'Marvellous' 2016 Rio Games Flame Extinguished As Japan's Super Mario Takes Baton

August 22, 2016

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 22: The 2016 Rio Olympicsended in a blaze of colour with an exuberant closing ceremony on Sunday as Tokyo took up the baton promising to host the best Games yet in 2020.

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Just a few hours earlier, the United States basketball squad won the last gold of the Games, boosting their country's place on top of the medals table.

Meanwhile, India finished 67th with two medals. Badminton star PV Sindhu won silver in the women's singles while wrestling sensation Sakshi Malik bagged a bronze medal in the freestyle 58kg.

After a rollercoaster fortnight which mixed off-field hitches with compelling sporting drama, Olympics chief Thomas Bach hailed a "marvellous" Games in the Brazilian city.

"These were marvellous Olympic Games in the marvellous city!" said Bach, as he declared the Games closed and the Olympic flame was extinguished.

"These Olympic Games are leaving a unique legacy for generations to come. History will talk about a Rio de Janeiro before and a much better Rio de Janeiro after the Olympic Games."

At the closing ceremony, thousands of fans and athletes donned ponchos on a wet and windy night for a colourful festival of Brazilian culture and music with bursts of spectacular fireworks.

Smiling and waving athletes danced into the Maracana stadium taking selfies as Rio's 16-day Summer Games closed ahead of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a comical cameo as Nintendo video game character Super Mario as Tokyo set out its store for 2020.

"The Japanese government will... work hard so it will be the best Olympics ever," Abe said as he met Japanese medal-winners earlier.

Security scares and logistical problems were a feature of South America's first Olympics, held against the backdrop of Brazil's political and economic crisis.

Swathes of empty seats caused disquiet but the Games also witnessed the last hurrahs of both Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, who both lived up to their billing.

Bolt sealed the sprint 'triple triple' in his final Games, reaching a record-equalling nine gold medals with his third consecutive 100m, 200m and 4x100m sweep.

Swim legend Phelps took his unmatched career haul to 23 gold medals with another five in Rio -- plus a silver, after his loss to former childhood fan Joseph Schooling.

Brazil came late to the party but the country celebrated long and loud when Neymar won a gold-medal penalty shoot-out against Germany to erase memories of their 7-1 World Cup semi-final humiliation in 2014.

'Sporting superpowers'

On a sodden final day, Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, 31, shone with his seventh win in eight marathons, timing 2hr 8min 44sec to win by more than a minute.

The USA's basketball 'Dream Team' of NBA stars claimed the 306th and final gold of the Games with a crushing 96-66 win over Serbia.

With the basketball win, America matched its tally of 46 golds from London four years ago to lead the medals table from Britain, who sealed surprise second place ahead of China with 27 golds to 26.

"We are one of those sporting superpowers now," beamed UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl.

But there was also controversy as Mongolia's Chagnaadorj Usukhbayar became the sixth weightlifter in Rio to fail a drugs test.

And police seized passports, phones and computers in a raid on the Irish Olympic office, following the arrest of Irish International Olympic Committee member Patrick Hickey over an alleged black market tickets scam.

Brazil added a final flourish as they beat Italy 3-0 to win the men's title in volleyball, one of the country's most popular sports.

French fighter Tony Yoka won a split-decision against Britain's Joe Joyce to take the super-heavyweight title in boxing.

Switzerland's world champion Nino Schurter, third in Beijing and second in London, competed his ascent of the podium by winning the men's mountain bike competition.

And there were furious scenes when a Mongolian coach stripped down to his underwear to protest a decision against wrestler Ganzorig Mandakhnaran.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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May 9,2020

May 9: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has donated an undisclosed amount to financially help 4,000 underprivileged people, including children from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tendulkar made the donation to the Hi5 Foundation, a non-profit organisation based out of Mumbai.

“Best wishes to team Hi5 for your efforts in supporting families of daily wage earners,” Tendulkar tweeted.

The organisation, through a tweet, thanked Tendulkar for doing his bit for the needy.

“Thanks @sachin_rt for proving once again that #sports encourages compassion! Your generous donation towards our #COVID19 fund enables us to financially aid 4000 underprivileged people, including children from @mybmc schools. Our budding sportspersons thank you, Little Master!”

The legendary batsman had earlier contributed Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the country’s fight against COVID-19. Tendulkar had earlier pledged to bear the cost of feeding 5,000 people for a month in a couple of areas in Mumbai.

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May 6,2020

New Delhi, May 6: He has flattered to deceive on umpteen occasions but highly-rated wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson says he has learnt to accept his failures in pursuit of the calm demeanour that former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni possesses.

The 25-year-old from Kerala has always been talked about by the likes of Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir but it hasn't translated into international success with only four T20 Internationals in his kitty in the last five years.

"I have learnt to understand and focus more on my strengths and (be more) accepting (of) the failures. I try to contribute to the team's cause and try to take the team over the line. I am learning to focus and control my emotions while batting like MS Dhoni," Samson said during a podcast organised by Rajasthan Royals.

He recently made a comeback in India's T20 side and it was a worthy experience for him.

"It was great to be a part of the Indian team again. To be a part of one of the best teams in the world, surrounded by players like Virat bhai and Rohit bhai, it was a fantastic experience," Samson said.

In one of the games in New Zealand, Samson was sent to bat in the Super Over, something which made him feel wanted in the Indian set-up.

"It was a great feeling to be trusted by the players such as Virat bhai and Rohit bhai to go out there and bat in the crucial moments. It's a great feeling when the team and the players consider you to be a match winner."

On a lighter note, Samson revealed that he refers to Steve Smith as "chachu" (uncle) after Brad Hodge once started calling him by that name.

"I share a very good relationship with 'Chachu' Steve Smith. He is one of the best brains in world cricket and we all enjoy a lot playing under him."

Asked what's the back story of the nickname, Samson said: "It started with Brad Hodge, he used to call Smith 'Chachu', then when Hodgy left, I started calling Smith 'Chachu'. In return Smith also started calling me 'Chachu'. We both really enjoy and continue calling each other that."

While Dhoni is his idol, he also loves watching Jos Buttler in Royals and makes notes on how the star Englishman prepares for games.

"I observe Jos especially given he too is a wicketkeeper-batsman. He's always working on his skills and his game and never sits idle.

"He's either working on his keeping, batting in the nets or running around the park. I love to observe and know how he thinks and prepares as a keeper before a game.

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