Tendulkar gifts BMW car to Saina

Saina Nehwal received a brand new BMW car for winning a bronze medal at the London Olympics from none other than Sachin Tendulkar. He said that the world is yet to see the best of the star shuttler.

“I am sure that Saina is happy but not satisfied. We are also not satisfied because we know that you can go to greater heights. There are better days ahead and as a sportsperson, you always try to believe that your best is yet to come” the iconic Indian batsman said at the felicitation function.

Sachin said, “I am quite confident that your best is yet to come and you will emerge victorious across the world and that is what we want”.

“This medal means a lot for India, I am sure this medal has not come without dedication, hard work, and focus and having a vision” Tendulkar said.

Saina said she had waited for her Olympic moment since her childhood days.

“I dreamt of being a Olympic Champion at the age of 9. It is unbelievable to have won the medal. I am so happy. I should thank Gopi sir for making it possible. He really worked hard with me for many years.” Said Saina.

Keywords – Tendulkar gifts BMW car to Saina.

VVS Laxman announces retirement from international cricket

Veteran Indian batsman VVS Laxman announced on Saturday that he would be retiring from international cricket with immediate effect.

“It’s been 16 years since I have made my international debut for India and I think it is the right time to move on,” said an emotional Laxman after announcing his retirement in Hyderabad.

“As a youngster it was dream to represent India and it took lot of pride to wear India cap, Laxman added.

“I would like to give youngsters an opportunity to prove themselves,” said Laxman. “I am grateful to almighty for blessing me to live my dream of playing cricket”

“I have always felt that I have got the opportunity to serve my country and have played the best cricket not only in India but overseas as well,” Laxman further added.

“I think it is time to give youngsters a chance at home ahead of a tough season. I have always kept the country’s success ahead of personal aspirations.”

“I will be very satisfied with the decision that I have taken and I will never regret this decision. “

Keywords – VVS Laxman announces retirement from international cricket.

Team mentally fit for long season said Dhoni

The Indian cricketers are geared up for the long season ahead and are both physically and mentally ready for the packed calendar, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said here today.

"The team is all fit from the physical and mental aspects. The one and a half month’s break (after last IPL) was very good from the physical and mental aspect.

"Even on the tour of Sri Lanka (where the team played five ODIs and a lone T20 game against the hosts) we had breaks between each game. We are quite ready for the packed season ahead," said Dhoni at the launch of a new national T20 jersey by the Indian Cricket Board's apparel sponsors Nike.

"Slowly we will get into the Test format now and then the T20s. There is lot of cricket ahead ending with the IPL. We have to look ahead every 15 days," he said.

Dhoni was referring to the start of the first home series of the season - against New Zealand – beginning with the Test match at Hyderabad on August 23. The visitors will play one more Test at Bangalore before ending their tour with two T20 Internationals at Vizag and Chennai.

This will be followed by the ICC World T20 Championship in Sri Lanka from September 18 to October 7. The season will continue with the visit by England and Australia before the IPL.

Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma were the other Indian cricketers present at the launch of the new T20 jersey for Team India. 

Keywords – Team mentally fit for long season said Dhoni, slowly we will get into the test format now and then the T20s said dhoni.

Virat Kohli nominated for ICC Cricketer of the year award

Virat Kohli has been rewarded for his consistency with the bat with two nominations in the ICC Awards 2012 which includes ICC Cricketer of the Year and ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year Awards.

He is the only Indian cricketer to have two nominations, whereas other Indians to be nominated under various categories are MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar.

While Dhoni and Gambhir are nominated along with Kohli for the ODI Cricketer of the Year Award, Tendulkar has been nominated for the People's Choice Award, an honour he had won in 2010. This award will be chosen by cricket fans around the world who will get a chance to vote for their favourite player online from a short-list of five cricketers.

Five cricketers - Kumar Sangakkara, Sachin Tendulkar, Vernon Philander, Jacques Kallis and James Anderson - were selected by the ICC selection panel and released to the public for voting earlier this month.

Keywords – Virat kohli nominated for the ICC Cricketor year award.

London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony

After an epic two weeks the London 2012 Olympics finally came to a close with an outstanding display of pomp and celebration. You can definitely be one of the 80,000 at the stadium. You should have definitely enjoyed the show. You can even be comfortable to sit on the sofa at home to watch something spectacular about to happen. There is a slight tinge of sadness to say goodbye to the best sporting event this country has ever seen.

The warm up performance continued with madness. More tears came following the highly energetic Brazilian performance when Lord Coe thanked London, its volunteers and athletes for making the games a success. ‘We lit up the world’ and ‘When our time came, Britain we did it right’ were a couple that caused an emotional response, understatement!

As the flame was quietly extinguished and a hush fell over London, I can honestly say that the last two weeks have been filled with joy, anticipation, anxiety, hope, drama and lots of smiles and that’s just me! The people of Great Britain have truly made these games. The spectators, volunteer, athletes and press have all done an incredible job.

Keywords – London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony.

Wrestler Sushil Kumar won Silver Medal in London Olympics

Wrestler Sushil Kumar on Sunday created history by becoming the first Indian to win back-to-back Olympic medals but the coveted gold medal eluded him as he lost the men's freestyle 66 kg category final to his Japanese opponent rather tamely at the ExCel Arena.

The 29-year-old Sushil found the Japanese Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu, a tough opponent as he carved out a 3-1 victory to shatter the his hopes of winning a gold medal.

With the addition of Sushil's silver medal, India completed their engagements in the 30th edition of the Olympics with a record haul of six medals -- two silver and four bronze -- but the gold medal could not be won by any one.

In Beijing, India had won one gold and two bronze medals.

Sushil, who was cheered by the flag-waving Indian spectators, was down with dehydration when he took the mat for the final and that had a bearing on his performance.

"I had a stomach problem just after the semi-final, because of the dehydration. I lost weight and was feeling a little weak. But we have got a silver medal and we will try for gold medal in the next Olympics," Sushil said after the medal ceremony.

Keywords – wrestler sushil kumar won silver in Olympics 2012, He said he will try for gold medal in the next Olympics.

The excellent young cricketer virat kohli

Virat Kohli was born on 5^th November 1988 to Prem Kohli and Saroj kohli at Delhi. He is now 22 and weighs around 65 kilos. He grew up at Delhi and studied in ST SOFIA school in paschim vihar, Delhi. He got his initial cricket training in west delhi cricket academy since 1998. He also used to play matches for sumit dogra academy in vasundhara enclave near noida.

He has a golden dragon tattoo in scripted on his hand for good luck. He is a huge fan of Leander Paes and Roger Federer. He loves to play tennis and go on love drive with his girl friend Sanjana the kannada actress. Virat is one of the best fielder in the Indian squad. He bats right handed and ball his medium pace with his right hand.

Keywords – All about cricketer Virat Kohli.

Sachin Tendular set to return, all eyes on Laxman’s Future

Sachin Tendulkar is all set to return to the Test arena after a break of two months but all eyes will be on another veteran VVS Laxman`s future when selectors pick the squad for the two-match series against New Zealand starting August 23.

The selectors will also pick the final squad for the World Twenty20 Championship in Sri Lanka in September and Yuvraj Singh, who is training at the NCA after recovering from a rare germ cell cancer, is in contention for a spot.

"It will depend on the fitness certificate that he will get from the NCA," a selection committee source said.

The first Test against New Zealand will be held in Hyderabad while the second match will be played at Bangalore from August 31.

"There are two schools of thought on Laxman. One is that we should groom a youngster before the series against England, while the other wants to give Laxman a chance to play at home," the source said.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Coach Duncan Fletcher will be attending the meeting.

Incidentally, this will be India`s first Test series after their 0-4 drubbing during at the hands of Australia, earlier this year.

Tendulkar, who decided to take a break from the recently concluded limited overs series in Sri Lanka, will be fresh and raring to have a go at the New Zealanders, who had a forgettable Test series against the West Indies.

Keyword – Sachin Tendulkar set to return, selectors pick the squad for the two match series against New Zealand.

Indian hockey team finish with five defeats at Olympics

Belgium struck thrice to hand India their fifth consecutive defeat in the Olympic men’s hockey competition in London on Tuesday.

Goals by veteran Jerome Dekeyser, Gautier Boccard and Tom Boon set up Belgium’s second win which lifted them to third position in the group with seven points while a winless India finished sixth without a point and will play for 9-12 positions, their worst-ever finish in the Olympics.

The team failed to show any improvement even against a team that was considered the weakest of the six in the group. Belgium showed that under Aussie legend Colin Batch’s coaching their side is making good progress.

Belgium effectively closed the match with a late strike as Boon sounded the boards with a reverse hit even as a backpedalling Indian defence was caught on the wrong foot.

Keywords – Indian hockey team finish with five defeats at Olympics, Belgium effectively closed the match with a late strike and Indian defence was caught on the wrong foot.

Vijay Kumar won silver medal in shooting event at London Olympics

Indian shooter Vijay Kumar won a silver medal at the London Games after winning silver in the 25m rapid fire pistol shooting event.

Kumar finished with a score of 30 to win medal at the London Olympics.  Leuris Pupo from Cuba won the gold medal with a total of 34.

Kumar became the second shooter to break the previous Olympic record of 583 during the second stage of qualification. Placed fourth in the list, Kumar who had scored 293 in stage 1 of the qualification yesterday shot a series of 98 97 97 in the second stage to take his total score to 585.

We all congratulate the sharp shooter…………..

Keywords – Vijay kumar wins silver medal in Olympics, Leuris Pupo won the gold medal.

Indian victory against srilanka

Indian cricket team wins the trophy after one day international cricket match and the series against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary provided the mainstay of the Indian innings with a fourth-wicket partnership of 110.

Mahindra Singh Dhoni made 58 from just 38 balls and put on 77 with Irfan Pathan. And the latter then took five for 61 as Sri Lanka came up just short despite 77 from Lahiru Thirimanne and 72 from Jeevan Mendis.

Indian openers Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane put on 29 in five overs and Virat Kohli then joined Gambhir to see the total to 77 before being dismissed for 23.

Suresh Raina went first ball but Dhoni survived the hat-trick ball and the next three deliveries went to the boundary the first via the India captain’s helmet.

Pathan clean bowled Senanayake with the final ball of his spell to pick up his fifth wicket and though Malinga crashed two boundaries, he was then caught on the boundary to end Sri Lanka’s valiant challenge.

Keywords - Indian victory against srilanka in one day international and series, Captain Mahendra singh dhoni, Gambhir and Manoj tiwari played well.

Saina Nehwal won bronze in London Olympics

Saina Nehwal won India its third medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games, after being declared the winner in the women's badminton play-off for the bronze medal after her Chinese opponent Wang Xin withdrew with an injured knee.

Saina's opponent Wang, the World No. 2, won the first game despite the injury she suffered at the end of it. She won the first game 21-18, but before claiming the final point, she strained her knee. Wang received medical attention before claiming the game, but broke down soon into the second game – with the score 1-0 in her favour - before she hobbled off the court.

Keywords – Saina Nehwal won bronze in London Olympics, Wang Xin withdrew with an injured knee.

Leander Paes and Sania Mirza out of Olympics

Leander Paes and Sania Mirza bowed out of the mixed doubles tennis event to end Indian tennis hopes at the London Olympics 2012.  The Indian duo lost out in straight set 5-7, 6-7 to top seeds Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi of Belarus.

It was a disappointing exit for Paes-Sania, who would have been looking for at least some medal after all other Indians had made sorry exits in their respective tennis events. Leander Paes was paired up with Vishnu Vardhan in the men’s doubles but bowed out in the second round. Sania Mirza and Rushmi Chakravarthy made a first round exit in the women’s doubles.

Keywords – Leander Paes and Sania Mirza out of Olympics, Indian duo lost to Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi of Belarus.

Gagan Narang to win bronze in London Olympics

Gagan Narang who won the first medal for India at Olympics on Monday had less time to celebrate as he was focusing on 50M Air Rifle Prone which is slated to begin today. He was working hard on healing the injury after winning the bronze medal on Monday.

“Gagan pulled a neck muscle, I think during the 10m air rifle final. He didn’t feel the pain that day but he complained about it the next morning,” national coach sunny Thomas told DNA.

Narang who is working on the fitness with his team physiotherapist since Tuesday, also felt he did not find time to cherish the moment, as he was busy healing the injury and focusing on the other events.

His coach, Thomas who is working with Narang and helping him sort out issues ahead of the event on Friday, said, “To remain in that position for more than one hour is tough. His knee is not a big problem anymore. It has been holding up well for last few weeks. We are worried a bit about his neck as it was bothering him a lot on Friday. But it is getting better now. Hopefully, he’ll be fit and ready for Friday.”

Keywords - Gagan Narang won first medal for India at London Olympics, neck injury after winning the bronze medal, coach thomas working with narang to sort out issues ahead of the event.

Saina and kashyap enter London Olympic Quarter-finals

On Wednesday Parupalli Kashyap became the first Indian shuttler to reach the quarter finals of the Olympics after defeating Sri Lanka’s Niluka Karunaratne. The match witnessed several long rallies and the Indian shuttler was forced to work hard for every point.

Saina and Kashyap are the only two Indian players who have qualified for the quarter finals in the Olympics till date. In women’s singles, Saina brought further good news for the Indian camp. She defeated her opponent Yao Jei, the Dutch shuttler with a 21-14, 21-16 scoreline.

Saina will be up against either Denmark’s Tine Baun or Japan’s Sayaka Sato in the quarter-finals, scheduled for Thursday. Kashyap will be up against the Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei, who is currently ranked second in the world.

Keywords – Parupalli Kashyap, Saina and kashyap enter London Olympic Quarter-finals, Saina to face Denmark’s Tine Baun or Japan’s Sayaka Sato in quarter finals, Kashyap to face Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei.

Kohli inspires India to series win

Virat Kohli once again demonstrated his liking for the Sri Lankan bowling when he notched up his second century of the tour to guide India to a series-clinching win in the fourth one-day international on Tuesday.

Kohli and Suresh Raina made short work of Sri Lanka's total of 251 for eight when they shared an unbroken partnership of 146 off 112 balls as India replied with 255 for four in 42.2 overs to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.The win was India's 400th in one-day internationals.

Kohli smashed 128 not out off 119 balls, his 13th ODI hundred and his fifth against Sri Lanka. Raina, living a charmed life after being given not out off an edge when on two and then dropped on 19 by Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene at slip, went onto score his third half-century of the series.

His 58 not out came off 51 balls and included four fours and one six. India got off to a bad start when Gautam Gambhir was yorked by Lasith Malinga for a duck in the first over but Virender Sehwag (34) and Kohli steadied the innings with a stand of 52.

Although India lost a further two wickets, Rohit Sharma for four and Manoj Tiwary for 21, Kohli stood rock solid at one end to forge a match-winning partnership with Raina.

Keywords – Kohli inspires India to series win, The partnership of Kohli and Suresh Raina, Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene, match-winning partnership with Raina.