NEU » Saina consistently reached the quarterfinal a

Chris Froome strengthened his grip on the yellow jersey on a sombre day at the Tour de France.Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin won the Stage 13 time trial from Bourg-Saint-Andeol to La Caverne du Pont dArc with Froome setting the second-best time to add another minute to his cushion over second place.But Froome, a Monaco resident, had little interest in discussing the race, which took place in the wake of the terrorist attack that killed at least 84 people in Nice on Thursday night.Although he attended the yellow-jersey holders customary news conference after the stage, the Briton took no questions and instead gave a short statement.I think its pretty clear today everyones thoughts are with those affected down in Nice, Froome said. I think its difficult for us to even be here talking about the race with all that happening yesterday down in Nice.Its somewhere pretty close to home for me, somewhere I do a lot of training, and to see the promenade the way it was yesterday evening with bodies over the road is horrific, horrific scenes.My deepest sympathy, my deepest condolences go out to those families who have lost loved ones in Nice.Time trial specialist Dumoulin won with a time of 50 minutes, 15 seconds over the rolling 37.5-km stage, with Froome 1:03 off that pace.But with Bauke Mollema the next best among the general classification contenders, Froome is considerably more comfortable in yellow going into the weekend.Mollema moved up to second overall, displacing Briton Adam Yates, but he is 1:47 behind Froome.After the stage, Froome was joined on the podium by the other jersey holders -- Yates in the young riders white, Peter Sagan in the points leaders green and Thomas De Gendt in polka dots for the king of the mountains -- as well as Dumoulin and several Tour officials to pay their respects to victims of the Nice attack.Several children were among the dead after a terrorist drove a truck through crowds celebrating Bastille Day along the Promenade des Anglais.On Friday morning, Tour officials met with police, government, regional and security officials to discuss security arrangements, and Tour director Christian Prudhomme vowed the race would continue in sobriety and with dignity.We wish today to be dignified, in tribute to the victims, Prudhomme said. We are thinking about the families, we offer our condolences to everyone who has been affected, who has lost a loved one. To everyone who is injured, in flesh and in their being.We asked questions of ourselves, effectively. But we think, in agreement with the state authorities, that the race should continue, and we mustnt give in to pressure of people who want us to change our way of life.Twenty-four hours before he crossed the line here, Froome had been caught in a chaotic and bizarre end to Stage 12 on Mont Ventoux, where he crashed along with Mollema and former team-mate Richie Porte when a television motorbike was caught in huge crowds on the mountain.After briefly racing up the mountain on foot before changing bikes, Froome lost almost two minutes -- enough to cost him the yellow jersey -- until the race jury intervened and he came out with an increased lead, 47 seconds over Yates.It was unclear whether Froome had suffered any injuries in the incident, but there was little sign of that as he turned in a strong Friday ride to increase his advantage.Yates had expected to lose time on this stage and duly gave up almost two minutes to Froome, at least better than the four minutes he predicted.Movistars Nairo Quintana also lost out, slipping to two minutes and 59 seconds off yellow although the Colombian is still in fourth place. 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Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. She remembers the match well. She was 18. Scrawny. Wide-eyed. At her first Olympics. She wasnt meant to have come this far. She had no business beating the world No. 5 Wang Chen along the way. But she had. And now, against world No. 16 Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia, she had won a marathon first game 28-26.It was the quarterfinals of the 2008 Olympics. Yulianti soon drew on all her experience to level the contest against the world junior champion from India. Game three and Saina Nehwal took an 11-3 lead. Ten more points and she would be in the semi-finals -- within touching distance of a medal.And then, just like that, in a matter of minutes it was over. Yulianti overturned the deficit and built a substantial lead of her own. Saina would return home empty-handed, but an ambition had been sparked -- to one day be called an Olympic medallist.That Olympics gave me lot of fame, lot of recognition, she says. People got to know who Saina is and (that) shes doing really well in badminton. Of course I lost the medal, but that gave me a lot of confidence that yes, I can win a medal in the Olympics.Four years later in London, the dream was realized. The gawky teenager from Beijing had transformed into a formidable force. She had won a clutch of big titles and risen steadily up the rankings. Saina versus China, the headlines exclaimed as she challenged the dominance of the foremost badminton nation in the world.In London, Saina won her first four matches in straight games before running into Chinas Wang Yihan in the semi-finals. She lost in a one-sided contest and was left in a play-off for the bronze against another Chinese, Wang Xin. Saina lost the first game but fortuitously; her opponent was forced to concede with an injury.At 22, Saina had become only the second Indian woman after weightlifter Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic medal.In Rio, Saina will begin the competition as one among a group of about half-a-dozen players capable of clinching gold. Though her ranking has slipped to fifth, the difference in points separating the top players is marginal and in recent months no one player has dominated the circuit.Under the eagle eye of coach Vimal Kumar, besides achieving optimal fitness, the thrust over the final phase of preparations before the Olympics haas been on tactical subtleties against specific opponents.dddddddddddd Some players such as Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei have been massive stumbling blocks for Saina. Ying has won the last six matches between them, going back to 2014 and holds an 8-5 advantage in their head to head. So perplexed is Saina by Yings play that she has described her as a mystery and a puzzle.Other potential banana skins lurk as well. The 2012 Olympic Gold medallist Li Xureui leads Saina 12-2 in their head-to-head encounters. World No. 1 Carolina Marin has won some big tournament finals against Saina in recent years and Thailands Ratchanok Intanon has also been a persistent stumbling block.Well aware but undaunted by the ferocity of competition she faces, Saina is exuding an air of confidence as the Games approach. Much of her belief flows from a healed body after battling a niggling ankle injury for months. Forced to stay away for the first few months of the year, Saina has built momentum gradually since returning to the circuit at the All England Championships in March, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Ying.In the tournaments that followed, Saina consistently reached the quarterfinal and semifinal stages before making a timely breakthrough at the Australian Open Super series in June. By clinching her last pre-Rio competitive tournament -- where she conceded only one game in five matches, including two over higher ranked players -- Saina confirmed her form, fitness and pedigree ahead of the Games.I take each tournament as it comes, she says. Rio Olympics will also be like any other games. My approach to the game is very positive and I would like to keep it like that and focus on my game. I feel that on the day that I am 100% fit, I have the potential to defeat anyone.There has been a neat symmetry to Sainas Olympic forays so far. At Beijing, she made a muscular announcement to the world of her ability. In London, she strode deservedly on to the podium as one of the leading players in the world. Perhaps Rio will be remembered as the time she basked in the golden glow -- that determined little pint of a girl, who wouldnt settle for anything less. ' ' '