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Youngest competitor at Rio is Nepal earthquake survivor

August 2, 2016

Rio De Janeiro, Jul 2: Nepal earthquake survivor is the youngest competitor at the Rio Games.

Gaurika Singh, 13, was born in Nepal but moved to London at the age of two. She survived a devastating earthquake in 2015 in Nepal, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nepal

She will make her Olympic debut on Sunday's 100m backstroke preliminary.

"That's quite cool, a bit unreal too," Singh said, having just competed in her local district championships for her school in Hertfordshire.

In April 2015, while back in Nepal for the national championships with her mother Garima and little brother Sauren, Singh was caught in the earthquake that devastated the country.

"It was terrifying," she said. "We were on the fifth floor of a building (in the capital Kathmandu) that we could not escape from, so we sheltered under a table for 10 minutes in the middle of the room and had to go down the stairs afterwards amid the aftershocks.

"Fortunately, it was a new building so it did not collapse like others around," Xinhua news agency quoted her as saying.

Singh started to compete in the Nepal championships at the age of 11. In one of Kathmandu' s two 50-metre pools, she broke seven national records, prompting thoughts that she might make the Olympics.

"I wanted to go but was not sure I would be able to because I would be too young," She said, adding, "When I found out a month ago, it was a big shock."

Her father Paras believes his daughter, who gets up at 4.00 a.m. each day to train, deserves her success.

"She is special," he said. "It is unbelievable that she is the youngest Olympian in Rio and amazing how she copes with all the pressure," Xinhua news agency quoted her as saying.

"My dad is coming with me to Rio, and my grandparents and friends at school are really proud but they are really good at their own things," Singh said.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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News Network
May 26,2020

Mumbai, May 26: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said that if he was playing currently he and Virat Kohli would have been the best of friends off the field, but real enemies whenever they stepped on the field.

Akhtar also said that he would have liked to challenge Kohli to drive the ball.

"Virat Kohli and I would have been the best of friends as both of us are Punjabi, but on the field, we would have been the best of the enemies. I would have loved to get inside the head of Kohli. I would have told him that you cannot play a cut or pull shot against me," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I would have gone wide of the crease and bowled a ball that would go away from him, I would have forced him to drive the ball as it is his favourite shot. So I would keep forcing him to play the drive shot at my pace," he added.

Akhtar also said that he wishes that Kohli could have played against some of the top bowlers in the game.

The Rawalpindi Express said that Kohli would have enjoyed the challenge of facing bowlers like Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, and Waqar Younis.

"I would also keep talking to him, because if I get him to lose his focus then that would have been great. The great thing about Kohli is that he gets more focused when he is challenged. But I believe Virat Kohli would have still scored the same amount of runs if I was playing," Akhtar said.

"I really wish that he had played against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, and then Virat would have also enjoyed the challenge," he added.

Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

Currently, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in second place in the Tests rankings.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Dhaka, Jun 20: Former Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza on Saturday tested positive for coronavirus.

The skipper had gone for a coronavirus Test last week, and now his reports have come back as positive, ESPNCricinfo reported.

As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, it is not known how Mortaza contracted the virus.

Mashrafe, also a member of the parliament from Narail 2 constituency, had stepped down as the ODI captain of the country in March this year.

Covid-19 cases have crossed 1,00,000 mark in Bangladesh and the government is now planning area-wise lockdown.

Bangladesh was slated to face Sri Lanka in July in a three-Test series and the side would have later hosted New Zealand in August, but both series look unlikely now.

The Asia Cup, scheduled for September, is also uncertain due to the coronavirus.

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