Denmark Open: Kidambi Srikanth wins third Super Series title

Agencies
October 23, 2017

Odense, Oct 23: Beats Korean veteran Lee Hyun II 21-10 21-5 in a match that lasted just 25 minutes

Kidambi Srikanth clinched his third Super Series Premier title with a dominating straight-game victory over Korean veteran Lee Hyun II in a lopsided final of the USD 750,000 Denmark Open here on Sunday.

Playing an opponent 12 years his senior, Srikanth asserted his dominance with a 21-10 21-5 win over 37-year-old Lee in a match that lasted just 25 minutes here.

World No. 8 Srikanth didn’t give any chances to the more experienced Lee, who looked a pale shadow of the man, who had beaten World No. 2 Son Wan Ho in the semi-finals yesterday.

The duo were tied 4-4, before Srikanth changed gears and used his deception and powerful smashes to lead 9-5.

A return going to the net gave a point to Lee but Srikanth produced a brilliant cross court net dribble to bamboozle his opponent and moved into the break with a healthy 11-6 lead when the Korean went wide.

Lee had no answers to Srikanth’s razor-sharp smashes and cross court returns as the Indian led 14-8. Lee also made judgement errors at the baseline and also miscued his strokes as Srikanth extended his advantage to 17-8 with another smash.

The Korean hit two long shots and then sent one at the net to hand over a 20-8 lead to Srikanth.

The Indian made two unforced errors to allow Lee get into doubles figures. But Lee again erred with the length of his return as Srikanth pocketed the first game.

In the second game, Srikanth stepped on the gas and zoomed to a 11-1 lead even as Lee struggled with his strokes, hitting wide and long and often finding the net.

Post mid-game break, Lee produced a steep cross court return, much to the cheer of the sizable crowd who had turned out to watch the finals. The Korean lacked anticipation as Srikanth smashed his way to the title.

Ratchanok Inthanon takes title

Earlier, 2013 World Champion Ratchanok Inthanon produced another gritty display to stave off the challenge from World No. 5 and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 14-21 21-15 21-19 to win her first title of the season.

“I didn’t think about winning or losing. I just wanted to give my best for our beloved King, who passed away last year. It has been difficult for us and I am happy I could find the mental strength and power to win today,” a teary-eyed Inthanon said.

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest- reigning monarch, had passed away last year after 70 years as head of state.

Among other matches, Hong Kong’s eighth seeded mixed doubles pair of Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet, who had clinched the 2012 Japan Open Super Series, notched up their maiden major title.

They defeated top-seeded Chinese combo of Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen 24-22 19-21 23-21 in a thrilling contest that lasted a little less than an hour.

Korea’s women’s doubles pair of Lee So Hee and Shin Seung Chan, who had won the 2014 World championship bronze medal at Denmark, dished out another sensational performance to outwit Japanese sixth seeds Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto 21-13 21-16 to clinch the title.

Chinese pair of Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan, seeded fifth, defeated second seeded Indonesian combo of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 21-16 22-24 21-19 in the men’s doubles final clash.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Headingley, Jan 25: England have become the first team in the world to score 500,000 runs in Test cricket. They achieved the feat during the ongoing fourth and final Test against South Africa being played at The Wanderers.

On Friday - the opening day of the Test match -- England captain Joe Root's single through the covers took the Three Lions to a landmark 500,000 run-mark in the longest format of the game. They achieved the feat in their 1022nd Test match.

Australia comes second in the list, with 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India, meanwhile, are third, with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, followed by West Indies (270,441 runs in 545 Tests).

In the third Test played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, England had become the first team to play 500 Test matches on foreign soil. Australia are the second team to play the most away Test with 404 matches they have played so far.

India have played 268 Tests on foreign soil in which they have won 51, lost 113 and 104 have ended in a draw.

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News Network
May 3,2020

New Delhi, May 3: In a startling revelation, India speedster Mohammed Shami has claimed that he thought of committing suicide thrice while battling personal issues a few years ago, forcing his family to keep a watch over him at all times.

He said his family members feared he "might jump" from their 24th floor apartment.

Shami, one of India's leading bowlers in recent years, opened up on his personal and professional life during an Instagram chat with teammate and limited overs squads' vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

"I think if my family had not supported me back then I would have lost my cricket. I thought of committing suicide three times during that period due to severe stress and personal problems," Shami revealed during the session on Saturday.

Now one of the mainstays of Indian bowling attack across formats, the 29-year-old was struggling to focus on his cricket, then.

"I was not thinking about cricket at all. We were living on the 24th floor. They (family) were scared I might jump from the balcony. My brother supported me a lot.

"My 2-3 friends used to stay with me for 24 hours. My parents asked me to focus on cricket to recover from that phase and not think about anything else. I started training then and sweated it out a lot at an academy in Dehradun," Shami said.

In March 2018, Shami's wife Hasin Jahan had accused him of domestic violence and lodged a complaint with the police, following which the India player and his brother were booked under relevant sections.

The upheaval in his personal life forced his employer BCCI to withheld the player's central contracts for a while.

"Rehab was stressful as the same exercises are repeated every day. Then family problems started and I also suffered an accident. The accident happened 10-12 days ahead of the IPL and my personal problems were running high in the media," Shami told Rohit.

Shami said his family stood like a rock with him and the support helped him get back on his feet.

"Then my family explained that every problem has a solution no matter how big the problem. My brother supported me a lot."

Speaking about another painful period in his life after his injury in the 2015 World Cup, Shami said it took him almost 18 months to get back on the field.

"When I got injured in the 2015 World Cup, after that it took me 18 months to fully recover, that was the most painful moment in my life, it was a very stressful period.

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