Will work harder than ever for Olympic medal: Dipa Karmakar

April 22, 2016

New Delhi, Apr 22: A long cherished dream of qualifying for the Olympics achieved, India's history-making gymnast Dipa Karmakar on Thursday said that she will leave no stone unturned in her quest for a medal in the Rio Games later this year.

Dipa returned to a hero's welcome early in the morning three days after she became the first Indian woman to qualify for Olympics at a qualifying event in the same Brazilian city.

Karmakar"Since the time I started gymnastics, I wanted to compete at the Olympics. I had dreamt that one day I will compete at the Olympics and bring laurels for my country. I have qualified for the Olympics now," 22-year-old Dipa told reporters with a sigh of relief.

"Now, I will work harder than before and hopefully I can win a medal at the Rio Olympics. I will put every effort to ensure that I keep creating history. That is my target now," said Dipa who reached here after a 36-hour-long flight from Rio de Janeiro.

Asked about the effort she had to put in to qualify for the Olympics, the Tripura girl said, "I wanted to qualify for the Olympics last November during the World Championships (where she finished fifth). But that did not happen (a podium finish was required)."

"So, my target at the Rio Test event was to qualify at any cost and I am happy that I have achieved my target," Dipa said.

Dipa qualified in artistic gymnastics for the Olympics after she garnered a total score of 52.698 points. Apart from being the first Indian woman gymnast, she also became first from the country to qualify for the Olympics after 52 long years.

Since the independence of the country, 11 Indian male gymnasts have taken part in the Olympics (two in 1952, three in 1956 and six in 1964).

Despite all the accolades she has got after her feat, the Tripura girl sought to remain grounded and said she does not consider herself as a star sportsperson.

"I am not a star. Nothing like that. I don't think on those lines. My job is to keep working harder and bring laurels for the country. Doing well in the Olympics is my immediate target now," she said.

Asked if the infrastructure provided by the Sports Authority of India here would be good enough for her to prepare for the Olympics, Dipa said, "I think the infrastructure is good here. At the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, we have the foam pit (to protect gymnasts from dangerous falls) and SAI has promised me to bring a new springboard in two days time.

"Now my job is to focus on my training and do well at the Olympics. To do that, I need help from everyone in my endeavour."

Dipa dedicated her Olympic qualification to her long-time coach Bisheshwar Nandi who has been her coach since she was a six-year-old

"It was very difficult but I have got a great mentor because of whom, I am here. Without him nobody would have known my name. I dedicate my achievement to my coach," she said.

Asked about the Produnova vault she performed in Rio, which very few top gymnasts can do because of the risk involved, Dipa said, "To achieve something, you have to take risk. I am thankful that special arrangements were made at the Indira Gandhi Stadium where I practiced and learnt Produnova vault.

"Otherwise it would have been impossible. So, I am thankful to Sports Authority of India and also to Gymnastics Federation of India. The words of praise from the Prime Minister, Sports Minister and from other top sportspersons were really encouraging."

Nandi said that Dipa's best is yet to come and her hunger for perfection would take her to places.

"She is a girl hungry for perfection. She is stubborn also and she won't stop before doing something which she wants to do. These traits of her, I have used to my advantage," he said.

"The performance at the test event in Rio was her best so far but her best is yet to come. She can do better than this in Rio," he said.

Nandi, also from Agartala, refrained from making tall claims about the Olympics and simply said his ward will give her best and the result can be anything.

"I will not say anything about the results in Olympics. I will not make any predictions about Dipa. Gymnastics is a sport different from others. It is technical as well as unpredictable. Everything depends on the day of the event, on the performance.

"The best in the business can slip during the performance and anything can happen. So, we will try hard, very hard and give our best and keep fingers crossed," he said.

Dipa and Nandi will take a short break and spend some time in Tripura before starting intense preparation for the Rio Olympics.

"I think we do not need to go abroad for Dipa's training, we have good facilities at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and SAI has promised that whatever is required will be provided to us. So, we will start our preparation very soon and we can achieve our target."

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News Network
July 6,2020

Karachi, Jul 6: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has said that questions will be raised if Indian Premier League is slotted in the window allotted to ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, which in all likelihood will be cancelled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ICC is yet to decide the fate of the T20 World Cup in Australia which is scheduled to take place from October 18 to November 15.

"There are rumors that the World Cup was clashing with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Australia-India series, therefore, it (T20 World Cup) won't take place," Inzamam said in his YouTube channel on Sunday.

"The Indian board is strong and has control in the International Cricket Council (ICC). If Australia says that we cannot hold the World Cup because of the Covid-19 pandemic, then their stance will be easily accepted, but if any such kind event happens during the same time, then questions will be raised," he said.

The 50-year-old former batsman, who has scored 8,830 runs in 120 Tests and 11,739 runs in 378 ODIs for Pakistan, further said, "People will think, if a country could host 12 to 14 teams (16 teams), then why the ICC could not look after the teams, after all Australia is such an advanced country.

"Another thing is the ICC should not be allowed to give priority to private leagues (IPL) on international cricket. This will lead to young players forcing on private leagues other than international matches."

The former coach, however, agreed that it is not easy to host 16 nations during the T20 World Cup.

"Australia can say that it was difficult for it to manage 18 teams (16) for the mega event as it is not easy. Likewise, the Pakistan team was in England in a hotel and all the facilities were being provided there, therefore, it has not been easy to manage 18 teams (16)," he said.

The fate of Asia Cup which PCB will be hosting in a neutral country for security reason is also an issue as no one knows the fate of the tournament originally scheduled in September.

Inzamam said: "I have also heard that objections are also raised on the dates of the Asia Cup as it is clashing with some other event.

"The ICC, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and all cricket boards should sit together and give a strong message that any such kind of impression (giving priority to private leagues instead of international cricket), won't take place," he said.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Jan 17: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza cruised into the women's doubles final of the Hobart International with her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok here on Friday.

Sania and Kichenok sailed past the Slovenian-Czech pair of Tamara Zidansek and Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (3) 6-2 in the semifinal contest that lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Ukrainian combination will lock horns with second seeds Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang of China. The Chinese pair got a walkover after Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens and Alison Van Uytvanck conceded the other semifinal match because of injury.

While Sania and Kichenok had to fight hard in the opening set, the second set was a cakewalk for the combination.

The first set was a tough contest between the two pairs, bringing the tie-breaker into the equation after it was level at 6-6.

In the tie-breaker, Sania and Kichenok upped their game by a few notches to outsmart their opponents and take the lead.

The second set was a no-contest as Saina and Kichenok broke their opponents thrice -- in the second, sixth and eighth game -- to easily pocket the set and a place in the summit clash.

Saina and Kichenok got 11 break chances out of which they converted four, while their opponents utilised two out of the five break chances that came their way.

The 33-year-old Sania is returning to the WTA circuit after two years. During her time away from the game, she battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break in April 2018 to give birth to her son Izhaan. She is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

Before the ongoing event, Sania last played at China Open in October 2017.

A trailblazer in Indian tennis, Sania is a former world No.1 in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles to her credit.

She retired from the singles competition in 2013 after becoming the most successful Indian woman tennis player.

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News Network
June 22,2020

Zadar (Croatia), Jun 22: Grigor Dimitrov took to Instagram to announce that he has tested positive for coronavirus. The tennis star was one of the players who took part in the Adria Tour with the likes Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem among others.

Taking to Instagram, the player wrote: "Hi Everyone-I want to reach out and let my fans and friends know that I tested positive back in Monaco for Covid-19. I want to make sure anyone who has been in contact with me during these past days gets tested and takes the necessary precautions. I am so sorry for any harm I might have caused. I am back home now and recovering. Thanks for your support and please stay safe and healthy."

He also urged those who had come in contact with him over the last few days in Monaco should also get tested for the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, World no.1 Djokovic reached the final of his exhibition tournament in Zadar, Croatia, after easing through the round-robin group stage on the first day. This is the second stage of the Adria Tour with Austrian Dominic Thiem winning the first leg in Belgrade, Serbia.

Djokovic started by saving three set points in his 4-3, 4-1 win over fellow Serb Pedja Krstin. He then beat home favourite Borna Coric 4-1, 4-3 in front of several thousand fans at the Visnjik tennis complex.

The tournament in Zadar is being played on red clay over two days. In the other group, Russian Andrey Rublev is in pole position to advance into the final after wins over 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic and Serb Danilo Petrovic. He faces German star Alexander Zverev in the final round robin match on Sunday who stayed in contention after beating Cilic 4-3, 0-4, 4-3.

Djokovic''s own inconsequential final group match is against Croatian Dino Serdarusic who replaced Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian pulled out of the tournament with sickness following his opening 4-1, 4-1 loss to Coric.

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