The Canadian Parvasi - issue 49

The International News Weekly June 08, 2018 | Toronto 12
Sachin’s son, Arjun, picked
for India under-19 squad
Mumbai: The most famous
surname in Indian
cricket is set to take the
field for a national squad
once again. But it will be
Arjun Tendulkar, not father
Sachin, and he’ll be
playing for the India under-19
squad.
Sachin’s story is the
stuff fairytales are made
of. But one dream of his
remained unfulfilled. As a
13-year-old, he had visited
the MRF Pace Academy
with the hope of becoming
a fast bowler, but was
rejected by Aussie pace
legend Dennis Lillee, who
advised him to “stick to
batting”. The rest is history.
Arjun, who will turn
19 this September, is living
his father’s dream. The
nippy pacer will be part of
the junior squad that will
tour Sri Lanka in July to
play two four-day matches.
The team will be coached
by former India batsman
W V Raman, with Rahul
Dravid away for the India
‘A’ tour to England.
The proud father sent a
brief message to the media
from London. “Thanks for
the good wishes. We are
happy about Arjun's selection.
It is an important
milestone in his cricketing
life. Anjali and I will always
support Arjun in his
choices and pray for his
success,” said Sachin.
Arjun's coach, Atul
Gaikwad, said, “Arjun’s
hard work has paid off ”.
The Pune-based Gaikwad
is a level-3 coach from the
National Cricket Academy
(NCA) with a PhD in
biomechanics, who has
worked at Brisbane’s Centre
of Excellence. He was
roped in by Sachin himself
to coach Arjun three years
ago.
It hasn’t been an easy
journey for Arjun. “I’ve
seen that boy very closely.
From suffering back-toback
stress fractures three
years ago to struggling
with a spate of injuries, he
has worked very hard to
get here,” said Gaikwad.
Having remodelled his
action recently after suffering
several injuries,
Arjun can whip up good
pace, the primary reason
why the selectors opted for
him. “On a good day, he
can consistently touch 135
(kmph),” said Gaikwad.
Asked why Sachin
chose him to work with
Arjun, Gaikwad said he
had no idea. “He never
told me and I never asked
him,” said Gaikwad, who
has also worked intensively
with India women’s
captain Mithali Raj over
the years.
Like any son born to
a famous father, Arjun is
bound to face the pressure
of comparison and questions
about whether he
really deserves his spot.
“I expect him to handle it
well. Personally, I’ve never
seen him take advantage of
his father’s name.
For instance, never did
he expect his coaches to
give him any special attention
because he is Sachin’s
son nor has he ever made
noise about it. I only hope
people don’t jump the gun
and start talking trash
about why he’s here and
whose son he is. Watch his
cricket and see for yourself
his talent,” said Gaikwad.
Sanjay Dutt a great reason to be part of
'Prasthaanam' remake: Ali Fazal
Mumbai : Actor Ali Fazal,
who will next be seen in the
Hindi remake of the cult classic
Telugu film "Prasthaanam",
says one of the reasons
why he became a part of the
project was having actor Sanjay
Dutt as his co-star.
The film is being remade
in Hindi by filmmaker Deva
Katta, who also made the
original. It will go on the
floors on Friday, which is
also Sanjay's mother and late
actress Nargis' birth anniversary.
"It's a remake of a cult
classic. And Deva helming
the film was a great reason to
come on board. I met the team
once I loved what I heard.
As an actor sometimes, you
go with your instinct of the
film and the part you play,"
Ali said in a statement. "To
top this, Sanjay Dutt who is
an iconic name whom I have
grown up watching and been
a fan of, was a great reason
to be on board without a second
thought. And plus it's a
father-son duo that actors
would love to dive into," he
added.
U N V E I L I N G
I N F I N I T Y
Rafa kicks into gear, downs
Schwartzman
Paris: Quiz question:
What will it take to beat
Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros?
Diego Schwartzman,
who started their French
Open quarterfinal clash
in blistering fashion on
Wednesday, faltered when
the sun came out on Thursday.
Safe to say, for the time
being at least, the 5 ft 7’ Argentine
doesn’t know.
The world No.1 Spaniard
-- who lost a mere four
games in the two-setsanda-bit
after play resumed
in dry and happier conditions,
some 17 hours later
-- powered to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2,
6-2 win. In Friday’s lastfour
clash, his 11th here,
the 32-year-old going for
La Undecima will play the
fifth-seed Juan Martin del
Potro, who edged out Croat
Marin Cilic 7-6 (7-5), 5-7,
6-3, 7-5. The other semifinal
will pit the seventh-ranked
Dominic Thiem against Novak
Djokovic’s conqueror,
Italian, world no.72 Marco
Cecchinato.
Nadal, who struggled
with the conditions on a
rain-marred day, trailed by
a set and a break when play
was halted for the first time.
Schwartzman, the world
No.12, who came out swinging,
may have had a better
look at his lead in the locker
room. Suffice to say that
the defending champion,
who despite the bleak conditions,
looked distinctly
sorted when he returned to
the Philippe-Chatrier court.
Nadal then won three consecutive
games from 2-3,
breaking twice, and serving
for the set at 5-3 (30-15) when
the skies opened up again.
“The stop helped because
I was able to think, to calm
down and to see things with
more clarity,” Nadal said.
“He was playing great and
I was playing too defensive.
I was playing too behind
the baseline, he was taking
the ball earlier than me.
After that I increased the
intensity. I won a little bit of
court, playing closer to the
baseline.” Schwartzman,
however, came up with
a hazy clue, a pointer of
sorts. The day to beat Nadal
was definitely Wednesday.
“It’s always tough against
Rafa. Yesterday I was doing
many winners, not many
unforced errors. He was
not playing his best tennis,”
Schwartzman said.
Meditate with the Master
LEARN ANCIENT SECRETS OF MEDITATION
FROM VIGYAN BHAIRAV
WITH SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
LIMITED SEATS ONLY! GET YOUR TICKETS NOW
WWW. ARTOFLIVING.ORG
JULY 9 - 11 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | ROY THOMSON HALL
647 283 3743 | gta@artofliving.ca