Boost for wrestlers and shuttlers
A 14-member Indian team, including the Olympic-bound badminton players, will participate in the Thai Open GP Gold, Indonesian Open Super Series and Singapore Open Super Series next month, the sports ministry said in a statement. A special training camp with foreign teams for both men and women wrestlers will be held in Belarus/USA from June 15 to July 30. The wrestlers will proceed to London directly after their special training-cum-competition from USA or Belarus.
Swimmers to train in Germany
The sports ministry on Thursday cleared training of the three-member Indian swimming team at Germany’s Olympic Centre in Frankfurt to prepare for the Olympics. The three-member team, comprising Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal along with their coach Nihar Ameen, will train from June 1 to July 24 before joining the Indian contingent in London for the Games that start July 27. The government will bear their full training cost.
Security guards told to smile during Olympics
Private security guards manning venues at Olympics have been warned against over-zealous behaviour that might alienate sports fans, the firm in charge of training said on Thursday. The opening day of a major event can be tense, as the start of the Olympic torch relay demonstrated this week when a police security team escorting the runners grabbed a spectator they thought was trying to reach the torchbearer. Mark Hamilton, the man leading G4S’s Olympic security team which will operate airport-style searches and screening at venues, said guards were being encouraged to engage with spectators.
London transport creates havoc
Transport officials in London will be paying compensation to hundreds of people stranded on a subway line that is critical to the upcoming London Olympics. Some 770 people had to get off their trains and walk through the tunnels on Wednesday evening because of troubles on the Jubilee Line. The line is a critical artery for the Olympics, which starts on July 27 and ends on August 12. Officials said on Thursday that passengers affected by the chaos caused by a stranded train will receive £40 in compensation.
Semenya looks up to coach Mutola
Caster Semenya, with doubts over her real gender long buried in her past, says she is aiming to follow in the footsteps of new coach Maria Mutola, the Mozambique running legend. Mutola, the three-time world outdoor and seven-time world indoor champion, stormed to Olympic gold in the women’s 800m at the 2000 Sydney Games. And Semenya, likely to be South Africa’s best prospect for gold at this summer’s London Olympics, said her goal was to replicate Mutola’s podium-topping performance in the British capital.
Venues for 2020 Games shortlisted
Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul became the finalists in the race for hosting the 2020 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided on Wednesday. Doha in Qatar and Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, failed to make the cut for the mega event. The IOC will vote for the final winner on September 7, 2013, in Buenos Aires. Madrid is bidding for the third consecutive time, Tokyo second time in a row, and Istanbul for the fifth time overall.
