Vijender Singh to face Dean Gillen in 2nd pro bout

October 20, 2015

London, Oct 20: After a knockout debut, star Indian boxer Vijender Singh will face Englishman Dean Gillen in his second professional bout and the part-time firefighter has promised to be a “dangerous opponent” in the bout scheduled for October 30.

VijenderVijender made an immediate impact in his professional debut this month when he destroyed Sonny Whiting in three rounds at the Manchester Arena.

The 29-year-old, who will be celebrating his birthday a day before his second fight, will face Nottingham’s Gillen over four rounds as he looks to claim the record of his first unbeaten pro-fighter.

Gillen made his pro debut in May this year with a points win over Shaun White and followed that up in September with a points win over Lewis Van Poetsch.

The fight between Vijender and Gillen also represents a Battle of the Badges, with the Indian being a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Haryana and Gillen a firefighter serving in Nottingham.

As an amateur, Gillen’s highlight was to win the 2013 World Police and Fire Fighter Games in Belfast where he knocked out all of his opponents to claim the gold medal and now he aims to extinguish Singh’s fire in the ring.

“I’ve watched him in the Olympics and in his pro-debut, he’s a world class kid and I can’t wait to get in there and put him to the test,” the 33-year-old Gillen said.

“He’s an Olympian and that speaks for itself, he’s a hero in his country and he’s idolised by millions of people, but at some point he’ll have to get beat and that could well be his second fight against me,” he added.

Vijender is training in Manchester with coach Lee Beard as he aims to beat Gillen and stay on track to achieve his history-making dream to become India’s first ever world professional boxing champion.

“I can’t wait for this fight against Gillen, he’s talking the fight and it looks like he will bring me a challenge in my second fight,” said Vijender.

“From what I have seen of him he looks like a good opponent who will push me and I hope he does because then the better I will fight, I rise to my opponent and it brings the best out in me,” he added.

Gillen said he would be no pushover against the Indian.

“I’m certainly no journeyman and I’m not going in to make up numbers, I’m here to fight and win. I know the odds are stacked against me, but when you’re facing life risking tasks through your job then fighting someone like Singh is a walk in the park,” he said.

“I will be coming for him. I’ve got the heart of a lion and a serious will to win. I’ve got a strong jab and the reach to take advantage of him, backed up with a solid chin and a real desire and with nothing to lose, I think I’m going to be a really dangerous opponent for Singh. Add to the fact I’ve never lost to a Police boxer in the amateurs and with stacks of pride and honour on the line, I refuse to lose,” he asserted.

Vijender, on the other hand, said he is unfazed by Gillen’s unbeaten record so far.

“He’s got an unbeaten record, albeit two fights, and it’s a big motivator for me to claim his first loss, if I can stop him, like against Whiting, then that will be another good win for me,” he said.

“While I was pleased with my pro-debut there is still plenty that I need to work on in my defence and offence and I’ve been training hard with Lee to correct things and improve, it’s a continual process and it will happen fight by fight.

“Being a fireman, he’ll be used to dealing with fire and coping with heat but this is one fire he won’t be putting out and it will be an entertaining fight for the fans in my first pro fight in the capital,” he added.

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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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Agencies
June 7,2020

Mumbai, Jun 7: The Mumbai airport became home for a 23-year-old Ghanaian footballer for 74 days after he got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that led to cancellation of flights.

The ordeal of Randy Juan Muller reminded people of Tom Hank's character in the Hollywood film "The Terminal", and it ended after Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, reached out to help him.

Muller has now shifted to a local hotel and is waiting for airlines to resume operations so that he can fly home.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) also provided him all help, including food, and allowed him to use the airport WiFi network to make calls, an official said.

Muller, a Ghana national who used to play for a club in Kerala, was scheduled to fly home by Kenya Airways flight when the lockdown was announced and he found himself stranded at the Mumbai airport.

"He would spend his time at the airport's fancy artificial gardens and somehow buy food from stalls and pass his time with the airport staff. Muller told me the airport staff was very helpful," Yuva Sena office-bearer Rahul Kanal said.

A security officer at the airport gave him mobile phone to call his family back home.

A Twitter user brought Muller's plight to the notice of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray following which Kanal reached out to the footballer and helped him move into a hotel.

On Saturday, Muller thanked Thackeray and Kanal for their help.

"Thank you Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul Kanal. Thank you very very so much. I appreciate what you have done. Salute," he said.

Kanal in a tweet said when he met Muller at the airport, the latter cried with happiness.

"Have no words to salute his willpower and fight for survival in such circumstances at this age," Kanal said.

An official at the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said the footballer was provided all help.

"All personnel at the airport, including from MIAL and CISF, gave him every possible help during his stay at the airport. Besides food, he was also allowed to use the airport WiFi network to make calls. Airport staff would recharge his phone at their own expense," the official said.

The 2004 film "Terminal" of Steven Spielberg was about a man stranded at a US airport after being denied entry into the country and a military coup back home.

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News Network
May 14,2020

May 14: Veteran South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis has proposed a two-week isolation period for players before and after the T20 World Cup as a way to stage the event as per schedule later this year.

Like other sports, cricketing action too has come to a complete halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fate of the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October-November is shrouded in uncertainty.

Talking to Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal, du Plessis said travel was going to be an issue despite Australia being less affected by the deadly contagion.

"I am not sure... reading that travelling is going to be an issue for lot of countries and they are talking about December or January. Even if Australia is not affected like other countries, to get people from Bangladesh, South Africa or India where there is more danger, obviously it's a health risk to them," du Plessis said.

"But you can go in before the tournament (for) two weeks isolation and then play the tournament and afterwards two weeks isolation," said the former captain.

Several countries across the globe, including South Africa, Australia and India, have travel restrictions in place and the veteran Proteas batsman joked travelling by boat is not an option.

"But I don't know when South Africa will open their travel ban because we can't go there like old days on boats," du Plessis said.

In March, South Africa's ODI series against India was called off after the first match in view of the pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreak, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected more than 44 lakh people worldwide while causing close to 3 lakh deaths.

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