Grand Slam on Sania’s mind
Hyderabad: Having won five doubles titles in the 2013 season, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza on Tuesday termed the year as one of the best of career and hoped to win more Grand Slams and be world number one in the years to come. “People win one tournament and say they had a good year. So, I am very happy. One of the main targets is to try and win a Slam. I am going to try and win more Slams and try and win a women’s Grand Slam as well. That’s what we really play for. May be, that’s the only target I can set,” she told reporters at her tennis academy on the outskirts of the city. “If someone told me at the beginning of the year, I am going to win five tournaments by the end of year, I would have taken it with both hands,” she said, adding, I always used to say when I was playing, whenever I used to give myself a target, I used to get injured. So, I stopped giving myself a target. Because, I would achieve it and I would get hurt. Sometimes, I think I push my body too much,” she said. "God willing, one day, the goal is to try and to be number one in the world. That is what we are playing for," she said.
advani chooses snooker
New Delhi: For the first time in his career, Pankaj Advani has decided to skip the World Billiards Championship in leeds, instead preferring to compete in the International Championship. Advani made the “tough decision” not to defend his World Billiards title this year, which he had won after beating defending champion and seasoned Englishman Mike Russell 1895-1216 in the final, due to clash of dates with the International Championship. This is the second year in a row he has qualified for the China event, with the dates again clashing with the World Billiards Championship. On being asked about his decision, Advani told PTI: “This was a very tough decision for me. “The choice of billiards paid off with a gold medal. This time, I want to focus on snooker a little more,” Advani said.
prabhjot supports Oltmans
Jaipur: High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans has made India play attacking hockey and under the Dutchman, Indian team can achieve better results in 2016 Rio Olympics, feels ace hockey player Prabhjot Singh. “It was Spaniard Jose Brasa who made us play mix hockey and also worked on last minute lethargy of the team which often conceded goals and also taught us to fight back,” said Prabhjot, who is here for a six-a-side hockey tournament. “Now we have Roelant Oltmans who is a high performance coach and has emphasized on attacking which has always been the strong point of Indian Hockey. We have also improved on the grey areas like penalty corners. We still have time for 2016 Olympics and under him we can hope for better performance. The recent results at Sultan of Johor Cup and Asia Cup show that Indian Hockey is on the rise,” Prabhjot added. PNS/Agencies