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
July 22,2020

Derbyshire, Jul 22: Ahead of the upcoming Test series against England, Pakistan pacer Sohail Khan has credited bowling coach Waqar Younis for teaching him how to swing the ball late.

On the third day of the practice match between Azhar Ali's Team Green and Babar Azam's Team White, the 36-year-old Khan returned figures of five for 50 in 20.1 overs which saw the former fold for 181 in the first innings before they staged a comeback on the final day to win the match by six wickets.

Prior to the practice match, Sohail had a conversation with bowling coach Waqar Younis on the art of late swing. The pacer shared how the presence of the bowling legend in the support staff helped him gear up for the four-day match.

"The conditions in England are swing conducive so every fast bowler gets the ball to move. I asked Waqar bhai to teach me how to swing the ball late. It took him only two minutes to explain it to me. It is because of his tips that I took five wickets in the first innings," Khan said in a release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"I am eager to learn from Waqar Bhai. I follow him wherever he goes and speak to him about the art of bowling as he has an abundance of knowledge to share. A few days back I was struggling with something while bowling, I thought of reaching out to him and even before I spoke to him about it, he said he knew what I wanted to talk to him about and he explained it to me in a minute," he added.

During Pakistan's tour of England in 2016, Sohail played a crucial role in helping Pakistan secure a 2-2 Test series draw by returning two five-wicket hauls in as many matches.

In total, he picked up 13 wickets at 25 apiece and finished as the third-best wicket-taker.

"Definitely, it is an honour for me to return to the side. I had taken two fifers here against England in 2016 and now in the practice match, I have started off with five wickets so I am feeling very good. We had been at our homes for the past four months due to coronavirus so starting off on a high feels nice," Khan said.

Prior to Sohail's five wickets, 17-year-old Naseem Shah made a big impact when he took five wickets for Team Green. The strength of Pakistan's pace attack was further established as Mohammad Abbas and Shaheen Shah Afridi picked up three wickets each providing valuable support to Naseem and Sohail respectively.
Naseem and Shaheen finished the match with six and four wickets respectively.

Shedding light on the youngsters' performances, Sohail said: "It gives me immense pleasure to see Naseem Shah. He bowls consistently at 150kph. Just like him, Shaheen Shah Afridi is another good bowler. I like both of them."

"It gave me great happiness to see Naseem pick five wickets in the first innings. He is in rhythm and is looking great. What is astonishing is that he is playing in these conditions for the first time but still he is doing so well. Shaheen has also been phenomenal," he added.

Pakistan and England are slated to play three Tests and as many T20Is against each other. The first Test will be played at Manchester from August 5.

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear that while they have no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board hosting the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup -- set to be a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup in Australia -- the venue needs to be a neutral one as travelling to the neighbouring country isn't an option at present.

Speaking to news agency, a BCCI official said that the hosting rights is not an issue and it is just a case of picking a neutral venue as the Indian team wouldn't be travelling to Pakistan for the T20 tournament that will see the top Asian teams in action.

"The question isn't about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan," the official said.

In fact, issues in obtaining visa for Pakistan players to come and play the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup in India was one of the major reasons why the tournament was shifted out of the country with BCCI hosting the event in UAE.

The official said that the PCB can do just the same and host the event in a neutral venue. "A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018," the official pointed.

Cricket returned to Pakistan after a decade when Sri Lanka toured the nation in 2019. While Sri Lanka was the first nation to play a full series in the country, Bangladesh is currently in the country as they just finished playing three T20Is. They will play a Test from February 7 to 11 and then play a one-off ODI before playing the second Test from April 5 to 9.

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News Network
February 9,2020

New Delhi, Feb 9: The Indian Fed Cup team will travel to Dubai for this year's competition as the ITF has named the desert city as the new venue for the matches, to be held from March 3 to 7.

The ITF named the new venue after moving out the matches from then Chinese city of Dongguan due to Coronoavirus threat. The Asia/Oceania Group I matches were originally scheduled to be played from February 4-8.

"The event will be held in the week following the ATP Dubai tournament at the same venue, and will see six nations China P.R., Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Korea Rep. and Uzbekistan - compete for a place in the Fed Cup Play-offs in April," an ITF release said.

The six teams will vie for two spots in Fed Cup Play-offs.

"Being in Dubai makes no difference. But the dates give enough time to Sania for her recovery. Doubles is an important point. Ankita is playing well. The other team members will also get some tournament to play under their belt," India's Fed Cup captain Vishal Uppal told news agency.

Sania's participation was under doubt due to a calf injury she aggravated during the Australian Open, where she pulled out of the mixed doubles before retiring mid-way into her women's doubles opening round match.

"I think we have a good chance but we will have to be at our best and fight hard for every point, every game, every set, every match," Uppal added.

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