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If Rio medal happens it will be dream come true: Sania Mirza

November 3, 2015

Mumbai, Nov 3: Winning a medal in next year's Rio Olympics would be a dream come true, but if it did not happen it won't be the end of the world, said India's woman tennis star Sania Mirza today.

sania copy"It's just a hope, right. If we (she and Leander Paes) win (a medal in mixed doubles), it will be a dream come true. If we don't, life goes on. It's not the end of the world," said the joint world no.1 in women's doubles at a promotional event here.

The Hyderabad-based star was responding to a question about former Davis Cup star Ramesh Krishnan's recent statement that mixed doubles provided veteran Paes, winner of a singles bronze medal in the 1996 Games at Atlanta, his best chance to win his second Olympic medal (with Sania as partner) in Rio.

Krishnan felt India have a good chance to win a medal at Rio in mixed doubles but it would be a great challenge for an ageing Paes to win his second medal at the Olympics.

"He's (Paes) talking about one more Olympics but with each passing day it is getting difficult. I am sure he is hoping and we are also hoping for one last push. The only thing is you can prepare yourself well. You never know what will happen. Mixed doubles is the best option," he said.

Sania, who returned last night from Singapore after winning the women's doubles title with her Swiss partner and joint world no. 1 Martina Hingis in the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore, and India football captain Sunil Chhetri were launched as brand ambassadors by pain reliever brand, 'Volini'.

Sania was also very pleased about tennis legend Martina Navrotilova's description in a tweet about her performance in Singapore after presenting the winner's trophy to top seeds Sania and Martina Hingis.

"It's a great honour and I am humbled. She told me I am seeing the ball like a football," said India's best-ever female tennis player about the all-time great's comments after she and the other star Martina won their ninth title of the season with their 22nd consecutive match win.

"@WTA @mhingis @MirzaSania what a dominating performance from the world #1 team but particularly Sania-just awesome!" Navratilova had tweeted.

The Indo-Swiss pair beat the Spanish pair of Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets in the summit clash to clinch the WTA Finals women's doubles crown on Sunday last in Singapore.

Before the WTA crown, Sania and Martina had won eight titles - Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Wimbledon, US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Beijing - and finished runner-up just once (Rome).

Meanwhile, Chhetri expressed optimism that India would do better than what they have done so far in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Guam in Bengaluru on November 12.

"We will try our best against Guam at Bengaluru," said the diminutive striker.

India had lost 1-2 to the tiny country in the Western Pacific, in the away first leg clash.

A winless India are already out of reckoning for a final round berth as they have lost all the five matches they have played so far in Group D.

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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
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
April 25,2020

London, Apr 25: Former Australian cricketer Graeme Watson who was fighting cancer, has died at the age of 75.

Primarily a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler, he featured in five Tests from 1967 to 1972 and two ODIs in 1972, ESPNcricinfo reported.

The all-rounder earned the national call during the 1966-67 tour of Rhodesia and South Africa. Watson slammed a half-century in the first innings of the second Test of the series.

However, the medium-pace bowler was ruled of the next test after suffering an ankle injury. He returned for the fourth Test in Johannesburg where scalped his career-best 2 for 67 but failed to leave a mark with the bat as Kangaroos lost the series.

In 1971-72 he moved to Western Australia and played a major role in their Sheffield-Shield win in 1971-72, 1972-73, and 1974-75 seasons.

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