Bindra wins individual bronze, finishes on podium twice

September 23, 2014

Incheon, Sep 23: Indian shooting ace Abhinav Bindra today bid adieu to Asian Games by clinching the individual bronze medal in men's 10-m air rifle event after guiding the team to a third-place finish on the fourth day of competitions here.bindra

Before winning the individual bronze, Bindra teamed up with Sanjeev Rajput and Ravi Kumar to finish third on the podium, helping India swell their medals tally to eight in the 17th edition of the mega-event.

He finished third in 10m air rifle men's finals behind China's Haoran Yang and Yifei Cao to bag the bronze. Bindra aggregated 187.1 points while his Chinese opponents, 18-year-old Haoran won gold with 209.6 points and Yifei bagged silver with 208.9.

Bindra had yesterday created a flutter by stating that today's event would be his last in professional shooting.

Bindra led the field till the first twelve shots before slipping to the fifth place and was saved from being ousted after a poor performance by Pourya Norouziyan of Iran and his scores of 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7.

Earlier, the Beijing Olympic gold medallist fired India to the men's team bronze in the 10m air rifle event while booking his berth in the eight-man finals with the fifth-best score in the qualifications.

The Indian team that comprised of Bindra, Kumar and Rajput tallied 1863 to finish third behind gold medal winners - China 1886.4 and South Korea (silver) at 1867.6.

Bindra tallied 625.4 points while Ravi Kumar contributed 618.9. Another veteran Rajput scored 618.7.

Bindra was shooting brilliantly after a modest beginning but for his two poor shots of 9.1 on the 55th and 9.7 on the 60th, he could only finish 5th in the qualification as fourth-placed Korean Kim Sengdo fared only marginally better at 626.1.

Bindra's sequences after each set of 10 shots were: 102.6, 105.3, 104.5, 104.1, 105.7 – during which period he was looking at peak form but for the sudden misfiring on the 55th shot– and 103.2.

This was the fifth medal fetched from the Ongnyeon range by the shooters in these Games, comprising one gold and four bronze, men's pistol shooter Jitu Rai's title win being the standout performance.

The top three scores were notched up by Chinese shooters led by Cao Yifel (630.7), a new Games record.

In the individual list, Ravi Kumar finished 20th and Rajput stood one rung below to be eliminated.

Bindra, who was just outside the top eight after the first series, got into his groove later and after the fourth set of 10 shots, took a break to have a chat with rifle coach Stanislav Lapidus for a brief. He shot 10.9 on the 40th shot.

He immediately came up with successive scores of 10.6, 10.7, 10.6 and 10.3 and was going great guns till a 9.1 spoilt his efforts.

But he took a deep breath, got his thoughts together and shot 10.1 on the 56th before coming up with successive high scores of 10.9 and 10.8, which were followed by 10.5 and 9.7 on his last shot.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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News Network
February 26,2020

Melbourne, Feb 26: On a high after two easy victories on the trot, including one against defending champion Australia, the Indian women's cricket team will aim to inch closer to a semifinal berth when it takes on New Zealand in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup here on Thursday.

The Indians have hardly broke a sweat in their 17-run and 18-run wins over hosts Australia and Bangladesh in their previous two matches, and they are perched at the top of five-team Group A standings with four points from two matches.

A win against New Zealand on Thursday will take the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side on the threshold of a knock-out stage spot, to be competed among top two teams from Group A and B.

In the two matches so far, the Indian team has been impressive both in batting and bowling.

The 16-year-old sensation Shafali Verma has been the standout batter with a whirlwind 17-ball 39 against Bangladesh, following her 29 against Australia.

One-down Jemimah Rodrigues has also been among the runs with 26 and 34 in the two matches so far.

Only captain Harmanpreet, among the top order batters, has not scored big and she is due big innings.

India is also likely to be bolstered by the return of star opener Smriti Mandhana who missed the match against Bangladesh due to fever.

The middle-order has also done its bit with Deepti Sharma playing a major role against Australia with an unbeaten 49 while Veda Krishnamurthy hit a match-defining 11-ball 20 not out for a late flourish against Bangladesh.

The bowling department has been led admirably by seasoned leg-spinner Poonam Yadav -- seven wickets in the first two matches -- with pacer Shikha Pandey ably supporting her with five scalps so far.

New Zealand, though, have a better head-to-head record against India in recent years, having won the last three matches between the two sides.

Exactly a year back, they had beaten the Indian team 3-0 in a three-match T20 International home series.

India will, however, remember their massive 34-run win against New Zealand in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2018 in the West Indies. Harmanpreet had struck a memorable 103 to lead her side to victory.

New Zealand have some top-class players in their ranks in the form of captain and all-rounder Sophie Devine and top-order batswoman Suzie Bates while pacer Lea Tahuhu and leg-spinner Amelia Kerr will lead the bowling department.

They will go into this match on a high after an easy seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Devine had led her side from the front with an unbeaten 75 off 55 balls at the top of the order in that win.

The Teams:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Richa Ghosh, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar.

New Zealand: Sophie Devine (capt), Rosemary Mair, Amelia Kerr, Suzie Bates, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Katey Martin (wk), Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Rachel Priest, Lea Tahuhu.

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News Network
January 29,2020

Hamilton, Jan 29: India defeated New Zealand in the third T20 International via Super Over to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series here on Wednesday.

India posted a competitive 179 for five at Seddon Park after being sent into bat. Opener Rohit Sharma top scored for India with a 65-run knock while skipper Virat Kohli contributed 38 runs in team's total.

Later, skipper Kane Williamson smashed a 48-ball 95 but New Zealand faltered in the final over to take the match into the Super Over.

Needing nine runs of the last over, New Zealand lost Williamson and Ross Taylor to finish at 179 for six and tie the match.

In the Super Over, New Zealand scored 17, a target which India overwhelmed in the final ball with Rohit smashing Tim Southee for two consecutive sixes.

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