PBL: Saina Nehwal stars in Awadhe Warriors comfortable win over Delhi Aces

January 5, 2016

Lucknow, Jan 5: World No 2 Saina Nehwal notched up a comfortable straight-game victory in their Trump match over P C Thulashi in women's singles to guide Awadhe Warriors to a convincing victory over Delhi Aces in their Premier Badminton League (PBL) match in Lucknow on Monday.

saina Olympic bronze medallist Saina, B Sai Praneeth and doubles pair of Bodin Issara and Cai Yun won their respective matches to take an unassailable 4-1 lead over Delhi in their second tie, after they had gone down fighting against Mumbai Rockets 2-3 in their last outing.

Star of Awadhe Warriors' last match S Tanongsak started the proceedings as he played the opening men's singles against Delhi Aces' Tommy Sugiarto but the Thai shuttler could not repeat a winning performance as the former World No 3 Indonesian registered a 15-13, 15-11 win to draw the first blood in the five-match tie.

"He was very good. While I won the match in two games but he gave me a tough fight. I had to keep a complete check on his shots as he mixed it very well. I am happy I won and opened the account for my team," Sugiarto said.

Saina, who had skipped the inaugural match on Saturday due to a foot injury, enthralled the audience with a dominating game to take her team to a 2-1 lead after beating P C Thulasi 15-9 15-10 in the women's singles match, which Awadhe Warriors had selected as the 'Trump match'.

Thulasi opened up a slender 2-0 lead early on but Saina clearly wasn't exerting herself too much because of the injury. Lagging 3-5, Saina dominated a long rally and then drew level when Thulasi hit wide.

Thulasi didn't have answers to Saina low returns as the Warriors captain went into the break at 8-5 with Thulashi struggling to keep the shuttle on court. In the end, Saina wrapped the first game 15-9.

Cheered on by PBL Brand Ambassador Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur at the stands, Saina produced some spectacular shots which Thulashi failed to negotiate. Saina lead 6-2 and then hit the net twice but she never lost the tempo and continued to lead 8-5.

Saina used power and placement to bamboozle Thulashi and lead 13-9, before wrapping the match with a return that left her rival clueless once again as the Warriors bagged two points from the match.

Commenting on the win, Saina said: "She started off well and she is good with her net play and I enjoyed playing those shots with her.

"It is great to win in front of your home crowd. It was my first match of the League and it produced a productive result as it was a Trump match for our side. We hope to win the tie from here".

Lucknow's Bodin Issara and Cai Yun then took the court against Malaysian combo of Koo Keat Kien and Tan Boon Heong in the third match of the day.

In an edge of the seat doubles match, the Thai-Chinese pair produced a superb game to eventually eke out a 15-12 15-14 win. It was Cai Yun who played a steller role, grabbing the last two points with a spectacular smash and a brilliant serve which left Kien and Heong clueless.After the third game, Awahde Warriors lead 3-1.

After the victory, the pair said “The score card only shows that how tough this game was for us and we are pretty happy that we prevailed finally.

"They were too good and we enjoyed every long rally that we shared with them. Definitely Saina's win in the last game boosted our confidence which eventually helped us win this games".

Taking the court in the second men's singles, B Sai Praneeth then sealed the tie in Awadhe Warriors' favour after notching up a 15-12, 15-9 win over Rajiv Ouseph of England.

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Virat Kohli only Indian again in Forbes' list of highest-paid athletes

News Network

May 30,2020

New York, May 30: Cricket superstar Virat Kohli remains the only Indian in the Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes with total earnings of USD 26 million, jumping to the 66th spot from 100 in the 2020 standings.

Kohli's earnings from endorsement stand at USD 24 million and USD 2 million from salary/winnings. The 31-year-old is also the only cricketer in the top-100 list.

With earnings of USD 25 million, Kohli was ranked 100th in 2019 and 83rd in 2018 with USD 24 million.

Tennis legend Roger Federer has toped the list for the first time with earnings of USD 106.3 million, rising from fifth place last year.

Football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are second and third respectively with earnings of USD 105 and USD 104 million.

The others in the top-10 are Neymar (football), LeBron James (basketball), Stephen Curry (basketball), Kevin Durrant (basketball), Tigers Woods (golf), Kirk Cousins (American football) and Carson Wentz (American football).

The athletes' earnings have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to suspension of sporting activities all around the world.

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Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to feature in the world’s 20 most charitable athletes, as per a list compiled by the US based website in Athletes Gone Good.

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COVID-19 crisis has made us more compassionate: Kohli

News Network

April 21,2020

New Delhi, Apr 21: India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said people seem to have become more compassionate while coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped the sense of gratitude towards frontline workers like doctors and police personnel remains even after the crisis is over.

Speaking in an online class organised by "Unacademy", Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma spoke at length about the challenges they faced before tasting success.

"The one positive out of this crisis that we as a society have become more compassionate. We are showing more gratitude to the frontline workers in this war, be it police personnel, doctors or nurses.

"I hope it stays this way even after we overcome this crisis," said Kohli with Sharma seated next to her.

Kohli said the pandemic has taught the world a very important lesson.

"Life is unpredictable. So, do what makes you happy and not get into comparisons all the time. People have a choice now how to come out of this phase. Life is going to be different after this," said the skipper.

For Sharma, the pandemic has forced people to care about the basics in life.

"There is a learning in all of this. Nothing happens without a reason. If the frontline workers were not there, we would not have access to basics," she said..

"This has taught us that no one is special than the other. Health is everything. We are more connected as a society now," she added.

During the session, Kohli was asked about the moment when he felt most helpless.

"I felt nothing was working for me when I was not picked for the state team initially. I cried the whole night and asked my coach 'why did I not get selected'?" he responded.

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BCCI thinking of women's cricket, just needs to be more specific in communication: Anjum Chopra

Agencies

August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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