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Twice as nice for city shuttler Divecha!

City shuttler Naheed Divecha has bagged multiple titles to date, but she considers winning two golds at the Yonex Sunrise 46th Indian Masters National Badminton Championship at Panchkula, Haryana, exceptional as it was her first singles title and also her first mixed doubles honours with new partner Kiran Mokade. In the women’s 50 singles final, Divecha, who plays at the Bombay Gymkhana, defeated Sunita Singh Panwar of Haryana 21-14, 21-11. Later, Divecha and Mokade, also from Maharashtra, bagged the mixed doubles 50 title with 21-15, 21-9 win over top-seeded Karnataka pair of Prabagaran Subbaiyan and Jayashree Raghu. Talking about her recent feat at Panchkula, Divecha, 52, told mid-day.com: “I have won many titles before. At the 2019 nationals, I won two golds [both in doubles] and a silver [in singles]. That’s the closest I came to a triple, while in 2023 I won one gold and two bronze. I have won three medals at state events thrice, but this was a very special victory this year. I have been playing the Masters Nationals since 2013, but this time was my first-ever singles title. And a singles title always holds more weightage than doubles. I have always reached the semis or the finals in singles without winning gold, but this time I was able to go the distance. The mixed doubles title was exceptional considering Kiran [from Nagpur] and I won gold in our maiden year of the partnership.” Meanwhile, Divecha wears multiple hats besides being an active athlete— that of a mother to Sireena (26), Keahn (24) and Leah (20), wife, daughter, organiser and helping her father (earlier) and hubby now, handle their companies. Besides that, she is also the first lady vice-president of the Bombay Gymkhana. She credits discipline for being able to strike a balance between the multiple roles. “I have been into sports since I was a child and learnt swimming at Bombay Gymkhana. I also learnt ballet as a kid, my first lessons in discipline came from there. In college, I was inclined to play tennis. In my 30’s, I learnt karate along with Rushad [my husband] and son. Of late, I have participated in four racketlon tournaments, which I have played and also organised along with Racketlon India Sports Association [RISA]. In addition to that, the role of being the vice-president of Bombay Gymkhana keeps me occupied with the activities of the club. I am a company secretary and have worked for my father’s company [Ecoplast Ltd] for 15 years and now for the past 10 years with Rushad’s firm [Eros Elevators and Escalators Pvt Ltd]. If not for my disciplined lifestyle, I would never have been able to manage so many things,” remarked Divecha, who trains under Mangirish Palekar, Shuttle Craze Badminton Academy’s coach and director. When asked what her advice would be for women who juggle different roles, Divecha, whose all-time favourite athlete is Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer and her most-liked shuttlers are Pullela Gopichand and Aparna Popat, replied, “The one thing women need to learn is to take out time every day. Also being active is important as exercise energises you and is a stimulant to face the day with positivity and vigour. In order to achieve more in life, one should not compare but aim to improve oneself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The most important thing is bettering yourself one step at a time,” she signed off. 

29 March,2024 12:35 PM IST | Mumbai | SUNDARII IYER
Ekaterina Alexandrova reacts to a lost point against Danielle Collins on Day 13 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Pic/AFP

Ekaterina Alexandrova upsets Jessica Pegula, reaches Miami semifinal

World number 14 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova continued her fabulous form at the Miami Open, entering the semifinal with a superb 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset of No.5 seed Jessica Pegula at the WTA 1000 event. Alexandrova will face American Danielle Collins in Friday's semifinal clash. "It was extremely difficult for me because [Pegula] played amazing. In the third set, there were sometimes the kind of rallies where I couldn't understand how it was possible to return that ball, but it always [came] back," Alexandrova said afterwards as quoted by WTA. "I just tried to play every single point [like] I knew she was going to be everywhere, so I need to do something, and I was trying to wait and use any opportunities that I got," she added. In the first set, Pegula was nearly faultless with her first delivery, winning 13 of 14 first-serve points (92 percent). Alexandrova's power game, on the other hand, sprang into high gear in the second set, when she won 15 to Pegula's 4. Also Read: First week of IPL17: Record-breaking show at Hyderabad and same old story for MI Alexandrova double-faulted an early breakaway in the deciding third set, leaving the score at 3-3. The Russian, on the other hand, capitalised on another opportunity two games later, breaking Pegula 5-4 with powerful returns and forecourt finishes. Alexandrova then converted her second match point to complete the comeback triumph. Alexandrova's victory over a Top 10 player after losing the first set is the first of her career. Alexandrova defeated top five women in back-to-back matches for the first time in her career, after shocking World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the previous round. Alexandrova attributed her recent success against Top 5 players to "trying to be more consistent on the baseline, not rushing things, and just playing the points." "Try to use the possibilities, and not be like, 'OK, like, it's so easy, I'm just going to hit a winner right now, right from the first one.' You need to wait and wait and wait, and then something's going to come and you need to use it. So I think it's helping me right now," Alexandrova said. (With agency inputs)

29 March,2024 09:28 AM IST | Miami | mid-day online correspondent
Rohan Bopanna of India and Matthew Ebden of Australia celebrate their win against Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina during their match on Day 13 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 28, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Pic/AFP

Bopanna/Ebden reaches first final in Miami Open; Indian set to regain No.1 ranki

Australian Open winners Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden reached their second final of the season as they defeated Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the men's doubles semifinals of the Miami Open ATP Masters 1000 event. The win will take Bopanna to the top of the rankings when they are updated on Monday as he regains the World No.1 ranking in the ATP List that he achieved in January this year, becoming the oldest player to do so. The top seeds Bopanna, who won his first Grand Slam men's doubles in Australia this year, and Ebden defeated Granollers and Zeballos 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals on Thursday. In the final, Bopanna and Ebden will take on the winner of the semifinal between Kevin Krawietz/Tim Puetz and Ivan Dodig/Austin Krajicek. Also Read: First week of IPL17: Record-breaking show at Hyderabad and same old story for MI This will be the 14th ATP Masters 1000 final for Bopanna, 44, and the first in Miami. Overall, this will be the 63rd ATP Tour level final for India's Bopanna, who has so far won 25 doubles titles. By beating Granollers and Zeballos in what was their third ATP Tour semifinals of this year, Bopanna and Ebden avenged their defeat to the same pair in the 2023 final. This will be the fifth appearance in an ATP Masters 1000 final for the Bopanna/Ebden as a pair. With Thursday's win, Bopanna became the second Indian tennis player after Leander Paes to reach the final of all 9 ATP Masters events. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

29 March,2024 09:15 AM IST | Miami | IANS
Pankaj Advani. File pic

Cueist Advani sets the bar high with 529 break

Reigning world champion Pankaj Advani produced another masterclass performance and hit peak form to construct a magnificent 529-point break, the highest in the tournament, as he cruised past seasoned cueist and compatriot Devendra Joshi by a convincing 1063-224 scoreline in a second round league match of the All India CCI Billiards Classic at the Wilson Jones Billiards Hall on Thursday.

29 March,2024 07:08 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Neeraj Chopra

Chopra to start season with Doha Diamond League on May 10

Reigning Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will begin his season in the Doha leg of the prestigious Diamond League series on May 10 in a star-studded field. Chopra, 26, who closed his past season with a gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last year, is aiming to defend his Olympic gold in Paris later this year. Chopra’s compatriot Kishore Jena, who finished fifth in the 2023 Budapest World Championships and won silver in Hangzhou with a personal best of 87.54m, will be making his Diamond League debut at the Qatar capital. “This year, my goal is to defend my Olympic title, but it would also mean a lot to me to break the 90m barrier,” said Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94m. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

29 March,2024 07:06 AM IST | New Delhi | PTI
PV Sindhu. Pic/AFP

Madrid Masters: Sindhu storms into quarters

Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu continued her impressive run at the Madrid Spain Masters, advancing to the quarter-finals with a comfortable straight-game win over Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Hsun here on Thursday. It was a smooth performance from Sindhu as she was hardly tested by the Taiwanese qualifier, ranked World No. 63, resulting in a 21-14, 21-12 win. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

29 March,2024 07:05 AM IST | Madrid | PTI
Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev

Sinner, defending champ Medvedev to clash in Miami Open semi-finals

World No. 3 Jannik Sinner will face defending champion Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals of the Miami Open - a rematch of the Australian Open final won by Sinner and last year’s Miami title match.  Sinner moved into the last four in emphatic style on Wednesday, beating Czech Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-2 before Medvedev overcame a stern test against Chilean Nicolas Jarry before emerging with a 6-2, 7-6 (9/7) win. Meanwhile, American Danielle Collins powered into the semi-finals with an emphatic 6-3, 6-2 win over France’s Caroline Garcia on Wednesday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

29 March,2024 07:04 AM IST | Miami | AFP
PR Sreejesh (Pic: File Pic)

HI congratulates Sreejesh on being appointed co-chair of FIH Athletes Committee

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey on Thursday congratulated PR Sreejesh on being appointed as co-chair of the FIH Athletes Committee, stating that the veteran goalkeeper can play a big role in directly impacting the lives of fellow players. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Wednesday named its new Athletes Committee, to be led by co-chairs Chilean women's hockey team defender Camila Caram and Sreejesh. While Caram has been appointed as co-chair and Athletes Committee Representative in the Executive Board, Sreejesh is the co-chair and will lead the planning and meetings along with Caram. Also Read: IPL 2024: Suryakumar Yadav likely to miss more matches for Mumbai Indians "It is heartening to see PR Sreejesh assume a role with the FIH that would directly impact the lives of hockey players. A veteran like him will have the experience and perspective to advise on the betterment of athletes who have picked up hockey sticks around the world," Tirkey said in a HI release. "We are looking forward to witnessing the positive impact Sreejesh will have on the youth in this role." HI secretary general Bhola Nath Singh added: "We would like to congratulate PR Sreejesh on being appointed the co-chair in the new FIH Athletes Committee. "Sreejesh is an empathetic leader and we are confident, in his capacity as co-chair he will ensure that the voices of hockey players around the world are heeded, leading to the growth of the sport." The FIH Athletes Committee serves as a consultative body and makes recommendations to the FIH Executive Board, FIH Committees, Advisory Panels and other bodies. The roles also cover seeking and providing feedback to the FIH on behalf of all athletes, while developing and promoting resources and initiatives to athletes such as health and welfare, anti-doping, social media, creating stars to attract new fans, career preparation and management. The committee also plays a central role in liaising with the Athletes' Commission of the IOC and other sporting organisations to enable the sharing of information and research and ultimately develop the game of hockey. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

28 March,2024 05:50 PM IST | New Delhi | PTI
Jannik Sinner (Pic: File Pic)

Sinner advances to 3rd Miami semifinal in 4 years

Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner won his 20th match of 2024 to reach the Miami Open semifinals for the third time in the past four years with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Tomas Machac on Wednesday. Sinner, seeded second, will take on No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev in a rematch of last year's Miami Open final. Medvedev won that, but has lost four straight matchups since. Medvedev advanced to the latest meeting with a 6-2, 7-6 (7) win over No. 22 seed Nicolas Jarry in a late match. Sinner reached his fourth final four of the season and moved to 20-1 overall. He reached the finals of this event in 2021 and 2023, losing both times. It was a really tough match, but I was happy about the performance, Sinner said. Sinner, 22, said Machac served well early on and his aggressiveness kept things close for a while. But Sinner continued his fabulous run, breaking his opponent's serve four times, to move on to the next round. Also Read: IPL 2024: Opening day registers record-breaking viewership I always say when it all feels good on the court, it's easy to play tennis, he said. "But it has to start off in a practice session when you don't feel well, but you still have to practice and this can make the difference. At the moment, I feel really good on the court, he continued. On the women's side, 14th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova followed up her win over No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek with another top-10 victory, taking down No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Alexandrova earned her first trip to a Miami Open semifinal. I think it's like the biggest achievement for me today on this court, and semifinal is a big bonus, Alexandrova said.Alexandrova will face Danielle Collins, who defeated No. 23 seed Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2. Collins will play in the Miami semifinal round on Thursday for the first time since she made it as a qualifier six years ago. Garcia had come off consecutive wins over Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaki and Coco Gauff. But the run fizzled out against Collins, who has won 10 of 11 sets in this tournament and needed just 80 minutes to advance. Collins moved to 4-0 in her career against Garcia, who never had a break point in the match. Collins downplayed the dominant showing. Against someone like Caro, it forces me to be more concentrated, because I know I don't want to give her an inch," Collins said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

28 March,2024 02:55 PM IST | Miami Gardens | AP
PV Sindhu

Sindhu makes winning start at Madrid Masters

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu progressed to the second round of the Madrid Spain Masters with a straight-game win over Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang on Wednesday. Also Read: Bops-Ebden enter semis Sindhu, who finished as runner-up in the last edition, saw off world no. 49 Zhang 21-16 21-12 in a lop-sided contest. Sindhu, a former world champion, will meet Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Hsun next. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 08:00 AM IST | Madrid | PTI
Rohan Bopanna (right) & Matthew Ebden

Bops-Ebden enter semis

Indian tennis stalwart Rohan Bopanna and his Australian teammate Matthew Ebden advanced to their third men’s doubles semi-final this year, defeating Dutchman Sem Verbeek and Aussie John-Patrick Smith at the Miami Open on Wednesday. The duo, who had won the Australian Open earlier this year, overcame several unforced errors in the first set to win the gruelling quarterfinal 3-6 7-6 (4) 10-7. The victory for Bopanna, 44, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, will help him stay in the in Top 10 in the ATP doubles ranking and ensure direct qualification for the Paris Olympics in July-August. Also Read: Djokovic splits from coach Goran Ivanisevic Meanwhile, defending champion Daniil Medvedev and top seed Carlos Alcaraz marched into the quarter-finals of the tournament. Medvedev earned a 7-6 (7/5), 6-0 win over Germany’s Dominik Koepfer while Alcaraz took care of Italian Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-3, 6-3 win. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 07:55 AM IST | Miami | Agencies
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