cwg: Thomas Cup and CWG gold are evidence of Indian badminton’s succes so far this year, but there is still more for improvement

While the Thomas Cup win will remain the highest mark for Indian badminton this year, three gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) will also go down as a major achievement for the sport.

As players take a much-needed break ahead of the Denmark Open in October, it is time to take stock of the state of Indian badminton at the moment. “We could have done better,” said Pullela Gopichand, who is all set to start the journey with the team from October. “Satwiksairaj (Rankireddy) and Chirag (Shetty) are as good as there are in the world and it is time they start winning tournaments. They both have an all-round game and the power they have can take out any pair in the world at the moment.”

With their first medal (bronze) at the World Championships, not to forget CWG gold, Chirag and Satwik are India’s best bets at the moment for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games (to be played in 2023) and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Both Chirag (24) and Satvik (21) are young and they will only get better and stronger in the years to come. While he has a poor record against the Malaysians, Gopi said, there is nothing that he does not need to turn the tables.

“Most matches have been close. There are very few like him and he should be able to make things count,” said the head coach. “We’ve had a great season and we will only get better. We have great on and off court chemistry and that’s the key to being a good doubles team.”

Dhruv Kapila and Arjun Madathil Ramachandran also did well at the World Championships in Tokyo last month, beating the 8th-ranked Danish pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Skarup Rasmussen, the men’s doubles, not the traditional Indian strength, now looking in pretty good shape. Used to be. , However, the same cannot be said about female singles. Saina Nehwal is clearly the shadow of the player she once was, and Akarshi Kashyap and M Al Avika Bansod have not shown much to be hopeful of.

So, it will all boil down to PV Sindhu in 2023 and 2024, with a young Tasneem Mir expected to get better with time. Sindhu, who has performed brilliantly at the Singapore Open and Commonwealth Games, knows how to handle the big stage. Regardless of his ranking, few would like to bet against him in Hangzhou and Paris. Soon after her Commonwealth Games win, Sindhu’s coach Park Tae-sang said, “She has stepped up her game and it is showing.”

“The plan should eventually be Paris 2024,” said Sindhu, currently recovering from an ankle injury that kept her out of the World Championships. The men’s singles also looks to be in good health, Lakshya Sen has improved a lot and HS Prannoy has the best season ever. “It was a very good season, though I would have liked to be more consistent,” Prannoy said. Prannoy, 30, played some incredible matches and got some incredible victories, but could not win a major title. They lost several semifinals and that’s where they need to get better in 2023.

“If we are able to work on Prannoy, there is no reason why he cannot do well in Paris. He has beaten most of the top players and has an all-rounder game.” While Kidambi Srikanth was brilliant in the Thomas Cup, he has struggled since then. But it is too early to write that. “I don’t want you to forget Srikanth. “They always have a chance given their quality,” Gopi said, adding that Lakshya now has one of the best defenses in the world.

So, if you ask me, they are all looking good in 2023.” In women’s doubles, Teresa Jolly and Gopichand have shown promise. “They need to add some more power to their shots, especially on the slow court. If If they do that and they are both very young, they can be a force to be reckoned with in Paris 2024,” said one of the coaches on the tour with the team. Overall, Indian badminton will look at 2022 as a success but With the feeling that it could have been better with one or two more titles.

Originally published at Pen 18

T20 Asia Cup: Team India should play those in form and not just go by seniority

There is no point in keeping a red-hot batting form like Deepak Hooda out of the playing XI in the current T20 Asia Cup or the subsequent T20 World Cup, as the focus is on rehabilitating KL Rahul, who is not Has been able to make a comeback in IPL after injury. Hooda has consistently performed well in every T20 International he has played earlier this summer when Team India first toured Ireland and then England. Like KL Rahul, Hooda is a good fielder, but he has also been used as a part-time off-spinner in both IPL and T20 Internationals (T20Is).

If places in the playing XI are reserved on seniority basis, it will be difficult for any young player in form to find a place in the team and contribute if the focus is only on getting the older Kohli (who will be 34 years old). 5) and then 30-year-old KL Rahul in form. If nothing else, the ongoing Asia Cup has once again indicated that the final need not be an India-Pakistan affair. With the kind of performance Afghanistan are trying to reach the last four in the ongoing Asia Cup, India have to play their best side and cannot rest on their seniority or past reputation, be it batting or bowling. For example, if India pacer Avesh Khan plays well against Hong Kong, which was piled up by Pakistan, that should surely sound a warning bell.

With more and more cricketers being unable to play on medical grounds, be it due to injuries or Covid, the traditional logic of trying to get players back in form to keep up with them is beyond just a point of understanding. Doesn’t come in, especially in the shortest form of the game. This is the reason why England have dropped their senior and in-form opener Jason Roy from their T20 squad for next month’s World T20 tournament, while the injured Bairstow has also been forced to drop . The logic is that England cannot indulge in the luxury of stifling the momentum in the team for Jason Roy on the basis of seniority alone for next month’s T20 World Cup in Australia. That doesn’t mean it’s the end of the T20 international road for Jason Roy, who can always make a comeback, given the growing number of domestic tournaments in the shortest form of the game, be it T20s or ongoing ones in England. Hundred tournaments.

England, of course, have separate coaches for Test (Brendon McCullum) and white-ball cricket (Matthew Mott who coached the seemingly invincible Australian women’s team). Like players in this day and age of Covid, coaches are also not immune, with initial reports suggesting that Rahul Dravid will not be able to accompany India’s Asia Cup squad after testing positive. When the BCCI was thinking of sending VVS Laxman as the coach, Dravid recovered.

However, given the increasingly crowded schedule of international cricket (and not only multilateral tournaments but also bilateral series), the BCCI might have felt that a coach could not be the man for all seasons.

Not only can seniority be the criterion for a place in India’s T20 squad, while younger and fitter players can be in red-hot form. Remember that India won its first and only T20 World Cup in 2007 with a new captain and a young team that did not include senior superstars like Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman.

Which is why, coming back to the ongoing Asia Cup, expert commentator Gautam Gambhir has been stressing the need to not only play the in-form Deepak Hooda, but also replace Rishabh Pant (who will turn 25 on October 4). are also questioning the logic of With 37-year-old Dinesh Karthik in the playing XI against Pakistan on August 28.

Originally published at Pen 18

tom moody: Brian Lara replaces Tom Moody as Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach for upcoming IPL seasons

Former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara has replaced former Australian cricketer Tom Moody as the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming IPL season, the franchise said on Twitter.

“Cricket legend Brian Lara will be our head coach for the upcoming IPL season,” SRH tweeted.

Announcement Cricket legend Brian Lara will be our head coach for the upcoming #IPL season. … https://t.co/FHJo0Nb5Q4

— Sunrisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) 1662183047000

Lara served as the team’s strategic advisor and batting coach last season.

Sunrisers had a successful run under Moody between 2013 and 2019 when he reached the playoffs five times and won the trophy in 2016. Trevor Bayliss replaced Moody in 2020, Moody returned as director of cricket last year and was then promoted to the position of coach. role.

However, the team finished eighth in the 10-team tournament last season with eight losses and six wins.

Moody will join a franchise Desert Vipers in the six-man international league T20 as director of cricket.

Originally published at Pen 18

tomljanovic: Serena Williams’ last opponent, Ajla Tomljanovic, is a fan

Ajla Tomljanovic obviously wanted to beat Serena Williams. Wanted to capitalize on a big win, add to the highlights of her career, reach the fourth round of the US Open for the first time.

Still, it wasn’t easy for him to watch as Williams was in tears after Tomljanovic’s 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1 win at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night.

“Probably the struggle I felt the most after a win. During the match I was so eager to win. I mean, I wanted to win as much as the next guy, because I didn’t look at him like, ‘Oh, Serena, her last tournament,” said 29-year-old Australian Tomljanovic, who is ranked 46th.

“But then, when it ended, it didn’t feel nearly right,” Tomljanovic said. “When he started talking about his family and everything, I got emotional, because I can relate to a strong bond with your family. He would be there if it wasn’t for them when he said No, I relate to that a lot. The whole moment after that was just a little bit hard to handle.”

Credit Tomljanovic for maintaining his composure during the match, never letting Williams’ stroke or aura get too big.

Tomljanovic did his best work at the baseline, hanging out there on long exchanges with Williams and as big a hitter as he came with big groundstrokes. And then there was this: Tomljanovic fell by at least one break in each set, which included 5-3 in the first, 4-0 and 5-2 in the second, and 1-0 in the third.

He needed six match points to finish it, but he pulled it off.

“I tried,” Williams said, “but Azla played a little better.”

Williams, as everyone knows, is the owner of 23 Grand Slam titles – including six at the US Open alone – and that doesn’t even include women’s doubles or mixed doubles.

Tomljanovic?

He started the evening with a 28-31 losing record in Grand Slam matches. He had never won a third round match at Flushing Meadows until Friday. He has yet to win a quarterfinal match in any major tournament; Her major breakthrough in that round came at Wimbledon last year, when she beat Emma Radukanu to get there (two months later Radukanu would go on to win the US Open).

Tomljanovic returned to the quarter-finals at the All England Club this July, and now she has a chance to go so far in New York if she can beat 35th-ranked Lyudmila Samsonova on Sunday.

However, it can be hard to forget Friday and all that happened.

Start with a sell-out crowd of 23,859, wholly backing Williams, who turns 41 this month and announced last month that she was preparing to retire. Tomljanovic tried to block out some of the noise, even covering his head with a towel during the change.

Tomljanovic understood the excitement. Actually, he apologized to the audience for his win – not something you hear every day.

But here’s why: She also considers herself a fan of Williams, and has fond memories of watching American drama at the Slam finals on TV.

“What she has achieved is absolutely incredible. I don’t know if it’s ever going to be repeated while I’m still around,” Tomljanovic said. “I still have years left. I want to dream bigger than I ever dreamed, because that’s what it is.”

Originally published at Pen 18

pakistan: Asia Cup 2022: Second match between India and Pakistan scheduled for Sunday, both teams eye good start in Super Four phase

Another high-octane India vs Pakistan clash is set for Sunday, as both the arch-rivals will be expected to put up their best performance in their opening Super Four match in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

India are at the top of the Super Four with a clean record, they are at the top of the table with two wins and four points from two matches. Whereas Pakistan are in second place with one win and two points from two matches.

Notably, India and Pakistan had clashed in a medium scoring thriller. It was a match that marked the start of their campaign in the Asia Cup 2022. India started the winning streak to defend their title by defeating Pakistan by five wickets. Hardik Pandya (3/25) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/26) helped Pakistan bundle out for 147 in 19.5 overs. Rizwan was Pakistan’s top scorer with 43.

Chasing 148, Virat Kohli (35), Ravindra Jadeja (35) and Hardik Pandya (33*) contributed to help Team India win by five wickets with two balls to spare. Mohammad Nawaz (3/33) and Naseem Shah (2/27) put on solid performances for their team with the ball.

But now, this time the stakes are high. Both the teams are looking to start their Super Four phase with a win which will ease their way to the Asia Cup final. Fans are also praying that both the Asian giants go ahead and perform well so that they can compete in the final as well.

Indian top order consisting of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and

Kohli will have to give his best in this match. While Virat has some war left after his unbeaten 59* against Hong Kong, openers Rahul and Rohit are still struggling to give a positive start and make the most of their powerplays. The work for Rohit will again be to go between runs while for Rahul it will not only be about scoring but also maintaining a healthy strike rate.

The Indian middle order has shown more credibility lately. Players like Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Hooda stepped up and took responsibility whenever needed. Flamboyant batsmen like Suryakumar, Hardik, Pant will be eager to show their variety of strokes against a quality attack from Pakistan.

With Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya not only giving important wickets but also economic spells, the Indian bowling has been pretty good. Fast bowler Avesh Khan’s expensive outing against Hong Kong, in which he conceded 53 runs in four overs, is a cause for concern. It will be interesting to see whether Avesh gets the support of the team management despite being hit with a late ball.

India’s most trusted all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be ruled out due to injury and his team will miss his services in all three departments on the field.

Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel (who has replaced injured Ravindra Jadeja) will also look to dominate the UAE pitches like fast bowlers, which has benefited India’s pace attack immensely.

Coming to Pakistan, they are marching ahead with their morale after thrashing Hong Kong by 155 runs. Though his reliance on star batsman Babar Azam is a concern, it was great to see Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman and Khushdil Shah building up Azam’s tremendous performances and runs to score.

Azam will try to regain his best form for this crucial encounter. Pakistan should also be careful while playing Indian bowlers as there is no Hong Kong or any other support team playing against them this time. They are walking shoulder to shoulder with a team that is world class just like them.

Pakistan’s bowling has been excellent in the Asia Cup so far. Young fast bowler Naseem Shah has done exceptionally well in the two T20Is he has played so far and has largely filled the place of his leader Shaheen Shah Afridi. Fast bowler Shahnawaz Dah has also been brilliant. Spinners have been Pakistan’s biggest asset in this tournament, with spinner Mohammad Nawaz topping the bowling charts with six wickets. Leg break bowler Shadab Khan is also not far away, taking five wickets in third place. If Pakistan has to win this match, then pace and spin will have to do well.

Whatever the outcome, the Asia Cup 2022 is set to deliver another ‘Super Sunday’ to Asian homes, a continent home to millions of cricket lovers. Many of them would come to the stadium to catch the action, but the idea of ​​watching live action on TV with friends, family and having some delicious food with them would be great too.

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan

Pakistan: Babar Azam (Captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Hasan Ali, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain.

Originally published at Pen 18

australia: Zimbabwe wins 3rd one-day international against Australia

Leg-spinner Ryan Burle took a career-best five for 10 as Zimbabwe beat Australia by three wickets to win a consolation in the third ODI on Saturday.

After winning the toss and sending Zimbabwe to bat, Australia won the first two matches by five and eight wickets respectively.

But Zimbabwe captain Regis Chakabwa turned the coin on Saturday and the story was very different as the visitors picked up three wickets in the first 10 overs to bowl Australia out for 141.

In reply, Zimbabwe chased down the winning target with 66 balls to spare. Chakabwa top-scored with 37 and Tadiwanase Marumani added 35 runs to win the match with a total of 142-7. It was Australia’s first ODI win over Zimbabwe in Australia.

The Australian bowlers were led by Josh Hazlewood with three wickets.

Veteran Australian opener David

Came within just six runs of ending a century drought. Warner smashed 94 off 96 balls and added a degree of respectability to the total.

Left arm fast bowler Richard Nagarwa got

Aaron Finch for the third time in three ODIs. From the other end, Victor Nyuchi trapped Steve Smith for the first one, with the Australian unable to reverse the call in a review.

Alex Carey was next to fall, being left behind after an indeterminate shot that thrashed Australia 31-3 in nine overs. Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green followed suit as Warner kept the scoreboard ticking from the other end.

Warner’s pull shot was caught on the boundary shortly after and he was denied a much-needed century. He hit 14 fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 97.9.

There have been 54 innings across all formats since Warner’s last century, the fourth time he was dismissed in the 90s on Saturday.

The series was played in the state of North Queensland as part of the International Cricket Council’s Super League competition for ODIs. Both the teams are preparing for the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup starting on 16 October in Australia.

Originally published at Pen 18

williams: Serena Williams exits US Open in third round; could this be the last match of her career?

Serena Williams crashed out of the US Open on Friday in what may be the last of her illustrious career, but the impact she had on her game for more than two decades will be felt for generations to come.

Williams, who made her professional debut in 1995, a year after her older sister Venus, has been one of the sport’s best-selling stars. She has several corporate partners and in 2019 became the first athlete to appear on Forbes’ list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women.

Williams, 40, who also lost in a US Open doubles event with sister Venus, said in a Vogue article last month that she was “getting away from tennis” and added in an Instagram post that “the countdown has begun.” ”

Although Williams has not said exactly when her last tournament will be, US Open organizers welcomed her with an elaborate farewell ceremony after her first-round match on Monday.

Williams revolutionized women’s tennis with a deadly mix of powerful serves, groundstrokes and superb athleticism and won 23 Grand Slam titles to become the most successful player in the Open Era, the most recent being in 2017.

That success also inspired a generation of tennis players, including Naomi Osaka, who beat Williams in the final of the 2018 US Open to claim her first of four majors and remember seeing her childhood idol.

“When I was little, the family event was watching Serena and Venus,” Osaka, of Japanese and Haitian parent, said.

“So when I was watching it, it really shocked me. I never got to see him play live in a match, but I got to see his practice. Seeing that, seeing people who look like me, that’s for sure. Absolutely inspiring.”

rights of women

Throughout her career, Williams has been vocal about the culture of racism that she and her family, including Venus, were subjected to in a predominantly white sport.

At the height of her career, Williams initiated a 14-year boycott of a marquee tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, after facing a racist joke there in 2001, an incident she said she cried in the locker room for hours. doing .

In 2018, she accused officials of allowing a culture of sexism in the sport to run rampant, with female players punished for things their male counterparts would never be punished for.

Williams was particularly upset after Osaka was handed a series of code violations during the final loss of the US Open, when she was docked a game for verbal abuse after telling the umpire that she was being punished for a previous violation. There were “thieves” to steal a point. ,

Williams said at the time, “I’m here fighting for women’s rights and women’s equality …. He never played a man because he called him a ‘thief’.”

Tennis pioneer Billie Jean King was among many who praised her for highlighting the “double standards” that plague female players.

Williams told British Vogue in 2020, “In this society, women are not expected to be the leaders of the future or the CEOs of the future. The story has to change. And it may not get better in time for me, But someone in my position can show women and people of color that we have a voice because God knows I use me.

“I love being up for people and supporting women. Being the voice that millions of people don’t have.”

Williams also pushed the boundaries of fashion on the tennis court, perhaps most notably at the 2018 French Open when she took to the court wearing a skin-tight black catsuit with a red waistband – which she said was prone to blood clots. Helped to deal with, which threatened them. life when she gave birth to her daughter a few months back.

However, the idea of ​​female players coming in such unorthodox tennis attire upset the Roland Garros establishment, which then banned such outfits from the Paris chief.

Writer Howard Bryant, who wrote “The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America and the Politics of Patriotism”, said in a report https://ift.tt/LaMGBPF . Elegant-what-Serena-Williams-and-Roger-Federer-Have-Mean-To-Tennis.com will see Williams’ career as a dividing line when it comes to women and black athletes.

“With his standing and his empire, he has created a counter-voice and a new perspective,” Bryant said in the report.

“It’s changed how we investigate behavior. You can’t just gang up on him or make off-hand comments about his body. His stature is that of any great male athlete.

“In 100 years, if we ask when that change happened, we’ll be back in Serena.”

Originally published at Pen 18