Latest news with #SeoulOlympics
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Boxer Simranjit Kaur turns pro; signed by Roy Jones Jr.
New Delhi: Punjab's Simranjit Kaur Baath has become the latest Indian boxer to take the leap into professional boxing, signing to be coached by former American professional boxer and 1988 Seoul Olympics silver medallist Roy Jones Jr. While at least two Indian male boxers -- Nishant Dev and Amit Panghal -- have turned pro this year, Simranjit becomes the first Indian female pugilist in 2025 to do so. The 29-year-old, who competes in the light welterweight category (60-63kg), was part of the Indian team at the Tokyo Olympics, where she reached the round of 16. Previously, Laishram Sarita Devi had made the switch in 2016 while keeping her amateur eligibility intact. Though the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) had earlier discouraged several active boxers from participating in both amateur and professional circuits, a 2019 policy shift allowed them to return to amateur competitions despite turning professional. With Indian boxing struggling to deliver consistent results at the global level and Olympics recently, more athletes are now considering the professional route in a bid to balance the commercial viability and their Olympics dreams. At the amateur level, Simranjit has a bronze at the 2018 World Championships, silver at the 2019 Asian Championships and another bronze in the 2021 edition. Her amateur record stands at 16 wins and 10 losses. Although she's on a three-bout losing streak, she sees professional boxing as an opportunity for reinvention. 'I had been thinking about going pro for a year or so but I wasn't getting the right promoters. Thankfully, I have done enough to impress Roy and I couldn't have asked for a better promotion and coach,' Simranjit told HT. Her pro deal was brokered by Mandeep Jangra, who will be doubling up as her manager. Jangra silver medallist at the 2013 Asian Championships and 2014 Commonwealth Games. Since turning professional in 2021, Jangra has registered a 12-1-0 record and won the WBF super featherweight world title in 2024. Impressed by Simranjit's grit and fitness, Jangra introduced her to Roy Jones Jr. in Florida. Roy vetted her thoroughly for months -- putting her through training and sparring rounds -- before officially signing her on. Simranjit was initially hesitant of making the switch but the commercial viability and potential financial success made her make the call. 'There is only so much one can earn and sustain with by being in the amateur circuit,' Simanjit said on why multiple Indian boxers are considering pro boxing. 'I haven't really closed the door on amateur boxing but I am focused on the training needed for pro boxing. I am aware that won't be able to dedicate the time and preparation needed for national camps in the meanwhile.' While she is expected to make her debut in a couple of months, Jangra said that a potential pro boxing event in India in collaboration with Roy is in the works for September. He added, 'I don't want to be the only one doing this. I want an entire India contingent to build up here in the US. Simranjit has what it takes. She can last in those two-minute rounds and give the boxers a run for their money. She's tough and she knows how to bounce back after being hit.'
Korea Herald
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Korea Herald
Olympic statues get annual bath
With spring just around the corner, Songpa-gu Office kicked off its annual cleaning of the 51 monuments commemorating the 1988 Seoul Olympics near Jamsil Sports Complex on Wednesday. The statues, covered in a layer of dust since their last wash about a year ago, were thoroughly cleaned.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What is hantavirus? The disease that killed Gene Hackman's wife
When Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, speculation over what could have been the cause of their deaths was rife. The authorities quickly ruled out foul play; the actor's daughters suspected a possible carbon monoxide leak. Within days, US reporting revealed Arakawa had been found in the bathroom near a countertop scattered with prescription pills (they were later found to be thyroid medication, and are said to have played no role in her death). Few could have predicted, though, that autopsies would eventually reveal Hackman died of heart failure a week after his wife, who had contracted hantavirus, a potentially life-threatening rodent-borne disease. Hantavirus will likely have been unknown to most people in the UK before this week, though in the US it's more common. In America, there are often signs telling people to beware of hantavirus in hotspot areas. A group of zoonotic diseases (meaning they can, in rare cases, spread from animals to humans), hantaviruses are carried in some mice, rats and voles, and tend to spread through their urine. Skip to What is hantavirus? How do you catch hantavirus? Does hantavirus exist in the UK? What are symptoms of hantavirus? Hantaviruses are a group of viruses that circulate in rodents. The types of hantavirus you could be exposed to will differ depending on where you are in the world, as certain species of rodent carry certain strains of hantavirus. This also means the symptoms will differ in the small number of humans who contract the virus, as different strains cause different immune responses. 'In America, there are several types of hantavirus – some are more dangerous to people than others,' says Professor Malcolm Bennett, an expert in zoonoses from rodents at Nottingham University. In Eurasia, he says, one of the most common hantaviruses is known as 'Seoul virus' because 'it was first found in rats in Seoul during the Seoul Olympics'. Seoul virus (which affects the kidneys rather than the lungs when contracted by humans) is found in brown rats worldwide. 'That's the one we have in the UK,' he says. 'There are other hantaviruses found in the UK in voles, but they don't seem to infect people. And most of these viruses don't cause disease in people – [they] don't jump species.' Rodents carrying hantavirus are infected 'for life', though if you had a pet rat or mouse which was infected (which is possible – it isn't only wild rodents that carry the disease) it wouldn't be obvious they had it as the rodents themselves don't tend to be symptomatic. It is most often found in wild rodents, though, and tends to appear in clusters. 'You'll suddenly have a hotspot,' explains Bennett, as the virus 'circulates in breeding areas'. If a rodent is carrying the virus, it could be contractable via their urine. If a pet rat or mouse has the virus, you could catch it when clearing out their cage as the dried urine becomes an aerosol when you sweep it up. What is more likely (and much more so, Bennett says, in America than in Britain) is that you would be exposed to the urine of a wild rodent when clearing out, say, a shed or a basement. 'You might be sweeping out a shed and the dust blows up and you inhale that,' he says. In America, where it's still relatively rare – as of the end of 2022, just 864 cases of the virus had been reported since the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began tracking it in 1993 – hantavirus tends to be carried by 'deer mice', says Dr Chris Smith, a consultant virologist and lecturer at Cambridge University. '[Deer mice] are common in certain geographies, including various places in the US. 'The mice shed the virus in faeces and urine. When people clear it up, the viral particles become airborne and are breathed in, causing hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.' Regular exposure to the virus will make it more likely you will contract it. 'You need to be frequently infected before you get [the] disease,' says Bennett. 'The more constant your exposure the more likely you are to become infected. It's like Covid – if you're with lots of people who have it, you'll get it.' That's not to say that if you're exposed to the virus you will definitely fall ill. 'Surveys suggest that more people have been infected and have antibodies than have knowingly had [the] disease,' he says. The only form of hantavirus found in the UK that can infect humans is the Seoul virus, says Bennett. It is found in brown rats – both wild and (very occasionally) pet ones. '[It can] get to pet rats through contamination from wild rats,' he says, adding: 'not every wild rat has it.' Still, it is extremely rare that the virus will be contracted by humans at all. And you couldn't, it's important to note, get it from house mice. 'We've never found any viruses in house mice,' he says. Nor have experts found hantavirus in 'voles or wood mice'. 'I've been part of groups that have been out and looked and we find hantaviruses in some wild voles, but they're the ones which don't seem to infect people.' If a human contracts hantavirus, the symptoms will differ depending on which strain you have been in contact with, which also depends on where in the world you are. In the US, the most common reaction is a pulmonary syndrome – a potentially fatal condition which affects the lungs. The CDC says symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome usually begin to show one to eight weeks after coming into contact with an infected rodent. 'Your lungs fill up with fluid and it's a very high mortality rate,' says Bennett. The virus begins with flu-like symptoms, but the deterioration can be 'pretty rapid', he says, as the capillaries in the lungs begin to leak. 'You die because there is an immune reaction to the virus in your lungs.' The form of hantavirus most common in Europe and Asia tends to affect the kidneys. Seoul virus causes a renal syndrome – usually, according to the CDC, coming on one to two weeks after exposure. Initial symptoms begin suddenly and include intense headaches, back and abdominal pain, fever and blurred vision. It's possible to have a mild case which clears up quickly, in which case you would likely never know you had contracted the virus. But if you fell seriously ill, Bennett says, it would be clear that you had some kind of kidney infection, so your GP would simply test your blood, send it off and discover the hantavirus. When caught, doctors will treat the symptoms of the virus. Most often, this will just involve supportive care, such as hydration. In the most severe cases, this could mean intubation for a pulmonary syndrome, or dialysis for a renal syndrome. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
08-03-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
What is hantavirus? The disease that killed Gene Hackman's wife
When Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, speculation over what could have been the cause of their deaths was rife. The authorities quickly ruled out foul play; the actor's daughters suspected a possible carbon monoxide leak. Within days, US reporting revealed Arakawa had been found in the bathroom near a countertop scattered with prescription pills (they were later found to be thyroid medication, and are said to have played no role in her death). Few could have predicted, though, that autopsies would eventually reveal Hackman died of heart failure a week after his wife, who had contracted hantavirus, a potentially life-threatening rodent-borne disease. Hantavirus will likely have been unknown to most people in the UK before this week, though in the US it's more common. In America, there are often signs telling people to beware of hantavirus in hotspot areas. A group of zoonotic diseases (meaning they can, in rare cases, spread from animals to humans), hantaviruses are carried in some mice, rats and voles, and tend to spread through their urine. Skip to What is hantavirus? How do you catch hantavirus? Does hantavirus exist in the UK? What are symptoms of hantavirus? What is hantavirus? Hantaviruses are a group of viruses that circulate in rodents. The types of hantavirus you could be exposed to will differ depending on where you are in the world, as certain species of rodent carry certain strains of hantavirus. This also means the symptoms will differ in the small number of humans who contract the virus, as different strains cause different immune responses. 'In America, there are several types of hantavirus – some are more dangerous to people than others,' says Professor Malcolm Bennett, an expert in zoonoses from rodents at Nottingham University. In Eurasia, he says, one of the most common hantaviruses is known as 'Seoul virus' because 'it was first found in rats in Seoul during the Seoul Olympics'. Seoul virus (which affects the kidneys rather than the lungs when contracted by humans) is found in brown rats worldwide. 'That's the one we have in the UK,' he says. 'There are other hantaviruses found in the UK in voles, but they don't seem to infect people. And most of these viruses don't cause disease in people – [they] don't jump species.' Rodents carrying hantavirus are infected 'for life', though if you had a pet rat or mouse which was infected (which is possible – it isn't only wild rodents that carry the disease) it wouldn't be obvious they had it as the rodents themselves don't tend to be symptomatic. It is most often found in wild rodents, though, and tends to appear in clusters. 'You'll suddenly have a hotspot,' explains Bennett, as the virus 'circulates in breeding areas'. How do you catch hantavirus? If a rodent is carrying the virus, it could be contractable via their urine. If a pet rat or mouse has the virus, you could catch it when clearing out their cage as the dried urine becomes an aerosol when you sweep it up. What is more likely (and much more so, Bennett says, in America than in Britain) is that you would be exposed to the urine of a wild rodent when clearing out, say, a shed or a basement. 'You might be sweeping out a shed and the dust blows up and you inhale that,' he says. In America, where it's still relatively rare – as of the end of 2022, just 864 cases of the virus had been reported since the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began tracking it in 1993 – hantavirus tends to be carried by 'deer mice', says Dr Chris Smith, a consultant virologist and lecturer at Cambridge University. '[Deer mice] are common in certain geographies, including various places in the US. 'The mice shed the virus in faeces and urine. When people clear it up, the viral particles become airborne and are breathed in, causing hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.' Regular exposure to the virus will make it more likely you will contract it. 'You need to be frequently infected before you get [the] disease,' says Bennett. 'The more constant your exposure the more likely you are to become infected. It's like Covid – if you're with lots of people who have it, you'll get it.' That's not to say that if you're exposed to the virus you will definitely fall ill. 'Surveys suggest that more people have been infected and have antibodies than have knowingly had [the] disease,' he says. Does hantavirus exist in the UK? The only form of hantavirus found in the UK that can infect humans is the Seoul virus, says Bennett. It is found in brown rats – both wild and (very occasionally) pet ones. '[It can] get to pet rats through contamination from wild rats,' he says, adding: 'not every wild rat has it.' Still, it is extremely rare that the virus will be contracted by humans at all. And you couldn't, it's important to note, get it from house mice. 'We've never found any viruses in house mice,' he says. Nor have experts found hantavirus in 'voles or wood mice'. 'I've been part of groups that have been out and looked and we find hantaviruses in some wild voles, but they're the ones which don't seem to infect people.' What are symptoms of hantavirus? If a human contracts hantavirus, the symptoms will differ depending on which strain you have been in contact with, which also depends on where in the world you are. In the US, the most common reaction is a pulmonary syndrome – a potentially fatal condition which affects the lungs. The CDC says symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome usually begin to show one to eight weeks after coming into contact with an infected rodent. 'Your lungs fill up with fluid and it's a very high mortality rate,' says Bennett. The virus begins with flu-like symptoms, but the deterioration can be 'pretty rapid', he says, as the capillaries in the lungs begin to leak. 'You die because there is an immune reaction to the virus in your lungs.' The form of hantavirus most common in Europe and Asia tends to affect the kidneys. Seoul virus causes a renal syndrome – usually, according to the CDC, coming on one to two weeks after exposure. Initial symptoms begin suddenly and include intense headaches, back and abdominal pain, fever and blurred vision. It's possible to have a mild case which clears up quickly, in which case you would likely never know you had contracted the virus. But if you fell seriously ill, Bennett says, it would be clear that you had some kind of kidney infection, so your GP would simply test your blood, send it off and discover the hantavirus. When caught, doctors will treat the symptoms of the virus. Most often, this will just involve supportive care, such as hydration. In the most severe cases, this could mean intubation for a pulmonary syndrome, or dialysis for a renal syndrome.
