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BENGALURU --- When the womens 4x400m relay quartet of Nirmala Sheoran, Tintu Luka, MR Poovamma and Anilda Thomas booked Indias berth at the Rio Olympics during the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru earlier this month, one of their teammates would have been forgiven for pumping her fist harder than others. Austin Bryant Jersey .At 28, Ashwini Akkunji is raring to have her first go at the Olympics. More than that, it would be a shot at redemption for her.I come from an agricultural family in a small village called Jansale, Udupi district (in Karnataka), and in my childhood days I used to run in school, Akkunji says. My father always encouraged me about sports. The foundation of my career in sport was when I went to a sports school in Bangalore.Starting out as a sprinter, the young Akkunji tried her hand at 800m as well, before settling on the 400m, encouraged by her father, who observed how her lanky frame and stride-length gave her a natural advantage.However, it would take a few years, until the preparations for a seminal year in 2010 which brought her in touch with Russian coach Yuri Ogorodnik, that Akkunji began a purple patch in her career.The year 2010 was really amazing, because I got a very good opportunity to train under Yuri and the 4X400m relay team; the seniors were really good back then, Akkunji says of a phase when she helped India to relay golds in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and the Guangzhou Asian Games, besides bagging the 400m hurdles gold in the latter.I learnt a lot of things from my seniors, truly speaking, because they guided me. They told me things about running and also encouraged me a lot.A dark phase was to follow, when Akkunji and two of her relay teammates were among seven athletes who tested positive for anabolic steroids just prior to an Asian Championship in Japan the following year. Akkunjis voice chokes when recalling the two-year ban that followed.Those two years, emotionally and personally as well, were the hardest of my life, Akkunji says. My morale had really gone down. If my life had been normal then, I could have won gold medal. People used to humiliate us; I know it was a difficult situation. Life was entirely different, between 2010 and 2014.The ban was lifted 2013, and her first competitive race only took place the following June at the Inter-State Championship in Lucknow. Running the 400m hurdles, she beat her closest competitor by almost nine seconds in her heat. She then clinched the gold with a timing that broke the existing meet record -- held by Jauna Murmu, ironically one of her former colleagues who was also handed out a ban in 2011.She was ready for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, though this time the Indian team would fall way short of defending the crown they picked up in Delhi, finishing fifth in their heat. In two months time, Akkunji sat out as her younger teammates smashed the existing Asian Games record -- recorded by Akkunji and her team in 2010 -- on their way to the relay gold in Incheon.Akkunji stresses the importance of educating athletes about what they are ingesting, while pointing out an inherent flaw in the Indian drug-testing system.We dont have any specialised lab here to test. If anyone is taking something, we dont know what we are taking. We (athletes) are not manufacturers; at least we should have one specialist lab where we can test whatever we have taken. It is just a precaution.Akkunji also demands greater accountability from the nutritional supplements industry, possibly because there were rumours at the time of her ban that the banned substances had been introduced into the athletes due to supplements given by their coaches.The supplements industry is just a money-making enterprise. They dont think about athletes. But as athletes, we have to take supplements. Our physical capacity is not that much; we have to train and we need recovery.We cant say daal, chawal, roti?(pulses, rice and bread) and youll be an Olympic medallist. I dont think so; it would be foolishness. If daal, chawal, roti?was the diet of champions, every man on the street would be a medallist. Everybody is different and we have to think about recovery, diet, and everything.Akkunjis eyes light up when asked about the prospects of the relay team in Rio. Our team is really good for the Olympics. Two of the girls are from PT Ushas academy, one of the girls, Nirmala (Sheoran), is from Haryana; shes a really young girl. And we also have (MR) Poovamma, Anilda (Thomas), Debashree (Majumdar) and me.?People can say anything, but the 4x400m girls will always come in medal reckoning. New girls, anybody, (even) if I am not there, any of the other girls...the 4x400m team is always going to win in Asia and the next Commonwealth Games also. Were going to get medals. T.J. Hockenson Jersey . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. T.J. Hockenson Lions Jersey .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. http:///...lladay-Elite-Jersey/ . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. MONACO -- ??? Monaco sealed first place in Group E of the Champions League with a 2-1 win over Tottenham in a thrilling display of attacking football on Tuesday.Needing just a draw against the only side to remain unbeaten in the Premier League to progress to the knockout phase, Monaco did not hold back. However, it took the hosts 48 minutes to break the deadlock with a goal from Djibril Sidibe, who then turned provider when Thomas Lemar scored the winner five minutes later.Harry Kane had equalized from the penalty spot for Spurs, which can no longer qualify for the knockout phase.We got ourselves back in the game at 1-1 and it was schoolboy to concede straight after that, Kane said. We had to try to grind out a win because we were not great tonight. The second goal took the stuffing out of us. I just dont think on the day we were good enough.Monaco went ahead when Sidibe, unmarked in the box, planted a powerful header into the net from Benjamin Mendys cross.Monaco could not hold on to its lead for long as a rare mistake from Kamil Glik, who dragged Dele Alli down in the area, resulted in a penalty. Kane converted it with a powerful spot-kick.But Spurs defensive inadequacies were exposed less than a minute after their equalizer. From the resulting kick-off, Sidibe burst down the right before crossing for Lemar. The highly-praised midfielder, who scored in the corresponding fixture in September at Wembley, restored Monacos advantage with a shot into the far corner.It was a great evening, Sidibe said. Were playing with a conquering mindset at the moment.It was a deserved win for Monaco, which was the better team for most of the game.In a lively start, Tottenham createdd the first dangerous move when Son Heung-min beat the offside trap on a swift counterattack but lost his one-on-one with Danijel Subasic. Barry Sanders Womens Jersey. The South-Korean winger vainly tried to dribble the Monaco keeper and was forced wide.The hosts replied immediately through Fabinho, who made the most of a poor clearance to make his way into the box and was brought down by Eric Dier. Radamel Falcao, the Monaco captain, took the penalty -- only to see his low shot to the bottom corner superbly blocked by Hugo Lloriss diving save.With Kevin Wimmer replacing Jan Vertonghen in the heart of Tottenhams back four, Spurs struggled defensively and Monaco -- the highest-scoring side in Europes main domestic leagues -- gradually took control.With its midfielders often losing possession and committing a series of fouls as they tried to recover the ball, Tottenham failed to produce a single shot in goal during the opening 45 minutes.The French league side had another good chance when Mendy sent a cross-shot goalwards that Lloris parried away. Left unmarked in the area, Monaco striker Valere Germain tried his luck from the rebound but his header was too weak to surprise Lloris.Falcao and Sidibe then missed the target and Germain again came close after a pass from Bernardo Silva in midfield sent him through. The striker raced down the right flank and fired an angled low shot that ended just wide.Monaco created two more clear chances through Glik and Falcao after Lemar put the hosts back in front but Lloris ensured a nervy finale with some decisive saves. ' ' '