KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC awards 2014-2016 broadcast rights in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

16/01/2014

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded broadcast rights in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa* to SuperSport International for the XXII Olympic Winter Games in 2014 in Sochi, Russia, and the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

SuperSport has acquired broadcast rights on pay satellite television, and internet and mobile.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “We are delighted to have reached this agreement to continue to work with SuperSport to bring fantastic Olympic Games coverage to fans across the region.”
 
IOC member Richard Carrión, who led the negotiations, said: “SuperSport has a wealth of knowledge in broadcasting the Olympic Games, and this agreement will ensure a first class broadcast experience of both the Sochi and Rio Olympic Games.”

Brandon Foot, Acting CEO of SuperSport, said: “This agreement continues a long and proud tradition of SuperSport broadcasting the Olympic Games, which we have done since 1996. I’m delighted with this acquisition as the Olympic Games is one of the crown jewels in SuperSport’s programming with each edition proving enormously popular with viewers. For the next Games in Sochi, we will have a dedicated 24-hour High Definition channel, while the 2016 Games will enjoy multi-channel coverage, including magazine shows, highlights and much more.”  
* Includes:

1. Angola
2. Benin
3. Botswana
4. Burkina Faso
5. Burundi
6. Cameroon
7. Cape Verde
8. Central Africa Republic
9. Chad
10. Comoros
11. Congo, Democratic Republic of
12. Congo, Republic of
13. Côte d’Ivoire
14. Equatorial Guinea
15. Eritrea
16. Ethiopia
17. Gabon
18. Gambia
19. Ghana
20. Guinea
21. Guinea-Bissau
22. Kenya
23. Lesotho
24. Liberia
25. Madagascar
26. Malawi
27. Mali
28. Mauritius
29. Mozambique
30. Namibia
31. Niger
32. Nigeria
33. Rwanda
34. São Tomé and Príncipe
35. Senegal
36. Seychelles
37. Sierra Leone
38. Swaziland
39. Tanzania
40. Togo
41. Uganda
42. Zambia
43. Zimbabwe

###

For more information, please contact 

The IOC Media Relations Team: Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.

SuperSport:

Clinton van der Berg
Communications Manager
Tel: +27116867637, email: Clinton.vanderBerg@supersport.com
VideosYouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia

PhotosFor an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr.
To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org

Social mediaFor up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter, Facebookand YouTube.

Tapoban - a mystic pilgrimage at Nayagram, West Midnapore in West Bengal

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Tapoban is a sacred place for many people in India. On the bank of Subarnarekha river amidst the forest the serene shrine of Lord Rama, Goddess Sita and God Lakshmana attract every year  thousands of devotees during the Makar Sankranti, Pous Sankranti, Lodi, Pongal, Magh Bahai or Fateh a Dohaj Daham, the Crescent day - the birthday and cremation day of Milsad un Nabi. The mid January is observed as The Aghan (Ul ajan) or Ukhain jatra. The Holy Sanctum is related with having a dip into water or bathing. This jungle land is considered the most holiest among the local from the ancient time.It is believed that there was a deep tunnel with a  'talatal' (thila) - a 'chatein' or a gard  the ashrama of the 'Balaka mini', the epic poet Balmiki or Ratnakar wrote Sanskrit scripts.  Earlier this area is known as Kharwal or Kherowal, later Tapoban is included in Nayagram block in West Midnapore district, West Bengal state in India.

Holy shrine at Tapoban

Sadhu at Tapoban


         

Yagna kuunda (Dhuni)

Pilgrimage progressing towards Goddess Sita temple

Hanumanji sthal

                                                                                 

                                          Rama nama sankrityan

                                           Devotees dispersing

                                               Sita mata sthal

Sita mata worship

Add caption

Khal, Sita nala

                                                                           

Way to Tapoban

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Kokslien leads Norwegians to clean sweep and halfpipe stars book tickets to Sochi

©Getty Images (2)

14/01/2014

Norway’s Mikko Kokslien produced one of the comebacks of the season at the weekend’s Nordic Combined World Cup stage in Chaux-Neuve (FRA). A brilliant cross-country ski saw him emerge overall winner, after finishing just 19th in the ski-jumping; it was his first individual victory in over a year. Magnus Krog and Joergen Graabak completed an all-Norwegian podium, edging out World Cup leader Frenzel.

The following day, Kokslien, competing alongside Graabak, had to settle for second place as the Norway II sprint team was pipped to victory by Germany II (Tino Edelmann and Fabian Riessle) by a margin of 0.4 seconds. In a thrilling contest, Germany I (Johannes Rydzek and Eric Frenzel) completd the podium line-up.

Heavy snow made for difficult conditions at the Halfpipe World Cup in Breckenridge (USA) at the weekend, but that failed to deter local duo David Wise and Maddie Bowman, who prevailed in the men’s and women’s competitions respectively to book their places on the US team for Sochi 2014.

In the men's event Wise took gold with 89 points, 3.8 ahead of Canadian Mike Riddle, with Kevin Rolland of France third. That pushed the American up to ninth in the overall standings in which Canada’s Justin Dorey remains top.

The women's event saw Bowman score 84 points, 1.2 ahead of Japan's Ayana Onozuka and six in front of third-placed Australian Amy Sheehan. She now lies just six points behind overall leader Devin Logan in the overall standings.

Ski halfpipe will make its debut on an Olympic programme. And who better to give you the lowdown on this new Olympic event than the King of Style himself, Mr Kevin Rolland?

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

It’s 2014! The Year of the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games!

©Nanjing 2014/Xi Yang

14/01/2014

2014 is the year we have all been waiting for… whether you are a YOG fan eagerly awaiting the 12 days of sporting action or an athlete giving your all to compete -  this summer we all get to celebrate the 2nd Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.

To give a taster of what is to come, check out this video clip which features some of the exciting sports that fans around the world will be able to watch on youtube.com/youtholympics and a snapshot of some of the fun activities off the field of play.  Plus we hear from some of the Youth Olympic Games Ambassadors and YOG graduates.  This is just a glimpse of the fun and excitement we will all get to share in just a few months’ time!

With every New Year comes new resolutions, so to all our YOG fans, how about you try out one of the 28 exciting Olympic sports!  Share your sporting experiences with us on Twitter @youtholympics.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Scottish skip, Eve Muirhead, a stone’s throw from gold

©Getty Images

15/01/2014

Eve Muirhead, who will skip the Great Britain women’s curling team in Sochi, is part of a long line of elite Scottish curlers. After leading Scotland to the world championship crown, she is confident of following in the footsteps of compatriot Rhona Martin, whose team won gold at Salt Lake City 2002.

Eve Muirhead has curling in her blood. Her father Gordon competed for Great Britain at Albertville 1992 and won a gold medal with Scotland at the 1999 World Championships. It is a family tradition which she has maintained in determined fashion. “I would class myself as pretty stubborn when it comes to learning something and not giving up until I'm good at it,” explained the charismatic Muirhead, who is also a fine exponent of two other Scottish traditions, golf and bagpipe playing.

The Scot first burst onto the international scene as a precocious 16-year-old in 2007, when she claimed the first of her four world junior titles (the others came in 2008, 2009 and 2011).

Just three years later Muirhead was selected as the skip of the British team at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. After a good start, she and her team-mates succumbed to five defeats in a row, failing to qualify for the play-offs. “I don’t think I was too young,” she reflects. “I gained so much experience in Vancouver. I’ve got a lot of good memories from 2010. Obviously the results were disappointing; when you look back there are a lot of things we could have done better, but I think we can turn it into a positive.”

Inspired by London

As the lynchpin of Scotland’s women’s team, she went on to win medals at the next four European Championships (gold in 2011 and silver in 2010, 2012 and 2013). In March 2013 in Riga (LAT), the 22-year-old became the youngest female skip in history to claim gold at the World Championships, producing a marvellous shot with her final stone to help Scotland overcome Sweden 6-5 in the final. Consequently, Muirhead and her rink of Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams and Claire Hamilton were the first Team GB athletes to be selected for Sochi 2014.

Back in July 2012, Muirhead travelled down to London to experience the Summer Games, where she witnessed Jessica Ennis’ memorable success in the heptathlon in front of a raucous crowd in the Olympic Stadium. That proved to be a fantastic source of inspiration to the curler, encouraging her to work harder on her overall approach to her sporting career.

“It would mean the world”

At the end of November 2013, Muirhead, Sloan, Adams and Hamilton went on a remarkable run at the European Championships in Switzerland, racking up 10 victories on the trot before losing 10-5 to Margaretha Sigfridsson’s Sweden. But the Scot is happy to focus on the positives. “Our preparation is for Sochi,” she explains. “It would have been nice to come away with the gold medal, but we had such a great week. I think we're in a really good place and I'm happy with the way things are going. We've got a lot of good things to take away from this week. We just have to keep playing well and training hard.”

Muirhead is confident she can lead her team to Olympic gold 12 years after current Team GB coach Rhona Martin did the same in Salt Lake City. “We’ve trained really hard leading up to this and we’re capable of winning major championships – we’ve proven that,” she says. “It’s important we break the Olympics down into two parts – the qualifying then the play-offs and semi-finals are like a new event. In terms of winning gold, I’d say there’s us, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden and China, so there’s a good number in contention. Luck doesn’t really come into it. But to get the chance to represent Great Britain is extra special. An Olympic medal is the only one I'm missing. It would mean the world.”

Information on tickets for Sochi 2014 is available here: http://www.olympic.org/news/sochi-2014-olympic-winter-games-tickets/190291 

Follow Ever Muirhead on the Athletes' Hub:

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC awards 2014-2016 broadcast rights In Sub-Saharan Africa

15/01/2014

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the broadcast rights in Sub-Saharan Africa* to Infront Sports & Media AG for the XXII Olympic Winter Games in 2014 in Sochi, Russia, the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2014 in Nanjing, China.  

Infront has acquired exclusive broadcast rights on free to air television and non-exclusive internet and mobile broadcast rights.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “This agreement reflects the global appeal of the Olympic Games, and our aim is to reach audiences in all regions across the globe with the best broadcast offering. We want to not only generate viewership for sports where African athletes already perform successfully, but also boost appeal for Olympic sports gaining popularity on the continent.”
 
IOC member Richard Carrión, who led the negotiations, said: “Infront has acquired the rights and will now work to sublicense those rights to broadcasters in the region to ensure excellent coverage of the Olympic Games for sports fans. The partnership with Infront allows us to take advantage of its network across the continent, supported further by a tailor-made editorial plan for African broadcasters and their viewers.”

Stephan Herth, Executive Director Summer Sports of Infront Sports & Media, said: “We would like to thank the IOC for trusting in our broadcast distribution experience and ability to extend the spirit and scope of Olympic programming to an even broader audience. Our ambition is to encourage the growth of sport in Africa with a dedicated broadcast product and continue to advocate the Olympics as a worldwide event. We are looking forward to delivering the Winter Olympics to television screens in so many countries in Africa for the first time in 2014.”

###

* Includes:

1. Angola
2. Benin
3. Botswana
4. Burkina Faso
5. Burundi
6. Cameroon
7. Cape Verde
8. Central Africa Republic
9. Chad
10. Comoros
11. Congo, Democratic Republic of
12. Congo, Republic of
13. Côte d’Ivoire
14. Equatorial Guinea
15. Eritrea
16. Ethiopia
17. Gabon
18. Gambia
19. Ghana
20. Guinea
21. Guinea-Bissau
22. Kenya
23. Lesotho
24. Liberia
25. Madagascar
26. Malawi
27. Mali
28. Mauritius
29. Mozambique
30. Namibia
31. Niger
32. Nigeria
33. Rwanda
34. São Tomé and Príncipe
35. Senegal
36. Seychelles
37. Sierra Leone
38. Swaziland
39. Tanzania
40. Togo
41. Uganda
42. Zambia
43. Zimbabwe

For more information, please contact

The IOC Media Relations Team: Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.

Infront Sports & Media AG:

Jörg Polzer / Nike Möhle
Corporate Communications
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
Fax +41-41-723 15 16press@infrontsports.com
www.infrontsports.com
VideosYouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia

PhotosFor an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr.
To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org

Social mediaFor up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter, Facebookand YouTube.

 

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Austria and Russia take biathlon relay honours

10/01/2014

Austria took the honours in the men’s 4x7.5km relay event in Ruhpolding (GER) on Thursday, January 9 – holding off the challenge of Germany by the tightest of margins in a fast, high-quality day’s racing.

The Vancouver 2010 silver medalists came home in 1.15:40.9, just 0.1 seconds ahead of their rivals, as Dominik Landertinger pulled away at the end of the final kilometre to edge ahead of Simon Schempp, with whom he had contested a thrilling final-stage battle.

Remarkably, it was Austria’s first relay win in four years and their first ever in Ruhpolding. Their previous victory in this event came on home snow in in Hochfilzen in December 2009. Veteran Christoph Sumann, who led the Austrians out on both occasions, stressed the importance of the win for his team’s Sochi 2014 challenge: “Winning 30 days before the Olympics makes us one of the favourites,” he said

Austria now sit second in the overall World Cup relay standings, just five points behind leaders Russia.

The previous day saw success for Russia in the women’s 4x6km event, as the Olympic champions secured their first relay victory of the season. In excellent conditions and inspired by captain Olga Vilukhina, they finished in 1:09:42.2, a full 6.2 seconds ahead of Germany, with Norway third. “I really concentrated on my race and gave all of my effort on that last lap,” said a delighted Vilukhina.

The win pulled Russia up to third in the overall World Cup table, behind Germany and Ukraine.

Information on tickets for Sochi 2014 is available here: :http://www.olympic.org/news/sochi-2014-olympic-winter-games-tickets/190291