Sports: The Great Games 25

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Devendra
Betters Himself
Javelin thrower Jhajharia
breaks his own world record
to win a second gold medal at
the Paralympics

The feeling can't be expressed in

words..it's like a dream come true.
Even if I broke the world record
in 2004, but this is something
very very special. I felt like
successfully completing
a mission
DEVENDRA JHAJHARIA

avelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia

scripted history by becoming the first
Indian to clinch two gold medals at the
Paralympics after he broke his own
world record to clinch the top honours at
the ongoing Rio Games.
The 36-year-old, who won his previous gold in
the 2004 Athens Games, bettered his own world
record to finish on top in the men's F46 event.
Devendra, whose previous best was 62.15 metres (achieved in the 2004 Games), improved
the mark with an attempt of 63.97 metres at the
Olympic Stadium (Engenhao).
Another Indian Rinku Hooda, who also competed in the event, finished fifth with a personal best of 54.39 metres in six attempts, while
Sundar Singh Gurjar didn't start the event.
The Rajasthan born athlete had lost his left
hand when he was electrocuted while climbing a tree as an eight-year-old. But he continued
to follow his dream and went on to achieve the
Arjuna award in 2004 and the Padma Shri in
2012, becoming the first Paralympian to receive
the honour.
Devend ra, who won t he gold at t he
International Paralympic Committee's (IPC)
Athletics World Championships in Lyon in 2013,
last participated in the Paralympics 12 years ago
as the F46 event did not feature in the 2008 and

Jhajharia at the Rio Paralympics

the 2012 editions.

Currently ranked third in the world, Devendra
swelled India's medal tally at Rio to four medals
-- two golds, one silver and a bronze.
Thangavelu Mariyappan had earlier struck
gold in the men's high jump, while Varun Bhati
had secured a bronze in the same event.
Later, Deepa Malik won a silver in the women's
shot put event to add to the tally.
Accolades started to pour in for Devendra

VITALS

as from Prime Minister Narendra Modi

to cricketers such as Virendra Sehwag and
Mohammad Kaif congratulated the athlete for
his stupendous feat at Rio. "Congratulations to
Devendra Jhajharia for the historic and welldeserved Gold at the #Paralympics. We are very
proud of him. #Rio2016," Modi wrote in a tweet.
Sehwag wrote: "#Paralympics is pyaaralympics. Bow down to #DevendraJhajharia
fr d Gold&new World Record.He won Gold
in2004as well."
"Congrats #DevendraJhajharia fr the Gold&
new World Record.Truly inspiring,wishing fr
more coverage than ur 2004 gold," Kaif wrote in
his twitter handle.
2 0 0 4 At hen Oly mpics si lver med a l list
shooter, Rajyavardhan Rathore also wrote:
"Congratulations #DevendraJhajharia Your
#Gold @ #Paralympics is inspiring to many.
Kudos to your efforts ?? #Rio2016."
India's Olympic gold medallist shooter, Abhinav
Bindra also heaped praise on Devendra. "Many
many congratulations to Devendra Jhajharia.
You inspire us all."
Tennis star Rohan Bopanna tweeted: "Congrats
Devendra Jhajharia for breaking your own world
record &making the country proud."
PTI

Suarez Delighted with

7-0, MSN Attack
After losing to Alaves in the La Liga, Barcelona
punish Celtic in the Champions League. Messi nets 3

Bolt is Coming Back

Usain Bolt has left the door open to running in
both the 100 and 200 metres at next year's world
championships where he said he will be more
focused on protecting his legacy than topping
his world records. The Jamaican, who last month
drew down the curtain on his Olympic career by
securing a sweep of the sprint titles for a third
successive Games, said his plan was to only
contest the 100m in London but that his coach
has other ideas. "That's the plan, but I still have
to discuss it with my coach," Bolt told Television
Jamaica on Tuesday. "(Glen Mills) still wants me to
do the double, but I've told him I would really like
to just do the 100m, so at the start of the season
we'll decide exactly what (to focus on), but that's
what's on my mind."

Platini (L) and new UEFA president Ceferin

Platinis Farewell & New

UEFA President
Disgraced football leader Michel Platini said
Wednesday in a farewell speech to UEFA that
he felt no guilt over a $2m payment from Fifa
that has seen him suspended for four years.
"Just simply know that my conscience is clear,
that I am certain that I committed not the
slightest fault and that I am continuing to fight
legally," the 62-year-old French football legend
told a congress in Athens before it elected
his successor. "You are going to continue this
beautiful mission without me, for reasons that
I do not wish to come back on today," he said.
Meanwhile, UEFA on Wednesday overwhelmingly
elected Slovenian lawyer Aleksander Ceferin,
almost unknown three months ago, as its new
president to lead the world's most powerful
football confederation.

Venus Dismayed Over

Hacked Medical Records
Venus Williams voiced dismay after Russian
hackers who broke into the World Anti-Doping
Agency database released details of her
confidential medical records. The veteran tennis
superstar was one of four US athletes targeted
by Russian hacking group Fancy Bears in a cyberattack that has been widely criticized. Sister
Serena Williams, US Olympic gymnast Simone
Biles and women's basketball player Elena Delle
Donne also saw their records published.

Richard Martin
Luis Suarez said he had missed linking up
with his insatiable strike partners Neymar
and Lionel Messi after Barcelona's 'MSN' attack scored six goals in their 7-0 record rout of
Celtic on Tuesday.
Messi scored a record sixth European Cup hattrick while Neymar became the first player
in Champions League history to provide four
assists and score in a game, curling in the third
from a free-kick.
Uruguay international Suarez added the final two strikes to complete Barca's biggest ever
European Cup win and Celtic's worst defeat in
the competition. "It's ages since the three of us
were able to play together from the off we've
missed that ability to enjoy ourselves," Suarez
told reporters on Tuesday.
Suarez and Messi started Saturday's shock
defeat to Alaves on the bench, while Neymar
missed the start of the season due to his participation in the Olympics, where he fired Brazil to
a first ever Gold medal in soccer.
The three South Americans lined up together
against Celtic for the first time since last season's King's Cup final.
As Neymar teed Messi up to smash home the
opening goal after three minutes and laid on
the pass for the Argentine's second strike later
in the first half, however, there was no sign
the feted trio had lost any of their almost telepathic understanding. "The summer break,
the Olympics and then Neymar's holidays got
in the way. Today we really enjoyed being back
in tandem," added Suarez.

Messi's hat-trick was his 40th professional

treble in club and international football, while
his sixth European Cup treble saw him move
ahead of Real Madrid greats Alfredo di Stefano
and Ferenc Puskas.
Barca captain Andres Iniesta, who lashed
home Barca's fourth on the volley following
another precise cross from
Neymar, also paid tribute to
The three
Barca's deadly trident. "They
South Amer- are the three players in the
icans lined
world who are the best in their
up together position and one of them is
against
unique," he said.
Celtic for the
"Leo just keeps proving that
first time
in football terms he's unique.
since last
As a team we play and work to
season's
make sure the three of them
King's Cup
are happy, that they get chancfinal
es. All we can hope is that they
keep scoring like that."
Reuters

Take Disorder Medicines: Biles

US Olympic gold medal-winning 19-year-old gymnast
Simone Biles has confirmed
she has been using medicine to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD).
Biles' acknowledgement
came after a hacker group
named Fancy Bears' claimed
on Tuesday it had got access
to the database of World AntiDoping Agency (WADA) and
figured out that "dozens of
American athletes had tested
positive", and the Rio Olympic medallists
"got their licenses for doping". Among those
targeted are Biles and world top tennis players Williams sisters, Serena and Venus,
Xinhua reported..
"Having ADHD, and taking medicine for
it is nothing to be ashamed of, nothing that
I'm afraid to let people know," Biles said on
Twitter on Tuesday.
She admitted that she has taken ADHD
medicine since she was a child, and she still
believes in clean sport.
Ron Biles, Biles' father, said that he was
surprised when he got the call on Tuesday
morning from the US Anti-Doping agency.

She has done nothing wrong,

her medication was approved
and it is a shame someone targeted her medical records, he
said.
Steve Penny, president of
USA Gymnastics, said on
Tuesday that Biles filed the
appropriate Therapeutic Use
Exemptions (TUEs) paperwork required by the US AntiDoping Agency and WADA,
"and there is no violation".
"Therapeutic Use
Exemptions" allows athletes to
use substances that are banned unless there
is a verified medical need.
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