Games away from the Games (Rio Diary)

Sex at the games village has been an open secret and with the surge of dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, Olympic flings have become a lot easier.

Eager to have 'some fun', athletes from nearly every sport have their profiles on dating app especially Tinder with status messages like "Looking for fun in Rio".

A surge in mobile dating first appeared during the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi and since then, the market for hook-up apps has only grown.

Tinder officials have declared that the use of the app at the Olympic village has "skyrocketed" since the start of the Rio Games.

Incidentally, organisers have distributed a record 450,000 condoms, at Rio three times more than what was available at the London Games.

-x-x-x-x-

Enzo drops the phone!A

Mobile phones have become such an inseparable part of modern day life that one can't help but carry it even to an Olympics bout.

World and European champion fencer Enzo Lefort of France has become a social media sensation after his phone popped out of his pocket while he was taking on Germany's Peter Joppich in the men's individual foil.

Amid loud boos from spectators, Enzo picked it up and handed it to an official on the sidelines but went on to lose the match.

Caught on numerous cameras, the "phone popping" has gone viral on social networks and has been dubbed as one of the most "ridiculous and embarrassing" Olympic moments.

-x-x-x-x-

Marta overshadows Neymar

It's not superstar Neymar. Rather, football crazy Brazilians are rooting for their all-time greatest woman footballer -- Marta.

While Marta has been thriving with the women's team, Neymar has disappointed at the men's Olympic tournament.

Chants of "Mar-ta! Mar-ta!" reverberated at the Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia where Neymar and his men struggled to a goalless draw against Iraq.

Besides taking to social networks declaring "Marta is better than Neymar", fans have been widely sharing photos and videos of Bernardo Risca, a young boy wearing a Brazil jersey with Neymar's name crossed out and Marta's scrawled in with a heart.

Fans are also enraged over absence of Marta jerseys in the markets. Brazilian actor Alexandre Nero took to Facebook to voice his protest.

--IANS

and/ssp/vm