I'll play with anyone for my country: Sania Mirza

July 8, 2012

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Sania Mirza had caused a serious stir in the country with her media release on June 28, 2012, claiming she had been used as bait by the All India Tennis Association in dealing with the feud involving players Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna.

In her first interview since issuing the press release, Sania talks at Wimbledon about the forthcoming three weeks of preparation, the significance of the Olympics and the way forward for Indian tennis.

Now that the controversy is all settled, are you gearing up for the Olympics, which is just about 15 days away?

Indeed I am. As I have said in the press release, what happened wasn't good for Indian tennis or rather Indian sport. People were tired of the negativity around. I was deeply hurt and pained with the events and needed to express myself which I did. But now I am completely focused on the Olympics. I am home for a week with family in India after which I travel to San Diego for a week to get some more match practice, and then I am back in London on July 23 to train for the Games. I will train for a week on grass and will be fully prepared by the time competition starts.

You are playing both doubles and mixed doubles. In mixed doubles (whoever you play with) you have a real chance of a medal. Do you agree?

I am absolutely delighted for Rushmi (Chakravarthy) that she is getting to play in the Olympics. I have played with her in the past and we have some good results to show for.

In mixed doubles, we do have a chance. I will play with anyone for my country. I may have my personal preferences but such preferences have never come in the way of playing for India. At the same time, every athlete has his or her strengths and weaknesses and we need to be aware of these strengths when picking a team. While we will surely go for a medal, let me say that each of the 10,500 athletes in London will be going for medals. However, Roger Federer, for example, has never won an Olympic singles gold. Nicolas Massau of Chile has won two (Seoul 1988, singles and doubles). Does that make Roger, one of the best-ever tennis players of all times, any lesser player? I'd like to request our media and our people to stand by us and inspire us to do our best. I can assure you we will do all we can to make the country proud at the Olympics.

You have 12 medals to show for your efforts for India at various multidisciplinary sports events. The only thing missing is an Olympic medal. Does it make London any extra special and do you feel any extra pressure?

Playing for the country is an honour. The ultimate honour, in fact. If you want to look at it as pressure, you will find it very difficult to cope with the expectations of a billion people. I look at it as an opportunity, as being among the few who have been given this opportunity to make the country proud. At the same time, I must say that what was happening immediately before and during Wimbledon was creating unnecessary pressure for us all. Despite winning the French Open mixed doubles, it was as if we needed to do well in Wimbledon to prove ourselves. It was unfair and was creating unhealthy pressure, which is always very difficult to deal with. There's no doubt it impacted upon our performance.

Beijing 2008 wasn't a particularly happy Olympics for you because of injury. Do you actually feel a sense of pleasant surprise that you are back again for London after three surgeries in the last five years?

Absolutely. Injuries can end a sportsperson's career and I am glad I have been able to make a comeback and make it to the world's top 10 in doubles and have done reasonably well in mixed doubles. Justine Henin, for example, had to leave the sport after one surgery. I always believed I had tennis left in me and I am grateful to god for this opportunity.

What should the country expect from Sania Mirza at the Olympics?

I can assure you of more than 100% effort. I will do all I can to win a medal. To see the national flag go up while standing on the podium is the proudest moment in an athlete's life and I will want to experience that for myself in London. Please just keep praying for the entire Indian contingent. We have a really good chance of doing well at these Games and it will provide a huge fillip to Indian Olympic sport if we are all able to perform to potential.



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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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News Network
May 25,2020

Karachi, May 25: Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq believes Babar Azam is destined to be a world-class player and is very close to being in the same league as India skipper Virat Kohli and Australia's Steve Smith.

"I don't like comparisons but Babar is currently very close to being in the same class as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith or Joe Root," Misbah said in an interview to Youtube channel, Cricket Baaz.

"He believes in the work ethic that if you want to better Kohli you have to work harder than him at your skills, fitness and game awareness."

The 25-year-old, who was named captain of the Pakistan T20 team ahead of the Australia series in October last year, was recently handed the reins of ODI team as well.

"Making him the T20 captain was a tester. We wanted to see how he will respond to this challenge. All of us agree that he has done a very good job and his biggest plus is that being among the worlds top players he leads by example," Misbah said.

"If you are a performer like Babar then it becomes easier for you to motivate the rest of the team and get things done.

"Even when I was made captain in 2010 my performances were here and there and I was in and out. But captaincy changed my game and mindset and I became a more hard-working and motivated cricketer."

Misbah said Babar always challenges himself and would get better as a captain with experience.

"He is in a zone of his own. He just doesn't want to be in the team. He just doesn't want to play for money. He wants to be the top performer for Pakistan. He is always pitting himself against other top batsmen like Kohli or Smith," he said.

"He loves challenges in the nets and on the field. He has really matured as a player and in time he will get better as a captain with experience."

Babar was the leading run-scorer of the T20I series against Australia last year. He also scored 210 runs, which included a hundred, at 52.50 in the Test series against the same opponents.

In the two-Test home series against Sri Lanka, Babar ended the series with 262 runs with an average of exactly 262.

Misbah feels Babar had changed as a batsman when he got runs in the Tests in Australia.

"Before that he was getting runs in tests but not consistently. In Australia and in the following tests against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh he changed," he said.

Talking about his experience as a head coach, Misbah said: "Having captained, it has helped me a lot. As captain I had to manage everything and also having played under top coaches ... I have seen closely their work ethics and how they managed things.

"It is a learning process. Having remained captain it is a big advantage for coaching because you know the players and their mood swings. You know which player will respond in a given situation,which player is feeling pressure in a scenario.

Misbah said it is not easy juggling between different roles.

"Most important thing as a coach is mentally and psychologically how you handle a group of players," the former skipper said.

"Sometimes captain and coach is different as you have to take tough decisions. Being chief selector makes it it a bit difficult but I had experience of creating and managing teams, I have been building teams since 2003. Till now it is going well."

Misbah feels in Pakistan cricket there were different parameters for judging foreign and local coaches.

"I don't know why it is like this why do we have different eye for locals and foreigners. Maybe we feel they have something special. It looks like every decision by a foreign coach is right. In contrast we tend to be very critical of local coaches no matter what decision they take," he said.

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News Network
February 14,2020

Hamilton, Feb 14: Batting first, India finished at 263 for nine on the opening day of the three-day warm-up game against New Zealand XI here on Friday.

Hanuma Vihari made 101 off 182 balls before retiring, while Cheteshwar Pujara scored 93.

Besides, Ajinkya Rahane (18) was the only other Indian batsmen to register double digit score.

The likes of Prithvi Shaw (0), Mayank Agarwal (1) and Shubman Gill (0) failed to cash in on the opportunity.

Scott Kuggeleijn (3/40) and Ish Sodhi (3/72) shared six wickets between them for New Zealand.

Brief Scores:

India: 263 for 9 in 78.5 overs (Hanuma Vihari 101, Cheteshwar Pujara 93; Scott Kuggeleijn 3/40, Ish Sodhi 3/72).

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