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Indian eye:
badminton
Saina in Haryana: Birth of a girl icon and badminton champ
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Smith, Amla put SA in control
Alonso on pole in Germany
Rave Party
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Saina vs China
India No. 1 has to beat AT LEAST one higher-ranked CHINESE to get a medal Rohit Mahajan In the last week of April 2011, Saina Nehwals’ Olympics campaign seemed to have come off the rails, and her pain was visible. After her loss to South Korea’s Youn Joo Bae in the second round of the Indian Open in New Delhi, her media conference lasted round five seconds – she’d beaten Joo Bae five times out of five, and was in deep dejection, unable to understand her loss. She mumbled “I’m sorry” to the equally miserable press, turned around and fled. At that moment, it seemed that her shot at glory at London 2012 had proven short-lived, too. To give herself a better chance of beating top Chinese players, she had lost 5.5kg. She’d changed her racquet. But in India’s premier tournament, she lost to a player she’d beaten every time. After a great 2010, when she won three elite Super Series titles and was ranked the world No. 2, she endured a poor 2011, winning only one title. She’s roared back in the reckoning, though, just as her coach P Gopi Chand had been insisting all along. Saina won the Thailand Open and the Indonesia Open Super Series titles in a row, displaying that the changes she’d effected in her physique and game, to gain speed on the court, had not failed. The win in Indonesia was significant, for there she beat a higher-ranked Chinese player, world No. 3 Li Xuerui of China, in a tough, draining final. London, of course, would be much tougher. The world’s top three players are Chinese, and they all would be there. She is seeded fourth, so if all goes well, she wouldn’t face one of them before the semifinals. To ensure a medal for herself, she would have to beat at least one Chinese player – either in the semifinals or in the playoff match for the bronze. Saina can do that, though she’s not beaten world No. 1 Wang Yihan in five matches. “Saina is definitely a medal prospect,” says Gopi Chand. “Which medal, that I really can’t say.” The Chinese are outstanding players, and they have the luxury of having practising partners who are capable of always challenging them, keeping them on the edge. Saina doesn’t have anyone as capable as herself to work out with. Practising with the male players is an option, though not very useful tactically. “Well, it can help, but the male players smash much more while the women’s game is tactically more complex, involves more craft,” says Gopi Chand. Saina does exchange tips with P Kashyap, India’s representative in the men’s singles event in London. Kashyap was lucky in qualifying for the Olympics when, at the Indian Grand Prix in April, his opponent Chen Jin of China gave him a walkover in the quarterfinals. That enabled Kashyap to edge past Ajay Jayaram in the world rankings, to make it to the Olympics. Kashyap has, to his credit, scalps of some big-name players, and he’s a dangerous man to take on if he’s at the top of his game. The mixed-doubles team of Jwala Gutta and V Diju are currently ranked 13 in the world. Their list of achievements is quite long – they were the runners-up at the Indian Open and the Malaysia World Super Series Masters in 2009, and were ranked No. 6 at one point in 2010. Jwala forms a strong team with Ashwini Ponnappa in women’s doubles – they are the Commonwealth Games champions, and won a bronze in the 2011 World Championship at Wembley at London, also the venue for the Olympics. They can all cause surprises, but one player whose medal won’t surprise is Saina Nehwal, who has climbed out of the trough of April. Saina Nehwal Main achievements
Main achievements
Valiyaveetil Diju
Main achievements
Main achievements
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Saina in Haryana: Birth of a girl icon and badminton champ
The Hindi news was being broadcast on All India Radio when Dr Harvir Singh’s second child arrived in this world. That is how the father remembers that evening, on March 17, 1990, when Saina Nehwal was born. And adds fondly that it was perhaps a sign to him that the child was herself destined to make headlines in time to come. No one from either side of the family was around when the baby came at 8:45 pm in what was a normal delivery at the hospital on the campus of the Choudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar. Though the Nehwals are not an overly religious family, as in the kind who frequent temples, they named their new arrival Saina, a short form of Sainaam, which refers to the Shirdi Sai Baba. Like with his first-born, Abu Chandranshu, Harvir Singh also added ‘Nehwal’, his family gotra (in Hindu society, the term gotra broadly refers to people who are descendents in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor) to Saina’s name. It was a week or so after Saina arrived that Usha Rani’s mother came to see the baby and almost a month lapsed before her father’s side of the family visited Hisar from their village. Harvir says, “I had to listen to sarcastic barbs. My mother said, “Tu to bulaata bhi nahi hai (You never call us to your home).’’ Many years later, a news magazine quoted Saina as saying “her grandmother was not too happy that Harvir and Usha Rani had had a second daughter’’. That one of India’s most famous and successful daughters, who is now most definitely a youth icon, had been an unwanted girl child, at least for some in the family, was too ironic a symbolism for the media to let it pass. It was picked up widely, magnifying what is accepted in many parts of India as an everyday truth that may not make many realists raise even an eyebrow. But in the world of news, it became a scandalous revelation that underlined the existing gender bias in India. It was perhaps in the fitness of things that Saina was made the Ambassador for the Girl Child in 2006, following in the footsteps of another illustrious sportsperson from Hyderabad, Sania Mirza. The move was more significant for Haryana, given its skewed sex ratio. Harvir Singh says everyone said Saina looked a lot like him and, in Haryana, it was considered a good sign because people would say, “Pitramukhi sadasukhi (The daughter who resembles her father is always happy).” He says Saina was a naughty child and her grandmother grew so fond of her that she would call her chulbuli. The grandmother would proudly tell everyone, “Yeh doosri Kalavati (her name) aa gayi hai (She is just like me).’’ Even when her end came at a hospital in Kurukshetra in 1997, the grandmother passed away fondly watching Saina playing by her side. The beginnings
Saina saw a badminton court quite early. She was only five months old when Usha Rani decided to renew her love affair with the game once again. “The first day when we took her to the badminton court and put her on the side, Saina began laughing aloud, the happy gurgling sound that babies make,’’ remembers Harvir. “When I think of it now, it seems rather strange,’’ says Usha. She is amused as her mind races back to the badminton court at the Hisar University campus. “I found it strange that a baby would laugh so loudly just seeing a shuttlecock being hit from left to right. It was also somewhat scary.” Now, of course, when this God-fearing couple looks back, they interpret it as the first sign. Like so many things that are unexplained in this world, this, too, would count as one among them. Later, as Saina grew into a toddler, the shuttlecocks became the first toys she would play with while her parents got back to sweating it out on court. Saina was enrolled into a playschool called Bal Bhavan when she was three years old and the routine was that Harvir would pick her up when he came home for lunch. One day, he was stuck in a meeting and in a state of absentmindedness, he forgot to pick up Saina from school and he reached home around 3 pm. Only then, he realized that Saina had not been picked up from school. Rushing to school, he found her fast asleep on a bench inside the classroom. The three-year-old had not thrown a tantrum and decided to make the most of her time by dozing off. A nap in the afternoon is a habit that has stayed with Saina to this day. Saina Nehwal: An Inspirational Biography |
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Number of competitors 172 The badminton events will be held from July 28 to August 5. Medals rounds are on August 3 to 5 Indian Angle India has contestants in four events — men's singles (July 28-August 5), women's singles (July 28-August 4), women's doubles (July 28-August 4) and mixed doubles (July 28-August 3) Format Each country is limited to three athletes in each singles event and two pairs (four athletes) in each doubles event, dependent on their position in the world ranking as on May 3, 2012 There are five medal events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles All events begin with a preliminary stage: the competitors are divided into groups and each player or doubles pair plays everyone else in their group The 16 group winners in the singles and 8 best pairs in the doubles qualify for the knockout stage, which will decide the winners of the medals Favourites
Asian nations have dominated badminton since its introduction at Barcelona 1992. Eleven of the 24 gold medals contested in that time have gone to China. South Korea and Indonesia have won six each. The one remaining gold went to Denmark in 1996 China seem set to dominate London events, world champions Lin Dan among men and Wang Yihan among women being the favourites Of the 25 Olympic medals Indonesia have won, 18 have come in badminton In World Championship 1911, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won a bronze in mixed doubles Titbits A public art display featuring the world's largest shuttlecocks, which are 18 feet tall, can be found at the Kansas City Museum, USA The best shuttlecocks are said to be made from the feathers of the left wing of a goose. Shuttlecocks can travel at speeds in excess of 400km/h
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First blood to India
Virat Kohli notched up a brisk hundred, while Virender Sehwag missed his ton by a whisker as India posted a daunting 314 for 6 against Sri Lanka in the first one-dayer here today. Kohli, who scored his fourth hundred in his last five innings today, was in sublime form and starred in a 173-run second wicket stand with Sehwag to lay the foundation for a big total here. The 23-year-old Kohli blasted nine boundaries in his 113-ball innings, while Sehwag, who was dropped by Tillakaratne Dilshan on nought in the second over, had 10 boundaries in his 97-ball innings. India had a shaky start after skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (35) won the toss and elected to bat at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium here. Sehwag looked rusty early on and got a respite initially but his partner Gautam Gambhir (3) was not lucky and was sent packing after being bowled while trying to work out a Kulasekara delivery square in the third over. It was one down batsman Kohli who broke the shackles with a hard slash to bring up the first boundary through point, two balls later off Kulasekara. The young right-hander picked up another boundary when he worked down a Malinga ball to fine leg in the fourth over. Unusually restrained for long, Sehwag finally blasted two fours in the sixth over off Malinga. In the ninth over, the duo picked up two more boundaries before the opener smashed another four off Angelo Mathews over extra cover. In the 11th over, Sehwag survived again when Kulasekara had almost caught him at mid-off and two balls later, Kohli too got a chance when Perera who failed to grab a difficult chance on his follow through. In the 19th over, Sehwag brought up the team 100 with a four at fine leg off Herath. After the batting Powerplay, Dilshan and Herath checked the flow of runs a bit though Sehwag and Kohli were successful in taking singles and twos to keep the scoreboard ticking. — PTI Scoreboard India Gambhir b Kulasekara 3 Sehwag run out 96 Kohli c sub b Perera 106 Rohit b Mathews 5 Raina c sub b Perera 50 Dhoni c Thirimanne b Perera 35 Irfan not out 7 Aswhin not out 0 Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-7, nb-2) 12 Total (6 wkts, 50 ovrs) 314 Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-180, 3-191, 4-228, 5-307, 6-307. Bowling: Kulasekara 5-0-20-1, Malinga 10-0-83-0, Mathews 10-0-58-1, Perera 10-0-70-3, Dilshan 5-0-28-0, Herath 10-0-52-0. Sri Lanka Tharanga c Sehwag b Ashwin 28 Dilshan lbw b Irfan 6 Sangakkara b Yadav 133 Chandimal c Dhoni b Yadav 13 Mahela lbw b Ojha 12 Mathews c Gambhir b Zaheer 7 Thirimanne lbw b Ashwin 7 Perera c Kohli b Irfan 44 Herath run out 0 Malinga not out 19 Kulasekara not out 1 Extras (b 1, lb 6, w 16) 23 Total (9 wkts; 50 ovrs) 293 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-86, 3-117, 4-132, 5-172, 6-191, 7-269, 8-271, 9-275. Bowling: Zaheer 10-0-63-1, Irfan 10-1-37-2, Yadav 10-0-76-2, Ashwin 10-1-46-2, Sehwag 4-0-20-0, Ojha 6-0-44-1.
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Jeev and Anirban make it a day of records
Lytham St Annes, July 21 While Jeev became the first Indian to make a cut in all four Majors, his younger teammate Anirban Lahiri became only the second from the country to make the cut on his Major debut, the first being Jeev at the 2002 US Open. Brandt Snedeker of the US was leading the field with rounds of 66 and 64 at 10-under 130, while Adam Scott (64-67) was one behind at nine-under 131. Tiger Woods was four behind Scott at five-under with two more holes to play. As for the Indian golf it was a memorable day as it marked the first time that two Indians have made the cut in the same Major in the same year. — PTI Lahiri sinks hole in one in third round
Anirban Lahiri continued his dream debut with a stunning hole-in-one on the ninth hole in the third round of 141st Open Championships at the Royal Lytham and St Annes here today. Having begun the day at even par for 36 holes, first-timer Lahiri bogeyed the third and fourth but then steadied the ship to par the next four holes. Then on the ninth hole, where he had a par on the first day and a bogey on the second, he landed an ace. He used a 9-iron off the tee on the 150-yard hole. |
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Smith, Amla put SA in control
London, July 21 Smith's landmark innings, his 25th Test hundred and only the seventh time a player had scored a century in his 100th Test, ended when he played on. Smith got an inside edge to Bresnan that deflected on to his back leg and then against the stumps. It was an unlucky way to go but he had still done enough to mark his own special occasion while placing his team in a strong position.
— Reuters |
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Hockenheim, July 21 The Spaniard was joined on the front row by Red Bull's double world champion Sebastian Vettel, who will be attempting to win a Grand Prix in his native Germany for the first time. Vettel's team mate Mark Webber, second in the championship after nine of the 20 races, was third fastest but the Australian will drop five places after being penalised for an unscheduled gearbox change before qualifying. Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, fourth fastest for Mercedes in front of his home fans, will therefore start alongside Force India's Nico Hulkenberg on an all-German second row. "It was not fun, that's for sure," said Alonso of his second pole in a row, with the other coming at a wet Silverstone two weeks ago, and 22nd of his career. "When you have this type of conditions it's very difficult to put a clean lap together and very easy to finish in the gravel or in the grass or in the wall. "It's a bit of a survival moment. You try to complete the lap and whatever the position is, you are happy," added the double world champion. A huge clap of thunder shuddered over the circuit before the start of the second part of qualifying, announcing a deluge which left pools of standing water all over the track. "In these conditions it's always a bit of a lottery," said Vettel, who has yet to win a race in July. "You can lose the car without making any mistake." "I think we have shown the car is strong in all conditions," said Webber. "But it's never ideal to put ourselves on the back foot by shooting ourselves in the foot.” McLaren pair Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were seventh and eighth fastest after looking quick on Friday with new upgrades but will move up due to Webber's demotion. — Reuters
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BCCI to study police report, says Shukla
New Delhi, July 21 "The Police report will be studied before taking any action against Rahul Sharma," Shukla clarified today. "Only after studying the report we will proceed," he added. The Mumbai Police last night confirmed that Rahul along with South African cricketer Wayne Parnell, who were arrested at a rave party in Juhu (Mumbai) on May 20, tested positive for drugs. Mumbai Police said that they were among the 42 who tested positive for drugs. The two cricketers were among the 100-odd people who were detained on that day. The BCCI, however, stood by the cricketer and said it would investigate the matter thoroughly before deciding the future course of action. "I don't know why everyone is in a mood to execute Rahul Shar.a without even going into the details," Srinivasan had told PTI last night. — PTI
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The Hindi news was being broadcast on All India Radio when Dr Harvir Singh’s second child arrived in this world. That is how the father remembers that evening, on March 17, 1990, when Saina Nehwal was born. And adds fondly that it was perhaps a sign to him that the child was herself destined to make headlines in time to come.
Hockenheim, July 21
Parupalli Kashyap
Ashwini Ponnappa
Excerpted from
