Rio Summer Olympics \ Summer Paralympics 2016

[kujo]

Last night the famous TV anchor told an AFI official to "wipe the smile off your face" or else "get out". How sad!
Incidentally, Indian Express had this fine piece this morning:
http://indianexpress.com/article/blogs/ ... y-2993400/

thanks for the link Mugu - that article was written sensibly. It could also be because they are competitors (Indian express and Times now) and this was a take down....

[kujo]

kujo, why are you even watching Indian TV? Just don't, if you want to keep any respect for the intellectual levels and class of Indians. I just cannot stand the classlessness and cluelessness of Indians who are on TV debates. That guy Arnab Goswamy should be ashamed of himself. This often-unprepared nitwit who doesn't have even a basic understanding of journalistic impartiality and anchor etiquette being the biggest thing on Indian TV is the worst testament to how far behind the world India is, when it comes to TV.

I was trying to do some digging on the Jaisha incident and ran into that video link. It spiked my curiosity since there was another recent article on how a few TV anchors are unfairly influencing the thought process and discussion topics that Indian TV viewers get to see and seethe about!

I don't watch Indian TV regularly and don't plan to, after watching this nonsense! Arnab is either a clueless idiot or possibly a devious person intent on spouting misinformation and generally mislead his audience. Terrible either way....

[Sin Hombre]

kujo, why are you even watching Indian TV? Just don't, if you want to keep any respect for the intellectual levels and class of Indians. I just cannot stand the classlessness and cluelessness of Indians who are on TV debates. That guy Arnab Goswamy should be ashamed of himself. This often-unprepared nitwit who doesn't have even a basic understanding of journalistic impartiality and anchor etiquette being the biggest thing on Indian TV is the worst testament to how far behind the world India is, when it comes to TV. Television wasn't allowed to start in India for 20 years after the rest of the world got going, but we are still at least 25 years behind any respectable nation of substance in the quality of TV news and debate. Unbelievable that the situation does not improve at all. I stopped watching any Indian TV some 10 odd years ago. I cannot stand the poor quality and the general level of stupidity I see. Our nation is not filled with so many people who lack substance, but people of substance are never seen on TV. If they ever are, nitwits like Arnab Goswami only shout them down. Disgusting.

We have Trump as the Repub candidate and Faux news with despicable idiots like Hannity and O'reilly so Indian tv is hardly unique in that regard. Sensationalist garbage sells.

Also, very disappointed by Anirban's comments there. Utter garbage to deflect from his poor form and a dismal "performance" at the Olympics. Even Sunday golfers are prepared for wet weather, leave alone one who has played multiple majors.

[Mugundan]

Mugu, based in the article link I posted, I think it's not that straightforward to just supply drinks. I think the article stated that drinks have to be sealed and submitted the night before or something similar. You can't just put out drinks for your athletes. If Jaisha didn't want her drinks, Indian camp couldn't just supply them regardless. But, I may be wrong.

The Organizing Committee would only be concerned with receiving the bottles from our team management, filling them up with the required (available) drink requested by the Indian side, sealing the bottles and making arrangements to place them on the allocated table early next morning. They are not going to find out whether Jaisha wanted it or Kavita since such a procedure for each country would be time-consuming. You can post your people to man such stations the next day.
Instead of getting blasted by the media and fans for not providing water on the route (as though no water was available at all for 42km), it would be better for AFI to place a few bottles of some energy drink on two or three tables (or as permitted) so as to avoid a repeat of this kind of drama.

[jayakris]

Instead of getting blasted by the media and fans for not providing water on the route (as though no water was available at all for 42km), it would be better for AFI to place a few bottles of some energy drink on two or three tables (or as permitted) so as to avoid a repeat of this kind of drama.

But, this is not the first time our guys have run a marathon. What was the procedure in Asiads, Commonwealth Games, etc? If there was commonly a request by athletes for plain water at country-manned desks, one would think that this issue would have come up long ago, and that our officials would be aware of it. I have to assume that the officials were never doing anything more than what they did at Olympics (which is to assume that those desks are not for plain water but energy drinks, and didn't need to be manned with just water if the athletes said they needed no energy drinks).

I assume none of our marathoners ever cared about it as an issue (like Kavita Raut this time, and the men's marathoners who didn't say anything) because the IAAF-mandated organizer-booths are clearly enough for marathon runners to get plain water. There is no way IAAF would cut corners on the mandated frequency of watering stations and leave it to the judgment of national federations, knowing the potential dangers of dehydration. If I were an Indian official there at Rio, I would not think for a minute that any more water stations were needed than what the Rio-organizers provided, because that is what I'd have always known from other events too, and I would think of having somebody at our own desks only if anything other than water was to be given (or if the athlete had specifically told me that additional water was needed in their special case, over what IAAF expects for other athletes).

I am of the opinion that everybody got blindsided by Jaisha. Something was bothering her (who knows? an upset stomach? fever? general lack of confidence and nerves from problems with the coach?)... and she really wanted extra water at some point in the race. Maybe she let that bother her and mentally got ready to collapse once she finished (yes, that can happen!). She somehow found lack of water as the reason why she collapsed, which I do not believe even for a second. She has never collapsed in running marathons, I assume, and there could not have been Indian officials giving her extra water every 2.5 km or whatever in the past when she easily completed the marathons. The temperature conditions at Rio were certainly better than at other marathon she has run, too. Had she come close to this at any other marathon, or generally has a dehydration problem (because she sweats too much, for instance), I am sure she would have made sure that extra water over IAAF-mandated supply of water was available for her. I don't think she is stupid not to think of getting enough water, if that can be an issue.

Sill, I don't think she is necessarily lying. She is most probably puzzled about what happened to her and why she collapsed (or felt dehydrated) and then latched on to the easiest party to blame - the Indian officials. And she did that a whole 7 days later, maybe after even the doctors couldn't tell her why she collapsed (which is why I said it could've been a neurological issue). She then made herself believe vehemently that water was the problem. I'm of course assuming things, but that's my take on it. Anyway, I don't buy her side, at all!

[jayakris]

Now the coach says she had personally said she didn't want any drinks - Jaisha said no to personalised refreshment: Nikolai

“Jaisha had never used individual drinks during competitions from the beginning of her Olympics preparations and she had run with only normal water. She used only normal water provided by organisers during the World Championships in Beijing in August last year. The whole of 2016, Jaisha did not use personalised drinks during competitions,” he added.

Exaclly what I had guessed above. She herself had never looked for it before. She felt she needed water this time, for whatever reason (maybe the Rio organizers did screw up in the last 10 km somehow? - ran out of water? how though?) and started blaming our officials, who got blindsided.

And it is worse for Jaisha now, as she has just tested positive for H1N1 influenza virus (Swine flu). It seems she had it when she returned from Rio itself. Sudha Singh was also found to have H1N1, a few days ago.

I told you sometime back in jest, that it was all "the water in Rio" that was behind our woes. It really was, in multiple ways.

[jayakris]

By the way, I forgot to mention here, that I was so proud last week of one of my former students, who won a bronze at Rio. David Smith of the USA volleyball team that beat Russia with a comeback from 2 sets down in the bronze match. He is a civil engineering grad from University of California, Irvine, in 2007 (we were the NCAA college volleyball champs that year). He was a member of the world champion USA volleyball team last year, as well. I taught him statistics, optimization and construction management. Obviously he must have used all that from his guru in winning the medal.

So I should get a dronacharaya from the drone-acharya, Mr. Obama, right?

[Mugundan]

From day one AFI Secretary C. K. Valson had said a few things on the jaisha episode: 1) Jaisha did not seek personalised drinks, 2) She had run World Championships marathon in Beijing last year without having personalised drinks.
Coach Nikolai has confirmed these points. Jaisha had run only one other championship marathon in her life (World championships in Beijing); otherwise her experience is limited to two more marathon, the Standard Chartered in Mumbai in 2015 and 2016. She has also run a couple of half marathons in 2014 and 2015. Thus her experience in marathon was limited. But Beijing (18th place) must have been a solid one.
The kind of drama that was enacted on TV for two days (silent last night) could have been avoided had Jaisha herself explained the truth at the start or else the coach come out with the truth. Someone collapsing at the end of a marathon due to dehydration is nothing new and it will continue to happen when humidity is excessive.
The coach has pointed out that from his enquiries he found water was insufficient after 30km. The IAAF has clarified to journalists who contacted them that water stations were available at 5km intervals (not 2.5km as claimed by AFI). Whether this might have fulfilled LOC obligations is difficult to say. Surely there might have been some shortage.
But then it was certainly not a case of "even water" being denied by Indian officials to their runner since they were off to shopping or insensitive Indian officials who knew nothing about athletics holding key positions in the federations.
The impression that was created will continue to linger. A letter in The Hindu that carried the PTI report about the coach's clarification says:"Even if a 'personalised drink' was refused, does it mean that the athelete ( now more than 30 years old, and may not participate in the next Olympics) has refused provision of sponge, drinking water for the marathon ?"
Just imagine an LOC for Olympics running a marathon without water and sponging stations! And the IAAF endorsing such an arrangement! But when hysteria strikes the 'Nation' nothing can save anyone.
http://goo.gl/Rk4m8c

[jayakris]

Here is an article with some investigation behind it by Sreejith Panicker:
I am sorry to say this, but OP Jaisha was lying
Interesting. Sreejith is another Malayali. It's funny how it's mostly only Malayalis who seem to find problems with fellow-Malayali OP Jaisha's account. Even here, it was Mugu and myself who were the first to question her accusation which didn't seem to fit right.... All the newspapers in India just seemed to buy her story lock stock barrel, or seemed reluctant to at least question it a bit.

[PKBasu]

By the way, I forgot to mention here, that I was so proud last week of one of my former students, who won a bronze at Rio. David Smith of the USA volleyball team that beat Russia with a comeback from 2 sets down in the bronze match. He is a civil engineering grad from University of California, Irvine, in 2007 (we were the NCAA college volleyball champs that year). He was a member of the world champion USA volleyball team last year, as well. I taught him statistics, optimization and construction management. Obviously he must have used all that from his guru in winning the medal.

So I should get a dronacharaya from the drone-acharya, Mr. Obama, right?

[kujo]

Incidentally, a repeat of Neeraj Chopra's 86M+ throw at world juniors would have earned him a bronze medal at Rio. I know it is tough to repeat these kind of efforts but he is someone who really needs to be groomed well to turn into a potential medallist in Tokyo. (Assuming of course that he is spinach free).

Here is Neeraj's interview: http://www.rediff.com/sports/report/wit ... 160906.htm

'With that score I would have won a bronze at the Rio Olympics'

[PKBasu]

Congratulations to Mariyappan Thangavelu for winning gold at the Paralympics 2016 for High Jump (T-42) with a leap of 1.89m. Congrats too to Varun Bhati who won bronze and Sharad Kumar who finished sixth in the event.

Bizarrely the Paralympics website has a blank instead of the names of the three Indian Athletes. So it shows Sam Grewe (USA) winning silver (with photo and name) but has a blank for gold, bronze and sixth place. Is it such a surprise for Indians to be winning ?

[jaydeep]

Thanks PKB for sharing this terrific news ... Congrats to our all athletes; Gold medalist Mariyappan Thangavelu, Bronze medalist Varun Singh Bhati and 6th place Sharad Kumar.

It is really shocking that Rio Paralympics site doesn't have any information about our athletes.



And also video link of his 1.89m high jump from Rio.
https://www.facebook.com/dinakarannews/ ... 141023850/

[ssp]

Fantastic news. Well done to Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Singh Bhati.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxOvxmTxT58

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDfiw00kUoM

[Abish arul]

Tamil nadu govt has announced 2 crore prize money for mariyappan not bad