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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘Outstanding' Animesh Kujur dazzles with 200m national record at Asian Athletics Championships
Breaking records is becoming habitual for Animesh Kujur. On Saturday at the Asian Athletics Championships, the 21-year-old lowered the national record in the 200 metres for the second time in just over a month. At the Federation Cup in Kochi, in April, he clocked 20.40 seconds to break Amlan Borgohain's mark of 20.52. In Gumi, South Korea, the stakes were high when Animesh lined up in a field that included Japan's Towa Uzawa, the defending champion. At the Fed Cup, he was expected to win, but performance in Gumi would tell if he was cut out for the big stage. Blazing start isn't the lanky sprinter's strength but he tamed the bend and finished strongly to become India's first medal winner in the 200 metres at the Asian Championships in a decade. Animesh didn't allow a false start by China's Shi Junao to distract him. A bronze clinched with a time of 20.32 seconds and a new national record. Defending champion Uzawa won the gold (20.12S) and Saudi Arabia's Abdulaziz Abdul Atafi saw off a later surge from Animesh to take the silver (20.31S). 'I knew there was a 20.05 sprinter and a 20.14 second sprinter, so I would get a good push. Every time before a race I start thinking that my start won't be good. But this time I kept the negativity aside. When the curve ended I felt like I was ahead,' Animesh said. However, when he stood on the podium, Animesh was a bit dejected. Only the national anthem of the winner's country is played. 'Standing on the podium and hearing the Indian national anthem play is a different feeling. This medal is a motivation as it was my first at an international level for me,' Animesh said. Adille Sumariwalla, a vice president of World Athletics and former 100 metre national champion rated Animesh as 'amongst the best sprinters he has seen in India. 'I think he is an outstanding athlete. If he can improve his start a little more he will be impossible to beat,' Sumariwalla said. After winning gold at the Federation Cup, Animesh had set his target. 'I want to become the first athlete (from India) to run below 20 seconds,' Animesh had said. Martin Owens, head coach of the Odisha-Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre, said he was 'stressed' till Animesh won the medal. Owens didn't travel to Gumi, so caught the action on YouTube. The coach was also worried because Animesh was under the weather. 'He has had a fever for two days, had a bit of congestion, could not breathe properly, he was a bit snorty. He was in bed for two days and only got up to race. He was probably worse yesterday (during the heats) than today,' Owens said. Owens coaches Animesh at the high performance centre in Bhubaneswar. He believes there is a sureshot way for Animesh to get faster: Compete regularly with faster sprinters. 'We knew he had to go abroad to race. And this (Asian Championships) gave us the first opportunity to race against people who are very fast. This is an outstanding achievement for someone who ran his first major international championships. Remember, he hasn't done age-group championships. He's taken two-tenths off the national record in the last month, which is a big step forward,' Owens said. Animesh, however, is still work-in-progress, the coach said. He needs to start better, improve his speed when on the bend and then can take full advantage of his strong finish. Though Animesh has been putting in the hours to gain a faster start, Owens said he didn't want it to come at the expense of his strengths. 'We worked on his start but we didn't want to sacrifice his top-end speed and his speed-endurance. You can't neglect anything. But he is very strong in that part (home straight) of the race, we don't want to ruin that by fixing something else. We want a strong race all around.' Next stop for Animesh is a competition in Taiwan before stopovers for races in Geneva, Athens and Monte Carlo. Owens predicts that Animesh will break the national record again this season. 'I think he will break the record again this summer. Given the right race and the right conditions he can blow that (record) out of the water. I am hopeful of some very fast times this season.'
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Dad's death ends disturbing chapter for Dokic
By 2003, Jelena had booted Damir out of her inner circle, accusing him of 'wrecking her career' with his volatile behaviour at tournaments. Dokic had to fight her way back into grand slam calculations, qualifying but being eliminated in the first round of the 2006 Australian Open. It was a tough part for Dokic to get back into regular grand slams, having just two qualifying attempts between the remainder of 2006 and the end of 2008 as she batted on the ITF circuit. Photo: Michael Klein 2009 was a huge year for Dokic who qualified for the Australian Open, going on what was her best run at the tournament, making the quarterfinals, defeating world No. 17 Anna Chakvetadze, world No. 11 Carline Wozniacki and world No. 29 Alisa Klaybanova in a giant-killing run before being defeated by eventual finalist and 3rd seed Dinara Safina. It was an emotional comeback from the returned Aussie, whose performance got her back in the top 100, but she also admitted she didn't have a relationship with her father. Dokic also returned to Australia's Fed Cup team for the first time since defecting to Yugoslavia in 2009. Despite having been out of the public eye for many years, Damir re-emerged in 2009 after he was arrested for threatening Australia's ambassador to Serbia with a hand grenade and for illegal possession of weapons. He was sentenced to 15 moths in prison. He appealed the sentence but it was upheld in September 2009, but ultimately reduced to 12 months and he was released in April 2010. Photo: AP Photo/Srdjan Ilic Although Dokic could never return to the heights of her early career, she did win one more title — her only one as an Australian — at the Malaysia Open in March 2011. Photo: AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin Dokic tried to comeback again in 2014 but ultimately finished her on-court career. After keeping a low profile for a few years, having picked up a few gigs including coaching Daria Gavrilova and taking her first steps into media, Dokic's autobiography Unbreakable, released in 2017, uncovered the story of her life and extent of physical and mental abuse she had suffered at the hands of her father. She has since released another bestseller in Fearless: Finding the Power to Thrive and a documentary based on her life called Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story. Dokic also stepped behind the microphone, working for Fox Sports at the 2017 Australian Open before becoming one of the most beloved commentators on the Channel 9 tennis coverage. Dokic's on court interviews regularly go viral and she's renowned for her positive interviews and lighthearted moments on the court, while also being able to offer in-depth insight. Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP Jelena Dokic has also been public about her mental health battles stemming from her father's abuse. She has also become a staunch advocate for those suffering abuse particularly in sporting arenas as well as being open about her battles with weight and mental demons, even revealing in 2019 she had almost taken her own life. Picture: Supplied But the beloved commentator and advocate is still going strong, lending her platform to those who need it. Speaking on the Mental as Anyone Podcast, Dokic said: 'I want people to look at me not as a victim, I'm a survivor, but most importantly, thriver, a success story. I want people to go, 'you know, she did it, I can do it too'.'. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Leader Live
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
Tennis star Mel South backs Lexus Wrexham Open tournament
Mel South, who was ranked in the world's top 100 during her own playing days and also represented Great Britain in the Fed Cup, now known as the Billie Jean King Cup, was a guest at the official launch of the Lexus Wrexham Open. The event will be the biggest women's tennis tournament to be played in the UK this year, outside of the Lawn Tennis Association's grass court season, and will take place at Wrexham Tennis & Padel Centre from October 19-26. 'It's a really exciting tournament, a great level,' said South, who lives in South Wales and is now a television tennis commentator. 'I think it's great for the British players to have home support at W100 level. They can really use it as a platform to drive themselves on and go up into the WTA events. 'The fact that the tournament is coming to Wrexham now and spurs on all the players and the youngsters in Wales as well will be really important. 'The more people we can get to come and watch the tournament, to see live sport, the better. 'You get so close to the players at these type of events. Playing at home you always connect with the fans more, especially when you're signing autographs for the kids, so it can really inspire the next generation to go on and do well and follow in your footsteps.' The Lexus Wrexham Open will feature established players from the world's top 100 who play at Wimbledon and the other Grand Slam tournaments, alongside rising British and international stars. Kirsty Thomson, event manager at the LTA, added: 'It's really exciting and this level of event just tops off our performance competition calendar. 'This event really helps our younger players that don't get an opportunity normally with their current ranking to be able to qualify for a tournament at this level. 'We will be able to maybe give them the chance of getting a wild card into it and to have the opportunity to gain some valuable ranking points and prize money, so it's really helpful.' Alwyn Jones, interim chief executive of Wrexham Council, is looking forward to welcoming the tournament to the city. 'It's a wonderful opportunity for Wrexham, for us to show everything that's best about Wrexham,' he said. 'To have an international event of this nature within Wrexham helps well and truly add to Wrexham being on the map.' The official launch event for the Lexus Wrexham Open, held at the city's Ramada Plaza hotel, was hosted by event promoter Dave Courteen. He told guests, including sponsors from the local business community, what they can expect from the tournament and some of the many ways they can get involved. 'This will be a wonderful event for Wrexham and Wales,' he said. 'The whole week will be an exciting festival of tennis and there is so much to look forward to in October. We are delighted to be bringing world-class tennis to North Wales. 'It was fantastic to see so many people at the launch event and nice to hear just how much everyone is looking forward to the tournament.' A 600-seat capacity arena will be constructed around the main indoor show court at Wrexham Tennis & Padel Centre to allow spectators to enjoy the action.
The Guardian
14-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
BJK Cup run shows just how far British women's tennis has come
The turn of the millennium marked one of the most significant periods in the history of women's tennis. An audacious, charismatic generation of young stars had stormed the tour, usurping the old leaders and transforming the image of the sport. On the biggest stages, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and Anna Kournikova often generated more attention and higher TV ratings than their male counterparts. Some transcended the sport as global superstars. At the same time that women's tennis was thriving around the world, it had reached a grim nadir on these shores. For years, not a single British woman reached the top 100. They competed almost exclusively on the lower-level ITF circuit, only making fleeting cameos on the tour through wildcards at Wimbledon and during the grass season. The Fed Cup team, meanwhile, was rooted to the zonal group stages, a world away from competing with the best teams. Women's tennis has a rich history in Britain, particularly in the grand slam-winning era of Virginia Wade and Sue Barker, but by the early 2000s Britain was completely irrelevant on the WTA Tour. After another successful week for the British Billie Jean King Cup team, defeating Germany and the Netherlands in The Hague to reach the BJK Cup Finals for the second year running, perhaps this is a moment to reflect on the progress British women's tennis has made since those barren years. This has taken some time. It was Anne Keothavong, now the BJK Cup captain, and the late Elena Baltacha who began to turn the tide by breaking into the top 50. Then came Laura Robson and Heather Watson. Although injuries obstructed Robson from achieving her full potential, Johanna Konta, a late bloomer, left no stone unturned in her career as she reached No 4 in the WTA rankings. Over the past year, the current generation has distinguished itself through its depth. For the first time in 39 years, Great Britain has three players in the top 60 of the WTA rankings, with No 40 Katie Boulter, No 47 Emma Raducanu and No 59 Sonay Kartal. This will understandably elicit some shrugs. The US, after all, boasts three of the top five players in the world, the Czech Republic seems to produce a new grand slam champion every other year and Ukraine is enjoying its most successful era despite the country being ravaged by war. With the exception of Raducanu's surprise US Open triumph, which she has not come remotely close to replicating, none of these players are competing for major titles. Britain is also a grand slam nation and the LTA has far greater resources than most other countries. However, becoming a top-level player is a significant achievement that requires a lifetime of hard work and resilience alongside talent. All the top 100 tennis players, men and women, have defied the odds to build hugely successful careers. There is plenty to respect about the way these players have carried themselves. After years of injuries, Boulter's recent evolution has been outstanding. Other players are more consistent, athletic and flexible but Boulter has shown with her ultra-aggressive shotmaking that she has the weapons to hang with the best in the world. She has also been a great leader, which she demonstrated on Saturday by immediately moving past her singles defeat and producing a superb performance alongside Jodie Burrage to win the decisive doubles rubber. The absence of Raducanu, who played a pivotal role in Great Britain's run with 5-0 record last year, only further underlined their depth in The Hague. Kartal took her place as the No 2 player and stepped up with two assured victories. At 5ft 4in, she will always be vulnerable to the many bigger and stronger players on the tour but the 23-year-old is an excellent athlete, composed, consistent and armed with a potent topspin forehand. She has shown that she can at least enjoy a long career around the top 50. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion This trio is bolstered by those lower in the rankings. Harriet Dart (currently No 110) has spent most of the last year inside the top 100, and Burrage is attempting to re-establish herself after suffering significant wrist and ankle injuries while inside the top 100 last year. With her ranking of No 134, Francesca Jones is not a long way from being in contention for the team herself and, really, she is one of the most inspirational athletes in all sports. Jones has a genetic condition, ectrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia (EED), which means she only has four digits on each hand and handling the intensity of professional tennis has been challenging. At the end of an intense few days, after their dismantling of the Dutch doubles pairing, Boulter and Burrage laughed their way through their post-match interviews. The pair are close friends and, as with this entire group, they frequently train together when home at the LTA National Tennis Centre. Their tight relationship made up for their lack of experience together in doubles. Even though professional tennis is a lonely, solitary pursuit, every week these players are both supporting and pushing each other as they try to unlock their talent. In the process, they have fulfilled some of their own personal goals while helping to return British women to the top levels of the sport. Considering there was a time not long ago when it was hard to even imagine British female tennis players on these stages, it is simply nice to see them there.
