Olympics

Agencies Beijing doused its Olympic flame on Sunday night, closing the winter games that will be remembered for the extremes of its anti-COVID-19 measures and outrage over the doping scandal that enveloped 15-year-old Russian skating sensation Kamila Valieva. According to Reuters, Chinese President Xi Jinping was on hand for the snowflake-themed ceremony at the Bird's Nest stadium, where International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach described the Beijing Games as "truly exceptional" before declaring them closed. The Beijing Games, contained inside a "closed loop", were the second Olympics in six months to be deprived by COVID-19 of much of its festivity, the news agency further reported. They were also stalked by politics, with several countries staging a diplomati...

Agency Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the opening of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, followed by a burst of fireworks that marked the start of an Olympics marred by the COVID-19 pandemic and criticism over human rights in China. Friday's ceremony in a partially-filled Bird's Nest stadium - the scene of Beijing's triumphant 2008 Summer Games launch - was filled with imagery of ice and snow, with Xi's declaration followed by red-suited "skaters" sliding across virtual ice, according to Reuters. Held on the first day of Spring by the Chinese calendar, it began with a performance by dancers waving glowing green stalks to convey the vitality of the season, followed by an explosion of white and green fireworks that spelled the word "Spring", the news agency further rep...

Agency Boxing, weightlifting and modern pentathlon have not been included on the initial list for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but could be added at a later date, the BBC reported. According to the British news portal, the International Olympic Committee session in Beijing on Thursday approved a programme of 28 sports for the 2028 Olympics, with a "strong focus on youth". Skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing have been included, BBC further reported. Organisers of the Los Angeles Olympics will be able to propose additional sports in 2023. Boxing, weightlifting and modern pentathlon could be added to the programme next year if they successfully demonstrate they have addressed issues within their sports. Boxing's international federation, the AIBA, must show i...

Subas Humagain, Kathmandu Shooter Kalpana Pariyar has set a new national record in Women's 10m air rifle in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Saturday. Pariyar scored 616.8 to better the previous record. Pariyar had scored 614.5 in the 13th South Asian Games held in Nepal in 2019 before this. On Saturday's qualifier, Pariyar stood 46th overall and could not qualify for the finals. The top 8 shooters booked their spot in the final. Norway's DUESTAD Jeanette Hegg scored 632.9 to top the qualifying chart. ROC's Anastasiia Galashina was the qualifier with the least score of 628.5. Kalpana had scored just 594.8 in Asian Games held in Indonesia in 2018. She bettered her score a year later in the 13th SAG. She stood fourth in SAG.