China regains lost position on Olympics Medal Table

China which took a flying start at the Olympics and topped the medals table was overrun by USA midway, but now it has again regained its lost first position and pushed USA to the second notch.

Table courtesy: London2012

Britain continues to occupy the third position with South Korea way behind at the fourth position to disturb or threaten Britain's third position.

Russia seems to have lost its stream and is struggling at 9th/10th position and does not seem to be making a major headway on the medals table. Kazakhstan has moved up to seventh position and pushed down Germany to 8th.

Uzbekistan continues to be the last country on the medals table with one bronze.

First Saudi Female makes her maiden Olympic debut

Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani, the 16-year-old judo competitor from Saudi Arabia became the first female athlete from the Saudi Arabia to compete at the Olympics.

Wodjan as part of the Saudi delegation during the march past of opening ceremony

Although she lost to her Puerto Rican opponent Melissa Mojica, she had made her mark and ushered in a new era for her fellow Saudi female athletes to come forward and participate in the international games.

It is however rather surprising that the IOC was all set to ban saudi Arabia from the games for not sending female athletes - and when Saudi Arabia did send their female athletes for the first time in the history of the country, Wodjan was denied entry into Judo event as she insisted to wear Hijab as prescribed by Islam. However she was later allowed when Shahrkhani wore a tight-fitting black cap.

Although she has earned a blue belt in the Japanese martial art, Wodjan wore a black belt to compete. She has been training for two years, mostly with her father who is an international judo referee.

Wodjan's Puerto Rican opponent Melissa Mojica defeated her in 1 minute, 22 seconds. But for Wodjan, it was still a victory for having won the right to participate in international games.

Olympic Flame arrives in UK

The Olympic flame has landed in the UK ready for the London 2012 torch relay after being flown from Athens, Greece.

David Beckham used it to light a cauldron after the plane, also carrying Princess Anne and Locog chair Lord Coe, arrived at a Cornish air base. The Princess Royal carried the transportation lantern containing the flame from the aircraft and on to the tarmac.

Flight BA2012, a gold-coloured A319 named The Firefly, was greeted at RNAS Culdrose by cheering crowds.

After Friday's welcoming ceremony, the flame flies on Saturday to Land's End for the start of an 8,000 mile relay.

Read details: BBC News

Boxing: Women's World Championship Draw Complete

The 2012 London Olympic Games will see boxing history made when women take to the ring for the first time ever in Olympic competition. Fans of boxing will be able to see gender equality in the sport on the world's biggest stage.

The draw for the Women's World Championships were held in Qinhuangdo, China May 11. 

Boxing slots open for the Olympics will now have to come under a continental quota system. The wrinkle means wins at the World Championships are only part of what will be considered. There will still be eight boxers from each weight class who will get berths out of China, but continental numbers will play a part.

Read more: Yahoo Sports

Missile deployed to protect London Olympics

A ring of six surface-to-air missile sites around London, each with the power to bring down rogue aircraft, is being deployed ahead of London Olympics.

The Lexington Building in Tower Hamlets and the Fred Wigg Tower in Waltham Forest, both in east London, have been identified as potential sites.

David Cameron will have the grim task of ordering the Armed Forces to shoot down a passenger airliner over Britain to prevent a suicide attack on the Olympic Games. The Prime Minister will have his finger on the trigger as an unprecedented defensive 'ring of steel' is thrown up to protect London 2012.

The public will witness a show of military strength not seen at home since the Second World War.

Read more about the security arrangements for the London Olympics: Mail Online

Pakistan get skeet wildcard for London

Pakistan skeet shooters got a big boost on Monday when they were awarded a wildcard entry for London Olympics shooting competition, National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP) announced here.

“We have received confirmation from International Sports Shooting Federation today for the allocation of one wildcard entry for London Olympics,” Executive Vice President, NRAP Razi Ahmed Khan told APP.

“It’s good news that Pakistan will be featuring in the skeet shooting event.”He said four Pakistanis Khurram Inam, Ahmed Sultan, Amin Karamat and Abdul Sattar have achieved the Maximum Qualifying Scores (MQS) during the international competition.

Shared from: The News International

Fox-Pitt targets stage two of Grand Slam at Kentucky

Britain's William Fox-Pitt will continue his bid for eventing's Grand Slam when the current Burghley champion competes at Kentucky this weekend.

The eight-time British number one will ride Parklane Hawk, his mount from last year's triumph at Burghley.

"It is all about Kentucky this week, and then we'll focus on Badminton," said Olympic medallist Fox-Pitt.

The £220,000 Grand Slam prize is awarded for consecutive wins at Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley.

Read more: BBC Sport / Olympics

London 2012: Olympic Stadium test event planned in May

A test event at the Olympic Stadium has been scheduled for early May.

Olympic hopefuls, including sprinter Perri Shakes-Drayton and pole vault athlete Holly Bleasdale, will have the opportunity to compete inside the arena for the first time.

Organisers hope it will enable athletes to become accustomed to the facilities.

Read more: BBC Sport

Japanese equestrian qualifies for the London Olympics at age 70

Japanese equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu qualified for the London Olympics at age 70, although it's not yet clear if he will actually compete.

The oldest Olympian in history is Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn. He won a silver medal at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics at 72, his sixth medal in three games.

Hoketsu qualified by winning an international dressage meet in France on Thursday. Japanese equestrian officials said Sunday an announcement will be made soon on whether he will ride in London. Hoketsu will turn 71 on March 28.

Read details/watch video: Huffington Post

London 2012 Olympics: Cabinet meets in handball arena 200 days before Games begin

[ via Mail Online ] 10 Jan

Surrounded by 7,000 empty seats, Prime Minister David Cameron hosted a Cabinet meeting in the handball arena at the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London yesterday.

Sitting around a series of trestle tables, ministers discussed the legacy of the Games as they marked 200 days until the opening ceremony in July – by which time, of course, the multi-coloured seats will be in much greater demand.

Read more:  Mail Online 
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Motorcycle racing 2012 - who is going where so far…

[ BSN ] 8 Dec

There is huge speculation in the British paddock over where the likes of Michael Rutter, Ian Lowry, Glen Richards, Dan Linfoot, Steve Brogan et al will end up, and more speculation over whether Padgetts will wade in with a team, will MSS become an Aprilia squad, why is the Tommy Hill/Swan Yamaha deal not yet done..?

Here is a speculation-free list of who is confirmed where so far in all three main championships.

Costly Olympics

It will cost 6,750,000 pounds per hour to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, the United Kingdom's spending watchdog has warned. 

The UK government, however, said it would be able to stick to the 9.3 billion pound budget, as extra costs will be met through savings made elsewhere on Olympic 2012 spending. 

Read full story for details at [ The Times of India ] via [ Imposing Headlines ].

10,000 audition for Olympic Games ceremony

[ BBC News / UK ] 4 Dec

More than 10,000 people have auditioned to take part in the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, organisers have said.

The London organizing committee (Locog) said the ceremonies would feature 20,000 volunteer performers. London 2012 organizers are looking for dancers, actors, percussionists and general all-round performers to have a role in the ceremonies.