'Ganguly showed lack of respect by turning up late for toss'

August 3, 2013

steve

Bangalore, Aug 3: Former captain Sourav Ganguly may have showed a "lack of respect" by turning up late for toss when India locked horns with Australia during the historic 2001 Test series, feels Steve Waugh who was a leading a bunch of extraordinarily talented Aussies in that rubber.

"The fact that he turned up late every game -- it was his choice. I just thought it showed a lack of respect for the game. It didn't really affect me. The match referee actually told him that he had to turn up on time," Waugh said when asked about the controversial episode.

Waugh, meanwhile, is hopeful of Australia scripting a turnaround in the remaining three Tests against England in the ongoing Ashes series, which the hosts lead 2-0.

"Australia have begun well the third Test at Old Trafford. Hope we can make a comeback in the remaining three Tests," said Waugh.

Australia ended the first day's play of the third Test at a commanding 303 for three yesterday at Old Trafford.

"The current Australian side is inexperienced, while England are experienced lot. We nearly won the first Test at Trent Bridge. So we need to just hang in there and have faith in our abilities," Waugh insisted.

"The young Australian players are immensely talented. We have a lot of talent, especially in bowling department," he added.

Waugh also felt that the Australian selectors should give an extended run to the youngsters so that they can prove their mettle.

"Constant chopping and changing deters players' confidence. The good thing that the selectors can do is to stick a team which they believe in. The players can use the opportunity to prove their abilities," he said.

Commenting on Test cricket, Waugh said the format really tests a player's calibre in mental, physical and emotional terms.

"You can't find such testing situations in Twenty20 cricket," he said.

The former Aussie great advised the youngsters to concentrate more on Test cricket than Twenty20.

"Try and play for your country in Test cricket first; all the other things will fall in place afterwards," he said.

Waugh also claimed that he discovered backhand slower ball during 1987 World Cup final against England.

"I was the first to discover backhand slower bowl. My advise to kids is that when you are practising in the nets, you should concentrate on adding variety to your bowling."

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Agencies
January 26,2020

New Delhi, Jan 26: The sports fraternity on Sunday extended greetings to the people on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day.

Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to write: "Wishing all Indians a very happy Republic Day."
"Rejoice the Glory of India and it's Freedom Fighters on this Republic Day. Wish you a very happy #RepublicDayIndia . Jai Hind !" former batsman VVS Laxman tweeted.

"Wish you all a very happy #RepublicDay2020 from here in New Zealand," Irfan Pathan tweeted.

Boxer Vijender Singh said India is blessed with different religions, societies, cultures and languages.

"INDIA is a nation where humanity has lived since ages.It is a country which is blessed with different religions,societies,cultures & languages all interplaying with each other in harmony. PROUD OF UNITY IN DIVERSITY #RepublicDayIndia #RepublicDay2020," Singh wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Former cricketer Virender Sehwag, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, wrestler Sushil Kumar and tennis player Sania Mirza also extended their greetings on the occasion.

On this day, 70 years back, India officially adopted its Constitution. Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro is the chief guest at the parade this year.

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News Network
January 12,2020

New Delhi, Jan 12: Flamboyant India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was on Saturday pulled out of the India A team's tour of New Zealand after he failed mandatory fitness tests in Mumbai.

The selectors had picked him in the squad without testing him in the Ranji games.

Tamil Nadu captain Vijay Shankar has been drafted into the India A team and he has already boarded the flight to New Zealand where they will play two 50-over warm-up games, three List A games and two four-day 'Tests' against the home A team.

It has been learnt that Pandya failed a couple of mandatory fitness tests and his scores were well below the permissible range suggesting that he is far from being fit for international cricket. In this situation, pulling him out of the India A squad was expected.

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News Network
February 19,2020

New Delhi, Feb 19: An Indian wrestler whose family story was immortalised by Bollywood is hoping to create a blockbuster of her own by becoming her country's first world champion in the high-octane sport of mixed martial arts.

Ritu Phogat, who initially followed her father and two elder sisters into wrestling, is now charting a new path after making an explosive MMA debut in November.

Phogat's father Mahavir, and her sisters Geeta and Babita were the subject of 2016 movie "Dangal", telling the story of the wrestling coach who raised his daughters to become Commonwealth champions.

But Ritu, 25, is forging a different career. After winning her first MMA fight in less than three minutes, she will face China's Wu Chiao Chen at this month's ONE Championship fight night in Singapore, which will be held behind closed doors because of the coronavirus.

The youngest Phogat daughter is trading an attempt at an Olympic medal to tackle MMA, but she said she was attracted by the lure of making history in her new sport.

"I got a chance to train with the best in Singapore and there was no looking back," she told AFP during a promotional event in New Delhi.

"There was the 2020 Olympic Games but I thought that I would do well in mixed martial arts. I have come with an aim of becoming the first girl from India to become a world champion in mixed martial art."

The nimble but strongly built Phogat said wrestlers were a good fit for the fast-growing contact sport, which is yet to take off in India.

"Top seven champions in mixed martial arts are wrestlers, so I believe that wrestlers have an edge in this sport with their ability to take down the opponent," she said.

"It is all a matter of skill. You just have to practise hard. I think MMA is not much different from wrestling in terms of preparation.

"One has to take risks to do something new and as an athlete I am ready to embrace every challenge."

She added: "Without the support of my father and sisters I would not have been where I am. My father always taught me to be far-sighted, hard-working and with strong resolve. Three traits will take you a long way."

Phogat won 48kg gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship and followed it up with a silver in the under-23 world championships the next year.

"She used to watch a lot MMA and one day told me that I will win a gold in this game. So we all backed her and the result is there for everyone to see," he said.

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