Youth Olympic Games and India: 2018
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
Achievements, day-wise
Total: India won 3 gold, 9 silver, 1 bronze
Farmer’s son creates history, October 19, 2018: The Times of India
Akash Claims India’s Maiden Archery Silver In Youth Oly
Akash Malik became India’s first silvermedallist in archery at the Youth Olympic Games, providing a fitting finale to the country’s best-ever campaign at the marquee event here. The 15-year-old son of a farmer lost a one-sided final to Trenton Cowles of the USA 0-6 as India concluded with three gold, nine silver, and one bronze at the event that was launched in 2010.
Seeded fifth after qualification, the Haryana-boy was inconsistent in the summit clash against the 15th seed Cowles, who only shot in 10s and 9s to wrap it up easily on Wednesday night.
In the three-setter, both the archers shot four perfect 10s, but Akash’s two wayward 6s in the first and the third set proved to be the decisive factor. The summit clash was held under windy conditions following light rains.
“I have trained in the wind, but here it was too much. I was waiting for an opportunity but he (Cowles) was stronger and I had no chance,” Akash said.
“I feel good but I lost the gold medal,” the 11th standard school-boy said after bettering Atul Verma’s feat of a bronze at the Nanjing edition of the Games in 2014.
Akash took up archery six years ago after Manjeet Malik, a physical-trainer-turned-archery-coach, picked him during a trial. “One day my friends took me to a field where I saw kids aiming at a target with arrows. Mujhe laga woh shikaar kar rahe hain (I thought they were hunting something),” Akash said.
Akash, who used to play cricket with his friends, developed a fascination for the ‘new-found sport’.
“Mujhe laga mein kuchh kar sakta hoon (I thought I could do something),” he said.
Akash’s father Narender Malik, who is into wheat and cotton farming, never wanted his son to join him at the fields.“Initially my parents dissuaded me as they wanted me to study to land up a government job. But after I started winning medals they have started backing me fully. They must be very happy now,” Akash, who will return to India with the contingent on Sunday, said.
“Now I’ve to put in more effort and hope to qualify for Tokyo Olympics,” he said about his mission 2020.
His coach Manjeet Malik said Akash’s ability to remain calm had impressed him.
“He was very calm and composed and I thought he could shoot arrows steadily. He now shoots with confidence. It was raining as well when the final started,” the coach said.
Day 1-3
‘Medalless’ days
Paddler Archana loses bronze play-off, October 12, 2018: The Times of India
India endured a medal-less outing at the Youth Olympics after the gold rush of the previous three days as the women’s hockey team lost to Argentina and rising table tennis player Archana Kamath went down in the bronze medal match. Kamath, who became the first Indian paddler to enter the semifinals of Youth Olympics, gave her all against Romania’s Andreea Dragoman before losing 11-8, 11-13, 9-11, 5-11, 9-11in the semifinal.
The Indian under-18 women’s hockey team suffered its first loss of the Youth Olympics’ five-a-side competition, going down 2-5 to hosts Argentina. After three successive wins, India lost the toughest match they played in the event.
Argentina opened the scoring with a seventh minute goal through Celina Di Santo. India’s Mumtaz Khan equalised soon after in the eighth minute but the hosts regained the lead in the 10th minute with a field goal by Sofia Ramallo. Just before the half time, Reet scored a fine field goal to draw level for India.
The second period, however, was totally dominated by Argentina as they showcased brilliant attack that helped them score backto-back in the 12th, 17th and 19th minute through Sofia, Josefina Rubenacker and Gianella Palet respectively. The Indian team will face South Africa in its fifth match of the competition.
A little later in the day, the men’s hockey team too did not get the result it wanted, losing 3-4 to Australia in a keenly contested contest. Davis Miles, James Collins, Alistair Murray, Bradely Marais scored for Australia while India struck through Vivek Sagar Prasad, who found the net twice, and Shivam Anand.
Athletics
Chitravel wins bronze
Vivek Krishnan, October 18, 2018: The Times of India
Praveen Chitravel won a triple jump bronze. His third-placed finish in Stage 1 with a jump of 15.84m enabled him to win bronze courtesy a combined effort of 31.52m.
Panwar wins silver in 5000m race walk
October 17, 2018: The Times of India
India’s Suraj Panwar clinched a silver in the men’s 5000m race walk event in the ongoing Youth Olympic Games to open the country’s medal account in athletics here. Panwar won the stage 2 competition by clocking 20 minutes and 35.87 seconds but finished second overall. In a new format, there are no finals in track and field (with the exception of 4km cross-country) in the Youth Olympics and each event is held twice, with results from both rounds counting towards the final standings.
The 17-year-old Panwar had finished second in the first stage in 20.23.30s, behind Patin Oscar of Equador. Oscar, who finished second in Stage 2, won the gold with timings of 20:13.69s and 20:38.17s. Panwar’s total time of 40:59.17s was over seven minutes slower than Oscar’s 40:51.86s. Puerto Rico’s Jan Moreu finished third to claim the bronze.
This is India’s first athletics medal in this edition and third overall. Arjun (men’s discus throw) and Durgesh Kumar (men's 400m hurdles) had won a silver each in the inaugural edition in 2010. “It's a great feeling. I am very happy to have won a medal. I had put in a lot of hard work for the Games. It is my first medal for India,” Panwar said after winning the silver medal. “My next target is to better my performance here and win a medal in the senior level also,” he added.
Badminton
Men's singles
Lakshya reaches singles final
October 13, 2018: The Times of India
Title favourite Indian Lakshya Sen recovered from a game deficit to beat Kodai Naraoka of Japan to enter the final of men’s singles badminton competition to at least be assured of a silver medal here. Sen, the reigning Asian junior champion, lost the first game 14-21 but came back to beat Naraoka in the next two to pocket the semifinal match Thursday night. The Indian levelled the match by winning the second game 21-15.
The deciding game was a neck-to-neck affair with none of the two players giving an inch. The game went into the duece and Sen eventually won it 24-22 after a 36-minute tussle.
Sen will now meet Li Shifeng of China in the final. If Sen wins the final match, he will become the first Indian gold medallist shuttler in the Youth Olympics.
Lakshya Sen wins silver
October 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: Youth Olympics 2018: Lakshya Sen settles for silver medal in Badminton, October 13, 2018: The Indian Express
Lakshya Sen suffered a 15-21, 19-21 defeat against China's Shifeng Li in Men's Singles Badminton Final at the Youth Olympics 2018.
Teen shuttler Lakshya Sen stumbled at the last hurdle and settled for silver at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
Former junior world No. 1 Lakshya Sen had to settle for the silver medal after he went down in straight games in the men’s singles badminton final at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. The 17-year-old suffered a 15-21, 19-21 defeat against China’s Shifeng Li in 42 minutes. Much was expected of the former junior world No.1 in the final against Li as the Indian had trounced the Chinese in the quarterfinals of the Asian juniors recently. However, on Friday night, Sen faltered in the summit clash to settle for the silver.
The fourth seed shuttler showed a solid fighting spirit in the second game as he managed to save four match points to inch closer towards his Chinese opponent. But Li managed to held his nerve together and push for the win without losing a game.
Li got off to a good start and wrapped up the first game in just 17 minutes as Sen, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, failed to keep pace with his rival. He, however, recovered in the second game and stayed close to his opponent till the last point. Though Sen saved four match points, the Chinese youngster kept his nerve and scored the all important winner to lift the gold.
In the first game, Shifeng took an early lead and raced to 14-5 in no time. Sen made a fine recovery to narrow down the gap to 13-16 but he could not sustain it and Shifeng went ahead 18-13 and then made it 20-14 to have six game points. Though Sen saved one game point, the Chinese won the next one to pocket the first game in 17 minutes.
The second game was a closer fight than the first but the Chinese was leading all the time. Shifeng was ahead 8-7 initially but the gap widened to 12-7 before Sen made it 11-14. The three-point gap remained for some time before the Chinese made it 18-14 and then 19-14.
Sen’s silver medal win takes India’s total tally at the Youth Olympics to seven medals this year. He became the second Indian shuttler to win a silver at the event in 8 years. It was HS Prannoy who had achieved the same feat back in 2010.
Earlier, Young shooting sensation Manu Bhaker became the second Indian after judoka Tababi Devi to win two medals at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) after winning a silver while the men’s hockey team moved to the semi-finals with a 4-2 win over Poland.
Boxing
Jyoti Gulia (51kg) lost quarterfinal
October 17, 2018: The Times of India
Boxing challenge over
India’s boxing challenge at the ongoing Youth Olympics ended at the very first hurdle after former world champion Jyoti Gulia (51kg) lost her quarterfinal bout to Italy’s Martina La Piana. Gulia was the lone Indian boxer to qualify for the Games owing to her world title and lost in a unanimous 0-5 verdict to the Italian on Monday night.
The 17-year-old from Haryana was expected to do well at the event given that she was coming off a gold-winning performance at the Silesian Open in Gliwice, Poland last month. India’s maiden and only set of medals in the Youth Olympics’ boxing competition came in the inaugural edition in 2010 when Shiva Thapa and Vikas Krishan delivered a silver and a bronze medal respectively, which remain India’s best performance.
In 2014, the best that India managed in boxing was Gaurav Solanki’s fourth-place finish. Solanki (52kg) won the gold medal at this year’s Commonwealth Games.
Judo
Tababi Devi wins silver
Abreshmina S Quadri, October 9, 2018: India Today
From: Abreshmina S Quadri, October 9, 2018: India Today
Youth Olympics: Tababi Devi Thangjam bagged India's second silver medal in Buenos Aires after going down in the judo Women's -44kg Finals to Venezuela's Maria Gimenez.'
Youth Olympics: Tababi Devi Thangjam bagged India's second silver medal in Buenos Aires after going down in the judo Women's -44kg Finals to Venezuela's Maria Gimenez.
Tababi Devi Thangjam became India's first judo athlete to win an Olympic medal - senior or junior - as she grabbed India's second silver medal at the Youth Olympics 2018 in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
Tababi went down to Venezuela's Maria Gimenez 11:0s1 in the Women's -44kg Finals of Judo but created history for India.
Earlier in the day, Shahu Tushar Mane had opened India's account in Buenos Aires with a silver medal in 10m Air Rifle event, having shot shot 247.5.
Tababi, 2017 Asian Cadet champion hailing from Manipur had a point each going against her on the ippon and waza-ari. She was also handed a penalty point as Gimenez, a Pan American U18 Championships gold medalist, won a historic gold medal for Venezuela after a contest that lasted for two minutes and eight seconds.
The 16-year-old Tababi had a solid campaign at the Youth Olympics having racked up good victories on her way to the final.
In the Round of 16, Tababi inflicted a thumping 10-0 loss over Bhutan's Yangchen Wangmo. She then managed a close 1s2-0 victory over Kosova's Erza Muminoviq, who was given two penalty points in the one minute 16 seconds contest.
In the semi-final, Tababi thumped Croatia's Ana Viktorija Puljiz 10:0s1 as she won a point on the ippon and then the Croatian was handed a penalty point. The contest lasted for three minutes and 33 seconds.
Srihari Nataraj missed out on qualifying for the finals of Men's 100m Backstroke swimming event after clocking a time of 56.48. Even as Nataraj could not make it to the finals, his timing was an improved effort from his heats, where he clocked 56.75.
In table tennis, both Archana Girish Kamath and Manav Thakkar registered victories in the preliminary stage of the competition.
Archana defeated Singapore's Rui Xuan 4-1 (11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9) while Manav needed six games to beat Lithuania's Cius Stankevi 4-2 (11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-5).
Shooting
Men’s 10m air pistol
October 11, 2018: The Times of India
Shooter Saurabh Chaudhary won the gold medal in men’s 10m air pistol event of Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is 16-year-old Saurabh’s third big medal — he became the Asian Games champion in August and junior World Champion in September earlier in 2018.
Saurabh entered the final after shooting 580 in the qualification round. He was impressive in the six-series qualification as he shot 97 twice and a perfect 100 in the fourth series, a feat pistol shooters struggle to achieve.
The final, however, turned out to be one-sided for the Indian as he started on top with a lead of 0.9 point after first five shots. The lead kept increasing with each round. Though Saurabh shot his quota of 9s, he compensated with some 10.7s and a 10.8s in the final and stayed ahead. After 14 shots, the Indian prodigy was ahead of the eventual silver medallist Sung Yunho of Korea by a huge margin of five points.
Saurabh never lost focus and 16th shot onwards, he shot higher than 10 consistently. His last 9 shots fetched him a total of 92.3 points, which was crucial for him to maintain a comfortable grip over the gold medal.
Women’s 10m air pistol
Manu Bhaker clinched gold in the women’s 10m air pistol.
Bhaker first Indian shooter to win gold at YOG
Tushar Dutt, Manu shoots her way to redemption, October 10, 2018: The Times of India
16-Year-Old Bags Gold To Move Past Asiad, World C’ship Disappointment
Shooter Manu Bhaker clinched gold in the 10m air pistol event at the Youth Olympics, becoming the first Indian shooter to bag the big prize at the event. The pistol shooter from Haryana shot 236.5 in the eight-woman final to clinch the yellow metal.
The performance in Buenos Aires came as a big morale booster for the 16-year-old following disappointing shows in the 25m pistol and 10m air pistol events at the Asian Games and the World Championships in Incheon.
This is India’s third medal from shooting at the Games after Shahu Mane and Mehuli Ghosh clinched silver in the men’s and women’s 10m air rifle events respectively.
Manu finished 0.6 points ahead of silver medallist Lana Enina from Russia while the bronze went to Georgia’s Nino Khutsiberidze (214.6).
Manu’s father Ramkishan Bhaker told TOI: “This will help her regain confidence. She was disappointed after the Asiad and World Championships. She had shot well in both events but a medal had eluded her. We are glad that she has finally got success.”
Manu has not found the time to be at home, in Goriya village in Haryana’s Jhajjar district, since June this year. She has been either participating in tournaments or attending national camps.
“She couldn’t come home, so we had gone to Delhi for four days in between to meet her. I think you have to make sacrifices to win something. I am sure she understands this and that is why she has never complained about it,” the proud father said.
It was a rollercoaster ride for Manu in the final. She started well, shooting 50.1 after the first five shots. She was followed closely by Russian Enina, but despite a few 9s in between, Manu maintained top position among finalists till the 18th shot.
Elated at India’s first shooting gold at the YOG, NRAI president Raninder Singh said, “This is historic for our sport. Always had faith in Manu and even told her at the Asian Games that she should keep at it, not worry too much and the results will come shortly. She is a fantastic shooter and so are our whole bunch of juniors.”
In the last two shots, the Russian fired 10.7 and 10.5, while Manu shot 10.1 and 10.2, but since the Indian had a lead of 1.5 points over the silver medallist, it didn’t matter.
Men's 10m air rifle
Shahu Tushar Mane won silver medal.
Women's 10m air rifle
Mehuli Ghosh won silver medal.
Pairing Indians with Pakistanis, others
Sabi Hussain, ‘It was fun shooting with Pakistani partner’, October 13, 2018: The Times of India
Saurabh Talks About Being Paired With Nubaira Babur In 10m Air Pistol Mixed Event
The political tension between India and Pakistan may have frozen the sporting exchanges between the two countries, but that did not deter the organisers of the ongoing Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to pair up Indian and Pakistani shooters in a unique mixed team inter national for mat in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
India’s teenage shooting sensation Saurabh Chaudhary partnered with Pakistan’s woman shooter Nubaira Babur to shoot in the 10m air pistol mixed international team event, a first-of-its-kind initiative at the behest of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to promote Olympics solidarity.
The pairing wasn’t a result of the YOG organisers’ initiative to strengthen sporting ties between the two nations. It was probably destined for Saurabh and Babur to come together since the unique format was such. According to the concept, the gold medallist of the men’s individual event was paired up with the athlete who finished in the final 20th position in the women’s and vice versa.
Saurabh had topped the men’s 10m air pistol event by winning the individual gold, while Babur had finished in the 20th position in her women’s 10m air pistol event, leading to this partnership. However, Saurabh and Babur were eliminated in the Round of 16 stage.
Similarly, women’s 10m air pistol individual gold medallist, Manu Bhaker, paired up with Tajikistan’s Behzan Fayzullaev (finished 20th in men’s 10m air pistol) for the 10m air pistol mixed international event and both went on to win a silver, losing to Germany’s Vanessa Seeger and Bulgaria’s Kiril Kirov 10-3. The achievement meant Manu became the second Indian after judoka Tababi Devi to win two medals at the Buenos Aires YOG.
Sharing his experience, Saurabh told TOI from Buenos Aires that it was “fun” shooting with Babur and the thought that he was shooting with a Pakistani partner never crossed his mind.
Saurabh, 16, showing maturity beyond his years, said: “Politics should not mix with sport and that the sportspersons of the two countries should be left alone.
“I really liked the format. For me, it was kind of fun shooting with an altogether unknown partner. We practiced together for a while, tried to understand each other’s game a bit and then we were at the range competing with the rest. I was happy with Babur as my shooting partner,” the Meerut-based shooter said.
While acknowledging that he was a better shooter of the two, Saurabh said it helped that her partner was a Pakistani as she spoke in Urdu, which was familiar to him. “Obviously, it helped a lot. We both had a comfort level. Had it been some other English-speaking shooter, I would have struggled,” Saurabh added with a laugh.
Manu also gave a thumbs-up to the format, expressing satisfaction with her performance in recent times. “I am happy with the twin medals at the YOG. This has been a really productive year for me. I am not exactly disappointed with my Asian Games campaign. I believe I shot well throughout the event, it’s just that I couldn’t win a medal,” she said.
“Next year, my target will be to qualify for Tokyo Olympics,” she added.
Lifter Jeremy flag-bearer for closing ceremony: Record-breaking weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga, who became India's first gold medallist in the Youth Olympics history, has been named as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the closing ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games on October 18.
Weightlifting
Jeremy Lalrinnunga wins gold
India won their first-ever gold medal at a Youth Olympic Games with Jeremy Lalrinnunga clinching the yellow metal in Men's 62kg weightlifting.
India had already eclipsed its best-ever tally at a Youth Olympic Games on Day 2 of the extravaganza and by the end of it, had further return to rejoice. Having won three silver medals, India won their first gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina with Jeremy Lalrinnunga lifting 150kg on his last attempt for a combined 274kg. This is India’s first-ever gold medal at the Youth Olympics. In the two editions prior to this, India’s best performance was two medals in the 2014 Youth Olympics at Nanjing, China.
In Men’s 62kg Group A weightlifting, Jeremy posted successful attempts of 120kg and 124kg in snatch and 142kg and 150kg in clean & jerk. With his best successful attempts of 124kg in snatch and 150kg in clean & jerk for a combined 274kg, the 15-year-old won the gold medal. Toptas Caner of Turkey won the silver medal for a combined lift of 263kg and Estiven Jose Manjarres of Colombia won the bronze medal with 260kg.
The gold further highlights Lalrinnunga’s mettle following his World Youth silver medal. Earlier in 2018, Lalrinnunga claimed a silver (youth) and a bronze (junior) in the Asian Championships, while breaking two national records.
Lalrinnunga: India’s first YOG gold medallist- Details
Jeremy kept that promise when he became India’s first-ever gold medallist at the YOG after clinching gold in the men’s 62kg weightlifting competition. The Mizoram boy lifted a total of 274kg (124kg snatch & 150kg clean and jerk) to easily beat the rest of the field. The silver went to Turkey’s Toptas Caner, who lifted 263kg (122kg snatch and 141kg clean and jerk), while Colombia’s Villar Estiven settled for bronze with a lift of 260kg (115kg+143kg).
Hockey
Women's hockey
Reach semifinals
The Indian women's team notched up a comfortable 3-0 win over Poland to enter the semifinals of the Hockey 5s competition of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
The Indian women’s team notched up a comfortable 3-0 win over Poland to enter the semifinals of the Hockey 5s competition of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. Lalremsiami (10′), captain Salima Tete (14′) and Baljeet Kaur (14′) contributed to the U-18 team’s victory with a goal each at the Parque Polideportivo Roca.
The first period of the quarterfinal game started with Poland finding the first chance in the second minute as Viktoria Zimmermann tested the Indian goalkeeper Bichu Kharibam. India’s Mumtaz Khan also had a chance in the same minute but could not get past the Polish custodian.
Both the teams tried to get into the rhythm and find an opening to take the lead, but it was only in the last minute of the first period that Indian forward Lalremsiami made the breakthrough as she scored past Poland’s Nicole Chruszcz to give her team lead. The second period was a crucial one in the context of the match as Poland looked for an equaliser, whereas India wanted to extend their lead and secure a semifinal spot.
India also had a few chances in the opening couple of minutes, but it was only in the 14th minute where the Indian team delivered with two more goals as captain Salima Tete scored first and 54 seconds later, it was Baljeet Kaur’s turn to register her name on the score-sheet. The two quick-fire goals in the 14th minute meant that India took a 3-0 lead which was eventually enough for them as Poland could not trouble the rival defence.
Maiden silver medals for Indian hockey 5s teams
October 16, 2018: The Times of India
The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams went down in their respective finals but managed to script history by picking up their maiden silver medals in the five-a-side competition of the Youth Olympic Games.
While the men lost 2-4 to Malaysia, the women’s team suffered a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Argentina in match that took place Sunday night. The silver medals claimed in the Argentine capital are India’s first set of hockey medals in the Youth Olympics.
The Malaysian men and Argentina women made history of their own by winning their firstever Youth Olympic Games Hockey5s gold medals. Argentina men and China women secured the bronze medals respectively following 4-0 and 6-0 wins over Zambia and South Africa.
In the men’s gold medal match, India took the lead after only two minutes through captain Vivek Sagar Prasad. However, just about two minutes later Malaysia levelled through Firadus Rosdi, but the lead was short-lived as Prasad grabbed his second goal of the match for India in the fifth minute. India took a 2-1 lead at the half-time stage.
After the break, Malaysia came out all guns blazing as Akhimullah Anuar brought the teams level again in the 13th minute before Amirul Azahar steered Malaysia to a lead three minutes later. With only two minutes left on the clock, Anuar sealed the gold by scoring Malaysia’s fourth and his second goal of the day.
Later in the women’s final, Argentina were stunned as India took an early lead after only 49 seconds through Mumtaz Khan. But once the early nerves settled, Argentina got into their stride and Gianella Palet levelled after six minutes.
Wrestling
Simran wins silver
October 15, 2018: The Times of India
Wrestler Wins Medal In Free 43kg Category
Indian wrestler Simran settled for a silver in women’s freestyle 43 kg category competition after she lost to Emily Shilson of United States in the final bout here. Simran, who had won a 40kg class bronze in the 2017 Cadet World Championships, lost 6-11 as the American registered a 'victory by points' to clinch the gold on Saturday night. Simran conceded a 2-9 lead to Shilson in the first period and that virtually sealed her fate.
The Indian produced a better show in the second period by scoring four points as against two by his American opponent but that proved to be too little, too late to have any impact on the result of the bout. Shilson is the gold medallist in 43kg in the 2018 Cadet World Championships.
This is India's fifth silver along with three gold in the ongoing Youth Olympics. The medals won by shuttler Lakshya Sen (gold), shooter Manu Bhaker (silver) and judoka Tababi Devi (silver) in mixed team events are not counted in the country's total medal tally as they had paired with athletes of other countries.
The other Indian in the wrestling competition, Mansi finished eighth after losing her classification match to Imbabi Ahmed of Egypt who received a 'victory by fall' decision.
MEN AND WOMEN TEAMS ENTER HOCKEY 5s FINAL
The Indian men's and women's teams advanced to the final of hockey 5s competition in the Youth Olympics after registering emphatic wins over their respective opponents here. India defeated hosts Argentina 3-1 in the men's semifinal match on Saturday while the women's team beat China 3-0 in their last-four match.
The Indian men face Malaysia in the summit clash while their women counterparts take on hosts Argentina in the final.
In the men's semifinal match, Sudeep Chirmako (12th and 18th minute) and Rahul Kumar Rajbhar (3th) scored for India while captain Facundo Zarate found the target for Argentina.
Swiss IOC member Baumann dies of heart attack at 51
Swiss IOC member Patrick Baumann, a central figure in the Olympic movement and the sport of basketball, has died at the age of 51. Baumann suffered a heart attack Sunday during the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. “This is a great shock, which has hit us all very hard. We always knew him, for the sport he loved,” said IOC president Thomas Bach.
