Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis secure year-End No.1 Doubles ranking

October 31, 2015

Singapore, Oct 31: Indo-Swiss pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis secured the Year-End WTA No. 1 doubles ranking on Saturday. The duo also received a trophy in acknowledgment of their feat presented by Dubai Duty Free.

Sania"Dubai Duty Free congratulates Serena, Sania and Martina on reaching the No. 1 spot in singles and doubles of the 2015 WTA Year-End ranking," said Salah Tahlak, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Dubai Duty Free as quoted by the WTA website. "We are delighted to present the Year-End No.1 trophies to these players which signifies their outstanding results in 2015. We are a proud partner of the WTA and look forward to welcoming Serena, Sania and Martina back to Dubai in February 2016 to participate in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships."

Saina and Hingis are 8-1 in finals this season, with two Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon, US Open), five WTA Premier titles (BNP Paribas Open - Indian Wells, Miami Open, Family Circle Cup - Charleston, Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, China Open - Beijing), and one WTA International title (Guangzhou International Women's Open).

The pair also reached their 10th final of the year together at WTA Finals overcoming Chinese Taipei's Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan 6-4, 6-2 and extended their winning streak to 21 matches with the win. Their last loss was against the Chan sisters in the semi-finals at Cincinnati.

The No.3-seeded Taiwanese went up 3-1 in the first set but the No.1-seeded Indo-Swiss duo reeled off 11 of the next 14 games to completely run away with the match.

"On the court I feel very fortunate to have Sania on my side because she's an incredibly positive person," Martina said after the match on Saturday.

"When I get myself down, I'm not really a morning person, so she was out there and kept fighting and kept keeping me up there. That's why we were able to come back in the first set."

"Once I felt better, that's when everything started to click. They're a great team, so they've always come out strong in the past six matches that we played them. And they know how to play against us.

"We came out with a strategy against them. It's very different to what we played against players like yesterday who have more power, different strategy," Sania said.

"We kind of have to stick to our guns, stick to what we have planned. We have to trust our abilities. That's what really takes us through a lot of the times, is that trust in each other's ability. We know sooner or later we're going to break.

"It happened at 3-2. If it didn't happen there, we would still keep fighting to make it happen."

Sania-Martina have won eight titles together this year.

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News Network
June 8,2020

Mumbai, Jun 8: Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar has won the 2020 Richard Dawkins Award for critical thinking, holding religious dogma up to scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values.

Akhtar has become the first Indian to be given the honour, which recognises a distinguished individual from the field of science, scholarship, education, or entertainment, who publicly proclaims the values of secularism and rationalism and upholding scientific truth.

Akhtar's wife, veteran actor Shabana Azmi said the award's relevance becomes more prominent especially in the current times when secularism is under attack.

"I am thrilled. I know what a hero Richard Dawkins has been for Javed. The award gains all the more significant because in today’s time when secularism is being attacked by religious fundamentalists of all hues, this award comes as a validation of Javed’s long service to rational thinking," Azmi told PTI.

The award is named after world-renowned English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Actor-comedian Ricky Gervais received the honour last year.

Bollywood celebrities Anil Kapoor and Dia Mirza took to Twitter to congratulate the 75-year-old writer for the recognition.

"Knowing that Richard Dawkins has been your hero since you read 'The Selfish Gene', the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award must be extra special for you @Javedakhtarjadu Saab! It's a truly incredible honour! Congratulations!" Kapoor tweeted.

Dia said Akhtar's win is a proud moment for rhe country.

"Javed Akhtar Saab has won the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020 for critical thinking, holding religious dogma upto scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values. He is the only Indian to have won this award! @Javedakhtarjadu Congratulations! You make us proud," Dia wrote.

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News Network
April 25,2020

Mumbai, Apr 25: Actor Vidya Balan has decided to donate 1000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to the frontline healthcare staff across India.

In a video message posted on her Facebook page, the actor announced that she is also collaborating with celebrity shout-out platform Tring to raise money for additional 1000 PPE kits.

“In the war against COVID-19 our health care professionals are like our soldiers at the border fighting for our health and freedom. Just like we equip our soldiers for the battle we must do the same with our medical staff. There is a critical shortage of PPE for our senior doctors, residents, nurses and ward boys in their daily work.

“As a result, a lot of our hospitals are not functioning at full capacity. Join me in changing this now. I am donating 1000 PPE ktis to hospital and medical staff across the country. And I am pledging to raise money for another 1000,” she said.

According to a statement issued by the actor’s team, she has joined hands with Tring to provide additional 1000 PPE kits, in association with Manish Mundra of Drishyam Films and photographer-producer Atul Kasbekar.

For donations made through Tring, Vidya will be recognising the support of every donor by sending a personal thank you video message, and a chance for a two-minute video call with her.

Vidya said each PPE kit is worth Rs 650 (all-inclusive of delivery costs and applicable taxes) and it consists of one coverall laminated and waterproof, nitrile gloves, goggles, face shields, 3-ply surgical mask and shoe covers.

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News Network
July 26,2020

Mumbai, Jul 26: Just days after actor Kangana Ranaut made some claims on Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide case and asked why the Mumbai police is not summoning some people of the Hindi film industry, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Sunday said that film director Mahesh Bhatt and Karan Johar's manager will be called for the questioning.

"Tomorrow Mahesh Bhatt will be called for questioning and we will later call Karan Johar's manager too. If required Karan Johar can also be called for the questioning in Sushant Singh Rajput case," he said while speaking to news agency.

A day Rajput's suicide, Kangana had released a two-minute video speaking highly of the deceased actor and accusing certain sections of the film industry for not acknowledging the star's talent.

Kangana had also claimed that some of the last social media posts by the actor made it evident that he was struggling to survive in the industry.

According to the police, statements of 39 people, including film critic Rajeev Masand, director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and filmmaker Aditya Chopra have been recorded in the investigation so far.

Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai residence on June 14.

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