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Rower Dattu Bhokanal qualifies for Rio Olympics

April 25, 2016

New Delhi, Apr 25: Indian rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal today qualified for the Rio Olympics after winning a silver in the men's single sculls event at the FISA Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta at Chung-ju in South Korea.

Dattu

The 25-year-old armyman clocked 7 minutes and 07.63 seconds in the 2km course to finish second. The top seven in the finals qualify for the Rio Games.

Nashik-born Bhokanal, who trains at the Army Rowing Node (ARN) in Pune, was on course for a gold medal finish as he was leading the five-man field till the 1,500 metre mark but Korean Dongyong Kim (07 mins 05.13 secs) overtook him at the final stretch.

"We are very much delighted that Dattu Bhokanal has qualified for the Rio Games in men's single sculls event by finishing second in the Asian Olympic qualifying event in Korea," Rowing Federation of India Secretary General Capt. Girish J Phadnis told PTI from Mumbai.

"His Olympic qualification is a welcome development for the sport of rowing which has been doing well for some time. We have been having a Indian rower for every Olympics since 2000," he added.

India could not, however, book a Rio berth in the men's light weight double sculls as the pair of Vikram Singh and Roopendra Singh finished fifth in the finals. Only top three qualify for Rio Olympics in this category.

Phadnis also said that Bhokanal will be the lone Indian rower taking part in Rio Games as no more qualifying events are left now. By virtue of qualifying for the Rio Games, Bhokanal is expected to be included in the government's Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme which funds medal prospects in their training and preparation.

Bhokanal will be the ninth rower to represent India in the Olympics after Kasam Khan and Inderpal Singh (Sydney 2000; men's coxless pairs), Paulose Pandari Kunnel (Athens 2004; men's singles sculls), Bajrang Takhar (Beijing 2008; men's singles sculls), Manjit Singh and Devender Khandwal (Beijing 2008; men's lightweight double sculls) and Sawarn Singh (London 2012; men's singles sculls) and Manjit Singh and Sandeep Kumar (London 2012; men's lightweight double sculls).

Born in Nashik in 1991, Bhokanal comes from a humble background and took to rowing in 2012 at the BEG Centre at Kirkee in Pune. In 2013, he shifted to ARN, Pune for better training.

He won two gold medals in the 2014 National Rowing Championships, representing the Services and represented India at the 2014 Asian Games in China.

Bhokanal's best international achievement so far was winning a silver in men's single sculls in the 16th Asian Rowing Championships in China last year.

Considering Bhokanal's rise to the top level in such a short span of time, Phadnis said that he can even spring a surprise and finish at the podium in Rio Games.

"He took to rowing very late. He has been rowing for just four years only and he has won a silver in Asian Championships last year and now he has qualified for the Olympics. He should be in the top 10 in Rio but you never know he can spring a surprise," Phadnis said.

Asked if Bhokanal may be sent abroad for training to prepare for for the Rio Games, Phadnis said, "We will discuss it with Bhokanal and his coach once they return from Korea and take a call whether he will go abroad or not. Time is short now but for sure he will go for high altitude training."

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Agencies
January 26,2020

New Delhi, Jan 26: The sports fraternity on Sunday extended greetings to the people on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day.

Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to write: "Wishing all Indians a very happy Republic Day."
"Rejoice the Glory of India and it's Freedom Fighters on this Republic Day. Wish you a very happy #RepublicDayIndia . Jai Hind !" former batsman VVS Laxman tweeted.

"Wish you all a very happy #RepublicDay2020 from here in New Zealand," Irfan Pathan tweeted.

Boxer Vijender Singh said India is blessed with different religions, societies, cultures and languages.

"INDIA is a nation where humanity has lived since ages.It is a country which is blessed with different religions,societies,cultures & languages all interplaying with each other in harmony. PROUD OF UNITY IN DIVERSITY #RepublicDayIndia #RepublicDay2020," Singh wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Former cricketer Virender Sehwag, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, wrestler Sushil Kumar and tennis player Sania Mirza also extended their greetings on the occasion.

On this day, 70 years back, India officially adopted its Constitution. Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro is the chief guest at the parade this year.

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Premier Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has described Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a "massive influence" on his career, revealing that at the beginning of his IPL stint, he was driven by an intense desire to get the former captain's attention.

Ashwin got his contract with CSK, one of the most successful IPL sides, in 2008 and said the stint with CSK shaped his career.

"IPL and CSK is a stage that everyone wants. For me it was more about recognition. MSD did not know who Ashwin is, (Matthew) Hayden and (Muttiah) Muralithan did not know who Ashwin is. The first thing that came to my mind was that 'I will show these people that Ashwin is here'," Ashwin told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"I don't know it was being foolish or arrogance but that was how I was made. Nobody was giving me a chance that Ashwin will play alongside Muralitharan or ahead of Muralitharan. I thought, I will get there ahead of him one day," he added.

Ashwin said Dhoni, who led CSK, had "massive influence" on him and the only way to impress him was by troubling him in the nets.

"I got the eye of Hayden, Jacob Oram, and Stephen Fleming while bowling to them at the nets. They were finding it difficult to face me in the first year (2008) but I had not caught the eye of MSD," he said.

"I never had massive interactions with him. It was going to the nets and getting MSD...he was hitting Muralitharan out of the park and I thought, if I bowl better than him, I met get to play ahead of Murali.

" I got his attention when I got him during a Challenger trophy and celebrated like a crazy kid," he recalled.

After that, Ashwin said during CSK's match against Victoria Bushrangers in the now defunct Champions League, he volunteered to bowl the Super Over and Dhoni gave him the ball without hesitation.

Ashwin did not fare well and ended up conceding 23 runs. The off-spinner said when Dhoni walked past him after the match, he only said that, "you should have bowled the carrom ball."

"MS always maintained that you are exceptionally skilful and you should keep doing what you do."

Ashwin has been very successful against the left-handers as 189 of his 365 wickets are of southpaws. Ashwin credited his engineering background and advice from Duncan Fletcher for the success.

"He made a statement that changed cricket. He said it's all about geometry and left it at that. Understanding angles (engineering background) has given me edge over others," he said.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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