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Why trials with Sushil? Rio berth is mine, says wrestler Narsingh Yadav

May 11, 2016

Mumbai, May 11: Narsingh Yadav hates media interviews. The Mumbai-based wrestler would rather express himself on the mat, against formidable opponents. On the rare occasions he agrees to be interviewed, the answers are measured, and show his reluctance.

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However, all that has changed since he won a quota place for the Rio Olympics in the 74 kg category by winning a bronze medal at the World Championships last September. That has intertwined his fate with that of India’s most decorated wrestler, Sushil Kumar, as only one of them can go to the Games to be held in August.

The issue has snowballed into a controversy with talk of holding trials to select the rightful competitor for Rio gaining momentum. Sushil, who won bronze and silver in the last two Olympics and is eager to add a third medal, has demanded that trials be held.

Pinned to a corner, and having to defend what he believes is “his right”, the 26-year-old Narsingh has come out swinging with feisty interviews.

“Trial ka toh wajood hi nahi banta. Mera haq hai Rio jaana. (There is no basis to hold trial. It is my right to go to Rio). Whichever wrestler is demanding a trial, ask him if he ever had to undergo one when he went for the Olympics,” Narsingh told HT at Sports Authority of India’s Mumbai campus, his base since he began the sport.

Having spent a lot of time at the national camp in SAI’s Sonepat centre with India’s other top wrestlers, Narsingh is back home at the SAI centre. It is his comfort zone, far from the whisper campaigns and intrigue that has engulfed Sonepat.

Narsingh’s personal coach, Jagmal Singh, who is also the national team’s assistant coach, lends another dimension to the debate whether trials should be held.

“Imagine a scenario where trials are held but the person who wins picks up a serious injury, there would be limited time for recovery. The wrestler would have to go to Rio half-fit. Would that not affect India’s chances of winning a medal?”

While many have said the wishes of a wrestler of Sushil’s stature cannot be ignored, Narsingh is in no mood for such arguments.

“There were trials held for deciding the team for the World Championships, where I won bronze and the quota. Whoever wanted trials should have participated in those trials.”

Jagmal added: “Being asked to undergo a trial would affect any wrestler mentally as he is bound to wonder why he is being asked to do it, that too if he is being asked to go up against someone who has moved up from another weight class.”

While it is yet to become clear whether or when the trials will be held, it seems im

minent the two wrestlers will grapple in the media for what both believe is their right.

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: India skipper Virat Kohli has said that the 2014 Test series against England was the lowest point of his career.

He made the revelation during a candid Instagram Live session with former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

To date, the 2014 Test series in England remains one of the worst Test series for Kohli as he averaged just 13.40 from 10 ten innings with his highest score being 39.

"I felt like as a batsman, you know you are going to get out in the morning as soon as you wake up. That was the time I felt like that there is no chance I am getting runs. And still to get out of bed and just get dressed for the game and to go out there and go through that, knowing that you will fail, was something that ate me up," Kohli told Pietersen.

However, just four years later, Kohli made a triumphant return to England as he scored a century in the opening Test of the 2018 series and finished as the highest run-getter in the series.

Kohli told Pietersen that the performance in 2014 came because he was just thinking about his own batting.

"2014 series happened, for all the younger guys listening, because I was too focused on doing well from a personal point of view. I wanted to get runs. I could never think of what does the team want me to do in this situation," Kohli said.

"I just got too engulfed with England tour - if I perform here, Test cricket, in my mind I am going to feel established and all that crap on the outside, which is not important at all," he added.
During the chat, Kohli talked about his favourite format in cricket and he also revealed the main reason for turning into a vegan.

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Agencies
May 25,2020

Chandigarh, May 25: Legendary former hockey player Balbir Singh Senior died in a private hospital on Monday, his family said.

He was 96 years old. His condition was critical for nearly a fortnight.

He was undergoing treatment at Fortis Mohali and was in a "semi-comatose condition".

He was hospitalised on May 8 with high fever and breathing trouble. His COVID-19 test came negative.

Balbir was part of the Indian teams that won gold at the 1948 London Olympics, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956. His record for most individual goals scored in an Olympic men's hockey final remains unbeaten.

Balbir had set this record when he scored five goals in India's 6-1 win over Netherlands in the gold medal match of the 1952 Games.

He was the head coach of the Indian team for the 1975 men's World Cup, which India won and the 1971 men's World Cup, where India earned a bronze medal. He was also conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri in 1957.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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