Vijender rocks in pro debut, thrashes Whiting

October 11, 2015

Manchester, Oct 11: Star Indian boxer Vijender Singh made a smashing professional debut by knocking out Britain's Sonny Whiting here today, ruthlessly demolishing the man, who promised to put him through hell at the Manchester Arena.

VijenderVijender won the contest with a few seconds left in the third of the four-round bout via Technical Knockout, pushing Whiting literally on to the ropes and smacking him with a combination of jabs and uppercuts before the referee stepped in to stop the contest.

Strolling in confidently to the beats of Punjabi song, the 29-year-old hardly looked a debutant as he got down to business against Whiting.

In fact, it was Whiting, who looked timid and unsure of what to do against the clinical Indian. Nimble-footed and precise, Vijender used his long reach to full advantage against his 26-year-old rival, who is himself merely four-bouts old in the pro circuit.

"Thanks to all my fans. My next fight will be Oct 30 in Harrow, enjoy it. It's new for me but I've been working hard. It's going well, I want to win! That's just the beginning," said the Haryana-lad after a resounding start to his pro career.

Vijender treaded cautiously to start with, taking a measure of Whiting in the opening three minutes. However, that did not stop him from landing a few clean jabs to clinch the initiative.

The Indian grew in confidence in the second round against the erratic Whiting, whose attacking strategy went haywire with every passing second.

Vijender, on the other hand, was a picture of composure despite the home fans loudly cheering for the local favourite.

Moving quite literally like a butterfly, India's first Olympic and World Championships medallist stung quite hard, smashing through his opponent's defences with the razor-sharp accuracy.

"I am very happy for this win. It's just a beginning as I have to go a long way. I will work more hard and have to be Professional champion one day," Vijender later said.

"I never got nervous during the bout. My punches have replied to Sonny Whiting in the ring. Its new for me but I have been working hard. Its going well. I want to win, win and win," declared India's greatest ever boxer.

The effort put in to improve his jabbing by his renowned trainer Lee Beard was there to be seen as Vijender had Whiting scurrying for cover. His foot movement remarkably rhythmic, Vijender pummelled Whiting in the second round with his combination of hooks and jabs.

In contrast, Whiting could never really get going and match the claims of giving his greenhorn rival a very rude welcome.

The Brit struggled to match Vijender's ability to shift gears within seconds and had himself tied up in knots while trying to counter-attack.

It all fell apart for him in the third round when Vijender cornered him on the ropes and let loose a flurry of punches which stopped only after the referee stepped to rescue Whiting.

In the end, the soft-spoken Indian had a faint smile on his face and had his arm lifted in celebration as he lived up to the pre-bout promise of speaking only through punches.

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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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Agencies
February 7,2020

New Delhi, Feb 7: It was on February 7, 1999, that Anil Kumble became just the second bowler in the history of cricket to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.

He achieved the feat against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, now known as Arun Jaitley cricket stadium in Delhi during the second Test of the two-match series.

India had set Pakistan a target of 420 runs in the match and the visitors got off to a steady start as openers Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar put on 101 runs for the first wicket.

It was then Kumble who came into the attack and wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batting line-up.

The spinner, also known as 'Jumbo' first dismissed Afridi (41) in the 25th over. After the right-handed batter's dismissal, India kept on taking wickets through Kumble and Pakistan was reduced to 128/6 in no time.

Kumble then kept on taking wickets at regular intervals and he got his tenth scalp in the 61st over after dismissing Wasim Akram.

This effort enabled India to register a win by 212 runs, and Kumble became the second bowler after England's Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in a single Test inning.

Kumble finished with the bowling figures of 10-74 from 26.3 overs.

Kumble announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 and finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.

He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).

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News Network
January 29,2020

Hamilton, Jan 29: India defeated New Zealand in the third T20 International via Super Over to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series here on Wednesday.

India posted a competitive 179 for five at Seddon Park after being sent into bat. Opener Rohit Sharma top scored for India with a 65-run knock while skipper Virat Kohli contributed 38 runs in team's total.

Later, skipper Kane Williamson smashed a 48-ball 95 but New Zealand faltered in the final over to take the match into the Super Over.

Needing nine runs of the last over, New Zealand lost Williamson and Ross Taylor to finish at 179 for six and tie the match.

In the Super Over, New Zealand scored 17, a target which India overwhelmed in the final ball with Rohit smashing Tim Southee for two consecutive sixes.

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