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“As A Sportsperson…”: Sachin Tendulkar, Saina Nehwal Lead Wishes On Independence Day

admin — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 11:03:21 +0000

In a touching show of patriotism, Indian sports icons have come together to extend their heartfelt wishes on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day. From cricket legends to Olympic and Paralympic champions, athletes have taken to social media to share their greetings with the nation. “Sportspersons aren’t the only ones playing for India. Every Indian who does their job with honesty and sincerity is a key player for Team India. So, when the national anthem plays today, know that it’s for you, and I hope you’ll feel the same way I did when I heard it every time I stepped out to play for India,” Sachin Tendulkar posted on X.

Sportspersons aren’t the only ones playing for India. Every Indian who does their job with honesty and sincerity is a key player for Team India. So, when the national anthem plays today, know that it’s for you, and I hope you’ll feel the same way I did when I heard it every time…

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 15, 2024

Olympics medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal said, “As a sportsperson, I’ve learned the value of freedom on the field, but it’s the freedom of our nation that gives us the strength to dream big. Happy Independence Day!”

As a sportsperson, I’ve learned the value of freedom on the field, but it’s the freedom of our nation that gives us the strength to dream big. Happy Independence Day!#JaiHind #FreedomToDream #HappyIndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/cOkTpIr6dD

— Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) August 15, 2024

Indian men’s hockey stalwart PR Sreejesh, said “Proud Indian, Wishing you all a memorable Independence Day! May the spirit of freedom and patriotism fill your heart with pride.”

Indian men’s cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir, shared “Freedom comes at a price. Our heroes pay it everyday with their blood! Never forget #HappyIndependenceDay”

Freedom comes at a price. Our heroes pay it everyday with their blood! Never forget #HappyIndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/wJgY4IH5pi

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) August 15, 2024

Ex-India women’s cricket captain, Mithali Raj wrote, “Every time our tricolour flutters in the wind, it tells a story of resilience, hope, and the relentless pursuit of freedom. Our nation’s journey is a testament to the strength we find in unity and the dreams we share. Today, we honour our past and look ahead to a future filled with endless possibilities. Happy Independence Day to every Indian, wherever you are.”

Paralympics champion shuttler Pramod Bhagat also conveyed his greeting on the occasion, “Happy Independence Day! Let’s take a moment to reflect on our journey as a nation and pledge to contribute towards a brighter future for all. Together, we are unstoppable!”

Former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, wrote “Let us celebrate the courage and sacrifices of those who fought for our freedom. Let us stay united and work towards progress, and equality for all Indians. Happy Independence Day”

“Always proud and honoured to stand with our tricolor! Here’s wishing everyone a very Happy Independence Day,” posted former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh.

Always proud and honoured to stand with our tricolor!

Here’s wishing everyone a very Happy Independence Day #HappyIndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/cgYJTa6OKK

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) August 15, 2024

The theme of this year’s Independence Day celebration is ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047’, which aims to propel the country towards its goal of becoming a developed nation by the year 2047.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the national flag and delivered the customary address to the nation from the Red Fort’s ramparts.

Around 6,000 special guests representing diverse sections of Indian society, including youth, tribal communities, farmers, women, and beneficiaries of various government schemes, were invited to witness the ceremony.

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“There Has Been Mistake On Vinesh Phogat’s Part Too”: Saina Nehwal To NDTV On Wrestler’s Olympic Disqualification

admin — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 08:38:44 +0000

Vinesh Phogat’s day of triumph turned into abject despair on Wednesday morning after the wrestler was disqualified from the Paris Olympics 2024. Vinesh had qualified for the 50kg women’s wrestling final – the first Indian woman to do so. But now she will have to return empty-handed from Paris. The Indian Olympic Association requested privacy for the wrestler, who was competing in her third Olympics.

International rules stipulate that any grappler found overweight at the time of weigh-in ends up at the bottom of the final standings. She had taken down defending champion Yui Susaki of Japan en route the finals on Tuesday in a remarkable performance and was to face American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the summit bout this evening.

“She is an experienced athlete. She knows what is right or wrong. I don’y know the details of wrestling. I don’t know if there has been any appeal in Olympics which resulted in something significant. She knows the rule. I don’t what mistake she did, that too on the final day. I have always seen her working very hard. She gives her 100 per cent.”

Saina Nehwal, India’s first Olympic medallist in badminton, was surprised by the ‘mistake’ at such a top level.

“Generally such type of mistakes don’t happen to any athlete at this level. How did this happen is a question mark. Because she has a big team. She has so many coaches, physios, trainers. They all must be feeling so bad. I am not sure about the rules and regulation of wrestling. As an athlete, I am feeling bad,” Saina said.

“It is not like she is playing her first Olympics, it’s her third Olympics. As an athletes she must know the rules. If there has been a mistake, I don’t know how it happened. At such a big stage, I have not heard any such thing about any other wrestler, that they have been disqualified due to being overweight. She is an experienced athlete. Somewhere there has been a mistake on Vinesh’s part too. She should take the blame too. Before such a big match, such a mistake is not right.”

Saina went on to say that there has been a mistake on Vinesh’s part too.

“She is an Asian Games champion, a Commonwealth Games champion. Somewhere there must have been mistake on Vinesh’s part too. Because ahead of such a big match any player will be alert that the weight should be within permissible limits. How such a mistake happened only she or her coach can answer. But I am feeling dejected that we have missed one of sure-shot medal,” Saina said.

“I understand what she and her coaches must be going through. They should answer now. May be by mistake something happened. Her coaches were crying after her victory. They should be in a better position to answer about what exactly happened.”

With PTI inputs

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Parupalli Kashyap Introduced Himself As Saina Nehwal’s Husband, MS Dhoni’s Reply Left Him Stunned

admin — Sun, 14 Jul 2024 02:34:11 +0000

Indian badminton star Parupalli Kashyap has recalled his recent meeting with legendary cricketer MS Dhoni. Kashyap, who is a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, is married to former world no. 1 shuttler Saina Nehwal. During a recent appearance on a podcast, Kashyap revealed that he had the opportunity of meeting Dhoni at a wedding. The 37-year-old suggested that since everyone doesn’t follow badminton, he introduced himself to Dhoni as Saina’s husband. However, Kashyap revealed that Dhoni’s reaction upon meeting him was something that he did not expect.

Kashyap recalled that Dhoni, who did recognise him by his profession, spoke to him like one of his teammates.

“I met Dhoni at a wedding recently. I introduced myself as Saina’s husband. I thought I am Saina’s plus one here so some people who follow sport might recognise me. I am a cricket and Dhoni fan. So, when I met him, he told me ‘pata hai bhai. I play badminton. I know who you are and you don’t need to tell me that you are Saina’s husband.’ He spoke to me like a friend, as if I am his teammate,” Kashyap said on Nikhil Tho Natakalu’s podcast.

Fondly known as Thala, Dhoni led India to three ICC trophies and Chennai Super Kings to five IPL titles.

Dhoni played 350 ODI matches over a period of a decade and a half and accumulated 10,773 runs at an average of 50.58. In Test cricket, he represented India in 90 matches and scored close to 5000 runs at an average of 38.09. In the IPL, he has scored over 5000 runs.

The former India captain recently celebrated his 43rd birthday. Having announced his international retirement in 2020, Dhoni only features in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Kashyap, on the other hand, was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government in 2012 after he became the first Indian men’s badminton player to reach the quarterfinals at Olympics.

He also won the gold medal in men’s singles at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

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Indian Women Shuttlers Will Make Strong Comeback: Saina Nehwal

admin — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 12:57:54 +0000

The struggle of Indian women shuttlers in the BWF circuit is quite apparent but Saina Nehwal has backed her colleagues by saying that even the strong Chinese players are finding it difficult to dish out strong performances on a consistent basis and hoped that the lean patch of the singles players will end soon. In contrasting performances in the last one year, India’s male players have transformed into a world-conquering unit while the women shuttlers are struggling to go deep into the draws. In 15 tournaments that PV Sindhu has competed in this year, she could not go beyond the second rounds in 10 events. Seven of them were first-round exits.

Finishing runner-up at the Madrid Masters in March and reaching the semifinals at the Canada Open in July have been the best results for the country’s top shuttler in 2023.

“Every year is not the same. Sometimes there are ups and downs. If you look at the Chinese women players, their performance in recent times has also not been very good. They too are not able to perform the way the Korean players or Tai-Tzu Ying and other players are performing,” Saina told PTI-Bhasha in an interview.

A look at the records of top Chinese players shows that world No.3 Chinese Chen Yu Fei could reach the title round only twice in 11 tournaments and bagged one title in 2023 while world No.5 He Bing Jiao played 13 events and finished runner-up on two occasions.

India’s Ashmita Chaliha has played eight tournaments and suffered either first or second-round exits. She won the low-tier Maldives International.

In 15 tournaments, Aakarshi Kashyap made 11 first-round exits.

“There is a slight drop in performance among the women players but I am sure, in the future, we will achieve good results,” hoped Saina.

In contrast, the men’s players won a historic title at the Thomas Cup last year and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first Indian pair to reach No.1 in world rankings after winning the country’s first gold medal in the recently concluded Asian Games.

The pair also became the first Indians to win a BWF Super 1000 tournament. HS Prannoy won a bronze medal in the men’s singles in the Asian Games. Apart from this, many players won individual titles.

The Indian women’s team lost in the quarter-finals in the Asian Games while there was no medal in the individual category either.

Saina acknowledged the good run by the male shuttlers.

“The results have been good, badminton has progressed a lot in the last 10 years. There is confidence among the people, there is confidence among the players that we can achieve good results at the top level.

“Now, we have even won gold medals in Thomas Cup and the Asian Games. Badminton is progressing very fast. Our current players are playing very well and many budding players are also coming through, which, I am sure, makes the future of badminton very good.” Saina, who has been troubled by a knee issue, herself has not been able to go beyond the second round in any tournament this year. She has not played in any tournament since June but asserted that she does not have retirement on her mind.

“I have not thought about retirement yet. There is a little problem with the knee, my focus is on that. If this gets fixed, I will be able to put more effort into my game. I have been playing badminton for many years.

“I like this game very much. Let’s see how many more years I can play,” said Saina who has slipped to 55th place in the world rankings.

The qualification period for the Paris Olympics is underway with about seven months left. It seems Saina probably does not have Olympic qualification in her mind.

“When you have been playing for so many years, you start loving the game. My goal is not just to play in the Olympics. Right now, my only aim is to train well and play in some good tournaments.

“I have played in the Olympics many times before, so right now my focus is on recovering completely and playing in the tournament. Once my knee injury heals completely, I will be able to start proper training, this is my goal right now.” Saina spoke highly of the initiative taken by former players Vijay Lancy and Anup Sridhar, who have opened 15 training centres — Badminton Pros — for budding players.

Saina, her husband Parupalli Kashyap, and RMV Gurusaidutt have been roped in as mentors.

“My job as a mentor is to give advice to the players. I give them advice based on my career experience and how I became a champion,” she said adding that she is not looking at full-time coaching.

“If playing is 100% contribution then coaching is 200% effort. I haven’t thought much about it yet. I would like to work as a mentor with players because badminton has given me a lot and I would like to contribute in making this game more popular.”

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Asian Games Athletes’ Committee Poll: Saina Nehwal Set To Win Uncontested

admin — Sat, 16 Sep 2023 16:28:37 +0000

File photo of Saina Nehwal.© BAI

Hangzhou (China):

Olympic bronze medal-winning Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is set to win uncontested from the South Asia Zone in the first-ever Athletes Committee poll of the upcoming Asian Games. For the first time in history, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is conducting a poll among athletes to elect 10 members of the Athletes’ Committee. The London 2012 Olympics bronze medalist’s name was on Saturday chosen as the sole nominee from among 26 nominations to compete for 10 positions. “The athletes will be voting for 10 members of the Athletes’ Committee — one female and one male from each of the five OCA zones: West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, South East Asia and East Asia,” the OCA stated.

By virtue of being the sole nominee, the 33-year-old is expected to win uncontested.

The OCA has announced that athletes will be able to vote at one of six voting stations from September 18-October 6. The voting stations are located in the Athletes’ Village in Hangzhou and at the sub-athletes’ villages in the five co-host cities.

The results will be announced on the eve of the Games’ closing on October 7, and the OCA is determined to attract as many athletes as possible to the voting stations, it stated.

The Athletes’ Dining Hall in the main Asian Games Village is already decorated with colourful voting booths, slogans such as ‘Your Vote, Your Voice’ and the all-important QR code on which the athletes can complete the voting process.

In addition to this, the OCA has produced informative posters with the photos of the 26 candidates nominated by the National Olympic Committees for the 10 positions.

These posters will attract more attention to the elections and allow athletes to check who has been nominated from their own zone.

An attractive pin badge dedicated to the Athletes’ Committee election will also add to the occasion.

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“No Plans For Coaching, It’s The Toughest Job”: Saina Nehwal On Her Future

admin — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 08:43:18 +0000

Saina Nehwal is not open to coaching in future, calling it the “toughest job”.© AFP

Olympic and World Championships medalist shuttler Saina Nehwal has said that she is experiencing inflammation in her knees, which has kept her out of the competitive sport. “Three to four months ago I was playing Singapore Open. My knees and cartilage started to hurt. So, consulted a doctor and my physio is also working on it. My knees showed inflammation. I do not want to play half-hearted,” said Saina at the press conference in Gurugram at Global Race 2023 on Wednesday.

She also said that she is not open to coaching in future, calling it the “toughest job”.

“Not thinking about coaching. For me playing is easy and coaching is the toughest job,” she added.

Nehwal is missing out on Asian Games due to an injury.

Notably, Saina has not been in good form in 2020s. Last year, she played 13 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour tournaments and only reached quarterfinals once in Singapore Open. She bowed out of other tournaments mostly in first round.

This year as well, she has played six BWF World Tour tournaments, getting three first-round exits and three second-round exits.

She is currently ranked at world number 55 in women’s singles competition.

Her last BWF World Tour title win was in January 2019, when she won the Indonesia Masters.

Indian badminton team for Asian Games 2023

Men’s singles: HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth (individual/team), Lakshya Sen and Mithun Manjunath (team)

Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty and Dhruv Kapila/MR Arjun (individual/team)

Women’s singles: PV Sindhu and Ashmita Chaliha (individual/team), Anupama Upadhyaya and Malvika Bansod (team)

Women’s doubles: Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly and Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto (individual/team)

Mixed doubles: Rohan Kapoor /N Sikki Reddy and Sai Pratheek K/Tanisha Crasto.

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