Bangalore :

Karnataka’s prolific run-getters CM Gautam and Robin Uthappa have been drafted into the India A squads for their home series against New Zealand A side to be held at Port Trust Diamond Jubilee Stadium in Visakhapatnam from Aug 31 to Sep 15.

Gautam, who finished the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy season as the third highest run-getter with 943 runs, has been picked to play a three-day (Aug 31) and a four-day game (Sep 5). Uthappa, who was in the Board President’s XI that played against the visiting Australia earlier this year, is selected to play the one-dayers.

An elated Gautam said it was an opportunity to make his presence felt. “It will be great to play against New Zealand in the longer version of the game. A couple of big scores can shape my dreams of making it to the India Test team,” said Gautam, who made his India ‘A’ debut against Australia in January in Chennai.

For Uthappa it will be the platform to work his way back to the Indian One-Day team. “I am looking forward to this assignment as an opportunity to stage a comeback to the Indian team. Playing well in these tournaments helps me get back into the reckoning,” said Uthappa, who scored an unbeaten triple hundred for KSCA XI in the Safi Darashah tournament. “I was expecting this call as I have had a good season in the domestic one-dayers and the last IPL season,” said Uthappa.

Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar will lead the unofficial Test team while Delhi batsman Unmukt Chand will lead the one-day team.

The series will be followed by a tour by the West Indies ‘A’ team, which plays all its matches in four venues in Karnataka – Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli and Shimoga – from September 17 to October 13.

The squads: Three-day & 4-day games: Abhishek Nayar (capt), Jiwanjyot Singh, Unmukt Chand, Vijay Zol, Manpreet Juneja, V Jagadish, CM Gautham (Karnataka), Dhawal Kulkarni, Imtiaz Ahmed, Aniket Choudhary, Shrikant Wagh, Jalaj Saxena, Rakesh Dhruv, Sarabjeet Ladda.

ODIs: Unmukt Chand (capt), Robin Uthappa (Karnataka), Aditya Tare, Kedar Jadhav, Mandeep Singh, Ashok Menaria, Sanju Vishwanath, Sachin Baby, Dhawal Kulkarni, Basant Mohanty, Sandeep Sharma, Shrikant Wagh, Rahul Sharma, Jalaj Saxena.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> Cricket> New Zealand / by Sunil Subbaiah, TNN / August 07th, 2013

Ashwini, who won the Commonwealth Games gold partnering Jwala Gutta, now has a new doubles partner in Pradnya Gadre of Maharashtra.

She launched the Banga Beats Indian Badminton League team from her home city but quite shockingly, wasn’t picked up by them. In the player auctions, it was Pune which bagged her for a sum of $25,000.

The IBL has decided not to have women’s doubles in the championships and as such, Ashwini will have to only depend on the mixed doubles apart from the women’s singles, if she is in the fray for that event as per the decision of her team.

But on a positive note, according to her, whatever controversy that has been generated, is good for Indian badminton. “Rubbing shoulders with top players will give us a lot of benefits. The experience of playing them will remove the psychological barrier when we meet them in bigger events. Also, the game in the country will get a big boost. Not often do big names come and play here. So people will get a very big opportunity to watch them in action. I am sure Indian badminton is poised for a big leap,” said Ashwini.

Championship preparation

With the World championships coming a lot before the IBL, she has a huge advantage at the moment as she can concentrate on doing well in a championship that matters the most. Certainly, a lot more than any national league or Grand Prix in the World.

“In the past few days, the IBL distraction did disrupt my training but now I am back on court and practising hard for the upcoming World Championships. I am training in Bangalore right now while my doubles partner, Pradnya Gadre is training in Hyderabad. We hope to put in some work together soon. Having played with each other earlier, we know our games well and combining with her should be no problem,” Ashwini said.

According to her, the preparation has been good and she is working on her fitness more than any other aspect. “I have always taken one match at a time. It does not make sense predicting things, so I am concentrating on the first round right now. We have a tough first round, let’s first clear it. We will be facing Damkjaer Kruse and Marie Roepke from Denmark and we have not played them earlier. So it is going to be a very important game for us,” said the shuttler who won the bronze in the 2011 World championships with Jwala to become only the second Indian to do so after the 1983 singles bronze that the legendary Prakash Padukone won way back in 1983.

“I am partnering Tarun Kona in the mixed doubles and there I think we will meet a Japanese pair – Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Miyuki Maeda – in the first round. Let’s see how it goes,” said Ashwini.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express/ Home> Cities> Bangalore / by S S Shreekumar / ENS – Bangalore / August 01st, 2013

Pegged at a base price of $50,000, Ashwini fetched just half of that when she was sold to the Pune Pistons, despite being among the icon players of the tournament.

While the IBL will pay her the differential, what irks Ashwini is that there was no communication about lowering the price. “I wasn’t informed about it. Even if there is no women’s doubles event, it doesn’t explain their actions because Jwala (Gutta) and I’ve been performing very well. In the mixed doubles arena, my partner Tarun Kona and I have the highest international ranking.”

Does that mean that she won’t be a part of the tournament? “I will keep my commitment to play the league, irrespective of whether they keep up their end of the bargain or not,” she says.

Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, meanwhile, got their base price. “All icon players need to be treated the same. If you are calling a player an icon, it must have been based on performance, and Jwala and I have been performing consistently. There is no need to discriminate between players based on price,” she says.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> More Sports / by Taniya Talukdar, TNN / July 25th, 2013

New Delhi:

Rohan Bopanna is content that the sacrifices he made in his tennis journey paid off as he became world number three but the Indian tennis star`s hunger for success has only increased and he now wants to become number one besides notching his first Grand Slam trophy.

Bopanna`s career graph has how a steady rise and in the last two years, he has emerged as a force to reckon with in the doubles arena.

Of his eight titles, six have come in the last three years. Season 2012 was remarkable when he made six finals and won two titles with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi. In 2011 he won all the three finals with Pakistan`s Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi.

“Discipline has been a key factor to my success. I have always made sure that I put my game ahead of anything else, sometimes even before friends and family. The journey has definitely not been easy but all the sacrifice has paid off very well in terms of my performance on-court. When you get better at your sport, the sacrifices you`ve made in that part don`t really count,” Bopanna said.

Courtesy his semifinal appearance at the Wimbledon, Bopanna, nicknamed `Bofors` for his powerful serve, climbed to number three in rankings early this week, behind formidable American twins Mike and Bob Bryan.

“The number one spot is of priority for me. Though there is no catching up to the Bryan Brothers this year, I am working hard to ensure that I reach the number one spot soon. That ranking is important to me and to get our country up there will certainly be a dream come true,” he said.

Bopanna (5335) is realistic in his calculations as the gap between him and the Bryans is a huge 9125 points. Hence his immediate goal is to add that elusive Grand Slam trophy to his eight ATP Tour titles.

He came close to doing that in the 2010 US Open but ended runners-up with Qureshi to Bryan brothers.

“Right now I have my eyes set on a Grand Slam win. Having reached so far, I want to go all the way and win a Grand Slam for the country,” he said.

Often it is said that Indian players peak late. In fact, Bopanna himself turned pro in 2003 but four of his eight titles have come in the last two years. Asked if at 33, success has come late to him, He said, “Better late than never.”

“As an athlete, success is not just about winning, it is about working hard and giving it all you have. I have always taken one match at a time and worked hard, when I succeeded I worked further on the aspects of the game which worked for me; when I failed, I listed out my weaknesses and worked on them. So, if you look at the bigger picture every game has been a learning curve,” he said.

Bopanna has always played under the shadow of India`s two most remarkable stalwarts — Leander Paes and Bhupathi — who were the team to beat in the late 1990s and early 21st century before parting ways.

They also have an enviable unbeaten run in the Davis Cup since 1997, winning 23 doubles rubbers.

Now that Bopanna has created his own space in the tennis world, does he feel ready to take the baton from Paes and Bhupathi?

“I have been representing the country for more than a decade. My performances have clearly improved leaps and bounds and if this means I am to take the baton on, I am ready.”

Bopanna also said he has worked hard on his game and that has shown on the court.

“My fitness and volleys have definitely improved over time with a lot of practice. For me, I make sure that I have not just played a match, but learned from it as well ensuring a certain degree of improvement in my game from the last match that I`ve played.”

Bopanna has changed a lot of partners. This season alone, he is set to play with his eighth partner in Germany`s Andre Begemann after a successful experiment with Edourad Roger-Vaselin at Wimbledon.

What forces Bopanna to change partners so frequently?

“Vaselin is concentrating on singles and will only be available to play once the Cincinnati Open starts, so I am partnering with Andre Begemann in the meantime. As a doubles player you have to get the right partner to make sure you yield good results and so I have been changing partners frequently.”

“If finding the right partner means trying out different players and tweaking your game, you have to adjust. It`s all about finding out what works best for you.”

Last year his pairing with Bhupathi was tremendous. They won two titles (Paris and Dubai) and were runners-up at six other events. However, after a failed campaign at London Olympics they could not repeat their performance.

“We had been playing well together for quite some time and when you are playing together for long you tend to understand what works out and what doesn`t.

“We took the decision of changing partners keeping in mind that performing our best was one of the most important aspects of being an athlete. So, I paired up with Vasselin and luckily it worked well for us,” he said.

Does he feel tempted to play with Qureshi, with whom he caught attention of the world by forming the Indo-Pak express that won three titles in 2011 and made 2010 US Open final?

“Aisam and I were a great team and we have moved on from there. Whether or not we pair up again is a question that only time can answer.”

Bopanna, who tied the nuptial knot with Supriya recently, said life has “indeed changed for better” after marriage.

“Supriya accompanies me to different tours and keeps me company. She has also been an incredible support system, encouraging me through and through, helping me perform better.”

PTI
source: http://www.zeenews.india.com / ZeeNews.com / Home> Sports> Tennis / by PTI / Sunday – July 28th, 2013

“I’ve worked hard on my volleying skills, which has been a key factor to my progress. People say that I have a big serve, but at the end of the day, you need to volley well and finish points,” said Bopanna, who is the world no. 5, here on Thursday.

Bopanna partnered Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon recently. Roger-Vasselin is the 33-year-old Indian’s seventh partner this year, and Bopanna said that the frequent shuffling was unavoidable.

“I would like to settle with one partner, but it’s not easy. For example, singles is the number one priority for Roger-Vasselin. “Even if we do well, I cannot force him to play around my schedule. I would definitely like to stick with one partner; I do not enjoy changing partners week in and week out,” he said.

Bopanna said that he would retain his current partner till the end of the season. They communicated well on court, he added.

Asked if his vast experience on the Tour has made him a smarter player, he said: “Absolutely. After playing on the Tour for 10 years, you are bound to become mature.

“You are not a first-timer any longer; the goal is not to just enjoy the moment.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sports> Tennis / by Sports Reporter / Bangalore – July 18th, 2013