THE HIMALAYAN MAIL JAMMU Q FRIDAY Q OCTOBER 30, 2020 11

Covid scare in Indian men's badminton team Will Dhoni be retained as NEW DELHI, OCT 29: "Owing to one of the play- Defending champion Lak- ers failing to follow the shya Sen on Wednesday COVID protocol and the or- pulled out of the SaarLor- ganisers failing to enforce CSK captain in 2021? Lux Open Super 100 tour- the protocols set in place, I NEW DELHI, OCT 29: deal with their captain, who nament after his father- and Shubhankar have Mahendra Singh Dhoni and has delivered for them." cum-coach D K Sen tested found ourselves in an unfor- Chennai Super Kings own- The ongoing season has positive for COVID-19 in tunate situation...," he ers share such mutual trust been a far cry from their Saarbrucken. wrote without specifying and fabulous relationship glory days, having managed The 19-year-old Indian the lapse on part the player that he could be retained as only eight points so far after was aiming to recover from concerned and the organis- captain of the side in 2021 four wins. an early exit in Denmark ers. despite enduring an Gambhir said, "MS has Open recently before his "We have currently been abysmal IPL season in the won them three (IPL) tro- campaign in Germany came asked to isolate with ab- UAE, says former India phies, couple of Champions to an abrupt end. solutely no other informa- opener Gautam Gambhir. Leagues, he has made them "We had gone for the tion from the organisers in- Three-time winners CSK one of the top successful mandatory COVID-19 test cluding our meals. We have have failed to clear the sides in the IPL after Mum- on Monday. The result our COVID negative certifi- leagues stage for the first bai Indians. So CSK saying came last evening. I tested cates, and have NO symp- time in the tournament's they are going to continue positive. It is unfortunate "We participated in the put in isolation owing to toms. We are unable to con- history and are currently with MS - it is just the rela- that Lakshya had to with- Denmark Open last week contact with COVID posi- tact the German local placed at the bottom of the tionship, it is just the mu- draw. He had worked hard and travelled from Copen- tive father-cum-coach of authorities. We would like points table following an tual respect." for the tournament," D K hagen. As advised we then defending champion Lak- to know if it is possible for unprecedented eight de- "That's why MS has been Sen said. went to Frankfurt and got shya Sen, who has already us to get tested here again MS and MS plays till the CSK's mediocre perfor- feats in 12 outings. so loyal (to the Super He said he is asympto- our COVID tests done." withdrawn. and come back to india," he time he wants to play. And mances in the ongoing IPL. "I keep saying that why Kings). That's why MS has matic and 'is doing ab- "In the tests, myself and "BWF can confirm three added. then next year he still con- Gambhir, who flourished CSK is CSK is because of the given everything: heart and solutely fine'. my Physio Abhishek are players have been with- Dey also demanded com- tinues to be the captain and under Dhoni's captaincy in relationship between the soul, his sweat, sleepless "I don't feel any change, I found negative, unfortu- drawn from the SaarLorLux pensation for the ordeal. have a much different international , owners and the captain. nights - I'm sure he must am fine. We are trying to get nately my coach is tested Open 2020 as a precaution- "Requesting authorities squad than what he has this pointed out his overall They have given all the free- have had sleepless nights a second test done."Lakshya positive, even though he has ary measure for all partici- to compensate us while also time around." record as CSK skipper. dom to MS, and MS has re- while he has continued cap- said he is disappointed at no symptoms." pants after they were in con- allowing us to return to In- "He deserves that much "What he has done for the ceived all the mutual re- taining CSK." the turn of events. "I feel that being in close tact with a member of their dia," he tweeted. of appreciation from the franchise and how the fran- spect from the owners as Earlier, the CSK manage- "I am the defending contact with my coach who team entourage who tested Jayaram said repeated at- owners." chise actually deals with MS well," Gambhir was quoted ment has said that Dhoni champion of this event and I is tested positive, I should positive for COVID-19," the tempts to get a word from The 39-year-old Dhoni's and treats MS is a fabulous as saying by ESPNcricinfo. would be retained at the am very disappointed and also isolate myself. I request Badminton World Federa- the organisers have proved future has come under relationship. And that is "So I would not be sur- next mega auction, which is sad with this development," you to kindly grant me per- tion said in a statement. futile so far. scrutiny in the wake of how every franchise should prised if they continue with likely to be held in 2022. he wrote in his letter to the mission to withdraw my en- "The three players: Lak- Lakshya, Jayaram and organising secretary. try." shya Sen, Ajay Jayaram and Dey had tested negative "Under the circum- Lakshya was scheduled to Subhankar Dey will not ahead of the tournament. stances, I do not want to play USA's Howard Shu in compete further in the tour- Lakshya, who claimed the second round later in nament, which began on Rampaging KXIP meet Rajasthan jeopardise the safety of five titles in the senior cir- other players and hamper the day. Tuesday," it added. cuit last year including two the functioning of the tour- Lakshya's coach in All three players and the BWF World Tour Super 100 nament." Prakash Padukone Acad- team entourage have been top honours SaarLorLux Royals in must-win game Lakshya, who claimed emy, Vimal Kumar said it placed into isolation "in line Open and Dutch Open, re- NEW DELHI, OCT 29: season with 17 wickets five titles in the senior cir- was an unfortunate devel- with directives from tourna- ceived a bye in the opening A rampaging Kings XI Pun- from 12 matches with an cuit last year including two opment. ment organisers, local round along with Dey. jab would look to extend economy of 6.71, has done BWF World Tour Super 100 "It is sad and unfortunate health authorities and BWF Jayaram had won his their exceptional run and most of the heavy lifting top honours SaarLorLux that some like this has hap- tournament health proto- opening-round clash on inch closer to a Play-offs with the ball without ade- Open and Dutch Open, re- pened. I feel it could be a cols." Monday. berth while Rajasthan Roy- quate support from the rest ceived a by in the opening false negative. Hope he re- Later, Jayaram, in a Twit- With Thursday's develop- als would be desperate to of the bowlers. round. turns negative in the next ter post tagging sports min- ment, India's challenge stay alive in the tournament Squads: The wrote in the letter: test," Vimal said. ister Kiren Rijiju, the na- came to an end at the tour- when the two sides clash in Kings XI Punjab: KL "This is to inform you that Ajay Jayaram, Shub- tional badminton nament. an IPL match, in Abu Rahul (C), Harpreet Brar, after coming to play the hankar Dey out of SaarLor- federation and BWF, said The world calendar has Dhabi, on Friday. Ishan Porel, Mandeep Saarlorlux event in Saar- Lux Open; in isolation amid that he and Dey would like been severely curtailed this It has been a dramatic Singh, James Neesham, brucken with my coach DK COVID scare to return to India as the or- year because of the pan- turnaround for the KL Tajinder Singh, Chris Jor- Sen and Physio Abhishek Indian shuttlers Ajay Ja- ganisers have not given demic and after a seven- Rahul-led side after a string dan, Karun Nair, Deepak Wagh, we were asked to go yaram and Shubhankar Dey them any information or as- month shutdown, it a losses earlier in the tour- Hooda, Ravi Bishnoi, Ar- to Frankfurt to get a COVID were forced out of the Saar- sistance apart from asking restarted with the Denmark nament.They have man- shdeep Singh, Glenn test done by the organisers." LorLux Open after being them to isolate. Open earlier this month. run-scorer of the tourna- over table toppers Mumbai aged to weave together five ment, to fire in the crucial and would be desperate to Maxwell, Mujeeb Ur Rah- consecutive wins against game after three under- keep the winning momen- man, Sarfaraz Khan, Shel- the top four sides in the whelming performances tum going. don Cottrell, Mayank Agar- Champions League PIX: Barca tournament, infusing life with the bat. The biggest positive for wal, Mohammed Shami, into their campaign. They The addition of Chris the Royals is Darshan Nalkande, are in fourth position with Gayle has done wonders for roaring back to form after Nicholas Pooran, Chris sink Juve; Rashford tricks' 12 points from as many the team's confidence. rusty displays in previous Gayle, Murugan Ashwin, games, while the Royals It is to be seen if Mayank five outings. The English Jagadeesha Suchith, Krish- NEW DELHI, OCT 29: looked dangerous through- have slumped to the penulti- Agarwal, who missed two all-rounder, who has been nappa Gowtham, Hardus Ousmane Dembele struck out and that we could score mate spot with 10 points games with a bruised knee, elevated to the role of Viljoen and Simran Singh. early and Lionel Messi con- every time we went for- having suffered seven de- returns to the side. In his opener, smashed an un- : Steven verted a late penalty as ward,” Rashford said. feats from 12 outings. absence, Mandeep Singh beaten 107 to help seal a Smith (C), , Ben Barcelona won 2-0 at Ju- “It was a real team perfor- It's a mad scramble for revelled in the role of an seven-wicket win over Stokes, , An- ventus in the Champions mance. The ones who the play-offs. With Mumbai opener with a match-win- Mumbai earlier this week. drew Tye, , League on Wednesday after started did well and the Indians all but through, six ning unbeaten 66 in the Sanju Samson is also , Shreyas Alvaro Morata had three substitutes did well too.” teams are in the hunt for the win against Kolkata Knight back among runs, while Jos Gopal, , Jay- goals disallowed for offside Having won at Paris St remaining three spots. Riders. Buttler has looked erratic. dev Unadkat, Mayank for the Serie A side. Germain in their opening The Royals can't afford to Punjab's bowling, which That skipper is Markande, Mahipal Lom- Dembele struck with a game, United are now in a slip up, if they lose on Fri- has been their weakest link in the middle of a lean ror, , Riyan deflected shot in the 14th commanding position in day they will be out of the throughout the tourna- patch will augur well for Parag, , minute for a Barcelona side the group and are begin- reckoning while a defeat for ment, has been exceptional KXIP. , Akash Singh, smarting from Saturday’s ning to look like a squad Punjab will dent their in their recent wins, chok- The -led David Miller, Manan home defeat by Real with real strength in depth. chances for a top-four fin- ing the opposition for runs. bowling attack has looked Vohra, Shashank Singh, Madrid and rocked by the Solskjaer opted to leave ish. The Royals will also be ordinary. The Barbados- Varun Aaron, Tom Curran, resignation of club presi- Messi found Dembele Demiral was sent off for a Bruno Fernandes alongside They would expect their high on confidence after born English pacer, who is Robin Uthappa, Aniruddha dent Josep Maria Bartomeu with a pinpoint crossfield second booking before Rashford on the bench and skipper Rahul, the leading their morale boosting win having a stellar individual Joshi, Jofra Archer. on Tuesday. pass and the Frenchman Ansu Fati was clipped from handed starts to Paul Pogba Messi capped a fluid dis- scored with a 20-metre shot behind and Messi emphati- and Donny van de Beek in play from Ronald Koeman’s which deflected off Fed- cally converted the penalty. midfield. side by firing home the 14th erico Chiesa and looped be- Substitute Marcus Rash- Mason Greenwood, also This cricketer is counting penalty of his Champions yond Szczesny. ford scored a superb quick- restored to the starting line- League career to seal Morata broke clear and fire hat-trick for Manches- up, opened the scoring in Barca’s first-ever win over had the ball in the net two ter United as they the 21st minute, delivering Juventus in Turin and leave minutes later but was off- overwhelmed Germany’s a clinical finish after being down days to leave bio-bubble them top of Group G with side and suffered the same RB Leipzig 5-0 at Old Traf- slipped through by Pogba. NEW DELHI, OCT 29: little bit better than being six points from two games. fate when he volleyed home ford in Champions League The VAR review sug- Jofra Archer has said he is trapped at the cricket Juventus, still missing from Juan Cuadrado’s group H on Wednesday. gested Greenwood may counting down the days un- ground. You’re not at the Cristiano Ronaldo after he cross. The striker, in the head- have been narrowly offside til he is finally free from the ground but you still can’t get tested positive for COVID- In between, Messi should lines recently due to his but the goal was allowed to world of bio-secure bubbles away from cricket.” 19 two weeks ago and still have added a second but campaigning over free stand. he has been trapped in for Playing in empty stadi- rebuilding under Andrea drove his shot wide of the school lunches, showed he Leipzig, who reached the the past few months. ums has been a surreal ex- Pirlo, failed to record a shot far post after he was set up has not been distracted semi-finals in last season’s The England fast bowler perience for the 25-year- on target despite Morata’s by Griezmann’s clever from his day job as he came competition, stuck in the is in a bubble in Dubai play- old, who admitted to feeling efforts. backheel. off the bench with 27 min- game well and could have ing in the Indian Premier a bit of cabin fever. Barca had three chances Barca turned on the style utes left and led United to drawn level when Ibrahima League (IPL) for the Ra- to take the lead in an extra- at the start of the second an impressive victory. Konate’s header was kept “I’ve probably done the jasthan Royals franchise. most bubble days out of ordinary opening two min- half, penning Juve into Rashford is only the sec- out by David De Gea. He also spent nearly three utes. their own half with some ond United player to score Rashford came on for anyone. From an on-field months in England’s bio-se- point of view, it’s fine,” he Leonardo Bonucci made flowing passing moves. a hat-trick as a substitute af- Greenwood in the 63rd cure environment this year, added. a last-gasp tackle to stop Juve thought they had ter his manager Ole Gunnar minute and soon set about and in July was dropped “Being in a Covid bubble, Messi, Miralem Pjanic saw equalised again when Solskjaer did so against deciding the match. from the team for the sec- a shot parried by Wojciech Morata turned in an acro- Nottingham Forest in 1999. The England striker raced ond test against West Indies you are going to need your Szczesny and Antoine batic Cuadrado cross but, “I think the manager on to a long ball from Fer- and fined for breaching pro- family with you. It helps you Griezmann fired against the after a long VAR check, it wanted me to up the tempo. nandes to make it 2-0 in the tocols. his stint in the IPL, where “I might actually get a cal- stay sane... You’re still going post, and it was no surprise was again ruled out because That for us means going 74th minute, with the initial “You’re just counting days he has been one of the endar just to cross them to play and train. But when when they went ahead in his left heel was offside. forward. There was defi- offside call being over- down till you’re free again,” standout performers with down to feel like the days you’re done, you’re just the 14th minute. Juventus defender Merih nitely spaces there. We turned on review. Archer told British media of 17 wickets from 12 matches. are going faster. It has been a counting days down.”