Kavita Raut wins SAG marathon gold, books Rio Olympic berth

February 12, 2016

Guwahati, Feb 12: Indian long-distance runner Kavita Raut booked her spot for the Rio Olympics in women’s marathon after winning the event in the 12th South Asian Games, a perfect end to the country’s memorable athletics campaign in the event on Friday.

Kavita

The 30-year-old Raut easily clinched the marathon gold in 2 hours 38 minutes and 38 seconds to become the fourth Indian women to have qualified for Rio Games women’s marathon. The Rio Games women’s marathon qualification standard stands at 2:42:00.

O P Jaisha, Lalita Babbar and Sudha Singh have already qualfied for women’s marathon in Rio Olympics.

Sri Lankans N G Rajasekara (2:50:47.00) and B Anuradhi (2:52:15.00) took the silver and bronze respectively.

Nashik girl Raut is the lone athlete to have qualified for the Olympics from the 12th SAG.

Another Rio Olympics-bound Nitender Singh Rawat took the men’s marathon gold in 2:15:18 seconds in a close finish in a star-studded field. He won the race by being merely a second ahead of Indrajith Cooray of Sri Lanka who has also qualified for Rio Games.

The men’s race had a dramatic ending and there was apparently some confusion over the finishing line inside the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium.

“Both Rawat and Cooray were not sure of the finishing line and they thought they would finish after running a lap inside the stadium. That was why there was a difference of just one second in the timings of gold and silver winner,” a technical committee member told PTI.

Cooray took the silver in 2:15:19 seconds while another Indian Kheta Ram, the third competitor to have booked a Rio Games berth, got the bronze in 2 hours 21 minutes and 14 seconds.

With today’s two gold and one bronze, India ended the athletics competition with 28 gold, 22 silver and 9 bronze, medals thereby establishing their unrivalled superiority in the South Asian region.

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News Network
March 12,2020

Miami, Mar 12: The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas.

Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the test.

"The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice,'' the league said in a statement sent shortly after 9:30 p.m. EDT. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.''

The test result, the NBA said, was reported shortly before the scheduled tip-off time for the Utah at Oklahoma City game on Wednesday night was called off. Players were on the floor for warmups and tip-off was moments away when they were told to return to their locker rooms. About 30 minutes later, fans were told the game was postponed ``due to unforeseen circumstances."

Shutdown for two weeks?

Those circumstances were the league's worst-case scenario for now -- a player testing positive. A second person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said the league expects the shutdown to last a minimum of two weeks, but cautioned that time-frame is very fluid.

"It's a very serious time right now," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think the league moved appropriately and prudently and we'll all just have to monitor the situation and see where it goes from here."

The Jazz released a statement saying a player -- they did not identify Gobert -- tested negative earlier Wednesday for flu, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. That player's symptoms diminished as the day went along, but the decision was made to test for COVID-19 anyway. That test came back with a preliminary positive result.

"The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City," the Jazz said, adding that updates would come as appropriate.

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News Network
February 4,2020

Feb 4: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday said the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash has impacted his outlook towards life, which he feels, is sometimes taken for granted in pursuit of control over the future.

Bryant, a two-time Olympic gold-medallist and one of the most decorated basketball players of all time, died in a helicopter crash last month along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was also a budding hoopster.

"Firstly, it was a shock to everyone. I grew up watching those NBA games in the morning and watching what he did on court. But when someone that you have looked up to in some ways, passes away like that, it does put things in perspective," Kohli said on the eve of the first ODI against New Zealand here.

"...at the end of the day, life can be so fickle. It's so unpredictable. I think a lot of the times we get too caught up in the pressures of what we have to do tomorrow...we really forget living life and enjoying life and just appreciating and being grateful for the life we have," he added.

Kohli said a tragedy like this makes one realise that nothing can be more important than enjoying every moment of existence.

"...it did put things in perspective for me massively. It just makes you feel like not wanting to have control of things in front of you all the time, and just embracing life and appreciating it.

"You start looking at things from a different point of view suddenly and you want to enjoy every moment you're going through. You realise that what you're doing at the end of the day is not the most important thing. The most important thing is life itself," Kohli signed off.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday condoled the demise of India's super cricket fan, 87-year-old Charulata Patel.

"#TeamIndia's Superfan Charulata Patel Ji will always remain in our hearts and her passion for the game will keep motivating us. May her soul rest in peace," BCCI tweeted.

Patel had made herself a household name after turning up for India's matches during the 2019 World Cup.

She went on to storm social media after she was seen cheering for the Men in Blue during their World Cup clash against Bangladesh.

After the match, the entire Indian side went to meet Patel and both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were seen meeting the octogenarian fan.

"I am a very religious person and have so much trust in God. So, when I pray, it comes true and I am saying that India is going to get the World Cup, definitely," Patel had told ANI during the World Cup.

The 87-year old had caught everyone's eyes when she was ardently cheering for the Indian team when they were batting.

Patel had also stated that she was there in the stadium when India lifted their first World Cup, back in 1983, under the leadership of former cricket Kapil Dev.

"I have been there. When they won the World Cup, I was so proud, I started dancing. And today also, I told my granddaughter that when India is going to defeat Bangladesh, I am going to dance," she had said.

"I have been watching cricket for decades. When I was in Africa, I used to watch it, then I came to this country in 1975. Here I had work because of which I did not get time to watch but I used to watch it on TV. But nowadays as I am not working, so I have the interest and I am very lucky that I get a chance to watch cricket," she added. 

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