India has immense talent, a second Sindhu possible: PV Sindhu

Agencies
August 31, 2017

New Delhi, Aug 31: Impressed by Badminton Association of India (BAI) president Himanta Biswa Sarma's initiative to create a pool of players for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, star shuttler Pusarla Venkata Sindhu said the country has immense talent and the day is not far when another Sindhu or Saina Nehwal will emerge.

Sindhu, who recently bettered her bronze medal performances at the 2013 and 2014 World Championships to clinch the silver at the 2017 edition in Glasgow, went down to Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in a nerve-wrecking one hour 50 minutes final at the Emirates Arena on Sunday.

This was India's best show in a World Badminton Championship with the country bagging two medals for the first time. Sindhu's city mate Saina had settled for the bronze on Saturday after losing her semi-final to Okuhara.

But women's singles in India suffers from a lack of depth as, apart from the Hyderabadi duo, there is absolutely no other big name in the national circuit. But Sindhu is hopeful of seeing emerging shuttlers making it big on the international stage.

"I wish the very best to the BAI. I would like to see a second Sindhu coming up and that is very much possible. India has immense talent," Sindhu said.

At 22, Sindhu has four medals from global tournaments, including a silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics, besides the various Super Series and Grand Prix titles, but the hunger is still on.

"It really feels amazing!! However, this is just the beginning and I have a long way to go and many more laurels to bring for India," she said.

Asked about the deciding game of the World Championship final, when both Sindhu and Okuhara were locked at 20-20, the Hyderabadi said: "All I was thinking was to play one point at a time and move ahead. I wanted to stay away from the pressure and focus on my game."

Prior to their World Championship final, Sindhu and Okuhara enjoyed a 3-3 head-to-head record and the tie could have headed either way on Sunday.

Commenting on her opponent, Sindhu said: "Okuhara was never easy... It was the final and obviously was going to be a tough one with tough rallies going on."

"I never took her easy. I was prepared for the match to be really long, but unfortunately it wasn't my day," she added.

Sindhu finished her semi-final at around 2:30 am on Sunday morning and she was again back on the court after 17 hours for the final, which went on for 110 minutes to become the second-longest women's singles final in history.

When probed about her preparations for the summit clash, Sindhu stressed on the importance of sound sleep and good food.

"Well, I didn't have too much time between my final and semi-final. Hence I focused on resting well to be ready for the finals. There was nothing much we could do with the scheduling of the tournament; so I rested well," she said.

Besides national coach Pullela Gopichand, Sindhu credited her Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo for helping improve her fitness level, which was evident from the 73-shot rally in the second game.

"Along with Gopichand, I have been training under an Indonesian coach who has helped immensely in training for the games as well as for fitness.

"Everyone is asking about that particular rally, but every rally was equally long and there were too many shots from both sides. We both were really tired but it turned out to be one exciting contest," she said.

Sindhu, who was made Bridgestone India's brand ambassador for three years on Wednesday, is now aiming to continue her winning momentum at the Korea and Japan super series, in September.

On a lighter note, the shuttler revealed that she had to sacrifice her favourite ice creams and biryani for the World Championship silver.   

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News Network
June 20,2020

Melbourne, Jun 20: If 15 teams can be allowed to enter Australia for the T20 World Cup then fans will not be stopped from watching live action from the stadiums, Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley said on Saturday.

Hockley replaced under-fire Kevin Roberts, who recently got the boot from Cricket Australia, which is grappling with financial woes.

Different possibilities are being worked out for the T20 World to go ahead as scheduled later this year and one of them is to host the tournament before empty stands in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Hockley said crowds will be allowed, though, hosting 15 teams with players, officials and support staff is "complex" as of now, hinting that probably the ICC flagship event could be pushed back.

"The reality is, and we've got much more understanding about this in recent weeks, is crowds are most likely to come back before international travel. Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country," Hockley told cricket.com.au when asked if he would like to see the World Cup proceed without fans.

"If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise."

When specifically asked whether crowds would be permitted by the time borders have opened to the point that 15 teams will be allowed to travel to Australia, Hockley replied in an affirmative.

"That's the current thinking, yes."

Hockley said it came as a shock when he was asked by Cricket Australia to replace Roberts.

"I've had very mixed emotions. I was very shocked to be asked. I didn't see it coming at all, so I probably haven't had time yet to process it. I feel very sad for Kev (Roberts). On the other hand, I feel this is a massive privilege to be asked, it's a massive responsibility and a massive opportunity even if it's only for the next few months," he said.

Hockey did not commit when asked if he would like to assume the role full time, but he did say that he would quit as CEO of the T20 World Cup Organising Committee.

"My approach throughout my entire career has been to focus on doing the best job I can with what I've been tasked with, and the future will look after itself. And I'll continue the same approach.

"That's (T20 World Cup) been a real priority over the last 48 hours. We're reasonably well progressed and we will be appointing an interim because you just can't do both," he said.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Jan 17: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza cruised into the women's doubles final of the Hobart International with her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok here on Friday.

Sania and Kichenok sailed past the Slovenian-Czech pair of Tamara Zidansek and Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (3) 6-2 in the semifinal contest that lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Ukrainian combination will lock horns with second seeds Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang of China. The Chinese pair got a walkover after Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens and Alison Van Uytvanck conceded the other semifinal match because of injury.

While Sania and Kichenok had to fight hard in the opening set, the second set was a cakewalk for the combination.

The first set was a tough contest between the two pairs, bringing the tie-breaker into the equation after it was level at 6-6.

In the tie-breaker, Sania and Kichenok upped their game by a few notches to outsmart their opponents and take the lead.

The second set was a no-contest as Saina and Kichenok broke their opponents thrice -- in the second, sixth and eighth game -- to easily pocket the set and a place in the summit clash.

Saina and Kichenok got 11 break chances out of which they converted four, while their opponents utilised two out of the five break chances that came their way.

The 33-year-old Sania is returning to the WTA circuit after two years. During her time away from the game, she battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break in April 2018 to give birth to her son Izhaan. She is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

Before the ongoing event, Sania last played at China Open in October 2017.

A trailblazer in Indian tennis, Sania is a former world No.1 in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles to her credit.

She retired from the singles competition in 2013 after becoming the most successful Indian woman tennis player.

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News Network
March 12,2020

Miami, Mar 12: The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas.

Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the test.

"The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice,'' the league said in a statement sent shortly after 9:30 p.m. EDT. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.''

The test result, the NBA said, was reported shortly before the scheduled tip-off time for the Utah at Oklahoma City game on Wednesday night was called off. Players were on the floor for warmups and tip-off was moments away when they were told to return to their locker rooms. About 30 minutes later, fans were told the game was postponed ``due to unforeseen circumstances."

Shutdown for two weeks?

Those circumstances were the league's worst-case scenario for now -- a player testing positive. A second person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said the league expects the shutdown to last a minimum of two weeks, but cautioned that time-frame is very fluid.

"It's a very serious time right now," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think the league moved appropriately and prudently and we'll all just have to monitor the situation and see where it goes from here."

The Jazz released a statement saying a player -- they did not identify Gobert -- tested negative earlier Wednesday for flu, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. That player's symptoms diminished as the day went along, but the decision was made to test for COVID-19 anyway. That test came back with a preliminary positive result.

"The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City," the Jazz said, adding that updates would come as appropriate.

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