Rio will be my last Olympics, eyeing gold: Yogeshwar Dutt

October 28, 2015

New Delhi, Oct 28: Stretching himself against an injury prone body, Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt on Tuesday said that the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will be his last appearance at the quadrennial extravaganza and he is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to sign off with a gold medal.

Yogeshwar"Rio will be my last Olympics and I am extremely keen to sign off with a medal. I am all focussed on my preparations and aiming for a gold medal," Yogeshwar said.

The 32-year-old, however, made it clear that he would not retire after the Olympic Games and might take part in the Asian and Commonwealth Games if his body permits.

"I would not be retiring after the Olympics. Fitness permitting, I would still like to represent India in the Asian and Commonwealth Games (in 2018). But as far as Olympics are concerned, Rio would definitely be my last," Yogeshwar, who will be turning 33 on November 2, clarified.

The 2012 London Games bronze medallist said after the upcoming Pro Wrestling League (PWL), which will take place at various venues across India, he will be going abroad for two months to train before the next Olympic qualification.

"The next four months are going to be very important for me. After the Pro Wrestling League, I will be going abroad to train for two months. I will either go to USA or Russia to prepare myself before next Olympic qualifiers in March," he informed.

Yogeshwar would be participating in the Asian Olympic qualification to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan from March 18 to 20 next year.

Having forced to pull out of the Wrestling World Championships at Las Vegas, USA last month after being found unfit, Yogeshwar admitted it was a "huge disappointment".

"I was completely heart broken and very disappointed, and more so because I knew I had a great chance of qualifying for next year's Olympics during the World Championship as I was very well prepared. But doctors advised me not to take part and I had to listen to them in order to save my body from further damage," recalled the wrestler.

Asked if he again gets injured during the gruelling PWL, which is just a domestic professional league competition, Yogeshwar said, "I can't be skipping all tournaments for the fear of getting injured. The Pro Wrestling League will be a good platform to judge where I stand and I will get to know my shortcomings. One gets to know about his weaknesses only while competing in a proper tournament."

"World class wrestlers are expected to be here for the PWL and it would be good opportunity for me to fight against at least five to six top grapplers before moving to the knock-out stage of the event. It would be good for me to face some tough competition. As it is, after PWL, I will have about three months time before the next Olympic qualifier to take care of my niggles," he insisted.

The wrestler from Haryana claimed that he has now completely recovered from his knee injury and going through some tough training schedule.

"I have been practising since last one month. I am in Sonepat and following a tight regime. After recovering from the injury, I am concentrating more on maintaining my stamina and fitness and also on improving my skills," Yogeshwar concluded.

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News Network
April 5,2020

New Delhi, April 5: England batsman James Vince lashed out at people for not taking proper measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and said people are going out as if "everything is normal".

"Just seen the pictures of people out and about today as if everything is normal. What selfish people, surely by now they've realised this is serious. Well done to everyone who's doing their bit and staying in," Vince tweeted.

On March 13, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Europe was now the 'epicentre' of the disease.

The death toll due to the novel coronavirus in the UK has exceeded 4,313 with at least 708 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the largest one-day rise since the start of the outbreak as confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The total number of cases in the UK as on Saturday is 41,903, a rise of 3,735 cases in the last 24 hours.

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News Network
April 7,2020

Bengaluru, April 7: India batsman Robin Uthappa has said that he reckons he still has a World Cup left in him, despite being out of the team for than four years.

Uthappa had last played a match for the Men in Blue in 2015 on the tour of Zimbabwe.

"Right now I want to be competitive. I still have that fire burning in me, I really want to compete and do well. I honestly believe I have a World Cup left in me, so I'm pursuing that, especially the shortest format. 

The blessings of lady luck or god or whatever you call it, plays a massive factor," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Uthappa as saying.

"Especially in India, it becomes so much more evident. I don't think it is as evident when you're playing cricket outside of India. But in the subcontinent and India especially, with the amount of talent that we do have in our country, all of those aspects become evident," he added.

The 34-year-old Uthappa has played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is for India and he was also a part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2007.

Uthappa has scored 934 runs in ODIs at an average of 25.94, while in T20Is his numbers are 249 runs at an average of 24.90.

"You can never write yourself off. You would be unfair to yourself if you write yourself off.

Especially if you believe you have the ability and you know that there is an outside chance. So I still believe in that outside chance," Uthappa said.

"I still believe that things can go my way and I probably can be a part of a World Cup-winning team and play an integral role in that as well.

Those dreams are still alive and I think I'll keep playing cricket till that is alive," he added.

Uthappa had enjoyed great success with IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. He went on to become their leading run-scorer in the 2014 edition.

However, he was released by the side after a below-par 2019 season, and last November he was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals for the 2020 edition.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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