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Belarusian Olympic sprinter who sought protection in Japan granted Polish visa

MOSCOW – A Belarusian sprinter who refused to fly back to her country out of fear for her safety after she criticized Belarusian Olympic officials will fly to Poland this week to seek asylum there.

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said on Twitter that Poland has given the athlete a humanitarian visa.

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya “is already in direct contact with Polish diplomats in Tokyo,” Przydacz said. “Poland will do whatever is necessary to help her to continue her sporting career.”

Tsimanouskaya, 24, will fly directly to Warsaw on Wednesday, said Alexander Opeikin, executive director of the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Fund, a group that opposes the Belarusian government.

Tsimanouskaya was seen entering Poland’s embassy in Tokyo on Monday, according to multiple media reports. Late Sunday, Tsimanouskaya asked Japanese police for protection at Haneda Airport in Tokyo and issued a plea to the International Olympic Committee. She said she was forced to pack her things and was escorted to the airport against her wishes by Belarusian Olympic officials.

“I have been pressured and they are trying to take me out of the country without my consent, so I am asking the IOC to intervene,” she said in a video that circulated on social media on Sunday.

The Belarusian Olympic Committee said in a statement that coaches decided to withdraw Tsimanouskaya from the Games on doctors’ advice about her “emotional and psychological state.”

But in an Instagram story, Tsimanouskaya said that was a lie. The 24-year-old was scheduled to run the women’s 200-meter race on Monday. But she said she was removed from the team because “I spoke on my Instagram about the negligence of our coaches,” according to Reuters.

In a video posted on Instagram, she criticized Belarusian Olympic officials for allegedly deciding once she was already in Tokyo that she must run the 4×400-meter relay – for which she had not trained – after other members of the team were found ineligible because they had not completed the proper doping testing.

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said IOC officials met with Tsimanouskaya on Sunday night to ensure her safety.

“She has assured us that she feels safe and secure,” Adams said in a news briefing Monday. “The IOC and Tokyo 2020 will continue to have conversations with her and the Japanese authorities to determine the next steps in the upcoming days.”

Tsimanouskaya stayed at an airport hotel on Sunday night, and officials spoke with her again Monday morning, Adams said. IOC officials have asked the Belarusian National Olympic Committee for a full written report and will discuss next steps.

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Tsimanouskaya went to the Japanese police station on Sunday night and requested protection when she arrived at Haneda Airport, Adams said. Officials representing the U.N. high commissioner for refugees and Japanese law enforcement agencies are involved with the situation, he said. The athlete was under the supervision of “authorities,” Adams said, but he declined to specify which agency or country. Any criminal matters for potential investigation would be up to the police, he said.

Adams did not have any details about how she ended up at the airport.

“She told us yesterday, very clearly, in no uncertain terms, that she feels safe and secure,” Adams said.

Julie Fisher, the U.S. ambassador to Belarus, praised the “quick action of Japanese and Polish authorities,” writing on Twitter Monday that this enabled the sprinter to “evade the attempts of the [Lukashenko] regime to discredit and humiliate” her for expressing her views.

On Monday, however, the athlete was dealt a blow when the Court of Arbitration for Sport – a Switzerland-based institution that helps settle sports-related disputes – dismissed her request to overturn the Belarusian National Olympic Committee’s decision to block her from participating Monday in the women’s 200-meter qualifying event.

The Belarusian National Olympic Committee said in a Monday statement reported by the Wall Street Journal that it was “closely monitoring the situation” and was “ready to further defend and protect the interests of all Belarusian athletes from any forms of discrimination, if any.”

Although Tsimanouskaya did not directly criticize Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian National Olympic Committee is run by Lukashenko’s eldest son, Viktor Lukashenko. The IOC has refused to recognize Viktor Lukashenko’s election to the post. In the past year, facing the greatest opposition challenge to his 27-year reign, Alexander Lukashenko has brutally cracked down on any dissent, prompting many citizens to leave the country and seek refuge from its Baltic neighbors.

In a brazen display in May, Lukashenko sent a MiG-29 fighter jet to force a civilian plane to land as it was flying from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania. Belarusian authorities then arrested one of its passengers, Roman Protasevich, the founder of an opposition media outlet.

Tsimanouskaya told Belarusian sports news outlet Tribuna in an interview Sunday night: “I am afraid that in Belarus they might put me in jail. I am not afraid that I will be fired or kicked out of the national command. I am worried about my safety. And I think that at the moment it is not safe for me in Belarus.”

Tadeusz Giczan, editor in chief of the Belarusian opposition Telegram channel NEXTA, said on Twitter that Tsimanouskaya’s husband has fled Belarus and is now in Ukraine. Franak Viacorka, senior adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, said on Twitter Monday that the government was threatening Tsimanouskaya’s parents to put pressure on the athlete.

Published : August 03, 2021

By : The Washington Post · Isabelle Khurshudyan, Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Claire Parker

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Late at night, on a bridge in Tokyo Bay, the Olympic flame burns alone

TOKYO – The Olympics have closed for the night, and the vast brick promenade that stretches between many of the competition venues is empty after 2 a.m. Normally at an Olympics, such a walk would be filled by a never-ending party. Tonight, in this pandemic-wary city, the lone sound is the clumping of a pedestrians feet.

And then beyond a small rise in the pathway, the Olympic flame appears, an orange glow in a silver cauldron improbably placed in the center of the promenade, a bridge connecting two man-made islands in Tokyo Bay. The flame is so low to the ground that from a distance it looks more like a flaming trash can than the everlasting fire burning from Olympics past.

It’s a jarring sight. Olympic flames are usually robust things, anchored high above the main stadium, ignited on the initial night as a declaration that the Games are open. Even in these darkest hours just before dawn, Olympic flames are mighty and welcoming, an invitation to a 17-day festival. People stare at them in awe.

But these Olympics are the fulfillment of contracts, played before empty stands and amid resentment from much of the host country, whose people don’t welcome the intrusion of outsiders during a pandemic. Each day, the number of positive coronavirus cases hits a new high in Tokyo. Hoisting a flame high above the city center seems a bad idea.

So, the flame is here, on a pedestrian concourse, connecting two sparsely populated places named Ariake and Aomi across a sliver of Tokyo Bay. It burns from a sphere of broken aluminum plates set inside a thicket of silver posts, guarded by a square of steel barricades discouraging anyone from coming too close. It can’t be more than 15 feet high.

In the daytime, people come to see the flame. Some walk dogs; others carry parasols to shade against the scorching afternoon sun. Parents bring children. In the evenings, as the day cools and the sky turns a pastel hue, the flame can be a lure. Everyone pulls out phones, pointing cameras above the railings, careful to stay behind the signs that warn against stepping too close.

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Guards lurk nearby holding speakers that tell the curious they must not linger long. Signs attached to street cones say photos can be taking only from one end or the other. The sides, they say, have to be kept open as a walkway despite the fact there are never enough people to clog the sprawling concourse. The crowds are steady but never significant. This isn’t an easy place for many in the city to reach.

And now in the silence that comes well after 2 a.m., with most of Tokyo long asleep, the flame burns alone, apart from three policemen lurking along the bridge’s edge. Tiny flashing red lights comically warn of a giant burning Olympic flame lying just ahead in the concourse’s center.

The flame and surrounding streetlights reflect off the brick walk, this night clear, the promenade dry. Nothing moves but the flickering fire. Drawing close, one can hear it: Who knew the Olympic flame actually makes noise?

The sound is something like a furnace chugging through a winter night, a steady, sturdy mechanical undulation. Standing alone behind the barricades and hearing only that rumble, it’s easy to imagine the flame is alive, to get lost in the dance of its quivering blaze.

Then the trance breaks. Amid the barriers and the flashing red lights, the flame has never looked this vulnerable, burning alone with only a few metal barriers and law enforcement officers to keep it safe.

These have not been the best of times for the Olympic flame. Its torch relay to Tokyo was greeted with constant scorn. Not long before the Games began, a woman tried to douse the torch with a water pistol. The flame’s lone spectacular moment came when Naomi Osaka lit the huge cauldron inside the main stadium at Opening Ceremonies. Hours later, it was quietly moved here to the bridge between two islands in Tokyo Bay, hidden in plain sight.

And while other Olympic flames have burned on city streets – Rio de Janeiro, for instance, had a second flame in a historic part of town – they have been centerpieces, never afterthoughts and never alone. Never like this.

Now, in the silence of the dark night, someone else approaches, a man holding a camera. Boldly, he walks to the side to take a photograph, in defiance of all the signs prohibiting such actions. With no crowds to keep moving and no social distancing to ensure, there seems no reason not to.

Out of the shadows a policeman scurries. No, the policeman says with the wave of his hand. No photos from the side, not even now in the stillness of a barren Tokyo night. Move along, the policeman says with a polite wave of his hand.

The man bows. He pulls down his phone down and walks away. The policeman slides back into the darkness. The Olympic flame is alone again, shimmering proudly on a vacant bridge, performing its eternal dance for an audience of none throughout the silent Tokyo night.

Published : August 03, 2021

By : The Washington Post · Les Carpenter

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Taekwondo queen ‘Tennis’ seeks boyfriend to protect. Your move, Charyl

Panipak “Tennis” Wongpattanakit has been posting video clips from quarantine in Phuket after returning to Thailand with the country’s first Olympic taekwondo gold medal.

On Sunday, Tennis posted a clip of herself performing a high jump-kick. The clip came with a playful caption stating that whoever became her boyfriend would not need to be strong because she would be the one protecting him.

Three days ago, Tennis received an exclusive fan clip from Charyl Chappuis, a famous midfielder for Thailand national football team. Tennis earlier named Charyl as her favourite athlete, calling him an excellent footballer and a good-looking man.

Published : August 02, 2021

By : The Nation

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Thailands first-ever Olympic sprint canoeist targeting semi-final spot

Olympic canoeist Orasa Thiangkathok is eyeing a semi-final berth in the womens canoe singles 200m, which takes place on Wednesday at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo Bay.

The 23-year-old from Nakhon Ratchasima, the first Thai to compete in an Olympic sprint canoe event, is determined to cause a stir at the Olympic Games TOKYO 2020.

“I’m in my final preparations after spending a week in Japan. I am already used to the conditions here. My coach [David Varga of Hungary] has lightened the training programme as he doesn’t want me to pick up any injuries,” said Orasa, gold medalist in the 2018 Asian Canoe Sprint U23 & Junior Championships and Asian Canoe Sprint Cup in Uzbekistan.

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Orasa has also worked on her fitness and made adjustments to her paddling technique, as she puts the finishing touches to her preparation. However, she has not timed herself during practice as this, she said, would only add to the pressure on her shoulders.

For her Olympic debut, the Thai has been drawn in heat No 3 alongside competitors from Cuba, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and Nigeria. She has little information about her rivals but will find out more when she tests her mettle against them on August 4.

“My goal is to reach the semi-final, which means I have to finish top or second in the heat. It will be a lot tougher to reach my goal if I cross the finish line behind second place. If that happens, I will have to compete in the Repechage,” she said.

Orasa is due to begin her Olympic campaign at 8.19am on August 4. A top-two finish will guarantee her a berth in the semi-finals, which take place in the afternoon of the same day along with the Repechage.

Published : August 02, 2021

By : The Nation

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Thailand slips to 47th on Olympics medals table

Thailand was placed at 47th on the medals table as of Sunday, down from 40th the previous day, at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Agold medal by Panipak “Tennis” Wongpattanakit in the women’s taekwondo 49kg class is the only one medal the Kindom has won so far.

As of August 1, China was leading the table with 51 medals, including 24 gold, followed by the US 59 (20 gold), Japan, Australia and Russia.

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Thailand slips to 47th on Olympics medals table

Published : August 02, 2021

By : The Nation

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Thai Equestrian Federation withdraw from Olympics

The Thailand Equestrian Federation decided to pull their team out of the Olympic Games TOKYO 2020 after two of its riders suffered falls during the eventing cross country competition at the Sea Forest Cross Country Course on Sunday.

2August 2021:  The unlucky day for the Thai team started when Arinadtha Chavatanont on Boleybawn Prince took a tumble while attempting to leap an obstacle. Then Korntawat Samran fell from his horse Bonero K, before Carnival March, ridden by Weerapat Pitakanonda, refused to leap over a jump.

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As a result, team manager Nara Gatesingh decided to withdraw his team from the competition and the jumping event on Monday. However, Nara said both the athletes and horses have minor injuries but are otherwise safe and healthy.

“For the benefit of the horses and to maintain their bodies in good condition in the long term, we consulted with the veterinarian personnel and came to an agreement that we should withdraw from the jumping event,” Nara said in a statement to the Olympic Committee of Thailand.

Meanwhile in shooting, 17-year-old Issaranuudom Phurihiranphat, the youngest Thai athlete in the Olympic Games TOKYO 2020 finished 20th in the 25m rapid fire pistol men’s qualification at the Asaka Shooting Range on Monday. After firing 286 points in stage one on Sunday, the teenager shot 284 in the second stage for a combined score of 570, 12 points below the cut-off point for qualification.

Published : August 02, 2021

By : The Nation