PV Sindhu shocks Olympic champion Li Xuerui

September 15, 2012

P_V_Shindu

 

Her exploits against Chinese shuttlers have earned Saina Nehwal the nickname of 'Dragon Slayer'. On Friday, another shuttler from Saina's own city joined in the act.

 

For some time now, Pusarla Venkata Sindhu has been talked about as Saina's successor. On Friday, as thousands of Chinese fans watched in stunned silence, the 17-year-old took a giant leap towards confirming that status with an incredible victory over newly-crowned Olympic champion Li Xuerui, 21-19, 9-21, 21-16, in the quarterfinals of the China Masters Super Series in Changzhou on Friday.

 

With the three-game triumph against China's most consistent player of the year, Sindhu proved she is the next best thing for Indian badminton. "I am extremely delighted. Though I wanted to beat her I never thought I could do it. She is in great form this year and beating her is just amazing. I began well in the third game and succeeded in maintaining that momentum," Sindhu said.

 

However, Notwithstanding the biggest win of her career, Sindhu has no plans to celebrate. "I have a match on Saturday. I know the occasion demands celebration but my concentration is only on my next match," said Sindhu, who reached her first Super Series semifinal.

 

Sindhu will now meet fourth seed Jiang Yanjiao of China in the semifinal while world No. 1 Wang Yihan (China) will take on Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand in the other semifinal.

 

There was more cheer for India when Ajay Jayaram also made it to the semifinals in the men's section after defeating compatriot and national champion Sourabh Varma 12-21, 21-14, 21-16 in the quarters. However, R M V Gurusaidutt lost to Chen Long of China 8-21, 12-21. Jayaram faces Yun Hu of Hong Kong in the semifinals.

 

Xuerui, who has won five titles this year including the Olympics and the prestigious All England Championship, had lost only once before this year this year. Incidentally, the other defeat was at the hands of Saina, in the final of the Indonesia Open on June 17.

 

Though Sindu is ranked No. 24 in the world, the Chinese did not take her lightly. The fact that their chief national coach, Li Yongbo accompanied Xuerui to the court explained how serious the Chinese were about this match. Yongbo hardly takes the courtside seat unless the opponent is of the calibre of men's world No. 2 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia or Saina.

 

But despite the support of the most famous coach of the world, Xuerui could not get past the Indian youngster. The 45-minute enthralling battle witnessed fortunes swing either way before lady luck smiled on the lanky lass from Hyderabad.

 

The daughter of former captain of Indian volleyball team, P V Ramana, Sindhu has been showing great promise for the last few years. She won the senior national title and a few minor events at the international level. But on Friday, she reached a different level. Beating a top Chinese player and that too in China is considered next to impossible in the world of badminton. But Sindhu did that with aplomb.

 

Pouncing on the net to kill the high serve, employing the deceptive but powerful smash on the rival's backhand side and displaying immaculate ability to reach anywhere and retrieve everything, Sindhu was a treat to watch.



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News Network
February 11,2020

Dubai, Feb 11: Two Indian players-- Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi -- and three Bangladeshis have been charged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for involvement in the quarrel just after the U-19 cricket World Cup summit clash in Potchefstroom, South Africa on Sunday.

Akash and Bishnoi and three Bangladeshi players -- Md. Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan -- were found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct after a few players from both sides nearly came to blows after Bangladesh beat India by three wickets to win their maiden U-19 World Cup title.

"Five players have been found guilty of a Level 3 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Support Personnel ... (they) were charged with violating Article 2.21 of the code, whilst Bishnoi received a further charge of breaching Article 2.5," the ICC said in a statement.

"All five players have accepted the sanctions proposed by ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Match Referee Graeme Labrooy," it added.

A near brawl broke out after Bangladesh’s historic win over India in the final. The Bangladesh players were aggressive during the Indian innings with lead pacer Shoriful Islam frequently sledging the Indian batsmen.

As soon as the match ended, Bangladeshi players rushed into the playing area.

"India's Akash accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years," the ICC said.

Compatriot Bishnoi accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of five suspension points, which equates to five demerit points.

"Bishnoi also accepted a level 1 charge of breaching Article 2.5 for a separate incident during the match, where he used language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter following the dismissal of Avishek Das in the 23rd over," said the ICC.

"For this he received a further two demerit points meaning seven demerit points will remain on his record for the next two years."

Bangladesh's Towhid Hridoy accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of ten suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

Shamim Hossain accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

Rakibul Hasan accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of four suspension points, which equates to five demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

All charges were levelled by on-field umpires Sam Nogajski and Adrian Holdstock, third umpire Ravindra Wimalasiri as well as fourth umpire Patrick Bongni Jele. Level 3 breaches carry a minimum penalty of four suspension points and a maximum penalty of 12 suspension points.

The suspension points will be applied to the forthcoming international matches the players are most likely to participate in at either senior or U-19 level. One suspension point equals a player being ineligible for one ODI or T20I, U-19 or A team international match.

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: India captain Virat Kohli has refrained from making any comments on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), without gaining full knowledge on the sensitive subject.

The CAA will grant Indian nationality to people belonging to minority communities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians -- in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12, even if they don't possess any proper document.

In 2016, Kohli had termed demonetisation as the "greatest move in history of Indian politics", which met with sharp criticism from a lot of quarters, with people questioning his knowledge on the subject.

With Guwahati witnessing massive protests against the CAA till some days back, Kohli was asked about it and the Indian skipper weighed his words carefully.

"On the issue, I do not want to be irresponsible and speak on something that has, you know, radical opinions both sides. I need to have total information, total knowledge of what it means and what is going on and then be responsible to give my opinion on it," Kohli said ahead of India's first T20 International against Sri Lanka.

The skipper made it clear that he will not like to get embroiled in a controversy by commenting on a subject that he is not well aware of.

"Because you can say one thing and then someone can say another thing. So, I would not like to get involved in something that I don't have total knowledge of and it's not going to be responsible on my part to comment on it." However Kohli on his part was happy with the security arrangements and felt that the city is "absolutely safe".

"The city is absolutely safe. We didn't see any problems on the roads," Kohli said, giving his thumbs-up for the match at the Barsapara Stadium.

The Assam Cricket Association is using this match as a "curtain-raiser" ahead of their maiden IPL match this season as Rajasthan Royals have adopted this venue.

There has been deployment of Rapid Action Force for the teams and ACA secretary Devajit Saikia has said the spectators will not even be allowed to bring along handkerchiefs and towels on the match-day as the traditional Assamese scarf was used for protests against CAA.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.

Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.

It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition. 

BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.

Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.

On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.

"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.

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