Jonty Rhodes to participate in the Great Delhi Run
New Delhi, Oct 20: Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes will lace up his running shoes to join thousands of participants in the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon here Sunday.
Rhodes, who retired in 2003 after playing 52 Tests and 245 ODIs, will run in the Great Delhi Run category.
The IAAF Gold Label Race, known to be one of the fastest courses in the world, has become a preferred event for world class athletes and India's best.
The USD 2,80,000 prize purse event will witness over 34,000 runners in five different categories -- Half Marathon, Open 10K Run, Great Delhi Run, Senior Citizens' Run, and the Champions with Disability.
On his role at the event, Rhodes said he was amazed to see the change in mindset of people towards running and fitness in general.
"To get India moving is so important, especially the kids sitting on a couch playing playstations and tablets everyone has forgotten to move and that's why I am happy to be here as Puma athlete at Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and support the mass participation," Rhodes, a fielder par excellence in his playing days, said.
The 49-year-old also unveiled the Puma Finishers Tee, that will be given to the first thousand finishers of the race, at an event here on Saturday.
"This is the closest I will get to the T-shirt because I am not going to be one of the first thousand finishers," Rhodes said.
The former cricketer will lend his inspiring stories of athleticism to support the race that will show the same energy and vibrancy that Rhodes once exhibited on cricket field.
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Woman in labour dies while being transported in ambulance lacking oxygen support
Palghar (PTI): A 26-year-old pregnant woman from Maharashtra's Palghar district died while being taken to hospital in an ambulance which was not equipped with oxygen and other necessary facilities, authorities said on Wednesday.
Palghar's Civil Surgeon Dr Ramdas Marad said the health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region.
The woman, who was in labour pain, was brought to a rural hospital here in a critical state on Tuesday evening.
"If she had come earlier, we could have saved her," the health official said.
Palghar Lok Sabha member Dr Hemant Savara said the health department should take necessary action into the matter and ambulance services should have adequate facilities.
Pinki Dongarkar, resident of Sarni village, went into labour on Tuesday evening.
Her family immediately rushed her to Kasa rural hospital, but due to the critical nature of her condition, the staff there referred her to neighbouring Silvassa city (in the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) for further medical attention.
However, despite frantic attempts by her family to secure an ambulance equipped with oxygen and necessary medical facilities through the '108' emergency service, their requests went unanswered, a health official said.
They were eventually provided with a regular ambulance by the Kasa rural hospital.
While en route to Silvassa, the woman succumbed to complications and the foetus also did not survive, health officials confirmed.
Dr Marad said the woman was brought to the Kasa rural hospital in a critical state.
According to him, the woman suffered from a condition called Intrauterine Fetal Death (IUFD), where the foetus died in the womb. The exact time of the foetal death could not be determined.
Upon arrival at the hospital, the woman was semi-conscious and showed signs of severe infection.
On issues with the 108 emergency ambulance services, which are privately operated, Dr Marad said the ambulance might have been unavailable due to high demand.
The health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region, he said.
Talking to PTI, Palghar BJP MP Savara said, "This is a very sad incident. The health department should take necessary action in this connection. Also, such an incident should not happen in future for this reason."
"The ambulance services should have adequate oxygen and cardiac support facilities. Also, a doctor is required to accompany the patient. I will follow it up with the government," he said.
CPI (M) leader Vinod Nikole, the newly-elected assembly member from Dahanu in Palghar, said he had raised the issue in the House during his last term, but no action was taken.
He criticised the government over "indifference" towards improving healthcare facilities, particularly in tribal areas, and accused the state of prioritising other programmes, such as the Ladki Bahin Yojana, over the urgent needs of healthcare in rural regions.
