Mohamed Farah defies fall to retain 10,000m title

August 14, 2016

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 14: Britain's Mohamed Farah overcame the shock of a mid-race fall to take a second straight Olympic 10,000m title and extend his remarkable record at global championships.

farahThe 33-year-old produced a trademark surge over the last 100 metres to time 27min 05.17sec in the 25-lap race.

Kenyan Paul Tanui won silver in 27:05.64 with Ethiopian Tamirat Tola third in 27:06.26. Farah tumbled in the 10th lap after being clipped by American training partner Galen Rupp.

But he brilliantly recovered to accumulate a second 10,000m title to add to the 5,000m gold he also won in London four years ago.

"When I went down, I thought, 'Oh my God, that is it.' I just got up and wanted to stick with the guys and stay strong," Farah said.

"It's never easy but everyone knows what I can do."

Farah added: "I thought about all my hard work and that it could all be gone in a minute.
"I wasn't going to let it go. I got up quickly. I thought about my family. It made me emotional."

Rupp, the silver medallist in London who will also compete in the marathon in Rio, blamed the fall on pushing.

"I bumped into him. There was a lot of pushing. Guys slowing down in front, guys pushing from behind," said Rupp, who trains with Farah under Oregon-based Alberto Salazar.

It was his eighth successive win in the 5,000 or 10,000m at a world championships or Olympics since 2011, when Ibrahim Jeilan beat him over 10,000m in the Daegu world championships.

Farah has also notched up the European double, twice, in 2010 and 2014 to become one of the best middle distance runners of all time.

The 34 runners at the Olympic Stadium went through the first five laps at a steady pace, Farah working his way to the front after at first coasting at the back of the pack.

Ethiopian pair Tola and Yigrem Demelash, the fastest man over the distance this season, immediately responded, Farah falling in with Rupp and exchanging a few words.

But there was drama to come, Farah taking a tumble during the 10th lap after being clipped by Rupp.

The Briton recovered quickly and flashed the American a thumbs-up as he refound his rhythm behind Tola, Tanui and his teammate Geoffrey Kamworor, the reigning world cross country champion and the winner of the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships earlier this year.

"Obviously I didn't want that to affect the outcome of the race at all," said Rupp.
"I wanted to make sure he was okay first and foremost. I told him to get behind me after that and tried to lead him back up. I'm just happy that it didn't affect the outcome for his race."

Rupp added: "Mo never loses his head, he's always able to keep his composure. He's just a great competitor."

At the halfway mark, the field began to break up, the Kenyan duo taking up the front running. Team tactics then showed through, the third Kenyan, Bedan Karoki Muchiri, accelerating to the front.

His compatriots swept along with him, Farah looking comfortable in fourth as the pack slowed after the latest surge.

Demelash moved past Farah with six laps to run, another increase in the pace of the leading pack proving tough for anyone out of the top 10.

Farah, a regular competitor over 1500m to improve his speed work, led with two laps to run, holding off Tanui on his shoulder, Rupp behind him.

The Briton was passed by Tanui after going through the bell, but Farah held his nerve as a grimacing Tanui faded to time 55.37sec for the final lap.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Headingley, Jan 25: England have become the first team in the world to score 500,000 runs in Test cricket. They achieved the feat during the ongoing fourth and final Test against South Africa being played at The Wanderers.

On Friday - the opening day of the Test match -- England captain Joe Root's single through the covers took the Three Lions to a landmark 500,000 run-mark in the longest format of the game. They achieved the feat in their 1022nd Test match.

Australia comes second in the list, with 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India, meanwhile, are third, with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, followed by West Indies (270,441 runs in 545 Tests).

In the third Test played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, England had become the first team to play 500 Test matches on foreign soil. Australia are the second team to play the most away Test with 404 matches they have played so far.

India have played 268 Tests on foreign soil in which they have won 51, lost 113 and 104 have ended in a draw.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

New Delhi, Feb 20: Grappler Divya Kakran on Thursday became the second Indian woman to win a gold medal at the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championship.

Divya, a bronze medallist at Asian Games 2018, earned her first gold by winning all her four bouts against Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Japan.

Her final bout against Naruha Matsuyuki of Japan was the closest one but she managed to outclass her opponent 6-4 to seal her name on the gold medal. The 68 kg category was played in round-robin format as only five wrestlers were in the fray.

India is likely to add some more medals to its tally when Nirmala Devi, Pinki, and Sarita go out to grapple for the yellow metal in their respective weight categories.

Three-time Commonwealth championship gold medallist, Nirmala Devi (50 kg) first defeated Munkhnar Byambasuren of Mongolia in the quarterfinals by 6-4 to reach the semis.

In the semi-finals, Nirmala got the better of Dauletbike Yakhshimuratova of Uzbekistan by 10-0 and will play against 2018 Under-23 World Champion Miho Igarashi of Japan for the gold medal.

Pinki (55 kg) started her day on a winning note against Shokhida Akhmedova of Uzbekistan by 12-4 in round 3 and lost to Kana Higashikawa of Japan to enter the semis where she defeated Marina Zuyeva of Kazakistan by a score of 6-0.

Pinki will play in the gold medal bout against Dulguun Bolormaa of Mongolia.

Sarita (59 kg) will now face Battsetseg Altantsetseg of Mongolia in the gold medal bout after winning against her opponents in the qualifiers, quarterfinals and semi-final by a score of 10-0, 11-0 and 10-3, respectively.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Former opener Gautam Gambhir is mighty impressed with the way K.L. Rahul batted during India's comfortable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I and said it amazes him why the right-handed batsman can't play the same way in Tests. On Tuesday, Rahul top-scored with a 32-ball 45 as India chased down the meagre target of 143 with utmost ease at the Holkar Stadium.

"Rahul is in unbelievable form. It amazes me every time I see Rahul bat that why didn't he play the same way in Test cricket," Gambhir told the host broadcasters. "It's not about only white-ball cricket; it is about Test cricket too. He just got into a shell too much. With the kind of quality he posses, he is someone who can get you a 50-ball 100 in Test cricket as well. The kind of shots he has is superb," he added.

Shikhar Dhawan, who is making a return to the team after an injury lay-off, also contributed with a "rusty" 30-ball 32. Both Dhawan and Rahul are virtually playing for the second opener's slot for the World T20, with Rohit Sharma set to be one.

And Gambhir feels going by the current form, Rahul should be opening the batting alongside Rohit in Australia. "You can't compare IPL to international cricket. When you're playing for Delhi Capitals, you know there's no one waiting for the opportunity, but when you're playing for the country and you know there's someone who's actually can replace you, there'll always be pressure. And today it was shown who's in better form," Gambhir said.

The cricketer-turned-politician, however, exuded confidence that Dhawan will bounce back strongly in the next game. "Shikhar Dhawan looked rusty but it's a good thing that he got some runs under his belt. It will help him when he walks out to bat in the next game. Had he got out early, the pressure would have been more," he said.

India will play Sri Lanka in the final T20I in Pune on Friday before taking on Australia in a three-match ODI series beginning January 14 in Mumbai.

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