Rio will be my last Olympics, eyeing gold: Yogeshwar Dutt

October 28, 2015

New Delhi, Oct 28: Stretching himself against an injury prone body, Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt on Tuesday said that the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will be his last appearance at the quadrennial extravaganza and he is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to sign off with a gold medal.

Yogeshwar"Rio will be my last Olympics and I am extremely keen to sign off with a medal. I am all focussed on my preparations and aiming for a gold medal," Yogeshwar said.

The 32-year-old, however, made it clear that he would not retire after the Olympic Games and might take part in the Asian and Commonwealth Games if his body permits.

"I would not be retiring after the Olympics. Fitness permitting, I would still like to represent India in the Asian and Commonwealth Games (in 2018). But as far as Olympics are concerned, Rio would definitely be my last," Yogeshwar, who will be turning 33 on November 2, clarified.

The 2012 London Games bronze medallist said after the upcoming Pro Wrestling League (PWL), which will take place at various venues across India, he will be going abroad for two months to train before the next Olympic qualification.

"The next four months are going to be very important for me. After the Pro Wrestling League, I will be going abroad to train for two months. I will either go to USA or Russia to prepare myself before next Olympic qualifiers in March," he informed.

Yogeshwar would be participating in the Asian Olympic qualification to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan from March 18 to 20 next year.

Having forced to pull out of the Wrestling World Championships at Las Vegas, USA last month after being found unfit, Yogeshwar admitted it was a "huge disappointment".

"I was completely heart broken and very disappointed, and more so because I knew I had a great chance of qualifying for next year's Olympics during the World Championship as I was very well prepared. But doctors advised me not to take part and I had to listen to them in order to save my body from further damage," recalled the wrestler.

Asked if he again gets injured during the gruelling PWL, which is just a domestic professional league competition, Yogeshwar said, "I can't be skipping all tournaments for the fear of getting injured. The Pro Wrestling League will be a good platform to judge where I stand and I will get to know my shortcomings. One gets to know about his weaknesses only while competing in a proper tournament."

"World class wrestlers are expected to be here for the PWL and it would be good opportunity for me to fight against at least five to six top grapplers before moving to the knock-out stage of the event. It would be good for me to face some tough competition. As it is, after PWL, I will have about three months time before the next Olympic qualifier to take care of my niggles," he insisted.

The wrestler from Haryana claimed that he has now completely recovered from his knee injury and going through some tough training schedule.

"I have been practising since last one month. I am in Sonepat and following a tight regime. After recovering from the injury, I am concentrating more on maintaining my stamina and fitness and also on improving my skills," Yogeshwar concluded.

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May 11,2020

Karachi, May 11: Pakistan might play more Test matches during their tour of England if it goes ahead as scheduled in July after the West Indies pulled out of an assignment there in June owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Pakistan Cricket Board and the England and Wales Cricket Board officials are due to have a video conference on May 18 to discuss how they should proceed with the tour given the situation because of the pandemic.

"At present we have to play three Tests and three T20 internationals but the number of Tests could be increased and the tour could start a bit early in July," a PCB source said.

The source said that the ECB could offer to organise a four or five Test series against Pakistan if the West Indies tour didn’t go ahead.

Issues that are likely to be discussed in the May 18 meet are a quarantine period for Pakistani players when they arrive in England in July and limiting the venues for the matches and playing before empty stadiums.

PCB CEO Wasim Khan confirmed the video conference but said so far, the ECB has not spoken to them on increasing the number of matches on the tour which is scheduled between July and September.

"Things will be clear after the meeting but whatever decision we take we will consult our captains and head coaches before giving any confirmation," Khan said.

The PCB has so far kept mum on the chances of the series taking place in England because of the COVID-19 situation.

But with the British government due to announce measures to ease the lockdown in the country, it appears Pakistan could be touring on schedule.

Some former players have, however, asked the PCB to tread on the side of caution.

"If the West Indies have decided to postpone their series in June because of safety reasons and because of the situation then the PCB should also be very careful before taking up any offer from the ECB," a former captain said.

The West Indies Cricket Board said its players have to be convinced of their safety for it to commit to the assignment, which "is not possible in June."

"...we will continue our discussions with the ECB and other Internationals Boards on trying to find new dates," it said in a recent press release.

"We will only travel to England to play the series if our players can be assured that it is safe to do so," it added.

Pakistan is also scheduled to play an ODI series against Ireland while in UK but that series could be rescheduled and also be held in England.

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February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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March 27,2020

New Delhi, Mar 27: India skipper Virat Kohli on Friday made a heartfelt appeal to the citizens of the country, asking them to follow social distancing as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus pandemic.
He also went on to say that over the past few days, he has seen some people still taking to the streets, and added that if people still continue to venture out, then they are not being honest with the country.
Kohli released a small video clip on Twitter, making the public appeal and captioned the post as: "Please wake up to the reality and seriousness of the situation and take responsibility. The nation needs our support and honesty"
"Today, I am talking to you as a citizen of the country. Whatever I have seen over the past few days, I have seen people not following the lockdown, it has made me feel that some people are taking the battle against COVID-19 very lightly. I request you all to please follow social distancing, whatever the government is asking you to do, please follow it," Kohli said in the video released on Twitter.
"Think about what can happen to your family members because of your negligence. Our medical experts are fighting this battle day in and day out. If you are still going out to the streets, then I don't think you are being honest to your country," he added.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to impose a 21-day lockdown in the country as a precautionary measure against coronavirus.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases have risen to 724 in India (including 640 active cases, 66 cured or discharged people) and 17 deaths.
The World Health Organisation had termed the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic on March 11. 

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