Indian rower Dattu Bhokanal has battled adversity to secure Olympic qualification and his journey to Rio has been made even more remarkable following a childhood bout of aquaphobia and fears for his mother's health during his final preparations. Hailing from a drought-hit region in Maharashtra, the daily fight for the treasured commodity led him to develop a fear of water as a youth and it was not until he joined the army in 2012, that he learned to swim. His phobia conquered, the 25-year-old Bhokanal booked his ticket to Rio after winning a silver medal in the men's single sculls event at the Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta at Chung-ju in South Korea in April. Bhokanal gave up his studies to support his family after his father died of cancer in 2011 and his qualification can also be regarded as a reward for his ability to perform through another tragedy, which almost derailed his Olympic dreams. Shortly before he was due to depart for South Korea, his mother suffered brain damage in a fall resulting in almost total amnesia.
Check out the gold medallists on Day 11 of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.
Former India pacer Irfan Pathan says the death of Australian batsman Phil Hughes may have come as a big shock, but fast bowlers never use bouncers to deliberately hurt anyone.
Poland's Magdalena Fularczyk-Kozlowska and Natalia Madaj edged past Britain's Katherine Grainger and Victoria Thornley in the final meters of the race to snatch the gold medal in the women's double sculls at the Olympic rowing regatta on Thursday. The nail-biter saw the two boats neck-and-neck for much of the race. Britain led Poland by just .64 seconds at the halfway mark and appeared poised to win.
Here's this week of photos that prove we live in a mad world.
Drysdale wins close single sculls gold Also, check out late gold medal winners from Day 7...
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
Ellison and the two new co-CEOs each stressed that nothing would change under the new management structure, with Ellison staying on as executive chairman and chief technology officer.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances