Former India skipper and goalkeeper Bharat Chetri said merely featuring in the London Olympics gave the side a much-needed motivation as they had missed out in 2008. After facing the disappointment of not qualifying for the 2008 Olympics, Chetri was very excited about leading the Indian team in the 2012 Olympics.“The year 2008 was a sad one for us as we couldn’t qualify for the Olympics, so when we qualified for the 2012 Olympics, it was a great feeling. It felt really good to go for the 2012 Olympics in London,” said Chetri in the twelfth article of Hockey India’s Flashback series. However, the Indian team couldn’t find their groove and finished last in the competition. The former captain expressed that the Indian team had a good set of players, but they couldn’t produce the necessary performances.

“We had a good team in the 2012 Olympics, but we couldn’t put in the performances match after match, that were required. We played well against Netherlands in our first match, even though we lost 2-3,” said Chetri.“We should have taken our game to the next level in the rest of the matches, but we couldn’t do that. Once we lost the second game against New Zealand, we couldn’t find a way to improve our game,” he added.

The former goalkeeper added that things could’ve been slightly different if India had at least drawn their first match against the Netherlands. “If we would’ve at least drawn our first game against the Netherlands, then things could’ve been different for us. If we drew that game, then our confidence would’ve been up. We had chances to win that game as well. The first game was very important for us wherein we couldn’t put in the necessary performance,” he said.

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has confirmed his participation in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

The 34-year-old player took to Twitter to inform that he had booked his flight for Tokyo and will proudly be joining Team Serbia at the Olympics. “Cannot disappoint my little friend Koujirou. I booked my flight for Tokyo and will proudly be joining #TeamSerbia for the Olympics,” Djokovic tweeted while posting a video in which he wished a child named, Kojiro Owaki, who turned 6, a happy birthday.Djokovic on Sunday won his sixth Wimbledon title. He now has 20 Grand Slams to his name and he is now equal with Swiss tennis maestro Roger Federer and Spanish player Rafael Nadal.

With this win, Djokovic has won three Grand Slams this year — the Australian Open, French Open and now the Wimbledon. The top-seed would now look to end the year on a high by winning the last Grand Slam — the US Open.

The Indian Olympic Association, on Thursday, roped in ‘Sports For All’ (SFA) as the Official Partner of the Indian Olympic contingent for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. IOA Secretary General, Shri Rajeev Mehta said, “We are very excited to have SFA as our Official Sports EdTech Partner. SFA, with its technology-driven platform and mega-scale, on-ground multi-sport competitions at school and college level, will empower and enable our children and youth to pursue their best sporting potential and thereby, fuel India’s Olympic dreams.”

Rishikesh Joshi and Vishwas Choksi, who founded SFA in 2015 said, “Our association with IOA and Team India is strongly rooted in our belief that by providing the children of India with the finest sporting platform at the earliest stages of their sporting journey, we can fuel their progress towards representing and taking India to the top of the global sporting map in the years to come.”

SFA has formulated a fully integrated phygital (combination of online and on-ground) platform that enables on-ground competitions as well as sports education through technology. This helps identify, nurture and empower athletes across 30 disciplines of sport with the right set of experiences and tools.

Shooting events are scheduled at Asaka Shooting Range from 24 July to 2 August 2021 in Tokyo Olympics. Shooting has bought many laurels to the nation at this mega sporting event. Let’s examine medal hopes from our pistol shooters under the lens.

Abhishek VermaManu BhakerSaurabh Chaudhary

Abhishek Verma and Saurabh Chaudhary are the best finds in the previous few years. Both will blaze their pistols from 10-meter on the opening day of the Olympics. As per rankings, both are at the first two spots. Saurabh is cool like a monk. Meerut lad is in red-hot form this year. Abhishek is also maintaining his sizzling touch in 2021. There is little to say that who is better of the two. Only Olympic medals are missing in their portfolio. Both north Indian prodigies have every reason to kick start the medal campaign with their best hopes.

Yashswini Singh Deswal and Manu Bhaker will compete in a 10-meter pistol on the second day of the competition. The threat to a medal can emerge from some European shooters.  Zorana Arunovic of Serbia must be looking to fetch her first Olympic medal. Anna Korakaki (Greece) and Viktoria Chaika (Belarus) could also scotch the aspirations. Despite, as per Tokyo 2020 rankings, both occupy the first two ranks respectively. The duo is way ahead of the rest in the field and do not be surprised if we snatch two medals in it on 25th July.

Mix event in teams has been introduced at Tokyo 2020. 27th of July could be another red-letter day for India in sports. Pairs of Saurabh Chaudhary & Manu Bhaker and Abhishek Verma & Yashaswini Deswal will keep the imagination on fire as they compete in a 10m air pistol mixed team. It’s a team event and combined force. Expect at least a pair to step up the podium.

Rahi Sarnobat and Manu Bhaker will fire pistols from a 25-meter distance. The pair is among the best in the business. Kolhapur girl Rahi won Gold in the Asian Games by a cliffhanger in the final. The event is on 29th and 30th July. Keep your eyes on others as well. Anna Korakaki (Greece) won Gold in Rio. Monika Karsch (GER) must be looking to upgrade her medal from white to yellow. Olena Kostevych (UKR) is very experienced. Jingjing Zhang (CHN) has every element to upset the party of Indian shooters.

This is one of the most talented shooting contingents in recent memory for the Olympics. Many shooters have won plenty of medals in various tournaments. Winning few from the Japanese capital will only justify their well-deserved respect. Let’s hope that we reach our best medal tally to meet the national sentiment.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday announced the groups for the Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to be hosted by the BCCI in Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from October 17 to November 14. Arch-rivals India and Pakistan have been placed in Group 2 of the Super 12s. This will see the two teams clash in the group stages of the showpiece event.

The groups, selected on the basis of team rankings as of March 20, 2021, see defending champions the West Indies pooled along with former champions England, Australia and South Africa in Group 1 of the Super 12s, with two qualifiers from Round 1 joining them. Group 2 will comprise of former champions India and Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and the other two qualifiers from Round 1.

Eight teams will contest the first round including automatic qualifiers Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with the remaining six who booked their spot through the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019. Ireland, Netherlands and Namibia join Sri Lanka in Group A, whilst Oman, PNG and Scotland will face Bangladesh in Group B.

“We are delighted to announce the groups for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. There are some great match ups offered by the groups and it starts to bring the event to life for our fans as our first multi-team event since the onset of the global pandemic draws closer,” said ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice in a release.

“Given the disruption caused by Covid-19, we selected the cutoff date as close as possible to the event to ensure we were able to include the maximum amount of cricket in the rankings which determine the groups. There is no doubt we will witness some highly competitive cricket when the event gets underway in just three months,” he added.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah said: “With the announcement of groupings, our countdown for the ICC T20 World Cup kickstarts. There is nothing that separates the two groups as both are packed with sides that are highly competitive in the shortest format of the game. Having said that, the exciting T20 format is known for its surprises, and we must be prepared for the same. I am sure we will witness some exciting and nail-biting games.

“I am particularly delighted to be in Oman. As a major force in world cricket, the BCCI has always endeavoured to promote and assist Associate Nations. In my capacity as Asian Cricket Council President, my vision is to take cricket far and deep into Asia. Co-hosting the World Cup will put Oman Cricket on the global stage. They are also playing the Qualifiers and it will be an icing on the cake if they make it to the Super 12s.”

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said: “It is good to get Oman in the frame of world cricket with the hosting of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. It will help a lot of young players take an interest in the game. We know it will be a world class event in this part of the world.”

Mitchell Marsh showcased an all-rounder performance before Mitchell Starc held nerve to defend 11 in the last over as Australia secured a thrilling win over West Indies in the fourth T20I on Wednesday (local time).Australia defeated West Indies by four runs to register their first win on the tour. West Indies now lead the five-match series 3-1. Chasing 190, West Indies got off to a flying start, with Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis on the charge.

The duo added 33 runs in the first three overs sending alarm bells ringing in the Australia camp.However, Adam Zampa removed Simmons in the fifth as West Indies lost the first wicket on 62. Marsh then dismissed Chris Gayle to reduce hosts to 86/2.Andre Fletcher failed to get going, leaving his side in a precarious position with still more than 100 runs required to win. Simmons meanwhile completed his fifty and stitched an important stand with skipper Nicholas Pooran.But Marsh wreaked havoc and dismissed both Simmons, Pooran in the 16th over reducing the hosts to 132/5. West Indies needed 36 runs in the two overs when Andre Russell, Fabian Allen slammed 25 to give the hosts a glimmer of hope.However, Starc held his nerve and defended 11 from the last over as he bowled four dot balls to see Australia home.