Thompson-Herah runs second fastest-ever women’s 100m
Eugene (USA), Aug 22: Two-time Olympic 100m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica ran a stupendous 100m race, clocking 10.54 seconds at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon. That was the second fastest time ever in the history of 100m racing – just short of the 10.49 clocked by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. Elaine, whose previous best was the 10.61 she set in retaining her 100m title in Tokyo, overhauled the fast-starting Olympic silver medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to bolster the position she already held as the second-fastest ever behind the 1988 10.49 world record belonging to the late Florence Griffith-Joyner of the United States. (IANS)
India to feature 11 members in Paralympics opening ceremony
Tokyo, Aug 22: Only six officials from the Indian contingent are allowed to take part in the opening ceremony of Tokyo Paralympics on Tuesday, chef de mission Gursharan Singh said on Sunday. India will thus have 11 members participating in the opening ceremony, the remaining five being athletes. Only seven Indian participants have reached Tokyo so far including two table tennis players – Sonal Patel and Bhavina Patel – who will not take part in the ceremony, during which Japanese Emperor Naruhito will declare the Games open. (PTI)
Paralympic organisers seek stricter measures as 30 more test positive
Tokyo, Aug 22: Two more athletes were reported Covid-19 positive as the Tokyo 2020 organising committee reported 30 new confirmed cases in the last 24 hours, taking to 131 the total number of positive cases related to the Paralympic Games since August 12. As per data released by the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, eight other cases were also reported from among the Games-concerned personnel involving representatives of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), International Olympic Committee (IOC), and international federations. (IANS)
Bishwamitra in semis of ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing
New Delhi, Aug 22: It was a cakewalk for Bishwamitra Chongtham (51kg) at the ASBC Youth & Junior Boxing Championships in Dubai as the 2021 World Youth Championships bronze medallist won his quarter-final bout and entered the semi-finals. According to information received, Bishwamitra, the boxer from Manipur, beat Kenzhe Muratul of Kazakhstan 5-0 and confirmed at least a bronze with a place in the semis. (IANS)
Olympian footballer SS Hakim passes away aged 82
New Delhi, Aug 22: Olympian footballer and a FIFA international referee, Syed Shahid Hakim, passed away on Sunday morning at a private hospital in Gulbarga, Karnataka. He was 82 and is survived by wife and two daughters. Popularly referred to as Hakim saab, he was part of the Indian squad in the 1960 Olympics. He was also a FIFA international referee and supervised many matches in AFC Asian Cup 1988 at Doha. At the domestic level, he was part of the triumphant Services’ Santosh Trophy squad in 1960. He was conferred the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. (IANS)
American Veerman wins Czech Masters
Vysoky Ujezd (Czech Republic), Aug 22: Johannes Veerman closed with a 4-under 68 to win the Czech Masters on Sunday for his maiden European Tour title. The American finished two strokes ahead of Tapio Pulkkanen of Finland and another American Sean Crocker for a 15-under total of 273 at Albatross Golf Resort near Prague. Veerman’s previous best European Tour finish was third at the Irish Open earlier this season. (AP)