Lucknow :

Her curly hair swayed and sari fluttered in the air as she rode down Hazratganj, on a bright green Vespa scooter, back in the 1960s. This is the picturesque memory of ace badminton player Meena Shah several Lucknowites shared on Tuesday, after she breathed her last, early morning following a cardiac arrest at a city hospital. She had just celebrated her 78th birthday on January 31. At a time women could not move out of the four walls of the house, Meena flicked her wrist effortlessly with a badminton racket in hand. Unmarried, the Muslim woman taught the game to three generations of her friends and their families.

An Arjuna awardee and Padma Shri recipient, Shah ruled the badminton circle for several years. Winner of the singles title in the Senior National Badminton Championships for seven years in a row (1959-1965), Meena was among the first Indian women in sports. She had also won the women’s doubles title thrice and the mixed double’s crown twice. Shah had also been conferred with the prestigious Uttar Pradesh Laxman Award.

“Meena and I have been friends since 1960 and since 1979 and I had been taking care of Baby as I used to call her fondly,” said Mauveen Shaw, who had been her support at their home in Qaiserbagh, recalling how Shah would help any stray animal. “I remember we saw an injured horse lying on the pavement around Parivartan Chowk area. Everyday both of us took grass from La Matiniere Girls College, where I taught and we fed the horse. For the next few days, every time the horse heard the scooter horn, it would neigh in response,” shared Meena’s closest friend. There were times Meena would forget to refuel the scooter and stranded till the next fueling station, they would drag the vehicle to the horse, added Shaw.

“We used to play gulli danda together at the Lalbagh grounds, even before we were coached by T N Seth for badminton around the same time,” said Shah’s childhood friend Ann Marie Kalra, adding, “With one agile movement of her wrist, she would make her opponent run across the entire court, running and gasping for breath, while she stood there smiling triumphantly.” Ann’s daughter Jaya Kalra said, “The scooter was called ‘Chhappan battees’ by everyone in the social circle, and she would always take along more than three people on it at a time. I remember the times when because of her illness in the later years, she would tie the shuttle to a thread on the clothes line and keep hitting at it. She could not walk without support at that time, but her love for the game was phenomenal. She taught everyone and children she loved most.”

Recalling the first time he saw Shah playing at the Asian Badminton Championship held in Lucknow, retired officer K K Bali said, “She was playing there with the likes of Nandu Natekar, Suresh Goel and if I remember correctly, Prakash Padukone. Her heavy frame never came in the way of her game. She had racy movement and fast reflexes.”

Mohammad Haider, head, legal and regulatory affairs in a private telecom major said, “I remember being taught by her in the badminton court outside her house. Her turns and technique were sharp.”

An admirer Rana Safvi recalled, “I had met her in school when I was in class VII. She was an icon, not just for budding badminton players, but for all women of that time.”

‘Loss for entire baddie frat’

President of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) Akhilesh Das Gupta condoled death of Padma Shri Meena Shah on March 10. Gupta said it was a loss not just for Lucknow but for the Indian badminton fraternity. General secretary Vijai Sinha informed that two minutes of silence were observed at BBD Uttar Pradesh Badminton Academy, as a tribute to the seven times senior national badminton champion.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Yusra Husain, TNN / March 11th, 2015

Many couldn’t believe that it was an Indian pacer who was making West Indies batsmen struggle when Shami kept beating them repeatedly with tight line and movement. The fact that he was returning from an injury was not at all visible in his bowling. In fact, he recovered in time for the match with an ultrasound-guided injection.

Speaking to BCCI tv, Shami revealed how difficult it was not be carried away by the bounce of the WACA wicket and hit the right spots. “It was really important not to get carried away by the bounce. Since the wicket had so much of bounce on it, the pacers tried to bang a lot of deliveries short and in the bargain couldn’t help but give away wides. In our case, we were getting a lot of wickets by bowling short and we wanted to use the bounce. We would not have wanted to give that many away but we were getting wickets off those bouncers,” he said.

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source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Sports / Sunday – Monday 08th, 2015

Dhoni steadies nervous chase as top-order fails.

India advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup after prevailing over West Indies by four wickets here on Friday. Set a target of 183, M.S. Dhoni’s men stumbled, losing frequent wickets. It was left to the captain and R. Ashwin to wrap it up.

Against good fast bowling on a pitch reputed to be the quickest in the world, India’s toporder floundered. Virat Kohli made 33, looking fluent until he fell to a short-pitched delivery. India needed 49 runs when the sixth wicket fell. But Dhoni pulled the chestnuts out of the fire with an unbeaten 45. The foundation for the win was laid by Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, who subdued West Indies with a fantastic exhibition of hostile fast bowling.

‘Captain Cool’ delivers

The Indian juggernaut wobbled and juddered but pulled through all right. M.S. Dhoni’s steady hand saw his team home in a nervous run-chase at the WACA ground here on Friday, as India defeated West Indies by four wickets to book a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Mohammed Shami, later declared ‘man-of-the-match, and Umesh Yadav put on a demonstration of blistering fast bowling to help limit West Indies to 182. In pursuit, India had sunk to 134 for six when Dhoni and R. Ashwin were united at the crease. The pair added 51 runs in an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership to take the team home.

Jerome Taylor’s opening spell made it clear India’s run-chase was not going to be straightforward. He hurtled in from around the wicket at Shikhar Dhawan, bowling seriously fast and leaving him little room.

Dhawan soon pushed at one and was consumed in the slips. Rohit Sharma received a marvellous out-swinger, bowled at just the right length to draw him forward, and he fell for 7. Virat Kohli then briefly batted as if the difficulties of those before him had been some sort of mirage. He hit two firm drives and whipped Taylor off his pads for successive boundaries. But when Kohli chose to pull Andre Russell (of the Mr. T hairstyle) from outside the off-stump, he dragged it down the throat of the long-leg fielder.

The size of the target meant the game was never going to be won by containing the chasing side. It helped to have another speed-merchant in Kemar Roach, who replaced the spinner Suleiman Benn in the team.

Roach was wayward at first but he struck in his fifth over, having Ajinkya Rahane caught behind. The batsman reviewed the decision but replays proved inconclusive.

India lurched to 78 for four, when Suresh Raina walked out. He was predictably met with a barrage of short-pitched deliveries but it was eventually Dwayne Smith’s gentle medium-pace that did for him. When Ravindra Jadeja departed, also playing the pull shot, India still needed 49 runs for victory.

M.S. Dhoni, though, found a competent ally in Ashwin. The two mostly steered clear of the shots that had claimed some of their predecessors — although Dhoni did scythe Russell over third-man for six. The captain remained unbeaten on 45, scoring the winning runs in full, headgear-less glory.

In the dull heat of the afternoon, India produced an hour of the most irrepressible, furious fast bowling. Yadav and Shami bowled quick, bowled short, and generally put it where the batsman didn’t want it.

They moved the ball lightly in the air, and off the pitch, and beat the bat as a matter of routine. Smith was struggling against Shami and he soon nicked off, trying to cut a short ball that was too close.

Shami welcomed Marlon Samuels with one that whizzed past his nose; Gayle got another in the same region.

Discomfiting pace

That Yadav worked up a discomfiting pace — steadily in the high 140s — was no surprise. That he did it with accuracy early on was; Gayle was forced to play out a maiden over and the West Indian innings was crawling.

The exit of Samuels, who was run-out chasing a single his partner had no interest in, seemed to spark Gayle into action. He swung freely — that two edges flew in the direction of third-man and were dropped did not bother him — and sent a ball from Yadav sailing over the long-on boundary. But India had no reason to be worried by this approach.

Gayle soon top-edged a rising delivery from Shami and was caught at mid-wicket.

Thereafter, the West Indians batted as if they were in a rush to catch the last ferry to Fremantle (which leaves the Barrack Street jetty at 5.30 p.m.). They sank to 124 for eight, Shami taking a third, and it was only the intervention of Jason Holder that dragged the total to 182. The ball had grown older now and there was none of the menace of the opening period, but the young captain batted admirably to make 57.

It couldn’t stop India, though, from marching into the last eight with two Group B games in hand.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Cricket> World Cup / by Shreedutta Chidananda / Perth – March 06th, 2015