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Startle Auditory Stimuli Enhance the Performance of Fast Dynamic Contractions
Miguel Fernandez-Del-Olmo ,
* E-mail: mafo@udc.es
Affiliation Learning and Human Movement Control Group, INEF Galicia, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
Dan Río-Rodríguez,
Eliseo Iglesias-Soler,
Rafael M. Acero
Miguel Fernandez-Del-Olmo,
Miguel Fernandez-Del-Olmo Dan Río-Rodríguez Eliseo Iglesias-Soler Rafael M. Acero
Fast reaction times and the ability to develop a high rate of force development (RFD) are crucial for sports performance. However, little is known regarding the relationship between these parameters. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of auditory stimuli of different intensities on the performance of a concentric bench-press exercise. Concentric bench-presses were performed by thirteen trained subjects in response to three different conditions: a visual stimulus (VS); a visual stimulus accompanied by a non-startle auditory stimulus (AS); and a visual stimulus accompanied by a startle auditory stimulus (SS). Peak RFD, peak velocity, onset movement, movement duration and electromyography from pectoralis and tricep muscles were recorded. The SS condition induced an increase in the RFD and peak velocity and a reduction in the movement onset and duration, in comparison with the VS and AS condition. The onset activation of the pectoralis and tricep muscles was shorter for the SS than for the VS and AS conditions. These findings point out to specific enhancement effects of loud auditory stimulation on the rate of force development. This is of relevance since startle stimuli could be used to explore neural adaptations to resistance training.
Citation: Fernandez-Del-Olmo M, Río-Rodríguez D, Iglesias-Soler E, Acero RM (2014) Startle Auditory Stimuli Enhance the Performance of Fast Dynamic Contractions. PLoS ONE 9(1): e87805. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0087805
Editor: Manuel S. Malmierca, University of Salamanca- Institute for Neuroscience of Castille and Leon and Medical School, Spain
Received: August 20, 2013; Accepted: December 30, 2013; Published: January 28, 2014
Copyright: © 2014 Fernandez-del-Olmo et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This work was supported by Xunta de Galicia (CN2012/1702). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Many sports require the ability to quickly react and contract muscles in response to a stimulus. For example, sports such as karate, boxing, or fencing require a rapid, and goal-directed movement as a reaction to the adversary movement, with muscle contraction times below 250 ms [1]–[3]. Under these situations, a high rate of force development (RFD) is crucial in order to achieve high levels of force and speed during the movement, since the maximal RFD determines the force that can be generated in the early phase of muscle contraction [4].
Fast reaction times and RFD are crucial for sport performance, however, little is known regarding the relationship between these parameters. Studies using reaction time paradigms, where subjects are asked to respond to an imperative stimulus, have reported a positive relationship between intensity of the imperative stimulus ("go" cue) and the force achieved during the motor response [5]–[7]. In these experiments, shorter reaction times were followed by a stronger motor response. Importantly, the subjects were asked to perform as quickly as possible but were not given explicit instructions to use maximal force in each response, which could explain the positive relationship between the parameters. In contrast, a recent study, using maximal isometric grip action in response to a "go" visual signal, showed no correlation between reaction times and RFD values [8]. Furthermore, previous studies have recorded motor responses that involve relatively small muscles (i.e. flexion-extension of index finger) and isometric contractions, but not multi-joint exercises, such as a bench press, that involve larger muscles and is performed in an explosive dynamic fashion.
Another important issue that has to be considered is that the nature of the stimulus that induces the motor response could affect the RFD during fast and forceful dynamic contractions. Several studies have suggested that auditory stimuli can enhance motor performance, for example, rhythmic auditory cues are able to induce the H-reflex during vertical jumps, allowing the subject to achieve higher vertical acceleration [9], while loud sounds delivered seconds before the contraction can increase the maximal pull of forearm flexors [10]. The most noticeable interaction between the auditory and motor systems is the startle reaction, where faster reaction times are observed when a startling acoustic stimulus (120 dB) is presented simultaneously with an imperative "go" stimulus [11]. The short reaction time (70 ms) and the unaffected electromyography pattern of the responses suggest that "the whole motor programme can be triggered [by the startle] without the expected command from the cerebral cortex" (Valls-Solé et al. 1999, p. 937). RFD has also been shown to be increased during a maximal isometric grip action when the imperative visual cues were accompanied by a startle auditory stimulus [8]. This could suggest that the ability to achieve the maximal RFD during a voluntary contraction could be affected by the intensity and modality of the imperative cue.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of auditory stimuli of different intensities on the rate of force development and reaction time, during the performance of a concentric bench-press exercise in subjects with resistance training experience, using kinematic and electromyography parameters. Concentric bench-presses were performed by trained subjects in response to three different conditions: a visual stimulus; a visual stimulus accompanied by a non-startle auditory stimulus; and a visual stimulus accompanied by a startle auditory stimulus. We hypothesized that a startle auditory stimulus will induce higher RFD and faster reaction times compared with visual or non-startle auditory stimuli. The validation of this hypothesis would be of relevance since startle stimuli could be used as a novel procedure to explore neural adaptations to resistance training.
Thirteen young males participated in this study (age 25±3 years, height 1.81±6.87 m, weight 82.6±10.95 kg). The subjects were recruited from the Institute of Physical Education and Sport of A Coruña, Spain. All the subjects were healthy, physically active and have been implementing the bench press as an exercise into their training routine for at least the last three years. All subjects provided their written informed consent to participate in this study after being informed of the possible risks of the study. The experimental procedures conformed with the Declaration of Helsinki and were approved by the local ethics committee (Universidade de A Coruña).
Each subject participated in two experimental sessions separated by 1 week. The protocol and the set-up of the experiment are described schematically in Fig. 1.
Figure 1. Experimental set-up and sessions.
(A) Schematic representation of the experimental set-up. Visual stimuli were displayed in front of the subject and auditory and startle stimuli behind the subject's head. (B) Experimental sessions. MVIC = Maximal Voluntary Isometric Contraction; B1 = Baseline block 1; B2 = Baseline block 2.
The first session was conducted in order to determine the individual load for each subject and to achieve the highest mean propulsive power (MPP) during the concentric bench press exercise. When a light or medium load is lifted, a final phase is observed during which athletes apply force in the opposite direction to the load's motion. Thus, acceleration during this final period is lower than the effect of gravity. Therefore, the concentric phase of the movement can be divided into two phases: a propulsive (acceleration (a) higher than a >−9.81 m·s−2) and a braking phase (i.e. a<−9.81 m·s−2). Evaluating the propulsive phase avoids the underestimation of an individual's true neuromuscular potential when lifting light and medium loads [12].
The execution of a concentric bench press has been previously described [12]. Briefly, each subject was instructed to lower the bar to the chest and wait there until hearing the "go" signal from the evaluator. To avoid a rebound effect an interval of 1.5 seconds was used between the position of the bar over the chest and the "go" signal. The subjects were encouraged to lift the load as fast as they can for each repetition. Subjects were not allowed to bounce the bar off their chests or raise the shoulders or trunk off the bench.
The session started with a standardized warm-up that consisted of 5 minutes tempo run at low intensity, 5 minutes of joint mobility and one set of 10 repetitions of a concentric bench press with a 20 kg load. Following the warm-up, the subjects performed several sets of concentric bench presses of 4 repetitions each, with a rest period of 3 minutes. The initial load was set at 15 kg for all the subjects, and was progressively increased in 10 kg increments until the MPP was lower than the previous set. Thereafter, load was adjusted for the following sets by decrements of 5 kg and increments of 1 kg until each individual achieved their highest MPP.
The second session was conducted in order to determine the dynamic, kinematic and EMG parameters of the bench press performed under different conditions. The session started with the standardized protocol used in the first session following the first baseline block (B1). During this block the subjects were asked to perform 10 concentric bench press repetitions (the load was determined in the first experimental session). The initiation of the movement was randomly determined to be either voluntary (VOL condition) or in response to a visual imperative stimulus (VS condition). In the VOL condition the subjects initiated the movement voluntarily without any external imperative signal. The verbal instructions were "initiate the movement when you are ready". The subjects were asked to initiate the movement within a maximum of 4 seconds after the verbal instructions. In the VS condition the subjects initiated the movement in response to a visual imperative stimulus - a white 25 cm2 square displayed on a black computer screen situated vertically in front of the subject's head (Fig. 1A). A warning auditory cue preceded the visual stimulus with a variable period of 2–4 s.
Three minutes later a five seconds maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) was performed by the subjects by pushing the bar away from their chest, during which the maximal electromyography activation of the pectoralis major and triceps muscles was recorded. Five minutes after the MVIC the subjects performed 8 sets of concentric bench presses. In all the sets and repetitions subjects were asked to initiate the movement in response to the visual imperative stimulus. In some trials the onset of the visual stimulus was simultaneous with an auditory-non startle stimulus consisting of a 750 Hz tone burst lasting 30 ms with intensity of 70 dB, while in the other trials the onset of the visual stimulus was simultaneous with a startling auditory stimulus with an intensity of 130 dB. We measured the stimulus intensity of each of the auditory stimuli using a type 2204 Bruel and Kjaer Impulse Precision Sound Level Meter. The subjects were instructed to concentrate on responding to the visual stimulus, regardless of the presence of the auditory stimuli. Each set consisted of 9 repetitions, 3 with only the visual stimulus (VS condition), 3 with the visual and auditory-non startle stimuli (AS condition) and 3 with the visual and startle stimuli (SS condition). The order of the trials was randomized with 3 minutes rest between sets. The first set was used to familiarize the subjects with the procedure and the loud sound and thus, excluded from the analysis.
In order to test whether the seven sets resulted in fatigue, the subjects performed a second baseline block (B2) identical to the first block, 5 minutes after the 7th set.
Kinematic recording
A dynamic measurement system (T-Force System, Ergotech, Murcia, Spain), consisting of cable-extension linear velocity transducers, was used. The cable was positioned in one extreme of the barbell. The T-Force System was connected to a computer using a 14-bit resolution analog-to-digital data acquisition board and integrated with a CED Power1401 amplifier (CED Power1401, Cambridge Electronic Design, Cambridge, UK) to record the barbell displacement in synchronization with the EMG recordings. The frequency sample was 1000 Hz.
The visual stimuli were displayed using Superlab software (Cedrus Corporation, CA, USA). Both auditory stimuli were delivered though a digital pulse (5 v) generated by the CED amplifier and connected to two loud speakers and a magnetic stimulation device. The auditory-non startle stimulus was emitted by the two loud speakers positioned 30 cm behind the subject's head. The startle auditory stimulus was produced by discharging the magnetic stimulus over a metallic platform positioned at a distance of 1 meter behind the subject's head (Fig. 1A), as previously described [12]. In order to synchronize the visual and auditory stimuli, the Superlab software was connected to the CED amplifier using a PCI card.
Electromyography Recording
Electromyography (EMG) activity from the pectoralis major, triceps brachii and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) were recorded during the bench press exercise using Ag-AgCl bipolar surface electrodes. After skin preparation (shaved, abrasion, and cleaning with alcohol), the electrodes were coated with electrolytic gel and fixed over the middle of the muscle belly along the longitudinal axis, and the reference electrode was secured over the acromion of the right scapula. To reduce movement artefacts, the electrodes were taped firmly in place and a bandage was applied to the thigh to avoid cable movements. The electrodes were kept in place throughout the experimental session. The raw signal was amplified and filtered with a band-pass filter of 30–1 kHz (Digitimer, Welwyn Garden City, UK). Signals were digitized at 1000 Hz (CED Power1401, Cambridge Electronic Design, Cambridge, UK) and stored on a laboratory computer for off-line analysis.
The following mechanic variables were recorded using specialized software (T-Force System, Ergotech, Murcia, Spain): Peak velocity (Vmax), peak of rate force development (RFDmax), barbell displacement and movement duration. The T-Force System, automatically calculated the relevant kinematic and kinetic parameters of every repetition, provided real time information on screen and stored data on disk for subsequent analysis. Vertical instantaneous velocity (v) was sampled at a frequency of 1000 Hz. The derived mechanical variables were calculated by the software as follows: displacement was obtained by integration of v data with respect to time; instantaneous RFD output resulted from the differentiation of the vertical applied force with respect to time.
In addition, the onset movement was defined as the time between the visual stimulus and the onset of the barbell movement.
The EMG parameters obtained were the Root Mean Square (RMS), onset latency and burst duration of pectoralis major and triceps brachii, and the time between the pectoralis and triceps burst (pect-tric). The RMS was normalized to the RMS obtained during the MVIC. Onset latency was defined as the time between the visual stimulus and the onset of the EMG activation. The onset and offset of EMG activity were visually determined by an interactive cursor of 1 ms resolution in combination with a rising threshold method using Signal software (Cambridge Electronic Design ltd.).
The movement delay (MD) was defined as the time between the onset of pectoralis EMG and the onset of movement.
The analysis of the three conditions and seven sets was performed using the average values of all the trials. ANOVAs of repeated measured were performed with condition (VS, AS, SS) as a main factor for the following variables: Vmax; RFDmax; onset and duration of movement; barbell displacement; onset latency, duration and RMS of pectoralis and triceps activations. Post-hoc t tests were computed using Sidak correction for multiple comparisons. Wilcoxon test was used to analyze MD and time between pectoralis and triceps activations, since these variables violated the normality assumption necessary to conduct parametric statistical tests.
Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated for each experimental condition to determine the relationship between onset EMG latency activation and the onset of maximal speed and RFD movement.
In order to explore the performance differences between voluntary and visual initiation of movement was and to determine whether seven sets led to fatigue effects, two-way ANOVAs of repeated measured were performed with block (Baseline 1 vs Baseline 2) and condition (VOL vs VS) as factors. The ANOVAs were performed for the variables Vmax and RFDmax. Post-hoc t tests were computed using Sidak correction for multiple comparisons.
All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (SPSS, Chicago, IL). A P value≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Startle effect on movement kinematics
Table 1 shows the mean values for the kinematic and EMG parameters measured for bench presses in each of the three conditions, VS, AS and SS.
Table 1. Kinematic and EMG meaurements.
The analysis of the RFDmax showed a significant main effect for condition (F(2,24) = 7.94, P = 0.002; effect size (EZ) = 0.39; observed power (OP) = 92%). Post-Hoc analysis indicated that the RFDmax during SS condition was significantly higher than during the VS and AS conditions (P = 0.017 and P = 0.003, respectively). No significant difference was found between VS and AS conditions. The analysis of the Vmax showed similar results to the RFDmax (Fig. 2). The ANOVA showed a main effect of condition (F(2,24) = 15.50, P = 0.001; EZ = 0.61; OP = 91%), with significantly higher values of Vmax during the SS condition in comparison with the VS and AS conditions (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001, respectively). No significant differences were found between VS and AS conditions. Figure 3 shows an example of a bench press performance in one representative subject for conditions VS and SS.
Figure 2. Kinematic values during bench press.
Mean values of Vmax (a) and RFDmax (b) for conditions (VS) imperative visual stimulus; (AS) visual plus auditory stimulus; (SS) visual plus startle auditory stimulus.
Figure 3. Bench press performance.
Examples of the bench press performance in one representative subject for the VS (dashed line lines) and SS (solid lines) conditions. RFD, rate of force development; V, velocity. RFD and V are represented in black and grey colors, respectively.
The ANOVA of onset movement showed a significant main effect for condition (F = 55.12, P<0.0001; EZ = 0.84; OP = 100%). The onset movement decreased in the IS+AS condition in comparison with the VS condition (P<0.0001) and this reduction was more pronounced in the presence of the startle stimulus (SS vs AS P<0.0001; SS vs VS P<0.0001). The analysis of the movement duration revealed a significant main effect for condition (F (2,24) = 13.2, P = 0.004; EZ = 0.56; OP = 99%). The movement duration was significantly shorter for the SS than for the VS and AS conditions (P<0.0001 and P = 0.003, respectively).
The onset movement did not correlate with the Vmax or RFDmax.
The analysis of the barbell displacement did not reveal any significant differences across conditions.
Startle effects on EMG characteristics
The EMG recordings indicated a homogeneous pattern of muscle activation during the bench press across the subjects. This pattern was characterized by an initial activation of pectoralis, followed by triceps activation. This pattern of activation remained unaffected across the three experimental conditions. For the SS condition this pattern was accompanied by a burst of the SCM in 70% of the trials (see Fig 4).
Figure 4. EMG recordings.
EMG activity and barbell displacement during the bench press in a subject. (VS) imperative visual stimulus; (AS) visual plus auditory stimulus; (SS) visual plus startle auditory stimulus. Note the sternocleidomastoid burst during the SS condition.
The time between the activation of the pectoralis and triceps did not change significantly between the conditions in contrast with the activation onset latency of the pectoralis (F(2,24) = 54.82 P<0.0001; EZ = 0.86; OP = 100%) and triceps (F = 83.074 P<0.0001; EZ = 0.89; OP = 100%) (Fig.5). The onset latencies were slower in the VS compared with the AS condition (P = 0.001 and P<0.0001 for pectoralis and triceps, respectively) and in the VS compared with SS condition (P<0.0001 for both muscles). In addition, the onset latencies for the SS condition were significantly faster than for the AS condition (P<0.0001 for both muscles). The analysis of the duration of the muscle activation showed a main effect of condition for pectoralis and triceps (F(2,24) = 6.13, P = 0.031; EZ = 0.41; OP = 82% and F(2,24) = 3.61, P = 0.046; EZ = 0.26; OP = 60%), respectively). During the SS the duration of the EMG activations were significantly shorter for both muscles in comparison with the VS (P = 0.03 for the pectoralis and P = 0.041 for the triceps) and the AS (P = 0.03 and P = 0.44 for the pectoralis and triceps respectively).
Figure 5. Schematic representation of the mean EMG pattern and movement displacement during concentric bench press across conditions.
(VS) imperative visual stimulus; (AS) visual plus auditory stimulus; (SS) visual plus startle auditory stimulus; the leftward extent of the bars represents the mean onset latency, the horizontal line shows +1 S.D. The length of the bars represents the duration of the EMG bursts and the movement duration, and the horizontal lines at the right side of the bar show +s.D.
The onset EMG latency activation did not correlate with the Vmax or RFDmax.
Friedman test showed a significant difference of the MD between conditions (P<0.0001) and Wilcoxon tests indicated that the MD during the SS condition was significantly longer than the VS and AS conditions (P = 0.003 for both comparisons).
The analysis of the RMS did not reveal any significant differences across conditions for both muscles.
Baseline blocks
RFDmax comparisons for VOL and VS conditions, before and after the seven sets, showed a main effect of block (F(1, 12) = 6.31, P = 0.027; EZ = 0.34; OP = 64%), condition (F(1,12) = 5.63 P = 0.035; EZ = 0.32; OP = 58%), and block*condition interaction (F (1,12) = 6.97 P = 0.022; EZ = 0.37; OP = 68%). Pos-hoc analysis showed that in Baseline 1 the RFDmax was significantly higher in the VS condition than in the VOL condition (P = 0.005). This difference was absent in the Baseline 2 due to a significant decrease of the RFDmax in the VS condition (P = 0.002). The analysis of the Vmax for the baseline blocks showed a main effect of block (F(1, 12) = 10.46, P = 0.007; EZ = 0.46; OP = 84%) but not a significant effect of condition nor block*condition interaction. The Vmax, grouping all conditions, was significantly lower for baseline 2 in comparison with baseline 1.
The main propose of this study was to explore the effects of auditory startling and non-startling stimuli on rate force development and reaction time during the performance of an explosive dynamic contraction. Our findings show an increase in the RFD and a decrease in reaction time when a startling auditory stimulus was administered together with a visual imperative stimulus, during concentric bench presses. In contrast, this improvement was absent with a non-startling stimulus. These observations point out to specific effects of loud auditory stimulation on the rate of force development.
RFDmax and Vmax
During the concentric bench press exercise RFDmax and Vmax were higher in response to a startling auditory stimulus compared with a non-startling one. This indicates that the subjects were unable to maximally recruit the motor unit pool during a fast dynamic contraction in absence of the startling stimulus. The higher RFDmax and Vmax evoked by the starling stimulus could reflect an additional increment in the recruitment of the motor units and/or their discharge rates. The latter factor seems to be the more plausible since a recent study suggested that the velocities during fast dynamic or ballistic isometric contractions are associated with the motor units discharge rates [13]. Our results expand previous findings that show an startle dependent increase in the RFD during a maximal ballistic isometric grasp action [8], indicating that this enhancement is not constrained to small muscle groups nor to isometric contractions.
A possible mechanism underlying the RFDmax and Vmax improvements is the startle reaction, a reflex reaction generated in the brainstem in response to unexpected stimuli of various modalities, and most commonly to loud acoustic stimuli [14], [15]. In our study, the elicitation of the startle reaction was also observed in the SCM muscle, the best muscle for detection of a startle-related EMG activity [16], [17]. The increases observed in the RFDmax and Vmax may be mediated by the same mechanisms underlying the startle reaction. Previous studies have indicated that the startle reaction involves the giant neurons in the caudal pontine reticular nucleus that connect to interneurons and motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord via the reticulospinal tract [18]. Thus it is likely that the loud stimulus activated the reticulospinal tract, leading to an increase of the discharge rates of motor neurons and resulting in enhanced RFDmax and Vmax.
In addition to the startle reaction, the auditory nature of the stimulus could also enhance the motorneurons excitability due to a decrease in presynaptic inhibition, a phenomenum known as audiospinal facilitation [9]. In line with this idea, audiospinal facilitation could also account for the RFDmax and Vmax increases. However, the audiospinal facilitation is also evoked by non-startling auditory stimuli but in our study there were no differences of the RFDmax and Vmax between the visual and the non-startling auditory conditions. Therefore, it is unlikely that audiospinal facilitation plays a role in the startle induced changes of RFDmax and Vmax.
The results of the movement delay (MD) provide an alternative explanation. The MD was longer for the startle condition in comparison with the visual and auditory non-startling conditions. Although electromechanical delay has been shown to increase as a result of muscle fatigue [19] and to be inversely correlated with rate of force development [20], it is unlikely that both factors account for the MD increase in the startle condition. Muscle fatigue could affect the MD not only during the startle but during all three conditions. In addition, the startling stimulus induces the highest RFD and longest MD. We suggest that the longer MDs are due to an earlier EMG activation that is evoked by the startle reaction. It is plausible that this earlier EMG activation does not reach the minimum intensity in order to overcome the load that is to be lifted, and thus, increases the MD. However, this activation is followed by the voluntary neural drive allowing the subject to initiate the movement. Therefore, the EMG recording during the startle condition could be the summation of the startle reflex and the voluntary response, pre-activating the muscles involved in the task. Two indirect evidences point out to the summation of the reflex and voluntary responses: i) the average duration of the EMG activation of pectoralis during the bench-press was of ∼400 ms, longer than the duration of 200 ms that has been reported [21], thus indicating a voluntary muscle activation and ii) when the subjects were questioned about their perception of the movement, a general impression was that the startle stimulus helped them to accelerate the intended movement. In contrast another study showed that subjects were not aware that the startle stimulus makes them move faster compared with non-startle stimuli during a wrist flexion movement without external load [11]. In the same study the subjects stated that in presence of a startle stimulus, something other than their own will was making them move. It is likely that the startle reaction was enough to initiate and execute the wrist movement in contrast with our study in which a voluntary and "aware" contraction was necessary to perform the bench press movement.
An important question to be addressed is whether the startle stimulus leads to a higher dynamic performance in comparison with a self-initiated movement (as in the VOL condition). In our study, a direct comparison between the SS and VOL conditions could be misleading for the following reasons: i) the values of the SS condition correspond to an average of approximately 24 repetitions vs. 5 repetitions for the VOL condition, and ii) the significant lower values obtained in the second baseline block in comparison with the first one indicated that the 7 sets lead to some form of fatigue. Nevertheless, indirect evidence indicates that the startle condition lead to the highest performance in comparison with the self-initiated movement. The RFD values during the first baseline block were higher for the VS compared with the VOL condition. In addition, RFDmax and Vmax values were higher for the SS compared with the VS condition. These results suggest that a startle auditory stimulus induces performance improvements beyond those that can be achieved by voluntary effort alone.
It should be noted that both Vmax and RFDmax are parameters with high functional significance in fast muscle contractions. The Vmax is considered one of the most important performance criteria of a bench press movement [22], while the RFDmax allows the subject to reach a higher level of muscle force in the early phase of muscle contraction [4]. Although more studies are needed, the startle stimulus could be used as a new paradigm to explore neural adaptations in sports that require explosive movements in addition to different resistance training programs.
Movement duration
During the startle condition the movement duration was reduced without observed changes in the barbell displacement. Our results are in contrast with a previous study in which subjects were asked to respond to an auditory go signal with either a 20°, 40°, or 60° elbow extension to a fixed target from a fixed starting position of 90° of flexion at the elbow [23]. In this study, the startle stimulus did not increase the peak velocity or movement duration for the arm extension action. However, the instructions used emphasized speed and accuracy of movement, which could compromise high speed in benefit of accuracy.
Our findings showing that the startle condition induced the shortest movement duration and the highest Vmax and RFDmax could be due to a stronger activation of the muscles involved in the movement. However, the RMS of the EMG recordings did not reveal any changes across the three conditions, although it is possible that the high variability of the RMS values between subjects could account for the lack of statistical significant differences. The source of this variability may result from the different absolute resistance loads, used to achieve maximal power, across the subjects. Thus, we cannot rule out an increase in the muscle activation as a result of the startle reaction. In addition, the duration of the pectoralis activation was shorter during this condition compared with the visual and non-startling auditory conditions.
Reaction time and EMG pattern
When a non-startling auditory stimulus was presented simultaneously with the visual imperative stimulus, the onset of movement and EMG and activation was reduced. This effect could be attributed to intersensory facilitation, a phenomenon in which the reaction time to a stimulus in one sensory modality is shortened significantly if the reaction stimulus is paired with a stimulus in another modality (an accessory stimulus) that is presented in close temporal proximity [24].
In addition, our study showed that the onset of EMG activation and movement onset in response to a startling stimulus is faster compared to a non-startling stimulus. The onset of EMG activation for both pectoralis and triceps muscles in trials containing SS occurred approximately 140 ms earlier than in trials containing only the VS and 60 ms earlier for non-startling auditory stimuli. A "stimulus-intensity effect", i.e. a decrease in reaction time with an increase in the intensity of a stimulus [25], may explain the decrease in reaction time between the two auditory conditions. However, the magnitude of the reaction time is larger than that expected for the increase in stimulus intensity. This is in line with the observations of Carlsen and colleagues [17], who reported that startle produces early response latencies that are distinct from stimulus intensity effects.
The EMG analysis showed a constant pattern of activation across conditions. Only one subject felt that in presence of the startle stimulus the control of the movement was disturbed. However, in this case as in the rest of the subjects, there was no sign that the startle had disrupted the pattern of the voluntary responses during the startle condition. The short reaction time and unaffected electromyography pattern supports the hypothesis that the startle effect is due to triggering of subcortical motor programmes [11]. Nonetheless, the findings of relatively long activation onsets of the pectoralis (152 ms) and triceps (169 ms) in comparison with the SCM muscle (71 ms) during the startle condition do not support this hypothesis, and the long premotor reaction time speaks against a summation of startle reflex and voluntary drive. However, we should point out that the execution of a bench-press movement may involve associated postural adjustments (APA), due to the lying position and the control of the bar over the chest, that could delay the onset of the muscles that act as a primer movers. It has been reported that these time differences vary from 50 to more than 150 ms according to the task [26], [27]. Therefore, the EMG onset values in our study could be compatible with the hypothesis of a motor program triggered at a subcortical level. Another alternative explanation is that the startle reaction provides sufficient ascending activation via reticulo-thalamo-cortical pathways to involuntarily trigger the prepared response at a cortical level [28].
It is important to note that the onset of EMG activation and the onset of movement were not correlated with Vmax or RFDmax for any experimental condition. This is line with previous studies that did not find a correlation between reaction time and force response [29], [30] indicating that temporal and dynamic aspects of a motor response are independent of each other [31]. Thus, reaction time changes are not necessarily associated with changes in RFD and startle induced facilitation of movement onset, while EMG activation does not account for the increase in the movement dynamics, suggesting that both parameters could reflect different processes involved in a motor response.
In summary, our study shows that a startle auditory stimulus can lead to an increase in the peak of velocity, peak of rate force development and a faster reaction time during an explosive dynamic contraction. Our results suggest that loud auditory stimulation enhances fast dynamic muscle contractions. A startle stimulus could be used as a new paradigm to explore neural adaptations to resistance training.
We thank Noa Fogelson for the revision of the manuscript.
Conceived and designed the experiments: MF RA. Performed the experiments: MF DR EI RA. Analyzed the data: MF DR EI. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: MF. Wrote the paper: MF.
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7. Ulrich R, Rinkenauer G, Miller JO (1998) Effects of stimulus duration and intensity on simple reaction time and response force. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 24: 915–928.
8. Anzak A, Tan H, Pogosyan A, Brown P (2011) Doing better than your best: loud auditory stimulation yields improvements in maximal voluntary force. Exp Brain Res 208 (2): 237–243.
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14. Davis M (1984). The mammalian startle response. In: Eaton R.C., (Ed.), Neural Mechanisms of Startle Behavior. Plenum, New York, 287–342.
15. Gruner JA (1989) Comparison of vestibular and auditory startle responses in the rat and cat. J Neurosci Methods 27: 13–23.
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Electromyography
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Have the Spurs Lost Their Aura?
Although the Spurs have retained head coach Greg Popovich, over the last two seasons they have lost future Hall of Fame power forward Tim Duncan, shooting guard Manu Ginobili, small forward Kawhi Leonard, and point guard Tony Parker.
Paul Pierce, who battled against several of those great San Antonio teams, expressed that the core of the modern-day Spurs rested in those four players, and with all of them gone, the Spurs have lost their identity.
The Spurs have qualified for the postseason in each of the last 21 seasons, the longest streak in all the major American sports leagues, but the Spurs are 9-9 this season and that streak may be in jeopardy.


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Nick Mwendwa Reveals Reasons Behind Late Night Resignation
By Geoffrey Lutta on 1 December 2021 - 7:22 am
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa.
Embattled Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa has detailed why he was compelled to tender his resignation late at night on Tuesday, November 30.
Through a carefully written letter, Mwendwa announced his resignation handing over the football leadership mantle to his Vice President, Doris Petra.
Revealing his reason to step down, Mwendwa noted that he was pushed by the worsening state of his business empires triggered by numerous cases of apprehension and hefty fines.
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) boss Nick Mwendwa speaking at the Kenya Institute Special Education (KISE) on July 5, 2021.
Nick Mwendwa / Facebook
He further added that his family has suffered adverse effects due to the cases of apprehension and prosecution forcing him to tender his resignation letter in the wee hours of the night.
"In light of the foregoing, specifically, the frequent apprehension and detentions, which have adversely affected my family and personal business and whilst I am confident I will be cleared of any wrongdoing in the end," Mwendwa stated.
He added, "I have today(Tuesday) in accordance with Article 42 ( 8 ) of the FXF constitution ( 2017 ) asked my Vice President Madam Doris Petra to assume all functions of the FKF president."
Mwendwa also made it clear that his decision to quit was in the best interest of FKF.
"My decision has been arrived at with the federation's best interest at heart. I want to thank the entire NEC family, for the support you have offered my office and the federation In general, in developing Kenyan football," Mwendwa appreciated his FKF colleagues.
However, he noted that the latest onslaught is a target against his character not about the issues affecting football in the country. Earlier on, Mwendwa had been charged with four counts of fraud after he was cuffed for the second time last week by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and arraigned in court.
The total amount of money Mwendwa and others, who were not present in court, are accused of defrauding FKF is about Ksh 38 million.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges, having failed to have the case against him dismissed. According to the police documents, the offenses took place between 4 March and 31 May this year.
Mwendwa was arraigned in court in Nairobi on Monday having spent the weekend in jail after his re-apprehension on Friday.
The court rejected an objection from Mwendwa's legal team that the case was unfair and that he had his rights violated during Friday's apprehension.
Mwendwa, who has been head of the FKF since 2016, was released following another court appearance on Tuesday and the payment of cash bail of Ksh10 Million.
FKF President Nick Mwendwa.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


L.A. Unified is the nation's second-largest school district and receives funding for each of its half a million students. Where is that money coming from?
They didn't write the lesson plan or instruct Cristopher Bautista's ninth-grade English class. But members of United Teachers Los Angeles were a powerful presence in the classroom where he works at Oakland Technical High School.
Other school districts are watching too — particularly Oakland Unified, where teachers staged a one-day sickout Jan. 18 in preparation for a possible February strike. They too want smaller classes, fewer charters and wages that will allow them to live in their pricey region without having to drive for Uber or pull espresso shots to pay the bills.
In fact, on the same day the Los Angeles walkout ended, the Denver Classroom Teachers Assn. announced that its members had voted to approve their first strike since 1994. And the Fremont Unified District Teachers Assn. in Northern California has reached an impasse in its 2018-19 contract negotiations.
"Winner" and "loser" are difficult concepts to assess in a strike — and resolution — as complicated as the one that roiled the 1,240 schools in the second-biggest district in the nation. UTLA officials wanted limits placed on charter schools; what they got was a little more input regarding shared campuses. Teachers asked for a 6.5% raise; they got 6%.
The union, however, succeeded in shaping the message that blasted off the picket lines. Part of that message was in sync with the nationwide Red-for-Ed movement, which in 2018 swept across West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona; underscored how abysmally teachers are paid; and revealed that in conservative strongholds there is broad public support for education and the people who make it possible.
"The Los Angeles mobilization — and Oakland too — are starting off a slightly different public dialogue than what was caused by the red-state mobilizations," said John Rogers, professor of education at UCLA.
California has more charter schools and more students enrolled in them than any other state. Twenty percent of the students who live within L.A. Unified's boundaries attend the city's 249 charter schools, according to the California Charter Schools Assn. Oakland Unified School District has 83 public schools and has authorized 37 charters, said Keith Brown, president of the Oakland Education Assn.
Myrna Castrejon, president of the California Charter Schools Assn., rejects the union analysis and notes that magnet schools have also proliferated in recent years. State law protects charters, she said, and parents deserve to put their children in the schools they believe will suit them best.
The question, of course, is where the money will come from to invest in education. Throughout the Los Angeles strike, schools Supt. Austin Beutner cried poverty, arguing that L.A. Unified was spending more money than it was bringing in.
Proposition 13 limits property taxes for homes and businesses to 1% of their taxable value. It also prohibits that taxable value from rising more than 2% each year, no matter how much a property's market value rises. The longer a person or business owns a piece of property, the less they pay in taxes compared with market value.
Veronica Carrizales is policy and campaign director for California Calls, a statewide alliance of community organizations that is pushing for the new measure, which is also known as "split-roll." Like many analysts, she argues that the origins of the recently ended strike go back to Proposition 13.
Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., calls that "an urban myth." His organization is behind Proposition 13 and plans an expensive and vigorous campaign to beat back any changes to it.


Accommodation runs the gamut in Addis: brandish your flip-flop and do battle with almighty insects, or sink into a sumptuous suite. It's all up to you, your budget and the strength of your shoes.
Hotel owners quote their rates in a mixture of Birr and US dollars, though all accept payment in Birr. We have quoted prices using the currency the hotel uses. All hotels listed here have hot water unless otherwise indicated.
Around Mike Leyland St and Haile Gebreselassie Rd are plenty of budget hotels, although you should keep your wits about you if venturing out after dark. The midrange hotels in the area generally inhabit more salubrious surrounds.
There are plenty of budget hotels just down the hill from Piazza – con artists are known to hang around waiting for gullible new arrivals but it's not as bad as it used to be.
The Bole area southeast of Addis' centre is where you'll find dozens of midrange hotels. With so many restaurants nearby, it's a good area to base yourself.


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Biofuels Coalition Disappointed in Supreme Court Decision to Overturn Tenth Circuit's RFS Refinery Exemption Ruling
A coalition of renewable fuel and farm groups expressed "extreme disappointment" in today's U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning a 2020 appellate court ruling that struck down three improper small refinery exemptions granted by previous EPA administrators. However, because certain elements of the appellate court ruling were left unchallenged and were not reviewed by the Supreme Court, the groups…
Biofuels Coalition Files Brief in Supreme Court Case
SIOUX FALLS, SD – Today, the Renewable Fuels Association, the American Coalition for Ethanol, the National Corn Growers Association and the National Farmers Union, working together as the Biofuels Coalition, filed their response brief in the Supreme Court case HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC, et al., v. Renewable Fuels Association, et al. In the brief, the coalition argues in support of the challenged…
Farm, Biofuel Leaders Embrace EPA's New Position on Tenth Circuit's Small Refinery Waiver Decision
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is supporting the Tenth Circuit Court's January 2020 decision in Renewable Fuels Association et al. v. EPA. After careful review of the decision, EPA's new leadership agrees with both the court and the biofuel litigants that small refinery exemptions were meant to be temporary and that only pre-existing exemptions may be "extended" by…
ACE Reaction to Trump EPA's Final Refinery Waivers
Sioux Falls, SD (January 20, 2021) – On the eve of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, President Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted three more small refinery exemption (SRE) requests that were pending under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Last week, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) sent a letter to the EPA Inspector General encouraging he ensure that all communications…
Tenth Circuit Court Plaintiffs Respond to Supreme Court Action
The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit's decision in RFA et al. v. EPA, which overturned three inappropriately granted small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The following is a statement from the four co-petitioners in the lawsuit: the Renewable Fuels Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers…
EPA, DOJ Oppose Refiner Request for Supreme Court Review of Tenth Circuit Decision on RFS Exemptions
In a filing submitted yesterday, the Department of Justice recommended against Supreme Court review of the Tenth Circuit Court's ruling earlier this year that invalidated several small refinery exemptions issued by EPA under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The DOJ filing is in response to a petition submitted in September by HollyFrontier Corporation and CVR Energy, in which the oil refiners ask the Supreme…
ACE Welcomes EPA Denying RFS 'Gap-Filling Petitions,' Urges Application of Tenth Circuit Decision Nationwide
Sioux Falls, SD (September 14, 2020) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Agency is denying the retroactive small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions or so-called 'gap-filling petitions' for compliance years 2011 through 2018 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and industry partners have called on EPA to reject the 'gap-year'…
Ethanol Coalition Welcomes Reports of 'Gap-Year' Waiver Petition Denials, Denounces Refiners' Supreme Court Petition
Sioux Falls, SD (September 9, 2020) – The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), National Farmers Union (NFU) and American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) today welcomed news reports that President Trump has directed the Environmental Protection Agency to reject dozens of so-called "gap year" small refinery exemption petitions intended to circumvent the Tenth Circuit…
ACE: Yet Even More Waiver Requests While a Hurting Rural America Continues to Wait for EPA to Correct its RFS Missteps
Sioux Falls, SD (July 16, 2020) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated its Small Refinery Exemption (SRE) dashboard, disclosing the Agency's received six more retroactive SRE petitions or so-called 'gap filings' for compliance years 2011 through 2016 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). EPA unveiled in its June update that the Agency had received 52 new retroactive SRE…
Coalition Opposes API Petition on 2020 RFS Obligations
A coalition of ethanol and farm groups today sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency opposing the American Petroleum Institute's recent petition requesting reconsideration of the 2020 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) final rule. API claims reconsideration of the 2020 RFS rule is necessary in light of the coalition's recent Tenth Circuit court victory that overturned small refinery exemptions…


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Hospitals give payers low marks on image, reputation
Even as health plans tout their ratings of the quality of their hospitals and other providers, it's not surprising that hospitals, at least, are returning the favor. A survey released by Davies Public Affairs measured hospital executives' perceptions of the nation's largest health insurance companies.
United Healthcare generated particularly intense responses among hospital executives. The Minneapolis-based insurer garnered an unfavorable opinion from 91 percent of executives polled. This compares with an average unfavorable rating of 41 percent for all other insurers. Lest you think this is an anomaly, last year 87 percent of participants said United Healthcare was "difficult" or "very difficult" to deal with. Maybe this is just sour grapes for executives who are picking on United Healthcare because it is tight-fisted? But no, that's not the case.
United's "reimbursement rates were not significantly lower than other major payers," says Brandon Edwards, president and chief operating officer of Davies. "They are viewed as untrustworthy and dishonest. This was an unanticipated finding."
Cheryl Randolph, spokeswoman for United Healthcare, says, "While we welcome productive evaluations from our customers and network providers, we are disappointed that this narrow survey fails to fairly represent the good relationships that United Healthcare has with most hospitals." The survey results are based on 113 interview respondents representing more than 500 hospitals, or about 10 percent of all hospitals in the United States.
Source: Davies Public Affairs
To Cure Risk Aversion, Employers Eye Risk Adjustment
Headlines On Deadline…


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Q: I want to automate a audio/video calls of a web application using selenium. Is it posible? If so Can someone share any insight or idea? My requirement is to autonmate a audio/video calls through selenium. Can someone help me in building a framework of audio /video calls automation testing
Scenario:
Its like two user joins a audio/video meeting in common room.
They can perform basic call operations like video audio mute/unmute, screenshare, end call.

A: No Selenium is for UI automation. If you have the web application for your app, you can automate that.
Selenium automates browsers. That's it!
What you do with that power is entirely up to you.
Primarily it is for automating web applications for testing purposes, but is certainly not limited to just that.
Boring web-based administration tasks can (and should) also be automated as well.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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World Fears of ethnic profiling stalk Ethiopia conflict
04:40 25 november 2020
04:40 25 november 2020 Source: bbc.com
Armenia cedes disputed land to Azerbaijan in Karabakh peace deal
Section three deals with ethnic conflict in Ethiopia and section four is about conflict -promoting applications of federalism. In ethnically polarised countries, ethnic group loyalty induces citizens to vote for their ethnic party, which increases ethnic grievance and the probability of civil war (Valfort
Government denies ethnic profiling , but Tigrayans say they have experienced discrimination and feel pessimistic about the future regardless of the conflict 's outcome. An Ethiopian woman who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, prepares a meal in Hamdait village on the Sudan- Ethiopia border in
Some Tigrayans in Ethiopia have described to the BBC how they have been harassed, detained or discriminated against since fighting began in their home region on 4 November.
© Reuters Tens of thousands have fled from Tigray into Sudan because of the fighting, but there are concerns about the treatment of Tigrayans elsewhere in Ethiopia
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has emphasised that the conflict in the northern Tigray region is against a "criminal clique" within the dominant party there, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), but reports from elsewhere in the country suggest there is an ethnic dimension to the crisis.
Humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ethiopia, UN
Thousands are fleeing every day from the Tigray region and the UN says its teams are overwhelmed.At least 27,000 people have so far fled to neighbouring Sudan, and the UN says its teams there are overwhelmed.
The wave of ethnic conflict that has recently swept across partsof Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Africa has led manypolitical observers to fear t CHAPTER ONE Spreading Fear : The Genesis of Transnational Ethnic Conflict .
Fighting between rival ethnic groups in western Ethiopia has displaced 70,000 people, the UN says, with more than 40 killed according to local media. Violence erupted on Friday after gunmen killed four local officials during a visit to neighbouring Oromia region, residents of Benishangul-Gumuz say.
Tigrayans make up around 6% of the Ethiopia's more than 110 million people and many live outside their regional state.
The government has denied that there has been ethnic profiling and said any action carried out against individuals was for justified security reasons.
Some in the security forces have told the BBC that they have been disarmed and ordered to stay at home.
'Hand over your weapon'
One of those was a female officer who had been working as a policewoman for more than 20 years, but was once a member of the TPLF, which was originally a militia force.
She said that two days after the fighting began, she received a call from a superior who asked her to report to the office the next day.
On her arrival she was "ordered to hand over all government property and my firearm".
Anxiety and foreboding as Ethiopia conflict entangles Tigrayans
Gov't denies ethnic profiling, but Tigrayans say they have experienced discrimination and feel pessimistic about future.That is when months of steadily increasing tensions between the federal government and the rulers of the northern Tigray region exploded into open warfare. In the early hours of November 4, the government announced a military operation against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), accusing it of committing treason by attacking a federal army base and commandeering weapons.
an example of an ethnic conflict , but ethnicity is scarcely its distinguishing character-. istic, and a classification as ' ethnic 'does not contribute anything dramatic example of ethnic conflict in Malaysia has been the riot which occurred. after Chinese Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur demonstrated their joy
Causes of ethnic tension and conflict among university students in Ethiopia Abebaw Yirga Adamu PhD student, School of Education, Tampere However, since then it is believed that there have been several ethnic tensions and conflicts in different parts of the country, and also in public universities.
She added that some high-ranking officials, who were also Tigrayan, were given the same strict order.
© Provided by BBC News
The government has not commented on the allegation that police officers have been disarmed because of their ethnicity.
But speaking about the issue in general, Mamo Mihretu, a senor adviser to the prime minister, told the BBC that "taking law-enforcement measures based on ethnicity and identity is something that we take seriously and would condemn - this is not acceptable".
However "there is a clear instruction to the security agencies to take their measures based on risk and actionable intelligence", he said adding that it was aimed at "hardliners - disgruntled and reactionary elements of the TPLF".
© Getty Images Some Ethiopian soldiers have complained that have been singled out because of their ethnicity
Since coming to power in 2018, the prime minister has tried to emphasise national unity while also respecting the identities and rights of the different groups which govern the country's 10 ethnically based federal states.
Ethiopia claims advances, rejects talks in fight with dissident region
Ethiopia's government claimed advances in its battle against the dissident Tigray region on Saturday, while showing no signs of bowing to international pressure for a halt to the conflict that has caused tens of thousands to flee and raised fears of a humanitarian disaster. Hundreds of people are reported to have been killed in the conflict in Africa's second most populous country, while tens of thousands have fled the fighting, crossing to neighbouring Sudan © ASHRAF SHAZLY The UN says a "full-scale humanitarian crisis" is unfolding, with 36,000 people having streamed into neighbouring Sudan during the last two weeks "Our defence forces are curre
… intense ethnic conflict is most often caused by collective fears for the future … and when central authority declines, groups become fearful for their survival…state Poverty and fear for the future provides a fertile ground for ethnic conflict . Politicians (from the far left and the far right) use scare
Ethiopia : Conflict Displacement Situation Report. 23 January 2018. For Public Circulation. A. Timeline The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia has been further exacerbated by an upsurge in conflict around the border areas of Oromia and Somali regions, since early September 2017.
But the fallout from this conflict has exposed the difficulties of maintaining that position.
The BBC has also heard from a federal soldier of 14 years' experience who alleged he and others were singled out because they were Tigrayan in what he described as "shocking" treatment.
He said he was detained in a warehouse by his fellow soldiers with nearly 90 other Tigrayan members of the armed forces. They had their phones confiscated and were "treated as prisoners of war", he alleged.
"It was only the Tigrayans who were disarmed and detained together. So, it's obviously based on our ethnicity," added the soldier, who wanted to remain anonymous.
When those detained challenged the people who were holding them "they said: 'The TPLF attacked our [base in the north] and this order to detain you came from the top'", he told the BBC.
'Disguised Tigrayan accent'
Among those held were veterans of the TPLF's struggle against Marxist dictator Mengistu Hailemariam, who was toppled in 1991. The TPLF then became the dominant political force in the whole country but say they were sidelined by Mr Abiy when he came to power in 2018
Anxiety in Australia as conflict ravages Tigray region of Ethiopia
There are reports of massacres of civilians and a "full-scale humanitarian crisis" in Ethiopia's Tigray region, and at least 50 Australians are stuck in the conflict zone, the ABC has learned.Australians in the Ethiopian diaspora have told the ABC they are worried about the country's continued slide into civil war and the wellbeing of family members not only in the affected Tigray region, but across Ethiopia, amid reports of civilians being massacred.
Others were high-ranking military officials, some of whom had spent time in the African Union force in Somalia, he said.
"I had never imagined those people who had relentlessly served the national army and their country would be treated this way."
He later managed to escape from the warehouse, disguise himself as a civilian and flee to a neighbouring country, from where he spoke to the BBC.
He said that as he was crossing the border, he was careful to hide his Tigrayan accent so as not to arouse suspicion, adding that he fears for the lives of his comrades who he left behind in the warehouse.
© BBC
Others sources have told the BBC that many Tigrayans, who are either current or former members of the armed forces, have been detained or have had their homes searched, and some put under house arrest.
When asked for comment, Chief-of-Staff Gen Berhanu Jula told the BBC that this was "a political matter" and he was not in a position to respond.
This allegation of ethnic profiling is not limited to members of the military and the police.
'Accused of gun running'
A Tigrayan civilian, who asked to remain anonymous fearing for her safety, told the BBC that last week a group of armed people, who appeared to be members of the security forces, came to her home, searched it thoroughly, seized bank statements and took away her father, who makes his living as a driver.
How Abiy Ahmed's Ethiopia-first nationalism led to civil war
Tigray is the last frontier in a battle over the character of the Ethiopian state. Tigray presents a significant challenge to the prime minister's grandiose vision of "Making Ethiopia Great Again" (MEGA). In addition to being an autonomous region with effective control over its territories, it is a battle-hardened region with highly trained troops and access to much of Ethiopia's military arsenal.
She said he was then held for two days and was accused of having "travelled to Tigray with six million birr ($160,000; £120,000) and returning to Addis Ababa with weapons".
She disputed this and said that his work driving tourists took him all over the country. The accusation has now been dropped.
The issue has also allegedly affected some state-run organisations such as the national carrier Ethiopian Airlines.
Several Tigrayan employees there have been forced to take leave until further notice or work from home, sources at the airline told the BBC. Ethiopian Airlines did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
More on the Tigray crisis:
Crisis has engulfed Ethiopia. Here's what it means
Ethiopian conflict fake images fact-checked
Marooned by conflict: 'My little brother needs medicine'
How Ethiopia's conflict could destabilise its neighbours
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) recently said that a police officer asked staff at its branch office in the Amhara region to give details of their employees including birthplaces.
The WFP said the information was not available and then confirmed with the regional police that the request was not part of official policy.
The federal government described reports that this was related to ethnic profiling as "a complete misrepresentation of the event". It said the police officer was acting on specific intelligence that TPLF "operatives [were] embedded and active within various local and international organisations within the country".
It added that the police officer had a list of names and went to the WFP office to see if anyone on the list worked there.
It is clear that the security operation does not only concern what is happening in Tigray itself as the federal authorities are worried about TPLF sympathisers elsewhere.
But people who have spoken to the BBC have said that they have been singled out because of their ethnicity rather than anything they may have done.
Challenge to unity
If the conflict is short-lived then concerns about ethnic tensions may go away but if it proves to be protracted then there are fears that life for Tigrayans outside Tigray may become more difficult.
Despite seeing the TPLF as a blockage in the plan to achieve national unity, the impact of the conflict could prove to be a major challenge to the prime minister's vision of bringing the country together.
"If there is anything that the government is doing, it's to create a society that emphasises the ties that bind all of us," his adviser Mr Mamo told the BBC.
But the conflict in Tigray could threaten that goal.
Rockets target Eritrea capital after Ethiopia declares victory in Tigray .
Rockets launched from Ethiopia's northern Tigray region targeted the capital of Eritrea several hours after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared military operations in the region were over, diplomats told AFP Sunday. It remained impossible to independently verify whether the regional capital Mekele was completely under federal government control, though a military spokesman told AFP operations were proceeding "very well". The US embassyIt remained impossible to independently verify whether the regional capital Mekele was completely under federal government control, though a military spokesman told AFP operations were proceeding "very well".
Why Ethiopia may be marching into guerrilla war
Rockets target Eritrea capital after Ethiopia declares victory in Tigray
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Ethnic federalism and conflict in Ethiopia – ACCORD
Section three deals with ethnic conflict in Ethiopia and section four is about conflict -promoting applications of federalism. In ethnically polarised countries, ethnic group loyalty induces citizens to vote for their ethnic party, which increases ethnic grievance and the probability of civil war (Valfort www.accord.org.za
Government denies ethnic profiling , but Tigrayans say they have experienced discrimination and feel pessimistic about the future regardless of the conflict 's outcome. An Ethiopian woman who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, prepares a meal in Hamdait village on the Sudan- Ethiopia border in www.aljazeera.com
The International Spread of Ethnic Conflict : Fear , Diffusion, and
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India at the Olympics
India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, with a lone athlete Norman Pritchard winning two medals – both silver – in athletics and became the first Asian nation to win an Olympic medal.[1] The nation first sent a team to the Summer Olympic Games in 1920 and has participated in every Summer Games since then. India has also competed at several Winter Olympic Games beginning in 1964. Indian athletes have won 35 medals, all at the Summer Games. For a period of time, the Indian Men's Field Hockey Team was dominant in Olympic competition, winning eleven medals in twelve Olympics between 1928 and 1980. The run included eight gold medals of which six were won consecutively from 1928 to 1956.[2]
India at the
Indian Olympic Association
olympic.ind.in
Ranked 58th
Summer appearances
Winter appearances
Independent Olympic Participants (2014)
1.1 During British Imperial Rule
1.2 Post-independence
1.3 Recent history
2 Olympic Milestones
3 Indian Contingent at Olympics
3.1 Participation in Summer Games
3.2 Participation in Winter Games
4 Medal tables
4.1 Medals by Summer Games
4.2 Medals by Winter Games
4.3 Medals by Sports
4.3.1 Summer
5 List of medalists
6 Multiple Medalists
6.1 Team Sports
6.2 Individual Sports
7 Indian Men's Field Hockey Team at the Summer Olympics
7.1 Olympic Records
7.2 Medal Table
During British Imperial Rule
India team that won the gold medal at 1928 Summer Olympics
Despite being under British rule until 1947, India participated in the Olympic Games separately from the British Olympic Team. India sent its first athlete to the Summer Olympics for the 1900 Games, but an Indian national team did not compete at the Summer Olympics until 1920. Ahead of the 1920 Games, Sir Dorabji Tata and Governor of Bombay George Lloyd helped India secure representation at the International Olympic Committee, enabling it to participate in the Games (see India at the 1920 Olympic Games). India then sent a team to the 1920 Olympics, comprising three athletes, two wrestlers, and managers Sohrab Bhoot and A. H. A. Fyzee. The Indian Olympic movement was then established during the 1920s: some founders of this movement were Dorabji Tata, A.G. Noehren (Madras College of Physical Education), H.C. Buck (Madras College of Physical Education), Moinul Haq (Bihar sports associations), S. Bhoot (Bombay Olympic Association), A.S. Bhagwat (Deccan Gymkhana), and Guru Dutt Sondhi (Punjab Olympic Association); Lt. Col H.L.O. Garrett (from the Government College Lahore and Punjab Olympic Association) and Sagnik Poddar (of St. Stephen's School) helped organise some early national games; and prominent patrons included Maharajas and royal princes such as Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, Ranjitsinhji of Nawanagar, the Maharaja of Kapurthala, and the Maharaja of Burdwan.[3][4][5]
In 1923, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was formed, and in February 1924, the All India Olympic Games (that later became the National Games of India) were held to select a team for the 1924 Summer Olympics. The Indian delegation at the Paris Olympics comprised seven athletes, seven tennis players and team manager Harry Buck.[6]
Indian hockey team at 1936 Berlin Olympics
In 1927, the provisional Indian Olympic Committee formally became the Indian Olympic Association (IOA); its main tasks were to promote the development of sports in India, choose host cities for the national games, and send teams selected from the national games to the Summer Olympics. Thus, at the 1928 national games, it selected seven athletes to represent India at the next Summer Olympics, with Sondhi as manager. By this time, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) had also been established and it sent a hockey team to the Summer Olympics. The national hockey team was similarly sent to the 1932 Games along with four athletes and one swimmer and 1936 Games with four athletes, three wrestlers, one weight-lifter, along with three officials headed by team manager Sondhi. The Indian field hockey team dominated the Olympics from 1928 to 1936 winning an unprecedented three consecutive titles. In the 1928 Summer Olympics final India defeated Netherlands 3–0. It was a great achievement for the fact, that it was the first gold medal won by any nation from Asia at the modern Olympic Games.[7][8] In 1932 Summer Olympics India defeated United States 24–1, the largest margin of victory in Olympics history.[9] In 1936 Summer Olympics final they defeated Germany 8–1, the largest margin of victory ever in an Olympic final.[10]
Post-independence
India scoring their third goal against Britain in the final at the 1948 Olympics
From 1948 onwards, because of the IOA's wider outreach, India began sending delegations of over 50 athletes in several sports, each selected by its sports federation, to the Summer Olympics. The delegation was headed by a chef-de-mission. The Indian field hockey team won a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics by defeating Great Britain in the final. It was the first gold medal for India as an independent nation.[11]
1952 Helsinki Gold Medal winning team with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
At the 1952 Summer Olympics wrestler K. D. Jadhav won the first individual medal for independent India. The Indian field hockey team continued their dominance by winning a sixth straight title by defeating Pakistan in the final of 1956 Summer Olympics. The six straight title wins by the Indian team was an Olympic record at that time in a team event. This record has since been surpassed only by the United States men's and women's basketball teams.
At the 1960 Rome Olympics the hockey team lost the final and had to settle for a silver medal.[12] The team bounced back by winning gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics.[13] But went on to win only bronze medals in the next two Olympics.[14][15] In 1976 Summer Olympics India went home empty handed, the first time since 1924.
Indian hockey team won their record 8th olympic gold at the 1980 Summer Olympics.[16][17] India had to return empty handed in the next three Summer Olympics. At the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, tennis player Leander Paes won a bronze medal at the men's singles event ending a barren run of 16 years without a medal at the Olympics and also became the first individual medalist since 1952.[18]
Sushil Kumar (left) became the first Indian athlete to win multiple individual Olympic medals since independence
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Karnam Malleswari won a bronze medal in the Women's 69 kg weightlifting category. It was the first-ever Olympic medal won by an Indian woman.[19]
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, star shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the silver medal in Men's double trap shooting.[20]
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra won gold in the Men's 10 metre air rifle event becoming the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games.[21] Vijender Singh got the country's first medal in boxing with his bronze medal in Middleweight category. The 3 medal haul for India was the best till that year. Subsequently, the record was bettered to make it the third best performance in history.[22]
The 2012 Summer Olympics saw a record 83-member Indian contingent participating in the games and setting a new best for the country with a total of six medals.[20] Wrestler Sushil Kumar became the first Indian with multiple individual Olympic medals (bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics and silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics) since independence. Saina Nehwal won a bronze medal in badminton in Women's singles, winning the country's first Olympic medal in badminton. Pugilist Mary Kom became the first Indian woman to win a medal in boxing with her bronze medal in Women's flyweight division. Star shooter Gagan Narang won the bronze in men's 10 m air rifle shooting.[23] Vijay Kumar added another medal by winning a silver in men's 25 m rapid fire pistol competition.[24]This was India's best performance till it was overtaken in 2020.
Olympics Bronze medalist Mary Kom with young sportsperson.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, a record number of 118 athletes competed. Sakshi Malik became the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal with her bronze medal in the Women's freestyle 58 kg category.[25] Shuttler P. V. Sindhu won a silver medal in Women's singles badminton, becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal and also the youngest Indian Olympic medalist.[26]
In the 2020 Summer Olympics (held in 2021), India was represented by a new record number of 124 athletes. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu secured a silver in the weightlifting women's category of 49 kg on the opening day, the first time India won a medal on the opening day of any Olympics.[27] A few days later, P. V. Sindhu defeated China's He Bingjiao in the Women's singles badminton bronze medal match in straight games, thus becoming the first Indian woman to win two individual Olympic medals.[28][29] Neeraj Chopra won the gold in Javelin Throw, becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal in track and field and the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold.[30] In Men's Field Hockey, India won a bronze medal. This medal came after a gap of 41 years, having last won a gold medal in Moscow 1980.[31][32] In the wrestling competitions, Ravi Kumar Dahiya won a silver medal and Bajrang Punia won a bronze medal.[33][34] Olympic debutant Lovlina Borgohain took bronze in women's boxing. She became only the second woman to win an Olympic medal in boxing.[35] The haul of 7 medals is the best performance for India in the Olympics history.[36][37][38]
Olympic Milestones
2008 Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra with then Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Somnath Chatterjee.
Athlete/Team
Medal(s)
First Medallist,
First Individual Medallist[39] Norman Pritchard
First Individual Medallist after Independence[40] K. D. Jadhav
First Gold Medallist[41] Men's Field Hockey Team
1928 Amsterdam
First Gold Medallist after Independence[42] Men's Field Hockey Team
First Individual Gold Medallist[43] Abhinav Bindra
2008 Beijing
First Individual Multi-medallist[44][45] Norman Pritchard
First Individual Multi-medallist after Independence[46] Sushil Kumar
First Female Medallist[47] Karnam Malleswari
2000 Sydney
First Female Multi-medallist[48] P. V. Sindhu
Indian Contingent at Olympics
Following lists provide a comparative compendium of the number of participants from India in the Summer and Winter Olympic games.
Participation in Summer Games
1900 Paris 1 1 0 1 —
1904 St. Louis did not participate
1912 Stockholm
1920 Antwerp 2 5 0 5 +5
1924 Paris 2 12 2 14 +9
1928 Amsterdam 2 22 0 22 +8
1932 Los Angeles 3 20 0 20 −2
1936 Berlin 4 27 0 27 +7
1948 London 10 79 0 79 +52
1952 Helsinki 11 60 4 64 −15
1956 Melbourne 8 58 1 59 −5
1960 Rome 6 45 0 45 −14
1964 Tokyo 8 52 1 53 +8
1968 Mexico City 5 25 0 25 −28
1972 Munich 7 40 1 41 +16
1976 Montreal 2 20 0 20 −21
1980 Moscow 4 58 18 76 +56
1984 Los Angeles 5 38 10 48 −28
1988 Seoul 10 39 7 46 −2
1992 Barcelona 12 44 9 53 +7
1996 Atlanta 13 45 4 49 −4
2000 Sydney 13 46 19 65 +16
2004 Athens 14 48 25 73 +8
2008 Beijing 12 31 25 56 −17
2012 London 13 60 23 83 +27
2016 Rio de Janeiro 15 63 54 117 +34
2020 Tokyo 18 70 54 124 +7
2024 Paris future event
Participation in Winter Games
1964 Innsbruck 1 1 0 1 —
1968 Grenoble 1 1 0 1 0
1972 Sapporo did not participate
1980 Lake Placid
1984 Sarajevo
1988 Calgary 1 2 1 3 +3
1992 Albertville 1 2 0 2 −1
1994 Lillehammer did not participate
1998 Nagano 1 1 0 1 +1
2002 Salt Lake City 1 1 0 1 0
2006 Turin 3 3 1 4 +3
2010 Vancouver 3 3 0 3 −1
2014 Sochi 2 2 0 2[a] −1
2018 Pyeongchang 2 2 0 2 0
2022 Beijing 1 1 0 1 −1
2026 Milan–Cortina future event
Medal tables
See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table
Medals by Summer Games
Gold Silver Bronze
1900 Paris 1 0 2 0 2 17
1920 Antwerp 6 0 0 0 0 -
1924 Paris 14 0 0 0 0 -
1928 Amsterdam 21 1 0 0 1 23
1932 Los Angeles 20 1 0 0 1 19
1936 Berlin 27 1 0 0 1 20
1948 London 79 1 0 0 1 22
1952 Helsinki 64 1 0 1 2 26
1956 Melbourne 59 1 0 0 1 24
1960 Rome 45 0 1 0 1 32
1964 Tokyo 53 1 0 0 1 24
1968 Mexico City 25 0 0 1 1 42
1972 Munich 41 0 0 1 1 43
1976 Montreal 20 0 0 0 0 -
1980 Moscow 76 1 0 0 1 23
1984 Los Angeles 48 0 0 0 0 -
1988 Seoul 46 0 0 0 0 -
1992 Barcelona 53 0 0 0 0 -
1996 Atlanta 49 0 0 1 1 71
2000 Sydney 65 0 0 1 1 71
2004 Athens 73 0 1 0 1 65
2008 Beijing 56 1 0 2 3 50
2016 Rio de Janeiro 117 0 1 1 2 67
2020 Tokyo 124 1 2 4 7 48
Medals by Winter Games
1964 Innsbruck 1 0 0 0 0 -
1968 Grenoble 1 0 0 0 0 -
1988 Calgary 3 0 0 0 0 -
1992 Albertville 2 0 0 0 0 -
1998 Nagano 1 0 0 0 0 -
2002 Salt Lake City 1 0 0 0 0 -
2006 Turin 4 0 0 0 0 -
2010 Vancouver 3 0 0 0 0 -
2014 Sochi 2[a] 0 0 0 0 -
2018 Pyeongchang 2 0 0 0 0 -
2022 Beijing 1 0 0 0 0 -
a A total of 3 athletes qualified from India but Shiva Keshavan had to participate as an Independent Olympic Participant due to an ongoing suspension of Indian Olympic Association which was reinstated during the course of 2014 Games.
Medals by Sports
Leading in that Sport
Field hockey 8 1 3 12
Shooting 1 2 1 4
Athletics 1 2 0 3
Wrestling 0 2 5 7
Badminton 0 1 2 3
Weightlifting 0 1 1 2
Boxing 0 0 3 3
Tennis 0 0 1 1
List of medalists
Name/Team
Silver Norman Pritchard
Athletics Men's 200 metres 22 July 1900
Athletics Men's 200 metre hurdles 16 July 1900
Men's Field Hockey Team
Dhyan Chand
Michael Gateley
William Goodsir-Cullen
Leslie Hammond
Feroze Khan
George Marthins
Rex Norris
Broome Pinniger
Michael Rocque
Frederic Seaman
Ali Shaukat
Jaipal Singh
Sayed Yusuf
Kher Singh Gill
Field hockey Men's competition 26 May 1928
Muhammad Aslam
Lal Bokhari
Frank Brewin
Richard Carr
Arthur Hind
Sayed Jaffar
Masud Minhas
Gurmit Singh Kullar
Roop Singh
William Sullivan
Carlyle Tapsell
Field hockey Men's competition 11 August 1932
Ali Dara
Lionel Emmett
Peter Fernandes
Joseph Galibardy
Earnest Goodsir-Cullen
Mohammed Hussain
Ahmed Khan
Ahsan Mohomed Khan
Mirza Masood
Cyril Michie
Baboo Nimal
Joseph Phillips
Shabban Shahab-ud-Din
Gurcharan Singh Grewal
Leslie Claudius
Keshav Dutt
Walter de Sousa
Lawrie Fernandes
Ranganathan Francis
Gerry Glackan
Akhtar Hussain
Patrick Jansen
Amir Kumar
Kishan Lal
Leo Pinto
Jaswant Singh Rajput
Latif-ur Rehman
Reginald Rodrigues
Balbir Singh Sr.
Randhir Singh Gentle
Grahanandan Singh
K. D. Singh
Trilochan Singh
Maxie Vaz
Meldric Daluz
Chinadorai Deshmutu
Raghbir Lal
Govind Perumal
Muniswamy Rajgopal
C. S. Dubey
Udham Singh
Dharam Singh
Chaman Singh Gurung
Field hockey Men's competition 24 July 1952
Bronze K. D. Jadhav
Wrestling Men's freestyle Bantamweight 23 July 1952
Haripal Kaushik
Shankar Lakshman
O. P. Malhotra
Amit Singh Bakshi
Raghbir Singh Bhola
Hardyal Singh
Balkrishan Singh
Gurdev Singh
Bakshish Singh
Charles Stephen
1956 Melbourne
Field hockey Men's competition 6 December 1956
Joseph Antic
Jaman Lal Sharma
Mohinder Lal
John Peter
Govind Sawant
Charanjit Singh
Jaswant Singh
Joginder Singh
Prithipal Singh
1960 Rome
Field hockey Men's competition 9 September 1960
Bandu Patil
Darshan Singh
Gurbux Singh
Harbinder Singh
Balbir Singh Kullar
Rajendran Christie
Field hockey Men's competition 23 October 1964
Krishnamurty Perumal
Inam-ur Rahman
Munir Sait
Ajitpal Singh
Balbir Singh Kular
Balbir Singh
Harmik Singh
Inder Singh
Tarsem Singh
1968 Mexico City
B. P. Govinda
Charles Cornelius
Manuel Frederick
Michael Kindo
V. J. Philips
M. P. Ganesh
Harcharan Singh
Kulwant Singh
Mukhbain Singh
Virinder Singh
Vece Paes
1972 Munich
Field hockey Men's competition 10 September 1972
Vasudevan Baskaran
Bir Bahadur Chettri
Sylvanus Dung Dung
Mervyn Fernandis
Zafar Iqbal
Maharaj Krishan Kaushik
Charanjit Kumar
M. M. Somaya
Allan Schofield
Mohammed Shahid
Davinder Singh
Gurmail Singh
Amarjit Singh Rana
Rajinder Singh Jr.
Ravinder Pal Singh
Surinder Singh Sodhi
1980 Moscow
Bronze Leander Paes
Tennis Men's singles 3 August 1996
Bronze Karnam Malleswari
Weightlifting Women's 69 kg 19 September 2000
Silver Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Shooting Men's double trap 17 August 2004
Gold Abhinav Bindra
Shooting Men's 10 m air rifle 11 August 2008
Bronze Vijender Singh
Boxing Middleweight 20 August 2008
Bronze Sushil Kumar
Wrestling Men's freestyle 66 kg 21 August 2008
Silver Vijay Kumar
Shooting Men's 25 m rapid fire pistol 3 August 2012
Silver Sushil Kumar
Bronze Saina Nehwal
Badminton Women's singles 4 August 2012
Bronze Mary Kom
Boxing Women's flyweight 8 August 2012
Bronze Gagan Narang
Shooting Men's 10m air rifle 30 July 2012
Bronze Yogeshwar Dutt
Silver P. V. Sindhu
Badminton Women's singles 19 August 2016
Bronze Sakshi Malik
Wrestling Women's freestyle 58 kg 17 August 2016
Gold Neeraj Chopra
Athletics Men's javelin throw 7 August 2021[49]
Silver Saikhom Mirabai Chanu
Weightlifting Women's 49 kg 24 July 2021
Silver Ravi Kumar Dahiya
Wrestling Men's freestyle 57 kg 5 August 2021
Bronze P. V. Sindhu
Bronze Lovlina Borgohain
Boxing Women's welterweight 4 August 2021
Dilpreet Singh
Rupinder Pal Singh
Surender Kumar
Manpreet Singh
Hardik Singh
Gurjant Singh
Simranjeet Singh
Harmanpreet Singh
Lalit Upadhyay
P. R. Sreejesh
Nilakanta Sharma
Shamsher Singh
Varun Kumar
Birendra Lakra
Amit Rohidas
Vivek Prasad
Field hockey Men's tournament 5 August 2021
Bronze Bajrang Punia
Multiple Medalists
Field hockey 1948–1960 3 1 0 4
Richard James Allen
Jaswant Rai
Krishnamurthy Perumal
Norman Pritchard
Athletics 1900 0 2 0 2
Wrestling 2008–2012 0 1 1 2
P. V. Sindhu
Badminton 2016–2020 0 1 1 2
Indian Men's Field Hockey Team at the Summer Olympics
Indian field hockey team at the 1948 London Olympics
Most matches played : 134
Most wins : 83
Most goals scored : 458
Least goals conceded in a single tournament:[50] 0,
1928 Amsterdam &
1956 Melbourne, Men's tournament
Biggest margin of victory :
1932 Los Angeles, Men's tournament
Biggest margin of victory at an Olympic final :
1936 Berlin, Men's tournament
Biggest winning streak : 30–0,
1928 Amsterdam –
1960 Rome, Men's tournament
Most goals scored in a single tournament : 43,
1980 Moscow, Men's tournament
Most back-to-back titles : 6
Gold medals,
Most goals scored by a single player in a match : 10 goals by Roop Singh v/s
Most goals scored by a single player in an Olympic final : 5 goals by Balbir Singh Sr. vs
1952 Helsinki, Men's tournament
Most consecutive medals won : 10 medals, (7
Gold, 1
Silver, 2
Bronze),
1972 Munich, Men's tournament
Most appearances in total : 21
Most consecutive appearances : 18,
2004 Athens, Men's tournament
Most titles won : 8
Most medals won : 12 (8
Bronze), Men's tournament
Indian postal stamp, 1972
1908 London Did not enter
1920 Antwerp Did not enter
1976 Montreal 7th[51]
1984 Los Angeles 5th
1988 Seoul 6th
1992 Barcelona 7th
1996 Atlanta 8th
2000 Sydney 7th
2004 Athens 7th
2008 Beijing Did not qualify
2012 London 12th
2016 Rio de Janeiro 8th
Sport in India
List of flag bearers for India at the Olympics
India at the Paralympics
India at the World Games
India at the Asian Games
India at the Commonwealth Games
India at the Lusofonia Games
India at the South Asian Games
Olympic Gold Quest
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