I have more dreams that I want to achieve: Saina Nehwal

May 9, 2015

New Delhi, May 9: Thanking the government for lending a helping hand to the country's top sportspersons, India's champion shuttler Saina Nehwal hopes the establishment will now put its weight behind upcoming talents striving to make a mark globally.

saina times award

Asked if the government can try helping those who are beginning to shine, apart form the elite athletes, the world number 2 shuttler Saina, who was today given a cash award of 25 lakhs by the ministry, responded in positive.

"Players who are capable of doing well in any international events, there names should be in the government scheme. I must say the government is also giving a lot of support to sportspersons," Saina said when asked about the government's TOP (Target Olympic Podium) scheme.

The recent months had been very fruitful for Saina and the Hyderabad-based shuttler said she was looking forward to winning more titles.

"My job is to give my best and not think about rankings.

Lots of surprises were in store for me this year, which I didn't expect," Saina said on the sidelines of the Times Of India Sports Award.

"The last one year was a special experience, scaling the world number one ranking, reaching the finals of All England Championships, winning the India Open and China Open. I just want to stay focussed. The performance has motivated me to do better.

"I am a very emotional person and staying at the top is not easy. I have more dreams that I want to achieve," said the player who was at the top of world ranking for two brief stints recently.

Talking about the Sudhirman Cup, starting on Sunday, Saina said India was determined to improve their record in the prestigious tournament.

"It's about the team. I hope to do well in the Sudhirman Cup. We hardly play team event."

As talks turned to next year's Rio Olympics, Saina said her main aim was to remain fit going into the quadrennial extravaganza.

"I will strive to maintain my fitness, that is the key. There are ups and downs and they are part of life. The challenge is how to keep myself injury-free, I will focus on training right now," Saina said.

Speaking about her partnership with the Bangalore-based coach Vimal Kumar, the 25-year-old shuttler said, "It has been good working with Vimal sir. I have won good titles after joining him. My movements on the court improved, we also focused on working on different strokes."

Compatriot P V Sindhu, coming back after an injury, said she was training for the upcoming tournaments.

"I have been practicing hard for coming tournaments, India is doing very well now a days. It's not easy to come back from injuries. On return I played in the Asian Championships and lost in the quarters. I am trying to get better, perform and win," the soft-spoken 19-year-old ace shuttler said.

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News Network
March 19,2020

London, Mar 19: Talking about the break in cricketing activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa pacer Dale Steyn said that the disease seems to be to the only topic of conversation these days.

"I don't know how to describe it. Doesn't matter where you go, everyone is talking about it - whether it is on an airplane or you are just popping into a grocery store. It just seems like it is the only topic of conversation," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Steyn as saying.

"Yeah, it's so strange. Normally if I am on holiday I'll be planning a fishing trip or a surfing trip. At the moment I am just chilling at home," he added.

Steyn was last seen in action in the Pakistan Super League where he took two wickets in two matches.

When asked whether he has enough hand sanitizers, he replied: "We just decided that stockpiling is definitely not the way to go. It is not fair on everybody who needs that stuff. I went to the grocery store the other day and everyone had bought all the toilet paper. We have what we need, and when that runs out, that runs out, and we need to go and get some more".

"We didn't feel it was necessary to go and absolutely just, like, zombie our lives up. There's other people that live on a day-to-day basis. They are not going to get all of that stuff, so we thought it was best not to do that".

Steyn also had a message for the fans, "Stay healthy, wash your hands, look after yourself, don't be greedy. Right now they are saying old people are really struggling, so if in a position to help, rather help them than help yourself. Pretty simple, really."

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the ODI series between India-South Africa and Australia-New Zealand have been postponed.

The start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been postponed until April 15.

Cricket South Africa has suspended all forms of cricket for 60 days while Cricket Australia has advised all its employees to work from home.

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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 8,2020

New Delhi, May 8: India skipper Virat Kohli believes cricket in empty stadiums is a real possibility in post COVID-19 world and though it is unlikely to have a bearing on the intensity of players, he feels the magic would certainly go missing.

Cricket Boards across the globe are exploring the option of resuming the sport in empty stadiums. There is speculation that fans could be kept away from stadiums in a bid to salvage the T20 World Cup in Australia, which is currently under threat due to the global health crisis.

"It's quite a possible situation, it might happen, I honestly don't know how everyone is going to take that because we all are used to playing in front of so many passionate fans," Kohli said in Star Sports' show 'Cricket Connected'.

"I know it will be played at a very good intensity but that feeling of the crowd connecting with the players and the tension of the game where everyone goes through it in the stadium, those emotions are very difficult to recreate," he added.

Kohli said the many moments which are created because of the passion brought in by fans, would be missing.

"Things will still go on, but I doubt that one will feel that magic happening inside because of the atmosphere that was created.

"We will play sports how it is supposed to be played, but those magical moments will be difficult to come by," he said.

Cricketers such as Ben Stokes, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Pat Cummins have backed the idea of playing behind closed doors.

However, legendary Australian Allan Border has said it would defy belief to host a World Cup without spectators.

Another Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and some other cricketers have also expressed similar sentiments.

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