French Open shock: Roger Federer withdraws from Roland Garros due to back injury

May 20, 2016

New Delhi, May 20: 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer on Thursday shocked the tennis world by announcing his withdrawal from the 2016 French Open.

FrenchThe Swiss maestro, in a Facebook post, said that he is "still not 100%" and was worried that he "might be taking an unnecessary risk by playing" at Roland Garros.

Federer has played a record 65 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. And for the first time in over 16 years, a Grand Slam will not have Federer competing.

The 34-year-old was withdrew from the Madrid Masters two weeks ago with a back problem, and lost in the third round of last week's Rome Masters to Dominic Thiem, appearing not fully fit.

Federer has struggled with injury this year, having undergone knee surgery after January's Australian Open. However, the former world number one returned for Monte Carlo Masters in April and reached the quarter-finals, where he was beaten by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The Swiss' withdrawal from the tournament, which starts on Sunday, means that nine-time champion Rafael Nadal will be promoted to fourth seed in Friday`s draw behind Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and defending champion Stan Wawrinka.

It also means that Nadal cannot meet Djokovic or Murray before the semi-finals.

Federer completed a career Grand Slam when he captured the 2009 title in Paris.

His overall record in the French capital stands at 65 wins against just 16 losses with four defeats in finals, all at the hands of Nadal with the most recent back in 2011.

Federer`s absence is another blow to Roland Garros organisers who have seen two-time women`s champion Maria Sharapova sidelined through a doping suspension while former world number one Caroline Wozniacki is out injured.

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News Network
June 6,2020

Mumbai, Jun 6: Reminiscing about his 'special knock' of 208 runs from 153 balls, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma revealed why his wife Ritika had got emotional after he smashed his third double century in ODIs.

Rohit narrated the incident during his appearance in Episode 2 of the 'Open nets with Mayank'.

The batsman, who was accompanied by Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank on the show, said his wife thought that he had twisted his hand while diving for the 196th run during the innings.

"As you can see my wife got emotional there, this day was special as it was my anniversary. Probably the best gift I could give it to her while I am on the field, it was quite emotional though," said Rohit during the candid chat.

"When I came from the ground, I just asked her why did you (Ritika) cry? So she told me that she thought I (Rohit) twisted my hand when I dived for my 196th run and that was a little worrying factor for her, she got little emotional of because of that I guess," Rohit added.

In the match, the 32-year-old scored 208 runs with 13 fours and 12 sixes against Sri Lanka at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

This enabled India to post a score of 392/4 in the allotted fifty overs.

India then went on to win the match by 141 runs.

"To be honest I was going pretty slow, I never thought I will get to a double hundred but once you cross 125, I feel it gets easier for you because bowlers are under pressure. Unless you make a mistake I don't think you can get out," said Rohit.

Rohit has scored two double hundreds against Sri Lanka and one against Australia in ODIs. The right-handed batsman is the only cricketer to make three double hundreds in ODI history.

Rohit, Shikhar, and Mayank would have been in action for Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Kings XI Punjab respectively, had the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mumbai, Mar 5: Former India spinner Sunil Joshi was on Wednesday named chairman of the national selection panel by the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which also picked ex-pacer Harvinder Singh to the five-member group.

The CAC, comprising Madan Lal, R P Singh and Sulakshana Naik, picked the two selectors with Joshi replacing South Zone representative MSK Prasad.

In an unprecedented decision, the BCCI said the CAC will review the panel's performance after one year and make recommendations accordingly.

"The committee recommended Sunil Joshi for the role of chairman of the senior men's selection committee. The CAC will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI," read a statement from BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.

Harvinder was chosen from central zone and replaces Gagan Khoda in the panel.

The existing members of the selection panel are Jatain Paranjpe, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh.

"We have picked the best guys for the job," Lal told news agency.

The CAC had shortlisted five candidates for interviews -- Joshi, Harvinder, Venkatesh Prasad, Rajesh Chauhan and L S Sivaramakrishnan -- from a list of 40 applicants.

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Agencies
January 14,2020

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