Don't mind being called arrogant: Vinesh Phogat

Agencies
January 21, 2019

New Delhi, Jan 21: Stubborn by her own admission, trailblazing Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat doesn't mind being called arrogant for it since the attitude comes in handy to intimidate rivals on the mat.

Speaking to PTI in an exclusive interview, India's first woman wrestler to claim an Asian Games gold medal dwelled on the perceptions about her, life after marriage to fellow grappler Somvir Rathee and her Olympic dreams. 

"I am very stubborn, since childhood. If I feel something is right, even if that is wrong, I will be very stubborn about that and I make sure people agree with me even if I am wrong sometimes," she laughed. 

But would she call it a virtue, to be steadfast even if wrong? 

"If someone explains with love and proves that my thought process is wrong and I also start to realise that, then I concede and step back," she said. 

And what about the perception of being arrogant for being so headstrong? 

"Yes people say that (arrogant) but I know what's inside me. And if it helps me on the mat, I don't bother," she said. 

"It helps me on the mat. People say it's over-confidence but for me it's belief. I don't get intimidated and your opponent also notices the body language. Some people work on it but for me it's God gift," she added.

The 24-year-old Commonwealth Games champion recently got married and is now determined to end the stereotype of women's career getting affected by their marital status.

"People say that after marriage, we lose spark and fire but I want to break this myth. I want to take this fear out of girls that marriage is a barrier. I want to be an example, so I decided to marry early," Vinesh said.

"Of course you need support of your partner. There are a few in our society who do not believe in (love) relationships (without marriage) so they will ask why don't you get married and some will say why marry so early? Now Olympics is a major competition and I have all the support of Somvir," she said.

Vinesh, the first Indian athlete ever to be nominated for Laureus World Sports Award, also insisted that the mindset of Indian wrestlers have greater self-belief. 

"I feel India have 4-5 strong contenders, who can beat any wrestler in the world. I won't take names but we can win 2-3 Olympic medals. The mindset has changed," she asserted.

"Earlier people used to just look for participation or win a round at the Worlds but now medals are a possibility for all. I know these girls. After Sakshi's bronze, girls are now targetting gold at Olympics.

"We have started becoming technically smart while earlier we just played a power game, it's giving results." 

The significance of getting a nomination for the prestigious Laureus awards has still not dawned on the Haryana grappler.

"Honestly I still don't know what this nomination is about. I just know that my name has been put for voting. I had not even heard of Laureus. And if no Indian athlete has been nominated before, I can only be proud of it.

"...it's definitely huge for wrestling in India because it is still struggling for recognition," said Vinesh, who is competing for the Mumbai Maharathi in the ongoing edition of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL).

The winner of multiple international medals says her comeback from a career-threatening injury, sometimes has even her amazed.

"I have seen athletes struggling so badly after suffering injuries. Sometimes I get shocked to see what and how I have achieved this success. It's nothing but God's grace." 

Will she not give credit to her own hard work? 

"It's not just hard work because innumerable athletes do that. This is something which I don't know. I beat even the formidable Japan wrestlers after injury, it's God's grace only." 

Vinesh said Somvir has played a huge role in her success.

"If Somvir was not there, Vinesh would not be what Vinesh is today. He is one person who has contributed to my success more than my family. The way he motivated me, no one did. I believe more in him than myself.

"He has videos of all my opponents in his phone. He knows them all, who attacks better, whose defense is solid. He devises strategies for me. He is more focussed on me than on himself. He has lot of belief in me," she explained.

How did this bond develop? "I don't know," she laughed. 

"I just know that there is trust." 

Vinesh happily noted that there is lot of improvement in system and credits WFI President for that.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan deeply regrets his "silly mistake" of not reporting a corrupt approach by an Indian bookie to the ICC, leading to his one year suspension from the game.

Shakib was banned for two years, one year of it suspended, for failing to report corrupt approaches during an IPL edition by an alleged Indian bookie named Deepak Aggarwal.

"I took the approaches too casually When I met the anti-corruption guy and told them and they knew everything. Gave them all the evidence and they knew everything that happened," Shakib told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"To be honest, that's the only reason I was banned for a year, otherwise I'd have been banned for five or 10 years," he added on the ICC's investigation.

The 33-year-old, who was in brilliant form before the ban, amassing 606 runs in the 2019 World Cup in the UK, said he regrets how he went about the situation.

"But I think that was a silly mistake I made. Because with my experience and the amount of international matches I've played and the amount of ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct classes I took, I shouldn't have made that decision, to be honest."

Lesson learnt, Shakib's advice to all young criceters is to never take any such message lightly.

"I regret that. No one should take such messages or calls (from bookies) lightly or leave it away. We must inform the ICC ACSU guy to be on the safe side and that's the lesson I learnt, and I think I learnt a big lesson," he added.

The all-rounder, whose ban ends on October 29, said he became a bit arrogant and never felt he was doing anything wrong by not reporting the bookie's approach immediately.

"Because you do most things right in your life, you tend to get arrogant with some decisions. You may not realise but you're doing wrong by the books. It never came to my mind that I am doing something wrong

"It was just a feeling of 'okay, what's going to happen, leave it' and I continued with my life. But that's the mistake I made. And that happens," Shakib said.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Feb 24: India captain Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the opening Test but said they "can't help" if a few want to make a "big deal" out of the 10-wicket defeat. Hosts New Zealand thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Basin Reverse on Monday to go 1-0 ahead in the two-match series. This was India's first defeat in the World Test Championship, coming after two inept batting efforts. "We know we haven't played well but if people want to make a big deal out of it, make a mountain out of it, we can't help it as we don't think like that," the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

Kohli said he fails to comprehend why one Test match defeat should be made to look like the end of the world for his team.

"For some people, it might be the end of the world but it's not. For us, it's a game of cricket that we lost and we move on and keep our heads high," Kohli said.

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said.

"We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said. "We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

If he had given credence to the "outside chatter", he said the team wouldn't have been where it is now.

"That's why we have been able to play this kind of cricket. If we would have paid attention to the outside chatter, we would again be at No. 7 or 8 in the rankings. We don't really bother about what people are saying on the outside," the skipper said.

One defeat can't make a team, which has been winning games of Test cricket, "bad overnight".

"If we have lost then we have no shame in accepting that. It means we didn't play this game well. It doesn't mean that we have become a bad team overnight. People might want to change our thoughts, but it doesn't work like that."

The self-belief is intact and Kohli was confident the team would come back stronger in the second Test, to be held in Christchurch in four days time.

"We will work hard, and after four days play just like we have played all these years. Just because we have lost one match in between all wins, doesn't mean that the belief is gone. The dressing room thinks differently and team atmosphere is different."

Kohli felt that there is a very thin line between being ultra-defensive and over-attacking, something that his team didn't get it right in this Test match.

"New Zealand got into the mind of the batsmen and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to. think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure which we failed to do in this match and there is no harm in accepting that."

According to Kohli, it was a combination of both good bowling from the Kiwis and Indian batsmen not putting the pressure back on bowlers, which led to the drubbing.

"That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required. "It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership."

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News Network
July 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was earlier banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code, on Friday, said that people are bound to make mistakes and the important thing is that how well they make a comeback.

Shakib was banned from all forms of cricket on October 29 last year after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. He will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020.

"You have to be honest. You just can't lie to the people and pretend different things. Whatever happened has happened. People are bound to make mistakes. You are not 100%. The important thing is how well you can comeback from those mistakes. You can tell other people not to make those mistakes. Tell them the path so that they never take those paths," Shakib told Deep Dasgupta in a videocast hosted by ESPNcricinfo.

The 33-year-old all-rounder said he has seen many controversies ever since he was first made captain in 2009. He had trouble with the board chief, selectors and the media, mainly about selectorial decisions and not being made permanent captain between 2009 and 2010.
He believes those experiences have changed him as a person over time.

"I think [it's] combination of both [controversy following him, and vice versa]. I got the responsibility so early in my career, I was bound to make mistakes. I was captain when I was 21. I made a lot of mistakes, and there are so many things that people think about me. Now I realise that it was my fault in some areas, and in some I was misunderstood. But I get it completely. It is part and parcel in the subcontinent," Hasan said.

"Of course I will try to minimise [my mistakes] as much as I can, but by the time I got married, and now I have two kids, I understand the game and life better. It has made me a calmer person than I was in my twenties. I have changed quite a lot. People won't see me doing a lot of mistakes now. My two daughters changed my life completely," he added.

Shakib is likely return to international cricket during Bangladesh's proposed Test series against Sri Lanka in October. 

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