Sania Mirza counters Madhya Pradesh govt’s charges

December 3, 2015

New Delhi, Dec 3: Seeking to counter charges levelled against her by the Madhya Pradesh government, tennis star Sania Mirza on Thursday issued a statement justifying the need for a chartered plane to attend the central Indian state's annual sports awards ceremony.sania

Reports emerged earlier this week that the 29-year-old had asked for a chartered plane and a make-up kit worth Rs.75,000 to attend the function on Saturday which was postponed to Tuesday.

When the demands were heard, state Sports Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia declined to meet them and instead brought in chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand as the chief guest for the event.

Sania responded to the controversy through her managing agency KWAN. "We had been directly dealing with the concerned persons in order to facilitate Sania Mirza's visit for the event in which she was very keen to participate. It was to take place in Bhopal on November 28 and we are well acquainted with the negotiations that were under way," KWAN chief operating officer (COO) Indranil Blah said in a statement.
The statement refuted the claims she asked for "Rs.5 lakh" to attend the function but admitted the star did demand a private jet.

"There was never any demand for an amount of Rs.5 lakh on this occasion made by the agency, as suggested by the media reports," said Blah.

"As Sania Mirza was already committed to participate in an event in Goa on November 29, and since the commercial flights were taking her seven hours to fly from Bhopal to Goa, it was practically impossible for her to be physically present for both these events unless she was accorded the facility of a private jet for flying from Bhopal to Goa."

"Hence, the request for a private jet had to be made for just the outgoing flight from Bhopal to ensure that Sania Mirza could honour her commitment in Goa - a commitment that had been made more than a month ago," Blah added.

The World No.1 women's doubles player is currently in Kobe, Japan, playing in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

"The practical impossibility of getting a popular celebrity to be present in two different corners of the country within a short span of time sometimes has to be tackled in this unusual manner and we are disappointed at the distasteful, damaging comments being floated against Sania Mirza by certain sections," said Blah.

"It is particularly distressing for the agency as well as our client since we were given the impression by the negotiating official from Madhya Pradesh that as it was practically impossible for Sania Mirza to attend the event on November 28, another date would be mutually decided upon for the same event when our client had more time available."

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News Network
March 28,2020

Milan, Mar 28: Juventus star Paulo Dybala revealed how he "struggled to breathe" after contracting coronavirus which has killed over 9,000 people in Italy.

The Argentine international announced last Saturday he was one of three Juventus players to catch the virus along with Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi, who both had no symptoms.

"I feel better now after some strong symptoms," the 26-year-old Dybala told JTV channel.

"A couple of days ago I was not well, I felt heavy and after five minutes of movement I had to stop because I was struggling to breathe.

"Now I can move and walk to start trying to train, because when I tried in the past few days I started to shake too much.

"I gasped for air and as a result I couldn't do anything, after five minutes I was already very tired, I felt the body heavy and my muscles hurt.

"Now I'm fine. My fiancee Oriana (Sabatini) has also overcome the symptoms."

Dybala has scored 13 goals in all competitions this season, including in league leader's Juventus's last game against Inter Milan before Serie A and all sport in Italy was suspended.

"The goal against Inter was the greatest emotion, (Aaron) Ramsey provided the perfect assist - it's a pity that there was no public," added Dybala.

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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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Agencies
January 25,2020

Headingley, Jan 25: England have become the first team in the world to score 500,000 runs in Test cricket. They achieved the feat during the ongoing fourth and final Test against South Africa being played at The Wanderers.

On Friday - the opening day of the Test match -- England captain Joe Root's single through the covers took the Three Lions to a landmark 500,000 run-mark in the longest format of the game. They achieved the feat in their 1022nd Test match.

Australia comes second in the list, with 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India, meanwhile, are third, with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, followed by West Indies (270,441 runs in 545 Tests).

In the third Test played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, England had become the first team to play 500 Test matches on foreign soil. Australia are the second team to play the most away Test with 404 matches they have played so far.

India have played 268 Tests on foreign soil in which they have won 51, lost 113 and 104 have ended in a draw.

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