Jamaica’s Samuel Ricketts emerged champion at Cuba’s Torneo International competition when he defeated top seeded Yeison Alvarez two sets to one in Sunday's final in Havana.

After ousting the third seed Matthew Abela in the semis 21-17 21-3 in just 37 minutes on Saturday, the second seeded Ricketts outplayed Alvarez in the final 21-18 7-21 21-19 in the hour-long title decider.

In women’s play, Jamaican Tahlia Richardson advanced to the semis where she was narrowly beaten 12-21 23-21 27-25 by Nikte Sotomayor, the Guatemalan top seed who lost the final to Cuban Taymara Pupo.

Guyanese Priyanna Ramdhani reached the quarterfinals where she lost to Pupo.

In the vibrant world of badminton, the Jamaica Badminton Academy stands as a beacon of excellence, cultivating young talents and charting a course for success on both national and international stages. Led by the dynamic duo of Matthew Lee and Kenneth Anglin, the academy is not just a training ground for shuttlecock enthusiasts but a nurturing space that combines athletic prowess with educational opportunities.

"The Jamaica Badminton Academy is dedicated to providing a holistic platform for children to thrive in the world of badminton," shared Matthew Lee, the Director of the academy, alongside Kenneth Anglin. "Our mission goes beyond developing top-level athletes; we aim to instill essential values such as discipline, teamwork, and sportsmanship."

Recently, Lee proudly shared the academy's remarkable achievements. "We currently have a lot of players selected to the national teams, especially for juniors. In the recent national junior championships, we had four medallists, including the remarkable Zoelle Jamel securing the Under 15 Girls Championship. This showcases the undeniable growth and potential of our talented athletes."

As the academy gears up for upcoming local tournaments, including the Tournament of Kings/Queens, Doubles Mania, Junior Classics, and the All Jamaica Super Series, Lee emphasized the pivotal role these events play in talent development. "Our unique schedule features multiple events, allowing young players to gain valuable experience in badminton tournaments. A new ranking system is set to be implemented (by the local governing body), providing players with the opportunity to earn points, leading to higher-tier tournaments and international representation," he stated.

Looking towards the global stage, the Jamaica Badminton Academy has its sights set on the XXXII PAN AM JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024 and the CARIBACO International Junior Championships. "We are particularly targeting the Junior Pan American Games, and we have designed a special training program for our high-performing athletes. Additionally, we are actively seeking sponsors to support these players' representation on the international stage," Lee explained.

The academy extends a warm welcome to players from primary, prep, and high schools to join their training programs. Beyond honing badminton skills, this presents a unique opportunity for children to enhance university applications, pursue scholarships, and unlock future job opportunities.

As the badminton calendar unfolds, marked by exciting local tournaments and international competitions, the Jamaica Badminton Academy is poised to make waves, leaving an indelible mark on the global badminton landscape. "Our academy believes in playing bold and reaching for the stars," concludes Director Matthew Lee. The shuttlecock soars, and with it, the dreams of young athletes under the tutelage of a visionary academy that believes in nurturing talent with passion and purpose.

 

Upcoming Tournaments:

 

Local Tournaments:

 

February 24th - 25th: Tournament of Kings/Queens

March: Club League, JG X Bad Boys Invitational

April 20th - 21st: Doubles Mania

May 18th - 19th: Junior Classics

July: Summer Swing

September: Club Knockouts

November 9th - 10th & 16th - 17th: All Jamaica

December 7th - 8th: Super Series

International Tournaments:

 

July 11 - 13: XXXII PAN AM JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024 TEAM EVENT CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 15-19: XXXII PAN AM JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024 - U13 - U17 CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 15-19: XXXII PAN AM JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024 - U19 CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

August 21 - 25: CARIBACO International Junior Championships

 

 

 

World champions Shericka Jackson and Antonio Watson were crowned Jamaica’s Sportswoman and Sportsman of the year, respectively, at the 2023 RJRGLEANER Sports Foundation National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Friday.

Jackson claimed the award for the first time after a phenomenal 2023 season which saw her successfully defend her World 200m title with a personal best 21.41, the second fastest time ever, in Budapest in August.

In addition to her 200m title, Jackson also ran 10.72 for 100m silver. She ended her season with the sprint double at the Diamond League Final in Eugene with times of 10.70 and 21.57, respectively, in September.

The 29-year-old also achieved a new personal best in the 100m with 10.65, the fifth fastest time ever, to defend her National title in July.

Antonio Watson shocked the world to become the first Jamaican man in 40 years to win 400m gold at the World Championships.

After running a massive personal best 44.14 in the semi-finals, the 22-year-old produced 44.22 to take gold in the final. Watson also ran 44.54 for second at the National Championships in July.

Watson also took home the people’s choice award for his gold medal winning performance.

Danielle Williams was named runner-up for Sportswoman of the Year while Hansle Parchment was runner-up for Sportsman of the Year.

Williams, like Watson, shocked the world in Budapest by claiming her second 100m hurdles World title, the other coming all the way back in 2015.

Parchment, the reigning Olympic champion, claimed his second World Championship silver medal with a 13.07 effort in Budapest. He followed that up in September with a new personal best 12.93 to win at the Diamond League Final in Eugene.

The recipient of the 2023 Icon Award was 400m hurdles Olympic and World champion Deon Hemmings-McCatty while West Indies Under-19 batsman Jordan Johnson was named the winner of the VM Group Y.O.U.T.H award.

Some other athletes receiving awards for their individual sports included CAC Games bronze medallist Tahlia Richardson for badminton, Ricardo “Big 12” Brown for boxing, Sherea Clarke and Wayne McCalla for bodybuilding, West Indies batter Rashada Williams for cricket and Sara Misir and Fraser McConnell for motorsport.

Arguably Jamaica’s two most successful sports teams, the Sunshine Girls and the Reggae Girls, were given special awards for their performances in 2023.

The Reggae Girls were rewarded for their historic performance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from July 20-August 20.

They became the first Caribbean team ever, male or female, to advance to the Round of 16 at a FIFA World Cup.

The Sunshine Girls also had a historically good year with a gold medal at the CAC Games held in El Salvador from June 25-29 and bronze at the Netball World Cup held from July 28-August 6 in South Africa.

That World Cup also saw the Jamaicans get their first ever World Cup win over world number one and eventual champions, Australia.

Tahlia Richardson can now call herself a four-time National Senior Badminton Champion after once again claiming the Women’s Open title at the All Jamaica Badminton Championships at the YMCA Auditorium last weekend.

The 22-year-old 2023 CAC Games bronze medallist took the title after a three-set win over Katherine Wynter.

Richardson won the first set 21-14 before Wynter rallied back to level proceedings at one set all with a 28-26 second set victory.

Richardson then locked in and was able to dominate the third and deciding set 28-10 to seal her fourth title.

Despite the win, Richardson expressed to Sportsmax.tv that she was not entirely pleased with her performance, specifically a shift in her usual play style in the second set.

“It’s two-fold for me. In one sense, I’m glad I was able to retain my title and win my fourth national championship. In another sense, I’m not entirely pleased with my performance,” she said.

“In the second set, I changed the game plan and was playing more passive which is not my playing style. In the third set I played my natural game which is more fast and attacking and was able to dominate,” Richardson added.

Richardson, who recently graduated from the University of the West Indies with BSc. in Human Resource Management while minoring in Psychology, went a bit into her preparation for the tournament, noting the process was slightly hampered by injury.

“I had a slight injury two weeks before that so it was about working through that and ensuring that I would be at my best for the tournament,” she said.

“Besides that, it was just about doing strength training and on-court training and ensuring consistency in both,” Richardson added.

She also went into difficulties endured while trying to balance a budding career in professional badminton with the pursuit of her college degree.

“It was about being disciplined and knowing what I want,” she said.

“It would sometimes be difficult especially when face to face school resumed because I would be gone for a tournament or a training camp once a month or once every other month. But once I managed my time and was consistent with that, I was all good to go,” she added.

Richardson also claimed top spot in mixed doubles and silver in women’s doubles.

Jamaica’s badminton women’s doubles team of Tahlia Richardson and Katherine Wynter bowed out of competition in the quarter-finals stage on Monday at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile.

The pair were beaten in straight sets by the Mexican pair of Miriam Rodriquez and Romina Fregoso at the Olympic Training Centre in Santiago, Chile.

In two competitive games, the Jamaicans lost the first set 19-21 before yielding 16-21 as the Mexicans took the match 2-0.

World champion Rachel Choong hopes badminton will continue to break down access barriers for the next generation as she focuses on making history at the 2024 Paralympics.

Choong, 29, is a multiple medal winner from her SH6 Para-badminton class, taking world gold in both doubles events as well as the singles in 2015 at Stoke Mandeville.

While more world and European success followed, hopes of competing when para-badminton debuted at the Tokyo Paralympics were dashed after the female short stature category was not included.

However, with the programme since expanded for Paris, Choong has been able to refocus again backed by full-time UK Sport funding as she targets increasing her medal haul.

 

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Liverpool-born Choong took up the sport aged six and is also part of Badminton England’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee.

Choong helped launch the new ‘Badminton – A Sport for Everyone’ initiative, which sets out a blueprint for the growth of the sport at all levels over the next decade, with a focus on youth and inclusion.

She is confident Badminton England’s approach can help tap into the next generation of talent and make potential Paralympians feel they can make a real impact on the sport.

“I have found that badminton has never put up any barriers because of my disability or my ethnic background or my gender, and I feel like that’s fantastic,” Choong told the PA news agency.

“I just hope that particularly with this strategy, we can show more people how accessible badminton is and that it can bring so many people together, create communities within communities and I think that’s really special.

“I would say there are less barriers now, luckily. For me, para-badminton was not really something that we were really aware of.

“I only found out about para-badminton in 2007, so I was already seven years into playing the sport and I didn’t even know that it even existed.

“Whereas now people with disabilities, I would like to think that a lot of them in this country already know that badminton is an option for them.

“That is something that we want to promote even more, to get coaches involved in para-badminton as well, just so people aren’t turned away at clubs, and that coaches are more open to that as well.

“For me, that initial very first badminton experience really needs to be positive, particularly for someone with a disability or there is something that could maybe prevent them from playing badminton.

“The coaches need to be given the tools to bring people in and give more people a positive experience, which means that more people will hopefully be in the sport for longer.

“And with para (sport) taking such a big part of the strategy and Badminton England understanding how we can grow para-badminton, it means that hopefully we can find our next Paralympic stars.”

Having gone through a tough spell trying to attend events as an unfunded athlete and train through the Covid-19 pandemic, Choong now faces the challenge of working her way back up the world rankings.

As well as competing in singles, Choong has teamed up with Jack Shephard in the SH6 mixed doubles. The pair took bronze at the 2022 Para-Badminton World Championships in Tokyo and during August were runners-up at The 4 Nations Para Badminton International in Sheffield.

“To find out that my events are now being included for the Paris 2024 Paralympic programme is hugely exciting for me. It’s an opportunity that I felt I couldn’t let pass me by,” Choong said.

“I’ve grabbed it with both hands and just invested everything I possibly can into this opportunity because I’ve waited so long for it and I was so desperate for it.

“I do feel like I’m playing catch up a bit, but it is exciting. It is motivating and it means that I have got something to aim for.

“Before, because I was in the fortunate position of being on top (of the rankings), it did mean that I didn’t know where really I was aiming for or how far I could really be pushed, but now the sport has progressed and advanced.

“It is an exciting place to be in, but it is not a given anymore that I will do well at tournaments – but that is a good thing as well.”

Former world eventing champion Ros Canter is within touching distance of a first Badminton Horse Trials title after she conquered punishing cross-country conditions to take pole position.

Lincolnshire-based Canter flourished with Lordships Graffalo – Badminton runners-up behind Laura Collett last year – on a day when many combinations floundered.

Double Olympic medallist Tom McEwen described the stamina-sapping going as “horrific”, and none of the starters threatened to jump clear inside the optimum time.

Canter collected 11.6 time penalties for an overnight score of 33.7, putting her nine penalties clear of Irish challenger Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue, with McEwen’s Olympic team gold medal-winning colleague Oliver Townend third aboard Ballaghmor Class on 45.9.

Canter, who won the world crown in North Carolina five years ago, can afford to have two fences down in Monday’s showjumping finale and still land the £105,000 top prize.

Thirty combinations completed the cross-country test, with almost half the field either being eliminated or deciding to retire.

“It felt hard work in terms of galloping,” 37-year-old Canter said.

“He had to dig deep, but he is so honest and is a fantastic jumper. He is economical with his jumping, and you can’t get much better.

“A horse like him should be celebrated – I have not sat on anything like him before. Tomorrow is another day, but whatever happens, he is a star.”

O’Connor rocketed 32 places up the leaderboard after dressage, adding just 10.8 penalties to his score in pursuit of a crown that has not been won by an Irish rider since Major Eddie Boylan in 1965.

Cork-born O’Connor, who is based in Oxfordshire, said: “The horse was amazing. He is the real deal.

“It was the hardest he has had to try in a five-star event, but he is full of class. I’ve got a great team at home and they have kept him very fit.

“He is one of the best horses in the world, and I am a lot older than I look! I have ridden a lot of cross-country courses in the wet before.”

McEwen, meanwhile, lies fifth on Toledo De Kerser, just behind world number one Tim Price, with Gemma Stevens in sixth and Canter holding seventh spot aboard her second ride Pencos Crown Jewel.

Jamaica’s Women’s champion Tahlia Richardson, despite not making it past the quarter-finals in any of her events at the recent XXIV Yonex Pan American Individual Championships at the GC Foster College in her home country, remains positive and grateful for the experience.

Richardson, who played in mixed doubles, women's doubles, and singles events, faced tough competition from players around the world. Speaking about her mixed doubles match with partner Samuel Ricketts, where they lost to Canada’s Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Rachel Honderich, Richardson said, "It was a good match. We don't usually get to play people of that calibre; these people are playing in England and on the other side of the world. There were some things we could have capitalized on more."

While disappointed with not progressing further in the tournament, Richardson remains grateful for the opportunity to compete against top players and is looking forward to continuing to grow as a player. "I am not too disappointed because I see where I have grown, especially from previous games just in this tournament so I am really grateful that we were able to play and get to the quarter-final match where we showed that we were able to play these top countries and in few months’ time we will be able to compete against them better," she added.

In the opening round of mixed doubles, Richardson and Ricketts beat the third seed, Johnathan Solis and Diana Corleto Soto, in a closely contested match. Richardson said, "For Mixed Doubles we drew the third seed that was a pretty tough match that went to three sets but it showed what we were capable of doing. Our second round against Mexico was easier than the third seed that we had played, so we were pretty confident going into play the quarter-finals. Sometimes players are better and they were better than us."

In singles, Richardson made it to the second round before losing to Mexico's Vanessa Maricela Garcia Contreras. Despite the loss, she remains pleased with her game play and sees areas for improvement. "I have seen my growth but my legs need to get stronger so I need to work on that. I am not disappointed in my game play because based on what my coaches were telling me tactically I was playing well so I am pleased with that I am able to absorb the information that my coaches give me," she explained.

In women's doubles, Richardson and partner Kathryn Wynter lost to Fatima Beatriz Centeno Fuentes and Daniela Hernandez in a closely contested match. Reflecting on the game, Richardson said, "For the Women’s doubles, it was a winnable match but I didn’t step into the role that I need to play and I didn’t realize that until I reflected on the match and seeing that where my strength is and where my partner Kathryn Wynter’s strengths are."

Overall, Richardson remains optimistic about her future as a badminton player and is looking forward to continuing to work on her weaknesses to improve her game.

 

 



Jamaica’s top mixed-doubles pair of Samuel Ricketts and Tahlia Richardson bowed out at the quarter-final stage of the XXVI Yonex Pan Am Individual Championships which in its penultimate day at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town, St Catherine on Friday.

The Jamaican pair lost 21-11, 21-15 to Canadian pair of Joshua Hulburt-Yu and Rachel Honderich in a match that lasted 26 minutes.

Ricketts and Richardson were the second Jamaican pair the Canadians have beaten in the tournament having eliminated Bradley Evans and Rihanna Rust 21-2, 21-4 during the round of 32 on Wednesday.

The Canadians will face the Brazilian duo of Davi Silva and Sania Lima who defeated the USA’s Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai 21-16, 26-24 in their quarter-final match up.

Another Canadian pair, Alexander Lindeman and Josephine Wu also advanced to the Mixed Doubles semi-finals after they defeated Mexico’s Luis Armando Montoya Navarro and Miriam Jacqueline Rodriquez Perez 21-12, 21-19.

It will be a Canada vs Brazil semi-final after Fabricio Farias and Jacqueline Lima bested Perus’ Jose Guevara and Ines Lucia Castillo Salazar 21-14, 21-10 in their quarter-final encounter.

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls recorded a second straight win at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, following a 68-49 win over South Africa on Saturday.

In the Pool A encounter Jamaica captain Jhanielle Fowler led the way for the Caribbean team with a game-high 33 from 33 attempts, as they jumped out to a sizeable 18-7 first-quarter lead and never looked back.  The Jamaicans began the competition with a 72-34 win over Wales.

Men’s Rugby

Elsewhere, a tough start to the tournament continued for the Jamaica Men’s Rugby Sevens team who remained winless.  The team followed up losses to Australia and Kenya with a 40-0 defeat to Uganda and 45-7 loss to England in the Men’s 9-16 Quarter-Final.

Swimming

In the pool, Jamaica’s Kito Campbell qualified to the semi-finals of the Men's 100m Breaststroke after finishing second in the event behind Papua New Guinea’s Ryan Maskelyne.  In the Women's 50m Freestyle Mackenzie Headley advanced to the next round after finishing 6th in Heat 8 but failed to advance from semi-final 2.

Cycling

In cycling, Dahlia Palmer failed to advance from the first round of the Women's Sprint – Qualifying after finishing 21st, while Daniel Palmer and Malik Reid failed to advance from the Men's Keirin.

Badminton/Squash

In the Badminton Mixed team event, Jamaica secured a 4-1 over Zambia while in Squash, Chris Binnie received a w/o to the next round after India’s Ramit Tandon forfeited the match.

Katherine Wynter was delighted to be national women’s badminton champion once again after she defeated Breanna Bisnott in the final of the All Jamaica National Badminton Championships that concluded at GC Foster in Spanish Town, St Catherine on Sunday.

Day two action at the Junior Pan American Games in Colombia will see six Jamaicans in action.

In Badminton, Tahlia Richardson competes at 9:00 am while Shane Richardson will compete at 4:00 pm.

Adanna Johnson will compete in Artistic Gymnastics beginning at 1:00 pm.

In Aquatics beginning at 10:00 am, Gabrianna Banks will compete in the 200m freestyle while both Sabrina Lyn and Nathaniel Thomas will go in the 100m butterfly.

The Junior Pan American Games began on November 25th and will end on the 5th of December.

Jamaica will be represented in several sports at the first-ever Junior Pan-American Games which is scheduled to take place in the city of Cali in Colombia between November 25 and December 5, 2021.

Responding to the call made by the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) earlier this year, several juniors from the so-called "smaller sports" dedicated their efforts in qualifying and have now earned a coveted place at the historic games.

Among those sports, whose athletes will don the black green and gold national colours in Cali, are Taekwondo, Weightlifting, Artistic Gymnastics, Fencing, Badminton Triathlon, Tennis, Cycling (Track), Skateboarding and Squash.

In commending the commitment of member associations and the nation's juniors, President of the Jamaica Olympic Association, Christopher Samuda, said: "Our associations and federations and their juniors have responded positively and with national pride to the JOA's Cali call to action for it will be for us, 'business unusual' in Cali and for them, it will be 'signed, sealed and delivered."

The JOA boss, in expressing a well-known policy of the national governing body, further stated "the JOA is giving our young sportsmen and women every opportunity to transition and be more than gold medalists - to be standard-bearers. The JOA subscribes to this ideal and Cali is certainly embracing it."

The number of local sports that will feature at the multi-sport junior games is indeed a record for the JOA and is being interpreted by its Secretary-General and CEO, Ryan Foster, as "a clear signal that the JOA's strategy of diversification is working well and that our members are inspiring their junior athletes to be history-makers and to strive for excellence."

With the Santiago 2023 Senior Pan-American Games and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games only two and three years away respectively, the JOA views the Cali games as a critical milestone. Secretary-General Foster, in giving the context, was unequivocal. "Cali is a dress rehearsal for our juniors. If you want to be at the senior shows, you have to, from now, dress for the shows, study the scripts and be able to deliver yourself on the big stages."

The stage lights in Cali will soon be turned on to spotlight over 3,800 athletes from the Caribbean and Americas - north, central and south -who will compete across 315 events in 28 sports and "Jamaica will be their centre stage and the objective is to have a leading role in this historic event," President Samuda said.

Long jump favourite Juan Miguel Echevarria was left in despair after injury prevented him from chasing the gold won by Miltiadis Tentoglou on countback at Tokyo 2020 on Monday.

Tentoglou said he was lucky to win gold in a shock result over Echevarria with a last-ditch sixth-round leap of 8.41m, beating Echevarria on countback, while Cuba also claimed bronze thanks to Maykel Masso's jump of 8.21m.

Echevarria, who had topped qualifying, had a final chance to beat the mark with his sixth attempt but could not make the jump due to injury, slumping to the floor on his knees in despair, consoled by compatriot Masso.

"It was very, very painful. I couldn't do what I usually do," Echevarria said.

"I have no words to express how I feel because I couldn't achieve what I wanted, what I have been fighting for so many years.

"I am personally not very happy with the result. I have always tried to go further."

The Greek had earlier registered a second-best jump of 8.15m compared to Echevarria's 8.09m to have the countback advantage, with his final attempt putting him ahead.

"Last attempt, I told myself to calm down and do a normal jump. I didn't expect it could be so big," Tentoglou said.

"I consider myself lucky. I was not lucky to jump 8.41m the last attempt but I was lucky to win."

The winning distance of 8.41m was well short of Mike Powell's world record of 8.95m, which has stood since 1991.

Tentoglou backed Echevarria to move on from his Olympic disappointment and one day reach the milestone.

"If someone can do the world record, it's Juan Miguel," he said. "I don't know for me. I need to do the national record first. I am not the national record holder."

Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn triumphed in the women's 100m hurdles a day after setting a new Olympic record in the semi-finals.

Camacho-Quinn won in 12.37 ahead of USA's Kendra Harrison (12.52) and Jamaica's Megan Tapper (12.55), who had an anxious wait to find out if she had claimed bronze ahead of Nigeria's Tobi Amusan (12.6) in fourth.

The Puerto Rican admitted afterwards she had her sights set on Harrison's world record of 12.2 but clipped a hurdle to thwart her.

 

TEAM USA AVOID BASKETBALL SHOCK

The United States bounced back after trailing to France in the last quarter to record a 93-82 win in the women's basketball.

France had headed the US 72-71 in the fourth quarter, but the gold medal favourites rallied with a 7-0 run to assert their dominance.

A'ja Wilson was huge in the final quarter, finishing with a game-high 22 points, along with seven rebounds and three assists, while Breanna Stewart had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Japan booked their quarter-final spot with a 102-83 win over Nigeria, while the US will go through in top spot from Group B ahead of the quarter-finals.

HOCKEYROOS HEARTBREAK, INDIAN JOY

Australia's Hockeyroos had a perfect group phase with five wins from as many games but were stunned by India in the quarter-finals 1-0 in women's hockey.

Gurjit Kaur scored the winner from a 22nd-minute penalty corner to stun the Australians, who have not medalled in women's hockey since Sydney 2000.

Australia also lost in the quarter-finals at Rio 2016 but were far better placed in Tokyo after their exceptional group form.

India have never claimed an Olympic medal in women's hockey, finishing fourth in 1980, and will face world number five Argentina in the semi-finals.

Argentina, who have won medals at four of the past five Olympics, overcame Germany 3-0 aided by two goals late in the first half.

 

INDONESIA WINS FIRST TOKYO GOLD

Indonesia won its first gold medal of Tokyo 2020 as Greysia Polii and Rahayu Apriyani combined to triumph in the women's badminton doubles.

The Indonesian pair defeated China's Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan 2-0, in a triumph that was the country's first in women's doubles, having won all other badminton events.

Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong won the all-South Korean bronze medal match against Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan 2-0.

Lyu Xiaojun became the oldest Olympic champion in weightlifting at the age of 37 to help tighten China's grip on top spot in the Tokyo 2020 medal table at the end of Saturday's action.

That victory for Lu in the 81 kilograms category led to China's fifth weightlifting gold of this year's Games and broke the record previously held by Rudolf Plyukfelder, who was 36 when winning gold at Tokyo 1964. 

China also came out on top in the women's windsurfer – RS:X event after a tense three-way battle which saw Yunxiu Lu edge out Charline Picon and Emma Wilson of France and Great Britain respectively.

Japan remain second in the overall medal standings, despite failing to add to their 17 golds, which allowed the USA to close the gap after a successful day in the pool.

Caeleb Dressel won the 100m butterfly to become only the second man to win that and the 100m freestyle at the same Olympic Games after compatriot Mark Spitz in Munich in 1972.

And Katie Ledecky won the women's 800m freestyle to become the first woman to win six individual Olympic gold medals in swimming.

The Russian Olympic Committee won their solitary gold for the day in fencing, triumphing in the women's sabre team final with a narrow victory over France to remain fourth, while Australia stay fifth thanks to Kaylee McKeown, who won the women's 200m backstroke to add to her 100m backstroke triumph.

Further down the list, Jamaica earned a clean sweep of medals in the women's 100m as Elaine Thompson-Herah pipped compatriots Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson to retain her crown as the world's fastest female.

Other notable gold medals were awarded to Team GB in the triathlon mixed relay and Poland in the 4 x 400m mixed relay, with both of those events being added to the Olympic schedule for the first time in Tokyo.

It was also a day to remember for Sweden as Daniel Stahl took gold in the men's discus, finishing just ahead of training partner Simon Pettersson to complete their nation's first one-two finish in an event at the summer Games since the men's 10,000m race walk at London 1948.

 

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