Reigning champions Brazil were held to a goalless draw by the Ivory Coast in the men’s Olympic football competition on Sunday, while Andre-Pierre Gignac’s hat-trick in a 4-3 win over South Africa kept France’s hopes alive. Brazil, who won gold for the first time five years ago on home soil in Rio, could have moved […]
OLY
Indonesian badminton ace playing Tokyo Games for Covid-victim brother
An Asian champion badminton player is gunning for glory at the coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Olympics in memory of his brother who died of the disease. Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie was competing at a tournament in Thailand earlier this year when he learned that his older brother, Ivan, had contracted the illness back home. The 23-year-old Christie’s mother, […]
Upsets in Olympic pool as Japan, Tunisia strike gold
Japan and Tunisia celebrated shock gold medals on a day of upsets in the Olympic swimming pool on Sunday while Tokyo youngster Yuto Horigome claimed a fairytale hometown victory with the first ever skateboarding gold medal in Olympic history. On the second full day of Olympic competition, the Tokyo Aquatic Center took centre stage for […]
Tunisia’s Hafnaoui in shock after Olympic 400m freestyle win
Tunisian teenager Ahmed Hafnaoui said he was as surprised as anyone after producing a huge upset on Sunday to win 400 metre freestyle gold. The 18-year-old only scraped into the final after posting the eighth fastest time in qualifying but he delivered a sizzling last 50m to touch in 3:43.36. It was almost three seconds […]
Djokovic makes fast start to Olympic gold bid despite ‘brutal’ heat
Novak Djokovic launched his quest for Olympic gold on Saturday with a straight-sets win at the Tokyo Games as tennis stars toiled in the searing summer heat on the opening day of the tournament. World number one Djokovic, the undisputed favourite for the men’s title in Japan, easily dispatched Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien 6-2, 6-2, avoiding […]
Judoka Takato wins Japan’s first gold of Tokyo Olympics
Judoka Naohisa Takato won Japan’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday with victory in the men’s 60kg final at the iconic Nippon Budokan. The 28-year-old made up for his disappointing bronze medal in Rio five years ago by getting the host nation up and running in the Games with a win over […]
Macron meets Japan PM on Olympic visit
French President Emmanuel Macron met his Japanese counterpart on Saturday and took in some Olympic judo action after watching Tokyo 2020’s opening ceremony in a nearly empty stadium. Macron is in Tokyo for the virus-postponed summer Games, with the 2024 edition of the sporting extravaganza set to take place in Paris. He was one of […]
China’s Hou wins weightlifting gold, India celebrates rare silver
China’s Hou Zhihui took the first weightlifting gold of Tokyo 2020 on Saturday as the Indian Prime Minister led tributes to his country’s silver medal winner Chanu Saikhom Mirabai. The 24-year-old world championship silver medallist Hou dominated the 49kg competition, opening up an early 7kg advantage over Mirabai that she never relinquished at the Tokyo […]
South Korean TV network apologises for offensive Olympic broadcast
A major South Korean broadcaster apologised Saturday for using offensive images and captions to describe participating countries during the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony on Friday night. Coronavirus restrictions meant a stripped back celebration with the traditional delegations of athletes masked and far smaller than usual, ranging from just a handful of people to a few […]
EU pushes for its flag to fly at Olympics opening ceremony
European Union leaders on Sunday said they had asked for athletes from Slovenia — currently holding the bloc’s rotating presidency — to be allowed to bear its ring-of-stars flag as well as their own national flag at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony. Carrying the EU flag alongside their country’s own would “render Slovenian athletes ambassadors […]