You are lucky to have Tendulkar, Dhoni: Henriques

March 11, 2013

dhoni-sachin

Mohali, Mar 11: India is lucky to have the experience of senior players such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar and it would be a big challenge for Australia to make a comeback in the third Test, all-rounder Moises Henriques said.

"It's a different challenge. It is certainly very tough to win over here, to win Test matches over here, against very experienced Indian team and very experienced Indian spinners," Henriques told a press conference after his team had an extended session at the nets.

"You have guys like (M S) Dhoni and (Sachin) Tendulkar still leading the team around as senior players, obviously it very lucky to have those characters around. They are very strong team, especially here (at home) and they play very well. So it's a big challenge for all of us.

"For a lot of Australian players it is their first tour to India, so it is a new challenge. We are all doing as much we can to learn from every match we play here. We got to learn faster because we need to win this Test match," he added.

Australia themselves are lacking in experience after the retirement of stalwarts such as Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey recently.

Henriques heaped praise on Indian spinners R Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh, terming them as "fantastic bowlers" and said they have to take positives from the two Test losses and quickly learn from their mistakes.

"Obviously we have to learn from what we haven't done well in the first couple of Test matches. Obviously, we lost a lot of wickets to spin. We haven't scored enough runs as we should have," he said.

Asked what was the message from their team management after two losses in Chennai and Hyderabad, Henriques said, "The message is basically to stay positive and stay truthful to your plans and if you have a plan keep backing it and if you don't (then) to find out what the right plan is for you."

The all-rounder, who has just featured in two Tests, said the break ahead of the third Test has helped the team to think and strategise their plans.

"I think with a little bit of break between the second and third test allowed players time to work on making sure they know their plans and executing what their plan is," Henriques said.

The 26-year-old said Australia will look to target the first session of play to get off to a positive start.

"I think the first session whether be it with bat and ball, we want to make it a good one so that we can start off the Test very well," he said.

Asked about his own performance, Henriques said he would look to make more impact with the ball.

"I feel I am playing my role with the ball keeping it tight, but limited impact in terms of getting breakthroughs and things like that. I had a very quiet second Test match. If selected in the Third, hopefully, I can impact the game a little bit more," he said.

The struggling Australian side has been dealt a further blow after wicketkeeper Matthew Wade injured his ankle, putting him in doubt for the Mohali Test, starting on Thursday.

Though Henriques said that Wade was in "pretty good spirits in the change room", the team's media manager Matt Cenin said things will be much clearer tomorrow.

"He was playing basketball (on Saturday, at a private school in Chandigarh) when he sprained his ankle. He had a scan done this morning and have sent these back to Australia to be reviewed by our specialists and we should have update sometime tomorrow," Cenin said.

Wade was in doubt ahead of the second Test as well after he fractured his cheekbone during training but he played with the pain and scored a 62 in the first innings.

Brad Haddin, who played four Tests in India during the 2008 tour by the Australians, has been now put on standby for injured Wade.

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News Network
March 19,2020

Geneva, Mar 19: Regional Olympic officials are rallying around the IOC and have backed its stance on opening the Tokyo Games as scheduled, as direct criticism from gold medalist athletes built amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Leaders of continental Olympic groups praised the IOC after a conference call Wednesday to update them on coronavirus issues four months before the opening ceremony in Tokyo on July 24.

"We are living through an unpredictable crisis and as such, it is important that we have one policy, expressed by the IOC, and we follow that policy in unison," the Italy-based European Olympic Committees said.

However, when the International Olympic Committee published an interview with its president, Thomas Bach, after a separate call with athlete representatives, it prompted a four-time Olympic champion to urge postponing the games.

Bach acknowledged that many athletes were concerned about qualifying events being canceled, but noted that there were still four months to go until the games are set to be opened.

"We will keep acting in a responsible way in the interests of the athletes," Bach said.

British rowing great Matthew Pinsent wrote on Twitter that the comments from Bach, his former IOC colleague, were "tone deaf."

"The instinct to keep safe (not to mention obey govt instructions to lock down) is not compatible with athlete training, travel and focus that a looming Olympics demands of athletes, spectators organisers," Pinsent wrote.

Responding to the criticism from Hayley Wickenheiser, a four-time Olympic hockey gold medalist, the IOC said it was "counting on the responsibility and solidarity of the athletes."

Members reinforce faith in IOC

The IOC repeated its steadfast stance after a conference call with sports governing bodies, many of which have not completed qualification events for Tokyo.

"There is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage; and any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive," the IOC said.

That message was repeated after Wednesday's conference call by IOC executive board member Robin Mitchell, the interim leader of the group of national Olympic bodies known as ANOC.

"We share the view that we must be realistic, but not panic," Mitchell said in a statement released by the IOC on behalf of the Oceania Olympic group.

Offering unanimous support for the IOC's efforts to resolve qualification issues, the 41-nation Pan-American group noted challenges facing potential Olympians.

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll said his organized recognized there was a global health crisis, but equally was assured by the IOC that the games would go ahead.

"We recognize people are suffering -- people are sick, people are losing jobs, businesses are struggling amid enormous community uncertainty. Things are changing everyday and we all must adapt," Carroll said.

"We owe it to our Australian athletes to do everything we can to ensure they will participate with the best opportunity in those Games."

Australia's team delegation leader said the focus now was "moving to the planning of our pre-Games preparation to ensure we get our athletes to the Games healthy, prepared and virus free."

"Clearly that is a major challenge for all National Olympic Committees," he said.

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News Network
April 12,2020

Mumbai, Apr 12: Always eager to share his vast knowledge and experience, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has interacted with 12,000 doctors on sports injuries.

In his over two decade long illustrious career, Tendulkar suffered many health issues, the most prominent being the tennis elbow injury.

The veteran of 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, got to know through one Dr Sudhir Warrier, an orthopaedic surgeon, that several young doctors across the country were utilising the lockdown time to effectively gain knowledge on sports injuries through live webinars.

A session on sports injuries was held on Saturday and Tendulkar, knowing that his experiences will help these doctors, volunteered to be a part of it.

Tendulkar, accordingly, interacted with around 12,000 doctors, who attended the session.

It is reliably leanrt that the 46-year-old legend said he was grateful to the medical fraternity for their service.

During the session, the young orthopaedic doctors got to know how the requirements and treatment outcomes of athletes are different from regular patients, sources said.

Dr Warrier moderated the session with Dr Nitin Patel, physiotherapist, who has worked with Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

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News Network
July 9,2020

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."

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