Category: Sports

Austrian Cyclist Anna Kiesenhofer gave one of the biggest shocks in Olympic road racing history with an unflinching victory in the women’s race as a quartet of Dutch champions paid for an apparent communication meltdown on Sunday. The rider whom everyone forgot about, rode off with an improbable gold medal in the women’s road race in Japan. The race took place at Fuji International Speedway in Oyama, Japan.

The 30-year-old was licensed to build up a lead of around 10 minutes in a five-rider group who escaped right at the beginning of the 137km route into the west side of hills in Tokyo. The Olympic debutant who doesn’t ride for a pro team was focused on spinning her legs as she powered around the undulating track to protect her advantage tenaciously. Once she reached the finish line she lay on the pavement and gasped for breath.

Anna claimed her country’s first cycling medal in 125 years and the first gold medal in the Summer Olympics since 2004. The lone member of Austria’s cycling team said she just feels incredible and had sacrificed a lot for this day.

Ahmed Hafnaoui joins Ous Mellouli to be the only Tunisian to win a gold medal for swimming. In the Olympics this year, Africa won its first gold medal in the 400 meters freestyle. Hafnaoui performed spectacularly at Tokyo games on Sunday, beating a field of faster and older swimmers.

The 18-year-old finished in just 43.26 seconds (three minutes). He started as the slowest qualifier in the final. He said that he did not believe it when he touched the wall and was very surprised to see himself touching it first. He further added that he was only thinking about the medal and not the time. He entered the final by 14-hundredth of a second and landed himself in the far outside lane. When he started nobody was watching him but when he finished all eyes were on him.

Australian swimmer Jack McLoughlin won silver and American Kieran Smith earned bronze. All three swimmers were separated by less than a second after the eight-lap race. Hafnaoui is the North African Country’s fourth Olympic gold medalist. He became the second-youngest athlete from an African nation to win a gold medal in swimming. His coach was all proud of him and dedicated it to all the Tunisian people.

The Indian Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu creates history after ending India’s over two-decade-long wait as she wins a silver medal in the 49kg category at the Olympics. She opened India’s medal account at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. China’s Zhihui created an Olympic record in the finals by lifting 94kg in the snatch event. Zhihui lifted a combined weight of 210kg.

Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has been a world champion in the past and won the gold medal in the 48kg category in Anaheim in the commonwealth Games. This was Chanu’s second appearance at the Olympics. In the Rio Olympics in 2016. Chanu failed in her first snatch at 82kgs, managed the second snatch before failing at 84kgs. She even flunked at all the three attempts in the Clean and Jerk. However, she came out with tremendous amends this year. She completed her first and second snatch attempts at 84kg and 87kg. But she could not manage a win at her third snatch of 89kg.

Chanu had created the Clean and Jerk world record in April earlier this year in the 119kg category. She lifted weights of 110kg and 115kg. She was considered as the strongest contender for a medal in this Olympics.

This year at Wimbledon, the first-round video of the match between Novak Djokovic and Jake Draper is gaining popularity over the internet. Novak Djokovic has become a legend in tennis after winning the match. Novak leaves his fans surprised and impressed every time he takes the court.

Novak left his fan’s amazed after winning his sixth Wimbledon title this year and gave a preview of his upcoming match against Jack Draper. The match against Draper was won by Djokovic in just 46second. After the winning video was frequently shared on social media, it has gone viral and is trending on various digital platforms.

The video exhibits the player belt out four consecutive aces in a row at over 100mph. The video was officially shared on the YouTube page of Wimbledon on June 29. In his recent victory, Novak won the first three grand slam titles of 2021. Since its posting, it has been viewed over 866,243 times.

The chairman of RPG Group Harsh Goenka could not stop himself from sharing the video on Twitter and admired the win. The same video was shared by many other known celebs like Dr. Shriram Nene, Ramesh Sethu, and many other users and calling Novak the “Ace King”.

The opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium was a relatively solemn and drab event, with the stands being mostly empty. However, 205 competing delegations stepped out enthusiastically, waving their flags with fervor.

The event included a piece featuring a performer jogging in the dark on a treadmill. This act portrayed how sportsmen were forced to practice in seclusion during the pandemic.

The opening ceremony of the event also showcased banners that were driven by the speech bubbles and intertitles found in the famous Japanese comic books, offering a Manga feel to the audience.

Naomi Osaka, a Japanese tennis player, lighted the Olympic cauldron.  She carried the flame over to the sparkling cauldron that had unfolded at the top of a ramp that represented Mount Fuji. At the 2016 Olympics, a 114-member Indian delegation marched in front of a packed stadium of 78,000 people at Rio’s Maracana stadium, while 81 Indians marched at the 2012 Games. However, now with the pandemic playing a spoilsport, masks and social distance have occupied the front seat, replacing the cheering and ecstatic crowd.

Guinea’s government asked their delegations not to attend the Games a day before but has reversed its decision to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics. On Wednesday, Sports Minister Sanoussy Bantama Sow showed his concern over a recent rise of COVID-19 variants.

Sow added that they were simply caring about the life of their Guineans and it was not a question about the finances. They had a conversation with the Tokyo organizers and were assured about the safety of their athletes. On 21st July, the statement which was issued by Sow announced Guinea’s late withdrawal which came with the small delegation yet to fly.

Asia News stated that the delegation of Guinea includes five competitors-one apiece in athletics, wrestling, and judo while two are the swimmers. Mariama Toure is one of the delegations who are first in the action to race in the women’s 100m breaststroke heats on Sunday with judoka Mamadou Samba.

If this withdrawal lasted then Guinea’s country would have been the second time a country withdrew from the delayed Games. The first country was North Korea which pulled out in April citing the concern over COIVID-19.

Syrian table tennis player Hend Zaza is all set to become the youngest athlete to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. Zaza is just 12 years old and also the first Syrian to compete in Olympics table tennis through the qualification round.

AsiaOne reported that the Syrian booked her ticket to Tokyo Olympic in February with her win. To make it to the 2020 Tokyo Games Zaza had beaten 42-year-old Labanese player Mariana Sahakian. Hend has been playing table tennis since she was 5 years old. At the age of 6, she competed at the World Hopes Week and Challenge event in Doha, Qatar where she was spotted by an International Table Tennis Federation official.

News Asia One mentioned that she has become a national champion in all age categories including seniors and earned her place in Tokyo. Her first match in the singles event is against Austria’s Liu Jia. Zaza happily said in an interview that this is a gift for her country, her parents, and all her friends. Like other Syrian children, Zaza’s childhood has also been marked by the Syrian civil war. She says although she found table tennis to be an escape, the civil war has always remained present. Constant power cuts, rickety floor, and many other challenges have not diminished her desire to become an Olympic medalist.

The ICO confirms Brisbane as the host city for the Olympic Games to be held in 2032. The committee gave its approval for the city’s bid which was already a preferred bidder. The IOC proposed its name in June.

As per AsiaOne report, this marks the third time when Australia will be a host for the Games. Previously, it has been a host in Sydney in 2000 and Melbourne in 1956. Commonwealth Games in 2018 were also hosted by Queensland’s Gold Coast.

It also makes Queensland an unopposed name in the IOC’s ballot while the number of nations had showcased interest for hosting the magnificent Games event.

Asia One News stated that, the IOC has been encouraging projects related to Olympic Games owing to its economic and sustainable responsibility. It is an event that is sought-after by world-class athletes across the globe.

The vision for the Brisbane 2032 Games is aligned with the thought of promoting long-term national and regional sports strategies, along with bringing in economic development in Queensland, Australia. It aims at providing a remarkable experience to athletes, fans and people following the games worldwide.

Sara Gamal, an Egyptian lady, is poised to make record as the first Muslim and African woman to work as a basketball referee at the Tokyo Olympics.

As per Asia One News, Gamal, an Egyptian civil engineer, will also make history by becoming the first Arab woman to officiate 3×3 basketball. The game will be played for the first time in Tokyo.

The referee told that she has received comments from several female referees in Egypt who have thanked her for giving them hope that their aspirations are possible.

The majority of them believed they had no chance in large tournaments outside of the ones they referee in their own country.

Gamal has blazed a route for influential young referees and players before, including in the FIBA World Youth Cup in Belarus in 2018 and the African Women’s Championship in 2017. She is not frightened or intimidated by refereeing male players on hardwood courts, while working in a male-dominated sector as a civil engineer in Alexandria.

She’s excited to put her skills and experience on display during the Olympics. She began as a player before switching to refereeing at the age of 16 because she had a strong desire to gain a better understanding of the rules.

On Sunday, the American golfer Collin Morikawa won the final round at St. George’s in his first debut appearance. Morikawa proved that experience was overrated by outplaying Oosthuizen who was a winner in British Open 2010 and runner-up at six other major championships.

24-year-old shot a bogey-free, 4-under 66 at Royal St. George’s, finishing at 15 under and 2 strokes ahead of Spieth. Louis Oosthuizen was leading Morikawa until No.11. After a shaky start, Morikawa closed out his remarkable major by making par on the final four-hole, with the only genuine scare coming at 15 where he hit into deep rough and chipped to 10 feet within. Morikawa received a standing ovation from the full grandstand on the 18th hole after he finished at a 15-under-par total of 265.

Collin is a graduate with a business degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He plays on the PGA Tour as a professional golfer. Morikawa has spent three weeks as a top-ranked golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in May 2018. He became the second player since 1926 to win two majors in his first eight starts. He is the first player to win two different majors in his first appearance and the eighth to win two majors before turning 25.