JAMMU | THURSDAY | APRIL 29, 2021 JB SPORTS JAMMU BULLETIN 9 Amidst Covid disruption, Sharath I have total control in team and Kamal confident ahead of Tokyo selection matters: Babar Azam that starts in Harare against UMBAI PR first is to work on footwork and coor- M ,A 28: Zimbabwe from Thursday For the second time in as many dination, the second is a bit more tac- would not be an easy assign- years Achanta Sharath Kamal has tical.” ment for his team. entered a period of uncertainty. There The contrasting styles make them are no plans to travel abroad for train- an impressive pair. He said they would more or ing camps as numerous table tennis “She can slow down the game when less go with the same combi- destinations have shut their borders to needed, and I can speed it up. That nation that was played in the Indians as the Covid-19 wave sweeps way we can complement each other home series against South through the country. In the build up to really well, and the opponent is not Africa. his fourth Olympics, travel within comfortable playing us. They want to Babar said that Zimbabwe India too has been a problem. finish the rally quickly, but we try to might be low in Test rankings His mixed doubles partner Manika prolong the rally and make the oppo- but no team could be taken Batra had to travel to Chennai last nent move much more than what they lightly at the top level and week to train with him. The original like,” Sharath adds. that the African nation would plan was for him to practice at her He puts vicious power and spin on have the advantage of playing training venue in Pune. The lockdown the ball. Batra, with the long pimpled at home. in Maharashtra resulted in change of rubber on her backhand side – which The Test batsman also said plans she switches mid-rally – plays a he was not worried about the And then, he says “I don’t know if deceptive game that can frustrate the frequent middle order failures (the Olympics) will happen.” toughest opponents. But the World Training and preparation has con- in the white ball series. ARACHI PR quently it is said in press con- tinued, yet amidst the uncertainty, he No.62, the highest ranked women’s K ,A 28: Asked about the absence of beating the South Korean World No.5 winner would earn one of the 16 spots player from India, also has a powerful Pakistan’s top batsman ferences and in the media that seasoned leg-spinner, Yasir says this is the most confident he has duo of Sangsu Lee and Jihee Jeon available for the event in Tokyo. They been ahead of an Olympic Games. forehand that makes a difference. Babar Azam on Wednesday I don’t have authority and Shah from the series due to an enroute. overcame the Singaporean duo of Lin “When Sharath hits his forehand, he dismissed criticism that he don’t take independent deci- “My ranking does the talking for It’s in the mixed doubles event Ye and Pang Yew En Koen 4-2 in the injury, Babar said experience that,” says the World No.32 during a opens up the opponent,” 2008 was a powerless captain, who sions,” Babar said. is always missed but Pakistan where India’s biggest chance of a semi-final before drawing up against Olympian Neha Aggarwal had told took dictation from head “I want to make it clear SAI-organised press conference. medal lies at the Olympics. the top seeded Korean team they had had other good spinners in “But you need to have a partner coach, Misbah-ul-Haq. once and for all that I have “This is the best ranking I’ve had “The main reason (for the confi- beaten in Jakarta. Nauman Ali Nawaz and who can hit the next shot with just as The top ODI batsman fre- total control and say in team going into an Olympics. In 2004 I was dence) is the medal we won at the They started slow, losing the first Zahid Mahmood. selection and other matters. I just entering the international field. In Asian Games, where Manika and I two sets before taking the next four to much power to finish off the rally. quently faces accusations of Yasir since his debut in 2008 I first broke into the top 100. In were paired up for the first time,” says pull-off another famous win. He’s never had that kind of partner for being a captain without handle everything on the field 2014 has missed a series only 2016, I was just coming back from an Sharath, a TOPS-supported athlete. “That gives us a lot of confidence a while. But Manika’s new forehand authority and recently former and I decide the playing once when Pakistan played a injury and even the qualifying stage “We started to believe that if we can and faith that this is going to be the complements his. She can match his skipper Shoaib Malik in eleven with the management lone test in Ireland and a two took a toll on my body.”He’s been do it at the Asian Games, it can hap- best Olympic Games in terms of per- intensity.” tweets inferred that Babar giving their input. I know Test series in England in what my responsibilities are building up the confidence for the pen at the Olympics too. That is formance and results,” he says. They’ve been doing all they can was not taking independent 2018. past few years. Bronze medals at the amidst the chaos and uncertainty. decisions. as captain,” he said. because Asia is the powerhouse of The pair has continued to try and Responding to a question 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta certain- With just 16 teams competing in the Some other former captains Babar also made it clear he table tennis. The best teams are from carry that momentum forward ever that many people felt he was ly had a lot to do with it. here – China, Japan, South Korea. since. The recent training sessions in mixed doubles event, they need to and players have also advised had no issues with the head Sharath Kamal spearheaded the win only three matches to secure a Babar to be more authorita- coach and whether Pakistan a selfish player, Babar said he And then there are the subsidiaries of Chennai were the first part of many does not agree. men’s team to a bronze medal finish, China – Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei scheduled. medal. The journey began for them tive as captain. needed a white ball coach Babar also said he was the country’s first Asian Games medal and Singapore. When you can medal “We’re hoping to have at least five- three years ago, when the quietly con- Babar said in a virtual press was the domain of PCB. in the sport, beating a star-studded at the Asian Games, you have that six days of good practice every month fident pairing returned with India’s conference that the debate “The team management is working hard on getting into Japanese team along the way. A day confidence.” where we completely focus on mixed first mixed doubles medal at the Asian over whether he was a captain fully supporting every player, the mode of finishing off later the 38-year-old paired up with The Indian pair were in Doha over a doubles,” he explains. “We’ve Games. Now that the mixed event is with authority should end so I am happy,” he said. matches and also try to con- Batra to pick up an unexpected bronze month back, competing at a mixed worked on a lot of aspects and train- making its debut at the Olympics, now. The Pakistan captain also vert 50s into 100s and 100s medal in the mixed doubles event, doubles tournament where only the ing is divided into a few parts. The they hope to repeat their success. “I don’t understand but fre- said that the two-Test series into bigger scores. Mumbai Indians look to overcome middle-order woes, Asian Boxing Championship moved from Leicester’s Wesley Fofana thanks EPL return to winning ways against Rajasthan Royals India to UAE due to Covid-19 crisis for allowing him to break fast mid-game the tournament so far and will the BFI said in a statement. LEICESTER CITY,APR 28: seek to build on the six-wick- “The event will now be Leicester defender Wesley Fofana has thanked the English et win over Kolkata Knight organised by BFI in associa- Premier League for allowing him to break his fast during Riders in the previous match. tion with UAE Boxing Ramadan in the middle of a match. Mumbai skipper Rohit Federation. Leicester’s game against Crystal Palace on Monday evening Sharma (201 runs) has got The daily addition of over 3 was briefly stopped in the first half to allow Fofana and Palace starts but hasn’t played a big lakh new cases has led to sev- defender Cheikhou Kouyate to take a drink after the sun had knock and the Mumbaikar eral countries imposing bans gone down. would be itching to get one as on flights to and from India. During the month of Ramadan, which runs from April 12 to would be his opening partner “With the newly-imposed Quinton De Kock (47 runs). May 12 this year, fasting Muslims do not eat or drink during international travel restric- But Mumbai’s middle- daylight hours.