PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth eye maiden Dubai Super Series Final title

Agencies
December 12, 2017

Dubai, Dec 12: Top shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth would be aiming for a great finale to what has been a good year for Indian badminton when they take the court at the USD one million Dubai Super Series Final starting on Wednesday.

Only the very best participate in this prestigious tournament with only the top eight in the respective men's and women's singles rankings earning the right to compete.

World No.3 Sindhu and World No.4 Srikanth can't afford to lower their guard when they begin their campaign against China's world No. 9 Hi Bingjiao and World No.1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark respectively at the Sheikh Hamdan Indoor Stadium.

Both Sindhu and Srikanth are coming into the tournament after a highly successful year.

Sindhu clinched the India Open and Korea Open, besides bagging a silver at Glasgow World Championship and finishing runners-up at Hong Kong Open last month.

Srikanth, on the other hand, became the only Indian, and fourth player ever, to win four Super Series titles in a calendar.

He won the Indonesia Open, Australia Open, Denmark Open and the French Open before being forced to miss the China Open and Hong Kong Open owing to a thigh muscle strain, sustained at the Nationals in Nagpur last month.

The one-month break after the Nationals gave him ample time to work on his fitness and sharpen his game, and he will hope to recreate the magic that earned him the four titles this year.

"It is an important event. I reached the semis in 2014 and in 2015; I lost in the league stages but it doesn't matter. We, as players, have to forget what had happened and start afresh. I hope to do well this year," Srikanth said.

World No.4 Srikanth has been placed in Group B of men's singles event along with Chou Tien Chen (world No.7) and Shi Yuqi (world No.8), apart from Axelsen.

Sindhu, who had reached the semifinals at the last edition, has been clubbed with the Japanese duo of No.2 ranked Akane Yamaguchi and world No.15 Sayako Sato, besides Bingjiao in Group A.

"It has been a good year for me. Now I really hope the year ends on a good note and I do well at the Dubai Super Series Finals," said the 22-year-old from Hyderabad.

"It is not going to be easy as all the top players will be playing in this event. Each match from the first round itself will be very tough. So I will have to be prepared from the start to do well."

The four players in each group will compete against each other in the preliminaries. The top two from each group will qualify for the semifinals with A1 facing B2 and B1 taking on A2.

Srikanth broke his three-match losing streak against defending champion and World No.1 Axelsen when he defeated the Dane in his hometown during the Denmark Open quarterfinals in October and it would take another top-class performance to tame him on Wednesday.

Sindhu is 4-5 behind in the head-to-head count against Bingjiao but she will take confidence from her recent win against the Chinese at the Korea Open in September.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: Indian cricketers Suresh Raina and Harmanpreet Kaur were on Wednesday appointed as the global brand ambassadors of the WTF Sports.

Raina is also joining the brand as a Strategic Partner. WTF Sports, a fantasy sports gaming platform, was today formally launched in India and globally.

The announcement was made through a web conference with prominent cricket host, Vikram Sathaye moderating and hosting the webinar and Vinit Bhatia, Manit Parikh and Yash Kadakia Co-Founders - India and Global, WTF Sports introducing the cricketers as the Global Brand Ambassadors.

Kaur said it was a perfect fit for her and she can use her strategy and experience while playing.
"WTF Sports was the perfect fit with me, I can use strategy and my experience while playing, I've actually learnt to strategize better as I've played along. Additionally, when we were under lockdown and I couldn't really practice, it was fun to come on the platform and feel like I'm still playing," Kaur said in a statement.

On the other hand, Raina said, "It is exciting to be a part of a fantasy sports platform like WTF Sports not just as an ambassador but also as the strategic partner, it is everything that I embody and what I believe in, it's fierce, fun and competitive."

The app currently hosts three major sports, multiple playing modes, and exciting contests, ensuring that sports fans can get more skillful by letting them strategize and use their sports knowledge into rewarding behaviour.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Mumbai, Mar 3: India on Tuesday retained their number one spot and captain Virat Kohli remained static at second in the ICC rankings despite a dismal Test series against New Zealand.

India have 116 rating points, six more than New Zealand with third-placed Australia accumulating 108 points. The 0-2 result against New Zealand was India's first series loss in the World Test Championship.

Kohli remains in second position in the batting rankings despite a forgettable Test series in which he made 38 runs in four innings, the ICC said in a statement.

New Zealand opener Tom Blundell and his Indian counterpart Prithvi Shaw and debutant paceman Kyle Jamieson were among the biggest movers in the rankings, released on Tuesday.

Blundell had a successful series against India, scoring 117 runs in four innings, with one half-century, which put him among the top two run-scorers in the series.

The performance meant he was rewarded with a jump of 27 places to No. 46. Shaw, who returned for his first series since his Test debut against West Indies in 2018, and made a punchy 54 in the first innings of the Christchurch Test, rose 17 places to No.76.

Australia's Steve Smith retained his top spot, holding a 25-point advantage over Kohli. Smith's apprentice Marnus Labuschagne jumped one spot to round off the top three, taking the place of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes and India opener Mayank Agarwal moved a spot each and swapped places to break into and fall out of the top 10 respectively.

Among bowlers, Tim Southee's Player of the Series winning performance against India took him into the top five, with a jump of two places to No.4, while Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult returned to the top 10, gaining four places each to occupy the seventh and ninth positions respectively.

But the biggest gainer was Jamieson, who rose from No. 80 to 43.

There was only one change in the top ten among all-rounders, with Southee dropping a spot to No.10 and team-mate Neil Wagner falling out of the top 10 with a drop of four spots.

As with the bowling rankings, Jamieson, who frustrated India with handy lower order runs, gained big on the all-rounders' table, rising 26 places to No. 22.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Feb 24: India captain Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the opening Test but said they "can't help" if a few want to make a "big deal" out of the 10-wicket defeat. Hosts New Zealand thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Basin Reverse on Monday to go 1-0 ahead in the two-match series. This was India's first defeat in the World Test Championship, coming after two inept batting efforts. "We know we haven't played well but if people want to make a big deal out of it, make a mountain out of it, we can't help it as we don't think like that," the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

Kohli said he fails to comprehend why one Test match defeat should be made to look like the end of the world for his team.

"For some people, it might be the end of the world but it's not. For us, it's a game of cricket that we lost and we move on and keep our heads high," Kohli said.

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said.

"We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said. "We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

If he had given credence to the "outside chatter", he said the team wouldn't have been where it is now.

"That's why we have been able to play this kind of cricket. If we would have paid attention to the outside chatter, we would again be at No. 7 or 8 in the rankings. We don't really bother about what people are saying on the outside," the skipper said.

One defeat can't make a team, which has been winning games of Test cricket, "bad overnight".

"If we have lost then we have no shame in accepting that. It means we didn't play this game well. It doesn't mean that we have become a bad team overnight. People might want to change our thoughts, but it doesn't work like that."

The self-belief is intact and Kohli was confident the team would come back stronger in the second Test, to be held in Christchurch in four days time.

"We will work hard, and after four days play just like we have played all these years. Just because we have lost one match in between all wins, doesn't mean that the belief is gone. The dressing room thinks differently and team atmosphere is different."

Kohli felt that there is a very thin line between being ultra-defensive and over-attacking, something that his team didn't get it right in this Test match.

"New Zealand got into the mind of the batsmen and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to. think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure which we failed to do in this match and there is no harm in accepting that."

According to Kohli, it was a combination of both good bowling from the Kiwis and Indian batsmen not putting the pressure back on bowlers, which led to the drubbing.

"That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required. "It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership."

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