Saina Nehwal wins, PV Sindhu loses in Denmark Open

Agencies
October 19, 2017

Odense, Oct 19: India had a bittersweet day at Denmark Open as Saina Nehwal knocked out Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain but title-contender P V Sindhu suffered a straight game loss against China's Chen Yufei to crash out of the opening round.

Glasgow World Championship bronze medallist, Saina defeated two-time World champion Marin 22-20 21-18 in a hard- fought battle to avenge her Japan Open second-round loss to the Spaniard. She will play either Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol or Russia's Evgeniya Kosetskaya in the next round.

Late in the day, Sindhu, however, failed to break the rhythm of World No 10 Chen to go down fighting 17-21 21-23 in a 43-minute match. This is her second successive early loss as after clinching the Korea Open she had lost in the second round of Japan Open last month.

Earlier, Indian top shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and H S Prannoy made positive starts but B Sai Praneeth bowed out in the opening round of men's singles competition.

World No 8 Srikanth overcame a spirited effort from compatriot qualifier Subhankar Dey 21-17-21-15 to set up a clash with Korean Jeon Hyeok Jin, the 2016 Australian Open runners-up.

On the adjacent court, Praneeth failed to erase 11-7 and 11-8 deficits to go down 10-21 15-21 to local hope Hans- Kristian Solberg Vittinghus in a lop-sided contest.

World No 15 Prannoy, meanwhile, recovered from a 6-11 deficit in the second game to oust Denmark's Emil Holst 21-18 21-19 in a hard-fought match. It was his third win over the Danish shuttler. The Indian is likely to play former World No. 1 Malaysian Lee Chong Wei on Thursday.

Among other Indians in the fray, young doubles specialist Satwiksairaj Rankireddy suffered twin defeats in mixed and men's doubles competition to end his campaign here.

Satwik and his mixed doubles partner Ashwini Ponnappa, who had reached the semifinals last week at Dutch Open, lost 19-21 17-21 to the local combo of Niclas Nohr and Sara Thygesen.

In men's doubles, Satwik and Chirag Shetty, who had reached the quarters at Korea Open, failed to get across Korean pair of Chung Eui Seok and Kim Dukyoung, losing 21-14 18-21 17-21 in the opening round.

Experienced men's doubles combo of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy also lost 13-21 18-21 to Denmark's Mads Conrad- Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding, while it was also curtains for Ashwini and Sikki in women's doubles after they went down fighting 21-15 18-21 21-23 to Malaysian combo of Chow Mei Kuan and Lee Meng Yean.

Another mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy, who had reached the semifinals at Japan Open, also crashed out last night in the opening round after losing 17-21 15-21 to Irish combo of Sam Magee and Chloe Magee.

The highlight of the day, however, was the match between Saina and Marin where the world no 12 Indian dished out a controlled game mixed with aggression and caution to outwit the World No 4 Spaniard.

The match started on an aggressive note as both the players were locked in an initial battle before Saina managed to eke out a 11-9 lead at the break with the help of her better net play and distinguished strokes. She moved to a 13-11 lead with accurate down the line smashes.

But left-handed Marin kept breathing down her neck and levelled par with two points. Every time Saina grabbed a point, Marin came back with her trademark strokes and also took a crucial 19-18 lead with a net return.

Once again Saina's down the line smash came to her rescue as she drew parity and soon grabbed the game point. Marin again came up with another precise net return to level par at 20-20. However, she hit wide next to hand over an opportunity to the Indian, who sealed it with another superb smash.

After the change of sides, Marin started dictating terms initially moving to a 5-3 lead but a pumped up Saina soon came back to turn the tables at 7-6 when her opponent hit wide and managed to lead 11-8 at the break.

After the interval, Marin narrowed the margin to 10-11 but Saina didn't allow the Spaniard to make a comeback as she jumped to a 16-11 lead. Marin made a last-ditch effort to claw back at 18-20 but Saina soon shut the door without much ado.

"I was moving well and finally it is about movements and picking up shots. She is the best player in the world and she is playing extremely well but I was happy with the way I was retrieving my shots," said Saina after notching up her fifth win over Marin in nine meetings.

"I really don't know what I played today, everything happened so fast. The court is little fast, it was not a rally kind of court. The smashes were going well but anything could have happened but I picked up those difficult shots," she added.

In another women's singles match, Sindhu conceded a 3-0 lead early on but she managed to erase the deficit when she drew parity at 9-9 and moved together till 17-17. It was at this moment when Chen stepped up and grabbed four crucial points to earn the bragging rights.

In the second game, Chen once again surged to a 7-3 lead and Sindhu once again clawed back with four straight points but at the break, it was the Chinese who had a slender one-point lead.

After the interval, Chen extended the lead to 15-11. Sindhu managed to reduce it to 16-17. However, Sindhu struggled to retrieve some low shots and with one of her net dribbles going to net meant Chen had four match points.

Sindhu then saved off four match points to make it 20-20 but eventually Chen closed out the match at 23-21 to avenge her World Championship loss to the Indian.

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News Network
April 6,2020

London, Apr 6: As the coronavirus brings the international sports calendar to a grinding halt, news agency Sport looks at three long-standing habits which could change forever once competition resumes.

Saliva to take shine off swing bowling

It's been a tried and trusted friend to fast bowlers throughout the history of cricket. But the days of applying saliva to one side of the ball to encourage swing could be over in the aftermath of Covid19.

"As a bowler I think it would be pretty tough going if we couldn't shine the ball in a Test match," said Australia quick Pat Cummins.

"If it's at that stage and we're that worried about the spread, I'm not sure we'd be playing sport."

Towels in tennis - no touching

Tennis players throwing towels, dripping with sweat and blood and probably a tear or two, at ball boys and girls, has often left fans sympathising for the youngsters.

Moves by officials to tackle the issue took on greater urgency in March when the coronavirus was taking a global grip.

Behind closed doors in Miki, ball boys and girls on duty at the Davis Cup tie between Japan and Ecuador wore gloves.

Baskets, meanwhile, were made available for players to deposit their towels.

Back in 2018, the ATP introduced towel racks at some events on a trial basis, but not everyone was overjoyed.

"I think having the towel whenever you need it, it's very helpful. It's one thing less that you have to think about," said Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas when he was playing at the NextGen Finals in Milan.

"I think it's the job of the ball kids to provide towels and balls for the players."

Let's not shake on it

Pre-match handshakes were abandoned in top football leagues just before the sports shutdown.

Premier League leaders Liverpool also banned the use of mascots while Southampton warned against players signing autographs and stopped them posing for selfies.

Away from football, the NBA urged players to opt for the fist bump rather than the long-standing high-five.

"I ain't high-fiving nobody for the rest of my life after this," NBA superstar LeBron James told the "Road Trippin' Podcast".

"No more high-fiving. After this corona shit? Wait 'til you see me and my teammates’ handshakes after this shit."

Basketball stars were also told not to take items such as balls or teams shirts to autograph.

US women's football star Megan Rapinoe says edicts to ban handshakes or even high-fives may be counter-productive anyway.

"We're going to be sweating all over each other all game, so it sort of defeats the purpose of not doing a handshake," she said.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Jul 2: Cricket's biggest names, most of whom could hear only stories of Sir Everton Weekes' exploits from the bygone era, on Thursday remembered the "great" batsman and a "greater human being" in glowing tributes after he died aged 95.

Weekes, who formed the famous three 'Ws' of West Indies cricket alongside Clyde Walcott and Frank Worrell as part of a formidable batting lineup for more than a decade, died on Wednesday.

His death left the cricket world in a state of mourning.

"As one of the remarkable 'Three Ws', along with Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrell, who together struck 39 Test centuries, he played an important hand in a period that marked the rising dominance of West Indies cricket," the ICC said in its obit.

The 1925 Barbados-born Weekes made his Test debut against England in 1948.

"On behalf of CWI I want to publicly express our deepest sympathy to the family of this remarkable Iconic sportsman and gentleman, who passed away earlier today," Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt said in a release.

"I never had the opportunity to see Sir Everton bat, but I had the opportunity to get to know him a little in his later years. I learned about his incredible career by reading about him and looking at old videos when I could.

"His performance stats were excellent as he set tremendously high standards for his time."

In his career, Weekes played 48 Test matches and made 4,455 runs at an average of 58.61 per innings. That included a world-record five consecutive centuries in 1948 — scores of 141 against England in Jamaica, followed by knocks of 128, 194, 162 and 101 in India. In his next innings in Madras, he made 90 when he was controversially run out.

Skerritt added, "... Sir Everton was, therefore, a most amazing pioneer in West Indies cricket; a gentleman and quite simply a wonderful human being."

The modern-day cricketers also mourned his death and paid moving tributes.

Former India captain Anil Kumble tweeted, "Saddened to hear about the passing of WI legend Sir. Everton Weekes. Had met him during the ICC conference in Barbados. He remembered a conversation we had during his time as a match referee. Condolences to his family and friends."

Kumble's former India teammate VVS Laxman wrote, "Heard about the passing away of West Indies legend, Sir Everton Weekes. He was one of the greats of the game. My condolences to his family and loved ones."

Mike Atherton, the opener who led England in the 1990s, was also disappointed to know of the legend's passing away.

"Very sad to learn of the passing of Sir Everton Weekes. A humble man who wore his greatness lightly."

Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop said, "I had the great privilege of spending time in the company of Sir Everton on several occasions over the past 2 decades. Never once did I leave his presence without feeling a sense (of) warmth, cheerfulness & having learnt something rich & endearing each time. A truly great human being. The Marylebone Cricket Club said in a statement: "Everyone at MCC and Lord's are saddened at the news of Sir Everton Weekes' passing,"

"He will forever be remembered as one of the West Indies' finest cricketers."

Former India player and current coach Ravi Shastri said, "Saddened by passing away of Sir Everton Weekes who was the last of the famous 'Three Ws'. A true humble great of the game. My thoughts and prayers are with Sir Weekes' family and fans in this hour of grief. RIP Sir Folded hands."

All three -- Walcott and Worrell, Weekes -- were born within a couple of miles of one another - within 18 months in Barbados between August 1924 and January 1926, and all made their Test debuts within three weeks in early 1948.

Worrell died in 1967 and Walcott in 2006.

Weekes' average of 58.61 runs places him along with George Headley in the top 10 Test averages of all time.

Darren Sammy, who captained West Indies few years ago, took to Twitter and wrote, "We lost a legend today. Sir Everton Weekes is part of @windiescricket great history and legacy. He also was a great human being. Condolences goes out to his family. May he Rest In Peace."

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News Network
April 12,2020

Mumbai, Apr 12: Always eager to share his vast knowledge and experience, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has interacted with 12,000 doctors on sports injuries.

In his over two decade long illustrious career, Tendulkar suffered many health issues, the most prominent being the tennis elbow injury.

The veteran of 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, got to know through one Dr Sudhir Warrier, an orthopaedic surgeon, that several young doctors across the country were utilising the lockdown time to effectively gain knowledge on sports injuries through live webinars.

A session on sports injuries was held on Saturday and Tendulkar, knowing that his experiences will help these doctors, volunteered to be a part of it.

Tendulkar, accordingly, interacted with around 12,000 doctors, who attended the session.

It is reliably leanrt that the 46-year-old legend said he was grateful to the medical fraternity for their service.

During the session, the young orthopaedic doctors got to know how the requirements and treatment outcomes of athletes are different from regular patients, sources said.

Dr Warrier moderated the session with Dr Nitin Patel, physiotherapist, who has worked with Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

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