Marion Bartoli announces shock retirement

August 15, 2013
Marion-Bartoli
Cincinnati, Aug 15: Having realised a lifelong dream by claiming the Wimbledon title, Marion Bartoli decided she had nothing left to give on Wednesday, shocking the world of tennis by bidding a sudden and poignant farewell to the sport.

Just six weeks earlier, the 28-year-old Frenchwoman had shed tears of joy as she soaked up the applause following her straight sets win over Germany's Sabine Lisicki in the Wimbledon final to claim her first and only grand slam title.

The toast of France, Bartoli was on top of the sporting world but came crashing back down to earth on Wednesday when a second round loss to Romanian Simona Halep at the Western and Southern Open was enough to convince her it was time to quit.

"Well, it's never easy and obviously there is never a time to say it but that was actually the last match of my career. Sorry," the world number seven said with tears pouring from her eyes.

"It's time for me to retire and to call it a career. I feel it's time for me to walk away.

"My body, I just can't do it anymore."

Bartoli had offered no hint that she was contemplating retirement and appeared focused on preparing for the upcoming U.S. Open, where she had her best grand slam result last season by reaching the quarter-finals.

But the loss to Halep persuaded the circumspect Frenchwoman that the time was ripe to hang up her racket and as the crowds left the stadium and headed out into the night, Bartoli did likewise to start a new life.

"You never kind of know before it's going to be your last match but I felt that way after the match. I felt I just couldn't do this anymore," Bartoli admitted. "After one set, my whole body was in pain.

"You know, everyone will remember my Wimbledon title. No one will remember the last match I played here.

"There are so many things to do in life rather than playing tennis, so I'm sure I will find something."

PAIN EVERYWHERE

An eight-time winner on the WTA Tour, Bartoli played in every grand slam since the 2002 U.S. Open and was seen as one of the sport's more durable competitors.

But Bartoli made it clear that 13 years on the circuit had taken a heavy toll and it was a price she was no longer willing pay.

"I've been already through a lot of injuries since the beginning of the year," she added. "I've been on the tour for so long and I really pushed through and left it all (out there) during that Wimbledon.

"I really felt I gave all the energy I have left inside my body.

"I have pain everywhere after 45 minutes or an hour of play. I've been doing this for so long... it's just body wise I just can't do it anymore."

The decision to retire was made easier by the fact that Bartoli had battled long enough to realise her dream of becoming a grand slam champion.

After winning Wimbledon, Bartoli said it had been her dream since she was six-years old to hold the trophy.

For 13-years and through 47 grand slam tournaments Bartoli had chased that singular dream and finally made it a reality but in doing so had sacrificed everything she had to offer.

"It's hard to explain but when you dreamed about something for so long and you have been on the tour for many, many, many years and you have been through up and downs and high and lows," said Bartoli, struggling to regain her composure.

"My body was really starting to fall apart and I was able to keep it together, go through the pain with a lot of pain throughout this Wimbledon, and make it happen.

"That was probably the last little bit of something that was left inside me.

"I made my dream a reality and it will stay with me forever."

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News Network
April 21,2020

New Delhi, Apr 21: India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said people seem to have become more compassionate while coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped the sense of gratitude towards frontline workers like doctors and police personnel remains even after the crisis is over.

Speaking in an online class organised by "Unacademy", Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma spoke at length about the challenges they faced before tasting success.

"The one positive out of this crisis that we as a society have become more compassionate. We are showing more gratitude to the frontline workers in this war, be it police personnel, doctors or nurses.

"I hope it stays this way even after we overcome this crisis," said Kohli with Sharma seated next to her.

Kohli said the pandemic has taught the world a very important lesson.

"Life is unpredictable. So, do what makes you happy and not get into comparisons all the time. People have a choice now how to come out of this phase. Life is going to be different after this," said the skipper.

For Sharma, the pandemic has forced people to care about the basics in life.

"There is a learning in all of this. Nothing happens without a reason. If the frontline workers were not there, we would not have access to basics," she said..

"This has taught us that no one is special than the other. Health is everything. We are more connected as a society now," she added.

During the session, Kohli was asked about the moment when he felt most helpless.

"I felt nothing was working for me when I was not picked for the state team initially. I cried the whole night and asked my coach 'why did I not get selected'?" he responded.

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News Network
January 10,2020

New Delhi, Jan 10: Injured Assam archer Shivangini Gohain underwent a critical surgery at the AIIMS. Dr. Deepak Gupta, professor of Pediatric neurosurgery at AIIMS, revealed about the delicate nature of the procedure and said there was no room for error.

"It was touching vertebral artery which supplies blood to the brain stem. The arrow was 0.5 cm in front of the spinal cord and the child could have become quadriplegic if someone tried to pull it out," Gupta said.

According to doctors, the arrow accidentally went inside the body damaging the shoulder bone, part of the neck, spinal cord and left lung.

Dr Gupta said, "Now the patient is fine. We had planned the surgery in a very unique way. Last whole night, our team was doing the planning and plotting to conduct this complex surgery. About 15 cm part of the arrow was inside the body which has entered through shoulder bone and affected neck, spinal cord and left lung".

"We started the surgery in the morning at 6 am which lasted for three and a half hours. We have successfully removed the arrow. The patient is stable now and shifted to ICU for observation," he added

Shivangini Gohain, the 12-year-old Assam archer who was impaled by an arrow shot accidentally at the SAI centre in Dibrugarh, was training unsupervised and the mishap was a result of negligence by the local coach and officials, the state's archery association has said.

The child was training at the Dakha Devi Rasiwasia College at Chabua, which serves as an extension centre under the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Regional Centre in Guwahati when the incident took place on Wednesday.

She was airlifted to Delhi on Thursday night and admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Pulin Das, a joint secretary of Assam Archery Association and executive member of the state Olympic association said the injury to the school girl from the Deodhai village, which is 3km from Chabua, happened as the trainees were practising without any coach and other officials.

“There is a SAI contractual coach Marcy and he has left for the Khelo India Games in Guwahati. He didn't instruct the trainees to stop the camp for some time nor did the college principal, who acted as administrator of the extension centre, looked after the practice,” Das said on Friday.

The extension centre has 11 trainees, six boys and five girls, and they were training under SAI contractual coach A C Marcy from Nagaland, who is in Guwahati for the Khelo India Youth Games.

“The training ground itself is in very bad shape, it was not even a dedicated ground for archery training, some play football, cricket and other sports on that ground. But the worst part is that the SAI coach did not give instructions to stop the camp for a while and the archers were training without any supervision,” he added Das said Gohain was struck by an arrow shot by boys doing practice for compound event. The arrow remained stuck for more more than a day before she was airlifted to New Delhi on Thursday night.

“There was nobody to look after the archers, they were training on their own though their parents were outside the ground. An arrow shot by a boy trainee who was doing compound event practice hit her on the shoulder,” the official said.

Gohain's father Brinchi Gohain was outside the practice area and with no official of the college and SAI coming for help, she was taken to Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh, 33km from Chabua.

“She could reach the AMC in Dribugarh only on Thursday morning. There, the doctors told her parents to take her to a more reputed hospital like AIIMS in Delhi. With help from people close to the local Member of Parliament and Assam CM himself, she was taken by air ambulance to Delhi.

“I was told that she had a very tough time as the arrow remained stuck for more than a day. She is a strong-willed girl and she fought. Her father must be a daily wage labourer and he was distraught also.”

The SAI said that it will bear all the expenses of her treatment. The Assam Archery Association has contributed Rs 20,000 towards her treatment.

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Agencies
June 6,2020

Malappuram, Jun 6: One more COVID-19 death was reported in Kerala on Saturday taking the toll in the State to 15.

The 61-year-old deceased, Hamsa Koya, a former footballer who represented Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy, had returned from Mumbai with his family on May 21.

Koya was undergoing treatment at Manjeri Medical College in Malappuram. The medical bulletin issued said that he was suffering from pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

On June 5, as his health deteriorated, he was administered plasma therapy on the advice of the state medical board. However, he did not respond to medicines and breathed his last at 6:30 am on Saturday.

The medical bulletin said that his family members including his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren of 3 years and a 3 month-old child also had tested COVID-19 positive and were earlier shifted to hospital for treatment.

With this, the total death toll in Kerala has reached 15. 

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