PV Sindhu beats He Bingjiao, storms into Korean Super Series final

Agencies
September 16, 2017

New Delhi, Sept 16: Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu defeated China's He Bingjiao 21-10 17-21 21-16 in a match that lasted an hour and six minutes. and progressed to the finals of women's singles at the USD 600,000 Korea Open Super Series, on Saturday.

Sindhu, who had won the silver at the World Championship last month, will face world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the final on Sunday.

The 22-year-old had come into the match with a 3-5 head-to-head record, having lost to the Chinese at the Asia Badminton Championship this year.

The World No.4 Indian, who had won the China Super Series Premier last year and clinched the India Super Series and Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold this season, now stands just one win away from another title.

However, it will once again be her World Championship final nemesis and eighth seed Okuhara, who will stand in the way when they clash in the final.

The Olympic bronze-medallist Japanese entered the final with a 21-17 21-18 win over World No.2 compatriot Akane Yamaguchi, seeded second.

Sindhu made a rampaging start to the opening game as she rushed to a 9-1 advantage before moving into the break at 11-4 when the left-handed Chinese hit out.

Sindhu made a few unforced errors but she didn't let it derail her game as she moved to a 10-point advantage and sealed it when Bingjiao once again hit out.

In the second game, Sindhu and Bingjiao were tied 4-4 initially but the Indian once again clinched a five-point advantage at the break when she unleashed a body smash and then Bingjiao hit out again.

But unforced errors by Sindhu and Bingjiao's resilience helped the Chinese slowly erase the deficit and make it 10-13. Sindhu tried to engage her opponent in fast rallies but Bingjiao managed to claw back at 15-15 with a precise straight down-the-line smash.

Sindhu suddenly hit a bad patch as two wide shots and one of her returns were buried in the net, giving the Chinese a 20-16 advantage. A deceiving return on Bingjiao's serve saw Sindhu save a game point but the Chinese sealed it next when the Indian found the net again.

The decider saw the longest and quickest rallies as both the shutters looked to outwit each other. Sindhu managed to lead 7-4 and 9-6 before Bingjiao clawed back with three straight points.

However, two wide shots once again spoilt Bingjiao's run as Sindhu held the advantage for the third time at the interval.

The script didn't change much after the break as Sindhu continued to lead even as Bingjiao struggled with her length and ended up sending the shuttle wide and long.

Sindhu moved to a 19-15 lead before Bingjiao produced a powerful smash to gather a point but the Indian was in no mood to stretch it any further as she moved to the match point when Bingjiao hit wide again.

The Indian then sealed the issue with a lucky net chord.

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News Network
January 13,2020

Mumbai, Jan 13: India captain Virat Kohli indicated at dropping himself down the batting order to accommodate both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in the playing XI against Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series starting Tuesday.

With vice-captain Rohit Sharma an automatic pick, the team management is left with tough choice of selecting either Dhawan or Rahul in the XI. But the skipper sees no reason why both can't play together.

"Look, a guy in form is always good for the team. ...You obviously want to have the best players available and then chose from what the combination should be for the team. There might be a possibility that all three (Rohit, Shikhar and Rahul) might play. It will be interesting to see what balance we want to take in on the field," Kohli said on the eve of the match.

Asked if he would he be happy to bat lower down the order, Virat said,"Yeah, big possibility. I would be very happy to do so. Look I am not possessive about where I play. I am not insecure about where I bat," said the skipper.

For Kohli, it is more important as to what kind of leadership legacy he leaves behind rather than chase personal glory.

"Being the captain of the team, it is my job to make sure that the next lot is also ready. A lot of the other people might not look at it that way, but your job as a captain is not only to look after the team right now, but also to prepare a team that you leave behind when you eventually pass it onto someone else," he added.

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News Network
March 31,2020

New Delhi, Mar 31: Australia batsman David Warner on Tuesday decided to shave off his head to show support towards all those people who are working relentlessly on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.

After shaving off his head, Warner also challenged his Australian team-mate Steve Smith and India skipper Virat Kohli to do the same.

Warner, shared a time-lapse video on Instagram, of him shaving his head, and captioned the post as: "Been nominated to shave my head in support of those working on the frontline #Covid-19 here is a time-lapse. I think my debut was the last time I recall I've done this. Like it or not".

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australia's death toll stands at 19, as per the Sydney Morning Herald.

As of 8 am today, 4460 people across Australia have tested positive for COVID-19.

The World Health Organisation had termed coronavirus as a 'pandemic' on March 11.

Earlier in the day, Australia Test skipper Tim Paine also confirmed that the side's tour of Bangladesh is unlikely due to the virus spread.
"You don't have to be Einstein to realise (the Bangladesh tour) is probably unlikely to go ahead, particularly in June. Whether it's cancelled or pushed back, we're not quite sure at the moment," cricket.com.au quoted Paine as saying.

Currently, Australia has 296 points in the WTC from 10 matches, while India has 360 points from nine matches.

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News Network
February 14,2020

Los Angeles, Feb 14: Tributes to the late Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers legend who died last month in a helicopter crash, will play a major role in Sunday's 69th NBA All-Star Game.

This year's annual showcase of league talent will be played in Chicago and feature numerous nods to Bryant, a five-time NBA champion who also matched a league record with four NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player awards.

Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star, died at age 41 on January 26 in a crash near Los Angeles that also took the life of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.

All-Star teams guided by LeBron James of the Lakers and Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will compete to win each of the first three quarters, which will all start 0-0 and last 12 minutes.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the clock will be turned off and a final target score will be established by taking the leading club's cumulative score through the first three quarters and adding 24 points -- the number representing the jersey number worn by Bryant for the final 10 seasons of his NBA career.

The first team to reach the cumulative target score will win the NBA All-Star Game.

All-Star Game jerseys will also honor Bryant and his daughter.

Team Giannis players will wear jersey number 24 in tribute to Kobe while Team LeBron players will wear jersey number two, the number his daughter wore when playing youth basketball.

Both teams will wear jersey patches displaying nine stars, representing the nine people who were killed in the crash.

Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning singer Jennifer Hudson, a Chicago native, will perform a special tribute to Bryant, his daughter and the others who were killed in the crash. Her performance will begin the night ahead of the player introductions.

James and Antetokounmpo each chose their squads from available starters and reserves voted and selected to the All-Star contest.

Team LeBron starters will include James, his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, NBA scoring leader James Harden of Houston, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and Slovenian guard Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.

Team Giannis starters include the Greek big man, Cameroon stars Joel Embiid of Philadelphia and Pascal Siakam of Toronto and guards Kemba Walker of Boston and Trae Young of Atlanta.

A record eight All-Star Game players from outside the United States also include Frenchman Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz on Team Giannis and Team LeBron reserves Ben Simmons of Australia and the Philadelphia 76ers, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis of Indiana and Serbian Nikola Jokic of Denver.

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