Leander Paes on Saturday said that he is ready to partner whosoever is chosen by the selectors as "Olympics is my greatest honour." Breaking his silence after Mahesh Bhupathi accused him of "backstabbing," Paes said who he partners at the London Games was not the most important issue for him.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has stuck to its decision to pair the two veterans while the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has asked for a report in the matter.
"Winning a medal at the Atlanta Olympics is the most cherished memory I have in my tennis career. To play for our flag, and represent India for the sixth time at the Olympics, is my greatest honour. I will, as I always have in the past, put my best foot forward," said Paes.
Paes, India's top doubles player ranked seventh in the world, refused to react to Mahesh Bhupathi's stinging statements. "I have no reaction to the recent statements made by Mahesh Bhupathi to the media.
I have always maintained that I will play with whoever the selection committee and AITA choose and this continues to be my stand," Paes said.
The 38-year-old player, who had the right to state his preference of partner for the Games, made it clear that he wanted to play with Rohan Bopanna, but said he would not mind combining with his estranged partner Bhupathi. "When asked by the AITA, I expressed my preference to play with Rohan Bopanna as my partner in the Olympics 2012, based on his physical fitness and big serve."
The issue of India's tennis entry for the London Olympics snowballed into a row after AITA chose Paes and Bhupathi as India's sole representatives in men's doubles.
Bhupathi, who paired up with Bopanna in January with the London Olympics in mind, has maintained that he will not partner Paes as he and Bopanna have qualified as a pair.
"It does not help to shoot one's mouth off like this," Rohit Rajpal, one of the selectors told Mail Today, on the outburst by Bhupathi and Bopanna. "They should have shown a bit more maturity, discuss things and think about the country. People do come together to rise to the occasion. We thought about all options before taking this decision. As of now, we do not know how it will unfold. We hope things calm down and they will think a little bit."
Asked about their options if Bhupathi refuses to change his stance, Rajpal said "We can then ask Bopanna to partner Leander.
AITA chief Anil Khanna said that the federation will stand by its decision. "If Bhupathi expects AITA would buckle under pressure and refuses to pair up with Paes, he should know that it will not happen," he said.
"It will have to be Leander and Mahesh. Olympics is a different ball game and tougher than a Grand Slam and wealth of experience that the duo has would keep them in good stead in crunch and pressure situation".
Meanwhile, IOA supremo VK Malhotra has asked for a report on the issue. "Tennis is one of the sports which can fetch us a medal in the Olympics," Malhotra told Mail Today. "I have asked Anil Khanna for a report which he has promised to give in a day or two. We will have to look at all the possibilities like whether we can send one team or two."
Source: indiatoday.intoday.in
'World's largest wind farm' begins to take shape off the coast of Essex - Daily Mail
- When complete, the 1.7 billion project in the Thames Estuary will boast 217 turbines
- It will be able to generate enough electricity for 750,000 homes
- Set to be connected to the National Grid next spring
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When fully operational, it will be the world's largest offshore wind farm - and, as these pictures show, work on the project in the Thames Estuary is moving along at quite a pace.
The wind farm, which is being built in the shallow waters 12 miles off the coasts of Kent and Essex, which, when complete will feature 217 turbines that will be able to supply enough electricity to power a quarter of London's homes.
The 1.7 billion wind farm, known as the London Array, is owned by the utility companies E.ON, Dong Energy and Masdar and is expected to start sending energy to the National Grid next spring.
The first phase of the project will generate 630 megawatts of power - equivalent to a small gas or coal fired power station and enough to supply 470,000 homes.
Corridors of power: When complete, the London Array wind farm will be the largest in the world
Vast: The 1.7 billion London Array wind farm will feature 217 turbines when complete
The second phase will bring the total to 217 turbines, each towering 147 metres above the estuary, giving 1000 mw of power, enough for 750,000 homes.
Work on the project began in January.
It was originally given the go-ahead in May 2009.
At present, the world's largest offshore wind farm is the 102-turbine Walney project, located off the coast of Cumbria.
The Walney project is capable of providing sufficient electricity for about 320,000 homes.
Work in progress: Construction work takes place on one of the wind turbines in the Thames Estuary
Estuarine energy: The turbines, in the Thames Estuary, will eventually be able to generate enough electricity for 750,000 homes
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
London 2012: Tasha Danvers gives up dream of competing at Olympics - The Guardian
Britain's Tasha Danvers, the bronze medallist in the 400m hurdles at the Beijing Olympics, has retired after conceding defeat in her battle to be fit for the London 2012 Games. The 34-year-old has suffered a series of injuries and ahead of the preliminary squad announcement for the Games this week Danvers, from south London, has quit.
"It's extremely disappointing not to be able to put myself into contention for selection for London 2012," she said. "Based on my training at different stages my coach and I believed we had a genuine chance of making it. But the setbacks have been too many to overcome.
"Since winning Olympic bronze in Beijing I have made so many sacrifices to fulfil my dream of competing in London. Making the decision to relocate back to the UK meant leaving my seven-year-old son behind in America, which is the hardest thing in the world to do. But we genuinely believed I could step on to that podium again and with the support of my family, [coach] Malcolm Arnold, UKA, the medical team and the National Lottery, I've done everything possible to try to achieve that. Sadly my body has had enough."
Danvers, who also won Commonwealth Games silver in 2006 – less than 18 months after giving birth to her son – has made every final she has contested since 2004.
Arnold said: "This is the worse possible news for Tasha but there is no doubt she has thrown everything at trying to make London. She is an Olympic medallist and that pedigree doesn't just disappear. I was confident that if we could get her to the Games she would have been very competitive.
"This is the flipside of the Olympic dream but career-ending injuries are a fact of life at this level of sport. Our medical team have worked incredibly hard but sometimes the body knows best."
Great Britain's head coach Charles van Commenee added: "We don't have too many current Olympic medallists in our team and in an ideal world they would all be with us in London. Tasha knows what it takes to be competitive and make the podium, which would have been a huge advantage. Retirement is a hard decision for any athlete but when the decision is taken out of your hands so close to an Olympic Games, it must be even tougher. I wish Tasha all the very best."
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
'World's largest wind farm' with 217 turbines that can power homes for 750,000 homes takes shape off the coast of Essex Power homes for 750,000 homes? Might be nice if your headline at least made sense!
- Mark, Beverley, 17/6/2012 22:10
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