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When Marwa Amri was last on Indian TV screens three months ago, she had just won bronze at the Olympics, and after flag-waving celebrations with her coach, was sharing the podium with Sakshi Malik. It was a special moment for India but it was an even bigger moment for Amri - shed become not just the first Tunisian but the first African woman to win an Olympic medal in wrestling.On Saturday, Amri, 27, was at a promotional event in Mumbai. Dressed trendily, her highlighted hair tumbling down, she fit right in at the upmarket Mumbai hotel where this correspondent met her. What stood out, though, was the large bronze disc that she kept close to her and gazed at from time to time.Life has changed a lot, Amri said.The bronze medal isnt just a validation of all the hours and years of hard work she put into the game, it has also become a passport to a different world. In India as a guest of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL), Amri has been feted, done the Bollywood round - posing for pictures outside Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khans houses - and is now set to attend a big fat Indian wedding when fellow wrestler Geeta Phogat ties the knot on November 20.Im very, very happy, she said. I couldnt sleep for two days after I won the medal, it was a little unbelievable. I slept with the medal the day I won it. Now I get called for events and functions.The upcoming PWL will be her first event after the Olympics, where she defeated Azerbaijans Yuliya Ratkevich 6-3 in the 58-kg bronze medal bout to create African sporting history. I was aware of the history I was about to create, and it was added pressure during the Olympics, she said. Her medal was won in the last ten seconds, when she lifted Raktevich off her feet and pinned her for a four-pointer. In one move she overcame the 2-3 deficit and launched her country in a new territory of athletic success.Before that I had won a few big medals, African championships, world championships, but this was the one I really wanted. In those last ten seconds, I knew when I went in for the move that I would get at least two points, I had to. When the final whistle blew, Amri sank to her knees and let the tears flow. Her coach Zouhair Seighir then carried her on his shoulders for a victory lap.My coach, he has been with me for about 10 years, she said. There were so many times when I wanted to give up, when I was losing or things were not going my way. Wrestling is not big in Tunisia, and I would ask him why are there no camps set up for me, why dont I have better sparring partners, he would ask me to calm down and train. He used to be a wrestler in his day, and had played a few international competitions, but never the Olympics. He taught me to dream. He would keep me going on when I wanted to quit.****The oldest of four siblings, Amri grew up with a sense of responsibility. Her father had died when she was nine and she would help her mother bake bread to keep the household running. At 11, Amri found wrestling.I just took it up because I liked it... my school had an indoor hall and mat. Tunis, the capital city that obsessed over football, had little to give a budding woman wrestler. Forget Tunis, the whole of Tunisia had about seven womens wrestlers when I started, Amri recalls. I used to spar with boys. While they are stronger, women react to situations differently and come up with techniques or moves that are unexpected. Ask her to explain, and she says that men go more by the textbook while women are better at improvising. Also, there wasnt much money to fund my international trips. Ahead of the bigger competitions, like the African championships, the government would help but otherwise I had to fend for myself. None of the girls that I started with continued. One of her younger sisters also took up the sport but gave up quickly because she didnt enjoy it. Amri, though, kept stoking her dream. She got a degree in physical education and worked as a PE instructor in a school in the town of El Omrane. The down time was spent watching Indian movies and serials, which were dubbed in Arabic.I would work every day. Finish training, then go to work, then back to training. The schedule - two sessions of two hours every day, with a focus on diet and cardio closer to events - wouldnt ease even during the month of Ramadan.The Olympic dream first became a reality in 2008, when she competed at the Beijing Games. I finished 10th in Beijing (in 55 kg). But having competed there, I knew I could win an Olympic medal. I was a little better in London (she made the quarterfinals). And this time I just didnt want to let it go. Amri had made the bronze medal bout through the repechage round and pinned down the opportunity with dramatic flair.Have things changed in Tunisia for women wrestlers? Not really, she concedes; theres too many more girls joining the sport, or sponsors coming in, but she hopes things will change in the near future. Its not impossible, she says. And another twirl of the bronze medal validates her belief.(Deepti Patwardhan is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai) Tommy Burleson Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Lonnie Shelton Jersey . 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She can even specify that shes willing to dress well and sit in the Presidents suite on Sunday for the mens final. On Saturday, though, she wants to go more casual, so shed rather be placed somewhere else. Say, the Emirates suite.The USTA is happy to accommodate Swank in exactly that way this year. Swank is an A-lister with a great image. Not every celebrity has her degree of clout, but you can be sure that those whose faces you routinely see flashed up on the big screen at Arthur Ashe Stadium didnt buy a ticket, take the No. 7 train to the Mets-Willets Point station, and empty their pockets to walk through a metal detector.Celebrities are royalty in New York. But while Wimbledon has the formidable Royal Box, Gothams beautiful people are cleverly distributed in a number of locations when they visit the US Open -- the Presidents suite (extending up from the north baseline in Ashe), the Emirates, AmEx and a number of USTA suites.Some of the celebrities who show up are recruited by agents of the USTA, while others appealed directly to those agents or the USTA. If getting into the US Open required a passport, these folks would have protected celebrity status stamped on their visas.The man in charge of wrangling celebrities for the tournament is Michael Fiur, executive producer of entertainment for the US Open. He heads an office with a staff of over 50 people deep in the bowels of Arthur Ashe Stadium. He works hand in hand with Jim Mannino Public Relations in New York. Together, they reach out to celebrities while fielding and vetting requests for celebrity treatment. Part of their job consists of making sure that sponsors who want to have celebrities in their suites are satisfied.Its a two-way street, Fiur told ESPN.com. We need places to put people, and the suite owners often want to host famous people. It can get complicated, which is why we have a daily meeting at 3 p.m. to review where we stand with our obligations.As with all visas, some applicants are turned down. Some of the names that come up at our meeting have us scrambling for our phones to look up who they are, Fiur said. Not everyone makes the cut.The rush for special treatment at the Open has gotten so intense over the years that Fiur and Mannino now send out three different US Open invitations. One solicits celebrities for the annual Arthur Ashe Kids Day event that takes place the Saturday prior to the US Open. Another invites select individuals to the opening night ceremonies. The third invite is a save the date shotgun blast to numerous parties in the entertainment, sports and fashion industries containing the dates of the US Open. It provides contact info for those whoo would like to attend.ddddddddddddCelebrities at the US Open usually fall into one of two categories: guests of players for a specific match (as Jay Z and Beyonce were for Serena Williams second-round match) or general guests of the USTA. Its an important distinction, because while those in the former category may get free transportation courtesy of the USTA, theyre pretty much on their own otherwise. Guests of the USTA are in for the entire day or night session. They get perks including free food, drink and swag, but also assume certain obligations.They are expected to walk the blue carpet at the West Gate entrance to Ashe, where paparazzi lurk. They also are expected to make themselves available for a short video sound bite for use on the US Open website. Officials ask their permission to put their image and name up on the giant video screen. An interview with ESPN during the networks telecast is voluntary.Weve had some that didnt want to do any of the publicity stuff, and weve told them, Look, you may be the biggest thing out there, but if youre not willing to stop on the blue carpet and take a picture, you can go and buy a ticket for the day and find another way to get out here. Were not going to use up a valuable seat for you.Thats a pretty hardline stance, but then the requests of the USTA can hardly be called onerous. The hosts arent averse to getting the most for their investment in celebrities, either.Last year, Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon showed up late in Roger Federers quick, three-set blowout of Richard Gasquet. The minder with them asked Fiur if hed let the pair chill out a bit before putting them up on the big screen.But Fiur recognized a great opportunity when he saw it. He grabbed the phone and called Todd Noonan, the USTAs dedicated entertainment producer at Ashe, telling him, They just walked in, go for it.Noonan had his DJ cue up Beyonces Single Ladies. Timberlake had famously parodied the dance in that songs video during a Saturday Night Live skit. When Fallon and Timberlake, both good sports, got up and reprised the dance, the crowd went ballistic.Once theyre here, having them be part of the crowd, not just showing them and putting their names up there, thats a real plus, Fiur said.Then there are those celebrities who just dont want the attention. The most principled among them simply show up as regular ticket holders and sit in their seats like regular fans. New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning does that. Last year, country star Dierks Bentley also chose to enjoy the US Open like a regular Joe, presumably shelling out nine bucks for a beer like all the other schmoes.Some people just have no desire to twerk for 23,000 tennis fans, even if it comes with a free ticket and a killer dinner in the executive dining room. ' ' '