Indian Score Card in Olympics
Sushil Kumar, Indian Star at Beijing olympics shine more here in London and enters in Final of Men’s 66kg Freestyle in wrestling event.
In semis he beats Kazakhstan’s Akzhurek Tanatarov and give us a great great news.
Lets Hope for Gold 
Well well this is what we waiting for Yogeshwar Dutt won bronze in Wrestling Men’s 60kg Freestyle category. London Olympics is going to be very successful for India.
Yogeshwar Dutt representing India 3rd time and today this 29 years old wrestler from Delhi won bronze medal.
Geeta Phogat is girl who prove that Indian Girls are
not less than anyone.
I know you all thinking that she loss both matches, why i am saying that but she did great job and wrestle at her best.
“Geeta dont get short heart you was proud of us. Hand off to you”
Tintu Luka’s late charge in the straight fetched her a semifinal spot in the women’s 800 metres on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Indian timed 2:01.75 to finish third and clinch an automatic spot from the second heat, becoming the second Indian woman to make the semifinals of this event. Shiny Wilson also made it to the semis in the 1984 Los Angels Olympics.
American Alice Schimdt set the pace in a slow race but Tintu remained close while Maria Savinova, the world champion, too was a stride behind Schimdt. Into the final lap, Schimdt and Savinova pulled away while Malika Akkaoui of Morocco followed them, leaving Tintu in fourth place.
But the Indian stepped it up in the straight and caught up with the Morrocan and edged ahead, beating her lunge to the line.
Savinova won the heat in 2:01.56. Schimdt was second in 2:01.65. “I am happy to have qualified for the semifinals but I want to do better tomorrow,” said Tintu. “I thought I had run the first lap a bit slowly. I got boxed in by the other runners,” she said, while her coach P T Usha agreed.
“She had to run the final 200 metres on the outside. It’s good she qualified but she needs to do better tomorrow. She is in good form and will clock her best timing,” said Usha. “She needs to go all out.”
Tintu is grouped with South African Caster Semenya and Kenyan Janeth Jepkosgei in the semifinals. Both the runners came through comfortably while defending champion Pamela Jelima also cruised through, clocking 2:00:54 in her heat.
Continue reading ‘Tintu Luka Qualifies for Women 800M semifinal’
After Devendro Singh Laishram lose to Ireland’s Paddy Barnes from 23 – 18 its end of Indian boxing journey.
Only MC Mary Kom got a medal in 2012 and Vijender also reach Quaterfinals but also loss to Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan on 6th Aug.
London: Indian grapplers will join the Olympic action from Thursday hoping to provide the late sparks to the contingent’s campaign which has so far not really lived upto expectation with the flop show of many of the serious medal contenders.
The wrestlers had won a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics Games through Sushil Kumar and will be keen to improve upon their tally when the freestyle competitions get underway at the ExCel Arena.
All eyes will be on Sushil again as he spearheads the Indian challenge in the 66kg category, but with stiff competition expected from other wrestlers, it remains to be seen whether he can repeat his Beijing feat, and thus become the first Indian to win back-to-back Olympic medals.
India has fielded a record five wrestlers for the Olympics and Yogeshwar Dutt (60kg) is also being talked about as a medal prospect. Narsingh Pancham Yadav (74kg), Amit Kumar Dahiya (74kg) and Geeta Phogat (55kg) are the other grapplers in the fray.
Yogeswhar narrowly missed out reaching the semi-finals in the Beijing Games and is determined to make amends here. Going by his performance in the lead-up to the mega-event, he is quite capable of springing a surprise.
“If I would have won a medal in the Beijing, probably I would not have been competing in the London Games,” said Yogeshwar, who suffered a career-threatening knee injury just after the 2008 edition.
“The only inspiration for me to make a comeback from the injury was to be able to contest in the London Olympics and bring laurels to my country,” said the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist,” he had said.
But clearly, it will be Sushil, who will be carrying the burden of a billion hopes on his sturdy shoulders.
The wrestler gave evidence of his class by fetching a gold in the World Qualifying Tournament earlier this year, raising hopes of a good performance in the Olympics. But many of the established Indian stars have failed in these Games, so Sushil has to guard against complacency.
Coming to the younger lot, Amit Kumar’s advent to the senior level has been fantastic, but his lack of experience at the big stage may turn out to be his nemesis, although the 19-year-old is talented enough to make himself count at the Olympics.
Amit surprised one and all with his performance in the Asian Qualifiers by clinching a gold in the 55kg freestyle but he is aware that it won’t be a cake walk in London.
Narsingh, the 74kg free-style wrestler from Maharashtra has been around for some time now and knows all the tricks of the trade. He is hailed as one of the brightest prospects but like Amit, he also would be participating in his debut Olympics.
In the women’s category, the lone Indian to make the cut for the marquee event, Geeta Phogat (55kg), has a tough challenge at hands, but she is capable of springing a surprise. And if she gets a top-eight seeding she might even finish on the podium.
Continue reading ‘Wrestlers keen to provide late sparks to India’s Olympic campaign’
Olympic silver medallist pistol shooter Vijay Kumar returned home from London Wednesday to a rousing welcome by the Indian Army, which was out in full force and left no stone unturned to honor the hero.
Much before the Lufthansa flight touched had down, preparations had started at the international airport.
And as soon as Kumar walked out with his Russian coach Pavel Smirnov, celebrations broke out.
An army band played the national anthem and then the drums thundered. Senior army officers welcomed Kumar with garlands. The Subedar with the Dogra regiment posed with his silver medal for the shutterbugs
“It is a great reception and I am really touched by it. This is the first time I am getting such a welcome,” Kumar told reporters at the airport
Kumar was then driven away in an open Gypsy to to the army headquarters, where more celebrations are planned.
Kumar says he is unhappy with the Indian Army for not being given a single promotion in the last six years despite winning medals at major international events.
Sports minister Ajay Maken has asked the defence ministry to change its promotion rules for outstanding sports persons. The sports ministry has made provisions for three out of turn promotions for Olympic medalists.
But the Army Sports Control Board has informed Maken that Kumar is eligible for only an out-of-turn promotion to subedar major.
Kumar, however, maintains that this was already due before winning the silver at London.
“I had done the country proud by winning at major events in 2006, Delhi 2010 (CWG) and London 2012 and was expecting promotion and decorations. As sports persons we also have expectations,” Kumar said.
“Offers have started to pour in from all quarters and the sports minister has openly said that I can be given a job in SAI at the IAS officer’s level. I am expecting a similar offer from army,” he said.
Continue reading ‘Olympic silver medallist pistol shooter Vijay Kumar returned home from London’
The president of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), Ching-Kuo Wu, has lashed out at India, saying the country’s federation should abide by the system of which it is a part of. Wu also said India would ‘regret’ its actions once “they (the officials) cool down and think over the events” that have unfolded over the last few days.
There has been a huge outcry over the controversial judging and scoring system, which several countries – including India – claim have cost their boxers a deserved win. Finding himself on the hot seat, Wu has defended the system, which he says has been approved by the AIBA congress, which also includes India. “Unless India wins, everything is not okay. That’s Indians’ reaction. I think India are angry and they reacted in anger. But once they cool down, they will regret their action,” Wu told DNA.
Indian officials believe at least three of their boxers – Sumit Sangwan, Vikas Krishan and Manoj Kumar – were victims of poor judging and a ‘faulty’ scoring system. India, in fact, appealed Krishan’s case to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), which is the world’s top sports tribunal body, asking it to intervene and reverse the decision that went against Krishan. “That is India’s right (to appeal to CAS) and we cannot stop them. But the system that is put in place by us should be respected. It was approved by the AIBA congress, which includes India as well. So if India does not like the system, it can challenge it. If majority of the countries challenge the system, we will change it,” Wu said.
Quite expectedly, Wu defended the scoring system, which he claims is absolutely transparent. “We are using the system for the Olympic Games, so it is perfect. Otherwise, why would we use it? There is no way it can be manipulated. The referees are locked up in their lounge for the whole day. They are without phones, internet… there is no communication. They come to know which bout they are officiating only 10 minutes before it begins. Tell me, how can you manipulate? We have a zero-tolerance policy.”
However, the Taiwanese president of boxing’s world governing body said there would be a review of the scoring system after the Olympics. “There will be a review; we do that after every major tournament. We will review the system and if the congress feels there is a need for a change, it will be done. It should benefit the boxers, in the end,” Wu said.
India is a market which the AIBA is keen to explore and Wu said it was important to look at the future rather than dwelling on these issues. “Everybody should cool down. The most important thing is to look at the future. The quality of boxing here is terrific, even Mary (Kom) is doing great. We should look at how to build on this,” Wu said.
Continue reading ‘‘India should abide by the system’ Said by AIBA Ching-Kuo Wu’
Coach BI Fernandes left the arena yelling out loud, ‘mafias! mafias!’ Judging in the boxing contests at the Games has been contentious but there was nothing fishy in Vijender Singh’s loss to Uzbekistan’s Abbos Atoev. There was no protest by rest of the Indian contingent as well. Why the fuss then, coach?
Vijender, the bronze medallist at the Beijing Olympics four years ago, would be bitterly disappointed with the 13-17 loss in the middleweight category. He looked focussed and highly motivated in the first two bouts, though he showed slight vulnerability in the pre-quarterfinals against unheralded American Terrell Gausha. So shattered was the 26-year-old boxer from Bhiwani that he locked himself in his room on Tuesday, refusing to interact with anyone.
But even he would accept that on the day, his tactics let him down. True to his style, Vijender started cautiously, trying to figure out his opponent before unleashing a flurry of punches. But the Uzbek was too smart to reveal all his cards in the first round. In fact, he matched Vijender punch for punch; the 2009 middleweight world champion showing exactly why he is one of the favourites for the gold this time. Vijender was too slow to come out of his shell and attack Atoev, thus giving the Uzbek a big advantage.
The bout was evenly poised till the last 20 seconds of the second round, when a left-right combination punch by Atoev dazzled Vijender. That gave the Uzbek a two-point lead going into the final round, meaning Vijender, a rather defensive boxer, had to go all out in the final round to overturn the deficit and win the bout.
A comeback of that sorts, that too against a seasoned opponent like Atoev and in a stage as big as an Olympic quarterfinal, is always difficult. Yet, Vijender gave it a go. But in an attempt to score points, Vijender let his guard down, giving Atoev an opportunity to find the target. Each time Vijender hit Atoev, the Uzbek replied with a powerful jab of his own. It was close, very close, till the end. Vijender showed a lot of grit and made a valiant attempt but in vain. A flurry of punches towards the end of the final round sealed the deal for Atoev, who assured himself of at least a bronze and ensured Vijender returned empty handed. The Indian boxer was too disappointed to speak after the bout.
“The first round was close. Vijender lost a bit of ground in the second but we thought he had done enough in the third to win. Obviously, the referees thought otherwise,” national coach GS Sandhu said.
With Vijender also gone, the Indian boxers who promised so much are in danger of returning without a medal. The onus is now on 20-year-old Devendro Singh. But his task will only get tougher considering that he’ll be taking on Ireland’s Paddy Barnes, a favourite for gold in his category.
Continue reading ‘Vijender Singh loss to Uzbekistan’s Abbos Atoev’
Tuesday turned out to be a disappointing day for India at London Olympics 2012 as India’s discus thrower Vikas Gowda finished a disappointing third in the finals of Discus throw event. The Indian hockey team continued to disappoint as Indians looked listless and helpless in front of the Belgians.
India had a luckless day at the Olympics with the men’s hockey team continuing their pathetic show by going down to Belgium 0-3 to suffer their fifth consecutive defeat while the country’s two triple jumpers crashed out of the track and field competition here Tuesday.
Goals by veteran Jerome Dekeyser (15th), Gautier Boccard (47th) and Tom Boon (67th) set up Belgium’s second win which lifted them to third position in the group with seven points while India – having lost all their matches – finished sixth without a point and will play for 9-12 positions, their worst-ever finish in the Olympics.
India’s league campaign thus ended on a sad note as the team failed to show any improvement even against a team that was considered the weakest of the six in the group, but Belgium showed that under Aussie legend Colin Batch’s coaching, they are a side making good progress.
For the fifth time in a row, India failed to display any kind of plan or panache to give hopes of a victory as they came up against a Belgian outfit that was better organised in the defence and very fast on the break.
India did enjoy a few moments of supremacy, but yet again the forwards were abysmal at the finish while Belgian goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch was simply unbeatable on the day, bringing off several great saves.
The major difference between the two teams were that Indians, as in the past, depended too much on individual skills that were plentiful but totally ineffective against the Belgians who combined better, both in the defence and attack.
In athletics, Male triple jumper Renjith Maheshwary gave a poor account of himself as he failed to qualify for the finals with a ‘No Mark’ at the Olympic Stadium.
Renjith was shown the red flag in all three of his attempts as he over-stepped during take-off each time. The Indian was the only contestant in the event not to register a jump and finished last in the event.
Mayookha Johny, India’s sole woman triple jumper, too failed to qualify for the finals. She finished a dismal 22nd overall with a best effort of 13.77 metres, which she got on her first attempt.
All Indian eyes will now be on Vikas Gowda, who would compete in the men’s discus throw final later in the day.
On Wednesday, M.C. Mary Kom would be the star attraction as she takes on British girl Nicola Adams in a women’s flyweight (51 kg) category boxing semi final bout. The 29-year-old Manipuri is already assured of a bronze, and a victory against the home favourite would pit her in the gold medal clash.
Meanwhile, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal received a rousing reception on her arrival back home at Hyderabad airport. A large number of well-wishers and the officials of Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh were present to welcome the player who got India’s only medal – a bronze – ever in Olympic badminton Saturday.
People beat drums and burst crackers as Saina reached Gopichand Academy, where she has trained for long.
Saina later said the bronze at the London Games would motivate her to achieve greater things in the future – a gold at the 2016 Rio Games, for instance.
“I am speechless. I never thought I would stand on the podium one day to get this medal. When I stood on the podium I was thinking about all the hard work I put in. The hard work of my coach and parents and the prayers of my well wishers,” she said displaying her bronze medal proudly.
Saina also became the second woman from the country to win an Olympic medal when her opponent Wang Xin of China pulled out of the bronze medal play-off due to a knee injury. The Indian had lost to world champion Wang Yihan in the semi-finals.
