Woh joh paanch chhalle hote hain, woh bade saubhagya se milte hain (those five rings are reserved for a few fortunate ones), says Nitendra Singh Rawat, who will make up Indias first three-member mens marathon contingent at the Olympics in 56 years. Rawat will be competing alongside Gopi T and Kheta Ram at the Rio games and said ever since his qualification, I have felt an inner motivation, and my desire to work harder has also increased. I feel I must do something good, since I am going to represent my country there.A Havaldar with the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian army, Rawat was the first of the three Indians to qualify for Rio, at the 2015 World Military Games in Mungyeong, Korea in October 2015. His eighth-place finish came with a timing of 2h 18m 6s, well within the qualification mark of 2h 19m.The turning point for Rawats athletic career came when he represented India for the first time in March 2013 at a half-marathon in Korea, coming within seven seconds of the national record.For Rawat, the mark to aim for now in Rio is Shivnath Singhs 38-year-old national record for the marathon: 2h 12m, set in 1978. Shivnath also holds Indias personal best at the Olympics, where he finished 11th at the Montreal games in 1976. Rawat knows those numbers. After securing qualification for Rio in South Korea, Rawat notched up victories in the Delhi half-marathon in November 2015 and the Mumbai marathon in January 2016 -- setting an Indian course record of 2h 15m 48s in the latter -- before picking up the marathon gold at the South Asian Games in Guwahati in February, where he clocked 2h 15m 18s.Rupinder Singh, former national level middle-distance runner and athletics coach, considers Rawat one of the more consistent runners to have emerged from the Services. Hes a Physics graduate, which gives him a better insight into how to prepare. He trains the same way as the other marathoners, but he knows what is required to improve on his own performances, says Rupinder.Rawat grew up in Garur, a town in the Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand. Rawat played a lot of sport as a child, with hockey being his favourite through school. Iss desh mein cricket toh har koi khelta hai (In India, everybody plays cricket at some stage), he adds with a laugh.It wasnt until Rawat joined the Army that he took a liking to running long distances, though his initial distance of choice would be 5000 metres. It helped that if your name came up for a division-level meet, then you would get a vacation for 15 days to recover, Rawat says with a characteristic smile.Rupinder believes that Rawat could and should aim higher at the Olympics. Rio will be tough for our runners, because by and large, they have been clocking in excess of 2h 12m, whereas in Rio, I would expect the best runners to get close to 2h 7m and 2h 10m. The fact that Indian marathoners havent had more success internationally is quite surprising, says Rupinder.The national record was set by Shivnath Singh while running barefoot in Jalandhar in 1978.A discernible lack of ambition among Indian long-distance runners is the root cause for the lack of international medals says Rupinder, while highlighting how opportunities for them have increased within India.Though India have hosted so many marathons in the last few years, the focus is not on improving timing or encouraging younger marathoners. Theres so much of a hardsell to the corporates, thats theres often no incentive to improve on a best timing. Athletics is actually a sport where you can keep rewards much more quantifiable, so that young runners strive to improve their personal best. No doubt, there have been more rewards and more participation, but we still have a long way to go, says Rupinder.Nobody can blame Rawat for lack of ambition, or pragmatism, though. If I hadnt been a marathoner, I would have been running perhaps at the National championship. But I wouldnt have had the aim of doing something for my country, says Rawat. I had a limitation in the 5000m - I could have gone till Asian level, but not till a world level. I say this because I was aware of my speeds. I am what I am because of marathon.Massively inspired by Abhinav Bindras personalised message to all Olympians, and keen to rub shoulders with his track and field heroes including Haile Gebresselasie, Mo Farah and Usain Bolt in Rio, Rawat, whose favourite film Mohabbatein is a fair indication of his fondness for Hindi movies, signs off with a line that would not be out of place in a Bollywood potboiler.Jaise bola jaata hai dawaon se duayein zyaada kaam karti hain (they say prayers work better than medicines), so I would urge my countrymen that they should pray - not just for me but for each and every member of the Olympic contingent. 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A Saturday full of upsets led to a reshuffling of the College Football Playoff rankings, with Ohio State?being the biggest beneficiary.The Buckeyes, runaway winners over Maryland, moved up from fifth to second in the latest CFP rankings, as they made the most out of losses by Clemson, Michigan?and Washington.Despite the defeats, the trio didnt wind up completely out in the cold.Michigan, a loser on the road against Iowa, fared the best of the fallen, as the Wolverines remained at No. 3Clemson, which lost at home to unranked Pitt, dropped from No. 2 to No. 4, while Washingtons home loss to USC cost the Huskies two spots, dropping them from fourth to sixth.Louisville, which could have made a case for a spot in the top four, instead had to settle for a one-spot move, going from No. 6 to No. 5 after pulling out a win over Wake Forest that was much tighter than the 44-12 final score would suggest.Staying above the fray was Alabama, which is still locked into the top spot, thanks to being one of just two remaining unbeaten teams in FBS.The Big Ten placed four teams in the top 10 this week, as Wisconsin?and Penn State?checked in at Nos. 7 and 8, respectively, with the Badgers holding steady, while the Nittany Lions continued their climb, jumping up from No. 10.With six of the top 10 teams coming from the Big Ten and ACC,?CFP executive director Bill Hancock told ESPNs Heather Dinich that being a division winner in a conference isnt a mandatory consideration.The committees charge is to rank the top 25 teams in the nation; this is done based on the independent rankings of the 12 college football experts in the room, Hancock said.dddddddddddd The committee members are free to consider many different factors, and although being a division winner has not been discussed as a factor in any of our meetings, nothing prohibits it from being a factor, if thats what any individual committee member thinks. As you know, conference champion is indeed an explicit factor, but division champion is not.Oklahoma?is the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 9, and Colorado?rounds out the top 10. They are followed by Oklahoma State, Utah, USC?and West Virginia, all of which moved up in the rankings this week.Auburn?dropped from No. 9 to No. 15 after a 13-7 loss to unranked Georgia that handed the Crimson Tide the SEC West title.Speaking of the SEC West, LSU?made a large leap forward by moving from No. 24 to No. 16 after a road win over previously ranked Arkansas.Florida State?(No. 17) and Nebraska?(No. 18) each moved up one spot, taking advantage of?North Carolinas loss to rival?Duke. As a result, the Tar Heels fell out of the CFP rankings altogether.A win over?Kentucky?propelled Tennessee?back into the rankings, as the Vols ended up at No. 19.At Nos. 20 and 21 are Boise State?and Western Michigan,?in a battle for a New Years Six bowl berth. 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