Sindhu's vulnerability on counter-attack led to defeats in title clashes: Vimal Kumar

Agencies
April 17, 2018

New Delhi, Apr 17: PV Sindhu appears "vulnerable" on counter-attack and that is a big factor in her losing many a title clashes, including recent CWG final, observed former India coach Vimal Kumar, who believes with little more maturity and bit of luck she will be able to pull off close matches.

Sindhu, an Olympic and World Championship silver medallist, settled for a silver after losing a close final to compatriot Saina Nehwal in Gold Coast. It was yet another final loss for the 22-year-old, who had faced defeat in the finals of Rio Olympics, Glasgow World Championship, Dubai Super Series Final last year and India Super Series and All England Championship this year.

"When Sindhu plays against other girls (compared to match against Saina) , she looked subdued in the final. She didn't have the same sort of aggression that she has when she plays others. What I have noticed is when rallies are long and when there is counterattack, I find Sindhu little vulnerable and Saina exploited that. She kept attacking. But you don't know what would have happened if it had gone to third game," Vimal told PTI.

"Sindhu is still young and she has been playing better against other girls. Unfortunately when she loses everybody criticises but she is just 23, she can convert these situation to her advantage. I think that will happen. With little more maturity, she will do well. A bit of luck is also required.

"In this match also, she gave easy points to Saina. She was not confident of her shots. She was tentative while Saina's body language was totally different, she was looking forward to the final. Had Sindhu lost in the semis, I don't know if Saina would have been as aggressive because she was struggling against other girls."

Vimal, who had trained Saina for around three years after she shifted base to Bangalore in 2014, credited Saina's mental fortitude but said he wasn't too impressed with her performance against other opponents in the tournament.

"You have to give credit to Saina's mental resolve but she was not playing that great. I wasn't impressed with her when she played against the Malaysian girl (Soniia Cheah). She also played a close match against (Kristy) Gilmour but against Sindhu she raised the bar and did exceptionally well.

"The Rio Olympics was a big disappointment for her, she had won the Australian Open and she was shaping up well. I was personally very disappointed as well but then she came back well and last world championship she won bronze after losing close match to Okuhara, she went through injury crisis again." Vimal said Saina can regain her best form if she stays fit and doesn't overtrain.

 "It will give her a lot of confidence and I have always said that if she can stay injury free and take care of her body and not over train or do too many things, rest of things will fall into place and she can still perform and be at her best. I feel she still has 2-3 years," said Vimal, who had represented India at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

The 55-year-old said the mixed team gold was the highlight of India's campaign at Commonwealth Games and if the team can continue in the same vein, the country can win the Thomas and Uber Cup titles next month.

"I would rate beating Malaysia in the final as more creditable. That stands out for me, getting that gold. Overall we have shown progress in mixed doubles, men's doubles, women's doubles and that is creditable. Ashwini and Sikki did well, Satwik and Chirag could have got the gold and that would have been a big achievement," Vimal said.

"Malaysia coach Tan Kim her is doing a good job. If we can continue this, we have a good chance of winning the Thomas Cup and also a good possibility of winning the Uber Cup as well. We have won a bronze earlier. So if Sikki and Ashwini can pull off their match and Sindhu and Saina can pull off their matches, we can win.

"But I think more chance of winning in Thomas Cup because our men's singles players can beat anybody in the world. We have a decent combination in Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, they can also pull out matches. But all of them have to be injury free. It would be a good test for us," he added.

Vimal also hoped Kidambi Srikanth or H S Prannoy can earn India a gold medal in Asian Games, something the country has never achieved. "Next will come the Asian games.

There unlike in CWG, the opposition will be very tough because China, Korea, Malaysia, all the top nations will be there but they also have restricted number of entries. "So in that aspect, I hope Srikanth and Prannoy can get us a medal, we won a bronze but never got a silver or gold. I remember in 1982, Prakash (Padukone) was expected to win a gold but they didn't allow him to play as he was a professional."

Vimal also termed the scheduling at the Commonwealth Games as "harsh". "I thought the scheduling was harsh. They had to play the bronze medal match after losing the semifinals. Players were playing in the morning and then immediately to play the bronze medal it was tough. "It was physically tough for them. Sikki and Ashwini had played a lot of matches in the team championship. Overall we can give a lot of credit to them."

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News Network
July 23,2020

New Delhi, Jul 23: With one year to go for the Olympic Games to begin in Tokyo on July 23, 2021, Indian women's hockey team skipper Rani Rampal on Thursday said the side has performed well against top teams in recent times and can do the same at the Olympics.

The Indian team has competed well against top teams in the recent past and has registered memorable victories at the FIH Series Finals and the FIH Olympic Qualifiers last year.

"We have competed against top teams in the recent past and we have shown that our team has the capability of winning a medal and making our country proud at the Olympics. We have a good group of experienced players, who are guiding the junior players very well. Our team has been getting better with each tournament we have played and we will definitely improve our game even further in the next one year," said the 25-year-old said in a statement.

Speaking about her participation at the Olympics, Rani said that the experience will help her make better decisions at the Tokyo Olympics.

"It was great to be a part of the Olympics in Rio. We made history by qualifying for the tournament after 36 years. It was a great feeling to be playing at the biggest of stages. Even though we didn't register the best of results, I have certainly learned a lot by playing the Olympic Games matches in 2016. I am sure all the players, who played in the 2016 Olympics, will make much better decisions on the pitch at the Tokyo Olympics, based on their experience in Rio," she said.

The Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021, while the Paralympics will take place from August 24 to September 5, 2021.  

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News Network
April 2,2020

New Delhi, Apr 2: It was on April 2, 2011, when the Men in Blue went on to win their second 50-over World Cup title.

India won its first World Cup in 1983 and then had to wait for 28 years to again lift the title.
Going into the 2011 tournament, India went in as the clear favourites as the competition was to be played in the sub-continent.

Under MS Dhoni's leadership, India lost just one match in the competition against South Africa.
India had defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final to set up a summit clash with Sri Lanka.

In the finals, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. Mahela Jayawardene top-scored for Sri Lanka as he struck a century to take the team's score to 274/6.

India in their chase got off to a bad start as the side lost Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag with just 31 runs on the board.

But Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni stepped up and stitched a match-winning 109-run partnership.

Gambhir perished after playing a knock of 97 runs, but in the end, Dhoni and Yuvraj took the team over the line by six wickets.

The winning six struck by Dhoni is still viewed as one of the most exciting moments in India's sporting history. 

As the winning six was hit, Ravi Shastri was doing commentary then, and he famously remarked, "Dhoni, finishes it off in style, India lifts the World Cup after 28 years".
As soon as the match-winning shot was hit, Tendulkar erupted with joy and had tears to see his dream finally being fulfilled.

Earlier this year, former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the 2011 World Cup win, titled 'Carried On the Shoulders Of A Nation', was voted the greatest Laureus Sporting Moment of the last twenty years.

The lap after the World Cup is still edged into everyone's hearts.

Playing in his last mega 50-over tournament, it was the last chance for Tendulkar to lift the coveted trophy.

Before the 2011 World Cup, Tendulkar had played five tournaments (1992,1996,1999,2003 and 2007), and he fell short every time.

The closest he came to winning the trophy was in 2003 as India made the finals under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly.

But the Men in Blue fell short in the finals against Australia.

Then in 2007, the biggest setback was in store for the legend has India bowed out of the tournament in the group stages.

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News Network
May 14,2020

May 14: Veteran South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis has proposed a two-week isolation period for players before and after the T20 World Cup as a way to stage the event as per schedule later this year.

Like other sports, cricketing action too has come to a complete halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fate of the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October-November is shrouded in uncertainty.

Talking to Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal, du Plessis said travel was going to be an issue despite Australia being less affected by the deadly contagion.

"I am not sure... reading that travelling is going to be an issue for lot of countries and they are talking about December or January. Even if Australia is not affected like other countries, to get people from Bangladesh, South Africa or India where there is more danger, obviously it's a health risk to them," du Plessis said.

"But you can go in before the tournament (for) two weeks isolation and then play the tournament and afterwards two weeks isolation," said the former captain.

Several countries across the globe, including South Africa, Australia and India, have travel restrictions in place and the veteran Proteas batsman joked travelling by boat is not an option.

"But I don't know when South Africa will open their travel ban because we can't go there like old days on boats," du Plessis said.

In March, South Africa's ODI series against India was called off after the first match in view of the pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreak, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected more than 44 lakh people worldwide while causing close to 3 lakh deaths.

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