PV Sindhu enters maiden world championships final

Agencies
August 27, 2017

Glasgow, Aug 27: India had a mixed day at the World Badminton Championships, with 2016 Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu entering the final, while Saina Nehwal lost in the women`s singles semi-finals here on Saturday.

Fourth seed Sindhu crushed Chinese ninth seed Chen Yufei of China 21-13, 21-10 in 48 minutes in a superlative display to set-up a title clash against Japanese seventh seed Nozomi Okuhara, who defeated Indian 12th seed Saina 12-21, 21-17, 21-10 earlier in the day.

Sindhu, a two-time World Championships bronze medallist, dominated her younger opponent from the beginning, not allowing the reigning world junior champion to settle in.

Playing aggressively, Sindhu rattled 19-year-old Yufei with her barrage of attacking strokes.

In the other semi-final, 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Saina lost against Okuhara as she settled for a bronze medal.

After winning the first game 21-12, Saina, who is yet to regain full fitness after her knee surgery in August 2016, and looked tired.A Okuhara`s strategy of playing long rallies tested Saina`s fitness to the core.

World Championships 2015 runner-up Saina, who had a 6-1 head-to-head record against Okuhara coming into this game, started strongly, winning the first game 21-12 as the Japanese struggled to get into her rhythm.

The 22-year-old Japanese struggled with her net play and a few erratic line judgements to trail 6-11 which became 6-15 before losing 12-21.

Okuhara got off to a flying start in the second game, taking a 4-0 lead but the 27-year-old Saina fought back and equalised at the nine-point mark.

Saina kept pace with her younger and sharper opponent but she got tired towards the end. At 17-all, Saina wasted a great chance to take the lead as she fired a smash wide right.

Then, Okuhara claimed three consecutive points as she showed more energy and agility as a tired Saina failed to stop her from dictating the rallies.

In the third game, Okuhara completely dominated and her fast-paced game didn`t allow Saina to get back into it. Saina struggled with her movements and failed to reach for Okuhara`s delectable drop shots.

Okuhara, the 2012 world junior champion, raced away to an 11-4 lead and afterwards it was just a matter of time before the Japanese sealed the game at 21-10 and with this a place in the final.

"It was disappointing to have lost the despite being a game up. But overall I am happy that I made it to the semis after recently coming out of an injury. I gave it my best and I am pleased with that," Saina said after the match.

Talking about how she lost the momentum during the match, Saina said, "She started to win long rallies after the first game and that was the main reason for her to make a comeback into the match.a

Okuhara became the first Japanese to reach the World Championships women`s singles final.

Sindhu, 22, and Okuhara, 22, have won three games apiece from six outings between them and in the Japanese, the Hyderabadi faces an opponent that likes to play fast-paced shuttle.

Meanwhile, men`s singles defending champion Chen Long of China was ousted by Viktor Axelsen of Denmark. The Danish third seed crushed the 2016 Olympic champion 21-9, 21-10 in 39 minutes.

In the final, Axelsen will face Chinese veteran and five-time world champion Lin Dan, who got past South Korean top seed Son Wan Ho with a 21-17, 21-14 victory in 58 minutes.

Axelsen, who won the bronze in the 2014 worlds and 2016 Rio Olympics, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency: "I am still a little out of words, I never expected to win that comfortably, I am very happy. I made little mistakes today and made very few errors.

"It was nice to get revenge from the Olympic semi-finals, I am very proud of myself.

"My coach and I always look back at past championships to get better and improve on my game. Denmark is a small country but I am very proud that we can compete with the bigger countries. It`s a dream come true, ever since I was a little boy I dreamed of a World Championships final."

Chen, 28, said he was under too much pressure. "I got the first points, then lost a lot of the next, and that really affected my game. In the second I managed to go ahead and that put a lot of pressure on me, but Victor played very well.

"Congratulations to Victor to getting to the final, he played the perfect game," he added.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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News Network
June 25,2020

New Delhi, Jun 25: India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday called the 1983 World Cup win as the 'landscape' changing moment for the game of cricket in the country.

Today, India is celebrating the completion of the 37 years of the maiden World Cup triumph under the leadership of Kapil Dev.

"Today 37 years ago, changed the cricketing landscape in India. Thank you @therealkapildev and team for making the game a career for many of us today. Deeply indebted," Ashwin tweeted.

In 1983, in the finals between India and West Indies, the latter won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Kapil Dev-led side managed to score just 183 runs as Andy Roberts took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes picked up two wickets each.

Defending 183, India did a good job of keeping a check on the Windies run flow, reducing the side to 57/3.

Soon after, the team from the Caribbean was reduced to 76/6 and India was the favourites from there on to win the title.

Mohinder Amarnath took the final wicket of Michael Holding to give India their first-ever World Cup title win.

In the finals, West Indies was bowled out for 140, and as a result, India won the match by 43 runs.

Kapil Dev lifting the trophy at the balcony of Lord's Cricket Ground still remains an image to savour for all the Indian fans.

In the finals, Mohinder Amarnath was chosen as the Man of the Match as he scored 26 runs with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball.

India has been the regular participant in the World Cup from its beginning to the latest edition. The first edition was held in 1975 and from there on, it has taken place after a span of every four years.

West Indies won the first two World Cup titles (1975, 1979) and was the runner-up in 1983. India has won the title two times, in 1983 and in 2011.

MS Dhoni captained the 2011 team to win their second title after 28 years. Australia has won the tournament five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015).

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News Network
March 12,2020

New Delhi, Mar 12: No foreign player will be available for this year's IPL till April 15 due to visa restrictions imposed by the government to contain the novel coronavirus threat, a top BCCI source told PTI on Thursday, casting fresh doubts on the fate of the event.

"The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government's directive, they can't come till April 15," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The government issued fresh advisory with a ban on all existing foreign visas, except a few categories like diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in the wake of new positive cases of novel coronavirus in the country.

India has reported 60 positive cases in the outbreak which has led to over 4,000 deaths globally.

The fate of the IPL itself will be decided on March 14 at the event's Governing Council meeting in Mumbai. "All decisions will be taken by the GC in Mumbai," the source said.

Having the IPL, starting March 29, played in empty stadiums is an option being explored.

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