiked his food supplements, after failing two tests for a banned steroid.

The World Anti-Doping Agency swiftly challenged the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport which found &quot;no evidence&quot; of such contamination.

&#39;Not bothered&#39;

India, a country obsessed with cricket, has never finished high on the medal table, winning just 28 from 24 Olympic appearances.

But India, with a population of more than a billion people and enjoying strong economic growth, had been targeting 10 medals in&nbsp;Rio&nbsp;and sent its largest ever squad.

India&#39;s government spent about 1.2 billion rupees ($18 million), however, preparing the athletes, according to the sports ministry, a fraction of the amount forked out by China, Britain and other countries.

With the lack of silverware becoming evident, media began focusing on the officials, including a former IOA chief, currently facing trial in a corruption case, seen attending the Games with an accreditation pass.

Veteran journalist K. Jagannadha Rao who has covered six Olympics said such incidents involving officials were not unusual.

Khan, one of the few Indians to have tasted success when the hockey team won bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics, agreed, saying few lessons had been learnt over the years. 
 
&quot;They are simply not bothered if the country is winning medals or not.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Former athletes were unanimous in their condemnation of callous officials at the Games

As Olympic under-achievers India head home from Rio having failed to win a gold medal, its gate-crashing, selfie-taking officials have been accused of failing to help its athletes taste success. A string of below-par performances saw India win just two medals at the Games, fewer than the six clinched during their best-ever performance in London four years earlier. Badminton champion PV Sindhu's silver towards the end of the Rio Games sparked an outpouring of national pride and celebrations, along with wrestler Sakshi Malik's bronze. But reports during the competition of Indian officials seemingly living it up in Rio, while athletes struggled to make it through qualifying, sparked anger back home and raised questions about the commitment of those in charge. "Officials do not have the welfare of the athletes on their mind. All they are bothered about is having a good time," Aslam Sher Khan, India's former hockey Olympian, said. "While other countries have scripted a turnaround in their fortune like the UK, we sadly continue to languish in mediocrity," he said. "We have become the laughing stock of the world." Indian sports minister Vijay Goel has described as a "misunderstanding" reports that his entourage tried to muscle unaccredited people accompanying him into Olympic venues. Rio organisers reportedly accused his entourage of "aggressive and rude behaviour" and threatened to cancel his accreditation, prompting Goel to deny any involvement. The minister also sparked ridicule on social media after praising one of India's athletes on Twitter, only to use a photo of a different one. And the Indian Express newspaper accused him of spending his time in Rio taking selfies with "exhausted Indian athletes", after posting a picture of himself ringside with just defeated boxer Vikas Krishan Yadav. The incidents come as little surprise to observers who have long accused sport administrators of being more concerned about protecting their own fiefdoms than targeting success. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, India suffered the humiliation of being banned from flying its flag at the opening ceremony following corruption concerns. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) suffered a 14-month ban which was only lifted after it elected new leaders, excluding those who had been accused of corruption over the chaotic organisation of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. India's only individual Olympic gold medallist, shooter Abhinav Bindra, said he was fed up with apathetic officials, some of whom were unqualified for the job and were not being held accountable for a lack of success on the field. "I won't get angry and spoil my own health. It happens every time and that is the way it is," the shooter, who won gold in Beijing in 2008 and finished fourth in Rio, told NDTV network. "We need a complete overhaul of the system. We need more experts coming in... I have no problem with a politician if he can bring something to the table." India's anti-doping officials were also left red-faced in Rio after wrestler Narsingh Yadav was banned for four years for failing drug tests -- overturning India's earlier decision to allow him to compete. Indian officials had cleared Yadav just days before Rio, accepting his defence that a rival spiked his food supplements, after failing two tests for a banned steroid. The World Anti-Doping Agency swiftly challenged the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport which found "no evidence" of such contamination. 'Not bothered' India, a country obsessed with cricket, has never finished high on the medal table, winning just 28 from 24 Olympic appearances. But India, with a population of more than a billion people and enjoying strong economic growth, had been targeting 10 medals in Rio and sent its largest ever squad. India's government spent about 1.2 billion rupees ($18 million), however, preparing the athletes, according to the sports ministry, a fraction of the amount forked out by China, Britain and other countries. With the lack of silverware becoming evident, media began focusing on the officials, including a former IOA chief, currently facing trial in a corruption case, seen attending the Games with an accreditation pass. Veteran journalist K. Jagannadha Rao who has covered six Olympics said such incidents involving officials were not unusual. Khan, one of the few Indians to have tasted success when the hockey team won bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics, agreed, saying few lessons had been learnt over the years. "They are simply not bothered if the country is winning medals or not." (AFP)

Rio Olympics 2016: 'Selfie-clicking' officials draw flak for India's dire performance

Neymar scored a brilliant goal and the decisive shootout penalty as Brazil buried their World Cup demons by beating Germany in the Olympic football final on Saturday.

The 5-4 penalty win was close. Neymar and his teammates all sank to their knees, many in uncontrollable tears at the centrepiece of a day of 30 gold medals in Rio.

Park In-Bee of South Korea won the first women&#39;s Olympic golf gold for 116 years, the United States routed Spain in the women&#39;s basketball final. Even scandal-tainted Russia won four golds while losing a silver from 2012 because of another doping case.

But Brazil came to a standstill because of Neymar and football.

Supermarket checkout clerks watched the match on their mobile phones, taxi drivers gathered around any available screen to see the Selecao take on Germany,&nbsp;and seek revenge for a 7-1 humiliation by their opponents in a World Cup semi-final two years ago.

In front of 78,000 people,&nbsp;the biggest crowd of the Rio Olympics,&nbsp;Neymar twisted a free kick past German goalkeeper Timo Horn to give Brazil a first-half lead.

German captain Max Meyer swept home Jeremy Toljan&#39;s cross to equalise and then taunted the Maracana stadium crowd by kissing the number seven on his shirt.

The game went through extra time and eight penalties in deadlock until Germany&#39;s Nils Petersen missed his spot kick.

Barcelona star Neymar rifled the final penalty into the corner after a half-faint and a whole nation erupted in celebration. 
 
Victory may not get Brazil into the top 10 of the Olympic medals table at the end of competition on Sunday, but it was the one gold the country wanted. Street celebrations erupted after the final whistle.

The 17 days of competition end on Sunday with the United States, already on 40 golds and past 1,000 golds in their overall history, certain to top the table.

Britain with 26 golds were hoping to hold off China, just two behind.

(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Selecao buried the Maracana horror of 2014 World Cup by beating Germany 5-4 on penalties

Neymar scored a brilliant goal and the decisive shootout penalty as Brazil buried their World Cup demons by beating Germany in the Olympic football final on Saturday. The 5-4 penalty win was close. Neymar and his teammates all sank to their knees, many in uncontrollable tears at the centrepiece of a day of 30 gold medals in Rio. Park In-Bee of South Korea won the first women's Olympic golf gold for 116 years, the United States routed Spain in the women's basketball final. Even scandal-tainted Russia won four golds while losing a silver from 2012 because of another doping case. But Brazil came to a standstill because of Neymar and football. Supermarket checkout clerks watched the match on their mobile phones, taxi drivers gathered around any available screen to see the Selecao take on Germany, and seek revenge for a 7-1 humiliation by their opponents in a World Cup semi-final two years ago. In front of 78,000 people, the biggest crowd of the Rio Olympics, Neymar twisted a free kick past German goalkeeper Timo Horn to give Brazil a first-half lead. German captain Max Meyer swept home Jeremy Toljan's cross to equalise and then taunted the Maracana stadium crowd by kissing the number seven on his shirt. The game went through extra time and eight penalties in deadlock until Germany's Nils Petersen missed his spot kick. Barcelona star Neymar rifled the final penalty into the corner after a half-faint and a whole nation erupted in celebration. Victory may not get Brazil into the top 10 of the Olympic medals table at the end of competition on Sunday, but it was the one gold the country wanted. Street celebrations erupted after the final whistle. The 17 days of competition end on Sunday with the United States, already on 40 golds and past 1,000 golds in their overall history, certain to top the table. Britain with 26 golds were hoping to hold off China, just two behind. (AFP)

Rio Olympics 2016: Neymar propels Brazil to maiden football gold

Controversial South African runner Caster&nbsp;Semenya&nbsp;produced a devastating sprint finish to claim the Olympic 800m crown, four years after being denied gold by Russian dope cheat Mariya Savinova.

The 25-year-old 2012 silver medallist turned on the gas with 150m to go, crossing the line more than 1.20sec clear in 1min 55.28sec at the Olympic Stadium.

Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi took silver in 1:56.49 with Kenya&#39;s Margaret Wambui claiming bronze in 1:56.89.

&quot;I used to be a sprinter, I ran the 100m, 200m in high school,&quot;&nbsp;Semenya&nbsp;said of her finish.

&quot;It was just a fantastic race. Obviously, there can only be one winner and it turned out good for me. It wasn&#39;t about running fast, it was about running a good race.&quot;

Semenya&nbsp;has been at the centre of a raging controversy in recent years because of her naturally occurring condition, hyperandrogenism, which causes elevated testosterone levels.

Rival runners have said they want authorities to revisit rules that limit the amount of testosterone allowed in competitors.

Partially in response to those rumblings, world athletics chiefs implemented restrictions on testosterone levels in 2011.

Following the introduction of those rules,&nbsp;Semenya&#39;s times slipped, with many assuming she was taking medication to keep her testosterone levels within acceptable limits.

She was still good enough to take silver behind Savinova in London however. The Russian is facing a lifetime ban from the sport after evidence implicating her in doping.

And when the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) restrictions illegal,&nbsp;Semenya&nbsp;was free to compete in her natural state.

Hours before Saturday&#39;s final, IAAF chief Sebastian Coe indicated the world body would seek to revisit the issue in future.

Semenya&nbsp;however would not be drawn on the issue.

&quot;Tonight is all about performances,&quot; she said. &quot;We&#39;re not here to talk about the IAAF. We&#39;re not here to talk about speculations.

&quot;We&#39;re here to talk about the 800m that we ran today.&quot;

Semenya&nbsp;never looked in trouble in Saturday&#39;s final, biding her time after a 57.59sec opening lap.

Niyonsaba hit the front with around 300m to go but&nbsp;Semenya&nbsp;was always within striking distance.

With 150m left she made her move, calmly accelerating clear to take the lead as the race for silver and bronze unfolded behind her.

Canada&#39;s Melissa Bishop dug deep in the home stretch but was just pipped for bronze by Wambui.

The South African has been dogged by several controversies because of her naturally high testosterone levels

Controversial South African runner Caster Semenya produced a devastating sprint finish to claim the Olympic 800m crown, four years after being denied gold by Russian dope cheat Mariya Savinova. The 25-year-old 2012 silver medallist turned on the gas with 150m to go, crossing the line more than 1.20sec clear in 1min 55.28sec at the Olympic Stadium. Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi took silver in 1:56.49 with Kenya's Margaret Wambui claiming bronze in 1:56.89. "I used to be a sprinter, I ran the 100m, 200m in high school," Semenya said of her finish. "It was just a fantastic race. Obviously, there can only be one winner and it turned out good for me. It wasn't about running fast, it was about running a good race." Semenya has been at the centre of a raging controversy in recent years because of her naturally occurring condition, hyperandrogenism, which causes elevated testosterone levels. Rival runners have said they want authorities to revisit rules that limit the amount of testosterone allowed in competitors. Partially in response to those rumblings, world athletics chiefs implemented restrictions on testosterone levels in 2011. Following the introduction of those rules, Semenya's times slipped, with many assuming she was taking medication to keep her testosterone levels within acceptable limits. She was still good enough to take silver behind Savinova in London however. The Russian is facing a lifetime ban from the sport after evidence implicating her in doping. And when the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) restrictions illegal, Semenya was free to compete in her natural state. Hours before Saturday's final, IAAF chief Sebastian Coe indicated the world body would seek to revisit the issue in future. Semenya however would not be drawn on the issue. "Tonight is all about performances," she said. "We're not here to talk about the IAAF. We're not here to talk about speculations. "We're here to talk about the 800m that we ran today." Semenya never looked in trouble in Saturday's final, biding her time after a 57.59sec opening lap. Niyonsaba hit the front with around 300m to go but Semenya was always within striking distance. With 150m left she made her move, calmly accelerating clear to take the lead as the race for silver and bronze unfolded behind her. Canada's Melissa Bishop dug deep in the home stretch but was just pipped for bronze by Wambui.

Rio Olympics 2016: Caster Semenya blitzes race to win 800m gold

Star American swimmer Ryan&nbsp;Lochte&nbsp;on Saturday said he took &quot;full responsibility&quot; for vandalising a gas station bathroom and then inventing a story about it to police during the Rio Olympics. 
 
The episode, which has embarrassed the US sporting superpower, saw&nbsp;Lochte&nbsp;and three other gold medal winning US swimmers embroiled in a controversy after he gave a shocking,&nbsp;and false,&nbsp;account of how they had been robbed at gunpoint. 
 
&quot;That&#39;s why I&#39;m taking full responsibility for it, is because I overexaggerated that story and if I had never done that, we wouldn&#39;t be in this mess,&quot;&nbsp;Lochte&nbsp;said in an interview broadcast in part late Saturday. The full interview will be aired later by NBC television. 
 
Lochte&nbsp;had already apologised on Friday for setting off a storm of controversy after he said the swimmers were mugged by robbers pretending to be police while on their way back from an all-night party. 
 
It was only after police declared the story bogus,&nbsp;saying that the four had only been detained by security and made to pay compensation for drunken vandalisation of a gas station bathroom,&nbsp;that Lochte&nbsp;finally came clean. 
 
&quot;I left details out... I left certain things out, and I overexaggerated some parts of the story,&quot;&nbsp;Lochte said in the interview. 
 
On Wednesday, a Rio judge ordered the athletes&#39; passports confiscated so that they could not leave the country. 
 
Although&nbsp;Lochte&nbsp;had already left, the other three, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, &nbsp;underwent questioning in Rio police stations. 
 
Asked how he felt being home while his teammates were detained,&nbsp;Lochte&nbsp;said: &quot;I let my team down. And, you know, I wanted to be there, like, I don&#39;t want them to think that I left, and left them dry because they were my teammates.&quot; 
 
&quot;I just wanted to make sure that they were at home safe before I came out and talked,&quot; he added. 
 
On Thursday, police released closed-circuit TV footage and other evidence about the events at the gas station. 
 
The athletes, who appeared intoxicated, stopped in a taxi at the gas station to use the bathroom during the early hours of the morning. 
 
Lochte&nbsp;and the others then vandalised the area near the bathroom and, according to the manager, urinated on the walls. 
 
In the United States,&nbsp;Lochte&nbsp;has come under serious scorn, with media and internet comments almost universally scathing. 
 
(AFP)

'I overexaggerated that story,' said the American swimmer who told police that he and his teammates were mugged at gunpoint

Star American swimmer Ryan Lochte on Saturday said he took "full responsibility" for vandalising a gas station bathroom and then inventing a story about it to police during the Rio Olympics. The episode, which has embarrassed the US sporting superpower, saw Lochte and three other gold medal winning US swimmers embroiled in a controversy after he gave a shocking, and false, account of how they had been robbed at gunpoint. "That's why I'm taking full responsibility for it, is because I overexaggerated that story and if I had never done that, we wouldn't be in this mess," Lochte said in an interview broadcast in part late Saturday. The full interview will be aired later by NBC television. Lochte had already apologised on Friday for setting off a storm of controversy after he said the swimmers were mugged by robbers pretending to be police while on their way back from an all-night party. It was only after police declared the story bogus, saying that the four had only been detained by security and made to pay compensation for drunken vandalisation of a gas station bathroom, that Lochte finally came clean. "I left details out... I left certain things out, and I overexaggerated some parts of the story," Lochte said in the interview. On Wednesday, a Rio judge ordered the athletes' passports confiscated so that they could not leave the country. Although Lochte had already left, the other three, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, underwent questioning in Rio police stations. Asked how he felt being home while his teammates were detained, Lochte said: "I let my team down. And, you know, I wanted to be there, like, I don't want them to think that I left, and left them dry because they were my teammates." "I just wanted to make sure that they were at home safe before I came out and talked," he added. On Thursday, police released closed-circuit TV footage and other evidence about the events at the gas station. The athletes, who appeared intoxicated, stopped in a taxi at the gas station to use the bathroom during the early hours of the morning. Lochte and the others then vandalised the area near the bathroom and, according to the manager, urinated on the walls. In the United States, Lochte has come under serious scorn, with media and internet comments almost universally scathing. (AFP)

Lochte takes 'full responsibility' for vandalising gas station, lying about it

Usain Bolt brought the curtain down on his Olympic career with a record-equalling ninth gold medal on Friday, anchoring Jamaica to relay glory in a perfectly-scripted finale to complete his unprecedented &quot;triple-triple.&quot; 
 
The 29-year-old superstar, widely seen as the greatest sprinter in history, stormed over the line in 37.27sec to trigger an eruption of adulation in the Olympic Stadium. 
 
Japan&#39;s quartet took a surprise silver in 37.60sec while the United States claimed bronze in 37.62. 
 
The victory saw Bolt complete a third consecutive clean sweep of the 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles following his six gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Games. 
 
It leaves Bolt,&nbsp;who will retire in 2017,&nbsp;level with Carl Lewis and Paavo Nurmi on a total of nine Olympic gold medals, a record for a track and field athlete. 
 
The relay gold was the final act of an incredible Olympic career that redefined athletics and often left commentators scrambling to find a new vocabulary of superlatives as each new milestone came and went. 
 
On Sunday Bolt became the first man in history to win a hat-trick of 100m gold medals. 
 
He then followed that up with Thursday&#39;s barnstorming win in the 200m, sealing another never-before-seen treble. 
 
Friday`s triumph was potentially the most awkward, with Bolt&#39;s gold medal hopes reliant on the performances of his team-mates. 
 
But Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade were in no mood to fluff their lines, handing Bolt a lead at the final changeover. 
 
From that point there was only ever going to be one outcome and Bolt powered home by three metres to universal delight. 
 
Bolt will now set off a year-long lap of honour that will culminate with the World Championships in London next August. 
 
The Jamaican is preparing to exit with athletics fighting to restore credibility after a year dominated by doping and corruption scandals. 
International Association of Athletics Federations president Sebastian Coe is adamant however that athletics will endure despite the loss of its most charismatic leading man. 
 
In an interview with AFP on Friday, Coe said Bolt had transcended his sport in a way that was comparable to boxing icon Muhammad Ali. 
 
&quot;The man is a genius,&quot; Coe said. &quot;There&#39;s been nobody since Muhammad Ali who&#39;s got remotely near to what this guy has done in terms of grabbing the public imagination.&quot; 
 
However, Coe argued that just as a new generation of boxers emerged after Ali&#39;s retirement, so track and field would unearth new personalities after Bolt. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s a massive gap, but it&#39;s not a gap that is insuperable,&quot; Coe said. 
 
&quot;You&#39;re not going to fill that gap overnight, but there are great, talented athletes out there.&quot; 
 
US, which came third, has been disqualified for exchange zone violation. Canada has won the bronze. 
 
(AFP)

Japan came second while the US, which came third, was disqualified for exchange zone violation

Usain Bolt brought the curtain down on his Olympic career with a record-equalling ninth gold medal on Friday, anchoring Jamaica to relay glory in a perfectly-scripted finale to complete his unprecedented "triple-triple." The 29-year-old superstar, widely seen as the greatest sprinter in history, stormed over the line in 37.27sec to trigger an eruption of adulation in the Olympic Stadium. Japan's quartet took a surprise silver in 37.60sec while the United States claimed bronze in 37.62. The victory saw Bolt complete a third consecutive clean sweep of the 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles following his six gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Games. It leaves Bolt, who will retire in 2017, level with Carl Lewis and Paavo Nurmi on a total of nine Olympic gold medals, a record for a track and field athlete. The relay gold was the final act of an incredible Olympic career that redefined athletics and often left commentators scrambling to find a new vocabulary of superlatives as each new milestone came and went. On Sunday Bolt became the first man in history to win a hat-trick of 100m gold medals. He then followed that up with Thursday's barnstorming win in the 200m, sealing another never-before-seen treble. Friday`s triumph was potentially the most awkward, with Bolt's gold medal hopes reliant on the performances of his team-mates. But Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade were in no mood to fluff their lines, handing Bolt a lead at the final changeover. From that point there was only ever going to be one outcome and Bolt powered home by three metres to universal delight. Bolt will now set off a year-long lap of honour that will culminate with the World Championships in London next August. The Jamaican is preparing to exit with athletics fighting to restore credibility after a year dominated by doping and corruption scandals. International Association of Athletics Federations president Sebastian Coe is adamant however that athletics will endure despite the loss of its most charismatic leading man. In an interview with AFP on Friday, Coe said Bolt had transcended his sport in a way that was comparable to boxing icon Muhammad Ali. "The man is a genius," Coe said. "There's been nobody since Muhammad Ali who's got remotely near to what this guy has done in terms of grabbing the public imagination." However, Coe argued that just as a new generation of boxers emerged after Ali's retirement, so track and field would unearth new personalities after Bolt. "It's a massive gap, but it's not a gap that is insuperable," Coe said. "You're not going to fill that gap overnight, but there are great, talented athletes out there." US, which came third, has been disqualified for exchange zone violation. Canada has won the bronze. (AFP)

Rio Olympics 2016: Usain Bolt completes historic triple-treble as Jamaica win 100m relay

P V Sindhu&#39;s gallant attempt to win a coveted gold medal for India ended in heart-break when she went down fighting against Spain&#39;s Carolina Marin, and settled for a silver in the women&#39;s singles badminton competition of the Rio Olympics here today. 
 
The 21-year-old Indian crumbled under the relentless pressure created by Marin to lose 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 in a pulsating final that lasted for an hour and 23 minutes at the Riocentre here.&nbsp;Sindhu, in fact, trailed 16-19 in the opening game before reeling off five straight points to clinch it. She was then outclassed in the second to lose it tamely. 
 
In the decider, the lanky shuttler from Hyderabad trailed 1-6 at one stage and caught up at 10-10 but could not keep the tempo after the short break as Marin simply changed gears to surge to Spain&#39;s first gold medal in badminton. 
 
In their last five meetings in the last two years, Marin has beaten Sindhu four times with the Indian gaining an upper hand during the Denmark Super Series last year, but today she could not repeat the feat.&nbsp;The hyper-aggressive Marin mixed power with precision to dominate the rallies with her acute-angled smashes interspersed with clever drops to catch the Indian often on the wrong-foot. 
 
Sindhu struggled with the length of her strokes as gave away many points by hitting long and wide but she fought tooth and nail till the end only to come second best. 
 
In the opening game, the Spaniard grabbed a 11-8 lead at the interval. Sindhu could not vary the pace of the rallies even as Marin came with some razor-sharp net play to extend the lead to 15-11 at one stage.&nbsp;A net error and a long shot gave Sindhu two points to narrow the gap and kept breathing down the neck of the Spaniard till 15-17.&nbsp; 
 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter today to congratulate P V Sindhu: 
&nbsp;
<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Congrats for the Silver <a href="https://twitter.com/Pvsindhu1">@Pvsindhu1</a>. Very well fought. Your accomplishment at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> is historic &amp; will be remembered for years.
&mdash; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/766658982840832000">August 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>
 
Sindhu thus became the fourth Indian to win a silver at the Olympics after shooters Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004, Athens) and Vijay Kumar (2012, London) and wrestler Sushil Kumar (2012, London). 
 
The two-time World championship bronze medallist also became the fifth woman player from India to win a medal in Olympics and the first to clinch a silver. Sindhu&#39;s silver is India&#39;s second medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. 
 
Weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari (2000, Sydney), boxer MC Mary Kom (2012, London), shuttler Saina Nehwal (2012, London) and wrestler Sakshi Malik (Rio, 2016) are the other women players from India to have won a medal in Olympics. 
 
(PTI)

Sindhu is now the first ever female Indian athlete to win a silver medal at the Olympics

P V Sindhu's gallant attempt to win a coveted gold medal for India ended in heart-break when she went down fighting against Spain's Carolina Marin, and settled for a silver in the women's singles badminton competition of the Rio Olympics here today. The 21-year-old Indian crumbled under the relentless pressure created by Marin to lose 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 in a pulsating final that lasted for an hour and 23 minutes at the Riocentre here. Sindhu, in fact, trailed 16-19 in the opening game before reeling off five straight points to clinch it. She was then outclassed in the second to lose it tamely. In the decider, the lanky shuttler from Hyderabad trailed 1-6 at one stage and caught up at 10-10 but could not keep the tempo after the short break as Marin simply changed gears to surge to Spain's first gold medal in badminton. In their last five meetings in the last two years, Marin has beaten Sindhu four times with the Indian gaining an upper hand during the Denmark Super Series last year, but today she could not repeat the feat. The hyper-aggressive Marin mixed power with precision to dominate the rallies with her acute-angled smashes interspersed with clever drops to catch the Indian often on the wrong-foot. Sindhu struggled with the length of her strokes as gave away many points by hitting long and wide but she fought tooth and nail till the end only to come second best. In the opening game, the Spaniard grabbed a 11-8 lead at the interval. Sindhu could not vary the pace of the rallies even as Marin came with some razor-sharp net play to extend the lead to 15-11 at one stage. A net error and a long shot gave Sindhu two points to narrow the gap and kept breathing down the neck of the Spaniard till 15-17. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter today to congratulate P V Sindhu: Congrats for the Silver @Pvsindhu1. Very well fought. Your accomplishment at #Rio2016 is historic & will be remembered for years. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 19, 2016 Sindhu thus became the fourth Indian to win a silver at the Olympics after shooters Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004, Athens) and Vijay Kumar (2012, London) and wrestler Sushil Kumar (2012, London). The two-time World championship bronze medallist also became the fifth woman player from India to win a medal in Olympics and the first to clinch a silver. Sindhu's silver is India's second medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari (2000, Sydney), boxer MC Mary Kom (2012, London), shuttler Saina Nehwal (2012, London) and wrestler Sakshi Malik (Rio, 2016) are the other women players from India to have won a medal in Olympics. (PTI)

Rio Olympics 2016: India shuttler PV Sindhu wins silver medal

Usain Bolt won a third successive Olympic 200m gold on Thursday to keep alive his hopes of an unprecendented &quot;triple triple&quot; in Rio. 
 
The victory in his favoured event was Bolt&#39;s 13th individual world or Olympic sprint title from a possible 14 since he took athletics by storm at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 
 
The 29-year Jamaican timed 19.78 seconds for gold. Canadian Andre de Grasse took silver with 20.02sec and France&#39;s Christophe Lemaitre winning bronze (20.12). 
 
As Guns N`Roses&#39;&nbsp;&quot;Welcome to the Jungle&quot; blasted out, huge cheers greeted Bolt, wearing black lycra shorts and a singlet in the green, gold and black colours of Jamaica. 
 
The sell-out Olympic Stadium crowd, which has been criticised for its jeering of some athletes, were raucous in their welcome of the Jamaican star. 
 
The win means that Bolt can complete a third straight sweep of the sprint medals on Friday in the 4x100m contest when Jamaica start as favourites. The so-called &#39;triple triple&#39;&nbsp;would see him leave the Olympic stage as an undisputed great. 
 
Bolt, in his favoured lane six, had Lashawn Merritt, the American 400m specialist and sole US medal hope after Justin Gatlin failed to make the eight-man final, just inside him in Thursday`s final. 
 
Immediately out of the blocks, the Jamaican was quickly up on Lemaitre, racing in seven. 
 
With the temperature around 27 degrees Celsius (84F) and the track shining after a light rain shower, Bolt delivered electrifying control around the bend, hitting the back stretch in full tilt. 
 
As the crowd roared, Bolt responded by moving into his famed &quot;drive phase&quot;, head coming slowly up as part of the process that unleashes the full power from his long legs. 
 
Eyes glued on the stadium&#39;s big screen at the end of the 100m track, Bolt blasted through the line with a glance leftwards at the giant stopwatch, beating his chest and saying &quot;number one&quot;. 
 
There had been no easing up, but Bolt looked to be left disappointed with his time, ripping the numbers off his shorts and throwing them to the floor. 
 
&quot;No, I can`t grasp what I&#39;ve achieved, definitely not,&quot; said Bolt. 
 
&quot;You work so hard for years and then you just hope it pays off. It is a brilliant feeling.&quot; 
 
Bolt admitted that he hadn&#39;t felt great down the back stretch, timing what was the slowest 200m of all his individual victories. 
 
&quot;I wasn&#39;t happy with the time,&quot; he acknowledged. &quot;My body just wouldn&#39;t respond in the straight. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m getting older and my body is ageing. Personally I think this is my last 200 but my coach may beg to differ.&quot; 
 
Any disappointment was quickly forgotten on the track as Guns N&#39;Roses was switched for Bob Marley&#39;s &quot;One Love&quot;. Bolt, draped in Brazilian and Jamaican flags, did a lap of honour to chants of &quot;Usain Bolt, Usain Bolt!&quot; after another amazing victory and eighth Olympic gold. 
 
(AFP)

The victory in his favoured event was the 29-year-old Jamaican's 13th individual world or Olympic sprint title from a possible 14

Usain Bolt won a third successive Olympic 200m gold on Thursday to keep alive his hopes of an unprecendented "triple triple" in Rio. The victory in his favoured event was Bolt's 13th individual world or Olympic sprint title from a possible 14 since he took athletics by storm at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The 29-year Jamaican timed 19.78 seconds for gold. Canadian Andre de Grasse took silver with 20.02sec and France's Christophe Lemaitre winning bronze (20.12). As Guns N`Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" blasted out, huge cheers greeted Bolt, wearing black lycra shorts and a singlet in the green, gold and black colours of Jamaica. The sell-out Olympic Stadium crowd, which has been criticised for its jeering of some athletes, were raucous in their welcome of the Jamaican star. The win means that Bolt can complete a third straight sweep of the sprint medals on Friday in the 4x100m contest when Jamaica start as favourites. The so-called 'triple triple' would see him leave the Olympic stage as an undisputed great. Bolt, in his favoured lane six, had Lashawn Merritt, the American 400m specialist and sole US medal hope after Justin Gatlin failed to make the eight-man final, just inside him in Thursday`s final. Immediately out of the blocks, the Jamaican was quickly up on Lemaitre, racing in seven. With the temperature around 27 degrees Celsius (84F) and the track shining after a light rain shower, Bolt delivered electrifying control around the bend, hitting the back stretch in full tilt. As the crowd roared, Bolt responded by moving into his famed "drive phase", head coming slowly up as part of the process that unleashes the full power from his long legs. Eyes glued on the stadium's big screen at the end of the 100m track, Bolt blasted through the line with a glance leftwards at the giant stopwatch, beating his chest and saying "number one". There had been no easing up, but Bolt looked to be left disappointed with his time, ripping the numbers off his shorts and throwing them to the floor. "No, I can`t grasp what I've achieved, definitely not," said Bolt. "You work so hard for years and then you just hope it pays off. It is a brilliant feeling." Bolt admitted that he hadn't felt great down the back stretch, timing what was the slowest 200m of all his individual victories. "I wasn't happy with the time," he acknowledged. "My body just wouldn't respond in the straight. "I'm getting older and my body is ageing. Personally I think this is my last 200 but my coach may beg to differ." Any disappointment was quickly forgotten on the track as Guns N'Roses was switched for Bob Marley's "One Love". Bolt, draped in Brazilian and Jamaican flags, did a lap of honour to chants of "Usain Bolt, Usain Bolt!" after another amazing victory and eighth Olympic gold. (AFP)

Rio Olympics 2016: Usain Bolt wins third 200m gold

Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav was handed a four-year doping ban on Thursday after the World Anti-Doping Agency won its appeal against his earlier exoneration. 
 
An Indian anti-doping disciplinary panel had ruled earlier this month that the wrestler was a victim of &quot;sabotage&quot;, and cleared him to compete in Rio. Freestyle wrestling starts on Friday. 
 
The freestyle wrestler had said his supplements and water had been sabotaged and lodged a police complaint against a junior wrestler accusing him of contaminating his food at the Sports Authority of India training centre in Sonepat. 
 
WADA filed an urgent application before CAS to challenge the decision of NADA India to exonerate Yadav following two positive anti-doping tests in June and July. 
 
&quot;The CAS Panel did not accept the argument of the athlete that he was the victim of sabotage and noted that there was no evidence that he bore no fault, nor that the anti-doping rule violation was not intentional,&quot; CAS said, announcing a four-year period of ineligibility. 
 
(Reuters)

The wrestler had argued his supplements and water had been sabotaged by a junior wrestler in a national training centre

Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav was handed a four-year doping ban on Thursday after the World Anti-Doping Agency won its appeal against his earlier exoneration. An Indian anti-doping disciplinary panel had ruled earlier this month that the wrestler was a victim of "sabotage", and cleared him to compete in Rio. Freestyle wrestling starts on Friday. The freestyle wrestler had said his supplements and water had been sabotaged and lodged a police complaint against a junior wrestler accusing him of contaminating his food at the Sports Authority of India training centre in Sonepat. WADA filed an urgent application before CAS to challenge the decision of NADA India to exonerate Yadav following two positive anti-doping tests in June and July. "The CAS Panel did not accept the argument of the athlete that he was the victim of sabotage and noted that there was no evidence that he bore no fault, nor that the anti-doping rule violation was not intentional," CAS said, announcing a four-year period of ineligibility. (Reuters)

Rio Olympics 2016: India's Narsingh Yadav handed four-year doping ban

Indian shuttler P V Sindhu caused a huge upset, stunning World No 2 Wang Yihan of China in straight games to enter the semi-finals of the women&#39;s singles category at the ongoing Rio Olympics. 
 
Faced with a much higher rated opponent, the 21-year-old from Hyderabad scripted a 22-20, 21-19 victory over the former World No 1 at the Riocentro Pavilion 4 here on Tuesday. 
 
(IANS)

Sindhu became only the second Indian woman to reach the badminton semi-final of Olympic Games

Indian shuttler P V Sindhu caused a huge upset, stunning World No 2 Wang Yihan of China in straight games to enter the semi-finals of the women's singles category at the ongoing Rio Olympics. Faced with a much higher rated opponent, the 21-year-old from Hyderabad scripted a 22-20, 21-19 victory over the former World No 1 at the Riocentro Pavilion 4 here on Tuesday. (IANS)

Rio Olympics 2016: India's PV Sindhu enters badminton semi-finals

Simone Biles bowed out of her fabulous Olympic debut in Rio with a record-equalling fourth gold, short of the record five she sought, but with her name in lights among the gymnastics greats. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s been a long journey, but I`ve enjoyed every moment,&quot; said the Texan whose early life struggles had not set her out as the future face of women`s gymnastics. 
 
The 19-year-old took gold on floor on Tuesday ahead of US teammate Amy Raisman, muscles flexed and with the steely determination she had shown on her way to the team, all-around and vault titles. 
 
The only blip standing between her and history, a slip on the beam on the penultimate day of competition, which gave her bronze. 
 
She is the fifth woman to win four gold at the same Games after Hungarian Agnes Keleti (1956), Soviet Larissa Latynina (1956), Czech Vera Caslavska (1968) and Romanian Ecaterina Szabo (1984). 
 
But Biles remains unfazed. 
 
&quot;To walk away from your first Olympics with five medals and four in gold, how can you be disappointed,&quot; she said. &quot;It`s exciting it`s over, but kind of sad too.&quot; 
 
Biles missed London 2012 because she was too young to compete but has dominated gymnastics in the four-year cycle since. 
 
Finishing off on the podium beside her idol Raisman, 22, was more than she could have hoped for. 
 
&quot;I remember watching her (in London) and saying &#39;I just want to be like her&#39;. Just standing next to her is amazing. It`s the cherry on top me and Aly finishing 1-2 on the floor.&quot; 
 
Her long-time coach Aimee Boorman believes the sport will never be the same after the Biles whirlwind. 
 
&quot;Right now I would say she`s the greatest gymnast,&quot; said Boorman, who has coached Biles since she was six years old. 
 
&quot;She has really raised the bar. But then four years ago nobody thought they would see a Simone Biles.&quot; 
 
Her epic Olympic adventure has seen Biles photographed alongside Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt and US swimming greats Michael 
Phelps and Katie Ledecky. 
 
But she brushes aside all comparisons. 
 
&quot;I`m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps, I`m the first Simone Biles,&quot; she says. 
 
It has been a long journey for the 1.45m (4ft 9ins) gymnast who moved to Texas from her native Ohio at the age of three, adopted with her little sister Adria by her maternal grandfather Ron Biles and his wife Nellie.&nbsp; 
 
The children had been in foster care as their mother struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. 
 
For Biles it all seems normal.&nbsp; 
 
She calls her grandparents `Mom` and `Dad` and says that when she was small she thought all children were adopted. 
 
She started gymnastic lessons after a daycare field trip to a Houston gym aged six. Her raw talent and ability to do amazing flips soon caught the attention of Boorman. 
 
&quot;When I first saw her, I was like, &#39;Wow, this kid has something&#39;. But what it was and how far she could go with it, I had no idea,&quot; Boorman said. 
 
Biles&#39; talent developed from a bungling novice who could not stay on the beam and struggled with uneven bars because her hands were so small.&nbsp; 
 
Under Boorman, 43, Biles has won more world championships than any other woman in history, taking two gold at her first worlds in 2013. 
Four more gold at worlds in Nanning 2014 made her realise it was no fluke. 
 
&quot;When I was young like every kid I always said I wanted to go to the Olympics but I wasn`t really serious about it,&quot; recalls Biles.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Everything just hit me. I thought maybe I`m good! It`s unreal how it happened,&quot; she said. 
 
She is the first woman to win three straight world all-around titles and first to win ten gold medals at world championships. 
 
Everything has been geared towards her drive to become the greatest gymnast ever. Biles spent all her secondary education being homeschooled. 
 
&quot;I wanted to see how far I could go in this sport. I don`t have any regrets, because of how far I`ve come.&quot; 
 
The task now will be getting back to normal with college on the horizon. 
 
&quot;We`ll make it as normal as possible. It will be crazy. I don`t think anybody is ready for it but Aly and Gabby (Douglas).&quot; 
Boorman added: &quot;One thing is sure, she definitely won`t be back in the gym next week, except to sign autographs.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

The teenage sensation has come a long way from her hardscrabble childhood to scale rare heights at these Games

Simone Biles bowed out of her fabulous Olympic debut in Rio with a record-equalling fourth gold, short of the record five she sought, but with her name in lights among the gymnastics greats. "It's been a long journey, but I`ve enjoyed every moment," said the Texan whose early life struggles had not set her out as the future face of women`s gymnastics. The 19-year-old took gold on floor on Tuesday ahead of US teammate Amy Raisman, muscles flexed and with the steely determination she had shown on her way to the team, all-around and vault titles. The only blip standing between her and history, a slip on the beam on the penultimate day of competition, which gave her bronze. She is the fifth woman to win four gold at the same Games after Hungarian Agnes Keleti (1956), Soviet Larissa Latynina (1956), Czech Vera Caslavska (1968) and Romanian Ecaterina Szabo (1984). But Biles remains unfazed. "To walk away from your first Olympics with five medals and four in gold, how can you be disappointed," she said. "It`s exciting it`s over, but kind of sad too." Biles missed London 2012 because she was too young to compete but has dominated gymnastics in the four-year cycle since. Finishing off on the podium beside her idol Raisman, 22, was more than she could have hoped for. "I remember watching her (in London) and saying 'I just want to be like her'. Just standing next to her is amazing. It`s the cherry on top me and Aly finishing 1-2 on the floor." Her long-time coach Aimee Boorman believes the sport will never be the same after the Biles whirlwind. "Right now I would say she`s the greatest gymnast," said Boorman, who has coached Biles since she was six years old. "She has really raised the bar. But then four years ago nobody thought they would see a Simone Biles." Her epic Olympic adventure has seen Biles photographed alongside Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt and US swimming greats Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky. But she brushes aside all comparisons. "I`m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps, I`m the first Simone Biles," she says. It has been a long journey for the 1.45m (4ft 9ins) gymnast who moved to Texas from her native Ohio at the age of three, adopted with her little sister Adria by her maternal grandfather Ron Biles and his wife Nellie. The children had been in foster care as their mother struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. For Biles it all seems normal. She calls her grandparents `Mom` and `Dad` and says that when she was small she thought all children were adopted. She started gymnastic lessons after a daycare field trip to a Houston gym aged six. Her raw talent and ability to do amazing flips soon caught the attention of Boorman. "When I first saw her, I was like, 'Wow, this kid has something'. But what it was and how far she could go with it, I had no idea," Boorman said. Biles' talent developed from a bungling novice who could not stay on the beam and struggled with uneven bars because her hands were so small. Under Boorman, 43, Biles has won more world championships than any other woman in history, taking two gold at her first worlds in 2013. Four more gold at worlds in Nanning 2014 made her realise it was no fluke. "When I was young like every kid I always said I wanted to go to the Olympics but I wasn`t really serious about it," recalls Biles. "Everything just hit me. I thought maybe I`m good! It`s unreal how it happened," she said. She is the first woman to win three straight world all-around titles and first to win ten gold medals at world championships. Everything has been geared towards her drive to become the greatest gymnast ever. Biles spent all her secondary education being homeschooled. "I wanted to see how far I could go in this sport. I don`t have any regrets, because of how far I`ve come." The task now will be getting back to normal with college on the horizon. "We`ll make it as normal as possible. It will be crazy. I don`t think anybody is ready for it but Aly and Gabby (Douglas)." Boorman added: "One thing is sure, she definitely won`t be back in the gym next week, except to sign autographs." (AFP)

Rio Olympics 2016: Simone Biles wins fourth gold, etches her name in history

Teenager&nbsp;Ruth&nbsp;Jebet&nbsp;won Bahrain&#39;s first ever Olympic gold medal on Monday, blowing away the competition in the women&#39;s 3,000 metres steeplechase but narrowly missing out on the world record.

The 19-year-old stormed into the lead after a few laps and set a blistering pace to win in eight minutes 59.75 seconds, shy of the 8:58.81 world record set by Russia&#39;s Gulnara Galkina at the 2008 Beijing Games.

&quot;I admit it was too easy for me but nobody told me about the record. I wanted the gold medal,&quot; Jebet&nbsp;said.

Galkina and Kenyan-born&nbsp;Jebet, who was the world junior champion, are the only two women to have run a sub-nine minute time.

Jebet&nbsp;is the second Kenyan-born runner to win a medal at Rio Games, following Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa&#39;s silver in the women&#39;s marathon on Sunday.

A host of athletes from Kenya&#39;s running heartlands have switched allegiance to compete for Middle Eastern countries over the past decade, in part due to the dearth of support and financial rewards for aspiring runners in the East African nation.

Kenya&#39;s Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi, who won the world title in Beijing last year, was almost 50 metres behind&nbsp;Jebet&nbsp;in second place.

&quot;I am so happy,&quot; said Jepkemoi. &quot;The last two laps were really hard. I just tried to stay strong and see if I could catch her.&quot;

American Emma Coburn won United States&#39; first ever medal in the steeplechase as she grabbed bronze and a new national record.

&quot;I feel very honoured,&quot; Coburn said. 
 
(Reuters)

Kenyan-born teenager finished almost 50 metres ahead of second-placed athlete but narrowly missed out on the world record

Teenager Ruth Jebet won Bahrain's first ever Olympic gold medal on Monday, blowing away the competition in the women's 3,000 metres steeplechase but narrowly missing out on the world record. The 19-year-old stormed into the lead after a few laps and set a blistering pace to win in eight minutes 59.75 seconds, shy of the 8:58.81 world record set by Russia's Gulnara Galkina at the 2008 Beijing Games. "I admit it was too easy for me but nobody told me about the record. I wanted the gold medal," Jebet said. Galkina and Kenyan-born Jebet, who was the world junior champion, are the only two women to have run a sub-nine minute time. Jebet is the second Kenyan-born runner to win a medal at Rio Games, following Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa's silver in the women's marathon on Sunday. A host of athletes from Kenya's running heartlands have switched allegiance to compete for Middle Eastern countries over the past decade, in part due to the dearth of support and financial rewards for aspiring runners in the East African nation. Kenya's Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi, who won the world title in Beijing last year, was almost 50 metres behind Jebet in second place. "I am so happy," said Jepkemoi. "The last two laps were really hard. I just tried to stay strong and see if I could catch her." American Emma Coburn won United States' first ever medal in the steeplechase as she grabbed bronze and a new national record. "I feel very honoured," Coburn said. (Reuters)

Rio Olympics 2016: Ruth Jebet glides through 3,000m steeplechase to win maiden gold for Bahrain

A furious Iran slammed Georgian lifter Lasha Talakhadze&#39;s Olympic gold medal as a &quot;conspiracy&quot; on Tuesday, with riot police called to the Rio Games weightlifting venue as tensions boiled over. 
 
Iranian super heavyweight and favourite Behdad Salimikordasiabi sensationally crashed out of the men`s +105kg class after judges ruled he had failed to register a total in the clean and jerk.&nbsp; 
 
Defending champion Salimikordasiabi, known as &quot;Salimi&quot;, and his coach angrily remonstrated with officials for several minutes in the arena before the contest was finished as boisterous Iranian fans booed incessantly. 
 
&quot;There&#39;s a conspiracy. Our enemies were on the jury,&quot; an irate Iranian coach Sajjad Anoushiravani told reporters, appearing to be referring to a judge from Iraq. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s obvious they took the medal from Salimi. The jury was selected for this to happen. 
 
&quot;He is a gold medallist from London. He broke the world record here. They may as well throw the whole thing in the trash,&quot; seethed Anoushiravani. 
 
Salimi, sometimes referred to as the &quot;Iranian Hercules&quot;, set a new world record of 216kg in the snatch to lead Talakhadze by 1kg going into the clean and jerk. 
 
Judges ruled that the 26-year-old super heavyweight&#39;s first jerk was a no lift. The jury then dramatically over-ruled the judges&#39; decision that his second lift had been legitimate. 
 
Salimi thought he had successfully raised 245kg above his head but the panel of referees on the jury ruled that his left arm had not been straight.&nbsp; 
 
He failed again on his third attempt and he and Anoushiravani left the podium gesticulating wildly at the judges. 
 
With the competition still going on the pair then re-entered the arena to remonstrate with them.&nbsp; 
 
Salimi wagged his finger and shouted at jury members while the coach was even seen arguing with International Weightlifting Federation President Tamas Ajan. 
 
Angry Iranian fans then booed every lift thereafter, including those of Talakhadze and Irakli Turmanidze, also of Georgia, who eventually claimed bronze. 
 
&quot;Why should they take this from us so easily?&quot; 26-stone (170kg) Salimi blubbed to reporters.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;There&#39;s a malfunction in the system, people saw what happened,&quot; he sobbed.Talakhadze held his nerve as pandemonium went on around him to haul a combined total of 473kg -- a world record -- to beat silver medallist Gor Minasyan of Armenia by a massive 22kg. 
 
&quot;There was anger in the hall. But it had nothing to do with me. I just did what I was supposed to do,&quot; said Talakhadze, who has previously served a two-year ban for doping. 
 
&quot;The Iranian was an Olympic champion. But he made mistakes and he failed with his attempts. All my career I&#39;ve been trying to become Olympic champion and now I am. 
 
&quot;The crowd were booing when I was competing. They were wailing. Maybe this gave me more power and strength to become the champion,&quot; he added.&nbsp; 
 
Armenian silver medallist Gor Minasyan condemned the behaviour of the Iranian fans, who stayed on to boo and jeer after the competition had finished, sparking the riot police into action. 
 
&quot;It was bad sporting behaviour from the spectators,&quot; said Minasyan, who has also previously served a two-year band for testing positive for illegal substances. 
 
Around a dozen heavily-armed riot police entered the arena as tensions threatened to escalate but calmness was restored.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It was just for a precautionary measure and they weren`t used,&quot; the venue`s media manager said. 
 
Sam Coffa, chairman of the IWF&#39;s technical committee, said afterwards that the Iranian team could be disciplined for their behaviour as he defended the judges&#39; decisions against Salimi. 
 
(AFP)

Iran officials protested vociferously after men's +105kg class favourite Behdad Salimikordasiabi crashed out of the event

A furious Iran slammed Georgian lifter Lasha Talakhadze's Olympic gold medal as a "conspiracy" on Tuesday, with riot police called to the Rio Games weightlifting venue as tensions boiled over. Iranian super heavyweight and favourite Behdad Salimikordasiabi sensationally crashed out of the men`s +105kg class after judges ruled he had failed to register a total in the clean and jerk. Defending champion Salimikordasiabi, known as "Salimi", and his coach angrily remonstrated with officials for several minutes in the arena before the contest was finished as boisterous Iranian fans booed incessantly. "There's a conspiracy. Our enemies were on the jury," an irate Iranian coach Sajjad Anoushiravani told reporters, appearing to be referring to a judge from Iraq. "It's obvious they took the medal from Salimi. The jury was selected for this to happen. "He is a gold medallist from London. He broke the world record here. They may as well throw the whole thing in the trash," seethed Anoushiravani. Salimi, sometimes referred to as the "Iranian Hercules", set a new world record of 216kg in the snatch to lead Talakhadze by 1kg going into the clean and jerk. Judges ruled that the 26-year-old super heavyweight's first jerk was a no lift. The jury then dramatically over-ruled the judges' decision that his second lift had been legitimate. Salimi thought he had successfully raised 245kg above his head but the panel of referees on the jury ruled that his left arm had not been straight. He failed again on his third attempt and he and Anoushiravani left the podium gesticulating wildly at the judges. With the competition still going on the pair then re-entered the arena to remonstrate with them. Salimi wagged his finger and shouted at jury members while the coach was even seen arguing with International Weightlifting Federation President Tamas Ajan. Angry Iranian fans then booed every lift thereafter, including those of Talakhadze and Irakli Turmanidze, also of Georgia, who eventually claimed bronze. "Why should they take this from us so easily?" 26-stone (170kg) Salimi blubbed to reporters. "There's a malfunction in the system, people saw what happened," he sobbed.Talakhadze held his nerve as pandemonium went on around him to haul a combined total of 473kg -- a world record -- to beat silver medallist Gor Minasyan of Armenia by a massive 22kg. "There was anger in the hall. But it had nothing to do with me. I just did what I was supposed to do," said Talakhadze, who has previously served a two-year ban for doping. "The Iranian was an Olympic champion. But he made mistakes and he failed with his attempts. All my career I've been trying to become Olympic champion and now I am. "The crowd were booing when I was competing. They were wailing. Maybe this gave me more power and strength to become the champion," he added. Armenian silver medallist Gor Minasyan condemned the behaviour of the Iranian fans, who stayed on to boo and jeer after the competition had finished, sparking the riot police into action. "It was bad sporting behaviour from the spectators," said Minasyan, who has also previously served a two-year band for testing positive for illegal substances. Around a dozen heavily-armed riot police entered the arena as tensions threatened to escalate but calmness was restored. "It was just for a precautionary measure and they weren`t used," the venue`s media manager said. Sam Coffa, chairman of the IWF's technical committee, said afterwards that the Iranian team could be disciplined for their behaviour as he defended the judges' decisions against Salimi. (AFP)

Conspiracy claims mar weightlifting event at Rio, riot police called in

Bahamian Shaunae Miller launched herself over the finishing line with a desperate dive to pip American Allyson Felix to Olympic 400 metres gold by the slimmest of margins in a thrilling final on Monday. 
 
After literally flying across the line in a personal best time of 49.44 seconds, the 22-year-old lay on the track, shaken up and exhausted, as she waited for the scoreboard to confirm she had clinched her first major title. 
 
&quot;I didn&#39;t see anyone until the last 20 metres and the only thing I was thinking was that I must get that gold medal,&quot; said Miller. 
 
&quot;I think (the dive) was just a reaction, my mind went blank, the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground. I&#39;ve got a few cuts and bruises but I&#39;m okay. 
 
&quot;This is the moment I have been waiting for. I am just so happy, so grateful, such emotions I just can&#39;t say.&quot; 
 
Felix, who finished in 49.51, was also on the floor after failing to claim her fifth Olympic gold medal, let alone the 200-400 double she had originally planned for the Rio Games. 
 
&quot;Disappointment,&quot; said the 30-year-old, struggling to hold back her tears. &quot;It&#39;s been a tough one and I really hoped it would come together tonight. 
 
&quot;I just gave it all I had, I don&#39;t think I had anything left to give. I feel emotionally and physically drained at this moment. I really wanted it, it&#39;s painful.&quot; 
 
Felix was denied the chance to defend her 200m title, and bid for an unprecedented double, after failing to finish in the top three at the U.S trials while suffering the effects of an ankle injury she suffered in a gym accident earlier this year. 
 
The Californian&#39;s silver medal was, though, her seventh in four Games, the most of any American female track and field athlete at the Olympics. 
 
Silver medallist in the 200m in Athens in 2004 and again in Beijing four years later, Felix won her only individual gold over the half-lap in London in 2012. She has also won three relay golds and could add to that tally in Brazil. 
 
Second behind Felix in the 400 metres at the world championships in Beijing last year when her strong finish was not enough to rein in the American, Miller had clearly learned her lesson. 
 
She exploded out of the blocks in lane seven and went for broke, her long stride giving her a good lead on the back straight as the shorter Felix powered away inside her. 
 
Miller retained the lead coming off the final bend but started tightening up as Felix surged about 50 metres from the line and the pair were neck-and-neck until the Bahamian&#39;s gold medal-winning dive. 
 
Jamaica&#39;s Shericka Jackson took bronze in 49.85 ahead of Americans Natasha Hastings (50.34) and Phyllis Francis (50.41) in fourth and fifth.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

'The only thing I was thinking was that I must get that gold medal,' said Miller

Bahamian Shaunae Miller launched herself over the finishing line with a desperate dive to pip American Allyson Felix to Olympic 400 metres gold by the slimmest of margins in a thrilling final on Monday. After literally flying across the line in a personal best time of 49.44 seconds, the 22-year-old lay on the track, shaken up and exhausted, as she waited for the scoreboard to confirm she had clinched her first major title. "I didn't see anyone until the last 20 metres and the only thing I was thinking was that I must get that gold medal," said Miller. "I think (the dive) was just a reaction, my mind went blank, the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground. I've got a few cuts and bruises but I'm okay. "This is the moment I have been waiting for. I am just so happy, so grateful, such emotions I just can't say." Felix, who finished in 49.51, was also on the floor after failing to claim her fifth Olympic gold medal, let alone the 200-400 double she had originally planned for the Rio Games. "Disappointment," said the 30-year-old, struggling to hold back her tears. "It's been a tough one and I really hoped it would come together tonight. "I just gave it all I had, I don't think I had anything left to give. I feel emotionally and physically drained at this moment. I really wanted it, it's painful." Felix was denied the chance to defend her 200m title, and bid for an unprecedented double, after failing to finish in the top three at the U.S trials while suffering the effects of an ankle injury she suffered in a gym accident earlier this year. The Californian's silver medal was, though, her seventh in four Games, the most of any American female track and field athlete at the Olympics. Silver medallist in the 200m in Athens in 2004 and again in Beijing four years later, Felix won her only individual gold over the half-lap in London in 2012. She has also won three relay golds and could add to that tally in Brazil. Second behind Felix in the 400 metres at the world championships in Beijing last year when her strong finish was not enough to rein in the American, Miller had clearly learned her lesson. She exploded out of the blocks in lane seven and went for broke, her long stride giving her a good lead on the back straight as the shorter Felix powered away inside her. Miller retained the lead coming off the final bend but started tightening up as Felix surged about 50 metres from the line and the pair were neck-and-neck until the Bahamian's gold medal-winning dive. Jamaica's Shericka Jackson took bronze in 49.85 ahead of Americans Natasha Hastings (50.34) and Phyllis Francis (50.41) in fourth and fifth. (Reuters)

Rio Olympics 2016: Bahamian Shaunae Miller dives over finish line, wins 400m gold

Usain Bolt roared into Olympic history here Sunday, capturing an unprecedented third consecutive 100m crown to confirm his place in the pantheon of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.&nbsp; 
 
The 29-year-old Jamaican legend, competing in his final Olympics, powered over the line in 9.81seconds, vanquishing drug-tainted American rival Justin Gatlin who took silver, with Andre De Grasse of Canada claiming bronze. 
 
(AFP)

The 29-year-old Jamaican, competing in his final Olympics, scored a time of 9.81 seconds to beat drug-tainted American rival Justin Gatlin

Usain Bolt roared into Olympic history here Sunday, capturing an unprecedented third consecutive 100m crown to confirm his place in the pantheon of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen. The 29-year-old Jamaican legend, competing in his final Olympics, powered over the line in 9.81seconds, vanquishing drug-tainted American rival Justin Gatlin who took silver, with Andre De Grasse of Canada claiming bronze. (AFP)

Rio Olympics 2016: Bolt makes history with third 100m gold

Swimming great Michael Phelps calls it a day at at the Olympics on Saturday while the Rio curtain rises on another legend as sprinter Usain Bolt guns for three golds. 
 
Jamaican Bolt enters the Rio fray in the heats of the men&#39;s 100m while Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, is expected to clinch the 23rd gold medal of his career in the 4x100m medley. 
 
Both Phelps and Bolt have announced that Rio will be their last Olympics and the American is expected to end his career on a high note following his shock defeat on Friday to Singapore&#39;s Joseph Schooling in the 100m butterfly. 
 
For Bolt the target is a third treble of the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay golds. 
 
Phelps, 31, was graceful in defeat to Schooling, 21, on Friday. He called the result &#39;kind of cool&#39; after he was relegated to a three-way dead heat for silver with South African Chad le Clos and Hungary&#39;s Laszlo Cseh. 
 
Singapore exploded in celebration in response to Schooling&#39;s win, the first gold medal in the country&#39;s history. 
 
Schooling, who was inspired to become a top-level swimmer by a meeting with Phelps as a 13-year-old, set an Olympic record of 50.38sec. 
 
&quot;He said &#39;good job, that was a great race&#39;,&quot; Schooling told of Phelps&#39;s reaction. 
 
Another new generation swimmer, Katie Ledecky, completed the first 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle treble since 1968 -- and with a world record. 
 
America&#39;s latest swimming sensation won the 800m in 8min 04.79sec, inside her seven-month old record of 8:06.68. 
 
Phelps has insisted there is no way he is changing his mind about quitting after his fifth Olympics. And Jamaican hero Bolt has said he will also give up after these Games. 
 
The 29-year-old world record holder will start the 100m heats on Saturday in preparation for a predicted showdown with US rival Justin Gatlin in the Olympic stadium on Sunday. 
 
While Bolt&#39;s superstar status is unblemished, Gatlin, the world&#39;s fastest man this year, is still seeking to redeem his name after two doping bans. 
 
The athletics has already produced one startling result -- a world record in the women&#39;s 10,000 metre for Ethiopia&#39;s Almaz Ayana. 
 
Eyebrows were raised about the way in which Ayana smashed the record that has stood for 23 years, by nearly 14 seconds with a time of 29 min 17.45 sec. 
 
&quot;I praise the lord, the lord gives me everything,&quot; she said through an interpreter when asked about the performance. &quot;My doping is my training, my doping is Jesus -- otherwise I&#39;m crystal clear.&quot; 
 
Athletics is battling a torrent of doping controversies after world body the IAAF suspended Russia&#39;s track and field team. 
 
Also in track and field Michelle Carter of the United States stunned defending champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand with her very last throw to win the gold medal in the women&#39;s shot put. 
 
Wang Zhen of China won the men&#39;s 20km race walk gold, 15 seconds ahead of compatriot Cai Zelin. 
 
Britain&#39;s Jessica Ennis-Hill leads Belgium&#39;s Nafissatou Thiam by 72 points in her bid to retain the heptathlon title. She won the 100m hurdles, finished third in the high jump and second in the shot put and 200m. 
 
(AFP)
&nbsp;

Both Phelps and Bolt have announced that Rio will be their last Olympics

Swimming great Michael Phelps calls it a day at at the Olympics on Saturday while the Rio curtain rises on another legend as sprinter Usain Bolt guns for three golds. Jamaican Bolt enters the Rio fray in the heats of the men's 100m while Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, is expected to clinch the 23rd gold medal of his career in the 4x100m medley. Both Phelps and Bolt have announced that Rio will be their last Olympics and the American is expected to end his career on a high note following his shock defeat on Friday to Singapore's Joseph Schooling in the 100m butterfly. For Bolt the target is a third treble of the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay golds. Phelps, 31, was graceful in defeat to Schooling, 21, on Friday. He called the result 'kind of cool' after he was relegated to a three-way dead heat for silver with South African Chad le Clos and Hungary's Laszlo Cseh. Singapore exploded in celebration in response to Schooling's win, the first gold medal in the country's history. Schooling, who was inspired to become a top-level swimmer by a meeting with Phelps as a 13-year-old, set an Olympic record of 50.38sec. "He said 'good job, that was a great race'," Schooling told of Phelps's reaction. Another new generation swimmer, Katie Ledecky, completed the first 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle treble since 1968 -- and with a world record. America's latest swimming sensation won the 800m in 8min 04.79sec, inside her seven-month old record of 8:06.68. Phelps has insisted there is no way he is changing his mind about quitting after his fifth Olympics. And Jamaican hero Bolt has said he will also give up after these Games. The 29-year-old world record holder will start the 100m heats on Saturday in preparation for a predicted showdown with US rival Justin Gatlin in the Olympic stadium on Sunday. While Bolt's superstar status is unblemished, Gatlin, the world's fastest man this year, is still seeking to redeem his name after two doping bans. The athletics has already produced one startling result -- a world record in the women's 10,000 metre for Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana. Eyebrows were raised about the way in which Ayana smashed the record that has stood for 23 years, by nearly 14 seconds with a time of 29 min 17.45 sec. "I praise the lord, the lord gives me everything," she said through an interpreter when asked about the performance. "My doping is my training, my doping is Jesus -- otherwise I'm crystal clear." Athletics is battling a torrent of doping controversies after world body the IAAF suspended Russia's track and field team. Also in track and field Michelle Carter of the United States stunned defending champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand with her very last throw to win the gold medal in the women's shot put. Wang Zhen of China won the men's 20km race walk gold, 15 seconds ahead of compatriot Cai Zelin. Britain's Jessica Ennis-Hill leads Belgium's Nafissatou Thiam by 72 points in her bid to retain the heptathlon title. She won the 100m hurdles, finished third in the high jump and second in the shot put and 200m. (AFP)

Phelps says goodbye to Olympics after unprecedented 23-gold haul

With the Rio Olympics at the halfway mark, here are five sporting stars who left their mark on the first week of competition with their records, style and courage: 
 
Michael Phelps, Swimming 
 
He said his body ached, his legs hurt and he felt tired, but Michael Phelps still went out of the Olympics in spectacular style with four golds and a silver in a week -- 22 golds in a five-Olympics career -- and still one more title likely on Saturday. The Chinese medicinal practice of `cupping` which left red circle marks on his body was the only apparent sign that at 31, Phelps is slowing down, and then barely. His victories in the 4x100m free and 4x200m free relays, 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley were all clear. 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/000_em62l-20160813065705.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Making a splash: As constant as the leap year, US&#39;s swimming legend Michael Phelps bags heaps of gold at the quadrennial event.
</div>
 
The man who won eight golds at Beijing in 2008 has always come across as something of a medal machine. But Phelps has also shown his more mature side in Rio. Being in a three-way dead heat for silver in the 100m on Friday was &quot;kind of cool&quot;. 
 
&quot;My body is in pain, my legs are hurting,&quot; said Phelps after a crushing 200m fly win. &quot;I think the biggest thing for me through the meet so far is I`ve been able to kind of finish how I wanted to,&quot; added the American, who has insisted there will be no sixth Olympics. 
 
Simone Biles, Gymnastics 
 
Simone Biles lived up to her star billing as the gymnastics dynamo put herself on track for a record five gold medals in Rio by winning the all-around title after helping the United States to defend their team title.&nbsp; 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/simone%20biles-20160813081501.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Simone Biles might be only be 1.45m tall but her exploits at the Games has made her a giant in her discipline.
</div>
The 1.45m (4ft 9ins) Texan with a big smile gave a powerful display of gravity-defying tumbling and acrobatics to add the Olympic all-around crown to the three world titles she holds. She is unbeaten in the individual event since 2013. 
 
If Biles takes the vault, beam and floor over coming days she will have won more gold at one Games than any other woman, overtaking Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina (1956), Czech Vera Caslavska (1968) and Romanian Ecaterina Szabo (1984), who have all won four. 
&quot;I`m pretty sure I`ll just go on lockdown at my house. It won`t be exactly normal, but we`ll make it as normal as possible,&quot; said 19-year-old Biles of how she will cope with her fame on her return home. 
 
Fiji, Rugby Sevens 
 
The South Pacific sevens rugby players came to Rio as favourites but no one expected them to trounce Britain 43-7 in such devastating fashion in the final as the sport made its Olympic debut. Sevens may come from Britain but Fiji has become its capital. 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/fiji%20rugby-20160813081028.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Fiji&#39;s sevens rugby team trounced Breat Britain in the final to win the country&#39;s maiden gong.
</div>
The speed and passing of captain Osea Kolinisau and his team blew away all-comers and they saved the best for last. World Rugby believes that Fiji and even the teams that trailed them will bring in new adepts and hopefully a permanent Olympic status. Fiji reckons the country`s first ever gold medal will bring sporting glory and tourists and investment to a poor country of 900,000 people. 
 
Ironically, Fiji is especially hailing the work of coach Ben Ryan to lift the side in recent years. He of course is British. 
 
Rafaela Silva, Judo 
 
Rafaela Silva, who was brought up in Rio`s notorious City of God favela, was called a &quot;monkey&quot; after being disqualified from the London Olympics in 2012. Four years on, Brazil is hosting the Games and the 57kg category judoka is the heroine as the country`s first and only gold medal of the opening week of competition. 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/rafaela%20silva-20160813081947.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Brazil&#39;s Rafaela Silva was called various names after her failure in London Games but four years on, she has had the last laugh by bagging the first gold medal for the host country
</div>
&quot;People taunted me, they said I was a monkey and my place was in a cage. But I proved my place is in sport and in judo,&quot; said the gritty 24-year-old who has spoken forcefully about racism in her country whilst she is in the Olympic headlines. Her sporting skill also deserves attention. She beat world number one Sumiya Dorjsuren of Mongolia to take the title and prove that Brazil is a world force in women`s judo even if the country does not always treasure them. 
 
Katie Ledecky, Swimming 
 
America`s newest star wrote her name in lights by uniting the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle for the first time since 1968 -- winning two of the races in world-record time. Katie Ledecky, 19, has four gold medals overall including the 4x200m freestyle relay, plus silver from the 4x100m free.&nbsp; 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/ledecky-20160813070456.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Ledecky, who cried during the post-race media conference, is moving to Stanford University later this year.
</div>
 
 
The most extraordinary stat for Ledecky is that she has never lost an individual final at a world championships or Olympics, compiling nine world titles before she has even reached her twenties. She burst onto the scene at the 2012 London Olympics, when she won the 800m at just 15. And she has confirmed every ounce of her promise with her feats in Rio, which include world records in the 400m and 800m.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I just wanted to lay it all out there,&quot; Ledecky said after Friday`s 800m race. &quot;It was my last swim here at the Olympics, the pinnacle of our sport, and I have to wait another four years to have that moment.&quot; Ominously for her competitors, Ledecky may be reaching her peak for Tokyo 2020. 
 
(AFP) 
 
&nbsp;

Phelps, Biles, Fiji, Ledecky and Silva have taken different routes to reach the pinnacle of sports in the first week of the Games

With the Rio Olympics at the halfway mark, here are five sporting stars who left their mark on the first week of competition with their records, style and courage: Michael Phelps, Swimming He said his body ached, his legs hurt and he felt tired, but Michael Phelps still went out of the Olympics in spectacular style with four golds and a silver in a week -- 22 golds in a five-Olympics career -- and still one more title likely on Saturday. The Chinese medicinal practice of `cupping` which left red circle marks on his body was the only apparent sign that at 31, Phelps is slowing down, and then barely. His victories in the 4x100m free and 4x200m free relays, 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley were all clear. Making a splash: As constant as the leap year, US's swimming legend Michael Phelps bags heaps of gold at the quadrennial event. The man who won eight golds at Beijing in 2008 has always come across as something of a medal machine. But Phelps has also shown his more mature side in Rio. Being in a three-way dead heat for silver in the 100m on Friday was "kind of cool". "My body is in pain, my legs are hurting," said Phelps after a crushing 200m fly win. "I think the biggest thing for me through the meet so far is I`ve been able to kind of finish how I wanted to," added the American, who has insisted there will be no sixth Olympics. Simone Biles, Gymnastics Simone Biles lived up to her star billing as the gymnastics dynamo put herself on track for a record five gold medals in Rio by winning the all-around title after helping the United States to defend their team title. Simone Biles might be only be 1.45m tall but her exploits at the Games has made her a giant in her discipline. The 1.45m (4ft 9ins) Texan with a big smile gave a powerful display of gravity-defying tumbling and acrobatics to add the Olympic all-around crown to the three world titles she holds. She is unbeaten in the individual event since 2013. If Biles takes the vault, beam and floor over coming days she will have won more gold at one Games than any other woman, overtaking Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina (1956), Czech Vera Caslavska (1968) and Romanian Ecaterina Szabo (1984), who have all won four. "I`m pretty sure I`ll just go on lockdown at my house. It won`t be exactly normal, but we`ll make it as normal as possible," said 19-year-old Biles of how she will cope with her fame on her return home. Fiji, Rugby Sevens The South Pacific sevens rugby players came to Rio as favourites but no one expected them to trounce Britain 43-7 in such devastating fashion in the final as the sport made its Olympic debut. Sevens may come from Britain but Fiji has become its capital. Fiji's sevens rugby team trounced Breat Britain in the final to win the country's maiden gong. The speed and passing of captain Osea Kolinisau and his team blew away all-comers and they saved the best for last. World Rugby believes that Fiji and even the teams that trailed them will bring in new adepts and hopefully a permanent Olympic status. Fiji reckons the country`s first ever gold medal will bring sporting glory and tourists and investment to a poor country of 900,000 people. Ironically, Fiji is especially hailing the work of coach Ben Ryan to lift the side in recent years. He of course is British. Rafaela Silva, Judo Rafaela Silva, who was brought up in Rio`s notorious City of God favela, was called a "monkey" after being disqualified from the London Olympics in 2012. Four years on, Brazil is hosting the Games and the 57kg category judoka is the heroine as the country`s first and only gold medal of the opening week of competition. Brazil's Rafaela Silva was called various names after her failure in London Games but four years on, she has had the last laugh by bagging the first gold medal for the host country "People taunted me, they said I was a monkey and my place was in a cage. But I proved my place is in sport and in judo," said the gritty 24-year-old who has spoken forcefully about racism in her country whilst she is in the Olympic headlines. Her sporting skill also deserves attention. She beat world number one Sumiya Dorjsuren of Mongolia to take the title and prove that Brazil is a world force in women`s judo even if the country does not always treasure them. Katie Ledecky, Swimming America`s newest star wrote her name in lights by uniting the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle for the first time since 1968 -- winning two of the races in world-record time. Katie Ledecky, 19, has four gold medals overall including the 4x200m freestyle relay, plus silver from the 4x100m free. Ledecky, who cried during the post-race media conference, is moving to Stanford University later this year. The most extraordinary stat for Ledecky is that she has never lost an individual final at a world championships or Olympics, compiling nine world titles before she has even reached her twenties. She burst onto the scene at the 2012 London Olympics, when she won the 800m at just 15. And she has confirmed every ounce of her promise with her feats in Rio, which include world records in the 400m and 800m. "I just wanted to lay it all out there," Ledecky said after Friday`s 800m race. "It was my last swim here at the Olympics, the pinnacle of our sport, and I have to wait another four years to have that moment." Ominously for her competitors, Ledecky may be reaching her peak for Tokyo 2020. (AFP)

Rio Olympics 2016: Five stand-out performers of week 1

India&#39;s sprint queen Dutee Chand and discus thrower Vikas Gowda failed in the first qualification stage to cap off a disappointing first day of athletics at the Rio Games.&nbsp; 
 
Chand clocked 11.69 seconds to finish seventh in the 100m heats, which was well below her personal best of 11.24 seconds she had recorded in Astana, Kazakhstan, earlier this year. 
 
It was no better for four-time Olympian Gowda, who produced his worst showing at the quadrennial event. He had a best throw of 58.99m to come 28th out of 34 competitors.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;My performance was not very good today. Frustrating. Just had a lot of bad luck this year. Lot of injuries. Was not able to train until three-four weeks ago. Obviously, that was not enough time to prepare,&quot; said Gowda, who had come eighth in the previous edition in London.
&quot;I tore both quad-tendons of my knees. Right above the kneecap, earlier in the year. It did progress, so I had to take a break from training. So, not enough enough time,&quot; he further said. 
 
Favourite Piotr Malachowski of Poland topped the qualification round with a best throw of 65.89m, followed by Lukas Weisshaidinger (65.86m) of Austria and Christoph Harting (65.41m) of Germany.&nbsp; 
 
The first day of track and field events was a bleak one for Indian athletes as shot putter Manpreet Kaur and 800m racer Jinson Johnson also fell by the wayside in their respoective events.&nbsp; 
 
(Inputs from PTI)
 
 
&nbsp;

Discus thrower Vikas Gowda also produces a below-par performance to cap off a dismal first day in athletics

India's sprint queen Dutee Chand and discus thrower Vikas Gowda failed in the first qualification stage to cap off a disappointing first day of athletics at the Rio Games. Chand clocked 11.69 seconds to finish seventh in the 100m heats, which was well below her personal best of 11.24 seconds she had recorded in Astana, Kazakhstan, earlier this year. It was no better for four-time Olympian Gowda, who produced his worst showing at the quadrennial event. He had a best throw of 58.99m to come 28th out of 34 competitors. "My performance was not very good today. Frustrating. Just had a lot of bad luck this year. Lot of injuries. Was not able to train until three-four weeks ago. Obviously, that was not enough time to prepare," said Gowda, who had come eighth in the previous edition in London. "I tore both quad-tendons of my knees. Right above the kneecap, earlier in the year. It did progress, so I had to take a break from training. So, not enough enough time," he further said. Favourite Piotr Malachowski of Poland topped the qualification round with a best throw of 65.89m, followed by Lukas Weisshaidinger (65.86m) of Austria and Christoph Harting (65.41m) of Germany. The first day of track and field events was a bleak one for Indian athletes as shot putter Manpreet Kaur and 800m racer Jinson Johnson also fell by the wayside in their respoective events. (Inputs from PTI)

India's Dutee Chand fails to qualify in Rio Olympics 2016

Australian shooting champion Michael Diamond was banned on&nbsp;Thursday to appear at his seventh Olympics in Rio after being charged with drunk-driving and firearms offences. 
 
The 44-year-old double Olympic gold medallist was arrested in May after an alleged domestic incident with his brother and his future had been in the balance since. 
 
&quot;Shooting Australia today advised Michael Diamond and the Australian Olympic Committee that he is ineligible for nomination to the AOC for selection to the 2016 Australian Olympic team,&quot; the AOC said in a statement. 
 
&quot;Shooting Australia arrived at its position after considering the AOC&#39;s nomination and selection standards.&quot; 
 
Diamond, a trap shooting gold medallist at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics, denied the offences, including having a shotgun and 150 rounds of ammunition in his car, when he appeared before a court this month. 
 
On his way to the hearing at AOC headquarters in Sydney on Thursday, he said: &quot;I am innocent, totally innocent. And I am prepared to fight it all the way.&quot; 
 
He further added&nbsp;&quot;I am a professional sportsman at the end of the day, and obviously going to seven (Olympics) in a row, that should say something,&quot;&nbsp; 
 
AOC rules state that any athlete nominated must be in good standing with their national federation and must not have brought themselves, their sport or the Olympic movement into disrepute. 
 
&quot;The incident involving Michael Diamond has, in our view, put our sport in a position which is inappropriate,&quot; said Shooting Australia chief executive Damien Marangon. 
 
&quot;This is an extremely difficult time for Michael and Shooting Australia will continue to be there for him as he needs.&quot; 
 
Diamond made his Olympic debut at Barcelona in 1992. He finished just outside the medals in fourth at London four years ago. 
He is also a five-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. 
 
(AFP)

The five-time commonwealth games gold-medalist was facing charges for drunk-driving and firearms offences

Australian shooting champion Michael Diamond was banned on Thursday to appear at his seventh Olympics in Rio after being charged with drunk-driving and firearms offences. The 44-year-old double Olympic gold medallist was arrested in May after an alleged domestic incident with his brother and his future had been in the balance since. "Shooting Australia today advised Michael Diamond and the Australian Olympic Committee that he is ineligible for nomination to the AOC for selection to the 2016 Australian Olympic team," the AOC said in a statement. "Shooting Australia arrived at its position after considering the AOC's nomination and selection standards." Diamond, a trap shooting gold medallist at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics, denied the offences, including having a shotgun and 150 rounds of ammunition in his car, when he appeared before a court this month. On his way to the hearing at AOC headquarters in Sydney on Thursday, he said: "I am innocent, totally innocent. And I am prepared to fight it all the way." He further added "I am a professional sportsman at the end of the day, and obviously going to seven (Olympics) in a row, that should say something," AOC rules state that any athlete nominated must be in good standing with their national federation and must not have brought themselves, their sport or the Olympic movement into disrepute. "The incident involving Michael Diamond has, in our view, put our sport in a position which is inappropriate," said Shooting Australia chief executive Damien Marangon. "This is an extremely difficult time for Michael and Shooting Australia will continue to be there for him as he needs." Diamond made his Olympic debut at Barcelona in 1992. He finished just outside the medals in fourth at London four years ago. He is also a five-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. (AFP)

Olympics: Aussie shooter Diamond ineligible for seventh Games

Determined to exit swimming on his own terms, American swimmer Michael Phelps cleared a major hurdle on the road to Rio on Wednesday, qualifying for a fifth Olympics with a victory that paves the way to more glory. 
 
Phelps heads to Rio thanks to his 200 metres butterfly win at the US Olympic trials with the goal of adding this victory to his staggering record total of 22 medals, including 18 gold, and pen a happy ending to a brilliant career that he feels he denied himself at the 2012 London Olympics. 
 
&quot;Coming back and being able to have the opportunity to finish how I want,&quot; said Phelps, of his motivation. &quot;I`m doing this because I wanted to. 
 
&quot;Thinking about the ups and downs we`ve gone through, in and out of the pool, to get to this point and not feeling an absolute 100 percent, but still being able to get the job done... I think things are probably going to hit me a lot more emotionally now than what they would have in the past, because I`m enjoying the moment.&quot; 
 
According to Phelps, this Olympic journey is more important than the destination, a trip into retirement that he is determined to share with his fiancee Nicole and infant son Boomer, who were among the sellout crowd of 14,000 at the CenturyLink Centre. 
 
At London Olympics, which he had declared to be his last games, Phelps won four gold and overall six medals but walked away with the regret that he simply went through the motions. 
 
He subsequently talked of a golf career but eventually found himself testing the waters of a swimming comeback which was interrupted by a second drunk driving arrest in 2014 and a stint in rehab. 
 
After accepting the medal for his 200 fly win, Phelps searched the darkened arena for his partner and child, joining them poolside where he hugged Nicole and planted a kiss on his son`s forehead. 
 
&quot;I don`t see him every day. I try to, but if I do it`s for a very short moment, so any time I have with him is always very special,&quot; sayd the swimmer about his son. 
 
Aside from the result, very little in his 200m swim on Wednesday evening pleased Phelps, the winning time of 1:54.84 well off his world record mark of 1:51.51. 
 
&quot;Awful,&quot; he sais when asked to assess the last part of his swim.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I think with everything that has happened, being able to come back was probably harder than any swim I have had in my life. 
&nbsp; 
&quot;Getting on the team was the most important thing and that was the only thing I had to do tonight.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

After drunk driving arrests and rehabs, the American swimmer secures his qualification with a 200 m butterfly win at the US Olympic trials

Determined to exit swimming on his own terms, American swimmer Michael Phelps cleared a major hurdle on the road to Rio on Wednesday, qualifying for a fifth Olympics with a victory that paves the way to more glory. Phelps heads to Rio thanks to his 200 metres butterfly win at the US Olympic trials with the goal of adding this victory to his staggering record total of 22 medals, including 18 gold, and pen a happy ending to a brilliant career that he feels he denied himself at the 2012 London Olympics. "Coming back and being able to have the opportunity to finish how I want," said Phelps, of his motivation. "I`m doing this because I wanted to. "Thinking about the ups and downs we`ve gone through, in and out of the pool, to get to this point and not feeling an absolute 100 percent, but still being able to get the job done... I think things are probably going to hit me a lot more emotionally now than what they would have in the past, because I`m enjoying the moment." According to Phelps, this Olympic journey is more important than the destination, a trip into retirement that he is determined to share with his fiancee Nicole and infant son Boomer, who were among the sellout crowd of 14,000 at the CenturyLink Centre. At London Olympics, which he had declared to be his last games, Phelps won four gold and overall six medals but walked away with the regret that he simply went through the motions. He subsequently talked of a golf career but eventually found himself testing the waters of a swimming comeback which was interrupted by a second drunk driving arrest in 2014 and a stint in rehab. After accepting the medal for his 200 fly win, Phelps searched the darkened arena for his partner and child, joining them poolside where he hugged Nicole and planted a kiss on his son`s forehead. "I don`t see him every day. I try to, but if I do it`s for a very short moment, so any time I have with him is always very special," sayd the swimmer about his son. Aside from the result, very little in his 200m swim on Wednesday evening pleased Phelps, the winning time of 1:54.84 well off his world record mark of 1:51.51. "Awful," he sais when asked to assess the last part of his swim. "I think with everything that has happened, being able to come back was probably harder than any swim I have had in my life. "Getting on the team was the most important thing and that was the only thing I had to do tonight." (Reuters)

Michael Phelps qualifies for Rio Olympics

A record contingent of 292 women will be part of a powerful 555-strong United States team at next month&#39;s Rio Olympics. 
 
The team, announced on Saturday by the US Olympic Committee (USOC), will contest 244 of 306 medal events. 
 
The Americans topped the gold medal (46) and overall medal (104) table at London 2012. 
 
The record number of women on the US team tops the previous mark of 289 by China in 2008. It is the second time the American roster has featured more females than males. 
 
&quot;I am especially excited for the historic achievement of our women&#39;s delegation which is a true testament to the strength and growing number of women&#39;s sport opportunities in the United States,&quot; USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said. 
 
The American team includes 191 returning Olympians. Equestrian rider Phillip Dutton and shooters Emil Milev and Kim Rhode are heading to their sixth Games. 
 
Among those going to their fifth Olympics are swimmer Michael Phelps, middle-distance runner Bernard Lagat, tennis player Serena Williams and beach volleyballer Kerri Walsh Jennings. 
 
Phelps, who owns an Olympic record 18 golds, will swim in at least three events in Brazil. 
 
Runner Allyson Felix, the most decorated US Olympic woman with four golds and six overall, makes a fourth Games appearance, competing in the 400 metres and probably the 4x400 relay. 
 
Among the strongest medal favourites are the women&#39;s basketball team and gymnast Simone Biles in the women&#39;s all-around. 
 
The women&#39;s rowing eight seek to continue a dynasty on the world stage. They have not lost an Olympic or world championship title since 2006. 
 
Dutton, 52, will be the oldest team member, with 16-year-old table tennis player Kanak Jha the youngest. 
 
(Reuters)

US team tops China's benchmark of 289 women participants in 2008 Olympics team

A record contingent of 292 women will be part of a powerful 555-strong United States team at next month's Rio Olympics. The team, announced on Saturday by the US Olympic Committee (USOC), will contest 244 of 306 medal events. The Americans topped the gold medal (46) and overall medal (104) table at London 2012. The record number of women on the US team tops the previous mark of 289 by China in 2008. It is the second time the American roster has featured more females than males. "I am especially excited for the historic achievement of our women's delegation which is a true testament to the strength and growing number of women's sport opportunities in the United States," USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said. The American team includes 191 returning Olympians. Equestrian rider Phillip Dutton and shooters Emil Milev and Kim Rhode are heading to their sixth Games. Among those going to their fifth Olympics are swimmer Michael Phelps, middle-distance runner Bernard Lagat, tennis player Serena Williams and beach volleyballer Kerri Walsh Jennings. Phelps, who owns an Olympic record 18 golds, will swim in at least three events in Brazil. Runner Allyson Felix, the most decorated US Olympic woman with four golds and six overall, makes a fourth Games appearance, competing in the 400 metres and probably the 4x400 relay. Among the strongest medal favourites are the women's basketball team and gymnast Simone Biles in the women's all-around. The women's rowing eight seek to continue a dynasty on the world stage. They have not lost an Olympic or world championship title since 2006. Dutton, 52, will be the oldest team member, with 16-year-old table tennis player Kanak Jha the youngest. (Reuters)

US Olympic team features record number of women participants

Irish boxing superstar Katie Taylor along with Nicola Adams established womens boxing in London in the 2012 Olympics as a must see event but four years on cracks are appearing in her armour. 
 
The 30-year-old Olympic lightweight champion -- who also has five world, six European crowns and the inaugural European Games title -- had been unbeaten since 2011 going into 2016 but she has suffered two defeats already this year. 
 
This included a controversial loss in the world championship semi-finals to impressive Frenchwoman Estelle Mossely, whom she beat in the European Games in Baku last year. The defeat prevented Taylor from taking a record sixth world crown. 
 
Despite her disappointment at not achieving that mark, which would have taken her one clear of Indian great Mary Kom, the consolation was she qualified for the Olympics. 
 
&quot;I&#39;s a dream come true, everyone knows how much the Olympic Games mean to me and to have a chance to defend my title is an absolute honour,&quot; said Taylor. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re going to have some team in Rio and I think we&#39;re going to come home with a few gold medals.&quot; 
 
Taylor can be a hard character to read. For most of her career she has been carefully protected by her English father Peter who serves as her mentor and coach.seat recently and her brother Lee is in her corner now with national coach Zaur Antia. 
 
She is a devout Christian and restrained in the remarks she makes regardless of victory or defeat. 
 
However, within the ring she is a tigress prowling for the killer punch and merciless once her opponent is on the ropes.&nbsp; 
 
Despite all her success, though, she continues to reject the belief held by many she has replaced her idol Sonia O&#39;Sullivan as her country&#39;s greatest ever female sportswoman. 
 
O&#39;Sullivan won the world outdoor silver medal over 5,000 metres in 1995, won silver at the 2000 Olympics in the same event. 
 
She was also crowned European champion three times, including the 5,000m and 10,000m double at the 1998 championships. 
 
&quot;I am not sure I can go that far,&quot; said Taylor on winning her European Games title. 
 
&quot;Sonia O&#39;Sullivan has always been my idol. I don&#39;t know if I can take her mantle yet. For me she remains the greatest Irish female athlete.&quot; 
 
Taylor, who has suffered just nine defeats in 11 years in the ring, similarly dismisses claims she is the greatest pound for pound fighter in women&#39;s boxing. 
 
&quot;I think it&#39;s great to be in the mix and mentioned in that conversation but it&#39;s very opinionated as well,&quot; said Taylor. 
 
Taylor, an all-round sportswoman who has represented Ireland in football and is also a superb Gaelic Footballer, has thought not of retirement but to turning professional. 
 
&quot;When you&#39;re so consistent people have to stand up and take notice. It&#39;s great to have that support back home as well. I don&#39;t think people praise consistency enough and it&#39;s great to get that praise.&quot; 
 
However, the amateur sport&#39;s governing body the International Boxing Association (AIBA) has indicated it would fight tooth and nail to secure her services.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;What Katie Taylor has achieved over the last 10 years in international competition, including the Olympic Games and International Boxing Association World Women&#39;s Elite Championships, has been absolutely outstanding,&quot; said AIBA president Dr Wu Ching-Kuo. 
 
Taylor, who gives a lot of her spare time to charitable causes, insists the fire is still in her belly and it would be a fool who discounts her chances of retaining her Olympic crown.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I think I am as hungry now as I ever was. I just want to continue to improve. People on their way up want to take my place so it is up to me to continue to improve.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

30-year-old Olympic lightweight champion had been unbeaten since 2011 going into 2016 but she has suffered two defeats already this year

Irish boxing superstar Katie Taylor along with Nicola Adams established womens boxing in London in the 2012 Olympics as a must see event but four years on cracks are appearing in her armour. The 30-year-old Olympic lightweight champion -- who also has five world, six European crowns and the inaugural European Games title -- had been unbeaten since 2011 going into 2016 but she has suffered two defeats already this year. This included a controversial loss in the world championship semi-finals to impressive Frenchwoman Estelle Mossely, whom she beat in the European Games in Baku last year. The defeat prevented Taylor from taking a record sixth world crown. Despite her disappointment at not achieving that mark, which would have taken her one clear of Indian great Mary Kom, the consolation was she qualified for the Olympics. "I's a dream come true, everyone knows how much the Olympic Games mean to me and to have a chance to defend my title is an absolute honour," said Taylor. "We're going to have some team in Rio and I think we're going to come home with a few gold medals." Taylor can be a hard character to read. For most of her career she has been carefully protected by her English father Peter who serves as her mentor and coach.seat recently and her brother Lee is in her corner now with national coach Zaur Antia. She is a devout Christian and restrained in the remarks she makes regardless of victory or defeat. However, within the ring she is a tigress prowling for the killer punch and merciless once her opponent is on the ropes. Despite all her success, though, she continues to reject the belief held by many she has replaced her idol Sonia O'Sullivan as her country's greatest ever female sportswoman. O'Sullivan won the world outdoor silver medal over 5,000 metres in 1995, won silver at the 2000 Olympics in the same event. She was also crowned European champion three times, including the 5,000m and 10,000m double at the 1998 championships. "I am not sure I can go that far," said Taylor on winning her European Games title. "Sonia O'Sullivan has always been my idol. I don't know if I can take her mantle yet. For me she remains the greatest Irish female athlete." Taylor, who has suffered just nine defeats in 11 years in the ring, similarly dismisses claims she is the greatest pound for pound fighter in women's boxing. "I think it's great to be in the mix and mentioned in that conversation but it's very opinionated as well," said Taylor. Taylor, an all-round sportswoman who has represented Ireland in football and is also a superb Gaelic Footballer, has thought not of retirement but to turning professional. "When you're so consistent people have to stand up and take notice. It's great to have that support back home as well. I don't think people praise consistency enough and it's great to get that praise." However, the amateur sport's governing body the International Boxing Association (AIBA) has indicated it would fight tooth and nail to secure her services. "What Katie Taylor has achieved over the last 10 years in international competition, including the Olympic Games and International Boxing Association World Women's Elite Championships, has been absolutely outstanding," said AIBA president Dr Wu Ching-Kuo. Taylor, who gives a lot of her spare time to charitable causes, insists the fire is still in her belly and it would be a fool who discounts her chances of retaining her Olympic crown. "I think I am as hungry now as I ever was. I just want to continue to improve. People on their way up want to take my place so it is up to me to continue to improve." (AFP)

Boxing superstar Katie Taylor looks to defend Olympic title, despite disappointing form

Barely 10 days before the start of the Rio Olympics, India suffered a huge embarrassment as 74-kg freestyle wrestler Narsingh Yadav failed a dope test conducted by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), a development which has cast doubt on his participation in Rio Games. 
 
National Anti-Doping director general Navin Agarwal confirmed that Narsingh&#39;s &#39;B&#39; sample also tested positive for a banned steroid and he appeared before a NADA disciplinary panel yesterday. 
 
&quot;Yes, he (Narsingh) tested positive for a banned steroid. His B sample was also found to be positive. Narsingh was personally present when his B sample was opened,&quot; Agarwal said today. 
 
&quot;He appeared before a disciplinary panel yesterday. The panel sought for more reports regarding the matter. We will proceed further and I am hoping that the panel will proceed quickly. Till then we will have to wait,&quot; he added. 
 
Asked if Narsingh will miss the Rio Olympics, Agarwal said, &quot;It is too early to comment in that regard. We will try to complete the whole thing quickly. I cannot speculate on that.&quot; 
 
Interestingly, Narsingh was selected for the Rio Olympics in controversial circumstances as double Olympic medallist Sushil Singh had also staked his claim to represent the country in 74-kg freestyle. 
 
But Narsingh was favoured as he had earned the Olympic quota in the World Championships last year. 
 
Narsingh had to fight a lengthy legal battle with two-time Olympics medallist Sushil, also in the same category, to get the chance to compete for India at the Olympics. 
 
(PTI)

Indian wrestler Narsingh appears before NADA disciplinary panel after his 'B' sample also tested positive for a banned steroid

Barely 10 days before the start of the Rio Olympics, India suffered a huge embarrassment as 74-kg freestyle wrestler Narsingh Yadav failed a dope test conducted by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), a development which has cast doubt on his participation in Rio Games. National Anti-Doping director general Navin Agarwal confirmed that Narsingh's 'B' sample also tested positive for a banned steroid and he appeared before a NADA disciplinary panel yesterday. "Yes, he (Narsingh) tested positive for a banned steroid. His B sample was also found to be positive. Narsingh was personally present when his B sample was opened," Agarwal said today. "He appeared before a disciplinary panel yesterday. The panel sought for more reports regarding the matter. We will proceed further and I am hoping that the panel will proceed quickly. Till then we will have to wait," he added. Asked if Narsingh will miss the Rio Olympics, Agarwal said, "It is too early to comment in that regard. We will try to complete the whole thing quickly. I cannot speculate on that." Interestingly, Narsingh was selected for the Rio Olympics in controversial circumstances as double Olympic medallist Sushil Singh had also staked his claim to represent the country in 74-kg freestyle. But Narsingh was favoured as he had earned the Olympic quota in the World Championships last year. Narsingh had to fight a lengthy legal battle with two-time Olympics medallist Sushil, also in the same category, to get the chance to compete for India at the Olympics. (PTI)

India's Rio-bound wrestler Narsingh Yadav fails dope test

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