Saina runs out of steam against Li Xuerui in China Open final

November 15, 2015

Fuzhou (China), Nov 15: Indian ace shuttler Saina Nehwal's dream of defending her women's singles title came crashing as she suffered a straight-game defeat to Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the final of the USD 700,000 China Open Super Series Premier here today.saina

The Olympic bronze medallist Saina, committed a litany of unforced errors to go down 12-21 15-21 against World No. 7 Li in the women's singles summit clash which lasted for 39 minutes at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center here.

Up against an opponent against whom she has lost nine times in the past, Saina failed to create the pressure which could have wilted Li, who showed better understanding of the Indian's game to outdo her for the 10th time.

In their 12th meeting, Saina initially used her knowledge of the conditions to her advantage to zoom to a 4-1 lead early on but she committed too many unforced errors after that for Li to move ahead.

Saina, who last played Li in Malaysian open, struggled with a few strokes going wide and also left gaps on her left which the Chinese exploited to wrest a 7-4 lead.

Saina won a parallel game and a point when Li missed the line after a long rally but the Chinese used her net drops and rode on Saina's unforced errors to lead 11-6 at the break.

Li, who has won the last five matches against Saina, continued her march after the interval even as the Indian kept breathing down her neck with some occasional points.
Li made some immaculate saves while Saina started crumbling under pressure which allowed he Chinese to lead 19-10. Saina then again hit wide to gave Li a 10-point advantage at 20-10. Saina saved a couple before mistiming a return to give the first game to Li.

In the second game, Saina surged ahead to a 4-0 lead once again. Playing their fifth final of the year, Li and Saina engaged in engrossing rallies and even though Li came up with some spectacular shots, she also committed some mistakes to allow Saina lead 11-6 at the interval.

However, Li changed gears after the interval and came up with sharp smashes and drops to reel off seven points to surpass Saina and make it 13-12 in her favour.

Li picked up the shuttle early and came up with disguised shots to catch Saina offguard.
There was a spring in Li's steps as she dominated the proceedings. The Indian failed to give the finishing touch to the rallies and also went wide and long too often to help Li eventually grab a 19-15 lead.

A brilliant drop by Li found Saina stretched as her stroke went to net and then next the Indian hit the shuttle long as Li clinched her second title of the season.

"I started well, but I wasn’t able to connect the shuttle, it was very strange," said Saina.
"Many of my shots went out, and she was anticipating everything. I think I was in a hurry to finish off points. She was catching my pace very well, she was able to pick out my shots at the net. I should’ve been more patient.

"Li Xuerui played well, she was moving very fast. I made too many mistakes. I wanted to get points very quickly.

"I was feeling good this tournament, but I didn't get enough time to train. Happy to beat good players on the way to the final, like Sun Yu, Nozomi Okuhara and Wang Yihan. I need some more time to get back to my best."

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Atlanta, Jan 9: Top tennis stars like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams will be playing an exhibition match to raise funds for Australia's bushfire relief.

Apart from these three, Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas have also confirmed their availability for the match, CNN reported.

The match will be played on January 15 at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena. The Australian Open Rally for Relief will be donating the proceedings from the ticket sales to the bushfire relief efforts.

Tennis star Maria Sharapova had also announced on Wednesday that she had left 10 signed pairs of her tennis shoes in her Brisbane hotel that members of the public could buy with a donation to the Australian Red Cross.

"Brisbane, I have signed ten pairs of my tennis shoes, left them at the @BrisbaneTennis
desk at the Westin Hotel, alongside a donation envelope for fire rescue efforts.They're yours to keep,we just ask you to donate AUD 300 a pair. All money going directly to Red Cross," Sharapova tweeted.

Earlier, former Australian spinner Shane Warne on Monday had announced to auction his Baggy Green cap to raise funds for victims of devastating bushfires in Australia.

Taking to Twitter, Warne made the announcement and posted a statement.

"The horrific bushfires in Australia have left us all in disbelief. The impact these devastating fires are having on so many people is unthinkable and has touched us all. Lives have been lost, homes have been destroyed and over 500 million animals have died too," Warne wrote.

"Everyone is in this together and we continue to find ways to contribute and help on a daily basis. This has led me to auction my beloved baggy green cap (350) that I wore throughout my Test career," he added.

Warne joined a growing list of cricketers to raise money for the bushfire victims. Australian players Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell and D'Arcy Short have already announced that they will donate AUD 250 each for every six they hit in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) to support bushfire victims.

Athletes from other sports too joined the movement as tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic decided to donate 25,000 dollars each for Australia's bushfire relief fund.

Wildfires have been raging across Australia for months, killing 23 people, burning about 6 million hectares (23,000 square miles) of bushland and killing a billion animals.

Naval and air rescue operations were launched on Friday as mass evacuations of towns at risk of being engulfed by flames got underway.b

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News Network
February 19,2020

New Delhi, Feb 19: An Indian wrestler whose family story was immortalised by Bollywood is hoping to create a blockbuster of her own by becoming her country's first world champion in the high-octane sport of mixed martial arts.

Ritu Phogat, who initially followed her father and two elder sisters into wrestling, is now charting a new path after making an explosive MMA debut in November.

Phogat's father Mahavir, and her sisters Geeta and Babita were the subject of 2016 movie "Dangal", telling the story of the wrestling coach who raised his daughters to become Commonwealth champions.

But Ritu, 25, is forging a different career. After winning her first MMA fight in less than three minutes, she will face China's Wu Chiao Chen at this month's ONE Championship fight night in Singapore, which will be held behind closed doors because of the coronavirus.

The youngest Phogat daughter is trading an attempt at an Olympic medal to tackle MMA, but she said she was attracted by the lure of making history in her new sport.

"I got a chance to train with the best in Singapore and there was no looking back," she told AFP during a promotional event in New Delhi.

"There was the 2020 Olympic Games but I thought that I would do well in mixed martial arts. I have come with an aim of becoming the first girl from India to become a world champion in mixed martial art."

The nimble but strongly built Phogat said wrestlers were a good fit for the fast-growing contact sport, which is yet to take off in India.

"Top seven champions in mixed martial arts are wrestlers, so I believe that wrestlers have an edge in this sport with their ability to take down the opponent," she said.

"It is all a matter of skill. You just have to practise hard. I think MMA is not much different from wrestling in terms of preparation.

"One has to take risks to do something new and as an athlete I am ready to embrace every challenge."

She added: "Without the support of my father and sisters I would not have been where I am. My father always taught me to be far-sighted, hard-working and with strong resolve. Three traits will take you a long way."

Phogat won 48kg gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship and followed it up with a silver in the under-23 world championships the next year.

"She used to watch a lot MMA and one day told me that I will win a gold in this game. So we all backed her and the result is there for everyone to see," he said.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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