Indian swimmer bags Olympics seat through ‘Universality quota’
NEW DELHI, July 2: Indian woman swimmer Maana Patel’s participation in the Tokyo Olympics has been confirmed through ‘Universality quota’, the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) said. Maana will take part in the 100m backstroke at the Tokyo Games and is the third Indian swimmer to have qualified after both Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash achieved Olympic Qualification Timing (OQT) ‘A’ level recently. The Universality quota allows one male and one female competitor from a country to participate in the Olympics, provided no other swimmer from the same gender qualifies for the Games or receives a FINA invite based on his or her Olympic Selection time (B time). (PTI)
2022 Commonwealth shooting and archery in India cancelled
NEW DELHI, July 2: The Commonwealth archery and shooting championships, which were scheduled to be held in Chandigarh before the 2022 Birmingham Games, have been cancelled due to the “uncertainty” posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was taken by the Commonwealth Games India (CGI) Executive Board with the support of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). CGF President Dame Louise Martin DBE said: “We are disappointed that the 2022 Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships will no longer take place however, this is the right decision to take in the current climate.” (PTI)
Norway’s Warholm breaks 400 hurdles world record
OSLO, July 2: Two-time world champion Karsten Warholm broke a 29-year-old world record in the 400-meter hurdles in the Diamond League meet. The 25-year-old Norwegian finished in 46.70 seconds to break the mark of 46.78 set by American Kevin Young in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics final. Warholm’s previous best was 46.87 in Stockholm last August. (AP)
Thangavelu named flag-bearer for Tokyo Paralympics
New Delhi, July 2: Top para high-jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu was on Friday named the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent in the Tokyo Paralympics, which begins on August 24. Thangavelu, who is defending the T-42 gold he had won in 2016 Rio Paralympics during the August 24 to September 5 showpiece in Tokyo, was picked for the honour by the executive committee of the national body. He was conferred with the Khel Ratna, the country’s highest sporting award, last year. (PTI)
Tokyo Olympics medals to be made from recycled electronic devices
New Delhi, July 2: Athletes bringing laurels for their country in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics will be presented with medals composed of recycled electronic devices. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals will be made of recycled electronic devices including discarded laptops and smartphones. “Athletes at #Tokyo2020 will be presented with medals composed of recycled electronic devices, including discarded laptops and smartphones,” #Tokyo2020 for India tweeted. (ANI)
Chennaiyin sign defender S Ranjan
CHENNAI, July 2: Two-time Indian Super League champions Chennaiyin FC on Friday announced the signing of centre defender Salam Ranjan Singh on a multi-year deal. The 25-year-old defender from Manipur joins CFC following a stint at ATK Mohun Bagan. A product of the Pune FC academy, Salam won back-to-back youth league titles before being promoted to the senior team in 2013-14, as he featured in the I-League and AFC Cup for the Red Lizards. He then joined Bengaluru FC, with whom he won the I-League and Federation Cup trophies. The defender then had a brief stint with ISL side NorthEast United, followed by two years at East Bengal. Salam has amassed more than 50 appearances in the I-League. (PTI)
Wrestler Malik banned for 2 years
NEW DELHI, July 2: His hopes of competing in the Olympics over, Indian wrestler Sumit Malik was on Friday banned for two years by the sport’s world governing body UWW after his B sample also returned positive for a prohibited stimulant. The 28-year-old has one week to decide if he would accept the sanction or challenge it. Malik was handed a provisional suspension last month for failing a dope test during the World Olympic Qualifier event in Sofia, where he had qualified for the Tokyo Games in the 125kg category. (PTI)