French Open Super Series: Saina Nehwal suffers shock defeat in quarter-finals, India's campaign end

October 24, 2015

New Delhi, Oct 24: Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal suffered a shock defeat to Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the quarter-finals of 2015 French Open Super Series women's singles event in Paris on Friday.

FrenchThe 2012 finalist lost the match 9-21, 15-21 in straight sets in 39 minutes to the eighth-seeded player. A series of unforced errors and below par net play proved detrimental for the World no. 2 in her bid to win her maiden French Open title. Out of the total 66 points played, Saina won 24. With that, Indian challenge at the tournament also ended.

Nehwal, 25, lost the error-strewn first game 9-21, with her Thai opponent dictating the pace of the play. At one point, she was trailing by 12 points, at 6-18. The Indian shuttler somehow produced a strong cross-court smash to win a point at 7-18. The game ended with Saina sending long her return.

The second game too started in the similar fashion with Intanon taking a quick four point lead to love. Saina won her first point with an unforced error from her opponent at the net, but soon lost the next point failing to return a smash.

Trailing 5-11 in the second game, Saina won three points in succession to make it 8-11, but Intanon once again raced to a five point lead at 9-15. The Thai girl maintained the lead until the end, and won the game 21-15.

In their ten meetings so far, only two matches have been decided in three sets with Nehwal winning both, in Thailand (2012) and Malaysia (2009). But today, Nehwal seemed to have no answer to the all-round game from her opponent. Now, their overall head-to-head record stands 6-4, in favour of the Indian.

In the previous round, the Hyderabadi girl defeated Minatsu Mitani of Japan 21-19, 21-16 in a revenge of 2012 final, which she lost in straight sets 19-21, 11-21.

In the semi-finals, Intanon will play the winner between fourth-seed Wang Shixian of China and Nozomi Okuhara of Japan.

Fifth-seeded and Olympic Champion Li Xuerui of China -- who beat PV Sindhu in the Denmark Open final on Sunday -- takes on third seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.

New World number one and reigning back-to-back World champion Carolina Marin of Spain faces Indonesian Maria Febe Kusumastuti in the last quarter-final later in the day.

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June 13,2020

Islamabad, Jun 13: Pakistan cricket team’s former captain Shahid Afridi, who has tested positive for coronavirus,  appears to have contracted the virus during his recent visit to Muzaffarabad city of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) where Pakistan has been sending its corona positive patients.

The former Pakistan cricketer was seen attending gatherings in Muzaffarabad last month without wearing a mask and not maintaining social distancing. He spewed venom against India during his rallies. 

Afridi visited PoK to also express his solidarity with the people there who have been left to fend for themselves in combating COVID-19 as Pakistan has refused to provide any COVID fighting equipment like PPE kits and ventilators to the area’s handful of hospitals. 

In fact, Pakistan has been using the PoK as a “dumping ground” for COVID-19 affected persons from all across the country as authorities want to keep Punjab province free of corona positive persons. 

The locals held massive protests against Pakistan for setting up quarantine centres and shifting patients from parts of Pakistan to PoK. 

People are immensely suffering in Pakistan occupied Kashmir due to spread of coronavirus as the region lacks proper medical facilities and has a handful of COVID-19 testing labs. There is also lack of expert medical staff to conduct COVID-19 tests. 

A large number of people here are presumed asymptomatic and they are fast spreading the virus because of lack of medical care. 

Pakistan has reported over 1,25,000 coronavirus cases and 2,463 casualties. In Pakistan occupied Kashmir, the COVID-19 cases have increased to 534, whereas in Gilgit-Baltistan 1,030 have been  reported. 

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June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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May 19,2020

Karachi, May 19: Babar Azam wants to take a leaf out of Imran Khan's aggressive captaincy and besides cricket, he is also brushing up his English to become a "complete leader" like the World Cup-winning all-rounder.

Last week, the star batsman took over the reins of Pakistan's white-ball cricket after being appointed as the ODI skipper.

Azam, who was one of the world's leading batsmen across formats last year and already the T20 skipper, replaced wicket-keeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed as the ODI captain for the 2020-21 season.

"Imran Khan was a very aggressive captain and I want to be like him. It is not an easy job captaining the Pakistan team but I am learning from my seniors and I have also had captaincy experience since my under-19 days," Azam said.

He said that to be a complete captain one must be able to interact comfortably with the media and express oneself properly in front of an audience.

"These days I am also taking English classes besides focussing on my batting," he said on Monday.

The 25-year-old Babar said he was not satisfied with Pakistan's current standing in international cricket.

"I am not happy with where we stand and I want to see this team go up in the rankings."

Babar said captaincy would be a challenge for him but it would not affect his batting.

"It is an honour to lead one's national team so it is not a burden for me at all. In fact, after becoming captain, I have to lead by example and be more responsible in my batting."

Babar hoped the T20 World Cup is held this year in Australia as he wanted to lead his team in the ICC event.

"It would be a disappointment if the event was not held or rescheduled because I am looking forward to playing in the World Cup and doing well in it," he said.

About plans for Pakistan to fly to England in July to play three Tests and three T20 internationals amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Babar said a lot of hard work and planning would be required to make the players feel comfortable and safe.

"Touring England won't be easy. Health and safety of players is of great importance and the tour will only be possible when proper arrangements are in place," he said.

"Both England and Pakistan team fans, along with the cricketers, are missing cricket because of the pandemic."

"We will still try to perform to the best of our ability despite no support from the fans in the stadium," he added.

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