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Athletes shrug off pollution issues at Rio Olympic test

August 2, 2015

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 2: Athletes, coaches and organisers at a major test event for next year's Olympic Games shrugged off a simmering dispute over safety at watersports venues by diving into the controversial waters off Copacabana Beach on Saturday.

olympicsThe first day of the triathlon world championship event saw para-athletes swim in the Atlantic waters and bike and run in the streets nearby. "I'm not concerned about the water," said Alison Patrick, a blind British athlete who won the P-5 women's' triathlon in partnership with her sighted guide Grace France. "The thing I noticed most was that the water was warm. I'm from Scotland and I'm used to much colder water."

The waters will be used for triathlon, ocean swimming and sailing events during next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the first to be held in South America. Elite men's and women's triathlon events, scheduled for Sunday, offer qualifying spots for next year's Games. Concern over the athletes' health in the waters arose last week after an Associated Press report showed viral and bacterial levels in the water are equivalent to those in raw sewage.

Rio de Janeiro's state environmental agency declared some waters near the swimming site unsuitable for bathing on Friday but the worries did not seem to bother most competitors. Rodrigo Garcia, director of sports for the Rio Olympic Organizing Committee said bacteria levels in the water is within Brazilian and international standards. Garcia said the committee has backup plans if heavy rains wash sewage into the venues.

Doug Hiller, medical officer for the International Triathlon Union said he was giving no special recommendations to athletes about Rio water quality. "If I didn't have to work so hard today, I'd be in the water myself," he said. Patrick and France said they took antibiotics and vitamins before the event and gargled with mouthwash afterward.

Some athletes, though, just ignored their concerns and fought through to the finish.Blind U.S. triathlete Patricia Walsh of Austin, Texas who came in third in the P-5 event, was most concerned about the waves."The chop worried me most," she said. "It was hard to hear my partner, we usually only get to train in calmer waters," she said. Her sighted guide Missy Kuck was less sanguine. "I wasn't really concerned," Kuck said. "But let's be honest, the water was nasty."

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Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

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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
June 3,2020

New Delhi, Jun 3: Shuttler HS Prannoy has hit out at the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and has questioned the selection criteria for the Arjuna Award.

The shuttler has said that the players who have won nothing have been recommended, while the players who have medals to their credit have been snubbed.

His remarks come as BAI recommended doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and men's singles player Sameer Verma for the Arjuna Award on Tuesday.

"Same old story. Guy who has Medals in CWG and Asian Championships not even recommended by Association. And guy who was not there on any of these major events recommended #waah #thiscountryisajoke," Prannoy tweeted.

Prannoy had been left out from the list last year as well and the shuttler had slammed the criteria then as well.

"If you ever want your name in the awards list, make sure you have people who will get your name to the list. Performance is least considered in our country. Sad state of our county but can't help it. Let go and just play until you can," Prannoy had tweeted last year.

Prannoy had won the mixed team gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and he also has a men's singles bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Championships.

On Tuesday, the BAI has also recommended the renowned National Institute of Sports (NIS)-certified coaches, S. Murlidharan and Bhaskar Babu for the Dronacharya Award.

Murlidharan has been working relentlessly for the growth and development of the sport in Kerala, besides being an able administrator.

He has coached the likes of Vimal Kumar, Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas amongst many other renowned former players.

He has also been a recipient of the Meritorious Service Award given by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in 1996.

For the Dhyanchand Award, BAI has recommended the names of Pradeep Gandhe and Manjusha Kanwar.

Gandhe is a two-time Asian Games bronze medallist while Manjusha is a South Asian Games silver medallist.

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