Sania hopes to win more Slams before saying goodbye

July 13, 2013

Sania_hopesNew Delhi, Jul 13: Her career ravaged by injuries, Sania Mirza reckons that age is fast catching up with her but hopes to add a few more Grand Slams trophies to her cabinet before bidding adieu to the game.

From wrist pain, hip strain to knee trouble, it has been a "rough ride" for the 26-year-old Hyderabadi ever since she vaulted into the international scene and, in her own admission, it takes her "longer to recover from injuries now".

"As you grow older, it's harder to stay fit. Every day you wake up with pain, muscle aches which you don't know you had. I have to work harder on me than I used to when I was 18 years old. It takes me longer to recover now," Sania told PTI in an interview here.

"I have had three surgeries (two knee and a wrist surgery). I had a rough time with my body as tennis takes a lot of toll. It's one of the toughest sports in the world. I have been fortunate enough to win the two slams till now. Hopefully, I can win a few more slams before I stop my career," she added.

Not many people know that Sania has extra-lax joints because of which she is more prone to joint injuries.

"It's a new day everyday and right now, touchwood, I am away from these injuries...there are some small niggles. Just trying to keep working as it takes me longer to recover now," she said.

Sania, who made the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles in Wimbledon before losing out to eventual winners Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic, said she has moved on from her defeat and is looking forward to winning the last Grand Slam of the season -- the US Open.

"That's definitely the goal as I am coming to hard court which is my favourite surface. I am looking forward to it. But it's the goal of the other 124 people playing. You want to try and win as many Slams as possible in your career. As a tennis player, that's what we always dream of as a kid, wanting to play slams, wanting to win them," she said.

"Tennis is like it gives you a lot of chances, but if you don't take those chances, it takes a lot of chances away from you. It's just the scoring pattern. We cannot dwell over a loss or a win for very long. We have no time to celebrate, we have no time to dwell, we have to move on. Wake up the next day and try and win the match," she added.

Sania, the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India with a career high ranking of 27 in singles and seven in doubles, informed that she would be pairing up with her same old Wimbledon partner, Horia Tecau of Romania, at the Flushing Meadows.

"I am playing the same partner, Horia Tecau. We played well together during the Wimbledon," she said.

Summarising the season as a "decent one" for her, Sania said she would look to win couple of more tournaments before the season comes to an end.

"It's been a decent season for me. We started off really well, won the first tournament of the year, won Dubai after that. It's been good for me. Some season, you win 7-8 tournaments, some season you win 2-3, but having said that, it's been a decent year so far. My goal is to try and win as many tournaments as possible this year, play a couple of more finals, try and win couple of more tournaments before season ends," she added.

Asked about the Radio 5 Live presenter John Inverdale's moronic musing on the 'looks' of the women's Wimbledon champion, Marion Bartoli, Sania preferred to stay away from the controversy.

"I prefer not to answer that. Thanks," was all she said in her reply.

Talking about the Indian doubles player Mahesh Bhupati's proposed International Tennis Premier League (ITPL) mooted for the November-December off-season, Sania said, "It's an amazing concept. We will have the biggest players in the sport playing, (Novak) Djokovic is already set to play, then we have Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. I don't think any reason behind not to work."

On a personal front when asked how she manages to balance her busy schedule and spend time with family, Sania said, "It's tough but a lot depends on our (husband Shoaib Malik and her) scheduling. You know he was there with me in England when he was playing the Champions Trophy, so it worked out well. I am going to see him in next few days. We meet on the road really, we don't really meet at home," she signed off.

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Agencies
January 6,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 6: 'The Irishman,' and 'Two Popes' were shut out from the winners list despite getting multiple nominations, the movies didn't win a single award at the Golden Globes Award held on Sunday (local time). Other movies in the list include 'Bombshell,' 'Dolemite Is My Name,' 'Harriet,' 'Jojo Rabbit,' 'Knives Out' and 'Little Women.'

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'The Irishman' may have gone into the 2020 Golden Globes with the second-highest number of film nominations, tied with 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' with five nods, but Martin Scorsese's highly anticipated mob epic for Netflix was completely shut out at the award ceremony.

Netflix landed the most film nominations of any company with 17 mentions, but it won only one award which is the best-supporting actress for 'Marriage Story's' Laura Dern. Netflix's nominated films 'Dolemite Is My Name' and 'The Two Popes' was tied with 'Joker' with four mentions each and failed to grab any awards.

'Dolemite Is My Name' star Eddie Murphy was expected by a number of pundits to win for best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy.

'Bombshell', 'Harriet',' Frozen 2', 'Jojo Rabbit', 'Knives Out', 'The Lion King', 'Little Women' and 'Pain and Glory' are among the other films that received multiple nominations but didn't win a single award.

On the TV side, Netflix's 'Unbelievable' tied in the race to most small-screen nominations with 'Chernobyl' and 'The Crown' with four nominations, and 'The Crown' won only one award, for star Olivia Colman.

The three-time nominees 'Barry', 'Big Little Lies', 'The Kominsky Method' and 'The Morning Show' also didn't grab any award. 'Catch-22', 'Killing Eve', 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' and 'The Politician' who were two-time nominees that were also iced out.

'Hustlers' star Jennifer Lopez failed to take home the best-supporting actress award as she was predicted to win the award by a number of pundits. Billy porter also failed to make history with the best drama actor win for his role on 'Pose,' if he would've won the award, he reportedly would have been the first openly gay African-American to win that award.

'Chernobyl' won two of its four nominations. Despite that, star Jared Harris didn't win the best actor in a limited series Globe which was predicted by many prognosticators. The award was bagged by Russell Crowe for his portrayal of Roger Ailes in 'The Loudest Voice.' But the star was absent from the ceremony.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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News Network
May 4,2020

May 4: Yuzvendra Chahal is among the best leg-spinners in international cricket right now but he can be more effective with better use of the crease, says former Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed.

Ahmed picked Chahal, Australia's Adam Zampa and Pakistan's Shadab Khan among the top leg-spinners in white-ball cricket.

"Chahal as been impressive. He is definitely among the top leg-spinners of the world. And I feel he would be more effective if he uses the crease a lot more," Ahmed said.

Ahmed, who has coached all around the world and is currently a consultant for his native team, said India's ability to take wickets in the middle-overs in the limited overs format through Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav has been a game-changer for them.

Both the wrist-spinners were brought into India's limited overs set-up following the 2017 Champions Trophy. Though, of late, both Chahal and Kuldeep havn't been playing together.

"He (Chahal) can go wide of the crease at times. You got to be smart enough to understand pitches. If it is a flat pitch, you can bowl stump to stump," said Ahmed, one of the best leg-spinners Pakistan has produced.

"If the ball is gripping, you can go wide of the crease because you can trouble even the best of batsmen with that angle. That way your googly also doesn't turn as much as the batsman expects and you end up taking a wicket."

Chahal has taken 91 wickets in 52 ODIs at 25.83 and 55 wickets in 42 T20s at 24.34. He is not a huge turner of the ball but uses his variations very effectively.

Ahmed also feels the likes of Chahal and Kuldeep have benefitted immensely from former captain M S Dhoni's advice from behind the stumps.

"You have got to be one step ahead of the batsman. You should know your field position as per the batsman's strength. I always say attack with fielders not with the ball. If you understand that theory, you will always be successful," the 49-year-old, who played 52 Tests and 144 ODIs, said.

"India has become a force to reckon with in all three formats as it uses its bowlers really well. Dhoni was a master at getting the best out of his bowlers in limited overs cricket and now you have Virat Kohli."

He also said the art of leg-spin remains relevant more than ever.

"You need leg-spinners and mystery spinners in your team as they have the ability to take wickets at any stage of the game. I see a lot of them coming through in the next 10-15 years.

"Most batsmen now like playing express pace but with a good leg-spinner in the team, you are always in the game," added member of the 1992 World Cup-winning squad.

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