Sports minister launches official song on Indian Oly contingent
New Delhi, July 14: Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday launched the ‘Cheer4India: Hindustani Way’ song of the country’s Olympic contingent, composed by Grammy Award winner composure A R Rahman and young singer Ananya Birla, and urged the public to rally behind its athletes during the Olympic Games. “I urge all my countrymen to listen to the song, share it to fellow citizens and also cheer for the entire Indian contingent for the Tokyo Olympics to show that we are behind them,” Thakur said. (PTI)
Number of oath-takers increased from 6 in Tokyo opening ceremony
Tokyo, July 14: The number of oath-takers at the Olympics opening ceremony has been doubled from three to six for the Tokyo Games to ensure gender parity, the IOC said while announcing that the oath has also been reworked slightly to incorporate “inclusion and equality” in it. The Olympic oath is taken by an athlete from the host county, on behalf of all the competitors and the ceremony includes one coach and a judge. This time, Japan will pick one male and one female from each group for the event, which has been an integral part of the Games since 1920. (PTI)
UK to ban online racists from games after Euro 2020 uproar
london, July 14: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced plans to ban anyone guilty of online racist abuse from attending soccer matches after three members of England’s national team were targeted following its loss in the Euro final. “What we are doing is taking practical steps to ensure that the football banning regime is changed so that if you are guilty of racist abuse online on football, then you will not be going to the match,’’ Johnson said during his weekly prime minister’s questions session. (AP)
Powerlifters Jaideep, Khatun qualify for Tokyo Paralympics
New Delhi, July 14: Powerlifters Jaideep Kumar and Sakina Khatun on Wednesday qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics after the sport’s world governing body handed bipartite quotas to the country. World Para Powerlifting conferred a bipartite quota each to Kumar (men’s 65 kg) and Khatun (women’s 50kg), Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) said. Khatun won a bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and a silver in the 2018 Asian Para Games. (PTI)
FIH postpones inaugural World Hockey5s to 2022
Lausanne, July 14: The international federation on Wednesday postponed this year’s inaugural FIH World Hockey 5s event to 2022 because of “uncertainties” surrounding the global evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Whilst it is of course disappointing to have to delay this event by one year, especially considering the role it is meant to play for the exposure of Hockey5s globally, we came to the conclusion that it was the best decision in order, precisely, to preserve the full promotion potential of this event,” FIH CEO Thierry Weil said in a statement. (PTI)
Romanian team first to gain from no away goals rule
GENEVA, July 14: Romanian champion Cluj was the first team to benefit from the abolishment of the away-goals rule in UEFA competitions. Cluj on Tuesday advanced to the Champions League second qualifying round with an extra-time goal in a 2-1 loss at Borac Banja Luka that sealed a 4-3 win on aggregate. Under the old system scrapped by UEFA last month, the champion of Bosnia-Herzegovina would have gone through with the aggregate scored tied at 3-3 because of the goal it scored in the first leg in Romania. Instead, the game went to extra time and Cluj scored the decisive goal in the 118th minute. (AP)