India bags four medals in Special Winter Olympics

NEW DELHI: For a country basking in the glory of Beijing Olympics success, there are more reasons to cheer as India won four medals, including a gold, in the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Idaho, US.

Paras Bhatia bagged gold in Snowboarding while Brajesh and Kaushal Manek clinched the silver medal in the same event of the Games that will conclude on Saturday.

Reena bagged the bronze in the Alpine Skiing category and became the lone girl from India to win a medal at the event, Special Olympics Bharat (SOB) Sports Director K Kumar informed.

A total of 75 students represented India at the Games which had a total participation of 97 countries, including China, the US and Britain.

Bhatia (19) of capital's Ashok Vihar area is speech-impaired like Manek, also 19, of Rohila in North Delhi.

For Brajesh and Reena, it was a 'Slumdog Millionaire' fortune as the duo hails from a South Delhi slum. Both Brajesh (15) of Sanjay Colony and Reena (18) of the same locality are deaf and dumb.

For Deepalaya, an NGO at Sagarpur near Janakpuri here, it was proud moments as two of its students selected by the SOB won medals.

"Our efforts have been paid dividends. And it's cent percentage," the NGO's chief executive TK Mathew said.

"It was something amazing that the students from the tropical country excelled to win medals," he added.

The SOB is the Indian wing of Special Olympics International, a world-wide NGO network taking care of special students.

The Indian contingent was given a ten-day training in Manali in Himachal Pradesh ahead of the Games which included events like alpine skiing, cross country skiing, figure skating, floor hockey, snowshoeing and speed skating.

sOURCE: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India-bag-four-medals-in-Special-Winter-Olympics/articleshow/4126190.cms

London to have 'Olympic university' after 2012 games

LONDON: London will have an "Olympic university" after the 2012 edition of the games are over, a bid to secure a long-term legacy for the 9.3 billion pounds being spent on the event.

According to the official announcement made on Tuesday, the university will be established on the site of the London Olympics 2012.

The facility is likely to be built within the media village once the games are over. It is part of a range of education facilities planned for the site that include a sports-focused secondary school in the Olympic stadium, an arts academy in the Olympic village and three new primary schools.

The plans include proposals to build 10,000 new homes, in addition to 3,000 already being built in the Olympic village.

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, the communities secretary, Hazel Blears, and Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, said in a joint statement that their vision was for "a vibrant, thriving district of new communities surrounded by beautiful parklands and reclaimed waterways, with outstanding sporting, educational and cultural facilities".

They said the main 25,000-seater stadium would be retained to host major international athletics championships, rock concerts and festivals.

There were also plans for the arena to house the national skills academy for sports and leisure industries, and a centre for the English Institute of Sport.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/London_to_have_Olympic_university_after_2012_games/articleshow/4109799.cms?TOI_latestnews

London to have 'Olympic university' after 2012 games

LONDON: London will have an "Olympic university" after the 2012 edition of the games are over, a bid to secure a long-term legacy for the 9.3 billion pounds being spent on the event.

According to the official announcement made on Tuesday, the university will be established on the site of the London Olympics 2012.

The facility is likely to be built within the media village once the games are over. It is part of a range of education facilities planned for the site that include a sports-focused secondary school in the Olympic stadium, an arts academy in the Olympic village and three new primary schools.

The plans include proposals to build 10,000 new homes, in addition to 3,000 already being built in the Olympic village.

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, the communities secretary, Hazel Blears, and Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, said in a joint statement that their vision was for "a vibrant, thriving district of new communities surrounded by beautiful parklands and reclaimed waterways, with outstanding sporting, educational and cultural facilities".

They said the main 25,000-seater stadium would be retained to host major international athletics championships, rock concerts and festivals.

There were also plans for the arena to house the national skills academy for sports and leisure industries, and a centre for the English Institute of Sport.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/London_to_have_Olympic_university_after_2012_games/articleshow/4109799.cms?TOI_latestnews