Japan

India defeated Japan 3-0 at Sharjah in a shaky match of U19 Asia Cup, in which India remained the superior team. India’s captain Mohammad Amaan played an imperious innings in which he bagged 122 unbeaten runs to get his side to a score of 339 for 6.  His knock was an exercise in grit and steel, where he ground the innings and made the scoreboard tick. The Indian middle order not only supported Amaan’s exploits but also contributed valuable runs to make Japan

Netherlands secures its sixth European title in women's water polo with a last-gasp goal from Bente Rogge, defeating Spain 8-7. Greece secures the European Olympic Games qualification berth with a 7-6 victory over Italy in the bronze-medal final. The bronze-medal match winner also earned the European Olympic berth. Despite Spain leading 2-0 early, the Netherlands dominated, leading 5-3 at halftime and 6-5 at the final break. Rogge's last-minute goal secured the historic sixth European title for the Netherlands. Greece led the bronze-medal match

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will not have any spectators as the Covid-19 situation in Japan remains serious, according to organizers. The announcement was made on Monday, following a remote meeting of four Paralympic and Japanese government groups responsible for the Games. "In light of the current emergency declaration issued for Tokyo, Saitama and Chiba Prefectures, another declaration of the state of emergency being requested by Shizuoka prefecture and the current infection situation broadly, more stringent measures will be taken for competitions to be

TOKYO, Aug 4 - Young skaters from Japan and Britain soared to victory in the women's park competition on Wednesday, with hometown heroes Sakura Yosozumi and Kokona Hiraki cinching gold and silver, while Britain's Sky Brown took bronze. In the gripping finals, Yosozumi, 19, landed two 540s in her impressive first run, earning the highest score of 60.09 to vault to top place. Hiraki, 12, consistently showed smooth runs throughout Wednesday's competition and took second place with her best score of 59.04. Britain's

TOKYO, July 29  - The rivalry of economic powerhouses China, Japan and the United States played out in an Olympic swimming pool on Thursday, where a world record in the women's freestyle relay put the Chinese ahead by one gold medal at the Tokyo Games. American joy at their own double gold in the pool was tempered as pole vaulter Sam Kendricks was ruled out of the Games due to a positive COVID-19 test, prompting members of the Australian athletics team to briefly

Japan's Naomi Osaka, a self-confessed introvert who withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon on mental health grounds, has encouraged girls around the world to embrace what makes them different. Osaka, 23, one of Japan's best gold medal prospects at the Tokyo Olympics, used her spot in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) "Stronger Together" campaign to say that the definition of an Olympian is broader than sometimes thought. "People might think I'm quiet. Different. That I don't fit the box of what an

TOKYO: Japan is set to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo through Aug 22 to contain a new wave of COVID-19 infections, a key minister said on Thursday (Jul 8), as the organisers consider banning all spectators from the Olympics starting in about two weeks. Medical advisers to the government have said for weeks that having no spectators at the Games would be the least risky option amid widespread public concern that the influx of thousands of athletes and officials will fuel

TOKYO: Japan is set to outline how it will lift its "state of emergency" curbs while keeping some restrictions, including spectator numbers at big events, amid fears that next month's Olympics could trigger a new wave of COVID-19 infections. Media reports say the government is considering allowing up to 10,000 spectators into stadiums during the Games, in line with a plan endorsed by health experts on Wednesday (Jun 16) for local events. Later on Thursday, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is due to announce

TOKYO: The Japanese government is considering ending a state of emergency in Tokyo and several other prefectures as scheduled on Jun 20, but keeping some curbs such as on restaurant hours until the Olympics start in July, the Mainichi daily reported. New coronavirus infections in Olympics city Tokyo have inched down during the last month of emergency restrictions, though authorities remain concerned about the spread of variants and the continued strain on medical resources. On Friday, the head of Japan's main opposition Constitutional

OTA, Japan: Australia's softball team became the first athletes to arrive in Japan for the Olympics on Tuesday (Jun 1), in a major step forward for the pandemic-postponed Games as organisers battle COVID-19 fears. The arrival offered a taste of the strict biosecurity measures that the Games will entail. All members of the delegation are vaccinated, but they still had to be tested before travel and on arrival. They filed off the plane sporting masks and green and gold uniforms, escorted by greeters

TOKYO: International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach has been forced to postpone a visit to Japan, organisers said Monday (May 10), after a COVID-19 state of emergency was extended less than three months before the Tokyo Games. Bach's trip was scheduled for May 17-18 but organisers "decided to postpone it based on various situations including the (government's) extension of a virus state of emergency". It is just the latest coronavirus disruption for the postponed 2020 Games, which have seen several test events cancelled,

Japan's Naomi Osaka said on Sunday that while she has spent her entire life waiting to compete at the Olympics, the risks of holding the Tokyo Games amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic should continue to be carefully discussed. Opinion surveys have shown that most Japanese oppose holding the Games this summer due to worries about the coronavirus, and Tokyo itself is currently under a state of emergency to tame a rise in infections. Osaka, the world number two women's tennis player and one

SYDNEY: Australia's diving team said it was "not safe" to travel to Japan as they withdrew from a Tokyo Olympics test event on Friday (Apr 23) just three months before the pandemic-postponed Games begin. The Diving World Cup was set to take place from May 1 to 6 in the Japanese capital. But with the Japanese government due to impose new virus states of emergency in Tokyo and three other regions on Friday, Diving Australia said they had concluded it would "not be

An Olympic artistic swimming qualifier scheduled for Tokyo in May will now be held outside Japan in June at a location to be decided, world body FINA said on Tuesday. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted preparations for the start of the 2020 Summer Games, already postponed by a year, in July. FINA said in a statement that the changes were due in part to "challenges related to the international calendar and the necessary adaptation of the venue to the Olympic Games’ operations in

Japan's inability to contain the COVID-19 pandemic means that plans to hold the Olympics in Tokyo should be reconsidered, health experts wrote in a commentary. The 2020 Games, already delayed by one year, are due to begin in fewer than 100 days, even as Japan expands quasi-emergency measures to halt a fourth wave of infections. Japan has exhibited "poor performance" in containing virus transmission, along with limited testing capacity and a slow vaccination rollout, according to the commentary published in the British Medical

Ishikawa, who is president of an IT company, has attended every Summer Olympics since then, becoming famous as an unofficial 'International Olympic Cheerleader'. She relishes joining in with fans from everywhere to cheer for their athletes. Tokyo: Kyoko Ishikawa was a back-packing Japanese student in Barcelona in 1992 when she says a “miracle happened.” She managed to buy a ticket to the opening ceremony of Spain's historic Olympics. She said she had only “pocket money” with her — maybe $50 — when some

Hideki Matsuyama held off the field to win the Masters by one stroke at Augusta National and become the first Japanese man to claim a major title. Matsuyama had a four-shot lead heading into the final day and, despite some nervy moments on Sunday, shot a one-over 73 to win on 10 under par. American debutant Will Zalatoris was his closest challenger on nine under. England's Justin Rose, who led for two rounds, faded in the final 18 holes with a two-over 74

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu praised his side's ruthlessness after they recorded their biggest win in World Cup qualifying with Tuesday's (Mar 30) 14-0 thrashing of Mongolia. The win fell one goal short of matching their all-time record, a 15-0 victory over the Philippines in Olympic qualifying in 1967, but Moriyasu was delighted with the way his side took Mongolia apart in the Group F match behind closed doors at Chiba's Fukuda Denshi Arena. The players were focused on what they could accomplish rather

TOKYO: Southampton's Takumi Minamino and eight other Europe-based players were on Thursday (Mar 18) named in Japan's squad for next week's friendly against South Korea in Yokohama. Minamino, who has scored two goals in six games since joining Southampton on loan from Liverpool in January, is part of a 23-man squad to take on the Koreans on Mar 25 in Japan's first home game since the coronavirus pandemic began. South Korea have named a full-strength squad that includes Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min.

LONDON: Badminton world No 1 Kento Momota made a winning return to international action at the COVID-19-affected All England Open on Wednesday (Mar 17), while Indonesia's team were forced to withdraw after a passenger on their flight to Britain tested positive for the coronavirus. The 26-year-old from Japan defeated India's Kashyap Parupalli 21-13, 22-20 in a first-round match played without fans in Birmingham. Momota, who made a successful return to domestic Badminton by winning the All-Japan Championship in December, was playing his first