Belarusians Vadim Devyatovskiy and Ivan Tsikhan Investigated for Doping

The silver and bronze medalists in the men's hammer throw at the Beijing Olympics are being investigated for doping offenses by International Olympic Committee.

Belarusians Vadim Devyatovskiy and Ivan Tsikhan tested positive for traces of testosterone after the hammer final on Aug. 17, the Russian news agency Allsport said yesterday.

An IOC disciplinary commission will meet at the end of the month to hear the case, IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau told the Associated Press in an e-mail message.

The Belarus Athletics Federation said it had received no documents or confirmation of any positive tests by its athletes.

"How can we comment on what we do not have?" spokeswoman Anastasiya Marinina told the AP in a telephone interview. "Devyatovskiy and Tsikhan deny all the accusations. Every person can have different level of testosterone in his body."

If the two are found guilty of doping, they would be disqualified and stripped of their medals.

Devyatovskiy's silver would go to Krisztian Pars of Hungary, while Tsikhan's bronze would go to Koji Murofushi of Japan. Primoz Kozmus of Slovenia won the gold medal.

News Courtsey: Washingtonpost.com

Top 15 Highlights Of Beijing Olympics - Why You Should Remember Beijing Olympics

Why You Should Remember Beijing Olympics : 15 Truths

1) First individual gold medal for India - Abhinav Bindra in Shooting

2) First medal for India in Boxing - Vijender Kumar (Bronze) in 75Kg Category

3) Wrestling medal for India (Bronze) by Sushil Kumar after 1952 Helsinki Olympics

4) Angel Valodia Matos of Cuba kicks Swedish referee Chakir Chelbat in 80Kg division. Gets lifetime ban.

5) Ara Abrahamian of Sweden (84Kg Greco/Roman) throws his bronze medal after the medal ceremony.

6) Michael Phelps of USA wins 8 gold medals in a single Olympics, out of which 7 were World Records.

7) Usain Bolt of Jamaica breaks 100m World Record - clocks 9.69 seconds. Breaks 12-year-old Michael Johnson's 200m World Record - clocks 19.30 seconds.

8) Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia breaks World Record in Women's Pole Vault - leaps 5.05 meters.

9) First women athlete of Cameroon Francoise Mbango Etone gets Gold in Women's Triple Jump.

10) Liu Xiang of China fails to defend his 110m-hurdles title. Withdrwas after injury.

11) Rohullah Nikpai wins Afghanistan's first Olympic medal with a bronze in the men's 58-kg taekwondo.

12) Robina Muqimyar of Afghanistan becomes first Woman Athlete of her country to take part in Olympics.

13) USA's Men and Women's 4X100m Relay teams fail to qualify for the finals.

14) For the last time Oympics have seen Baseball and Softball.

15) US sprinter Tyson Gay fails for the 100m final.

Argentina Defeats Nigeria for Olympic Football GOLD

Argentina after their goal against Nigeria in the Gold Medal Match

Argentina on Saturday successfully defended their Olympic football title when they beat Nigeria 1-0 in the gold medal match.

Benfica's Di Maria collected a through ball from Lionel Messi in the 58th minute to give 2004 winner Argentina another gold medal in the football.


Brazil won the bronze on Friday by beating Belgium 3-0 in Shanghai.

Image Courtsey: BBC Sport, Reuters and Usatoday.com

Beijing Olympics : USA Men Fails to Qualify In 4x100m Relay Final

The US men's 4 x100 meters relay team failed to qualify for the Olympic final after dropping the baton in their heat on Thursday.
Victory seemed a formality as Darvis Patton approached Tyson Gay on the final changeover but the pair made a mess of it and the baton tumbled to the floor.

The US were chasing their 16th gold medal in the 4x100m relay and were hoping to make up for Athens four years ago when they were surprisingly beaten by Britain.

Gay has endured a miserable Olympics after also failing to reach the 100 meters final.

Medal prospects Nigeria also failed to get the baton round along with South Africa and Poland.

Afghanistan in Olympics : Robina Muqimyar Finishes 85th, Massoud Azizi Finishes 76th

AFGHANISTAN IN BEIJING OLYMPICS 2008

Massoud Azizi and Robina Muqimyar of Afghanistan

Afghan sprinter Robina Muqimyar — who in 2004 broke the gender barrier on the Afghan Olympic team — was last in a field of 85 women in the 100 meters, with a time

of 14.80. She ran with a scarf covering her head. Robina wore a scarf covering her head, albeit one with black and white Cheetah spots and decorated with

sequins, and did not seem the least bit bothered that she was the slowest of the 85 runners.

“I’m very happy to compete in 2008 Beijing,” she said in broken English. “I am happy. I like this. I am champion for Afghanistan

Teammate Massoud Azizi finished 76th in the men's 100. He trains in Kabul's National Stadium, where the Taliban once staged regular public executions,wearing jogging shoes because his spikes won't dig into the track's cracked, concrete surface.

Image Courtsey: Leichtathletik.de

Rohullah Nikpai Gives Afghanistan First Olympic Medal in Taekwondo

Rohullah Nikpai defeated world champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain on Wednesday to earn the bronze medal in the men's under 58-kilogram taekwondo competition. This is first-ever Olympic medal for Afghanistan.

President Hamid Karzai immediately called to congratulate Nikpai. He also awarded him a house at the government's expense, said Humayun Hamidzada, the president's spokesman.

"I hope this will send a message of peace to my country after 30 years of war," Nikpai said.


Afghanistan will get another chance at a medal in taekwondo. Nesar Ahmad Bahave is competing in a heavier weight class.

Image Courtsey: AP Pictures

Olympics : Usain Bolt Strikes Gold in a World Record Time in 200m

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt wins gold with a time of 19.30 seconds. He is the first person to break both the 100 and 200 world records in the Olympics.

He won the Olympic 200 meters in 19.30 seconds, breaking Michael Johnson's untouchable world record of 19.32 seconds.


Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles and Wallace Spearmon of the United States were disqualified for lane violations. Martina's time was 19.82, Spearmon's 19.95. The DQs moved defending champion Shawn Crawford of the U.S. up to the silver in 19.96. Walter Dix, also of the U.S., took bronze in 19.98. Dix also won the bronze in the 100 meters.
Image Courtsey: Timesonline.co.uk and Canada.com

Olympics Boxing : India's Vijender Kumar beat Carlos Gongora 9-4 to Reach Semis

Men's Middle (75kg) Quarterfinal : Vijender Kumar (India) VS Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)

The Winner : Vijender Kumar
After 4th Round
Vijender Kumar (India) VS Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)
Vijender Kumar (India) VS Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)
Vijender Kumar (India) VS Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)
Vijender Kumar (India) VS Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)
Vijender Kumar (India) VS Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)
Vijender Kumar (India) VS Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)

India's Vijender Kumar beat Carlos Gongora of Ecuador 9-4 in the quarter-finals of the 75kg middleweight category of the boxing event on Wednesday to guarantee India another medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Vijender Kumar (India) in BLUE
Carlos Gongora (Ecuador) in RED

Scores by Rounds

Round1 Carlos Gongora 0 : Vijender Kumar 2
Round2 Carlos Gongora 1 : Vijender Kumar 2
Round3 Carlos Gongora 1 : Vijender Kumar 3
Round4 Carlos Gongora 2 : Vijender Kumar 2

Ukraine's Lyudmyla Blonska (Heptathlon) Fails Drug Test

Ukraine's Lyudmyla Blonska, the heptathlon silver medallist, has failed a drugs test, the IOC said on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old's A sample tested positive for a banned substance, but the results of the B sample are still awaited.
A test conducted at 2am on Sunday has shown traces of the anabolic steroid Methytestosterone. Blonska is still waiting for the results of the B Sample.


Lyudmyla Blonska had already served a previous ban for testing positive in 2003 for stanozolol.

Blonska now faces a life ban for the latest offence.

Should Blonska be stripped of her medal, the silver would go to American Hyleas Fountain while Tatiana Chernova of Russia would get the bronze.

Olympics : Indian Boxing : Jitender Kumar Loses To Balakshin 11-15 in QuarterFinals

Men's Fly Weight (51kg) : Quarterfinal : Georgy Balakshin (Russia) VS Jitender Kumar (India)

Men's Fly Weight : Jitender Kumar against Georgy Balakshin
Jitender Kumar against Georgy Balakshin
Jitender Kumar lost to Georgy Balakshin

India's Jitender Kumar gave a tough fight but lost to 3 times European Champion Georgy Balakshin 11-15

Jitender Kumar in BLUE
Georgy Balakshin in RED

Scores by Rounds

Round1 Balakshin 2 : Jitender 1

Round2 Balakshin 5 : Jitender 5

Round3 Balakshin 6 : Jitender 2

Round4 Balakshin 2 : Jitender 3

India At Beijing Olympics : Wrestler Sushil Kumar Wins Bronze in 66KG

Sushil Kumar of India Winning Bronze in 66KG Category : PICTURES

Sushil Kumar of India Winning Bronze
Sushil Kumar of India against Doug Schwab of USA
Sushil Kumar of India against Albert Batyrov of Belarus
Sushil Kumar of India VS Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhstan

Wrestler Sushil Kumar provided an unexpected boost to India's Olympic campaign by clinching bronze medal after beating Kazakhstan's Leonid Spiridonov in the repechage match of the men's freestyle wrestling 66kg class here on Wednesday (20th August 2008).

Earlier, India's Sushil Kumar lost ion the first round to Ukraine’s Andriy Stadnik in the men's 66 kg freestyle event.

Sushil also thwarted the challenge from American Doug Schwab and Belarrussian Albert Batyrov in the first two repechage rounds.

Sushil is only the second Indian wrestler to win the wrestling bronze after Kashabha Jadhav had returned with the medal in 1952 Helsinki Games.

Image Courtsey : AP Photo and Indiatimes.com

Nastia Liukin of USA Beats Her Father's Olympic Medal Haul

American gymnast Nastia Liukin finished the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday by taking home more medals than any other gymnastics competitor and surpassing the haul of her own father in the process.

Her silver medal on the beam was her fifth prize of the Games, after taking silvers in the asymmetric bars and the team event, a bronze in the floor exercise and the gold medal in the women's all-round.

"To leave here with five Olympic medals, it just, it's amazing and it's more than a dream come true. I would have never dreamed this. It's been the experience of a lifetime and nothing could top this," she told reporters.

Her haul tops that of her father and coach, Valery, who won two golds and the two silvers at the 1988 Seoul Olympics competing for the Soviet Union.

"The only thing he can say to me is 'I have two golds'," she said,

Asked if she was thinking about beating his medal count as she saw the results flash up on the board, Liukin said: "Obviously that's not something he was thinking about but I sure was thinking about it."


She came second to team mate Shawn Johnson, while China's Cheng Fei took the bronze.

"Nine Olympic medals in the family's not too bad," said the 18-year-old, who had hung one of her father's medals in her Texas bedroom as inspiration.

Valery Liukin's reaction to his daughter's feat was that of a proud coach and father, rather than a bested competitor.

Image and News Courtsey: Reuters.com

Olympics : Argentina Thrashes Brazil 3-0 To Reach The Olympic Soccer Final

Argentina beat arch rivals Brazil 3-0 to reach the final of the football competition at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday.

The defending champions will face Nigeria in the final showdown.

20-year-old Sergio Aguero, who plays for Atletico Madrid gave Argentina the lead in the 52nd minute. He scored his second just six minutes later.


Captain Juan Roman Riquelme slotted home a penalty in the 76th minute to put the result beyond the reach of the Brazilians.

Brazil finished the match withe nine men.

Argentina: Romero; Zabaleta, Pareja, Garay, Monzón; Gago, Mascherano, Riquelme (Sosa 90), di Maria; Messi, Agüero.
Coach: Batista

Brazil: Renan Brito; Rafinha, Alex Silva, Breno, Marcelo; Diego (Jô 71), Hernanes (Neves 61), Lucas, Anderson; Ronaldinho; Sobis (Pato 61).
Coach: Dunga

Image Courtsey : bbc.co.uk, soccerway.com and Iht.com

Beijing Olympics : Nigeria Hammers Belgium 4-1 To Reach The Final

Nigeria reached the Olympic football final with a 4-1 victory over Belgium, getting goals from Emmanuel Ekpo, Chibuzor Okonkwo, Olubayo Adefemi and Chinedi Ogbuke Obasi.

Substitute Laurent Ciman of Belgium pulled one back in the dying minutes but it was too little too late.


The 1996 Atlanta Olympic champions will meet either Brazil or Argentina in the gold medal match in Beijing on Saturday.
Image Courtsey: Kickoff.com AP

India's Sharath Kamal Beats Alfredo Carneros : Advances To the Second Round

India's Achanta Sharath Kamal moved to the second round of the men's singles table tennis event at the Beijing Olympics, defeating Spaniard Alfredo Carneros 4-2. The score in favor of the Indian 6-11, 12-10, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7.

Sharath started his campaign on a shoddy note, losing the opening game, but came back strongly to down the Spaniard.

Achanta Sharath Kamal will take on Weixing Chen of Australia. However, if Sharath manages to win against Chen, then he would be pitted against world number one Hao Wang of China.

60kg Free Style Wrestling : India's Yogeshwar Dutt Loses To Kenichi Yumoto Of Japan

Another Olympic medal slipped out of India's wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt missed his lead in the third and final round to lose the wrestling quarterfinal tie of the 60kg free style category against Kenichi Yumoto of Japan.

Dutt made a good start to his bout winning the first round 1-0 but Kenichi Yumoto bounced back to win the second, earning 4 points to draw parity.


Yogeshwar Dutt again seized the initiative early in the decisive third round, going ahead 1-0 but failed to hold on to the lead in the last 10 seconds and gave away two match-winning points to his opponent to lose 2-1.

Earlier in the day, Dutt had beaten Kazakhstan's Baurzhan Orazgaliyeb 3-1.

Olympics : Yelena Isinbayeva Wins Gold : Breaks Her Own Record

Yelena Isinbayeva after winning Gold in Beijing

Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia has broken her own world record in winning a second consecutive Olympic pole vault gold medal.

The 26-year-old Isinbayeva beat the record by a centimetre with a clearance of 5.05 metres, finishing ahead of American Jennifer Stuczynski, who cleared 4.80m.

Russia's Svetlana Feofanova took bronze with a vault of 4.75m.

Isinbayeva, who won gold in Athens four years ago spent most of the competition lying under her towel relaxing and did not take her first jump until 4.70.

Image Courtsey: Reuters Pictures