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Blake vs Bolt depends on who is quicker off the blocks
As London hots up, Indians keep it cool
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Crook like Kalmadi should be barred from Olympics: Milkha
China to top medals tally, say experts
Kapil back in BCCI fold
A flight to remember for Garima Murray wants to ‘miss’ Bolt’s show London finds it hard to change lanes Athletes’ health put under jeopardy The NIS centre in Patiala. Special to the tribune
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London, July 25 If Usain Bolt's troublesome right hamstring has healed and he gets a good start there is nobody in the world who can catch the defending champion. If he takes too long to unwind his long legs and body, his Jamaican club mate and world champion Yohan Blake is the probable winner. The 100 metres is the most unforgiving of all foot races and one mistake by any of the finalists, as Bolt knows from bitter personal experience after false starting at the world championships last year, will mean the race is over. Unlike the theatre, where Hamlet will always die in the final act, unpredictability and the unexpected give sport its special appeal and there are no guarantees that any of the contestants who line up in Saturday's first round will still be contenders on Sunday night. But if Bolt and Blake do come through unscathed, Sunday's final will rival the Carl Lewis-Ben Johnson clash at the 1988 Seoul Olympics for drama and excitement. The field should also feature American Tyson Gay and another Jamaican Asafa Powell who have both run faster than Blake plus the 2004 champion Justin Gatlin who has returned from a doping ban. Jamaica is enjoying a remarkable era in both men's and women's sprinting. Jamaicans took five of the six medals at stake in the women's 100 and 200 in Beijing four years ago as well as the 400 metres hurdles title. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the defending 100 metres champion and is the world leader this year with a time of 10.70 seconds. Her main challenge is likely to come from the American world champion Carmelita Jeter. Lochte makes a splash
Swimming dominates the first week of the Games, athletics the second while gymnastics continues throughout at the North Greenwich Arena. The Chinese won nine of the 14 gymnastics titles at stake in Beijing and seven out of eight in the men's competition.
Japan's Kohei Uchimura finished second in the all-around competition, after twice falling off the pommel horse, but has since won an unprecedented three successive world titles. Now 23, Uchimura is known as "Super-mura" and in 2009 and 2011 he finished first in four of the six
disciplines. Already the pundits are calling the Japanese the greatest of all time, an accolade that will be confirmed if he performs as expected in London. The swimming features another potentially thrilling individual duel between two athletes from the same
country. Michael Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals in Beijing, will attempt seven events this time before he retires. In two of them, the 200 and 400 metres individual medley, he will come up against Ryan Lochte, who collected five gold medals at last year's world championships and became the first swimmer to break a long course world record since controversial polyurethane suits were
banned. Lochte has featured in a series of photo shoots in which he displays the Olympic rings tattooed on his right bicep and an alligator on his shoulder. The flash playboy image is misleading. There is no more dedicated trainer in or out of the water than Lochte, who believes his time has
come. "I have put in the work and it's something that I believe so strongly that I know I can make that happen," he
said. Lochte's 17-year-old team mate Missy Franklin will be in action each day of the competition in an attempt to become the first woman from the United States to win seven gold
medals. Australia hope for a reprise of their golden days by winning their first men's 100 metres freestyle gold since Michael Wendon at the 1968 Mexico City
Olympics. Magnussen confident
James Magnussen, the overwhelming favourite, holds the world's fastest time of 47.10 seconds and believes he could even break the world record of 46.91 seconds set by Cesar Cielo in the now banned swim
suit. Other rivalries to add spice to the Games include Britain versus Australia in the cycling and the men's triathlon in Hyde Park where Britain's world champion Alistair Brownlee competes against his younger brother
Jonathan. The country which produced Francis Drake and Horatio Nelson now possesses 35-year-old sailor Ben Ainslie, who if he wins in Weymouth will equal the four gold medals of the great Dane Paul
Elvstrom. Ainslie, who also won a silver at the 1996 Atlanta Games, will represent Britain in the single handed dinghy Finn
class. The Games showcase national strengths in sports which get little international attention outside Olympic years. South Korea, who have won 16 archery gold medals, more than any other country, will display their skills at Lord's, the spiritual home of world
cricket. Cuba, aided by a system which nurtures talent while banning professionalism, has a proud boxing pedigree, Japan sets the pace in judo and China rules the world in table
tennis. Ultimately it is individuals, even within the context of a team sport, who are at the beating heart of the Olympics. They include Italy's Valentina Vezzali, a glamorous figure in a glamorous sport, who bids for a fourth individual foil gold medal. Women's boxing, an exhibition sport at the 1904 St Louis Games, has finally been included in the programme and four times world lightweight champion Katie Taylor has been selected to carry the flag for Ireland at Friday's opening
ceremony. At the age of 30, Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva is battling to prove she can still pole vault higher than any other woman in the world. And Iranian Behdad Salimikordasiabi will show just why weightlifting is such a gripping spectacle when he competes in the super-heavyweight class. — Reuters Bolt’s warning Olympic champion Usain Bolt has sent out a stern warning to his rivals ahead of the London Games, saying it is his moment to shine now, as he is in the form of his life right now. Bolt has produced a series of formidable times in training, and said talks about his injury problems are of the past, as he is feeling better and better everyday. Fellow Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake had earlier defeated Bolt in the Jamaican Olympic trials. The Olympic 100 and 200 metres champion had suffered from a chronic back problem this year and was forced to pull out of the Diamond League meeting in Monaco last week after complaining of tiredness in his hamstring, but Bolt insists he is in top form. "This will be the moment, and this will be the year, when I set myself apart from other athletes in the world. A lot of legends, a lot of people have come before me, but this is my time," The Telegraph quoted Bolt, as telling to a newspaper. "Each training session I'm getting better and better. I have no other duties now, no worries, it's all about training, eating and sleeping. I have a lot more time and can put a lot more effort into training," Bolt said. Bolt's Best
100m 9.58(WR) 200m 19.19 (WR) 400m 45.28 Is the current World and Olympic record holder for 100 and 200m. 100m 9.75 200m 19.26 Is the current 100m World Champion. Outdoor 5.06(WR) Indoor 5.01(WR) Is the current World Record holder in pole vault. |
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As London hots up, Indians keep it cool
London’s boiling, the sun’s out and the temperature has been cranked up to such to an oppressive degree. They’re calling every second day the hottest in 32 years or so. This after until five days ago, they were calling it the coldest summer in years, when the rains accumulated for the last six months had been poured down in a month. But now it’s hot and there’s every chance that if it goes on like this for a bit more, the locals would burn every bit of their clothing forever. As it is, they seem to be heading off for the closest patch of green en mass, shaking off the constricting fabric and, as if with no care in the world, laying down on their tummies to soak it all in. The sun has become a regular after months, and they want to make the most of it before the next cold spell begins. The temporary Londoners are enjoying it, too. Visitors for India aren’t too distressed by the heat – 32 degree C is nothing to write home about if you’re from Delhi, where it was threatening to touch the mark of 50 not too long back. So the Indians are all right. Ronjan Sodhi, the double trap shooter, is happy with the weather and his form. “I’ve had some very good days of training,” Sodhi told The Tribune. “The weather has been fantastic and the forecast is that it’s going to remain like that for a few days more. So yes, I’m quite happy.” Sodhi, who had been training in Italy before coming to London via India, said he’d been excited by the idea of staying at the Games Village. “But I’ve got over it now, I’m quite settled,” he added. Sodhi said that on the day of reckoning, all the 22 men with the guns would have a good chance of winning a medal. Sodhi, who held the world record score of 147 at one point of time, said he’s quite happy with his form. He said that he’d earlier been shooting in the rain, so if the weather changes and London becomes wet again, he’d not really mind. “I’ve been shooting in rain for a few days now, and I believe it’s again going to rain in a few days, but I’ve got used to that too.” Staying on the theme, Sodhi agreed that weather does have a large impact on shooting. “Ours is an outdoor sport so yes, it does play a role,” Sodhi said. “Rain and wind have an impact on how we shoot, our techniques, our scores. But then, it’s the same for everyone – it doesn’t affect anyone in any special way, and we all get used to it.” So this one Indian is all right, rain or shine. At Wimbledon, though, there were possibilities of extreme heat as the Indian team was slated to practise there. However, all went well – for Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi weren’t on the same court. Heck, they were not even in the same postcode. Paes and his mixed doubles partner Sania Mirza practised with Rushmi Chakravarthi and Vishnu Vardhan on one of the practise courts. Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, who snipe at Paes from the same corner, didn’t practise today. Wimbledon thus escaped being ruined by Indian combustion.
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Qureshi shattered many myths: Bopanna
London, July 25 Excited to play his first Olympics, Bopanna said he can't explain his emotions at being part of such a huge sporting extravaganza. "Well I can only consider myself extremely lucky. Just think how many players from all over the World have got the chance to figure in this mega event. I could not have asked for more," Bopanna said. "I just cannot explain my emotions or feelings about playing in the Olympics. It is great to be here. To see best of the sportspersons under one roof. It is just an awesome sight to see hundreds of sportspersons from all over the globe sitting under one roof having their breakfast, lunch and dinner." "I was surprised to see so many athletes in Asian Games but it is four to five time bigger, it is just unbelievable. But Olympics is a great movement. Nowhere else you will find such bonhomie between representing over 200 countries," he said. Bopanna said his wish is to meet US Baketball team players and sprint king Usain Bolt. Bopanna said: "We have chances as good as others. It depends on our form on that day. We have prepared well for this event for last six months. We will go all out and give our best, let us see what happens. Winning and losing is part of the Game. The important issue is how we will perform. "There has been many highs and lows in his career. I have been representing the country since 2002. I had the privilege of helping India to make it to the World Group of Davis Cup," he said. Bopanna said he will concentrate on doubles in future. "Look I am 32. I am not very young. At this stage I have to think how to prolong my playing career. I have to make a living," he said. "Playing singles or doubles is purely my personal decision. I take my own decisions," he said. Talking about his earlier doubles partnership with Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi on International Circuit, Bopanna said it shattered many a myths. "Most of the People, especially those who have knowledge of India-Pakistan history were surprised to see both of us playing together. Some thought it is sort of publicity seeking move and others predicted that partnership will not last long or will end in acrimony. All the naysayers were proved wrong," Boppana said. in an interaction at the Games Village. He termed Aisam as one of the finest human being. "Well all I can say playing with him is a great pleasure. Sports blurs boundaries, nationalities and religion." — PTI
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Crook like Kalmadi should be barred from Olympics: Milkha
New Delhi, July 25 "A crook like him should not be allowed to go to the Olympic Games. That would be a shame for the country," Milkha said. "It's good, HC has barred him (from attending the opening ceremony). I welcome decision," he said. The Delhi High Court today restrained sacked CWG Organising Committee chief Kalmadi from proceeding to London to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, saying that his participation can cause "embarrassment" to the nation. The bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also barred Kalmadi from leaving the country till July 27. "From the national point of view, we have decided the matter and he should not participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. His participation can cause embarrassment to the country," the bench said, adding, "National interest is the prime concern." Olympian Vandana Rao welcomed HC decision but said, "It's a welcome decision I would have been happier had he been barred from the entire Olympics," she said. — PTI
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China to top medals tally, say experts
London, July 25 A team of experts from the Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany not only analysed past performances, but also political, economic, demographic and cultural data to make the predictions. China is expected to edge out US to end up at the top while Britain is expected to take home a record breaking 57 medals and end up in the fourth position after Russia. — PTI
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New Delhi, July 25 Mr. Kapil Dev has informed the Board that he has resigned from the Essel Sports Private Limited / ICL. He has also stated in the letter that he has always supported the BCCI, and will continue to do so in the future. The BCCI acknowledges Mr Kapil Dev's immense contribution to Indian cricket and looks forward to a fruitful association with him in the years to come," Srinivasan said, "BCCI will now release one-time benefit of Rs 1.5 crore for Kapil and he will again be eligible for monthly gratis of Rs 35,000 from the board. His gratis arrears will also be cleared.” — PTI
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A flight to remember for Garima Garima Chaudhary, India’s lone competitor in the judo event, landed in London on Wednesday afternoon, and was in a happy frame of mind. The reason? She had been given a warm reception in the British Airways flight she flew in. The stewards in the airplane, realising that an Olympics contestant on board, confirmed it with her. “They then made an announcement , asking her co-passengers to give her best wishes,” says Jagjit Singh, an Indian visitor on the same flight. “It was wonderful to hear something about our athletes on the flight, it made me very proud!” Out of India, meeting a Pakistani citizen is results in sweetness and light all around. Prejudices are easily shed – if you’re willing to shed them. Rohan Bopanna was eminently willing, and he has revealed that partnering Pakistan ‘s Aisam-ul-Haq has helped him evolve as a human being. “Many people were surprised to see both of us playing together,’ Bopanna told the media here on Wednesday. “They said we were doing it for publicity, some said that we would not last long together.” Bopanna said he was glad to prove all the doubters wrong. He said they met on the ATP circuit, 15 years ago for the first time, got to know each other a bit, then decided to become partners. “On the tour American, Chinese, French etc usually move together,” he said. “Both of us were sort of lonely, we started talking and common language helped us.” They did have some rules – they didn’t discuss politics at all. “We knew that things are not in our control ,” he said. Leander setting the paes Leander Paes had a good, solid workout at Wimbledon on Wednesday. Sania’s mother Nasim, the manager of the two-member women’s team in the Olympics, encouraged them from the sidelines as Paes, Sania, Rushmi Chakravarthi and Vishnu Vardhan went through their session. Paes was quite happy with his return to Wimbledon, where he lost the mixed-doubles final this year. He also spoke about participating in his sixth Olympic Games. “It's really awesome to come back for my sixth Olympics,” he said. “I'm really comfortable here... I have won five championships here!" Paes didn’t put up any pretence of nationalism, spelling out exactly what he’s here for: “At this point in time I'm here to celebrate my family, as I play for my inner circle."
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Murray wants to ‘miss’ Bolt’s show London, July 25 At his Olympic debut in Beijing, Murray, who carried the Olympic torch through Wimbledon's Centre Court on Monday, suffered the massive shock of losing his first round singles match to Taiwan's lowly ranked Lu Yen-hsun in straight sets. "For me, the memory I have from the last Olympics in Beijing was watching the 100 metres final and seeing what Usain Bolt did there was pretty amazing," he told reporters at a Team GB tennis press conference at the Wimbledon Olympic Tennis venue.
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London finds it hard to change lanes London, July 25 They were still trying to figure out when and where they could drive on the 30 miles of lanes, designed to whisk 82,000 athletes, officials, VIPs, sponsors and media to venues on time. One driver said he spent much of his journey from east London stuck in a bottle-neck while casting an eye at an empty lane which was not being used by any of the Olympic community. "They've closed off the Games Lane, but nobody was using it," said Ross Keeling, a call-out engineer, whose normal 40-minute journey had become two hours. "It was a pain the neck," he added. "We just have to sit and watch the empty lane."
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Athletes’ health put under jeopardy Chandigarh, July 25 India’s brightest medal hopes in Olympics, Vijender Kumar, Mary Kom and Sushil Kumar, along with 19 other Olympics-bound athletes have trained here at one point or the other during the run-up to the Olympics. Since 2004, neither has NIS Patiala applied for the periodic renewal, nor has the MCI – a statutory body with the responsibility of establishing and maintaining high standards of medical education and recognition of medical qualifications – had any correspondence with the institute. In an RTI reply, MCI deputy secretary Anshu Sethi Bajaj clearly furnished, “As per records available, no inspection by the MCI at Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports Medicine, Patiala from January 1, 2005 to June 30, 2011, has been carried out.” The MCI itself states that the recognition granted would be for a period of five years, upon which it would have to be renewed. The failure to seek timely renewal as required in sub-clause-4 would invariably result in the stoppage of admissions to the PG course. MCI secretary Sanjay Srivastava said, “We will soon write to all such colleges,” adding that the course concerned was being run under the “deemed-to-be” status. NIS executive director L S Ranawat was unavailable for comments as he was away on a two-week leave. The only institute running the course in India was conceptualized for providing medical cover to sportspersons during NCC camps, national-level competitions and attending to athletes injured during training at the institute, apart from conducting various sports scientific laboratory tests for evaluation of functional and reserve capacities of sportspersons. The Faculty of Sports Sciences, which was established in 1983 at this institute, runs the two-year PG Diploma in Sports Medicine for MBBS doctors every year. The diploma is affiliated with Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, the notification for which was issued by the central ministry of health and family welfare. Surprisingly, as many as 45 candidates have passed out from here in the period between January 2000 and August 2011 after completing the diploma. A Patiala-based doctor pursuing the course said, “All this time we were made to believe that the course is duly recognized by MCI.”
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Special to the tribune London, July 25 Sources close to the team told The Tribune, "We are expecting medals for shooting, boxing, archery and wrestling. These are four events in which India has hopes; also badminton and tennis mixed doubles-anything can happen here. "Leander Paes and Sanya Mirza are players of high standard, Saina Nehwal is ranked world number five and we are expecting a good performance from her. She has won two super series in Indonesia and Bangladesh." As far as hockey is concerned, India will be lucky to be included in the first six. Speculation is mounting on who will light the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony on Friday. Former British Olympic champions like Sir Steve Redgrave, Daley Thompson, Tessa Sanderson and Dame Kelly Holmes are thought to be among the contenders, but no final decision had been made until the last minute because of bickering among the British Olympic Association and the London Organizing Committee for the Games. All that Sanderson and Holmes were prepared to say was that they each have a mystery role to play in the opening ceremony. 'Let's face it, we are passionate about sport and what we do brilliantly is pomp and ceremony", Holmes said earlier. "You'd have to expect we're going to blow them away with the opening andclosing ceremony. Everyone is going to be blown away by details." For their part, leading British politicians have been doing their best to talk up the games. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told the BBC, "This Olympic Village is a triumph and I've already spoken to some of the athletes, who've said the facilities are the best they've ever seen. No doubt there will be a few ups and downs along the way but I think people are going to be proud of that Britain,” he said.
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Silence will envelop the Olympic stadium on the evening of Aug. 5 while the world's eight swiftest men crouch in their blocks awaiting the starter's gun.
London’s boiling, the sun’s out and the temperature has been cranked up to such to an oppressive degree. They’re calling every second day the hottest in 32 years or so.
While the nation urges its athletes to return with medals from the London Olympics, health of at 25% of the country’s best sportspersons was put under serious jeopardy in the run-up to the biggest sporting event. Just before leaving, at least 22 of the 81 London-bound athletes trained at NIS Patiala, which has continued the PG Diploma Course in Sports Medicine even after the initial recognition granted by Medical Council of India (MCI) expired on December 31, 2004.
Blake's Best
Isinbayeva’s best
Becks for opening ceremony:
Rice to focus on preparation: