Category: Sports

Enea Bastianini of Ducati won the British Grand Prix in Silverstone on Sunday, completing a weekend double following his sprint triumph on Saturday. Bastianini crossed the finish line first, followed by new world championship leader Jorge Martin and two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia.

Bagnaia started second on the grid and led the race until Martin overtook him with eight laps remaining, leaving him to battle for third place. Despite Martin’s fast pace, a late mistake enabled Bastianini, who began third, to capitalise and grab the lead.

“It was a difficult race,” Bastianini explained. “I made some mistakes at the start but was able to cut the distance on Aleix Espargaro and Pecco (Bagnaia). Jorge pushed hard, but I remained confident.

Marc Marquez finished fourth after starting seventh, while pole-sitter Espargaro came in sixth behind Fabio Di Giannantonio. Martin’s second-place finish puts him three points ahead in the championship standings, with Bagnaia now in second place and Bastianini holding third. South Africa’s Brad Binder was forced to retire due to technical issues.

Due to technical issues, SA’s Brad Binder had to pull out of the race.

In a nail-biting final at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, Chiara Leone stunned the audience with an Olympic record score of 464.4, securing Switzerland’s gold medal in the women’s 50-meter rifle 3 positions at the Paris Games on Friday. Having set her eyes on making it to the final eight, the 26-year-old athlete exceeded even her own ambitions. 

“A medal was my goal. “I can’t describe how I feel,” Leone remarked after winning the contest, which he had entered because he wanted to hold a piece of the Eiffel Tower. Adding to the significance of the victory, the medals awarded at the Paris Olympics include a metal fragment in the shape of a hexagon from the world-renowned monument.

The top shooters were in a state of perpetual frenzy during the final. A continual struggle for first place ensued between Leone, American Sagen Maddalena, and Chinese world champion Zhang Qiongyue. With a final score of 463, Maddalena was awarded silver, and Zhang was given bronze with 452.9. Following the prone position, Maddalena was in the lead, but Zhang briefly overtook her during the standing portion. 

However, Switzerland extended their winning record in this race because of Leone’s outstanding performance in the final stages, which clinched the victory.

The British Lightweight Women’s double sculls (LW2x) won Team GB’s second rowing gold medal at the Paris Olympics with a near-perfect performance. Initially, the highly rated Romanians and New Zealanders took the lead, but the British crew quickly overtook them. They were 0.12 seconds ahead at the 500-meter mark, about a second by halfway, and almost a length ahead as they crossed the finish line. 

This is the final Olympic gold medal in lightweight rowing, as Emily and Imogen will be the only champions in this class. Imogen expressed mixed emotions, emphasising her relief and satisfaction at attaining the only goal they had left to complete. They have won two World and European championships since barely losing out on medals in Tokyo 2020. 

Emily reflected on their journey, saying that their race strategy had become second nature, and their confidence had paid off. 

In the Men’s Pairs (M2-), Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George won silver, narrowly losing to Croatia’s Sinkovic brothers. Despite the defeat, Tom and Ollie were proud of their performance. Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards placed 12th overall in the Women’s Pair (W2-).

On Thursday, Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale won the bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions at the Paris 2024 Olympics. This is India’s first Olympic medal in this category and its third overall in rifle shooting, following Abhinav Bindra’s gold in men’s 10m air rifle in Beijing 2008 and Gagan Narang’s bronze in the same event in London 2012.

“I have a lot of emotions right now,” Kusale said. “This medal means a lot. It is not a gold, but I am pleased I got a medal. To get an Olympic medal is a dream.”

Kusale finished sixth out of 15 kneeling shots at the National Shooting Centre in Châteauroux. However, steady shooting in the prone and standing positions propelled the 28-year-old to third at the end of stage one. Kusale maintained his lead with 10.5, 9.4, and 9.9 in stage 2, earning bronze with a total of 451.4.

China’s Liu Yukun won gold with 463.6, while Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish took silver with 461.3.

India has won three shooting medals at Paris 2024, with Manu Bhaker securing two bronzes in the women’s 10m air pistol events.

Shinnosuke Oka of Japan won the men’s all-around gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, capitalising on mistakes by top competitors to beat China’s Zhang Boheng. The battle came down to the final apparatus, the horizontal bar, where Oka kept his cool to finish with 86.832 points, narrowly defeating Zhang by 0.233 points, while Xiao Ruoteng won bronze for China.

Oka, a first-time Olympian, was overshadowed in the Bercy Arena by his teammate Daiki Hashimoto, the Tokyo all-around champion. However, while Hashimoto and Xiao struggled in earlier rotations, Oka performed outstandingly across all six apparatuses, clinching his second gold medal in Paris after helping Japan win the team final two days before.

“I had a strong desire to win,” Oka stated, expressing his joy in finishing the Olympics without making any blunders. Despite Hashimoto’s struggles, which led to a sixth-place finish, Oka credited his buddy with consistent encouragement.

Oka respected Zhang’s fortitude, realising the narrow gap that separated them. “I really felt the Chinese medallists had a higher degree of perfection,” Oka stated, hoping to replicate the success of “King Kohei” Uchimura. Oka hopes to maintain his newfound confidence by pursuing additional successes and keeping the spirit of challenge alive.

Team USA won the men’s four rowing event at the Paris Olympics, breaking a 64-year drought. Michael Grady, Nick Mead, Justin Best, and Liam Corrigan won the final in 5:49.03, narrowly defeating New Zealand, who finished in 5:49.88. Great Britain won bronze in 5:52.42.

Michael Grady, impressed by the victory, commented on the emotional significance of the situation, saying, “A few tears almost spilt out… It’s an emotional experience to be able to represent the United States on the biggest stage.”

The American team, led by Mead in the bow and Corrigan in the stroke, maintained their lead throughout the 2,000-meter race, completing a huge comeback after failing to win any medals at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. This triumph represents the United States’ first gold medal in the men’s fours since the 1960 Rome Games.

Great Britain, the 2023 Rowing World Championships winners, failed early, but New Zealand posed a tough challenge. However, the Americans’ planned approach, aided by Corrigan’s decisive “red” judgement, sealed their triumph.

Team USA also raced in the men’s double sculls and women’s four, but neither finished on the podium. The rowing competitions at the Paris Games will continue until Saturday, with numerous more medal prospects for the United States team.

On Wednesday, Cassandre Beaugrand of France won the women’s triathlon at the Paris Olympics, much to the delight of her home crowd. Following the green light from pollution tests, the race began in difficult conditions following a rainstorm.

With just one kilometre to go in the 10-kilometer race, Beaugrand took the lead and went on to finish in one hour, 54 minutes, and 55 seconds. Brit Beth Potter took home bronze, and Switzerland’s Julie Derron continued her nation’s winning streak in the Olympic triathlon with silver.

The 1,500-meter swim in the Seine got underway with 36-year-old Flora Duffy, the defending champion, taking the lead. This was her seventh Olympic appearance. There were multiple accidents on the damp cobblestones during the event’s hazardous bike leg. Everyone in the top ten, with the exception of Laura Lindemann of Germany, rode the 40 km race without problem.

Beaugrand, Potter, Derron, and Emma Lombardi formed a lead pack throughout the 10-kilometer race. The Parisian crowd was enchanted as Beaugrand, in her first Olympic individual medal, pulled ahead on the last lap. Duffy, who was nursing a knee ailment, came in fifth, and Lombardi took fourth. Georgia Taylor-Brown of Great Britain, who won silver in Tokyo, finished sixth.

The United States men’s gymnastics team won an Olympic medal for the first time in 16 years, taking bronze in the team event on Monday evening. The team, which includes Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Fred Richard, defeated Ukraine and Great Britain to win the medal, with Japan and China taking gold and silver, respectively.

Coach Sam Mikulak stated that the squad had played brilliantly, going “18 for 18,” and expressed delight in their hearts and enjoyment of the tournament. Stephen Nedoroscik, a pommel horse specialist, gave an important effort that propelled the team to victory. Richard’s contributions to the high bar, as well as Juda and Hong’s on the vault, were critical to their success.

Despite a rough start in the qualifying rounds, national champion Brody Malone overcame his earlier mistakes to play an important role in the final. Brett McClure, USA Gymnastics men’s high-performance director, remarked that Malone’s previous blunders did not reflect his genuine ability and expressed faith in Malone’s recovery.

The spotlight now goes to the United States women’s gymnastics team, with Simone Biles anticipated to compete in all four events despite a calf injury sustained during the qualifiers.

After a 2-0 win over Ireland on July 30, the men’s hockey team from India moved on to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Olympics in Paris. With seven points from three matches, India is leading Pool B. They are undefeated after tying Argentina 1-1 and beating New Zealand 3-2.

Following Argentina’s 2-0 victory over New Zealand, India’s qualifying was assured. Indian skipper Harmanpreet Singh scored both goals as his team dominated the contest against Ireland. In the first quarter, he scored on a penalty stroke; in the second quarter, he increased the lead on a penalty corner.

Coach Mark Tumilty looked visibly irritated at halftime as Ireland failed to make an impression despite his team’s best efforts. With this win, India takes a temporary lead in Pool B, surpassing both Belgium and Australia.

If India wants to keep their winning streak alive, it must win their next two matches against Australia and Belgium on August 1. India should be able to keep up their impressive play in the competition with this victory.

Indian cricketer Yashasvi Jaiswal has become the first cricketer to reach 1,000 international runs by 2024. Jaiswal accomplished this milestone during the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Pallekele, demonstrating his exceptional talent and consistency.

Jaiswal has scored 1,023 runs in 13 matches this year, with an average of 63.93 and a strike rate of 94.54. His campaign includes two centuries and five fifties, with his greatest score of an unbeaten 214. Impressively, these runs have only come from Tests and T20Is, as he has yet to appear in an ODI.

Jaiswal has scored 740 runs in six Tests, averaging 74.00, with two double-centuries and three fifties. Meanwhile, in seven T20Is, he has 283 runs at an average of 47.16, two half-centuries, and an excellent strike rate of 175.77, his top score being 77*.

His closest competitors are Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis (888 runs in 26 matches) and Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran (844 runs in 25 matches). However, both fall short of attaining the 1,000-run milestone.

In international cricket, Jaiswal has established a new standard for outstanding performance, which is a testament to his ability and perseverance.