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Satisfied with India's performance in World Championships: Gopichand

August 23, 2015

Mumbai, Aug 23: National badminton coach P Gopichand on Saturday expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Indian players in the just-concluded World Championships in Jakarta.

gopichand"This is the first time so many Indian players had qualified for the World Championships. All the players put up a good show. I am happy with the overall performance," said Gopichand at a function.

The former All England men's singles champion was honoured by cyber gaming hub "Smaaash" Sports Foundation for his contribution to Indian badminton through a joint initiative called "Celebrate Sports" with "Bawraas" and given a cheque of Rs 5 lakh for his badminton academy in Hyderabad.

Only Saina Nehwal could end up on the podium, winning the silver in the women's singles, but Gopichand saw quite a few positives from the overall performance of the Indians.

While praising Saina's silver medal winning effort, Gopichand was also happy with the way P V Sindhu (lost in the quarterfinals of women's singles) and K Srikanth (lost in the third round of men's singles) performed in the tournament after battling their way through injuries.

"There were some injury issues. Both are very young and will learn from these experiences," said Gopichand.

World No. 14 Sindhu, who won back-to-back bronze medals in the previous two World Championships, shocked Olympic champion and former World No. 1 Liu Xuerei from China in round two before losing to eighth seed Sung Ji Hyun of Chinese Taipei.

Third seed Srikath, who won the men's singles title at the Yonex Sunrise Indian Open in March, lost to Hu Yun of Hong Kong, seeded 13th, in round three.

Two other Indians also figured in singles events -- H S Prannoy and seasoned professional and London Olympics quarter finalist P Kashyap, but both made early exits.

Prannoy, seeded 11, lost to 7th seed Viktor Axelson of Denmark in three games in round three, 10th seed Kashyap lost to Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Minh in round two.

Seasoned women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also featured in the main draw but could not repeat their bronze medal winning effort of 2011 and lost in the quarterfinals to Japan's Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yanao.

Asked about next year's Rio Olympic Games, Gopichand said it was some way off and there were quite a few tournaments to concentrate on in the run-up to the mega event.

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Agencies
May 9,2020

Tokyo, May 9: As the world continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of Tokyo Game Show have cancelled 2020 showpiece event.

TGS 2020 was slated to be played from September 24 to September 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center. However, there now talks going on for holding an online event instead.

According to the Verge, this is the first time that TGS has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996.

TGS 2020 gained more attention because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

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Agencies
June 4,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 4: Indian men's hockey team defender Harmanpreet Singh is delighted and honoured to be nominated for the Arjuna Award by Hockey India.

The Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal has been nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award while her compatriots Vandana Katariya, Monika and Harmanpreet Singh have been nominated for the Arjuna Award.

"I was extremely delighted to hear the news. It's an honour to be nominated for the Arjuna Award and I am sure the nomination will motivate me to perform even better in the upcoming years. All of us have received tremendous support from Hockey India over the years and I was extremely happy to know that Rani has been nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Vandana Katariya and Monika have been nominated for the Arjuna Award. They have put up some brilliant performances in the recent past and I would like to extend my congratulations to them," Harmanpreet said.

The 24-year-old dragflick sensation stepped up his role in the team and shouldered the responsibility of vice-captain with aplomb. As a defender-dragflicker, he was instrumental in the team's winning performance in the FIH Series Finals in Odisha. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Test Event, he captained the team to victory in the absence of Manpreet Singh who was rested for the tournament.

Harmanpreet was also part of the Indian team that won the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers against Russia last year. Harmanpreet said that he has been able to perform for the team only because of the support he has received from his teammates.

"I am very happy with the way I have been contributing to the team in the last couple of years. However, I have been able to come up with the goods only because of the way my teammates have supported me. Hockey is a team sport and all of us ensure that we are contributing to the team's cause in some way or the other. If we score a goal, then it's not only the goal scorer, who takes the credit, but the entire team is credited for a particular effort," said the defender.

Harmanpreet added that booking a place in the Tokyo Olympic Games was the biggest achievement for the team in 2019.

"It was simply amazing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in front of our home crowd last year. I will cherish the memory forever. The balance of our side was fantastic and everyone chipped in to make the tournament a memorable one. Now, we will give everything we can to come up with great results at the Olympics next year. It's our sole target at the moment and all of us are up for the challenge. Hopefully, we will become a much better side once we play our first match in Tokyo," he said.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Northamptonshire, Jul 31: Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez has tested positive for coronavirus, and as a result, he will miss the British Grand Prix.

The Racing Point driver was absent from the circuit on Thursday after self-isolating following what his team called an "inconclusive" test. Perez then re-tested later in the day and it returned positive.

Formula 1 is following a strict testing regime as part of the safety protocols put in place when racing resumed earlier this month, and this is the first time a driver has tested positive.

"Perez has entered self-quarantine in accordance with the instructions of the relevant public health authorities, and will continue to follow the procedure mandated by those authorities," Formula 1 and the FIA said in a statement.

"With the assistance of the local organiser of the British Grand Prix, local health authorities and the FIA COVID-19 delegate, a full track and trace initiative has been undertaken and all close contacts have been quarantined," the statement added.

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