Sania Mirza: India tennis icon who showed hate could be defeated
Statistically, Sania Mirza may be no match for all-time greats like Serena Williams, but it’s hard to overstate the tennis star’s impact on sport in India, especially for women.
Her black hair tied in a quick bun, Mirza’s dark eyes focused across the net on Tuesday, as she bounced the ball three times before serving, her iconic nose pin glinting with every move.
She was playing against Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova at the WTA Dubai Duty-Free Championships – hundreds of spectators, many of them fans from India, packed the courtside seating to watch her “last dance”.
Mirza and her partner Madison Keys lost the first-round match in straight sets, drawing the curtains on her 20-year professional tennis career.
The devotion of Mirza’s fans has remained unrivaled, surviving triumphs by her opponents and injuries that dogged her over the years. Her best run came in 2015 when she and Martina Hingis won 16 titles, including three grand slams, ranking them the greatest women’s doubles pair of all time.
But Mirza’s story is special because she made it as a professional sportswoman, despite the odds being stacked against her. Born in 1986, she grew up in the southern city of Hyderabad at a time when tennis as a profession was only for the wealthy.
Nida Dar surpasses West Indies’ Anisa Mohammad to become leading T20I wicket-take
Pakistan’s all-rounder Nida Dar made history on Tuesday by becoming the leading wicket-taker in women’s T20 internationals, taking her 126th wicket in the match against England.
Nida surpassed West Indies’ Anisa Mohammad who had 125 wickets to her name.
The veteran all-rounder equaled Anisa’s record on Sunday against West Indies in a Women’s T20 World Cup match at Paarl’s Boland Park.
Dar took two wickets for 13 in four overs to equal former West Indies player Anisa Mohammed’s record of 125 wickets in women’s T20 internationals.
However, it was a bitter-sweet day for Dar, as West Indies eventually beat Pakistan by three runs to finish their group fixtures with two wins out of four.
Nida Dar’s stellar 2022
For her brilliant performances with the bat and ball in 2022, Nida was also nominated for ICC’s Women’s T20I player of the year award.
All-rounder Nida Dar scored 396 runs in 16 T20I matches at an average of 56.57 and got 15 wickets in 2022.
She became the first and the only Pakistan bowler to have claimed 100 T20I wickets
Novak Djokovic overcomes injury to reach Australian Open round of 16
Novak Djokovic beat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets – 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 6-4 – to move in the last 16 of the Australian Open, despite a difficult performance from the world No. 5 who was visibly struggling to move at points during the match.
Djokovic, arguably the favorite to win the competition after Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud were knocked out, came into Saturday’s clash carrying a hamstring injury. However, he seemed to ease those worries as he broke Dimitrov’s serve in the first game.
But Djokovic pulled up feeling his hamstring later in the first set and was forced to take a medical timeout after winning a grueling tiebreak.
After some treatment, Djokovic returned as a new man and took advantage of Dimitrov’s loose play to take the second set comfortably.
The Bulgarian had not dropped a single set in the previous two rounds, but he could not keep up with the metronomic Djokovic.
Despite playing well in the first set, Dimitrov was unable to recover after losing it
Free transfers: These players are out of contract and available to sign
The transfer window may well be closed but there are still a few players who could be signed between now and the end of the season.
Teams can now only sign players who are out of contract and available on a free transfer until the transfer window reopens in the summer.
BBC Sport has taken a look at some of those who are available.
Isco (Spain, attacking midfielder, 30)
Of the players available, Isco is the most decorated of them all. In nine seasons with Real Madrid, he won the Champions League five times, the Club World Cup four times, La Liga three times, the Uefa Super Cup three times, and one Copa del Rey.
He had his contract with Sevilla mutually ended in December and was expected to join German side Union Berlin on transfer deadline day, only for the move to break down with Union saying the player had priced himself out of a deal.
Sime Vrsaljko (Croatia, right-back, 31)
In 2018, Sime Vrsaljko played for Croatia in the World Cup final against France, and now he finds himself without a club.
The right-back played for Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan before moving from Atletico to Greek side Olympiakos in July, but the defender, who has played 52 times for his country, was released at the end of 2022.
Jese Rodriguez (Spain, left-winger, 29)
Jese came through the ranks at Real Madrid and was an unused substitute in the 2016 Champions League final win against Atletico Madrid before he moved to Paris St-Germain in a deal worth 25m euros.
But he struggled to get in the PSG side and had four loans away from the club, including making 13 Premier League appearances for Stoke City. Most recently, he had been with Turkish Super Lig side MKE Ankaragucu before being released last month.
Federico Fernandez (Argentina, center-half, 33
Former Swansea City and Newcastle defender Federico Fernandez only left the Premier League last summer – so could he make a quick return?
The center-half was in Argentina’s squad that reached the 2014 World Cup final before four seasons at Swansea. He moved to Newcastle in 2018 and became the club’s vice-captain during a four-year spell at St James’ Park. He joined La Liga side Elche in September but left in December having only played one match.
Jordan Lukaku (Belgium, left-back, 28)
The younger brother of former Everton, Chelsea, and Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku, Jordan has played eight times for his country.
He had spells with Anderlecht, Lazio, and Royal Antwerp before his contract at Spanish second-tier side Ponferradina was ended earlier this month.
Bojan Krkic (Spain, striker, 32)
Also known just as ‘Bojan’, what a career this Spain striker has had! He began at Barcelona, winning La Liga three times, the Champions League twice, the Fifa Club World Cup, the Uefa Super Cup, and the Copa del Rey.
He also won the Eredivisie with Ajax before spending five seasons at Stoke City, scoring 14 Premier League goals. Since leaving England, he has played in Major League Soccer with Montreal Impact and most recently in Japan for Vissel Kobe, He became a free agent in December.
Jurgen Locadia (Netherlands, striker, 29)
Dutch striker Jurgen Locadia won the league title twice in his home country for PSV Eindhoven before moving to Brighton in January 2018 in a £15m transfer.
He played 26 times in the Premier League for the Seagulls in the 2018-19 season before loan spells at German outfit Hoffenheim and MLS side FC Cincinnati.
In January 2022, he joined the German team Bochum and then joined Persepolis in Iran, scoring six times in nine games. However, he left in December following warnings from the Dutch government to its nationals to not remain in Iran because of the ongoing protests in the country.
Renzo Saravia (Argentina, right-back, 29)
He has played nine times for his country and was in Argentina’s Copa America squad that finished third in 2019.
Saravia won the league title in Argentina with Racing and also had a spell in Portugal with Porto. He was last with Brazilian side Botafogo but is now without a club.
Pape Cheikh Diop (Senegal, central midfielder, 25)
He has played three times for Senegal having previously represented Spain at the under-21 level. Cheikh Diop moved from Celta Vigo in Spain to Lyon in France in a deal worth 10m euros in 2017 and was last with Greek side Aris Saloniki.
Emma Raducanu: British number one awarded Indian Wells wildcard.
British number one Emma Raducanu has been awarded a wildcard for Indian Wells next month.
The 20-year-old, who won the 2021 US Open, missed the cut for direct entry to the women’s main draw after her world ranking slipped to 80th.
She has not played since her defeat by American teenager Coco Gauff in the Australian Open second round.
Fellow Britons Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie have been included in the men’s singles draw.
American Taylor Fritz and Poland’s Iga Swiatek will defend their titles in California, while Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are also on the entry lists despite question marks ov
Due to his Covid-19 vaccination status, world number one Djokovic – a five-time Indian Wells champion – cannot currently enter the United States.
The US is planning to lift its travel restrictions in May but that will likely come too late for the Serb, with the tournament set to start on 9 March.
Spain’s Nadal, who has won the Indian Wells title three times, was ruled out for six to eight weeks after a hip injury hampered him during his exit from the Australian Open last month, but could return in time for the first Master’s tournament of 2023.
In 2022, Raducanu exited Indian Wells in the second round, despite beating current world number five Caroline Garcia in her opening match.
The 26-year-old Italian, who won joint gold in the parallel slalom at the last worlds in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2021, timed 1min 28.06sec down the Roc de Fer piste in Meribel.
“It was just wonderful, in perfect conditions,” said Bassino, who becomes just the second Italian female racer to win world super-G gold after Isolde Kostner in 1996 and 1997.
Shiffrin, who won the super-G title at the 2019 worlds in Are, made up for skiing out of Monday’s alpine combined on the cusp of bagging gold with a second-placed finish just 0.11 seconds behind.
The silver was no real surprise as Shiffrin won the downhill at last season’s World Cup Finals on the same slope.
It saw the 27-year-old American, who is one short of Ingemar Stenmark’s overall record of 86 World Cup victories, draw level with Norway’s Kjetil Andre Aamodt as the winner of most individual world medals (12) in the post-WWII era.
She has now won six golds, three silvers, and three bronzes since making her world champs debut in 2013.
Bronze was shared by Austria’s Cornelia Huetter and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway, both at 0.33sec.
It is often said that alpine ski racing is a sport of small margins and so it proved in the French resort on a piste bathed in largely sunny, cold conditions.
Bassino, with bib number eight, set the pace and could only look on as a raft of rivals, and podium favorites, took to the start gate.
A familiar pattern to the timings emerged: fast starting, the racers crucially lost time heading into the shady technical midsection of the course, leaving themselves too much to do in the bottom third to reel back in those invaluable hundredths of seconds.
Reigning world and Olympic champion Lara Gut-Behrami was one such racer, the Swiss eventually finishing sixth, at 0.37sec, just one-hundredth behind Ragnhild Mowinckel, the Norwegian who heads up the World Cup super-G standings paying the price for clipping a gate.
Late charger Alice Robinson of New Zealand, starting 30th, threatened to derail the podium but faded at the bottom after leading all the way down, coming in eighth, one place ahead of newly-crowned combined champion Federica Brignone of Italy.
“It was an easier super-G, with not too much speed,” said Brignone. “I was really tired yesterday but it was fine today, I felt good, a bit stressed but that’s good.
“We’re skiing fast, we push all the time!” Brignone said of the Italian women’s team.
“At every training session, someone’s going quick and the level keeps going up.”
The top 14 racers all finished within a second of Bassino and included teammate and two-time Olympic downhill medallist Sofia Goggia and two-time former downhill champion Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia.
KARACHI: On Monday morning, the KPT Sports Complex, was buzzing with activity in a heartwarming display of athleticism and determination. On its wood-paneled court, Pakistan’s special athletes bounced and ran in a friendly basketball match with their unified partners; people without intellectual disabilities. They were here mCundari, a seasoned coach with extensive experience in the field, is here on invitation from Special Olympics Pakistan (SOP), and apart from overseeing the training of Pakistan’s special athletes he will also provide training to coaches. “These athletes are an inspiration for us,” Cundari told Dawn, “and working with special children is a privilege.” marking the start of preparations for this year’s Special Olympic World Games in Berlin which were being observed by Canadian coach Glenn Cundari.
From what he’d seen on his first day in Pakistan, Cundari — who won the Canadian national award for ‘Contributions to Coach Development’ — reckons there is a lot of potentials. “I observed these players in the basketball match and other sports and they are more than capable to bring some medals home,” he added.
Almost 200 countries will be participating in the Berlin Games, which kick off on June 17 and conclude on June 25.
Pakistan’s athletes will be competing in 11 disciplines including, tennis, table tennis, basketball, futsal, cycling, boche, athletic, badminton, powerlifting, field hockey, and swimming.
A delegation of 121 members will travel to the German capital. The delegation includes 51 male athletes and 36 female athletes along with unified partners, 17 male coaches, 13 female coaches, three officials, and one doctor.
With Cundari roped in to provide his expertise, a strong showing from Pakistan is expected.
“I was fortunate enough to develop a relationship with Special Olympics International which was supporting the project here in Pakistan,” Cundari informed. “Coaches are always looking for more support and as we started to build relations with SOP chairperson Ms. Ronak Lakhani. I became more interested in taking this assignment and helping the coaches here.”
Cundari will leave Pakistan on Friday and will supervise the training from an online platform.
“Training online is definitely less effective than me being personal here but this is the situation at the moment and I will try to make the best of the opportunity,” he added.
Ronak Lakhani, who was honored with Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2016, said that the addition of Cundari will help the athletes prepare better and also would be more supportive of the local coaches.
“The arrival of Cundari to Pakistan is an honor for us.” the SOP chairperson told Dawn. “Cundari will hold seminars on the next two days where he will address on how to enhance the capabilities of critical thinking, mental strength, and leadership skills of the coaches which will help them take decisions better.”
But organizing activities regularly for athletes with special needs remains a challenge.
“We don’t get support from the government and we have to organize events like National Games on our own,” SOP’s national director Talha Tahir told Dawn. “We are in talks with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and we want them to support us.”Taha, however, added that the training camps will continue till the Games.
“We have recently organized national camps and now these camps will be city-wise where athletes will be invited,” he informed, adding that apart from cyclists and hockey players, other athletes will continue to train at the KPT Sports Complex.
“We provide training to cyclists near Sea View, Khayaban-e-Sahil while hockey drills and practice sessions are being conducted at the Abdul Sattar Hockey Stadium.”
Riaz’s appointment as sports Minister is quite similar to West Bengal player Manoj Tiwary’s portfolio as State Sports Minister. He contested assembly elections from Shibpur (Vidhan Sabha constituency) and won as a member of the legislative assembly in 2021.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said he is excited to play alongside the caretaker Sports Minister of the Punjab province Wahab Riaz in the upcoming Pakistan Super League(PSL).
Babar Azam speaking about the prospect of playing with his former teammate Riaz said, “Abhi to Minister sahab Wahab bhai, abhi kafi excited hu Wahab bhai avenge. Lekin woh kafi experience hein aur wo T20 kafi der se kelte a rahe hain. Wo kafi cheezon ko samajthe hain. Koshish yahi hai ki ache tarike se khelen. Minister ko thora tight karna padega.” (Now he is the Minister. I am excited to play with him Wahab has a lot of experience. He has been playing T20 cricket for a long time. He understands things. The ultimate goal is to play fairly and Minister should keep things tight.)
Riaz’s appointment as sports Minister is quite similar to West Bengal player Manoj Tiwary’s portfolio as State Sports Minister. He contested assembly elections from Shibpur (Vidhan Sabha constituency) and won as a member of the legislative assembly in 2021.
Both players despite being involved in politics are active on the cricket circuit.
Wahab, who is currently playing in the Bangladesh Premier League, will take oath after he returns to Pakistan.
There is no official word on what this means for his involvement with the Pakistan Super League.
The 37-year-old has been retained by Peshawar Zalmi for this year’s Pakistan Super League and is expected to fulfill his commitment to the team despite his appointment as the caretaker Sports Minister of the Punjab province.
Babar moved from Karachi Kings to Peshawar Zalmi earlier this year. He has taken the captaincy reigns from Riaz.
Novak Djokovic extended his unparalleled record of Australian Open titles to 10 with a victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday.
AFP Sport recalls Djokovic’s incredible run of success on the way to becoming the undoubted king of Melbourne Park:
First Serb: 2008
Becomes first Serb to win a Grand Slam. Then 20, he burst into the big time with a straight-sets victory in the semi-finals over world number one Roger Federer.
In the final, he beat Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“Every player dreams of winning a Grand Slam. I am still not fully aware of what I have achieved these past two weeks,” the young Djokovic said.
Three-year wait ends: 2011
It was three long years before Djokovic secured a second major triumph, and he put his success down to a gluten-free diet.
It heralded a golden year where he won three of the four Grand Slam titles.
He lost only one set the entire fortnight in Melbourne including defeating defending champion Federer again in the semi-finals, before overpowering Andy Murray in the final.
Djokovic said he decided to change his backroom team, as well as his diet, after a disappointing 2010.
“I had to try to find the best possible solution and try to get back on the right track. That’s what I did,” he said.
The longest final: 2012
Djokovic’s first successful Grand Slam defence involved feats of endurance rarely witnessed before in tennis.
Novak Djokovic extended his unparalleled record of Australian Open titles to 10 with victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday.
AFP Sport recalls Djokovic’s incredible run of success on the way to becoming the undoubted king of Melbourne Park:
First Serb: 2008
Becomes first Serb to win a Grand Slam. Then 20, he burst into the big time with a straight-sets victory in the semi-finals over world number one Roger Federer.
In the final, he beat Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“Every player dreams of winning a Grand Slam. I am still not fully aware of what I have achieved these past two weeks,” the young Djokovic said.
Three-year wait ends: 2011
It was three long years before Djokovic secured a second major triumph, and he put his success down to a gluten-free diet.
It heralded a golden year where he won three of the four Grand Slam titles.
He lost only one set the entire fortnight in Melbourne including defeating defending champion Federer again in the semi-finals, before overpowering Andy Murray in the final.
Djokovic said he decided to change his backroom team, as well as his diet, after a disappointing 2010.
“I had to try to find the best possible solution and try to get back on the right track. That’s what I did,” he said.
The longest final: 2012
Djokovic’s first successful Grand Slam defence involved feats of endurance rarely witnessed before in tennis.
After a five-set battle against Murray in the semi-final, he then had to fight for almost six hours against Rafael Nadal to win the title.
It was the longest Grand Slam singles final in the Open era and ended at 1:37 am.
Djokovic ripped off his shirt and roared at the end of the epic match which he won 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5 in 5hr 53min.
“Physically it was the toughest match I ever played,” said Nadal, after addressing the crowd with: “Good morning!”
Title hat-trick: 2013
Djokovic became the first man since the Open era began in 1968 to win three Australian titles in a row after overpowering Murray in four sets.
“It’s definitely my favourite Grand Slam, my most successful Grand Slam. I love this court,” said Djokovic.
Revenge over Wawrinka: 2015
Djokovic was beaten in the 2014 quarter-finals by Stan Wawrinka, the eventual champion, but was back to his punishing best a year later.
After exacting revenge on the Swiss in the semi-finals he again rolled over Murray for the title, inflicting a humiliating 6-0 bagel on the Scot in the final set to tie Andre Agassi on the all-time list with eight Grand Slam titles.
His wife Jelena had given birth to their son Stefan three months earlier.
“I think it has deeper meaning, more intrinsic value now to my life because I’m a father and a husband,” said Djokovic.
‘Djokovic Slam’: 2016
The records kept tumbling as he clinched a sixth Melbourne crown to equal Roy Emerson’s pre-Open era record and win a third consecutive major title after Wimbledon and the US Open in 2015.
He would complete the “Djokovic Slam” at the French Open to hold all four majors at the same time.
He defeated Murray for a fourth time in the championship match.
“It’s an incredible feeling, especially because of the fact that I managed to make history tonight and equal Roy Emerson’s record of six Australian Opens,” he said.
Sampras eclipsed: 2019
After two years battling injury, including undergoing elbow surgery, he swatted aside old rival Nadal in the final to claim a record seventh Australian Open and 15th Grand Slam title to go ahead of his childhood idol, Pete Sampras.
“It was definitely a sign of destiny to start playing tennis, to aspire to be as good as Pete,” Djokovic said. “To surpass him with Grand Slam titles, I’m speechless.”
Great eight: 2020
Djokovic captured his eighth Australian Open title and earned his 900th tour-level match win on the way.
Federer was dispatched in straight sets in the semi-final but Dominic Thiem gave Djokovic his hardest final since the Nadal epic in 2012.
Djokovic eventually fought back from two sets to one down to secure his 17th major.
“Obviously at this stage of my career, Grand Slams are the ones I value the most. They are the ones I prioritise,” he said.
Stomach for the fight: 2021
Djokovic looked on his way out when he could barely run because of an abdominal injury in the third round against Taylor Fritz, but somehow survived in five sets.
He was unable to train between matches, but grew fitter with every passing round and reached the final.
World number four Daniil Medvedev went the way of the Serb’s eight previous final opponents as a rampant Djokovic extended his perfect record in finals in Melbourne.
More controversy, more glory: 2023
The fourth seed returned after missing the 2022 edition when he was deported over his Covid stance.
There were concerns over how he would be received by the crowd and there was hamstring trouble too, but the Serb got a warm reception and the injury improved as he went deeper into the tournament.
There was yet more controversy when his father Srdjan was pictured posing next to a Russian flag featuring Vladimir Putin’s face.
Djokovic put it all aside to reach the final and beat Tsitsipas for a 10th Melbourne title and record-equalling 22 Slam crowns.
