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Swimmer Sharath Gayakwad wins six medals in the Asian Para-games; breaks P T Usha's record

October 28, 2014

New Delhi, Oct 28: Sharath Gayakwad became the first Indian to win six medals in a multi-disciplinary sporting event when he achieved this feat at the Asian Para-games in Incheon, South Korea. The para-swimmer went past sprinter P T Usha, who had won five medals at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games.

Sharath Gayakwad

Sharath’s medal run started in the 200m Individual Medley event where he clinched silver. He then went on to win bronze in the 100 m butterfly,100 m breaststroke,100 m backstroke, and the 50 m freestyle. The Bangalorean teamed up with Prasanta Karmakar, Swapnil Patil and Niranjan Mukundan to win bronze medal in the 4x100 m Medley Relay. He won medals on all days of the competition.

Coach impressed by Sharath’s achievement

Sharath thanked all the people behind his success.

"I'm extremely happy about my performance at the Games. For the past six months, I, along with the other swimmers have trained hard for this competition, and it feels great when our hard work pays off.”

“I would like to thank my parents for their constant support, John (Christopher) sir for years of guidance and encouragement, GoSports Foundation for their support, and all others who have helped me so far, including Speedo, and my fellow swimmers at the pool,” he said.

Coach John Christopher was equally delighted.

"Sharath has performed exceptionally well. I'm extremely proud of his performance, more so because he has overcome a serious shoulder injury to achieve these results. With GoSports Foundation's support, he is being mentored by Rahul Dravid, whose advice has helped Sharath immensely.

"I'm also delighted with the performance of Niranjan Mukundan, who was part of the medal winning relay team, and finished 4th in the 200m IM. Both Sharath and Niranjan have been very committed and we have trained sincerely for the Asian Games. I'm happy that we have the results to show for our efforts," he added.

“Rahul Dravid motivated me”

The 23-year old para-swimmer was on the verge on quitting the sport after he missed out on a medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July this year. Former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid encouraged Sharath to not give up on his dreams.

"Rahul (Dravid) told me, 'I know you are planning to retire, but let's keep that aside for now. Right now your focus should be the Asian Games and to win medals for India.' He then gave examples from his life on how he dealt with pressure, the final years of his career and experiences with new and younger teammates," Gayakwad recalled.

"I was having a lot of trouble concentrating on my career and Rahul's wise words helped me a lot. We were in touch through emails and his tips on how to build partnerships and be a team player has definitely helped me become a better sportsperson," he added.

Sharath suffers from a dysfunctional left short arm and the recurring shoulder injury is what bothers him when he thinks of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"My recurring shoulder injury takes a big toll on my body. At Incheon, I had qualified for eight events and had to compete in nearly 13 to 15 races (including heats) and it hurt a lot. Therefore, it affects my training as well. I'm undergoing physiotherapy but I'll have to wait and see about Rio," he explained.

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Agencies
May 9,2020

Tokyo, May 9: As the world continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of Tokyo Game Show have cancelled 2020 showpiece event.

TGS 2020 was slated to be played from September 24 to September 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center. However, there now talks going on for holding an online event instead.

According to the Verge, this is the first time that TGS has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996.

TGS 2020 gained more attention because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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News Network
July 9,2020

Tokorozawa, Jul 9: Olympic boxing hopeful Arisa Tsubata is used to taking blows in the ring but it is during her work as a nurse that she faces her toughest opponent: coronavirus.

The 27-year-old juggles a brutal training regime in boxing gloves with long, irregular hours in surgical gloves at a hospital near Tokyo.

Tsubata mainly treats cancer patients but she said the virus was a constant threat, with medical experts warning at the peak of the pandemic that Japan's health system was close to collapse.

"We always face the risk of infection at medical facilities," she said.

"My colleagues and I have all worked under the stress of possibly getting infected."

Like most elite athletes, the virus played havoc with Tsubata's training schedules, meaning she welcomed the postponement of this year's Tokyo Olympics until 2021.

"It was a plus for me, giving me more time for training, although I wasn't sure if I should be so happy because the reason for the postponement was the spread of the infectious disease," she said.

Tsubata took up boxing only two years ago as a way to lose weight but quickly rose through the ranks.

"In a few years after becoming a nurse, I gained more than 10 kilos (22 pounds)," she laughed.

"I planned to go to Hawaii with my friends one summer, and I thought I wouldn't have much fun in a body like that. That is how I started boxing."

She quickly discovered a knack for the ring, winning the Japan national championship and a place on the national team.

But juggling her medical and sporting career has not always been easy and the first time she fought a foreign boxer came only in January, at an intensive training camp in Kazakhstan.

"That made me realise how inexperienced I am in my short boxing career. I was scared," she admitted.

Japanese boxing authorities decided she was not experienced enough to send her to the final qualifying tournament in Paris, which would have shattered her Tokyo 2020 dreams -- if coronavirus had not given her an extra year.

Now she is determined to gain the experience needed to qualify for the rescheduled Games, which will open on July 23, 2021.

"I want to train much more and convince the federation that I could fight in the final qualifiers," she said.

Her coach Masataka Kuroki told AFP she is a subtle boxer and a quick learner, as he put her through her paces at a training session.

She now needs to add more defensive technique and better core strength to her fighting spirit and attacking flair, said Kuroki.

"Defence! She needs more technique for defence. She needs to have a more agile, stronger lower body to fend off punches from below," he said.

Her father Joji raised Arisa and her three siblings single-handedly after separating from his Tahitian wife and encouraged his daughter into nursing to learn life-long skills.

He never expected his daughter to be fighting for a place in the Olympics but proudly keeps all her clippings from media coverage.

"She tried not to see us family directly after the coronavirus broke out," the 58-year-old told AFP. "She was worried."

Tsubata now want to compete in the Games for all her colleagues who have supported her and the patients that have cheered her on in her Olympic ambitions.

"I want to be the sort of boxer who keeps coming back no matter how many punches I take," she said.

"I want to show the people who cheer for me that I can work hard and compete in the Olympics, because of them."

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