After magical ton, Railway promotion for star batswoman Kaur

Agencies
July 23, 2017

Mumbai, Jul 23: Promotion and felicitations are on the cards for batswoman Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit a scintillating century to help India defeat mighty Australia and enter the final of the ICC Women's World Cup.

The 28-year-old right-handed batter hit an unbeaten 171 off just 115 balls in the semi-final match to knock out the reigning champions from the tournament being played in England.

The Mumbai division of Western Railway (WR), which has employed her, said Kaur has shown extraordinary talent, and therefore, it would recommend to the Railway Board to promote her.

"Certainly, we would recommend her name to the Railway Ministry for promotion. We will also felicitate her when she comes back home," said Ravinder Bhakar, chief PRO of WR, yesterday. Kaur is currently employed as Chief Office Superintendent in Mumbai, he said. "Whenever, our players show excellence or perform outstandingly in international events, we recommend their names for promotion," he said.

A senior official of Central Railway, Sunil Udasi, said the state-run transport undertaking takes a good care of its players and provides them proper training. Udasi, who heads the committee that selects members of Railways' women cricket team, said the PSU has always promoted women.

"Railways women cricketers have always been in the forefront and the current national team is no exception. As many as 10 players from the current 15-member team (taking part in the World Cup) are from Railways.

"This is due to the robust domestic schedule and facilities such as 330 days special leave for dedicated training being provided by the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB)," he told PTI.

Udasi, who is also chief PRO of Central Railway, said the RSPB has undertaken various initiatives to impart regular training to players and prepare them for international events.

Apart from Kaur, members from the current national team like skipper Mithali Raj, Ekta Bisht, Punam Raut, Veda Krishnamurthy, Poonam Yadav, Sushma Devi, Mona Mesharm, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Nuzhat Parween are from Railways, he said.

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News Network
June 13,2020

Mumbai, Jun 13: Vasant Raiji, who was India's oldest first-class cricketer at 100, died in Mumbai in the wee hours of Saturday.

Raiji was 100 years old and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

"He (Raiji) passed away at 2.20 am in his sleep at his residence in Walkeshwar in South Mumbai due to old-age," his son-in-law Sudarshan Nanavati told PTI.

Raiji, a right-handed batsman, played nine first-class matches in the 1940s, scoring 277 runs with 68 being his highest score.

He made his debut for a Cricket Club of India team that played Central Provinces and Berar in Nagpur in 1939.

His Mumbai debut happened in 1941 when the team played Western India under the leadership of Vijay Merchant.

Raiji, also a cricket historian and chartered accountant, was 13 when India played its first Test match at the Bombay Gymkhana in South Mumbai.

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and former Australian skipper Steve Waugh had paid a courtesy visit to Raiji at his residence in January when he had turned 100.

It has been learnt that the cremation will take place at the Chandanwadi crematorium in South Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.

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News Network
February 19,2020

New Delhi, Feb 19: An Indian wrestler whose family story was immortalised by Bollywood is hoping to create a blockbuster of her own by becoming her country's first world champion in the high-octane sport of mixed martial arts.

Ritu Phogat, who initially followed her father and two elder sisters into wrestling, is now charting a new path after making an explosive MMA debut in November.

Phogat's father Mahavir, and her sisters Geeta and Babita were the subject of 2016 movie "Dangal", telling the story of the wrestling coach who raised his daughters to become Commonwealth champions.

But Ritu, 25, is forging a different career. After winning her first MMA fight in less than three minutes, she will face China's Wu Chiao Chen at this month's ONE Championship fight night in Singapore, which will be held behind closed doors because of the coronavirus.

The youngest Phogat daughter is trading an attempt at an Olympic medal to tackle MMA, but she said she was attracted by the lure of making history in her new sport.

"I got a chance to train with the best in Singapore and there was no looking back," she told AFP during a promotional event in New Delhi.

"There was the 2020 Olympic Games but I thought that I would do well in mixed martial arts. I have come with an aim of becoming the first girl from India to become a world champion in mixed martial art."

The nimble but strongly built Phogat said wrestlers were a good fit for the fast-growing contact sport, which is yet to take off in India.

"Top seven champions in mixed martial arts are wrestlers, so I believe that wrestlers have an edge in this sport with their ability to take down the opponent," she said.

"It is all a matter of skill. You just have to practise hard. I think MMA is not much different from wrestling in terms of preparation.

"One has to take risks to do something new and as an athlete I am ready to embrace every challenge."

She added: "Without the support of my father and sisters I would not have been where I am. My father always taught me to be far-sighted, hard-working and with strong resolve. Three traits will take you a long way."

Phogat won 48kg gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship and followed it up with a silver in the under-23 world championships the next year.

"She used to watch a lot MMA and one day told me that I will win a gold in this game. So we all backed her and the result is there for everyone to see," he said.

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Agencies
January 26,2020

New Delhi, Jan 26: The sports fraternity on Sunday extended greetings to the people on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day.

Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to write: "Wishing all Indians a very happy Republic Day."
"Rejoice the Glory of India and it's Freedom Fighters on this Republic Day. Wish you a very happy #RepublicDayIndia . Jai Hind !" former batsman VVS Laxman tweeted.

"Wish you all a very happy #RepublicDay2020 from here in New Zealand," Irfan Pathan tweeted.

Boxer Vijender Singh said India is blessed with different religions, societies, cultures and languages.

"INDIA is a nation where humanity has lived since ages.It is a country which is blessed with different religions,societies,cultures & languages all interplaying with each other in harmony. PROUD OF UNITY IN DIVERSITY #RepublicDayIndia #RepublicDay2020," Singh wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Former cricketer Virender Sehwag, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, wrestler Sushil Kumar and tennis player Sania Mirza also extended their greetings on the occasion.

On this day, 70 years back, India officially adopted its Constitution. Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro is the chief guest at the parade this year.

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