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Saina, icon indeed

August 21, 2013

SainaMumbai, Aug 21: After cheering for her Hyderabad Hotshots teammate Ajay Jayaram using hand-clappers till the second 90-second interval of the first game of the evening’s opening match, Saina Nehwal left her chair in the team’s dug-out to warm up for her match against Juliane Schenk.

At the end of her match, an hour-and-a-half later, hundreds of hands clapped for her as she gave Hyderabad Hotshots a 2-0 lead against Pune Pistons in the third leg of Indian Badminton League at NSCI here on Monday. Hyderabad’s men’s doubles pair of V Shem Goh and KW Lim ensured Pune could not come back with a 21-19 21-16 win over R Kumar and Sanave Thomas.

Saina, after losing the first game, regrouped in the next two to win the match 17-21 21-19 11-6 in 59 minutes. This came after Jayaram won his men’s singles match 21-19 21-8 against Tien Minh Nguyen to give Hyderabad the advantage.

Hyderabad’s fortunes depended heavily on Saina as they have a win and a loss from the previous two legs. On the other hand, Pune Pistons, with two wins, had to only carry on the momentum.

World No. 3 Schenk, one place above Saina in world rankings, gave Pune Pistons hope by winning the first game. Schenk had the upper-hand when it came to long rallies. Saina, anxious to finish off the rally, erred by finding the net.

However, Saina was on top in the second and third, smashing out of Schenk’s reach and also winning points at the net. It was the first time Saina was challenged in IBL.

“I love Schenk for the way she always gives me a good fight,” Saina said after the match. Saina has an 8-4 win-loss record over Schenk in international competitions. Both know each other’s game very well, their plusses and minuses.

While handing Schenk her first defeat of the IBL, Saina maintained her 100 per cent record in women’s singles, living up to her icon status. Except for a brief period on either side of the second break in the second game when she trailed Schenk, she was on top to maintain her lead. Saina was rarely tested in the decider, racing to 11-6 in just 13 minutes.

In the evening’s opening match, Chembur-bred Jayaram smashed his way to a 21-19 21-8 win in 40 minutes over higher-ranked Vietnamese Tien Minh Nguyen.

World No. 24 Jayaram was playing his second match of the IBL and thanked the crowd support for his first win in the league after having lost to K Srikanth of Awadhe Warriors and not featuring in the game against Krrish Delhi Smashers.

It was important for Hyderabad Hotshots to get off to a winning start and set the momentum for Saina to carry on in the second fixture. Jayaram, world No. 24, came from behind in the first set even as the 30-year-old Nguyen cashed in on the lapses on Jayaram’s part. However, in the second set, it was Jayaram all the way, giving enough reason for the home team to cheer about.

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News Network
June 17,2020

New Delhi, Jun 17: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday paid tributes to Indian Army soldiers, who were killed during the face-off with the Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

Extending condolences to the kin of bravehearts, Kohli said, "No one is more selfless and brave than a soldier."

"Salute and deepest respect to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect our country in the Galwan Valley. NO one is more selfless and brave than a soldier. Sincere condolences to the families. I hope they find peace through our prayers at this difficult time," he tweeted.

The violent face-off happened on late evening and night of June 15 in Ladakh's Galwan Valley as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation in Eastern Ladakh and the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side, India said on Tuesday.

The Army confirmed that 20 soldiers were killed in the face-off, including 17 who were critically injured at the stand-off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain.

Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area in Ladakh where they had earlier clashed on the night of June 15 and 16, Indian Army said.

Former cricketer Irfan Pathan tweeted, "We will always be indebted to our jawans of #IndianArmy who lost their lives in #GalwanValley #JaiHind."

Expressing similar sentiments, Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan wrote, "A sacrifice that will never be forgotten by the nation. Heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the Indian Army officer and the two soldiers. Saluting your bravery, Jai Hind! #GalwanValley."

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News Network
July 14,2020

New Delhi, Jul 14: Indian bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who features in the list of A category players released by BCCI, has revealed his first-ever paycheck.

Bhuvneshwar was participating in a question and answer session on Twitter where he gave his take on fans' queries.

The 30-year-old bowler was asked about his first paycheck by a fan and Bhuvneshwar responded by saying, "It was for Rs 3000. I shopped and still managed to saved some."

During the question and answer session Bhuvneshwar picked Barcelona striker Lionel Messi over Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The right-arm bowler also revealed that football and badminton are his favourite sports other than cricket.

Earlier this year, Bhuvneshwar was named in the list A category of players. BCCI had released the list of centrally contracted players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020. Annually, A category players get Rs 5 crore.

The right-arm bowler would have been in action for Sunrisers Hyderabad if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

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