Aim is to break into top 10 by year-end: Jwala Gutta

November 5, 2015

Mumbai, Nov 5: India's top women's doubles pair in badminton, seasoned campaigners Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, are aiming to crack the top 10 in world rankings before the year comes to an end.

jwala"We are currently ranked 11th. We had broken into the top ten after the Canadian Open but I fell sick during the Japan and Korea Opens and the rankings have come down a bit. But our aim is to be in the top ten by year-end and also qualify for the Super Series finals (in Dubai)," said the senior of the two players, Jwala, today.

The Indian pair is currently ranked 11th in the Super Series events too and the top eight pairs would qualify for the finals scheduled in Dubai from December 9-13.

Jwala and Ashwini, who bagged the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold in Delhi and followed it by clinching the bronze in the 2011 World Championships, have been signed up by Not for Profit organisation, Olympic Gold Quest, today.

The two players will be supported by OGQ, jointly founded by sports legends Prakash Padukone and Geet Sethi, in the run up to next year's 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it was announced by OGQ's CEO, Viren Rasquinha, at a media conference here.

"We are very excited to be associated with OGQ and it's very important we get this kind of support. It's less than a year to go for Rio and we will work harder and try to achieve better result than earlier (London, 2012). Every professional athlete needs individual attention like in training, nutrition etcetera and OGQ will provide it," said Jwala.

Agreeing with her partner, Ashwini said "We are looking forward to working harder and doing better than before in all the tournaments prior to and in the Olympic Games. We need a fit body to give 100 per cent. They (OGQ) will give us 100 per cent support if we need anything."

Asked about Rio, Jwala said she and her partner were on target to qualify for the Olympics for which they need to be in the top 16 at the cut-off date - April 30.

Immediately the pair's aim is to do well in China open, starting on November 10, followed by the Hong Kong (from November 17) and Macau Open (from November 24).

"(Post OGQ support) We will have better preparations, focus more on the game, more on the tiny things that will make a difference and also increase our chances of doing well at the Olympics. (Sense of) insecurity and stress has gone down. I am sure we are going to do well." said Ashwini.

"We hope to qualify for the Super Series finals and by the end of the year remain in top 10," said Jwala who also welcomed the appointment of a specialist doubles coach from Malaysia to train them and other Indian doubles pairs.

"We needed a specialist who understands doubles which is a totally different event. It's very important to have a specialist doubles coach who can identify our strong and weak points.

"People think doubles is for lazy players but they don't realise it's much faster, has more power and reflexes should be faster. The game of doubles needs better understanding which the specialist coach will have," she added.

"Pairs need to have rapport and trust each other. That's very important," added Ashwini.

Both were virtually dismissive of the government's special initiative for Rio - Target Olympic Podium.

"Right now it's OGQ," said Ashwini when asked about TOP to be part of which the two players had fought tooth and nail after they had been left out of the scheme initially.

"I guess we are," said Jwala when asked about being chosen for TOP.

Badminton legend Prakash said Jwala and Ashwini have so far not lived up to their full potential and hoped their association with OGQ will help them do so.

"I hope they do well in the Olympics and in other tournaments as well. They are doing exceptionally well and we felt they can do better with OGQ support. They will get our full support," he said.

Prakash also welcomed the appointment of a specialist doubles coach for the players in Hyderabad, but cautioned the fans and the authorities need to be patient.

"We have been asking for one and finally we have got the specialist coach and hopefully he will make a difference. But he cannot change things overnight. We need to be patient. It will need 2-3 years to see the result," the former All England singles champion said.

Prakash also said Indian badminton was seeing the best phase in its history with a number of players doing well, unlike in the past.

"Indian badminton is at its best phase. Never have we had so many good players at the same time. But for doing well in the Olympic Games you need to be at your peak in that one week as every one will be eager to do well in an event that takes place once in four years," he said.

"You may beat the world champion the week before the Olympics and the week after, but it all boils down to you being at your best during that one week. That's why you need to be mentally strong also," said the Bengaluru stalwart.

He also expected the Indian shuttlers to put up a better show in Rio than in London in 2012 when Saina Nehwal won the bronze in women's singles and P Kashyap entered the men's singles quarter finals.

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News Network
May 21,2020

Mumbai, May 21: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has chosen legendary Sachin Tendulkar over current skipper Virat Kohli as a better batsman in the ODI format, considering the changed rules of the game and the Mumbaikar's longevity of career.

Tendulkar, who retired in 2013, played 463 ODIs and amassed 18, 426 runs with 49 hundreds at an average of 44.83.

Kohli, on the other hand, has played 248 ODIs and scored 11, 867 runs with 43 tons at an average of 59.33.

"Sachin Tendulkar, because probably with one white ball and four fielders inside the circle, not five fielders outside, it will be Sachin Tendulkar for me," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

Nowadays, a one-day innings is played with two white balls and with three powerplays.

In the first power play (overs 1-10), two fielders are allowed beyond the 30-yard circle, while in the second powerplay (overs 10-40) four fielders are allowed. In the last powerplay (overs 40-50), five fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.

Gambhir, who was the star performer in 2011 ODI World Cup final which India won, feels that the change in rules has helped batsmen.

"It's difficult because Virat Kohli has done phenomenally well but I think the rules have changed as well, which has helped a lot of new batters," elaborated Gambhir, who played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs.

"The new generation, with 2 new balls, no reverse swing, nothing for the finger spin, five fielders inside for the 50 overs, probably that makes batting much easier.

He said he would also go with Tendulkar, considering his longevity and flow of the ODI cricket format at that time.

"Probably I’ll go with Sachin Tendulkar if we see the longevity and flow of the one-day cricket format.

"Look at how Sachin Tendulkar has played, different rules, that time 230 to 240, was a winning total," Gambhir signed off. 

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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Agencies
May 31,2020

London, May 31: "Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli," replied umpire Ian Gould when he was asked to name the three best batsmen he loved watching when he was officiating as an umpire.

The former ICC elite umpire said that he was unlucky to not watch Ponting bat as much as he would have liked to.

"Jacques Kallis. I loved watching Jacques. He was a very, very fine player. Sachin. And probably Virat. I was unlucky in some respects. I didn't see the best of Ricky Ponting. He was an outstanding character, outstanding captain, such a proud Australian," ESPNCricinfo quoted Gould as saying.

"But his career was just starting to wane as I came on the scene. But he was incredibly helpful, so I'm disappointed I have to leave him out. Jacques Kallis, I could sit and watch all day, Virat, the same. And Sachin, if you want someone to bat for your life, he was the man," he added.

Gould had retired from the ICC's panel of elite umpires in 2019, after standing in more than 250 international matches over a 13-year career.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

While, Kallis played 166 Tests, 328 ODIs and 25 T20Is for South Africa and he is often viewed as the greatest all-rounder the game has seen.

Many pundits of the game find it hard to pick between him and Sir Garfield Sobers.

Across his career, Kallis scored 25,534 runs in his career and he also managed to take 577 wickets.

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