Who is De Grasse and why Bolt wagged his finger at him after Rio 200m semis

August 18, 2016

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 18: Usain Bolt crossed the finish line and wagged his finger at the brash up-and-comer who dared challenge him.

Didn’t Andre de Grasse know that nobody’s supposed to mess with the Jamaican’s 200 meters? Especially at the Olympics.

Bolt, in search of his eighth Olympic gold, considers the 200 his best race and, in the past, has taken umbrage with anyone who suggests they might beat him.

bolt

De Grasse tried to in the semifinals, even though he and Bolt were clearly in the top two spots as they came down the stretch, and securely into Thursday night’s final.

Instead of slowing, de Grasse sped up and forced Bolt, who had already slowed down, to pick up the pace.

The two looked at each other and smiled as they approached the finish line. Bolt leaned across in 19.78 seconds, only .02 ahead of the Canadian.

Bolt wagged his finger at de Grasse and laughed. But he didn’t really find it funny.

“That was really unnecessary,” Bolt said. “I don’t know what he was trying to do. He’s a young kid, he’s great. He has a lot of talent. I’m looking forward to the competition in the final.”

De Grasse conceded he pushed too hard. On Thursday, nobody will be coasting in.

As much as winning his eighth Olympic gold medal, Bolt is aiming for a world record. He holds the current mark, at 19.19 seconds, but thinks a sub-19 time could be possible.

“Now, it’s (about) executing right, running the corner efficiently, and coming in the straight and running the perfect race,” he said.

If things go terribly wrong for him, here are some others who could be a factor:

The 21-year-old bronze medalist in the 100 meters could represent a changing of the guard in the sprint game. Big question: Did pushing Bolt for a relatively meaningless semifinal placing actually sap any strength from the champion?

It’s not Bolt, but Merritt, who currently has the year’s best time at 200 meters (19.74 seconds). But it’s not Merritt’s best race. That would be the 400, where four nights earlier, Merritt staggered across the line in third, nearly a full second off of Wayde van Niekerk’s world-record pace. How much did that take out of Merritt? We shall see. He’d have to be ecstatic with any kind of medal in his “bonus race.”

The 32-year-old native of Curacao runs for the Netherlands. His claim to fame was finishing second to Bolt at the 2008 Olympics but losing the medal after officials determined he stepped outside his lane. The man who received it, Shawn Crawford, didn’t think it was a fair ruling and gave Martina back his silver, though the official results stayed the same.

Um, well, no. After capturing silver in the 100, the main challenger to Bolt over the past two years didn’t qualify for the 200 final. He revealed he’d been dealing with an injured ankle. But he isn’t checking out completely from the race. “I’ll be out there rubbing his shoulders, with a towel on him, like, ‘All right Rocky, get yourself ready,’“ Gatlin said, doing his best impression of Burgess Meredith’s trainer character in the “Rocky” movies.

THE REST

None of the following four — Christophe Lemaitre, Alonso Edward, Adam Gemili or Ramil Guliyev — have cracked 20 seconds this year. If they get caught up in Bolt’s tailwind, they might.

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News Network
June 13,2020

Islamabad, Jun 13: Pakistan cricket team’s former captain Shahid Afridi, who has tested positive for coronavirus,  appears to have contracted the virus during his recent visit to Muzaffarabad city of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) where Pakistan has been sending its corona positive patients.

The former Pakistan cricketer was seen attending gatherings in Muzaffarabad last month without wearing a mask and not maintaining social distancing. He spewed venom against India during his rallies. 

Afridi visited PoK to also express his solidarity with the people there who have been left to fend for themselves in combating COVID-19 as Pakistan has refused to provide any COVID fighting equipment like PPE kits and ventilators to the area’s handful of hospitals. 

In fact, Pakistan has been using the PoK as a “dumping ground” for COVID-19 affected persons from all across the country as authorities want to keep Punjab province free of corona positive persons. 

The locals held massive protests against Pakistan for setting up quarantine centres and shifting patients from parts of Pakistan to PoK. 

People are immensely suffering in Pakistan occupied Kashmir due to spread of coronavirus as the region lacks proper medical facilities and has a handful of COVID-19 testing labs. There is also lack of expert medical staff to conduct COVID-19 tests. 

A large number of people here are presumed asymptomatic and they are fast spreading the virus because of lack of medical care. 

Pakistan has reported over 1,25,000 coronavirus cases and 2,463 casualties. In Pakistan occupied Kashmir, the COVID-19 cases have increased to 534, whereas in Gilgit-Baltistan 1,030 have been  reported. 

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Atlanta, Jan 9: Top tennis stars like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams will be playing an exhibition match to raise funds for Australia's bushfire relief.

Apart from these three, Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas have also confirmed their availability for the match, CNN reported.

The match will be played on January 15 at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena. The Australian Open Rally for Relief will be donating the proceedings from the ticket sales to the bushfire relief efforts.

Tennis star Maria Sharapova had also announced on Wednesday that she had left 10 signed pairs of her tennis shoes in her Brisbane hotel that members of the public could buy with a donation to the Australian Red Cross.

"Brisbane, I have signed ten pairs of my tennis shoes, left them at the @BrisbaneTennis
desk at the Westin Hotel, alongside a donation envelope for fire rescue efforts.They're yours to keep,we just ask you to donate AUD 300 a pair. All money going directly to Red Cross," Sharapova tweeted.

Earlier, former Australian spinner Shane Warne on Monday had announced to auction his Baggy Green cap to raise funds for victims of devastating bushfires in Australia.

Taking to Twitter, Warne made the announcement and posted a statement.

"The horrific bushfires in Australia have left us all in disbelief. The impact these devastating fires are having on so many people is unthinkable and has touched us all. Lives have been lost, homes have been destroyed and over 500 million animals have died too," Warne wrote.

"Everyone is in this together and we continue to find ways to contribute and help on a daily basis. This has led me to auction my beloved baggy green cap (350) that I wore throughout my Test career," he added.

Warne joined a growing list of cricketers to raise money for the bushfire victims. Australian players Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell and D'Arcy Short have already announced that they will donate AUD 250 each for every six they hit in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) to support bushfire victims.

Athletes from other sports too joined the movement as tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic decided to donate 25,000 dollars each for Australia's bushfire relief fund.

Wildfires have been raging across Australia for months, killing 23 people, burning about 6 million hectares (23,000 square miles) of bushland and killing a billion animals.

Naval and air rescue operations were launched on Friday as mass evacuations of towns at risk of being engulfed by flames got underway.b

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News Network
January 29,2020

Hamilton, Jan 29: India defeated New Zealand in the third T20 International via Super Over to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series here on Wednesday.

India posted a competitive 179 for five at Seddon Park after being sent into bat. Opener Rohit Sharma top scored for India with a 65-run knock while skipper Virat Kohli contributed 38 runs in team's total.

Later, skipper Kane Williamson smashed a 48-ball 95 but New Zealand faltered in the final over to take the match into the Super Over.

Needing nine runs of the last over, New Zealand lost Williamson and Ross Taylor to finish at 179 for six and tie the match.

In the Super Over, New Zealand scored 17, a target which India overwhelmed in the final ball with Rohit smashing Tim Southee for two consecutive sixes.

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