Olympics 2020/2021 : Discussion & Predictions

[slaman29]

I am looking forward to the handball tournament at the Olympics. Even if Croatia isn't participating, Olympic handball is always highly entertaining. The Swedes and Danes are in the same group and they will battle it out for the 1st place. I don't see Bahrein, Japan, or Egypt being noteworthy opponents. Portugal could be tricky, but should be beatable by the Scandinavians. The other group is much stronger with France, Germany, Spain, and Norway. 

This has got to be the third time in recent times I've seen someone talk about handball a lot:) Saw a few video clips online, it's not bad, and for sure not an easy sport I think my elbow and arm would die after 5 minutes. But is it really so big over there like to people play it regularly with each other like football? Trying to understand why it's so popular!:)

[joker_josue]

This has got to be the third time in recent times I've seen someone talk about handball a lot:) Saw a few video clips online, it's not bad, and for sure not an easy sport I think my elbow and arm would die after 5 minutes. But is it really so big over there like to people play it regularly with each other like football? Trying to understand why it's so popular!:)

In northern countries, indoor games are very famous, because it is not always easy to play abroad because of bad weather. Mainly 100 years ago, where the climate was not so unbalanced.

I think the baseball, for example, was how it was created.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball#Creation

[LUCKMCFLY]

Hello guys, today there is a better outlook for the Olympic Games so little time to start, many are supporting the start and not the cancellation of them despite the increases in infected, as in the USA that have already left 4 contaminated athletes, which it's a very sad thing.

Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto was asked at a news conference if the Games might still be cancelled and admitted he would continue to monitor infection numbers.

“We will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases,” Muto said.

“We have agreed that based on the coronavirus situation, we will convene five-party talks again. At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises.”

A spokesperson for the Games though released a later statement after Muto’s comments, reaffirming: “We are concentrating 100% on delivering successful Games”.

Currently there have been 67 positive Covid cases among those accredited for the Tokyo Olympics.

Olympics chief Thomas Bach revealed “doubts” and “sleepless nights” over the postponed Games on Tuesday.

Source: https://www.foxsports.com.au/tokyo-olympics-2021/tokyo-olympics-covid-cases-updates-news-cancellation-postponed-reaction-covid19-christian-eriksen-health/news-story/f84855db98185dfd557681113ce14ad4

There are many things that have happened to me, personally if I want the fair to pass, in addition to the fact that in my country it starts at 5:45 am, I don't want to get up early but I really want to see that inauguration, more because I know something allusive to Goku.

[KTChampions]

I'm looking forward to the weightlifting competition and my favorite is New Zealand 
As you know, a transgender will perform at this Olympiad for the first time (in fact, not for the first time, but it was previously prohibited). Therefore, I think this "woman" will easily defeat her rivals and set several new records.
And I will also watch with great interest the reaction of other girls - is there anyone who openly oppose this?

Weightlifting is tournament where half of results change after few years because of positive doping tests .
About transgender, I think it's not fair that she or he (don't know how I should call that athlete) is allowed to participate with women.
And at the same time athletes like Caster Semenya aren't allowed to participate bause she have too much testosterone...

The results are changing not only in weightlifting, I follow the results of the 2012 Winter Olympics in Russia and a lot has changed there, some athletes have risen by 2-3 positions.
As for transgender people, I agree with you, this is an absurd decision - in my opinion they should participate in competitions based on their biological sex and not gender, which can be changed 100 times a day.

[Pmalek]

This has got to be the third time in recent times I've seen someone talk about handball a lot:) Saw a few video clips online, it's not bad, and for sure not an easy sport I think my elbow and arm would die after 5 minutes. But is it really so big over there like to people play it regularly with each other like football? Trying to understand why it's so popular!:)

I take it that you are not from Europe based on your comment. Handball is a very popular sport in Scandinavian countries, but also Germany, France, Spain, the Balkans... African countries also invest in handball but they aren't nearly as good as the European nations. It's interesting to mention that the European handball championship is a stronger tournament than a World championship because teams from Asia, Oceania, and Africa take up spots that could be occupied by stronger European nations.

Handball is very demanding on the shoulders, so your shoulders would probably suffer before anything else. Handball players know how to block your arm before a shot to hurt and tire out those shoulder muscles or stretch them out. Handball is certainly in the top 5 most important sports in Europe, but not nearly as popular as football or basketball. There is a joke or saying of some sorts that handball was invented in Germany so that young German men who weren't talented enough to play football could play another team sport. I am not sure where that joke comes from.

It's a fast-paced team sport with a lot of result changes, plenty of running, physicality, strong shooting, etc. Give it a chance if you have time. 

[barota]

olympic football always has a chunk of uncertainty due to FIFA empowering clubs to decide whether to release their top players. this tournament can be a great leveller where traditional heavyweights can end up with weak contingents.there is also a glorious history of sowing the seeds for future champions who seize the opportunity and burst into global reckoning.the kick off is on July 21 and the final is played in tokyo on August 7. There are four groups of four teams and two teams from each progress to the knockout stage.

[alegotardo]

The results are changing not only in weightlifting, I follow the results of the 2012 Winter Olympics in Russia and a lot has changed there, some athletes have risen by 2-3 positions.
As for transgender people, I agree with you, this is an absurd decision - in my opinion they should participate in competitions based on their biological sex and not gender, which can be changed 100 times a day.

This transgender thing is very subjective.
Just as doping tests change very quickly from competition to competition by allowing or denying certain components, testosterone tolerances in a transgender person also make a lot of difference from one participant to another.
People are changing very fast, and soon it will no longer be possible to reach a consensus on what is fair and what is not... I believe that soon it will be able to create a single mixed category between men, women and any other gender.

[notblox1]

You can make FREE predictions on Sportbet website for six Olympic game matches and potentially win $100,000 in Bitcoin.
I am not sure about any squad news but this is competition for Under-23, favorites should win and I think that Japan have small advantages.

Egypt - Spain
Mexico - France
Ivory Coast - Saudi Arabia
Argentina - Australia
Japan - South Africa
Brazil - Germany
https://sportsbet.io/sports/bet-free-6-6

[wheelz1200]

olympic football always has a chunk of uncertainty due to FIFA empowering clubs to decide whether to release their top players. this tournament can be a great leveller where traditional heavyweights can end up with weak contingents.there is also a glorious history of sowing the seeds for future champions who seize the opportunity and burst into global reckoning.the kick off is on July 21 and the final is played in tokyo on August 7. There are four groups of four teams and two teams from each progress to the knockout stage.

Yeah US girls already took a huge hit against Sweden 3-0.  Seems as though Sweden is the one team that always gives the US fits.  They have to win both the other games I don't think 1 win will get you out of the group.  They definitely are behind the eight all already.

[KTChampions]

The results are changing not only in weightlifting, I follow the results of the 2012 Winter Olympics in Russia and a lot has changed there, some athletes have risen by 2-3 positions.
As for transgender people, I agree with you, this is an absurd decision - in my opinion they should participate in competitions based on their biological sex and not gender, which can be changed 100 times a day.

This transgender thing is very subjective.
Just as doping tests change very quickly from competition to competition by allowing or denying certain components, testosterone tolerances in a transgender person also make a lot of difference from one participant to another.
People are changing very fast, and soon it will no longer be possible to reach a consensus on what is fair and what is not... I believe that soon it will be able to create a single mixed category between men, women and any other gender.

I have nothing against transgender people, but biological sex is not a subjective concept, but an objective one. If we allow biological men to compete for women, then we are destroying women's sports. I think there should be a category for transgender people, or the competition should not take gender into account, but the biological sex should be taken into account.

[Rruchi man]

More than the event and competition, I'm more worried about the health implications for the individual athletes, for the hosting nation and for the athletes when they return to their home country. I'm worried that the cases of the virus would increase.

I'm more worried  that there would be new strains of the virus that might be more resistant to vaccine. Already, according to CNN, "The number of Covid-19 cases in Japan linked to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has risen to 91, according to Tokyo 2020 organizers Furthermore,  Nine of the 91 cases reported were residents of the Olympic Village, five of whom are athletes and four are "Games-related personnel". I pray the world is doing the right thing at this time. If you're out there in Tokyo, please stay safe.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/world/live-news/tokyo-2020-olympics-07-22-21-spt/index.html

[buwaytress]

God damn me. I picked Egypt for a huge 20/1 upset against Spain, but that played out to a draw. Should have listened to myself and taken a small handicap or Egypt/draw it was 8/1.

Ivory Coast makes up my acca today though and they're leading 2-1 right now so am not too worried. Counting on Argentina to take the lead early and close up by half time.

What do you think of Japan/S Africa? Another 16/1 tasty temptation on the Africans.

[Jackl87]

olympic football always has a chunk of uncertainty due to FIFA empowering clubs to decide whether to release their top players. this tournament can be a great leveller where traditional heavyweights can end up with weak contingents.there is also a glorious history of sowing the seeds for future champions who seize the opportunity and burst into global reckoning.the kick off is on July 21 and the final is played in tokyo on August 7. There are four groups of four teams and two teams from each progress to the knockout stage.

I totally agree with you here. Although I would certainly claim to know football pretty well myself, almost all the players on the teams are unknown to me, except for those of my own nation, of course. The reason for this is of course that it is practically an U-21 tournament with 3 additional players who are allowed to exceed this age limit. This rule makes perfect sense, of course, because unlike most sports, the Olympics are not really a highlight for footballers and are also difficult to reconcile with the schedules of the European leagues.
That is also the reason though why i find it so hard to make a good researched bet on the olympic football games, because i just don't know the players well enough.

[Altryist]

God damn me. I picked Egypt for a huge 20/1 upset against Spain, but that played out to a draw. Should have listened to myself and taken a small handicap or Egypt/draw it was 8/1.

Ivory Coast makes up my acca today though and they're leading 2-1 right now so am not too worried. Counting on Argentina to take the lead early and close up by half time.

What do you think of Japan/S Africa? Another 16/1 tasty temptation on the Africans.

Egypt made a splash today, but apparently not for you if you were expecting an Egyptian victory.  I was also surprised by the confident victory of Mexico over France, I did not expect such a large number of goals from Mexico against France. But still, the Olympic Games are young players, so absolutely any outcomes in matches are possible...

[Cnut237]

This has got to be the third time in recent times I've seen someone talk about handball a lot:) Saw a few video clips online, it's not bad, and for sure not an easy sport I think my elbow and arm would die after 5 minutes. But is it really so big over there like to people play it regularly with each other like football? Trying to understand why it's so popular!:)

I take it that you are not from Europe based on your comment. Handball is a very popular sport in Scandinavian countries, but also Germany, France, Spain, the Balkans... African countries also invest in handball but they aren't nearly as good as the European nations. It's interesting to mention that the European handball championship is a stronger tournament than a World championship because teams from Asia, Oceania, and Africa take up spots that could be occupied by stronger European nations.

Handball is very demanding on the shoulders, so your shoulders would probably suffer before anything else. Handball players know how to block your arm before a shot to hurt and tire out those shoulder muscles or stretch them out. Handball is certainly in the top 5 most important sports in Europe, but not nearly as popular as football or basketball. There is a joke or saying of some sorts that handball was invented in Germany so that young German men who weren't talented enough to play football could play another team sport. I am not sure where that joke comes from.

It's a fast-paced team sport with a lot of result changes, plenty of running, physicality, strong shooting, etc. Give it a chance if you have time. 

Thanks, that's really interesting. Whenever I see handball (only in the Olympics really), it looks like a great sport. It's not very well known here (UK) but it should be. I'd love to give it a go one day.

[Slow death]

Egypt - Spain

to be honest, I think this game Spain will win, but it won't be an easy win.

Mexico - France

Mexico 4 - 1 France


 

against fact there are no arguments, Mexico managed to win with many goals, Is something to say that Mexico is to be congratulated

Ivory Coast - Saudi Arabia

Ivory Coast 2 - 1 Saudi Arabia

it was a predictable victory, my prediction was that at least the Ivory Coast would not concede goals

Argentina - Australia

I don't know what the state of the australia team is because that i have no idea who can win this game, if i were to guess i would go to argentina to win

Japan - South Africa

 

South Africa will win

Brazil - Germany

Brazil will win

[Woodie]

God damn me. I picked Egypt for a huge 20/1 upset against Spain, but that played out to a draw. Should have listened to myself and taken a small handicap or Egypt/draw it was 8/1.

I don't know why I feel all these big competitions from now on will be ending in draws like what we saw in the EURO games and so far I have caught two draws already, thought not the Egypt match.. Will this continue I think so.

What do you think of Japan/S Africa? Another 16/1 tasty temptation on the Africans.

The Japanese are quite a disciplined team and South Africa not a bad team, I fancy  the under 1.5 goals and under 3.5 yellow cards.

Just incase through in the draw too for this match, don't miss it like you did with Egypt.

[tomahawk9]

are there any Weightlifting experts here? care to explain me why i shouldn't bet my house and my shitty car on Hubbard to win weightlifting 87+ kg @4.23 odds?

What do you think of Japan/S Africa? Another 16/1 tasty temptation on the Africans.

what did you pick? i would've gone with Japan. I know you like your football upsets and big odds, but surely you don't enjoy losing streak

then again, results are so weird in round 1, upsets could be very common in the next round. i think this competition will exceed my casual knowledge of national football teams 'cause: new zealand beat south korea? egypt drew vs. spain? mexico smashed france 4-1? argentina 0-1 down against australia? what the hell is this?  

[slaman29]

In northern countries, indoor games are very famous, because it is not always easy to play abroad because of bad weather. Mainly 100 years ago, where the climate was not so unbalanced.

I think the baseball, for example, was how it was created.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball#Creation

Thanks for that and I think I get it now, totally did not remember that weather is a huge deal. But then again, people in Europe I see play football in freezing conditions, while we have to deal with flooding and super hot weather and still we play.

Interesting to see handball actually how it developed. Still not as fun looking as volleyball;)

[rdbase]

You can make FREE predictions on Sportbet website for six Olympic game matches and potentially win $100,000 in Bitcoin.
I am not sure about any squad news but this is competition for Under-23, favorites should win and I think that Japan have small advantages.

Egypt - Spain
Mexico - France
Ivory Coast - Saudi Arabia
Argentina - Australia
Japan - South Africa
Brazil - Germany
https://sportsbet.io/sports/bet-free-6-6

Damn, didn't check the 6-6-free promotions page. Was busy doing things for the summer (yard work and BBQing) so totally missed it.
Looks like Brazil has a comfortable lead against germany 3-0 at HT.
South Africa is holding it's own against the hosts Japan especially with them being 21.00x odds to win. So it is quite impressive.
The surprise is Argentina going down to Australia 0-2. I turned it off once it reached the 83' mark as they were on a red card since the 45' of the first half. It is their U23 squad so didn't expect to much from them.
The other matches were way to early for me to justify waking up an extra 4 hours and losing sleep to watch being a work day but seen Ivory coast beat Saudi Arabia.