London Olympics: Bronze for Dutt, WR for Bolt's Jamaica

There are 32 medal events today. Click here for India’s schedule at the Olympics. A world record for Jamaica The Jamaicans have smashed the 4x100 men’s relay world record. Usain Bolt completed an Olympics gold medal sweep — a back-to-back triple for him — with a blistering final leg. Their time of 36.84 seconds destroyed the world record of 37.04. The Jamaicans beat the Americans, who set a national mark in finishing second. After the relay, Bolt argued to be allowed to keep the baton but an Olympic official refused. As he waved off the official in disappointment, the crowd booed. USA second, equalled the old world record but were still a distant second. Canada finished third but were disqualified for a lane violation at the start of their anchor leg. Trinidad & Tobago move into third (pending appeals). (With inputs from AP) https://twitter.com/Infostrada2012/status/234379164575223808 Boudia of US edges China’s Qiu for diving gold David Boudia won the men’s 10-meter platform at the London Olympics, giving the United States its first diving gold medal since 2000. Boudia clinched the gold with his last dive, winning by 1.8 points over Qiu Bo of China. The American scored 568.65 points in the six-dive final on Saturday night. Qiu took the silver at 566.85. Tom Daley of Britain settled for the bronze at 556.95 after leading going into the final dive in front of a raucous home crowd that included soccer star David Beckham and two of his sons. AP Germany defend hockey title Germany successfully defended its Olympic men’s field hockey title by winning the final 2-1 on Saturday and ruining the Netherlands’ bid to emulate their victorious women. Jan Philipp Rabente scored twice, a brilliant solo opener in the 33rd minute and the winner with five minutes to go. Mink van der Weerden equalized for the Dutch in the 53rd with his tournament-best eighth goal. The Dutch had hoped to pull off the first Olympic double after their women beat Argentina 2-0 on Friday. AP Earlier in the day, India had ended their hockey campaign without a single win. They finished 12th and last. US women win 4x400 relay to give Felix 3rd gold Allyson Felix won her third gold medal of the London Olympics, giving the United States a 20-meter lead after the second leg of the 4x400-meter relay and then watching teammate Sanya Richards-Ross bring home the victory Saturday night. The U.S. runners finished in 3 minutes, 16.87 seconds for the country’s fifth straight Olympic title in the event. Russia finished second in 3:20.23 and Jamaica was third in 3:20.95. DeeDee Trotter ran the opening leg for the United States and built a lead before handing to Felix, who more than doubled the advantage by the time she passed to Francena McCorory. Richards-Ross had a stress-free anchor leg to add this gold medal to her 400-meter gold. Felix earlier won the 200 and 4x100 relay. AP And Allyson Felix is the first woman since Flo Jo in ‘88 to win 3 golds in one Olympic Games. Keshorn Walcott wins Olympic javelin gold Keshorn Walcott won the javelin gold medal on Saturday to give Trinidad and Tobago its first Olympic title in a field event. Walcott, the world junior champion, threw a national record 84.58 meters with his second attempt and nobody improved on the mark for the remainder of the final. Oleksandr Pyantnytsya of Ukraine was second with a throw of 84.51 and Antti Ruuskanen of Finland took third. Two-time defending champion Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway finished sixth. AP Russian Savinova storms to 800m gold Russian Mariya Savinova added Olympic gold to her world crown when she timed her run to perfection to secure an impressive 800 metres victory on Saturday. Savinova, the European woman Athlete of 2011, did not panic when defending champion Pamela Jelimo of Kenya kicked three metres clear down the back straight on the final lap. Jelimo paid for going too soon and Savinova, 26, took over to storm to gold in one minute 56.19, with South African Caster Semenya producing a late burst to win silver in 1:57.23. “It’s just amazing. Right now I can’t feel anything, but I’m amazed. It’s been hard work, but it’s the Olympics,” said Savinova. Reuters Is Bolt over the top? Usain Bolt’s over-the-top antics are a welcome sight to track and field’s top officials. IAAF President Lamine Diack and London Games chief Sebastian Coe lauded Bolt’s showmanship Saturday before the Jamaican’s final event in London, the 4x100-meter relay. “Do I think what he does before and after races is over the top? No,” said Coe, who also serves as a council member for the International Association of Athletics Federations. “I think it’s fine. It’s him.” Coe didn’t stop there. “We’re not a sport of automatons. We’re people that have got flair, intelligence and sometimes express it in all sorts of ways. God spare me from a sort of robotic approach to life,” he said. “It’s great that our sport captures those great moments. And yeah, he’s fantastic.” Diack was equally impressed with Bolt. “He’s excellent for our sport,” Diack said. “He’s brought so much to it.” AP 4x100m relay finals soon Usain Bolt and his mighty band of Jamaicans will be in action at around 0130 IST. This should be spectacular… can they get the world record? The mains teams: Jamaica: Carter, Frater, Blake, Bolt. USA: Kimmons, Gatlin, Gay, Bailey. Gold for Mo Farah! Mo Farah of Britain wins 5,000 meters for his 2nd gold medal of London Olympics. Farah’s time was 13:41.66, having covered the final lap in 52.94. Mo is the first man to win the Olympic 5000m title on home soil and the 6th to do the 5000m-10,000m double. So basically in a 100 years, just 6 men have achieved the double. He celebrates with some stomach crunches… he had more… ooops.. we mean Mo! Sushil Kumar in action tomorrow Beijing bronze medalist Sushil Kumar takes on Ramazan Sahin, a Turkish freestyle wrestler of Chechen origin, who won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. This will be quite a battle and it will start around 1330 IST. Dutt wins the bronze medal Dutt gets a point in the third period. and another and another and another and another!!!! India win!!!! Dutt winsss! The Indian celebrated with a few somersaults… amazing stuff. Remember Dutt had to fight around 3 matches in an hour. Inspiring stuff. Dutt won the last around 6-0. He got hold of the North Korean’s legs and just kept flipping him over. Amazing… just amazing. This is India’s fifth medal of the London Olympics and as things stand, India are 52nd in the table. Dutt was unlucky to miss out in Beijing – as they say, finishing fourth in the Olympics counts for nothing. But there was no stopping him today – he took the match by the scruff of the neck after losing the first period and then just didn’t let go. Dutt wins second period One decisive point. This has been a close fight. Dutt got it, superb stuff. North Korean Ri wins first period They seem evenly matched. The first point of bronze medal match went to the North Korean and that is all he needed to clinch the first period. Almost time Dutt will be in red. Does he have the stamina and the skill to win this? Dutt’s opponent The Indian is one win away from the bronze – he will need to beat Jong Myong Ri of North Korea. And like all things North Korean, not much is known about him. Dutt’s fight is starting in 5 minutes. At 23:08… start cheering. Women’s 20km Walk Elena Lashmanova (RUS) wins the women’s 20km race walk with a new world record of 1 hour, 25 minutes, 2 seconds! Russia’s Kaniskina led all the way but was overtaken just before the end. China and Russia filled the top six places. Five of them went inside the previous Olympic record. Stunning stuff. Super third period Dutt dominated the third period and is now just one win away from a bronze medal. Super stuff – the Iranian was totally overwhelmed 4-0. Dutt’s defence was superb but the last match will be a test of his stamina. Dutt wins second period Dutt wins the second round. This is thrilling stuff. 3-2 was the score in the favour of the Indian, Dutt loses first period It was stalemate at the end of the first period but the Iranian managed to turn things around in the clinch. Dutt had the advantage in the clinch after the toss but Masoud was too good. Dutt is back Dutt’s second round is now on. He is up against Masoud of Iran. They have faced each other twice before this year – both won one each. Dutt’s next match Dutt’s next opponent is Masoud Esmaeilpoorjouybari of Iran. As things stand, Dutt needs to win two more matches to win the bronze medal. After the Iranian, he would need to beat Jong Myong Ri of North Korea. The timing of the match has not been announced as yet. Dutt wins first round in repechage Dutt wins the first round of the repechage. He has beaten the world championships silver medallist. The second period went the same way as first and then once again, Dutt got the advantage in the toss once again. Dutt wins first period It was pretty even for 2 minutes, good defence by Dutt. But then he got the advantage in the clinch after the toss and duly clinched one point. Dutt’s repechage match around 2215 IST Yogeshwar Dutt’s repechage round at 2215 hrs IST. He takes on Franklin Gomez Matos of Puerto Rico. In his last performance before the Olympics, Gomez defeated the current world champion in the 60 kg, the Russian wrestler Besik Kudukhov, claiming the gold medal in the Grand Prix of Germany. Kudukhov had a tough time against Dutt so this should be a good match too. Mexico upsets Brazil to win 1st gold in football [caption id=“attachment_415090” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mexico’s Mier makes a bicycle kick past Brazil’s Marcelo during their men’s football gold medal match. Reuters[/caption] Oribe Peralta scored just 29 seconds into the Olympic final and added another goal in the second half to help Mexico stun Brazil 2-1 Saturday and win its first gold in football. Peralta took advantage of a mistake by the Brazilian defense in the game’s opening minute and slotted a low right-foot shot into the net. It was the fastest Olympic goal in at least 36 years, since FIFA began keeping record of the competition. The striker added the second with a firm header from a free kick in the 75th. Hulk scored for Brazil in injury time, but Oscar missed a header in the final seconds to waste the last chance for a comeback. Brazil, the heavy favorite ahead of the tournament, was also trying to win its first gold, which is the only significant trophy the five-time world champions haven’t won in football. AP Dutt’s loses second period and match Dutt put up a big fight but the favourite Kudukhov won the first two periods. It was pretty close, Dutt gives him a big fight. He lost the second period 0-2. Dutt’s loses first period First period went into the clinch, but Kudukhov got the vital point. First period to the Russian against Dutt. Dutt’s next match at 1900 hrs IST He is up against Besik Kudukhov, who won bronze at the 2008 Olympics. He has been world and European champion in 2007 and his defeat in Beijing to unheralded Japanese wrestler Tomohiro Matsunaga was considered by many as a big upset. He is a four-time world champion as well. Dutt wins India’s Yogeshwar Dutt wins the third period 5-2. Superb period for Dutt, he came back well to defeat the Bulgarian, who was silver medallist at the world championship in 2007. Great fight. Second period to Dutt Dutt is pretty aggressive and even though he doesn’t seem as strong as Anatolie, he is technically pretty good. He took the second period 2-0. First period to Anatolie Bulgari’s Anatolie takes the first period against Dutt 1-0. It ended in a stalemate at the end of 2 minutes and then it went to the clinch where the Bulgarian received the advantage at the toss up. The match is on Dutt in blue, entering the ring. He is the only Indian wrestler to win two medals at the Asian Championships. Russian Kirdyapkin wins gold in Olympic 50K race Sergei Kirdyapkin of Russia won gold in the 50-kilometer walk at the London Games, breaking the Olympic record by more than one minute. Kirdyhapkin finished Saturday 54 seconds ahead of Jared Tallent of Australia, who took silver. Si Tianfeng of China was 1 minute, 17 seconds behind to win bronze in the grueling race along the streets of central London. AP India’s Basanta Bahadur Rana finished 36th with a time of 3:56:48 – a national record. Dutt in action next [caption id=“attachment_414949” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Yogeshwar Dutt is a very experienced wrestler. AFP[/caption] India next chance for a medal will come in wrestling. At 5.35 PM: Yogeshwar Dutt vs Anatolie Guidea of Bulgaria in the 60kg category qualification round. Dutt is a very experienced wrestler and this is his third Olympics. He lost in the quarters last time round. More gold for Bolt? Usain Bolt and his fellow Jamaicans could finish Saturday’s last night of competition in the Olympic athletics stadium with a bang in a sprint metres relay shaping up as one of the fastest in history. Before the biggest name in track and field takes centre stage again, however, Mo Farah’s bid to add the 5,000m title to the 10,000 crown he won last weekend could give the host nation the perfect end to the meet. Earlier in the day, at Wembley Stadium, Brazil play Mexico in the final of an Olympic soccer tournament that the five-times World Cup winners have amazingly never won. The penultimate day of the London Games also sees five boxing finals, the women’s basketball and volleyball finals, the men’s and women’s handball finals, and a men’s hockey final between Germany and the Netherlands that should be a classic. Reuters The Who, Spice Girls to rock Olympic closer Get ready for a star-studded spectacular: Olympic Stadium is being transformed into a giant jukebox of British pop and pizazz for the closing ceremonies of the London Games. The Spice Girls and The Who are among the acts prepping performances to celebrate the end of the Olympics. Although organizers have tried to the ceremony under wraps, many details have leaked out in the British media — and some of the performers have let the cat out of the bag themselves. Director David Arnold is calling the production “the greatest after-party in the world.” “If the opening ceremony was the wedding, then we’re the wedding reception,” Arnold told the Daily Telegraph. The Who, George Michael, Muse and Ed Sheeran have all said they will take part in a show that will include performances of 30 British hit singles from the past five decades. The Pet Shop Boys, Annie Lennox and Fatboy Slim will also be on hand to get people dancing. AP Gold medals tainted by time-served dopers A day after the astonishing deeds of Usain Bolt and David Rudisha lifted the spirits of athletics fans the world over, the seedy underside of the sport was exposed on Friday as two former dopers won Olympic gold. Asli Cakir Alptekin, who served a two-year ban for doping from 2004, led a Turkish 1-2 in the women’s 1,500 metres, a race distance riddled with drugs in recent years. Earlier, Russia’s Tatyana Lysenko, who watched the 2008 Olympics on TV while serving a two-year doping ban, won the women’s hammer with an Olympic record throw of 78.18 metres. Also making an appearance in the men’s 4x100m relay semi-finals were American Justin Gatlin and Briton Dwain Chambers, both time-served drugs cheats, and earlier in the day France and Kenya both confirmed pre-Games positive tests on distance runners Hassan Hirt and Mathew Kisorio. Reuters Once You’re a Legend, Then What Do You Do? Nice piece by Christopher Clarey in the NYTimes. “I made a goal to become a legend,” Bolt said. “Now I need to sit down and find something that’s going to really motivate me to come out and do great things. Yeah, I have fans I want to show I’m the best still, but if I can’t, find something that will motivate me — maybe football.” Read the full story here. India finish last in Olympics India have finished in last place and this is the first time in the Olympics that the one-time Olympic giants have not managed to win a single game. It’s a bit of a shame really but how are we going to build from here? What next? Will HI and IHF continue to fight? Will Indian hockey remain just a memory? https://twitter.com/mohanstatsman/status/234212140335116288 South Africa 3-2 India India strike back with a goal from Dharamvir Singh – his second goal of the tournament. Shivendra set it up through a wonderful move on the left flank. South Africa 3-1 India India have never ever lost to South Africa in a major tournament and they have never finished last in the Olympics. Now it looks like both are going to happen. South Africa were mostly defending but they have managed to get another goal through Lloyd Norris-Jones. Just about 5 more minutes to go. Was it all fixed? Last year Newsnight spoke to Olympic boxing insiders who alleged London 2012 medals could be bought. We were told $9m had been paid from Azerbaijan to the international boxing authorities in return for two golds. The International Boxing Authority (AIBA) denied any wrong doing. The IOC found no formal evidence of cash for medals as it stands. However, some of the results over the last few days have raised some serious questions about the scoring system. Eyebrows were first raised last Wednesday when Azerbaijan fought Japan. The Azeri bantamweight Magomed Abdulhamidov won the match despite going down six times in the final round. After an appeal by Japan the decision was overturned. The boxer from Azerbaijan was out, the Japanese fighter reinstated and the referee was on the next plane home to Turkmenistan. Read the full story here. Why is India’s hockey team so bad? It’s intriguing. There was a time when we ruled the game, how can we become so bad? So bad… that we can’t even trap a ball probably. The score is still 2-1. South Africa 2-1 India Drummond adds to the South Africa goal tally. India go into half-time behind at the moment. 2-1 to SA The 50km Walk is about to start India’s Basanta Bahadur Rana is taking part in the 50km walk. The event starts in a few minutes but it will be a while before it ends. 50 km…. just thinking about the distance is tiring. Rana’s PB and SB is 4:02:13. So check back in around 4 hours for the result. South Africa 1-1 India Finally! India have scored from a penalty corner. Sandeep Singh, the drag flick expert puts it low into the right of the keeper. Well done India… now lets win this! South Africa 1-0 India Early lead for SA. They work the ball into the shooting area. A scramble ensures the Indian defence panic and Cronje dribbles it in, squeezing it under the keeper. Manpreet injured South Africa’s Norris-Jones tries to cross from the right and the follow-on from the hockey stick catches Manpreet Singh on the side of the head. The Indian is down getting some treatment. That was quite a whack. Raveendran starts in goal Parattu Raveendran has started in goal for India. Usual choice Chetri is on the bench. India have conceded 18 goals at the London Olympics. On the other hand, South Africa have conceded 22, but they do have a draw to boast about. Hockey: India vs South Africa Irrespective of their win or loss today, India have already recorded their worst finish at an Olympics. Today’s match sees them go head-to-head against South Africa to decide the 11th and 12th place. Surely, the hockey stars of yesteryear will not finish rock-bottom? Let’s hope for the best. The match starts at 1 PM Indian time. [caption id=“attachment_414718” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] AP[/caption] USA to play Spain for Basketball gold Reigning Olympic champions United States set up a mouthwatering gold medal rematch with Spain by thrashing Argentina 109-83 in the men’s basketball tournament on Friday. Spain, who beat Russia 67-59 in their semi-final, lost 118-107 to the Americans in a close final at the Beijing Games. The U.S. and Spain will play on Sunday for the title when Argentina and Russia battle for the bronze medal- Reuters Read the full report here .