New Delhi: Indian sprinter from Assam, Hima Das is going to miss her first-ever Olympics tournament due to an unfortunate injury. She made this announcement on Twitter. Das was reportedly injured during her qualification for 100m and 200m events. 

Hima holds the national record in 400m race. With this news, India’s hope of securing a medal in athletics have become grim. In her statement, Hima was confident to “make a strong comeback” in the “Asian Games 2022 and World Championship 2022.”

Nicknamed ‘Dhing Express’, Hima Das is a 20-year-old Indian sprinter from Assam. She became the first Indian woman indeed the first-ever Indian athlete to win a gold medal in any format of a global track event at IAAF World U20 Championships when she clocked a speed of 51.46 seconds.

Hima Das’ Statement:

“I will miss my first Olympics due to untimely injury when ai was close to achieve qualification standard in my new event 100m and 200m. I would like to thank my coaches, support staff and my teammates for their continuous support. But I will make a strong comeback and looking forward to Commonwealth Games 2022, Asian Games 2022 and World Championship 2022”

She shared this information by using a heartbreak emoji on Twitter. Hima Das has won two gold medals at the Asian Games and one gold medal at the U-20 Championships. Recently, the  World Championship sprinter was appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police in her home state of Assam. 

 

Indian sprinter from Assam, Hima Das is going to miss her first-ever Olympics tournament due to an unfortunate injury. She made this announcement on Twitter. Das was reportedly injured during her qualification for 100m and 200m events. 

Hima holds the national record in 400m race. With this news, India’s hope of securing a medal in athletics have become grim. In her statement, Hima was confident to “make a strong comeback” in the “Asian Games 2022 and World Championship 2022.”

Nicknamed ‘Dhing Express’, Hima Das is a 20-year-old Indian sprinter from Assam. She became the first Indian woman indeed the first-ever Indian athlete to win a gold medal in any format of a global track event at IAAF World U20 Championships when she clocked a speed of 51.46 seconds.

Hima Das’ Statement:

“I will miss my first Olympics due to untimely injury when ai was close to achieving qualification standard in my new event 100m and 200m. I would like to thank my coaches, support staff, and my teammates for their continuous support. But I will make a strong comeback and looking forward to Commonwealth Games 2022, Asian Games 2022, and World Championship 2022”

She shared this information by using a heartbreak emoji on Twitter. Hima Das has won two gold medals at the Asian Games and one gold medal at the U-20 Championships. Recently, the  World Championship sprinter was appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police in her home state of Assam. 

 

Tokyo: As virus cases grow in the host city of Tokyo just three weeks before the Games, Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga has warned that the Olympics may be staged behind closed doors. 

Despite the organisers of the Games announcing last month that the maximum number of spectators allowed would be 10,000, or half of the total capacity of the venue, the chances of spectators seem bleak, especially with the government planning to expand anti-virus measures in the city due to an increase in new cases. 

Recently, the Japanese PM reiterated his warning saying that if the situation worsens, spectators may be barred from sporting events at all.  

“We will act with the safety and security of the Japanese people as our top priority. There is a possibility of there being no spectators”, he said on Thursday. 

As reported by Japanese local media, The Yomiuri, organizers might also delay the ticket lottery which was earlier set to be held next Tuesday to allocate tickets for events that are oversubscribed under current attendance limits. 

However, because of the uncertainty around attendance limitations, the lottery is likely to be postponed, leaving some supporters anxious about their seats with the Games set to begin in less than three weeks. This also means that there will be no more tickets available, and spectators from outside the United States have already been denied entry. 

“Infections are rebounding in Tokyo and other places, and people are calling for prevention measures to be strengthened,” the Yomiuri report said. 

Since a state of emergency was revoked last month and replaced with eased Covid restrictions that are due to expire on July 11, 19 cases have been reported in Japan. However, the government is expected to extend them as soon as next week, ensuring that they are in place when the Games begin on July 23.

London: As the 23-time grand slam champion, Serena Williams took to the court for her practice before the start of Wimbledon, she amused the media with an unexpected announcement. Serena Williams who is currently prepping for Wimbledon 2021 will not be a part of the United States (US) team for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. 

“I’m actually not on the Olympic list – not that I’m aware of. If so, then I shouldn’t be on it,” Williams said during a press conference here on Sunday. The 39-year old has won 4 gold medals for the USA. She won a singles gold medal in London 2012 Olympics, while the other three came in women’s doubles (where she partnered with her sister, Venus). 

Serena Williams was sceptical to elaborate about the details of her being out of the United States’ Tokyo contingent. She said, “There’s a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision. I don’t feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry.” (as reported by AP) 

Serena holds the record for winning the most number of grand slam titles in the Open Era. (Even more than Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal). Serena is considered the best female tennis player ever by some pundits. She is in quest of her 24th grand slam title. She will face Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus in the first round on 29 June 2021. 

Wiliams isn’t the first one to back out of the Olympics. Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem are some top-seeded players who have decided to not take part in Tokyo Olympics 2020. 

 

(With inputs from News agency AP)

Madrid: Rafael Nadal, the one with the joint-highest number of grand-slam titles has decided to not take part in the upcoming Wimbledon Championship and the Tokyo Olympics 2020. He said that he wants to play tennis for a longer time and thus, he needs to take a break to sustain his career for a longer period of time. 

Nadal announced this decision in a series of tweets on his Twitter account. He said that he took the decision after consulting his team. “Hi all, I have decided not to participate at this year’s Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It’s never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss it with my team I understand that it is the right decision,” Nadal wrote on Twitter. 

Rafa Nadal recently lost in the semi-final of the French Open 2021 against Novak Djokovic. Nadal had won the competition 13 times before and was looking good to win his 21st grand-slam ever, but Djokovic had different plans. Nonetheless, Nadal has decided to take a break and come back stronger on the hard-court in the US and Australian Open. 

Tokyo: With just 10 weeks remaining for the start of the Olympics on 23 July 2021, there has been pressure mounting on the Olympics committee to postpone or reschedule the sporting event due to the concerns surrounding Covid-19. The Tokyo Olympics were supposed to take place in the Japanese summer of 2020, but they were canceled as last year saw a surge in the cases of Covid-19.

CEO of the E-Commerce company, Rakuten Hiroshi Mikitani said that hosting Olympics this year is a “suicide mission” and he is trying to convince the government against it. The Olympics organization committee is facing heat from common Japanese people and also some Japanese celebrities. 

“I have been very straightforward and the fact that we are so late for the vaccination is dangerous to host a big international event,” Mikitani said CNN in an interview. 

“So, the risk is too big and… I’m against having the Tokyo Olympics this year,” he added. When asked if it is possible to cancel the event, Mikitani said ‘Everything is possible.”

“I have talked privately with people and many are not in favor of hosting Tokyo Olympics this year. To be honest, I call it a suicide mission and we should stop. We try to convince them (the Japanese government) but not successful so far,” he concluded. 

Naomi Osaka also ‘not sure’ about playing in Olympics

“I would feel, of course, definitely a bit sad, but at the end of the day, it’s an honour to play in the Olympics in the first place and if that’s what keeps people healthy, then I’m up for [playing behind closed doors],” Osaka said to BBC.

The four-time grand slam winner said, “I’m an athlete, and of course my immediate thought is that I want to play in the Olympics,” she said.

“But as a human, I would say we’re in a pandemic, and if people aren’t healthy, and if they’re not feeling safe, then it’s definitely a really big cause for concern.”

The Covid-19 cases in Japan are on a record high and so far, only 1% of the total Japanese population has been vaccinated. So, it is a risk to hold the Olympics in the middle of a pandemic.