Kidambi Srikanth's title defence ends, P V Sindhu wins at Indonesia Open

Agencies
July 5, 2018

Jakarta, Jul 5: Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth's campaign ended with a narrow opening-round loss but Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu eked out a thrilling win to progress to the women's singles pre-quarterfinals of the USD 1,250,000 Indonesia Open BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament here today.

Former World No 1 Srikanth suffered his second successive loss to in-form Japanese Kento Momota, ranked 11th, in two weeks. The Indian lost 21-12 14-21 15-21 in the opening match that lasted exactly an hour at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno.

Momota had ended Srikanth's campaign at Malaysia Open last week and even though the Indian failed to avenge the loss, it was a far superior performance by the 25-year-old fourth seed.

Overall, it was Srikanth's seventh loss to the former world no 2 Momota, who has been in impressive form since coming back from a one-year ban due to illegal gambling.

However, Sindhu brought some smiles back in the Indian camp after seeing off Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-15 19-21 21-13, setting up a clash with Japan's Aya Ohori on the eve of her 23rd birthday tomorrow.

Earlier, young Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka went down 12-21 10-21 to Denmark's Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt.

The men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy stretched the world no 2 Chinese pair of Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan to three games before surrendering 21-15 15-21 17-21 to the third seeded combo.

In mixed doubles, Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy lost 12-21 14-21 to fourth seeded pair of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China.

In the women's singles match, Sindhu was asked some serious questions by the 20-year-old Pornpawee, as she grabbed a slender 11-10 lead at the first interval.

The Indian seemed to struggle with her timing initially but two cross court smash and a misjudgement at backline by her opponent helped Sindhu to lead 14-13.

Sindhu showed great defence and seemed to have stepped up her pace as she soon moved to 19-14 and brought up five game point chances after attacking her opponent's back hand. A disguised shot ended the opening game in Sindhu's favour.

Sindhu seemed to struggle with the length of her strokes as she hit long and short to allow Pornpawee control the second game early on. The Thai girl moved to a 7-2 lead but Sindhu recovered well to first claw back at 10-10 with six straight points and then entered the interval with a one-point advantage when the Thai hit the net.

Pornpawee turned the table by making it 15-13 before moving to 19-16 when Sindhu found the net. But the Thai blew the advantage as the Indian gained three straight points, including a good-looking smash, to claw back at 19-19.

A superb rally ensued next, which left Sindhu sprawled on the court as it was game point advantage for Pornpawee. The Indian then hit the net and the Thai shuttler was back in the contest.

The duo split the initial 10 points in the decider before Sindhu managed to open up a 8-5 lead. The Indian held a four-point advantage after he unleashed a straight smash to enter the breather.

Sindhu continued to use her experience to outwit the Thai shuttler and won a net duel to make it 18-11. Two wide shots and it was the eight match points for Sindhu. Pornpawee saved one before Sindhu unleashed another smash to seal the contest.

Earlier, Srikanth, who was beaten in straight games by Momota in Kuala Lumpur last week, came out with all guns blazing and moved to a 19-10 lead and then grabbed 10 game points with a smash. Momota saved two game points before hitting the net as Srikanth earned the bragging rights.

In the second game, Momota moved to a 3-0 lead early on before a patient Srikanth clawed back at 5-5 with a superb stroke at the net. Despite some stiff resistance from the Indian, the left-handed Japanese managed to enter the break with a slender 11-9 lead after producing a powerful smash on his opponent's backhand.

A few mistimed strokes from Srikanth and the game slipped away as he lagged 11-17 before Momota held seven game points and roared back into the contest when Srikanth again found the net.

In the decider, Momota produced some razor-sharp returns to move to a 8-5 lead. A brilliant adjustment at the net gave Momota another point as he moved to a 11-6 lead.

After the breather, Srikanth cut down the deficit to 10-12 and then 14-16. But Momota was unstoppable as he soon grabbed five match points and converted it without further ado.

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News Network
April 12,2020

New Delhi, Apr 12: As devotees across the world celebrate Easter today, former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday condoled the demise of people who lost their lives during last year's Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka and said someone must seek answers to the questions which still remain unresolved.

"A year on we all share the pain of the families grieving lives lost, we stand with you and for you. We remember. So many questions still unanswered, but answer them someone must," Sangakkara tweeted.

On April 21, 2019, multiple blasts ripped through Sri Lanka when the Christian community was celebrating Easter Sunday.
The explosions rattled churches and high-end hotels across the country, killing 258 people and injuring over 500.

A local terror group called National Thowheeth Jama'ath had claimed responsibility for the devastating attacks.

The island nation was put under a state of emergency for a period of four months from April to August.

The Sri Lankan police had then said that 293 suspects were arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings in the island country in April.

This year, most of the devotees would be offering the prayers from their homes as mass gatherings have been suspended in most countries due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion on Good Friday. It also marks the culmination of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and penance.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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News Network
March 6,2020

Melbourne, Mar 6: Experienced middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy believes that "destiny" is in favour of first-time finalist India to win their maiden ICC Women's T20 World Cup title provided they get a grip on their nerves in the summit clash against Australia on Sunday.

India will have a psychological advantage going into the final as they had stunned the defending champions by 17 runs in the tournament opener.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India reached the final on the basis of their unbeaten record in the tournament after their semifinal against England was washed out on Thursday.

Krishnamurthy, who was a part of the Indian team that finished runner-up to England in the 2017 Women's ODI World Cup, knows the pain of missing out on a world title.

"It's all about destiny, and I'm a big believer in destiny. I feel like this is the way it was meant to be. There is a joke going around that this World Cup is made in such a way that it's helping us, starting from the wickets to everything else," she was quoted as saying by the tournament's official website.

"Being in the final is just reward for the way we played in the group stages. There was an advantage to having won all our games with the weather not in our hands."

The team's first target of reaching the final having achieved, the 27-year-old player said the Indians now need to hold their nerves and remain focussed leading up to the big day on Sunday.

"We said the first aim was to get to the final and take it from there. We've crossed the first stage. We need to make sure we hold our nerves and we do what we need to do on the final day," she said.

India's recent rivalry with Australia has taken fascinating twists and turns, with Kaur's outfit chasing down 173 in their recent tri-series, then getting home by 17 runs in the T20 World Cup opener.

But all is not hunky-dory for Krishnamurthy on the personal front. Considered a great finisher, she has recovered from a series of single-digit scores in the tri-series to score 20 from 11 balls in a finishing role against Bangladesh.

Having amassed just 35 runs from four matches in the tournament so far, the Karnataka batter knows her role in the team.

"As an individual, the role given to me is very consistent in the last year. They've put the effort in the last year to keep me there and I've been supported by every individual, not just one or two. The entire team, with all the support staff, have shown faith in me," she said.

"I know coming into the World Cup, I would play a crucial role to finish the innings well, which I felt I was unable to do in the last World Cup in the West Indies," she added.

Krishnamurthy said specific roles have been set for every player of the squad and they all are trying to contribute as much as they can to help the team achieve its goal.

"I was very motivated to do my role and I've been working on that. It's not just me, all 15 players involved know what their role is," she said.

"I'm happy we're all putting in efforts and executing our role properly. Even if it's a smallish contribution of saving a couple of runs, it's all panned out really well."

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