Defying sweltering heat and a ban on spectators, crowds of fans thronged the streets of Tokyo on Saturday for the chance to see anOlympictriathlon up close.
Spectators aren't allowed at most venues at the Tokyo Games, to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. That has left athletes competing in front of empty stands, save for a scattering ofvolunteers or members of their national delegations.
But on Saturday, big crowds turned out to line the streets at the Odaiba Marine Park on the Tokyo waterfront, defyingOlympicstaff who carried signs and bullhorns asking them not to gather along the roadside to watch the event.
"I really should not be here, but I would have regretted it if I missed this opportunity so I decided to come," said Keichi Hishida, a 38-year-old cycling enthusiast. (Reuters)
The contest will be closely watched by Sjoerd Marijne's Indian eves as anything but a win for Ireland will see India progress to the women's hockey quarterfinals.
Sindhu will face China's He Bing Jiao for the bronze medal on Sunday.
Chen Yu Fei won the match 21-16, 13-21, 21-12
With the first semifinal clash between Chinese shuttlersHenYu Fei and He Bing Jiao entering a third game, Sindhu's clash with Ying has been delayed.
The second semifinal will begin shortly after the first one ends.
The spunky Army boxer had never been pushed to the back-foot like he was here this morning by Colombia's Yuberjen Martinez, the light flyweight silver-medallist from the Rio Games.
"Yes, I don't think he has been dominated like this before. All his losses have also been close, he never lets this happen," Indian Boxing High Performance Director Santiago Nieva told PTI, the disappointment hard to miss in his voice.
So what went wrong, was it the pace of the Colombian? Or the relentless body shots? Or was Panghal not up to it?
"It is never just one factor. He would have liked an evening bout, he somehow prefers that but it is not an excuse to not do well. He had struggled against this guy in sparring. When we were in Italy, he was struggling against him in sparring, on all three occasions," the Swede said.
"He was getting tired. Now, you can say it is a conditioning issue but this never came up against any other boxer he has fought and he has fought some world-class boxers, beaten them too," he reasoned. (PTI)
After booking her place inOlympichistory with a record sixth individual gold medal, world swimming's most decorated woman Katie Ledecky is confident there's plenty more to come - and is already talking about a bid to reach the next twoOlympics.
The American dominated the 800 metres freestyle final in Tokyo on Saturday to win gold comfortably, beating the record for the most women's individualOlympicswimming titles held for a quarter of a century by Hungary's Krisztina Egerszegi.
Ledecky said the idea of already being a sporting legend had never entered her mind. (Reuters)
The Covid-19 lockdown had wreaked havoc on her mental health to such an extent that discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur had started trying her hand in cricket to handle the psychological toll of the shutdown.
The Tokyo Olympics has been an Olympics of many firsts. From being the first Olympics hosted without any spectators to the one where baseball first made itsdebut, the Tokyo Games stands out from previous Olympiads in a number of ways.
In their first Olympics since 23-times gold medallist Michael Phelps retired, the United States swimming team needed Caeleb Dressel to deliver, and with three gold medals, so far, he has certainly not let them down.
On Saturday, Dressel powered to the 100m butterfly title, adding to his success in the 100m freestyle and his gold medal from the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Indian golfer Diksha Dagar, who has qualified for the Olympics following a last-minute withdrawal, left for Tokyo on Saturday, hoping to make the opportunity count.
Gold for Spain, silver for San Marino – their second ever medal at the Olympic Games – and bronze for United States.
Striker Vandana Katariya scored a historic hat-trick to keep alive the Indian women's hockey team's quarterfinals hopes in the Olympics with a fighting 4-3 victory over lower-ranked South Africa in its must-win final group match here on Saturday.
Vandana (4th, 17th, 49th minutes) achieved a rare feat by becoming the first Indian woman hockey player to score a hat-trick in the history of the Olympics.
Adam Peaty summed up the secret to Britain's swimming success in one word -- 'belief' -- after helping bring home 4x100m mixed medley relay gold in world record time at the Tokyo Games on Saturday.
The quartet of Kathleen Dawson, Peaty, James Guy and Anna Hopkin smashed China's previous mark by 0.83 seconds as the event made its Olympic debut and the women joined the men on the podium.
Nesthy Petecio won a split points decision against Italy's Irma Testa in her women's featherweight semi-final, meaning Petecio will contest for gold or silver.
Source: Olympics website
This win gives India a chance to qualify for the quarterfinals after a disappointing start to the Olympics.
India need a significant win in this match to have a chance to progress through to the next stage.
Spain and New Zealand reached the quarter-finals of the women's hockey tournament at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, while China were knocked out of the Games as they failed to survive the group stages.
The Spanish side cruised past home team Japan with a 4-1 victory after recovering following a 6th minute goal by Japanese striker Kanon Mori.
Hannah Roberts, tipped as a favourite to win the first women's BMX freestyle gold at the Olympics, had a more productive pandemic than most people.
In the past year alone, 19-year-old Roberts bought a home and married her wife Kelsey, all while training for the delayed Tokyo Olympics, where BMX freestyle made its historic debut on Saturday.
The French beat Great Britain 26–19 in the second semi-final. Fiji will play Great Britain for bronze tonight before the final at 6pm.
Source: Tokyo Olympics
US superstar Simone Biles has pulled out of two more Olympic finals at the Tokyo Games, USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Saturday.
She finished with a distance of 64 metres.
Caeleb Dressel wins gold in a world record 49.45 seconds in the men's 100 metre butterfly event.
The Indian men's hockey team registered a comprehensive 5-3 win over hosts Japan to cement its quarterfinal spot with a second-place finish in Pool A at the Olympics here on Friday.
Basking in their "daughter's" glory, the normally easy-going people of multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic Assam, in their quaint towns and villages, went into overdrive on Friday after boxer Lovlina Borgohain's Olympic medal-clinching exploits at the Tokyo Olympics.
China's table tennis king Ma Long on Friday became the first player in Olympic history to win men's singles gold for a second time.