Sania Mirza bids farewell to tennis after first round defeat at Dubai Duty Free Championships
Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 Feb, 2023 01:17 PM
Dubai, Feb 21 (IANS) Indian tennis star Sania Mirza on Tuesday ended her magnificent 20-year-long career with a defeat in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, here.
The 36-year-old India legend lost in straight sets along with American partner Madison Keys in women's doubles tie. The pair went 4-6 0-6 down to Russian pair of Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova in one hour long battle.
A mother to 4-year-old boy Izhaan, Mirza, who had turned pro back in 2003, ended her glorious career with six Grand Slam trophies.
Three of those came in women's doubles with Swiss great Martina Hingis. The other three were in mixed doubles, two of which were with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi - 2009 Australian Open and 2012 French Open - while the other one was a US Open trophy with Bruno Soares.
Earlier last month, Sania was denied a fairytale ending to her Grand Slam career after she lost in the Australian Open mixed doubles final with Rohan Bopanna.
The league, which have five teams -- Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore & UP Warriorz -- will have its first double-header day on March 5 when Royal Challengers Bangalore will square off against Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium, CCI while UP Warriorz will play their first game of the league against Gujarat Giants at the DY Patil Stadium.
The 49-year-old also recalled his introduction to the sport and hailed the pioneers in women's cricket for laying a solid platform for young girls to excel in cricket. The batting maestro, Jay Shah, BCCI president Roger Binny, vice-president Rajiv Shukla and others, also presented the team with a Rs 5 crore cheque.
"First of all, we would like to thank Bo Horvat for all that he has done for the Vancouver Canucks during his nine seasons in Vancouver," said Allvin. "He has been a great leader and ambassador for our hockey club. As difficult as it is to trade away our captain, we are excited to add a high-quality 25-year-old winger in Anthony Beauvillier, a young centre in Aatu Raty, and a protected first-round draft pick."
Vancouver Canucks are expressing shock and grief over the death of their former beloved Canuck Gino Odjick. He was only 52 years old. Odjick was born in Quebec and was known as the 'Enforcer' during his hockey career.
As Canada prepared to take a penalty shot early in the game, fans were on the edge of their seats, screaming and shouting as Canadian star Alphonso Davies lined up for the shot. The excitement turned to dismay when the Belgian goaltender stopped the attempt.
Hardik played a sensational knock (63 off 33) to propel India to a decent 168/6 in 20 overs England openers Jos Buttler (80 not out from 49 balls) and Alex Hales (86 not out from 47) made a chase look like a walk in the park, powering their team to the final with a convincing 10-wicket win over India.
