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Dutt's Oly quest had a Chechnya twist

August 16, 2012
yogesh

New Delhi, August 16: Missing out on an Olympic medal by a whisker at Beijing four summers ago, and a career-threatening knee injury a year later made Yogeshwar Dutt so determined to shine in London that he didn’t think twice before going to bomb-ravaged Vladikavkaz on Russia-Chechnya border for a two-month training stint.


His request to train at the Russian city left his sponsors Mittal Champion Trust (MCT) bewildered, but Dutt was determined. They tried to convince Dutt, who merely said: “Marna hai to kahin bhi mar jayenge but Olympic medal ke liye kuch bhi karne ke liye tayyar hoon (If I have to die, I can die anywhere. But I will do anything to win an Olympic medal).”

He went, leaving Ramadhar Yadav, the MCT coordinator who has been working with him for a long time, softened with admiration. “When I met him for the first time, I told him I am going to help you win an Olympic medal, can you do it? He said “you support me and I will give you everything.” I was surprised that within the first 10 days I stayed with him at Vladikavkaz, he had made friends at the training centre and was even chatting on skype. His grasping power is amazing,” he said.

Dutt trained there alone without a celllphone, barring occasional excursions online. When Yadav returned to take him, they were nearly arrested. “The police officials could not understand English and we had to stay for two hours in the police station. It was a terrifying night. It was only when we reached the airport could we breathe with ease,” Yadav said.

Relentless hard work resulted in an Olympic bronze.


"All these years this boy has only spoken of an Olympic medal. He has worked day and night. And when he won the medal, he called me and said I have finally fulfilled the dream of my (late) father and even mine,” his mother Sushila Devi, a retired teacher, told Deccan Herald.

His friends are no less proud of him and some have even taken a month’s break to help him through the riotous celebrations.

Yadav prays and hopes that the humble wrestler from Bhainswal Kalan gets his deserved place in the hearts of people. “When he won the Commonwealth Gold medal, some 25,000 people gathered in his village to celebrate. I told him, if you win an Olympic medal, the celebrations will be four times bigger. He has kept his promise, it is now the country’s turn,” he said.



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Agencies
March 13,2020

New Delhi, Mar 13: The remaining ODI series between India and South Africa has been called-off amidst the rising concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

"The second and third ODI between India and South Africa in Lucknow and Kolkata respectively are called off," the BCCI source told media persons.

The first match of the series was abandoned due to rain and wet outfield without a toss at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium on Thursday.

The second and third ODI was scheduled to be played at Lucknow and Kolkata on March 15 and 18 respectively. Earlier on Thursday, the BCCI has decided to play the remaining two ODIs behind closed doors.

"After holding discussions with the MYAS and MOHFW, the BCCI on Thursday announced that the remaining two One-day Internationals (ODIs) of the three-match series of South Africa tour of India, 2020, will be played without any public gathering, including spectators," the BCCI had said in a statement.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has advised all the federations to avoid large gatherings.

World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday had declared the coronavirus outbreak a 'pandemic' and expressed deep concerns.

The coronavirus disease was first detected in Wuhan in China's Hubei province, in late December, and has since spread worldwide.

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Agencies
January 26,2020

Mumbai, Jan 26: Boxing great Mary Kom has been selected for the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award. Olympic silver medallist and reigning badminton World Champion PV Sindhu has been named for Padma Bhushan as the names of Padma awardees were disclosed on Saturday on the eve of the 71st Republic Day.

Rated as one of the most successful amateur boxers of all time, Mary Kom won bronze at the 2012 London Olympics and has won gold at the boxing World Championships for a record six times. She has won a total of eight medals at the World Championships, the most recent of which came in October 2019 in Ulan Ude, Russia. The 36-year-old is now looking to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Sindhu became the only Indian woman to win an Olympic silver when she reached the final of the women's singles event at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazi. In August last year, the 24-year-old became the first Indian to win gold at the badminton World Championships.

She has also won two silver and two bronze medals at the World's in the past, thus making her only the second woman after Chinese two-time Olympic gold medallist Zhang Ning to win five medals in the competition.

Indian women's hockey captain Rani Rampal, who has been the face of women's hockey in the country and played a pivotal role in the team qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is among those who have been nominated for the Padma Shri award.

Women's football stalwart Oinam Bembem Devi, former cricketer Zaheer Khan, shooter Jitu Rai, former hockey captain and coach M.P. Ganesh and archer Tarundeep Rai are the other sportspersons to be selected for the Padma Shri award.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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