Beijing praying Rain Gods don’t play spoilsport on Friday’s Opening Ceremony
Submitted by Rajiv Dhoot on Mon, 08/04/2008 - 09:00.Beijing, Aug 4 : Amid weather forecast of heavy rains and thunderstorm on August 8, Beijing is praying to the Rain Gods not to play a spoilsport on the Opening Ceremony this Friday.
Deputy Director of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau, Wang Jianjie reportedly told media persons last evening in Beijing that contingency plans have been made to reduce, delay or even bring forward the rainfall before it reaches Beijing’s National Stadium, where the ceremony is slated to be held. Read more »
Beijing taxi drivers smarten up for visitors
Submitted by Rajiv Dhoot on Sat, 08/02/2008 - 17:17.
Beijing - Some 100,000 taxi drivers began plying Beijing's roads in smart new yellow shirts and striped ties on Saturday, in one of the latest efforts by the government to spruce up the city's image for the Olympics.
Each driver received two pairs of trousers, two shirts and a tie from his or her company, the China Daily newspaper said. Read more »
IOC won't probe Chinese gymnasts' age
Submitted by Keval Sharma on Sat, 08/02/2008 - 16:28.
Beijing - The International Olympic Committee said on Saturday it will not look into a possible age limit violation of Chinese gymnast He Kexin.
The question arose after the New York Times last week, citing Chinese documents available on the internet, said that He and Jiang Yuyuan may only be 14 and not 16 which is the age limit at the Games in the sport for the past 11 years. Read more »
CAS rules against Azerbaijan in Olympic hockey bid
Submitted by Keval Sharma on Sat, 08/02/2008 - 15:34.
Beijing - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Saturday dismissed an application by Azerbaijan to be allowed to participate in the women's Olympic field hockey tournament.
The Azerbaijan National Olympic Committee (ANOC) had requested CAS for urgent preliminary measures to allow the country's team to participate at the Olympics at the expense of Spain. Read more »
All applicants remain in race for inaugural winter Youth Olympics
Submitted by Rajiv Dhoot on Sat, 08/02/2008 - 14:07.
Beijing - The International Olympic Committee on Saturday promoted the four applicants Harbin (China), Innsbruck (Austria), Kuopia (Finland) and Lillehammer
(Norway) to official candidate cities for the first winter Youth Olympic Games. Read more »
All recording devices banned after Olympic opening leak
Submitted by Keval Sharma on Sat, 08/02/2008 - 09:05.Beijing - All recording devices are prohibited at the dress rehearsals for the August 8 opening of the Beijing Olympics in the wake of footage from a previous test run being leaked onto the internet.
The organizing committee BOCOG said on Saturday that cameras, video cameras and recording equipment on mobile phones are prohibited for the two rehearsals, later in the day and on Tuesday.
BOCOG said that "any information leaked to the public about the opening ceremony will be dealt with severely." Read more »
US lose 4x400m relay gold from Sydney 2000 over doping
Submitted by Keval Sharma on Sat, 08/02/2008 - 08:14.Beijing - The United States was on Saturday finally stripped of the men's 4x400 metres relay gold medal from the 2000 Olympics in the wake of doping confessions by relay team member Antonio Pettigrew.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board made the decision at meetings ahead of the Beijing Games, but did not immediately re-allocate the medals.
Pettigrew, who was in the Sydney 2000 relay along with Michael Johnson and the Harrison brothers Alvin and Calvin, recently admitted to have used forbidden substances from 1997 onwards. Read more »
IOC not to blame for internet controversy - working group set up
Submitted by Keval Sharma on Sat, 08/02/2008 - 03:43.Beijing - Chinese organizers and not the International Olympic Committee were to blame for this week's internet controversy around blocked websites at the Beijing Games, the IOC's media director Kevan Gosper said on Saturday.
"I was very unhappy on Tuesday. Censorship was being applied. It was clarified at the most senior level," Gosper told a news conference. Read more »
Chinese organizers promise clean Olympics
Submitted by Keval Sharma on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 08:29.Beijing - Chinese Olympic officials have promised the 2008 Games will be "clean" with a radical new procedure being used to prevent doping, Wu Moutian, deputy director of the Chinese Anti-doping Agency, said on Thursday.
The largest Olympic doping testing station ever will be set up in the Olympic Village with the central laboratory able to test for 200 internationally forbidden substances.
"Every one positive will be announced," said Wu. Read more »
Olympics organizers firm on internet censorship
Submitted by Rajiv Dhoot on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 08:01.Beijing - Undeterred by international protests against internet censorship for journalists at the Beijing Olympic Games, China's organizers Thursday insisted their hardline measures would remain in force.
Banned websites were not accessible because they violated Chinese laws, Sun Weide, spokesman of the Chinese organization committee BOCOG, said Thursday. Read more »
Rio de Janeiro, May 22 : Brazil international winger Osvaldo is reportedly a summer transfer target of Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist Kharkiv. 
The Hague, May 22 : Ajax football coach Frank de Boer has agreed to extend his contract until the middle of 2017.
Cambridge, May 22 : British journalist James Fuller has written a biography of former West Indies captain Brian Lara, one of the greatest cricketers of all time. 
New Delhi, May 22 : Coach Stephen Fleming credited his Chennai Super Kings' success to correct team selection and the loyalty the franchise has shown to the players. 
Mumbai, May 15 : India's only motorcycle Grand Prix team resumes battle in France this weekend with high hopes of strong results after a top-10 start for the all-new Mahindra Grand Prix machine. 
Dijon-Prenois (France), May 13 : Indian racing driver Sailesh Bolisetti's second weekend of his 2013 Euro Race Car campaign ended on a disappointing note as he finished 18th and 17th in the two races here.