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Andre Villas-Boas withdraws from Dakar Rally after crash
Lima (Peru), Jan 10 (IANS) Portuguese football coach Andre Villas-Boas has withdrawn from the Dakar Rally after suffering a back injury on the fourth day of the event in southern Peru.
The 40-year-old’s maiden appearance in the annual race ended when his Toyota crashed midway through the 330km stage around San Juan de Marcona, reports Xinhua news agency.
He was taken to hospital for checks before being discharged late on Tuesday night. His co-driver, Ruben Faria, was unscathed in the incident.
“Just to tell everyone that both me and Ruben are safe and well and back in the bivouac,” Villas-Boas wrote on Instagram.
“We jumped off a dune and crashed the car nose first. The Dakar unfortunately is finished for us. Better luck next time! Thank you all for your kind messages of support.”
Villas-Boas only began preparing for the race in November after quitting as manager of Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua.
The former Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham manager said last week that he hopes to return to coaching in June.
More than 50 competitors have already withdrawn from this year’s Dakar Rally, which is widely regarded as the world’s most gruelling off-road endurance race.
–IANS
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.