Phelps planning London 2012

A man on a mission or a glutton for punishment? Whatever the answer, the swimming world has not seen the last of Michael Phelps by a long way yet.
After winning an unprecedented eight golds medals in Beijing Phelps might easily have been tempted to throw in the towel and start spending the millions of dollars flooding his bank account, but the 23-year-old American has no intentions of quitting.
He wants to swim for at least another four years to compete at the 2012 London Olympics and has not ruled out the prospect of trying to better Beijing by going for nine medals next time.

"I won't say anything is impossible," he told Reuters in an exclusive interview organised by his sponsors Visa at Beijing's 120-year-old Prince Jun Palace on Monday. "I really don't know what my programme will be, but nothing is impossible."
Having spent the last year churning through thousands of laps to get in shape for Beijing, Phelps is planning to take the next few months off to re-charge his batteries, travel the world and catch up with his friends back in Baltimore.
However, his coach Bob Bowman has already warned him that serious training starts before dawn on New Years Day and he had better be in shape.
"I probably won't be able to sit around for too long. I always want to be constantly moving and exercising," he said.
"I'll definitely try and stay in some kind of shape but nothing big until January or February."
Phelps's next major assignment is the 2009 world championships in Rome where he plans to unveil a new programme that could lay the foundations for his 2012 London schedule.
Phelps has swum the same eight events at the last two Olympics, winning six gold and two bronze medals in Athens, but wants to experiment with different events before London.
He has still not decided which races he will compete in at Rome but told Bowman he wants to drop the 400 individual medley, a gruelling event that requires long hours of training in all four strokes, and focus on backstroke and freestyle sprints.
"My mum told me she wants to go to Rome so I better make the team," he said.
"We're going to play around over the next few years and incorporate some new events and see how they work.
"I'd like to try a few backstrokes and 100 freestyle more... it'll be fun to race (specialist sprinters) Eamon (Sullivan) and Alain (Bernard).
"Those guys are moving so fast through the water so to get in there and race the best is what I'd like to do."

Source:rediff

Boxer Akhil Kumar fails to make semis

India's Akhil Kumar failed to make it to the semi-finals in the 54kg bantamweight class in the boxing competition. He was beaten by Republic of Moldova's Veaceslav Gojan 10-3 in the quarter-final in Beijing on Monday.
The Indian, who upset Russian world champion Sergey Vodopyanov in the earlier round, was at the receiving end for most of the contest.
After a reasonably good first two round, the Indian was unable to break through the defence of his opponent and paid the price in the last two rounds in which the Maldovan scored heavily.

source:rediff

Poor show by Anjali, Avneet

Indian women shooters continued to disappoint at the Olympics as Anjali Bhagwat and Avneet Kaur Sidhu failed to qualify for the 50m Rifle 3 position event on Thursday morning.

Anjali finished a poor 32nd with a total score of 571 while Avneet placed 42nd of 43 competitors after scoring 552 in the qualifying round at the Beijing Shooting Range.
Li Du of the home nation topped the scoring chart with an Olympic record-equaling performance of 589 points.
Anjali shot a series of 94 and 97 in Prone and followed it up with scores of 93 and 96 in Standing before winding up her campaign with scores of 96 and 95 in Kneeling.
Avneet shot 85, 95 in Prone and 90, 93 in Standing and concluded her challenge with scores of 87 92 and in Kneeling.

source:rediff

Dola, Bombayla out of individual archery event

Dola Banerjee and L Bombayla Devi crashed out of the women's individual archery event at the Olympics after losing their respective opening round matches on Tuesday.
While Dola lost to Canadian Marie-Pier Beaudet, Bombayla went down to Poland's Iwona Marcinkiewicz.

Rathore, Jung fail to make final cut

Athens Olympics silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore failed to make it to the final of the double trap shooting event at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday.
Seen as a strong medal contender for India, Rathore shot a series of 43,45,43,131 to finish 12th among 19 shooters.
Struggling for form in the run-up to the Games, the army shooter's score of 131 was just not enough in a qualifying round that saw Italian Francesco D Aniello finish at the top of the heap with a total of 141.
Earlier, Samresh Jung's woeful form in the Olympics continued and he failed to make the 50m pistol final, finishing a disappointing 42nd in the qualification round on Tuesday.
Jung, a multiple gold medallist from the 2006 Commonwealth Games , shot a series of 88,92,91,86,90,93 to average 9.0 that ruled him out of contention. He earlier missed the cut for the 10m air pistol event final.
Meanwhile, China's Zongliang Tan qualified first for the event, shooting a series of 96,94,93,96,90,96 to average 9.417

Source:rediff

Phelps joins elite Olympians with nine golds

Michael Phelps became only the fourth man to win a record nine Olympic golds when he powered to victory in the 200 meters freestyle swimming on Tuesday.
Phelps put on an imperious display to capture his third medal of the Beijing Games, leading from the start to win in a new world record time of 1.42.96, knocking 0.90 seconds off his old record, a huge margin.

The American's third gold in Beijing, not even half way through his long march towards a target of eight, sets him beside US athletics great Carl Lewis , US swimmer Mark Spitz and Finnish distance runner Paavo Nurmi in the record books.
The lanky 23-year-old also has Spitz's record of seven golds at a single Games in his sights.
His exploits have helped draw huge audiences for the Olympics back home, where broadcaster NBC said they had more viewers for any summer Games held outside the United States since 1976.
One woman, Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina , also has won nine Olympic golds.
Each of Phelps's victories in the Chinese capital has come in world record time.
Americans won three golds in under 20 minutes in a captivating morning swim session at the Water Cube pool.
American world champion Natalie Coughlin forced Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry to settle for a second silver in the women's 100 backstroke final.
Coventry, second-placed in the 400 individual medley, had hoped to bring some rare sporting cheer to her troubled country.
American Aaron Peirsol, double Olympic backstroke champion in 2004, returned to break the world record and seize gold in the 100m backstroke in Beijing.
Australian world champion Leisel Jones, two individual silvers and bronze to her name from 2000 and 2004, is overwhelming favorite to snare an elusive individual Olympic gold in the 100 breaststroke final.
PLEASANTLY COOL
Temperatures have fallen in Beijing to a comfortable 22 degrees Celsius (72 Fahrenheit) from the oppressive mid 30s at the weekend and the air has cleared, making life easier for outdoor athletes like rowers and tennis players.
New world number one Jelena Jankovic and the Williams sisters are safely through to the second round in the women's tennis, along with favorites Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the men's singles.
China are setting the pace at the top of the medals table with nine golds and may extend their lead on Tuesday, although the United States should hit their stride once the athletics gets underway at the end of the week.
The hosts hope for a clean sweep in the diving competition where they have picked up the first two golds on offer. Chen Ruolin and Wang Xin aim to make it three out of three in the women's synchronized 10m platform on Tuesday.
China are also fancied to pick up a couple more golds in weightlifting, and are overwhelming favorites for men's team gold in artistic gymnastics.
With memories of a 2004 Athens Games judging scandal lingering, the judges kept several of the Chinese gymnasts waiting for up to 10 minutes each as they tried to agree on scores during Saturday's qualifying round.
But the favorites still ended on top, ahead of 2004 champions Japan and former powerhouse Russia.
The Chinese team said they had taken their inspiration from "Prince of Gymnastics" Li Ning, who lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony on Friday, circling high above the heads of spectators in a daredevil high-wire act.
"The feeling it gave us was an older brother who was lighting the flame," gymnast Zou Kai told reporters. "It was very exciting and moreover it was on our home soil."

Source:rediff

Sridhar knocked out

India's Anup Sridhar bowed out of the Beijing Olympics on Monday after losing to Japan's Shoji Sato in the men's singles badminton tournament in Bejing.
Sridhar went down tamely 13-21, 17-21 in the second round.

Sania exits in singles at Olympics

India's Sania retired with a wrist injury against Czech Iveta Benesova in the first round of the Olympic tennis event on Monday.
Sania was trailing 6-2, 2-1 when her right wrist became too painful.
"It was hurting before I even came to Beijing but it's the Olympics so you have to try and give it your best shot," Sania told reporters clutching an ice pack.
"The timing is very bad. I've been on painkillers for the last six days and took four this morning but what worries me is that I could still feel it with that many painkillers."
Sania, who recently had wrist surgery, said she may still try and play doubles with Sunitha Rao. They were given a walkover into the second round when French pair Tatiana Golovin and Pauline Parmentier pulled out after an injury to Golovin.
Sania's injury follows the withdrawal of top seed Ana Ivanovic on Sunday with a thumb injury.
American Lindsey Davenport also pulled out of the singles and Russian former world number one Maria Sharapova did not travel to China because of a shoulder injury.

Source:rediff

Abhinav Bindra Wins Gold For India

Congratulate Abhinav Bindra!

Abhinav Bindra gave India its first gold medal at the Beijing Olympics when he won the 10 metres air rifle event on Monday morning.
The 25-year-old Indian shooting ace, who qualified in fourth place for the final, finished with an overall score of (596+104.5) 700.5 in a thrilling finale which went right down to the last shot.
Bindra's historic feat makes him India's first individual gold medallist, bettering the silver medal feat of double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in Athens 2004.
India's last gold medal at an Olympics came in 1980 when the hockey team emerged triumphant in Moscow .

Source:rediff

Abhinav Bindra wins 10m air rifle gold

Abhinav Bindra won India's first ever individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the men's 10 metres air rifle event.
Bindra was fourth after qualifying but had a brilliant final round and even hit a near perfect 10.8 on his last visit to pull in front of Henri Hakkinen of Finland, who dropped to bronze with a poor final shot of 9.7.
That allowed China's Zhu Qinan, the defending Olympic champion and heavy favourite, to pass him on his final shot and win the silver medal.
"It's just great," Bindra said just before climbing on to the podium.
Zhu suffered a late lapse in concentration in the qualification earlier on Monday morning when he had to rush his final shots to make the time limit, thus dropping to second place behind Hakkinen ahead of the final.
He was close to tears and said: "I was under tremendous pressure and at times I felt really agitated. But I tried my best."
India's last Olympic gold medal was from hockey (8th gold) at the 1980 Moscow Olympics . Bindra's feat betters the silver medal effort of double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at the Athens Games in 2004.
Randhir Singh, Indian Olympic Association secretary-general and former shooter who was present at the range, was stricken with nerves as the competition reached its climax.
"I haven't prayed so much in my life. With the second last shot they tied together and then he (Bindra) shot a 10.8. It couldn't have got better," he said.
Bindra won the 2006 World championships and finished seventh in Athens four years ago.
Earlier, Gagan Narang failed to make the final cut in the same event as he finished ninth with a score of 595/600. He shot a series of 97,100,100,100,98,100, while Bindra, a Khel Ratna winner, finished the qualifying event joint-fourth with Romania's George Alin Moldoveanu. The duo had a score of 596/600.
The bespectacled shooter scoring sequence was 100, 99, 100, 98, 100 and 99.
Finland's Henri Hakkinen qualified first for the event with a score of 598/600 after shooting a series of 100, 100, 99, 100, 100 and 99.
China's Qinan Zhu was a point adrift of Hakkinen with a series of 100, 100, 100, 100, 99 and 98.

Source:rediff

Shooter Emmons wins first gold of Olympics

Katerina Emmons of the Czech Republic claimed the first gold medal of the 29th Olympic Games on Saturday with a convincing victory in the women's 10m air rifle event.
Indian shooters started off on a disappointing note with Anjali Bhagwat and Avneet Kaur Sidhu failing to make the final.
While Anjali ended 29th in qualifying, Avneet finished further down at 39th. Anjali shot a total of 393/400 and Avneet could manage 389/400.
Emmons, who met and married US shooter Matt Emmons after winning bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, equalled a world record score of 400 in the qualification round and was near flawless in the final round to win the gold medal with a score of 503.5 -- a new Olympic record.
"She did a fantastic job. I'm so proud of her," Matt Emmons told Reuters afterwards.
Lioubov Galkina of Russia won the silver medal with a score of 502.1. She had also won silver in Athens. Snjezana Pejcic of Croatia took bronze with 500.9.
Du Li of China finished a disappointing fifth. She had won the gold medal in Athens and was the favourite at the Olympics at home.
Emmons hit the bullseye on all 40 of her qualifying round shots for a perfect 400 score and took a small, but vital, lead into the finals.
Du had also been perfect before getting 9 on her 34th shot in qualifying to finish with 399 points. She seemed dejected after that and struggled in the final round.
Emmons, who married her US shooter husband last year, was previously known as Katerina Kurkova. Emmons went into the front row of the crowd shortly after winning to embrace and kiss her husband.
Matt Emmons had missed out on a gold medal in Athens with an ill-timed lapse of concentration, when he fired at the wrong target on his last shot.

Spectacular opening to Beijing Olympics

Spectacular opening to Beijing Olympics

Fireworks explode from the stadium roof during the opening Ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics at the National Stadium in Beijing, on Friday.
Resurgent China opened the Olympics with a burst of fireworks at a spectacular ceremony that celebrated ancient Chinese history and aimed to draw a line under months of political controversy.

Firecrackers rippled around the rim of the arena, strobe lights flickered and the forest of drumsticks turned a luminous red, flashing bright in the hazy, humid air.
The ceremony caps seven years of work that reshaped Beijing and sets the seal on an industrial boom that has boosted China's international standing.

The Olympic rings are pictured during the opening ceremony in Beijing.
The Games carry a $43 billion price tag, dwarfing the previous record of $15 billion splashed out by Athens in 2004, sweeping thousands of people out of their homes to make way for state-of-the art stadiums.

Drummers perform during the opening ceremony.
An army of 2,008 drummers pounded out the countdown to the Games, which mark China's emergence from impoverished isolation to economic might, but have also galvanized critics of the Communist government's human rights record.

If I am guilty, shoot me in public, says Monika

With firm backing from the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF), dope-tainted lifter Monika Devi on Wednesday claimed innocence and alleged that she is being victimised by some members of the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Monika, the lone weightlifter chosen to represent India in the Beijing Olympic Games, was prevented from boarding her flight to Beijing on Tuesday night for testing positive for a banned anabolic salt but the Manipuri said she has no idea which dope test she flunked as she cleared four tests in the last two months.

"I am innocent. I have always stayed away from doping and that is why I was selected in the trials," a tearful Monika said in New Delhi .
"Everyone knows there are various international tests and no sensible athlete would do that [dope]. I am ready to go to Beijing where my dope test is scheduled for tomorrow. If I fail there leave apart banning me for life, shoot me in public," she said.
Monika, who was selected ahead of Andhra weightlifter Shailaja Pujari in the Indian selection trials last month, claimed some people in the SAI are trying to make case for Shailaja due to regional allegiance.

"I had no clue about anything till 7.30 pm yesterday and at 10-10.30 it was all chaos. It was a pre-meditated move because they did not give me tickets and other stuff required for travelling to Beijing when I asked for it and told me to collect it on the next day," she said.
Monika claimed SAI director (Teams) R K Naidu had already planned to send Shailaja.
"Naidu had told me after the Asian Championships in Japan in April that 'our job of winning one Olympic berth was done and now Shailaja would be sent to represent the country in Olympics ," she said.

"Everyone wants to promote the player of his region," she added.
Indian Weightlifting Federation general secretary B R Gulati, who was also present at the press conference, said the IWF is behind Monika.
"They have not cared to inform me. We were not knowing about the incident till 7 in the evening and suddenly we are slapped with this. I don't know which tests they are talking about. As far as I am concerned these are invalid tests. Our lab is also not WADA accredited. We are firmly behind her," he said.

"I have not stopped her or selected her. Sending her was a prerogative of the IOA," he added.
Gulati said the entire turn of events smacks of conspiracy to sabotage Monika's Olympic candidature.
"The substance which she is accused of having consumed is a substance the effects of which last for a minimum six months to a maximum of two years.
"No lifter even at the district level after being selected for an event like Olympics will take a substance which he or she knows will be detected even after six months.
"It could only be a mischief or sabotage by inducting it orally to somebody about which also we have expressed our apprehension in writing to the Government.

"And we insisted on SAI to remove the coaches who are not required with us in Beijing. Why were they interfering in the training?" he said.

Rathore to be India's flag bearer in Beijing

Athens Olympics silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was on Monday named the flag bearer of the Indian contingent for the Beijing Games starting August 8.
Rathore was India's lone medallist in the Athens Games where he claimed silver in the double trap event.
"The 2004 Athens Olympics silver medallist double tarp shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore will be the flag bearer of the Indian contingent for the Beijing Olympic Games," Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi said in a statement.

Athletics star Anju Bobby George was India's flag bearer at the Athens Games.

Olympic organisers to lift Internet restrictions

The International Olympic Committee and the Chinese organisers BOCOG have agreed to lift all Internet restrictions for the Beijing Games, IOC vice-president Gunilla Lindberg told Reuters on Friday.
"The issue has been solved," Lindberg said. "The IOC Coordination Commission and BOCOG met last night and agreed. Internet use will be just like in any Olympics ."

The issue had caused a major stir days before the start of the Aug. 8-24 Olympics with IOC officials insisting there would be no censorship and BOCOG saying sensitive sites would remain blocked.
In a statement issued late on Thursday, the IOC had said it was expecting BOCOG to solve the issue and said it has always made clear that media representatives should have full access to the Internet.

BOCOG is responsible for directly running the Beijing Games under the auspices of the IOC, which sets general policy. The organising committee of an Olympics would generally work hand-in-hand with the IOC.
Rights watchdog Amnesty International, whose website was among those barred in China, had condemned Internet restrictions during the Games as "betraying the Olympic values".
Games organisers had long pledged there would be no restrictions to journalists during the Games.

source:rediff