Tag: Tokyo Olympics

‘Silver girl’ no more, PV Sindhu now aims to scale new heights in badminton

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Dubbed “silver girl” for a string of near-misses on the international stage, Pusarla Venkata Sindhu hopes to have finally shed that unwanted moniker after capturing her first world badminton championships title at the weekend.

Sindhu became India’s first badminton world champion when she beat Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-7 21-7 in 36 minutes to win the women’s singles in Basel on Sunday, a victory that also boosted the nation’s hopes of an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo next year.

Sindhu has been knocking on the doors of a major title for quite some time but was falling short at the last hurdle. However, it all came together for the Hyderabad-based shuttler on Sunday as she decimated Okuhara to claim the coveted world title.

“I was expecting this for a long time. It’s definitely a proud moment for me and for India. A lot of people have been waiting,” the 24-year-old told reporters.

“This is my answer to the people who have asked me questions over and over. I just wanted to answer with my racket and with this win – that’s all.”

Third Straight Final

Sindhu was appearing in her third straight final but had to settle for a runner-up finish in her previous two outings. In the 2017 summit clash in Jakarta, she played a 110-minute epic against Okuhara before being outclassed 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 in a match regarded as one of the greatest of all time on a badminton court.

The following year, she lost in straight games — 21-19, 21-10 — to her long-term nemesis Carolina Marin.

Apart from her two silver medals and this year’s gold, Sindhu collected bronze at the 2013 and 2014 world championships after going out at the semi-final stage in two successive years. Her five medals is the joint highest in women’s singles in the history of the world championships. She shares the distinction with Xhang Ning of China.

So Close, Yet So Far

Sindhu had a near miss at the 2016 Rio Olympics as well when she fell to the Spaniard 19-21, 21-12, 21-15 in a three-game epic to miss out on the gold. The 24-year-old’s silver medal made her the first Indian woman to win a medal other than bronze at the Olympics.

Last year, too, there were twin near misses. She lost the Commonwealth Games singles final 18–21, 21–23 to her compatriot Saina Nehwal in April. Her misery was compounded three months later with another crushing defeat, this time in the Asian Games singles final. She lost 13–21, 16–21 to Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying.

But there was no denying the Indian in her third attempt at a world championship final. Sindhu will now be eager to improve the colour of her Olympics medal in Tokyo next year.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Got a Tokyo Olympics ticket? Unrivaled demand causes turmoil

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Overwhelmed by unprecedented demand, Tokyo Olympic organizers said Thursday they hope to run another ticket lottery next month for residents of Japan who got nothing the first time.

Millions of Japanese were let down last month when they came away empty-handed in a lottery for next year’s Olympics.

The bad news is that — despite a last-minute change of plans — most applicants will be disappointed again.

There simply aren’t enough Olympic tickets to go around with demand soaring in Japan and elsewhere as Authorized Ticket Resellers — the Olympic agents contracted to sell tickets outside Japan — have also opened sales worldwide.

Demand is being driven by the 35 million people who live in Greater Tokyo, and is in sharp contrast to the last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where tickets were being given away or went unsold.

“The demand from the general public indeed exceeded our expectations,” Tokyo spokesman Masa Takaya told The Associated Press. He said organizers were “absolutely pleased” by the interest.

Takaya said another lottery — open to all Japan residents — would be held by the end of the year as organizers rejigger their plans.

Greg Harney is the senior adviser for Cartan Global, the authorized reseller for much of Latin America and the Caribbean. He’s attending his 19th Olympics, and this is a first.

“I’ve never, never seen interest in attending the Olympics like we have in Tokyo,” Harney told the AP.

Takaya did not say how many tickets had been purchased in Japan so far. He said he would give the number on Friday.

Organizers say there are about 7.8 million tickets for all events. However, an estimate from one previous Olympics suggests that up to 25% of these are off the table immediately, going to sponsors, international federations, 200 national Olympic committees, dignitaries, and so forth. In addition, Tokyo says between 20-30% are set aside for foreign buyers.

An informal estimate by the AP suggests there may be 4-5 million tickets for Japan residents. And that’s probably generous.

Organizers said last month that 7.5 million residents of Japan registered to apply for tickets in the lottery. If each applied for only six tickets — and that seems low — demand would be 10 times over supply.

“This is probably going to be the most popular Olympics, and possibly one of the most popular events of all time,” Ken Hanscom, the chief operating officer of TicketManager, told the AP in an interview.

His Los Angeles-based company does not buy or sell Olympic tickets, but manages tickets for corporate clients.

Alexander Dmitrenko, a Canadian lawyer with residency in Japan, said he applied for 24 tickets — and got two. And was thrilled.

“I’m lucky. I’m going,” he said.

CoSport, an Authorized Ticket Reseller that handles sales for the United States and other countries, has delayed its ticket allocations and acknowledged a shortage in an email to customers.

“Thank you for your record-breaking interest in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which necessitated delayed processing time to help ensure stable and open access to limited national ticket allocations.”

The demand is sure to drive scalping.

Japan passed a law last month that prohibits ticket scalping with the penalty of a 1 million yen ($9,100) fine and a one-year jail term — or both.

However, the law has large loopholes and does not apply to tickets distributed for free or given away as gifts, or tickets without a purchaser’s name. This applies to many tickets coming from the IOC, the 200 national Olympic committees, or major Olympic sponsors.

Japanese organizers have lined up more than 60 local sponsors who kicked in over $3 billion to the local operating budget. In addition, three famous Japanese companies are major, long-time Olympics sponsors: Panasonic, Toyota, and Bridgestone.

The organizing committee hopes to raise about $800 million from ticket sales, a large chunk of its operating budget.

StubHub, an online ticket exchange company based in the United States, has handled tickets for previous Olympics. It is critical of the new Japanese scalping law, which might affect StubHub’s ability to handle tickets this time.

“Unfortunately, the Japanese law is flawed in its attempt to artificially control the ticket marketplace, and fans will likely be negatively impacted,” Jill Krimmel, general manager for sports for StubHub, told the AP. “Instead, StubHub believes that a safe, transparent, and competitive marketplace best serves fans and the games.”

Three years ago at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, IOC member Patrick Hickey of Ireland was arrested on suspicion of ticket scalping. He is suspended from the IOC, but remains a member and has denied any wrongdoing. This was not the first time that a high-ranking member of the IOC or FIFA — soccer’s governing body — was implicated in profiteering on the black market.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tokyo 2020 Games domestic sponsorship tops $3 billion as companies pile in

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics have generated record domestic sponsorship revenues of more than $3 billion, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday – three times more than any previous summer Games.

There is huge enthusiasm among the Japanese for the Tokyo Games, and the public have rushed in their millions to buy tickets.

The IOC’s Coordination Commission chief for Tokyo, John Coates, said local sponsorship agreements were up to 62 companies for all three tiers of sponsorship arrangements.

“This equates to revenues exceeding 3 billion dollars from national partnerships. That is an amazing amount of money,” Coates told the IOC session.

“This does not include the partnerships with (Japanese companies) Toyota, Bridgestone and Panasonic and their contribution to the TOP program.”

The three companies have separate deals with the IOC as major sponsors of the organization, worth hundreds of millions of dollars in total.

Coates told Reuters revenues currently stood at $3.1 billion and Japanese organizers had filled most categories in their three-tier sponsorship plan.

“Not much more,” Coates said when asked if more domestic deals were expected in the coming months.

Tokyo now has 15 gold partners, 32 official partners and 15 companies that have signed up as official supporters.

In comparison, the London 2012 Games raised roughly $1.1 billion from domestic sponsors – a record at the time – while Rio de Janeiro in 2016 claimed it had slightly surpassed London, although that is unlikely with final accounts inaccurate given ongoing corruption probes linked to those Olympics.

The IOC has been struggling to attract new cities to bid for the Games and awarded the 2026 Winter Olympics on Monday to Milan and Cortina D’Ampezzo after four other cities dropped out and Stockholm was left as the only other bidder.

But in Japan, the Games have generated great enthusiasm with 7.5 million citizens registering to apply for tickets through a lottery system, many of whom ended up without any.

Tokyo’s bid file had said some 78 lakh tickets would be available for Games but 20-30 percent of those are reserved for international customers and sponsors.

“7.5 million ticket (requests). This is an indication of this strong support and high level of interest among the Japanese public,” Coates said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow