Sports
Rio 2016 marathon test event hailed as success
Rio de Janeiro : Organisers and athletes hailed Sunday’s Rio 2016 Olympic marathon test event as a success despite hot autumn conditions.
Rio 2016 venue management director Gustavo Nascimento said the 42 km course, which will start and finish at the 700m-long Sambadrome, could see slight alterations before the event on August 21, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Maybe there will be some minor changes to the route but in general it (the test event) went very well,” Nascimento said.
He added that the final route would be discussed in the coming week and confirmed in July.
Marcio Barreto da Silva was first to cross the finish line in a field of 16 participants, recording a time of 2 hours, 21 minutes and 22 seconds.
“The route is well marked and the organization was perfect,” Da Silva said.
“What had the biggest impact was the heat. It was a great thrill to be part of test for an event that will feature the world’s best athletes,” he added.
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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.