Sport is a great leveller! Sania on India's victory over Pak in hockey, defeat in cricket

New Delhi, Jan 31: Indian women's team captain Rani Rampal on Thursday became the first-ever hockey player to win the prestigious 'World Games Athlete of the Year' award.

The World Games announced the winner on Thursday after 20 days of polling by sports fans world-wide.

"Indian hockey superstar Rani is The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019! Huge congratulations!," the World Games said in a statement.

"With an impressive number of votes, 199,477, Rani is the clear winner of the Athlete of the Year race, where sports fans all over the world have voted for their favourite during 20 days of polling in January. All in all, over 705,610 votes were cast during the poll," it added.

Last year, India won the FIH Series Finals, and Rani was named Player of the Tournament. Under Rani's leadership, the Indian women's team qualified for just the third Olympic Games in its history.

"I dedicate this award to the entire hockey fraternity, my team and my country. This success has only become possible with the love and support from hockey lovers, fans, my team, coaches, Hockey India, my government, friends from Bollywood, fellow sportspersons and my countrymen who have continuously voted for me," said Rani, who was recently named among the Padma Shri awardees.

"Special thanks to FIH for nominating me for this prestigious award. Thank you to The World Games Federation for this recognition," she added.

Rani further said after a successful 2019, she is now looking forward to achieving greater heights with the national team in 2020, which also happens to be an Olympic year.

"It is my privilege and honour to win this award. It is always nice when your country recognises your effort. It is even better when the international sports community recognises it. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me," she said.

"2019 was a great year for our team because we qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. As a team we want to make 2020 a great year!"

Rani, who has been a member of the national team since she was a 15-years-old, currently has more than 240 caps for India.

"Rani is an inspirational athlete, and a role model for many in India. It was amazing to see the support the Indians, even as high up as Mr Rijiju, the Minister of State, Youth Affairs and Sports, gave to her in this vote together with the Hockey fans all around the world. This is what sport is about: uniting people from different backgrounds and different countries," said International World Games Association President Jose Perurena.

The International Hockey Federation also congratulated Rani on being named for the award.

"Congratulations @imranirampal for becoming the first ever Hockey athlete to win the prestigious @TheWorldGames Athlete of the Year award!" the FIH, who nominated Rani for the award, said in its twitter handle.

"On behalf of FIH and the global hockey community, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Rani for having been voted The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019. This is an acknowledgement of her outstanding performances - together with her team-mates - and her dedication to hockey and her leadership," FIH CEO Thierry Weil said.

"This prestigious Award is also a great recognition for hockey globally. Furthermore, we are working hard for and looking forward to having Hockey 5s as a demonstration sport at The World Games 2021."

Congratulating Rani, Hockey India President Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad said, "This is a very proud moment for all of us. She is the first Indian athlete to win this award and through her achievements Rani has been able to draw a lot of attention towards women's hockey. Many people are aware of the team's recent accomplishments and I am confident this team is capable of winning larger goals and I wish Rani and the team best of luck this Olympic Year."

There were initially 25 nominees, male and female nominated by their respective sports federations, which was later reduced to 10 in the final round of public voting.

The FIH has recommended Rani's name for her outstanding performances and her ability to lead by example.

Karate star Stanislav Horuna of Ukraine was second behind Rani with over 92,000 votes and Canadian powerlifting world champion Rhaea Stinn was third.

Tokorozawa, Jul 9: Olympic boxing hopeful Arisa Tsubata is used to taking blows in the ring but it is during her work as a nurse that she faces her toughest opponent: coronavirus.

The 27-year-old juggles a brutal training regime in boxing gloves with long, irregular hours in surgical gloves at a hospital near Tokyo.

Tsubata mainly treats cancer patients but she said the virus was a constant threat, with medical experts warning at the peak of the pandemic that Japan's health system was close to collapse.

"We always face the risk of infection at medical facilities," she said.

"My colleagues and I have all worked under the stress of possibly getting infected."

Like most elite athletes, the virus played havoc with Tsubata's training schedules, meaning she welcomed the postponement of this year's Tokyo Olympics until 2021.

"It was a plus for me, giving me more time for training, although I wasn't sure if I should be so happy because the reason for the postponement was the spread of the infectious disease," she said.

Tsubata took up boxing only two years ago as a way to lose weight but quickly rose through the ranks.

"In a few years after becoming a nurse, I gained more than 10 kilos (22 pounds)," she laughed.

"I planned to go to Hawaii with my friends one summer, and I thought I wouldn't have much fun in a body like that. That is how I started boxing."

She quickly discovered a knack for the ring, winning the Japan national championship and a place on the national team.

But juggling her medical and sporting career has not always been easy and the first time she fought a foreign boxer came only in January, at an intensive training camp in Kazakhstan.

"That made me realise how inexperienced I am in my short boxing career. I was scared," she admitted.

Japanese boxing authorities decided she was not experienced enough to send her to the final qualifying tournament in Paris, which would have shattered her Tokyo 2020 dreams -- if coronavirus had not given her an extra year.

Now she is determined to gain the experience needed to qualify for the rescheduled Games, which will open on July 23, 2021.

"I want to train much more and convince the federation that I could fight in the final qualifiers," she said.

Her coach Masataka Kuroki told AFP she is a subtle boxer and a quick learner, as he put her through her paces at a training session.

She now needs to add more defensive technique and better core strength to her fighting spirit and attacking flair, said Kuroki.

"Defence! She needs more technique for defence. She needs to have a more agile, stronger lower body to fend off punches from below," he said.

Her father Joji raised Arisa and her three siblings single-handedly after separating from his Tahitian wife and encouraged his daughter into nursing to learn life-long skills.

He never expected his daughter to be fighting for a place in the Olympics but proudly keeps all her clippings from media coverage.

"She tried not to see us family directly after the coronavirus broke out," the 58-year-old told AFP. "She was worried."

Tsubata now want to compete in the Games for all her colleagues who have supported her and the patients that have cheered her on in her Olympic ambitions.

"I want to be the sort of boxer who keeps coming back no matter how many punches I take," she said.

"I want to show the people who cheer for me that I can work hard and compete in the Olympics, because of them."

New Delhi, Jun 25: India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday called the 1983 World Cup win as the 'landscape' changing moment for the game of cricket in the country.

Today, India is celebrating the completion of the 37 years of the maiden World Cup triumph under the leadership of Kapil Dev.

"Today 37 years ago, changed the cricketing landscape in India. Thank you @therealkapildev and team for making the game a career for many of us today. Deeply indebted," Ashwin tweeted.

In 1983, in the finals between India and West Indies, the latter won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Kapil Dev-led side managed to score just 183 runs as Andy Roberts took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes picked up two wickets each.

Defending 183, India did a good job of keeping a check on the Windies run flow, reducing the side to 57/3.

Soon after, the team from the Caribbean was reduced to 76/6 and India was the favourites from there on to win the title.

Mohinder Amarnath took the final wicket of Michael Holding to give India their first-ever World Cup title win.

In the finals, West Indies was bowled out for 140, and as a result, India won the match by 43 runs.

Kapil Dev lifting the trophy at the balcony of Lord's Cricket Ground still remains an image to savour for all the Indian fans.

In the finals, Mohinder Amarnath was chosen as the Man of the Match as he scored 26 runs with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball.

India has been the regular participant in the World Cup from its beginning to the latest edition. The first edition was held in 1975 and from there on, it has taken place after a span of every four years.

West Indies won the first two World Cup titles (1975, 1979) and was the runner-up in 1983. India has won the title two times, in 1983 and in 2011.

MS Dhoni captained the 2011 team to win their second title after 28 years. Australia has won the tournament five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015).