Athens Olympics at a glance on day 14
Sunny Chopra, Special Correspondent
August 27, 2004 

MOn the day before Anju Bobby George's long jump final in Athens, the grand old man of Indian athletics had a message for her coach and husband Bobby on Thursday.

``He (Bobby) should take her (Anju) out for some sightseeing or dinner tonight,'' said Milkha Singh, the greatest Indian Olympian of all. At a time when everyone would have been suggesting that Anju take rest and concentrate on her Friday final, Milkha's advice sounded bewildering.

But, as he explained, he was only speaking from personal experience.

``The Olympics is the world's biggest sporting stage and even a day's gap between the qualifying event and final is a real test of nerves. I faced the same. There's phobia and a lot of tension building within the athlete. That is why I hope Bobby takes Anju out tonight, ease the pressure and talk nothing of what is to come tomorrow,'' Milkha explained.

Delighted at Indian long jumper's performance in the qualifying round, Milkha hoped for a better show on Friday.

``My best wishes are with her. She has done the nation proud by qualifying for the final at Athens. The whole nation is proud of her and I am confident that she will give her best tomorrow. Though there are a number of world class athletes in the final, Anju should jump without any fear in her mind. By making it to the final of the Olympics, she is in no way less talented than them,'' he added.

INDIA

Athletics
• 'Just one good leap'
• Twenty one strides to the final hurdle
• She's looking good, playing it clever: PT Usha
• Arduous task ahead for Indian 4X400M team

Hockey
• Indian hockey's last chance to save face at Athens

Others
• DD jumps ahead of Anju, turns to hockey

Sailing
• Indian sailing duo sinks without a trace, finishes last

Table Tennis
• Indian paddlers found wanting in Athens games

Wrestling
• Freestyle wrestlers draw inspiration from Anju

WORLD

THU 26 AUG 2004 Rank by Gold NOC NOC Name Tot. Rank by Total 1  USA United States 28 31 24 83 1 2  CHN China 25 17 12 54 3 3  AUS Australia 16 11 15 42 4 4  RUS Russia 15 19 23 57 2 5  JPN Japan 15 9 10 34 6 6  GER Germany 10 11 14 35 5 7  FRA France 10 7 10 27 7 8  ITA Italy 9 6 8 23 9 9  ROM Romania 8 5 4 17 13 10  UKR Ukraine 8 4 7 19 12 11  KOR Korea 7 10 5 22 10 12  GBR Great Britain 7 8 10 25 8 13  GRE Greece 6 4 3 13 =15 14  NED Netherlands 4 8 8 20 11 15  HUN Hungary 4 6 1 11 18 =16  SWE Sweden 3 1 2 6 =23 =16  TUR Turkey 3 1 2 6 =23 18  NZL New Zealand 3 1 0 4 =32 19  ESP Spain 2 9 5 16 14 20  CUB Cuba 2 4 7 13 =15 21  CAN Canada 2 4 1 7 22 22  BLR Belarus 2 3 7 12 17 23  POL Poland 2 2 4 8 =20 24  BRA Brazil 2 2 2 6 =23 25  SVK Slovakia 2 2 1 5 =29 26  GEO Georgia 2 2 0 4 =32 27  BUL Bulgaria 2 1 7 10 19 =28  TPE Chinese Taipei 2 1 1 4 =32 =28  ETH Ethiopia 2 1 1 4 =32 30  THA Thailand 2 0 3 5 =29 31  CHI Chile 2 0 1 3 =42 32  NOR Norway 2 0 0 2 =52 =33  AUT Austria 1 4 1 6 =23 =33  KEN Kenya 1 4 1 6 =23 35  CZE Czech Republic 1 3 4 8 =20 36  LTU Lithuania 1 2 0 3 =42 37  SUI Switzerland 1 1 3 5 =29 =38  INA Indonesia 1 1 2 4 =32 =38  RSA South Africa 1 1 2 4 =32 =40  JAM Jamaica 1 1 1 3 =42 =40  ZIM Zimbabwe 1 1 1 3 =42 42  MAR Morocco 1 1 0 2 =52 43  DEN Denmark 1 0 5 6 =23 =44  AZE Azerbaijan 1 0 2 3 =42 =44  BEL Belgium 1 0 2 3 =42 =46  BAH Bahamas 1 0 1 2 =52 =46  EGY Egypt 1 0 1 2 =52 =46  ISR Israel 1 0 1 2 =52 =49  CMR Cameroon 1 0 0 1 =60 =49  DOM Dominican Rep 1 0 0 1 =60 =49  IRI I. R. Iran 1 0 0 1 =60 =49  UAE U Arab Emirates 1 0 0 1 =60 =49  UZB Uzbekistan 1 0 0 1 =60 54  PRK DPR Korea 0 3 1 4 =32 55  MEX Mexico 0 3 0 3 =42 =56  CRO Croatia 0 2 2 4 =32 =56  KAZ Kazakhstan 0 2 2 4 =32 58  POR Portugal 0 2 1 3 =42 =59  FIN Finland 0 2 0 2 =52 =59  LAT Latvia 0 2 0 2 =52 61  SLO Slovenia 0 1 3 4 =32 62  EST Estonia 0 1 2 3 =42 =63  HKG Hong Kong 0 1 0 1 =60 =63  IND India 0 1 0 1 =60 =63  SCG Serbia/Monteneg 0 1 0 1 =60 66  ARG Argentina 0 0 3 3 =42 67  COL Colombia 0 0 2 2 =52 =68  ERI Eritrea 0 0 1 1 =60 =68  MGL Mongolia 0 0 1 1 =60 =68  TRI Trinidad/Tobago 0 0 1 1 =60 =68  VEN Venezuela 0 0 1 1 =60