Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Distraught Karmakar leaves Asian Games empty-handed

India's star gymnast Dipa Karmakar left the Asian Games distraught on Friday (24), saying she had "a very bad feeling" as she departed Jakarta empty-handed.

The 25-year-old -- one of just a handful of athletes to have the infamous 'Vault of Death' in her repertoire -- was among the favourites to take home a medal at the regional Olympics.


But Karmakar failed on Friday to make it to the podium in the balance beam, finishing in fifth.

That came after she was forced to pull out of the team final through injury and floundered in her favourite apparatus, the vault, missing out on qualification behind two of her team-mates.

"I had a very bad feeling after the podium (for the vault)," she told AFP. "I didn't do my best."

She said the first of her two vaults had been poor, but added she had been unlucky not to make it through as neither of her team-mates put on their best show.

"I was very disappointed. They also did not do a good performance," she said.

Karmakar -- who last month bagged India's first-ever gold medal in a global gymnastic event -- lost out to China's Chen Yile, who won her third gold medal of the Games with a score of 14.600.

Behind her came North Korea's Kim Su Jong on 13.400 and China's Zhang Jin on 13.325.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong won its first gymnastics medal of the Asian Games when defending champion Shek Wai-hung bagged the gold on vault.

Shek -- nicknamed Stone -- said he had felt "big, big pressure" as victory was the only way to stop his gymnastics club being kicked out of their training hall in Hong Kong.

"Now I've got the medal I can stay," he said, adding that it had been very difficult to calm himself in the past few days.

The 26-year-old made his name at London 2012 after becoming the first male gymnast from Hong Kong to compete at an Olympic Games.

But he failed to progress beyond the first round and considered quitting the sport, saying at the time he had "wanted to die right there".

- High-pitched squeals -

Shek's score of 14.612 pushed South Korea's Kim Han-sol into second with 14.550, while Indonesia secured their first-ever gymnastics medal with Agus Prayoko on 14.125.

It was Kim's second medal in Jakarta after taking home the gold in the men's floor exercise on Thursday.

On the parallel bars, China's Zou Jingyuan scooped the gold in front of compatriot of Xiao Ruoteng.

High-pitched squeals from Japan fans were not enough to spur the country's new superstar Kakeru Tanigawa to victory -- and he finished down in fourth behind fellow Japanese Kenta Chiba.

In the women's floor, North Korea's Kim Su Jong triumphed ahead of Rifda Irfanaluthfi of Indonesia -- who landed their second medal of the night.

And in the final artistic gymnastics event of the Games, Taiwan's Tang Chia-Hung held off Chinese competition to win the men's horizontal bar.

Sun Wei swung into silver medal position, leaving Xiao Ruoteng to pick up bronze.

More For You

Northern-Superchargers-Getty

Ben Stokes and Matthew Short of Northern Superchargers walk out to bat during The Hundred match between Manchester Originals and Northern Superchargers on August 11, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Sunrisers Hyderabad to acquire Northern Superchargers in £100 million deal

INDIAN Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad is set to become the first full owners of an English Hundred team after agreeing to buy Yorkshire’s Northern Superchargers for a reported £100 million.

The Sun Group will be the third IPL-linked investor in the eight-team Hundred competition, following Reliance Industries, which owns Mumbai Indians, and RPSG, which runs Lucknow Super Giants.

Keep ReadingShow less
England rejects calls to boycott Afghanistan match

ECB chairman Richard Thompson. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

England rejects calls to boycott Afghanistan match

ENGLAND will play their Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan later this month, England's cricket board (ECB) said, despite calls to boycott the game in response to the Taliban government's crackdown on women's rights.

Last month, a group of British lawmakers urged England to boycott the Champions Trophy group stage match against Afghanistan which will be held in Lahore on February 26.

Keep ReadingShow less
Greg Norman calls for more
golf events in ‘sleeping giant’ India

Greg Norman

Greg Norman calls for more golf events in ‘sleeping giant’ India

Eastern Eye

INDIA is a sleeping giant in golf, Australian legend Greg Norman has said, as he called for more tournaments to be held in the country to help players realise their true potential.

The 69-year-old former world number one, who has 88 professional titles under his belt, spoke of his optimism for India’s growth in the sport.

Keep ReadingShow less
india-england-odi-BCCI

India handed ODI debuts to opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and fast bowler Harshit Rana. (Photo credit: BCCI)

England bat first in ODI opener as Kohli sits out

ENGLAND captain Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bat against India in the first of three one-day internationals in Nagpur on Thursday.

India were without Virat Kohli, who missed out due to a sore right knee.

Keep ReadingShow less
Manchester-Originals-Getty

If finalised within the eight-week exclusivity period, the deal would make Manchester Originals the second team in The Hundred to have an IPL-affiliated investor. (Photo: Getty Images)

India’s RPSG Group buys 49 per cent stake in Hundred’s Manchester Originals

THE RPSG Group, owners of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Lucknow Super Giants, have secured a 49 per cent stake in Manchester Originals following the latest auction of The Hundred franchises on Monday.

Reports suggest the deal is valued at around £58 million, placing the overall valuation of Manchester Originals, who play at Old Trafford, at over £100m.

Keep ReadingShow less