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Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis will continue to win Grand Slams for next few years: Mahesh Bhupathi

November 11, 2015

Mumbai, Nov 11: India tennis great Mahesh Bhupathi on Tuesday heaped praise on current women's doubles World No.1 Sania Mirza and her partner Swiss veteran Martina Hingis and for their tremendous season this year which saw them clinch nine doubles titles, including two Grand Slams.

BhupathiBhupathi said the Indo-Swiss pair will continue to win Grand Slams for the next few years with the form they are currently in.

The unstoppable duo of Mirza and Swiss veteran Hingis came up with another stupendous performance recently to win the women's doubles title at the prestigious $7 million WTA Finals in Singapore.

It was the pair's ninth title together this season, having also won in Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, US Open (New York), Wimbledon (London), Charleston, Miami and Indian Wells.

Sania also won the Sydney International in January with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands to take her doubles trophy count to 10 this year.

"Sania has been an inspiration. She has really worked hard over the last three years. It is not about just this year she has performed consistently. She is putting herself in a position to win matches," Bhupathi said at a press conference here.

"She has also found someone who can complement each other very well that is Martina Hingis. They are going to continue winning Grand Slams for the next few years," he added.

Bhupathi also opined that alongside mixed doubles, the men's doubles duo of Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes may win medals for India in the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.

"Alongside mixed doubles, men's doubles have a great chance to clinch medals in the Rio Olympics. Both Rohan-Leander are world class players and they also have a great chance to win," the 41-year-old said.

The 15-time Grand Slam winner also praised current World No.89 Yuki Bhambri for breaking into the top 100 of the men's singles in the ATP rankings, adding that will help him play in the main draw of the singles in the Grand Slams next year.

"It has been a very successful year for Indian tennis in the year. Five Grand Slams for the country. Yuki is now 89 in the world and is going to play in the main draw of the singles in the Grand Slam next year. Sumit Nagal and Karman Kaur Thandi are surely the future of Indian tennis in men’s and women’s. Things are moving well," he said.

Bhupathi, who owns Indian Aces a franchise from International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), said he was thrilled to have Rafael Nadal in the team for the next two seasons (2015-2016) after signing Roger Federer in the inaugural season.

"It is great to have Nadal on board. We know how big and effective player he has been and is in the court. After the New Delhi crowd witnessed Federer and Novak Djokovic in the inaugural season, this year they will get to see Nadal face-off against Federer," he said.

When asked about the inclusion of young Indian players in the IPTL, Bhupathi said keeping in mind the world wide broadcast and the top class players in the teams, it will be difficult to fit in budding young players.

"Somdev Devverman has been kept as an alternate player for the Indian Aces. The quality of tennis has to be maintained as it is broadcasted all over the world. Fitting in young and budding Indian players will be difficult here," he said.

Indian Aces co-owner Gulshan Jhurani -- who was also present on the occassion -- said that to make the league popular throughout the country, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai are the venues which have taken into consideration for hosting the IPTL in the future.

"We have got great response from Delhi in inaugural season, But to make IPTL popular in the country we would like to shift it till as many cities as possible. After Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai are the chosen venues," he said.

Nadal, Agnieszka Radwanska, Gael Monfils, Sania, Ivan Dodig, Bopanna, Fabrice Santoro are the seven players in the India Aces squad that will take on the other four franchises -- Philippine Mavericks, UAE Royals, Singapore Slammers and the newly-joined Japan Warriors.

The league will be held from December 2-20 in Kobe, Manila, New Delhi, Dubai and Singapore.

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News Network
January 18,2020

Hobart, Jan 18: In a dream start to her second innings after a two-year break, Sania Mirza lifted the WTA Hobart International trophy with partner Nadiia Kichenok after edging out Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang in the final, here on Saturday.

The unseeded Indo-Ukrainian pair pipped the second seed Chinese team 6-4, 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes.

Playing her first tournament after giving birth to son Izhaan, the 33-year-old Sania has begun well in the Olympic year as she warmed up for the Australian Open in style.

It is Sania's 42nd WTA doubles title and first since Brisbane International trophy in 2007 with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Sania did not compete on the WTA circuit in the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons to start a family with Pakistani cricketer husband Shoaib Malik.

Sania and Nadiia began by breaking the Chinese players in the very first game of the match but only to drop serve in the next.

The two pairs played close games towards the end and at 4-4, 40-all, Sania and Nadiia got the crucial break, earning the opportunity to serve out the set.

There was no twist in 10th game with Sania and Nadiia comfortably pocketing the first set.

The second set could not have started better for them as they broke the Chinese rivals to take early lead and consolidated the break with an easy hold.

The game of the Chinese was falling apart as they dropped serve again in the third but broke back immediately to repair some damage.

Sania and Nadiia were now feeling the heat at 0-30 in the sixth game but Peng and Zhang let them hold serve for a 4-2 lead. The Chinese though kept fighting and made it 4-4 with another break in the eighth game.

The Indo-Ukraine team raised its game when it mattered as it broke Peng and Zhang for one final time in the ninth and served out the match in the next game.

Sania and Nadiia split USD 13580 as prize money and eared 280 ranking points each for their winning effort.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

New Delhi, Aug 6: The BCCI on Thursday suspended the IPL title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the event's upcoming edition amid heightened tensions in Sino-India diplomatic ties.

The BCCI sent out a one-line statement, without giving details, saying that Vivo would not be associated with the IPL this year. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Vivo released its own statement saying that the two entities "have mutually decided to pause their partnership for the 2020 season".

Vivo won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2,190 crore, approximately Rs 440 crore per annum.

The two parties are now working out a plan in which Vivo might come back for a fresh three-year period starting 2021 on revised terms.

However, a top BCCI official offered a different view. "Here we are talking about diplomatic tensions and you expect that after November, when IPL ends and before the next IPL starts in April 2021, there would be no anti-China sentiment? Are we serious?" a veteran BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.

The anti-China sentiment in the country peaked after the violent face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. India lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while China also acknowledged unspecified casualties.

The stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) caused outrage across India with several calls for boycotts of Chinese companies and products.

The BCCI is now likely to float a tender for new IPL title sponsors as mandated by its constitution. The glitzy T20 league starts on Sept. 19 in the UAE, forced out of India due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

The new development is in stark contrast to what came out of Sunday's IPL's Governing Council meeting, where it was decided that Vivo, along with all the other sponsors, will remain on board.

This was after the BCCI had announced in June that all sponsorship deals pertaining to IPL will be reviewed in the aftermath of the clash in the Galwan Valley.

However, after Sunday's meeting, there was a huge backlash on social media about the BCCI holding on to Vivo.

Both parties then began thrashing out an amicable separation plan, at least for this season.

However, the end of this deal could spell losses for the franchises as they get a substantial share from the sponsorship pool. Half of the annual Vivo sponsorship money is distributed equally among eight franchises, which comes to Rs 27.5 crore.

"As of now, it will be very difficult for the BCCI to match the sponsorship amount at such short notice. Therefore, both BCCI and the franchises should be prepared to lose out on some money -- BCCI more but each franchise from Vivo's exit will potentially lose 15 crore," the official said.

"This year will be difficult for everyone but the show must go on," the official said.

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News Network
March 16,2020

Mar 16: With COVID-19 outbreak killing over 5,400 people globally, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has lashed out at those responsible for making the coronavirus infect humans and blamed China solely for the outbreak.

"I don't understand why you have to eat things like bats, drink their blood and urine and spread some virus across the globe...I'm talking about the Chinese people. They have put the world at stake. I really don't understand how you can eat bats, dogs, and cats. I'm really angry," Akhtar said in a video posted on his Youtube channel.

"The whole world is at risk now. The tourism industry has been hit, the economy is badly affected and the whole world is going towards a lockdown.

"I'm not against the people of China but I'm against the law of animals. I understand this may be your culture but this is not benefitting you now, it is killing humanity. I'm not saying you boycott the Chinese but there has to be some law. You cannot go on and eat anything and everything," he added.

Coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, has so far spread to more than 100 countries, infecting over 1,30,000 people.

In Pakistan, the number of positive cases reached 28 on Saturday.

Many sporting events, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL), have been affected by the disease which has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

While the IPL 2020, which was originally scheduled to start from March 29, has been postponed till April 15, the playoff stage of PSL has been curtailed and will be played behind closed doors.

"The biggest reason for anger is PSL...Cricket returned to Pakistan after so many years, the PSL was happening in our country for the first time now even that is at risk. The foreign players are leaving, it will take place behind closed doors," said Akhtar.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases across India has crossed 80 while two people have lost their lives due to the deadly disease. But Akhtar did not have the information and added: "God forbid the virus doesn't reach India. There are around 130 crore people there. I've been in touch with my friends in India and wishing them well."

In PSL, there will be no playoffs and the top four teams will now play semi-finals and then the final on March 17 and 18. The final was originally scheduled to be held on March 22.

"I've also heard that IPL has been postponed till April 15. The hotel industries, travel industries, broadcasters everything will incur losses because of this," he said.

The former Pakistan pacer also called on the world authorities to come out with a new animal protection law so that such diseases don't resurface in the future.

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