Sports
The ability to absorb pressure by both Shami and Kohli is up there at the top, says Paras Mhambrey
Mumbai, April 10 (IANS) Paras Mhambrey, the current India men’s bowling coach, said though Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami are totally different in both body language and mental approach, the common thread connecting the talismanic cricketers is their top-notch ability to absorb pressure and put their best foot forward to make the side win from any situation.
Kohli and Shami had been the leading run-getter and wicket-taker respectively in India’s runners-up finish at the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup on home soil. “Both of them are completely different in terms of body language and mental approach. Apart from the mental built, Virat is very aggressive on the face all the time. But if you see Shami, he’s completely in contrast – you will see a lot more bowlers being pumped out in celebrating after taking a wicket.”
“But Shami will do the usual hello and that kind of stuff. In terms of mental strength, both are up there. In appearance, Shami would look like a laidback character, but understands his game extremely well in-and-out. He knows what’s expected out of him, and for the team. In terms of training, he would do something different, but anything which suits him and he knows what works best for his body, which he is aware of inside-out and is so important for an individual to succeed in life.”
“The ability to absorb pressure by both Shami and Kohli is up there at the top. Virat is one of the best in chasing, which was something considered as a very difficult task in limited-overs cricket. But now you see, he’s the prime reason why India has chased mammoth scores. Same is with Shami in the way he’s won games for India. Both are different, but they understand their roles and themselves very well, and how to use their skill in a very different way,” said Mhambrey at the launch of the book “Goats Must Be Crazy” at IISM, Mumbai.
He went on to explain how Kohli’s work ethics have rubbed on the young cricketers in Indian team. ‘’To be able to see the work put in by Virat day in and day out is an eye opener. You see youngsters talking to him and trying to learn from him. It gives everyone a fantastic insight into how he prepares.”
“I see a lot of younger people in the team taking out those minutes to have that conversation with him because those words of wisdom are fantastic. Unless you are not crazy or obsessed in any profession that you are, you can never be one of the greatest and that’s common with all sportspersons.”
Speaking about the progression of young fast-bowlers like Umran Malik and Mayank Yadav, Mhambrey felt refining the skills and having that skillset to succeed as a fast-bowlers holds huge importance. “You are born with certain skills and you have to have that skill to play. The skill that Shami has cannot be replicated unless you have it. For Bumrah, he has certain skill and these are the guys who are born with that skill.”
“You become a GOAT (greatest of all time) with the attitude you have, the work that you put in, the vision you have about yourself and the inspiration you want to be. In combination with other factors, it will make you a GOAT. But the pure skill you have, just build on it. I may be wrong, but anyone can’t say that I made Shami or Bumrah.”
“Yes, you can refine the skill and help them in refining what they already have, but you need to possess that something different and these guys are different than the others and that makes them look good. How they work and prepare just rubs on to the others. I see a lot of younger guys opening up and sharing their thoughts and experiences while being in the team.”
Asked about the fast-bowlers he admired in his growing up years, Mhambrey was quick to take names of legendary fast-bowlers Kapil Dev and Sir Richard Hadlee. “For me, when I was growing up, obviously it was Kapil paaji (Kapil Dev, as an idol) – one of the finest fast-bowlers and match-winners this country has ever seen, purely for the fact that in those days, TV coverage of matches was less.”
“So we would go to neighbours house and try to sneak and find those moments of magic. So, at that time, Kapil paaji was big inspiration purely for the career he had – no injuries and playing so much of Test cricket. There were other reasons why he was dropped, but him playing 100+ Test matches was phenomenal for me and another inspiration for me was Sir Richard Hadlee.”
–IANS
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New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Last year’s runners-up Ona Jabeur is enjoying her time at Wimbledon so far after reaching the third round of the tournament with successive straight wins in the opening matches.
Tunisian tennis player said her playing style suits grass courts and she hopes to do well in the ongoing Grand Slam.
“It’s an honour for me, representing my country and my continent. Obviously, there’s a bit of pressure, but it’s a good pressure, a good responsibility to send a positive message. I hope I’m doing it well. I will continue doing that. I hope I can inspire more and more and see more players from my country and my continent being here. I am enjoying every moment, and I love playing on grass so much that my game really suits this beautiful court. I’m just trying to be here, enjoy every moment, enjoy the crowd, the love of the crowd, and prepare like I prepared for the other years,” Jabeur told Star Sports.
Talking about her wish to visit India soon, she said, “I need just 2 million more Indian fans, please, follow me. I need to go, seriously, I need to go to India. I’ve never been there. This is one of the items on my bucket list. My fans in India, I’m looking forward to coming one day. I really love the country and I want to discover it more and more. So when I have time, I really want to go and enjoy it there. It’s coming from the heart, really. And Sania (Mirza) will be there.”
American tennis player and current world no.2 Coco Gauff shared her thoughts on dealing with emotions and expectations coming into Wimbledon.
“Just treating it and enjoying it, honestly. I think there’s always going to be expectations put on me, but I take it as an honour. I think if people expect big things from you, that means you’re doing something right, so hopefully I can continue to do things right,” she said.
Reflecting on her US Open win and aspirations for Wimbledon, she added, “It would mean a lot, especially here at Wimbledon; it’s probably the most prestigious tournament we have, and it would be an honour to maybe hold that trophy. But if not, I would love to at least win another slam to get that feeling again.”
Jabeur will take on Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the third-round clash on Saturday while Gauff will lock horns with countrymate Emma Navarro in the round of 16 match on Saturday.
–IANS
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Panipat, July 6 (IANS) Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s mother Saroj Devi said she will send a special ‘churma’ (a popular delicacy from Haryana and Rajasthan) for Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the latter requested for it during a recent interaction with the athlete.
“We wish that Neeraj wins the gold medal again and get the opportunity to meet PM Modi again. Yes, this time I’ll send special churma made with ‘desi ghee’, ‘shakkar’ and ‘khand’,” Saroj Devi told IANS.
On Thursday, PM Modi hosted Paris Olympic-bound athletes at his residence to have a conversation with them. During such a chat with Neeraj, PM asked the javelin thrower to bring homemade ‘churma’ for him prepared by his mother.
Neeraj casually greeted the PM, saying, “Namaskar sir, kaise hain?” (Hello sir, how are you?) To which PM Modi replied with a chuckle, “Mai vaisa hi hu” (I am just the same).
PM Modi then joked, “Mera choorma abhi tak aaya nahi” (I haven’t received my churma yet), sparking laughter all around.
With a shy smile, Neeraj replied, “Is baar Haryana wala choorma khilayenge sir, pichli baar Delhi ka cheeni wala khaya tha” (This time I will treat you with churma from Haryana; last time we had the sugary one from Delhi).
The PM eagerly expressed his craving for homemade churma, saying, “Mujhe tumhari maa ke haath ka choorma khana hai” (I want to savour churma made by your mother).
After their humorous banter, PM Modi wished Neeraj all the best for the Paris Olympics, urging him to stay fit and injury-free.
Neeraj’s father Satish Kumar said his son detailed his training and preparations for the Olympics to PM Modi.
“Neeraj told PM that his training is going well and he’ll give his all to clinch the second gold medal for the country,” he said.
“He has missed some of the events in the past due to groin injury but now he has recovered and wants to focus on the Olympics. He wants to better his previous record and win a medal. He is currently training for 6-8 hours daily under the guidance of his coach and physio,” Satish added.
–IANS
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Dusseldorf, July 6 (IANS) Switzerland have perhaps been the best team in the 2024 European Championship after Spain and Germany. The team has proved that they are up for a challenge as they defeated defending champions Italy in the Round of 16.
Ahead of their matchup with England, head coach Murat Yakin has promised that side ‘will cause England problems.’
“England have a lot of quality. We don’t know what they plan to do but we have shown already that we can mix it against big teams – against the defending champions [Italy] and the hosts [Germany]. We will cause England problems,” said Yakin to reporters in the post game press conference.
Switzerland were in Group A and their impressive outing saw them finish with seven points and finish second on goal difference. The side then went on to dominate Italy in their first knockout game with a 2-0 victory.
“I assume that England has enough quality to play well in a quarter-final but we are in good shape and have shown that we are ready to upset big teams. Why not give big England a problem and play our game and see what happens?,” added the Swiss head coach.
Switzerland will be playing their fifth ever major tournament quarter-final. They have been eliminated at this stage in all four of their previous attempts, this is the most any European nation has featured in quarter-finals of major tournaments without ever participating in a semi-final.
The winner of the tie will be facing the winner of the Netherlands vs Turkey quarter-final.
“Everyone is working towards a common goal. We’re happy to be here, living the moment. The mood in the camp is very good. We are developing together,” concluded the 49-year old.
–IANS
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Silvis (Illinois), July 6 (IANS) England’s Aaron Rai and CT Pan of Chinese Taipei gave the scoreboard at the John Deere Classic a strong Asian flavour as they shared the lead at the midway stage of the PGA TOUR event.
Rai, whose parents have an Indian origin going back to his grandparents, shot another bogey-free round of 8-under 63 to share the lead with Pan going into the weekend at the John Deere Classic. Rai was 65-63 for two rounds and Pan was the same and the duo was 14-under.
The pair lead by two strokes from England’s Harry Hall (66), while Korean star Sungjae Im also powered into contention following a superb 64 to be tied for fourth with five others, including overnight leader Hayden Springer on 130.
A week ago Rai shared the 54-hole lead in Detroit and wound up one shot begin winner, Cam Davis. Rai, who was bogey free in his first round 65 went two shots better and was still without a bogey on his scorecard. He is looking for his maiden PGA Tour win after a lot of close calls.
Rai’s grandparents from both his mother and father’s side have Indian origins. His mother grew up in Kenya, before they migrated to UK, where Aaron was born in Wolverhampton.
The impressive performance at TPC Deere Run will certainly boost Pan’s confidence ahead of the Olympics where he won the bronze medal in Tokyo, beating the likes of Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Hideki Matsuyama in a seven-way playoff for the podium finish.
Pan holed out from 32 yards for an eagle en route to a flawless 8-under 63. The 32-year-old Pan, who won the 2019 RBC Heritage for his sole PGA TOUR victory, pitched in for a two on the par-4 14th hole at TPC Deere Run to post his best score of the season, complemented by six earlier birdies.
Pan’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games-bound compatriot Kevin Yu also delivered an impressive 63, improving 57 places for joint 10th. Yu chalked up 10 birdies, seven of which came on the back nine, offset by two bogeys.
Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune carded a second successive 67 to comfortably progress to the weekend rounds in T32 at 134. He is followed by S.H. Kim of Korea, who shot a 69 to sit one shot further back in T39.
Two-time John Deere winner Jordan Spieth made the weekend with 69-67.
–IANS
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Sports
Copa America and Euro Schedule: England and Netherlands face tough tests; Brazil & Uruguay to battle it out in QF
New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) The Copa America and the European Championships are nearing the business end of the tournament. Saturday’s fixtures will see the top four sides in both tournaments be confirmed.
All eyes will be on the battle of the heavyweights with Brazil and Uruguay set to clash at the Allegiant Stadium in Nevada. Brazil have had a topsy-turvy start to their tournament with the side finishing second in their group behind Colombia.
Uruguay on the other hand are tied with Argentina as the record winners of the tournament (15 times) with the side being in top form heading into the game having scored nine goals in their three Group stage games.
Colombia have been on a 25-game unbeaten streak and will be hoping to beat Panama in what is expected to be a one-sided encounter.
With Argentina and Canada already set up for the first semi-final of the tournament, the winners of Colombia vs Panama and Brazil vs Uruguay will face each other in the next round.
England will be facing a tough test in their quarter-final matchup against in-form Switzerland. The Three Lions have been struggling to score and just managed to scrape past Slovakia in their Round of 16 game with a 2-1 win after extra-time.
Reports suggest that Southgate may be looking to switch the formation to a back three to take on the swift counter-attacking side.
Netherlands will be full of confidence heading into their game against Turkey having breezed past Romania with a 3-0 win in the Round of 16. The Dutch have not reached the semi-finals of the Euros since 2004. Turkey on the other hand will hope to continue their dream run and make their first semi-final appearance since 2008.
Euro Cup schedule:
Saturday: England vs Switzerland 9:30 PM IST
Sunday: Netherlands vs Turkey 12:30 AM IST
Copa America schedule:
Sunday: Colombia vs Panama 3:30 AM IST
Sunday: Brazil vs Uruguay 6:30 AM IST
–IANS
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