‘The Great Khali’ bounces back from injury to win in Dehradun

March 1, 2016

Dehradun, Mar 1: International wrestler Dalip Singh Rana, popularly known as ‘The Great Khali’, who was admitted in a Dehradun hospital four days back after sustaining ‘serious’ injuries, bounced back on Sunday night to win the high-voltage wrestling match in which he trounced three foreign wrestlers – Brody Steel, Mike Knox and Apollo Leon.

khali

As part of ‘The Great Khali Returns Series’ in association with Uttarakhand government, Khali’s show was organised in Dehradun on Sunday night, which was witnessed by thousands amid chaos and mismanagement.

As the fight started around 10.15pm, thousands of viewers went berserk, shouting ‘Khali-Khali’ and ‘bharat mata ki jai’. Initially, Brody punched Khali but soon the 44-year-old Indian-origin wrestler, who gained worldwide acclaim from the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) arena overpowered Brody and then he went out of ring and thrashed two other wrestlers – Mike and Apollo.

On February 24, Khali was ‘seriously’ injured after the trio Brody, Mike and Apollo hit Khali hard with a steel chair, in a match that was played in Haldwani in Nainital district. Later he was airlifted to Dehradun.

Many of the viewers who saw Khali for the first time were an excited lot. Roshan from Bahadarabad in Haridwar had come to Dehradun to watch the fight. An athlete and wrestler himself, Roshan said “larai to nakli lag ri per maza bahut aa raha (the fight seems staged managed but it is entertaining)”.

Khali had said that he will take revenge ‘blood for blood’ after he received injuries and expressed happiness after winning the bout.

And Khali did just that, with a chair hit of his own.

Born in a Punjabi Rajput family in Dhiraina, Himachal Pradesh, Khali was an officer with the Punjab state police before he became a professional wrestler. He won his first WWE heavyweight championship in July 2007.

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May 5,2020

May 5: Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar says he is interested in becoming India's bowling coach if there is an offer, asserting that he is capable of grooming "more aggressive, fast and talkative" pacers.

Akhtar expressed his willingness in an interview on social networking app 'Helo'.

Asked if he would like to be associated with the Indian bowling unit in future, he responded in the positive. India's current bowling is Bharat Arun.

"I will definitely. My job is to spread knowledge. What I have learned is knowledge and I will spread it," Akhtar said.

One of the fastest bowlers to have played the game, he added, "I will produce more aggressive, fast and more talkative bowlers than the current ones who will tell-off the batsmen in a way that you will enjoy a lot."

He said he has always wanted to share his knowledge among budding cricketers and that he is looking to produce more aggressive bowlers.

He also added that he would like to "coach" IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, for whom he has played in the cash-rich T20 league's inaugural edition.

The former pacer also spoke about his early interactions with Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar in the 1998 series.

"I had seen him but didn't know how big a name he was in India. In Chennai, I got to know that he was known as a god in India.

"Mind you, he is a very good friend of mine. In 1998, when I bowled as fast as I could, Indian public celebrated with me. I have a big fan following in India," Akhtar said.

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Agencies
January 14,2020

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February 14,2020

London, Feb 14: Former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club's president Kumar Sangakkara has said that the 2009 Lahore terror attack taught him about his own character and values.

His remarks came as MCC arrived in Pakistan to play T20I matches against Lahore Qalandars. This will mark his first return to the Gaddafi Stadium, where a shocking atrocity took place when the Sri Lankan bus was attacked by terrorists.

The Sri Lankan team was on their way to Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium for a Test match with Pakistan in 2009 when terrorists from the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) fired indiscriminately at their bus. The attack left eight people dead and injured seven Sri Lankan players and staff.

Ever since the incident, no cricket team toured Pakistan to play a cricket series, however, the landscape changed last year as Sri Lanka paid a visit to the country to play a series across formats. After that, even Bangladesh toured Pakistan and now there are talks of South Africa going to the country to play a series.

"I don't think I need any flashbacks, because I remember that day and those moments so very clearly. It's not something I relive or wallow in. But it's an experience you should never forget, because it gives you perspective in terms of life and sport, and you learn a lot about your own values and characters, and those of others," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Sangakkara as saying.

"I have no reservations about talking about it, it's not something that upsets me, but these sorts of experiences can only strengthen you. Today I consider myself very fortunate to be able to come back here to Lahore, and at the same time remember the sacrifice of all those who lost their lives that day," he added.

Sangakkara said that every human has his own way of dealing with such adversity.

"I think everyone deals with it in their own personal way. But at the same time, what really unites us is that you face adversity and you face challenges, and you have to get past it, and you've got to do that successfully. It's about moving forwards and upwards and being part of cricket. Being Sri Lankan you learn those lessons quite well, because, throughout our civil war, cricket was a unique vibe," Sangakkara said.

"We speak about the attack at various times. We even have a laugh about it, in terms of what we went through because it helps sometimes to look at it with a bit of humour, even though there was a tragic loss of life, and other serious injuries within that incident," he added.

MCC in the weeklong tour will take on Lahore Qalandars in a T20 match at the Gaddafi Stadium later today.

Kumar Sangakkara will lead the MCC's twelve-man squad for the tour, which includes Ravi Bopara, Roelof van der Merwe, Ross Whiteley among others.

Fixtures for the upcoming tour are as follows:

MCC vs Lahore Qalandars, T20I, Gaddafi Stadium, February 14

MCC vs Pakistan Shaheens, ODI, Aitchison College, February 16

MCC vs Northern, Aitchison College, T20I, February 17

MCC vs Multan Sultans, Aitchison College, T20I, February 19.

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