Tokyo

Amidst speculation surrounding his absence from a recent Inter Miami friendly in Hong Kong, Lionel Messi took to one of China's largest social media platforms to address the controversy. Chinese state media, Hong Kong politicians, and fans expressed disappointment when Messi appeared in a friendly match in Tokyo just three days later. As a result, Hangzhou and Beijing announced their decision not to host Argentina games scheduled for March, further escalating the situation. In an effort to clarify the circumstances, Lionel Messireleased a

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 8 - Tokyo doused its Olympic flame on Sunday in a ceremony that echoed the restraint of a Games held without spectators and transformed by the global pandemic, dazzling sport and deeply person turmoil. After postponing the Tokyo 2020 Games for a year, organisers said the event would serve as a symbol of world triumph over the pandemic. But with strict pandemic countermeasures and as COVID-19 variants have surged back around the world, the Olympics fell short of the triumph and

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: India's Badminton superstar PV Sindhu is carrying the hopes of her country's 1.3 billion people, but meditation is helping her stay calm in the eye of the storm. The 26-year-old world champion, who won silver at the 2016 Rio Games, would become only the second Indian ever to win an individual Olympic gold if she triumphs this week in Tokyo. With Rio champion Carolina Marin of Spain absent with a serious knee injury, Sindhu has as good a chance as any in

TOKYO: The Olympic flame arrived in Tokyo on Friday (Jul 9) but with the public kept away at a low-key welcoming ceremony because of coronavirus fears, the day after a "heartbreaking" announcement that spectators would be banned from most Games events. On a rainy morning exactly two weeks before the opening ceremony of the biggest sporting event since the pandemic began, the flame was brought on stage in a lantern and handed to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. Tokyo 2020 organisers and government officials

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

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

After thinking hard about hanging on another year to compete at the COVID-19 delayed Tokyo Olympics, four-time gold medallist gymnast Simone Biles said on Wednesday she just might stick around for another three years for the 2024 Paris Summer Games. Winner of the coveted all-around crown along with team, floor and vault gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Biles had given every indication that the Tokyo Games would be her competitive swan song. But the 24-year-old American hinted during her appearance at the

SYDNEY - Australia is confident all of its athletes will be vaccinated against COVID-19 before they head off to the Tokyo Olympics, Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman said at the unveiling of the uniforms for the Games on Wednesday. Vaccination is not a prerequisite for athletes competing in the delayed Games but Chesterman said it was “common sense” to add a “layer of safety” around the delegation and ensure they did not bring the virus home with them. “We are very confident that

DOHA: India's Sania Mirza said the elusive dream of winning a medal at her fourth Olympics in Tokyo this year motivated her to return to the WTA circuit after a year-long gap. Mirza, paired with Slovenian Andreja Klepac, reached the semi-finals in the women's doubles at the Qatar Open on Wednesday (Mar 3), her first tournament since Feb 2020 when she played at the same Doha event. The 34-year-old, who recovered from COVID-19 in January, said she wanted to avenge the defeat she

Japan Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto emerged as a candidate to lead the Tokyo Olympics organising committee, public broadcaster NHK said on Wednesday, after ex-prime minister Yoshiro Mori resigned from the post over sexist remarks. Born days before Japan hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964, Hashimoto’s parents named her after the Olympic flame. She has lived up to that name by taking part in seven Olympics, both winter and summer Games and in two sports. A 56-year-old ruling party lawmaker, Hashimoto has served as

Your victory at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 in your home country of Qatar provided one of the abiding memories of the championships. Do you think you will ever be able to top this moment? Mutaz Barshim: A moment like I experienced in Doha happens maybe just once in an athlete’s career. To be honest, it is my career highlight so far. I don’t know what can happen in future that would be bigger than that. To become the first man to

Tokyo: Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said on Tuesday that Japan would hold the Summer Olympics regardless of the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and was working closely with the International Olympic Committee to make them happen. "We will hold the Olympics, regardless of how the coronavirus (situation) looks," Mori said, adding that the discussion should focus on how, not whether, the Olympics will happen. "We must consider new ways of hosting the Olympics" as a part of that, he said. Mori added

The Tokyo Olympics will top the agenda when the International Olympic Committee’s executive board meets today – but with the board firmly backing the event, any talk of scrapping it altogether due to the Covid-19 pandemic is highly unlikely. With less than six months to go until the troubled Games are due to start, the board will instead tackle questions over the vaccination of athletes, international visitors and the attendance of spectators, and safety regulations among other matters. The Olympic body, which will