Mirabai likely to compete in 49kg in 2020 Olympics

New Delhi

World champion weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu may have to compete in the 49kg class in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics instead of her current 48kg category as the international federation recently decided to introduce new categories in the sport. The executive board of the International Weightlifting Federation, in its meeting in Tashkent on July 5, decided to introduce seven weight categories for both men and women in the Olympics and 10 new classes for both men and women in other international championships. There will be no change in weight categories in the Asian Games.

Tampere (Finland)

Hima Das favourite to win gold in World U-20 C’ships 

Hima Das will start as the favourite to win the women’s 400m race gold in the IAAF World U-20 Athletics Championships which begin tomorrow. It is a rare occasion that an Indian sprinter lines up in a global championship as the one to beat, with the 18-year-old Das being the U-20 season leader in this quartermile event. Also looking to carry their form from the Asian Junior Championships will be the Indian hammer throw pair of Ashish Jhakar and Damneet Singh who took the first and second places at Gifu in Japan last month. 

CHOLET, France

BMC Racing win team time trial, Froome reduces deficit 

Chris Froome made up some lost time although Team Sky narrowly missed out on victory in the third stage of the Tour de France, a 35.5-km team time trial won by BMC Racing.

The defending champion had lost 51 seconds to some of his main rivals following a crash in the opening stage, but the collective effort against the clock around Cholet put him back in contention. BMC clocked 38 minutes 46 seconds as their Greg van Avermaet took the overall leader’s yellow jersey, with Sky in second place, four seconds behind. — Agencies