I had only dreamt of these things: Neeraj Chopra on his success streak
Though there was a delay in getting started, the training was really good under coach Jan Zelezny in South Africa. I'm able to follow it in training, but I still need to replicate it in competitions. I'm working on things like the run-up and maintaining my posture while throwing.Q. How does it feel to have an event, the Neeraj Chopra Classic, in your name?I had only dreamt of these things. To have a competition featuring world-class athletes at home is the fruition of another dream, just like winning the Olympics or the World Championships. It's very different from winning a medal, but I feel like through this event, too, I have done something worthwhile for India.Q. What do you envision for the NC Classic going forward?There's a lot to learn from this edition and where we can improve. It only features men this year, but we'll look to add women as well. I hope we can make it an annual event and add more disciplines in the future. I want to think about how I can raise the standard of athletics in India.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
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Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Indian Express
Shooting world shot by new rules: Single canvas jackets likely to lead to lighter rifles, loss in stability and emphasis on shooting position
Tired of near perfect shooting scores, and 'penguin walks' in high profile tournaments like the World Championships and Olympics in tightly wound together jackets raising eyebrows, the world body of shooting has proposed some radical changes. These intend to put the onus of technique back in the hands of shooters and their level of training, rather than the gear doing all the work for them. The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) has put forward these proposals after shooters started achieving the peak of scores possible in the sport. The proposal also hints at a rejig of the current world records, similar to how the sport of javelin underwent — and will start from the 2026 season, possibly to give manufacturers and shooters time to align with ISSF rules. The ISSF, in a report tabled by Sporting Director Peter Underhill noted that the way the sport was being presented due to the clothing of athletes was being discussed at 'the highest levels of IOC'. 'Currently, athletes being unable to walk properly in their sports clothing and the whole image of our athletes encased in suits of iron risks bringing the sport into disrepute,' the ISSF said on the 2025 Rifle Clothing Workshop document. If ratified, the change would be the biggest in the Olympic discipline since 2012 when the decimal point scoring system was introduced. The chief area of change proposed by the ISSF is towards the rifle jacket. Modern jackets are made of two layers of canvas all over, with button holes and straps that tightly bind together the body of the shooter in an ideal position — and keep that position consistent over the period of a competition. This kind of clothing was leading to what Indian national team rifle coach Deepali Deshpande described as 'technical doping'. 'They have not asked to reduce the thickness of the jacket. The new rules will have some effect on the back and shooter's stability. The scores will no longer go as high as they do currently,' said Deshpande to the Indian Express. 'As mentioned in the document, it's currently like technical doping. The only issue is that changing gear will cost athletes money.' Other than the issue of cost (the ISSF document mentions that current gear can be modified to adhere to these planned changes), the change in gear may likely upset the apple cart. Take the Indian case. A new generation of rifle shooters have emerged; domestic competition in India is as tough, if not tougher than the international stage. But the young lineup of shooters that have only known the double canvas gear, will now have to adjust to learning what the ideal state of their body should be during a competition – and then go through countless repetition cycles to fight for scores lower than what they usually expect. Those consistent 10.8s and 10.9s might be a relic of the past. 'A lot of the new shooters who have started with this kit will have a problem. They'll have to work hard on their fitness. Earlier shooters were making it to the Indian team within two-three years. They will have to really work hard to maintain their spot,' said Deshpande, who is the coach of Paris Olympics bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale. Stiffer jackets allowed shooters to use heavier rifles, which allowed more stability, which in turn led to higher scores. But these new rules would lead to changes across the board. Shooters like Arjun Babuta and Rudrankksh Patil, who use lighter rifles, may have to adjust, while shooters with heavier rifles might have to go for newer equipment altogether. 'By default, these rifles are heavy and there really isn't much that can be done in making them lighter. That way, it may be an expensive affair. Even rifle manufacturing companies will have to come up with something different,' said Deshpande. She also said that the old guard of Indian shooting might not be as affected. Anjum Moudgil, a former World Championship medallist and staple Olympian of the Indian shooting team continues to be one of the few shooters domestically who still wear a single canvas jacket. For Moudgil, sticking to her single layered jacket came from a place of wanting to be the best in her discipline, without the help of a stiff jacket putting her in ideal spots. 'I was never tempted to use double layered jackets because I knew it was the jacket that was helping athletes,' said Moudgil. 'Many coaches in the past have asked me to use these jackets but somewhere, being in this sport for so many years and not being dependent on the equipment but my body and my training, gave me a lot of confidence. I may not have shot high scores but I knew that I could be consistent. In warm weather the jacket can get loose but those factors don't affect me like other shooters,' added the 31-year-old Olympian. 2016 Rio Olympic gold medallist Virginia Thrasher welcomed the change and said that the move would bring technical expertise and positional knowledge back to the forefront of the sport. 'This will hopefully help athletes and coaches see the need for robust positions (rather than dangerous positions that shoot well). We will undoubtedly see changes in what a 'good' position is and those who are the most open to change will reap the rewards,' she said on her Instagram.
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- The Hindu
Former Olympic gymnastics champion Nina Derwael retires at 25
Belgium's former Olympic uneven bars champion Nina Derwael said Tuesday she was retiring from gymnastics at the age of 25, having 'achieved her goals' in the sport. Derwael became the first Belgian women's gymnast to win an Olympic medal four years ago in Tokyo, taking gold after twice being crowned world champion in the uneven bars. 'If I still wanted to play a significant role at world championships or Olympics, I would have to put my body under even greater and more prolonged pressure, a risk I no longer want to take,' she said in a statement from her agency. Derwael is a three-time European champion in the uneven bars and also won gold on the balance beam in Leipzig this year. She finished fourth at the Paris Olympics in her favourite event after recovering from a serious shoulder injury.
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First Post
6 hours ago
- First Post
Cricket schedule for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics announced: Matches to get underway on 12 July, one venue to host all fixtures
Cricket makes its return to the Olympics more than a century after making its lone appearance in the 1900 Paris Games, where two teams from Great Britain and France clashed in a one-off two-day match. read more The Indian team will be entering the LA28 Olympics as one of the favourites not just for a podium finish but for gold. Image credit: Reuters/AP Cricket will make its Olympic comeback on 12 July three years from now in Los Angeles with medal matches getting underway a little over a week later. The organisers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics unveiled the competition schedule for the 34th edition of the world's biggest multi-sporting event on Monday, in which cricket returns to the Olympic fold more than a century after its lone appearance at the Games. Only two teams – one from Great Britain and one from France – had competed in a one-off two-day match in the 1900 Paris Olympics. Cricket, however, returns to the Olympics with a vastly different look, with six teams each across the men's and women's game featuring a total of 180 players, and matches set to take place in the fast-paced T20 format. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Big news!🚨 We're celebrating being exactly three years out from the 2028 Olympic Games by sharing the OFFICIAL OLYMPIC COMPETITION SCHEDULE! From where the first medal will be awarded to action-packed days that already have us cheering, this schedule is the first step in… — LA28 (@LA28) July 14, 2025 Cricket matches to get underway two days before LA28 opening ceremony The cricketing event gets underway on 12 July, two days before the opening ceremony takes place simultaneously at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the SoFi Stadium, with medal games set to take place on 20 and 29 July respectively – the latter taking place on the penultimate day of the competition. Also Read | Cricket's return in LA28 Olympics can only be a positive thing for our game, says Ponting A temporary, purpose-built venue will be constructed at the Fairgrounds in Pomona, located 50 kilometres from the host city, for the cricket matches. A similar setup had been constructed in Nassau County near New York City for last year's T20 World Cup, where eventual champions India played a majority of their group matches including against arch-rivals Pakistan. The cricketing leg of LA28 will have double-headers for the most part, with games starting at 9 am and 6.30 pm local time (9.30 pm and 7 am Indian Standard Time). Besides the Olympics, cricket has also made its presence felt at the Commonwealth Games – in 1998 (men) and 2022 (women). The sport was also part of the Asian Games in 2010, 2014 and 2023, with India completing a golden sweep in the most recent edition.
