AFI eyeing six Olympic berths
Kolkata: The Athletics Federation of India is hopeful of achieving Rio Olympic qualification standards in at least six events in the 55th National Open Athletics Championships beginning at SAI Complex here on Wednesday. Men’s triple jump and long jump, women’s steeplechase, 20km walk, shot put and discus throw are the six events where the Indian athletes can achieve the respective qualification marks, AFI secretary CK Valson said here on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Asian Games gold medallist Seema Punia and national record holder Krishna Poonia will miss out from the women’s discus throw event of the four-day meet. Poonia is indisposed, while Punia has skipped the meet because of personal reason, the organisers said. 968 athletes, including 312 in the women’s section from across 24 states and eight sport bodies, will compete in 44 events in the 55th edition of the meet.
Verma calls on Dalmiya at his residence
Kolkata: Cricket Association of Bihar President Aditya Verma on Tuesday called on BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya to hand over their AGM report. “Dalmiya assured me that he’s very keen to revive cricket in Bihar. It was a pleasure to meet him at his residence,” Verma said. BCCI’s associate member Bihar is seeking a full affiliation.
Randhir Singh steps down
Ashgabat (Turkmenistan): Veteran Indian sports administrator Randhir Singh on Tuesday stood down as Secretary General of the Olympic Council of Asia after occupying the post for 24 years since 1991 at the 34th General Assembly of the organisation here. 68-year-old Randhir, who was the International Olympic Committee member from India from 2001 to 2014 and served as Secretary General of the Indian Olympic Association from 1987 to 2012, submitted his final report to the OCA Executive Board before he stood down. He will be made an Honorary life Vice President of OCA. The 34th OCA General Assembly to be held on Wednesday is set to elect incumbent president Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah for another four-year term. The position of Secretary General will not be continued within the OCA structure. “It has been a long journey but a very memorable one.”
Toronto not bidding for 2024 Oly
Toronto: Mayor John Tory said Toronto will be a great venue for the Olympics one day. Just not in 2024. Tory said on Tuesday that Canada’s largest city is going to stay out of the race for the 2024 Olympics because he felt it wasn’t the best use of the city’s time and money right now and said “nobody was rushing forward with their checkbooks.” Tory had until Tuesday to write a letter to the International Olympic Committee to express interest. The declared bidders for 2024 include los Angeles, Paris, Rome, Budapest, Hungary, and Hamburg, Germany. Toronto declining to bid is good news for los Angeles as it becomes the only North American bidder. The winning city will be chosen in 2017.
Tarun-Sikki lose in Korea Open
Seoul: India’s mixed doubles pair of Tarun Kona and Sikki Reddy failed to cross the opening hurdle of the Korea Open Super Series as they went down in straight games to top seed Chinese Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, here on Tuesday. Tarun and Sikki suffered a 11-21, 10-21 loss to Zhang and Zhao in a match that lasted less than half an hour at the SK Handball stadium. The Indian duo were no match for the top seeded Chinese as their challenge lasted for the first five points but after that it was Zhang and Zhao who dominated proceedings in the first game. The script didn’t change in the second game as Zhang and Zhao led from the start and didn’t allow Tarun and Sikki to make a comeback before shutting the door on the Indian duo.
Archers brace for Rio test event
Rio de Janeiro: Indian archers eyeing Olympic medals will have a feel of what’s in store for them less than a year down the line when they compete among the best in the International Archery Challenge for Rio test event at the Sambodromo. The Archery Association of India have sent a full strength side including Deepika Kumari, Rimil Buriuly and laxmi Rani Majhi and Mangal Singh Champia, who have earned four quota berths — women’s team and men’s individual. The other two in the men’s section includes the duo of Jayanta Talukdar and Rahul Banerjee as they will shoot in the qualification round for the seedings. The top field includes london Olympic champions Oh Jin Hyek and Ki Bo Bae, silver medallists Takaharu Furukawa of Japan and Aida Roman of Mexico.