Winning keeps me going: Saina Nehwal

November 8, 2012

Saina_Book

Winning is the biggest motivating factor which keeps me going, says 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist and ace shuttler Saina Nehwal.

Speaking at the book release function of her autobiography “Playing to win..my life on and off court” here on Wednesday evening, Saina said she loved badminton more than anything else and that was the reason she constantly dreamt of winning titles. “So after each title, I set new goals and keep working hard”, she remarked.

“Right now, I am not thinking too far about the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil. Let me see how things shape up over the next three years. All I look for is to stay injury-free to realise the other goal now -win an Olympic gold,” the champion shuttler pointed out.

“This is a very special day in my life for I never expected to pen my autobiography at the age of 22. And, the reason why I did now was I thought it would inspire many youngsters take up sports and dream big like me”, Saina said.

“I must thank my mom here, despite her temper, for making me what I am today. She pushed me to be a champion. One day when I asked her about what the difference was between me and the World No. 1, her reply was in a flash - she was a better player. Then, I started dreaming big” the Rajiv Khel Ratna Awardee remarked.

“The 117-page book is essentially all about my journey from the age of nine to becoming an Olympic medallist. It describes the struggle of not just mine but of my coaches, fellow players and the support staff over the years”, Saina reminded.

“There are two special persons whom I would admire a lot. One is my dad and the other one is Gopi Sir (chief national coach Pullela Gopi Chand). I am lucky to have both of them in guiding me. Honestly, I have never come across a more cooler and composed character than Gopi Sir”, she explained to a query.

Questioned why she is planning to set up an Academy in Benguluru and not in Hyderabad, Saina’s initial reply was no one had come with the offer here. But, she was quick to point with a big smile that since Gopi Academy which she feels is the best in the world is already in the City, she thought she should not start one here.

Saina attributed 30 per cent of her success to talent and the rest for her hard work and discipline which meant sacrificing what many normal girls of her age will enjoy otherwise. “This is why I feel many girls can take up sports and become champions like me and Sania Mirza”, she added.

The World No. 3 shuttler mentioned that two most significant milestones in her career were winning the Olympic bronze medal and the Commonwealth Games gold in Delhi. “There is no better joy than standing on the medal podium. That is why I keep enjoying playing day in and day out”, she signed off.

Eminent journalist Kingshuk Nag and London Olympics bronze medallist Gagan Narang were special invitees for the book release published by Penguin Books India.



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News Network
January 9,2020

Mumbai, Jan 9: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels that the Men in Blue have the edge over Australia in terms of talent and confidence ahead of the two teams' three-match ODI series starting January 14 in Mumbai.

"In the past that wasn't the case because they were doing really well. We were trying to match that level. I feel that Indian cricket is a notch ahead in terms of talent, in terms of cricket and in terms of confidence," Star Sports expert Irfan Pathan said. "The only thing that will make it equal is the kind of pitches we are going to play in Australia because we do not have experience playing on those hard and bouncy pitches," said Pathan, who recently called time on his international career.

Recounting his favourite memory of playing against Australia, Irfan said, "It all started in Australia for me. The most memorable moment was getting my first wicket and helping India win a Test match in Australia after 21 years. Winning the Test in Perth and being named the Man of the Match is also a favourite memory for me."

Australia have already announced their team for the three-match ODI series with India. The team will be led by Aaron Finch. The other members of the team are Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, and Adam Zampa.

India are yet to announce their team but in all probability, it will be led by Virat Kohli who has been in phenomenal form over the last few years. All three ODIs are day and night affair. While the first match of the series is on January 14 in Mumbai, the second will be played at Rajkot on January 17 followed by the January 19 clash in Bengaluru.

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News Network
June 25,2020

Jun 25: After asserting that the 2011 World Cup final was "sold" by "certain parties" in Sri Lanka to India, the island nation's former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has now called his claim a "suspicion" that he wants investigated.

The Lankan government has ordered an enquiry into the matter and a special Police investigation unit recorded Aluthgamage's statement on Wednesday. He told the team that he was only suspicious of fixing.

"I want my suspicion investigated," Aluthgamage told reporters.

"I gave to the Police, a copy of the complaint I lodged with the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 30 October 2011 regarding the said allegation as then Sports Minister," he said.

Aluthgamage has alleged that his country "sold" the game to India, a claim that was ridiculed by former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who demanded evidence from him.

Set a target of 275, India clinched the trophy thanks to the brilliance of Gautam Gambhir (97) and then skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (91).

"Today I am telling you that we sold the 2011 world cup, I said this when I was the sports minister," Aluthgamage, who was the sports minister at the time, had stated.

Sangakkara, the captain of Sri Lanka at that time, asked him to produce evidence for an anti-corruption probe.

"He needs to take his 'evidence' to the ICC and the Anti corruption and Security Unit so the claims can be investigated thoroughly," he tweeted.

Jayawardene, also a former captain who scored a hundred in that game, ridiculed the charge.

"Is the elections around the corner...like the circus has started...names and evidence?" he asked in a tweet.

Aluthgamage said that in his opinion no players were involved in fixing the result, "but certain parties were."

Both Aluthgamage and the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa were among the invitees at the final played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Following his allegations, Aravinda de Silva, the former great who was the then chairman of selectors, has urged the BCCI to conduct its own investigation.

De Silva has said he is willing to travel to India to take part in such an investigation despite the current COVID-19 threat.

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News Network
July 3,2020

Karachi, Jul 3: Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam is tired of his constant comparisons with India skipper Virat Kohli and says he would rather be compared to the greats at home.

Babar, six years younger to Kohli, has a long way to go in getting close to Kohli's staggering numbers across formats. The India skipper has 70 hundreds to his name and averages more than 50 in all three formats.

"I would be more happy if you compare to me say a Javed Miandad, Muhammad Yousuf or Younis Khan. Why compare me to Kohli or any Indian player?" asked the 25-year-old, who is in England with the national team, said in an online media interaction on Thursday.

Babar has scored 16 international hundreds and averages more than 50 in ODIs and T20s. In 26 Tests, he has scored 1850 runs at 45.12.

He also said that he is not targeting any English bowler for the series next month.

"I don’t see who the bowler is or his reputation. I just try to play each ball on merit. England no doubt has a top bowling attack and they have advantage of playing at home but this is a challenge I want to score runs in," he said.

Before the squad’s departure for England, Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan said that pacer Joffra Archer will be a handful for the Pakistani batsmen.

Babar said that he would try to play every English bowler on merit but conceded that after getting runs in Australia last year, he was keen to leave his footprint in the coming Test and T20 series in England.

Reminded that some former Test players had already written off Pakistan for the England series, Babar said they were entitled to their opinion.

"But we don’t have a bad team and already we have been enjoying our training. It is good to be back on the field after such a long lay-off. I think we have the bowlers to trouble them like Abbas, Naseem, Shaheen and others while we have some experience in our batting line-up."

Babar said he would love to get a triple century in a Test match.

"When you score a century, you naturally want to go on and convert that into a double or a triple century. This is something I would like to do during the Test series.

"I like to play my natural game but my selection of shots depends on the conditions and bowlers."

Babar also ruled out any problems in the Pakistan dressing room due to the presence of former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was sacked last year.

But he said that since Muhammad Rizwan had been playing in all formats for Pakistan in recent times, he would be the starting keeper in the Test series ahead of Sarfaraz.

"I think we first have to give Rizwan a proper chance and Sarfaraz is there as back up."

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