Pankaj Advani and Ajay Maken slam government for awarding Khel Ratna to Sania Mirza

September 2, 2015

New Delhi, Sep 2: Pankaj Advani and Ajay Maken on Tuesday have slammed the government for reducing the Rajiv Khel Ratna to a mere 'popular' award, getting "swayed" by the hype created around Sania Mirza's achievements and conferring it to her.

saniaSania was conferred the award on August 29 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan despite a Karnataka High Court notice on the petition filed by Paralympian HN Girisha, who challenged the decision of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards selection committee.

"When we talk about sports in India, we get carried away by the hype generated around a sport. You cannot be swayed by the popularity of a particular sport or a sportsperson. I think when it comes to government awards, let's treat every sporting achievement in a pure way. There are a lot of sportspersons who are not that popular and, because of that reason, it's like a more popular sportsperson getting the bigger award," Advani, 13-time world billiards and snooker champion, said here.

It must be mentioned here that Girisha has argued that he accounted for 90 marks (70 for London Paralympics silver medal and 20 for Incheon Asian Games bronze) during the award computation period from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014, while Sania's WTA titles and Wimbledon doubles victory do not count as per the government's performance-based points system.

Also, it was not Sania but the sports ministry that had forwarded her application for the Khel Ratna to the selection committee only after her Wimbledon doubles crown with Martina Hingis.

Maken, former sports minister, concurred that sports awards are losing their sheen because of the controversies surrounding them. "In order to see that such controversies do not happen, the chairperson and the members of these awards committees should be non-partisan people. That's why I made Olympian Rajyavardhan Rathore chairperson of the awards selection committee. I never cared about the political dealings during my tenure. And, he did a commendable job that time. There was not even a single sifarish (recommendation) from my side at least as a sports minister unlike these days," observed Maken.

The 12-member committee was headed by retired chief justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice VK Bali and included three senior journalists.

"I believe there's less weightage for team events, and then you have Sania getting the Khel Ratna for being the doubles world No. 1 which is a team effort. If I talk about the cue sports, our multiple-time national champion and 2013 World Championship gold medallist Vidya Pillai had applied for the Arjuna, but her achievements were not even considered. Why is there discrimination when it comes to selecting people for awards or making policies?" asked the 30-year-old Bengaluru-based cueist, Advani, who recently defended his World 6-Red snooker title in Pakistan.

"When I got the Khel Ratna and Arjuna, the point system was extremely fair. But today, I can't put my hand on the heart and say that the entire system is transparent. We hear cases of lobbying, favouritism and people using their influence. I mean we are talking about sport and let's keep the selection fair," added Advani.

Both Maken and Advani were of the opinion that more and more former sportspersons who have no conflict of interest and are extremely fair should be made part of such award committees.

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January 14,2020

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News Network
January 23,2020

Jan 23: Quinton de Kock has been named as the new captain of the South Africa One-Day International side, taking over from Faf du Plessis, who is dropped altogether from the three-match series against England next month.

Du Plessis led South Africa in their disastrous 2019 World Cup campaign and has hinted at international retirement from all formats following the Twenty20 global finals in Australia later this year.

"We all know the quality of the player that Quinton de Kock has grown to become," CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Over the years we have watched him grow in confidence and become one of the top ODI wicket-keeper batsmen in the world. He has a unique outlook and manner in which he goes about his business and is tactically very street smart."

De Kock leads a 15-man squad with five uncapped players in seamers Lutho Sipamla and Sisanda Magala, left-arm orthodox spinner all-rounder Bjorn Fortuin, opening batsman Janneman Malan and wicketkeeper-batsman Kyle Verreynne.

Magala, leg-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, seamer Lungi Ngidi and hard-hitting opening batsman Jon Jon Smuts must pass fitness tests before they can join the squad.

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will be rested for the series, while allrounders Chris Morris and Dwaine Pretorius have also not been able to force their way in.

"The road towards the 2023 Cricket World Cup starts now and we want players doing well in our domestic structures to see the rewards of the hard work that they have put in," CSA Independent Selector Linda Zondi added.

The first ODI will be staged in Cape Town on Feb.4th, with the second in Durban three days later and the final match of the series to be held in Johannesburg on Feb.9th.

Squad: Quinton de Kock (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jon Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne.

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News Network
May 3,2020

New Delhi, May 3: In a startling revelation, India speedster Mohammed Shami has claimed that he thought of committing suicide thrice while battling personal issues a few years ago, forcing his family to keep a watch over him at all times.

He said his family members feared he "might jump" from their 24th floor apartment.

Shami, one of India's leading bowlers in recent years, opened up on his personal and professional life during an Instagram chat with teammate and limited overs squads' vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

"I think if my family had not supported me back then I would have lost my cricket. I thought of committing suicide three times during that period due to severe stress and personal problems," Shami revealed during the session on Saturday.

Now one of the mainstays of Indian bowling attack across formats, the 29-year-old was struggling to focus on his cricket, then.

"I was not thinking about cricket at all. We were living on the 24th floor. They (family) were scared I might jump from the balcony. My brother supported me a lot.

"My 2-3 friends used to stay with me for 24 hours. My parents asked me to focus on cricket to recover from that phase and not think about anything else. I started training then and sweated it out a lot at an academy in Dehradun," Shami said.

In March 2018, Shami's wife Hasin Jahan had accused him of domestic violence and lodged a complaint with the police, following which the India player and his brother were booked under relevant sections.

The upheaval in his personal life forced his employer BCCI to withheld the player's central contracts for a while.

"Rehab was stressful as the same exercises are repeated every day. Then family problems started and I also suffered an accident. The accident happened 10-12 days ahead of the IPL and my personal problems were running high in the media," Shami told Rohit.

Shami said his family stood like a rock with him and the support helped him get back on his feet.

"Then my family explained that every problem has a solution no matter how big the problem. My brother supported me a lot."

Speaking about another painful period in his life after his injury in the 2015 World Cup, Shami said it took him almost 18 months to get back on the field.

"When I got injured in the 2015 World Cup, after that it took me 18 months to fully recover, that was the most painful moment in my life, it was a very stressful period.

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