Sania Mirza ends career with first round defeat in Dubai
Dubai, Feb 21: Sania Mirza closed her glorious career with a first round defeat at the WTA Dubai Duty Free Championships, losing the contest in straight sets along with American partner Madison Keys here Tuesday.
Sania and Keys lost 4-6 0-6 to the formidable Russian pair of Vernokia Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova in exactly one hour.
The 25-year-old Veronika is ranked 11th in singles and number five in the doubles while Liudmila is world number 13 in doubles.
The 36-year-old Sania, who turned Pro in 2003, walks out of competitive tennis with six Grand Slam titles, including three women's doubles with Swiss legend Martina Hingis.
She won two of her three mixed doubles with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi (2009 Australian Open and 2012 French Open). She won the US Open trophy with Bruno Soares.
The breaks were traded at swift pace in the opening set which was locked at 4-4. From there, Kudermetova and Samsonova broke the pair of Sania and Keys one more time for a 5-4 lead, placing themselves in a position from where they could serve out the set.
They did that quite comfortably, losing one point in the 10th game.
Sania and her partner were broken in the very first game of the second set and it was one way traffic after that as they were bageled.
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Cricketer Rinku Singh's father passes away after prolonged illness
Aligarh/Noid (PTI): Indian cricketer Rinku Singh's father, Khanchand Singh, passed away at a hospital in Greater Noida early Friday following a prolonged illness, family sources said.
Dr. Sunil Kumar, spokesperson of Yatharth Hospital in Greater Noida, where the cricketer's father was admitted, said Khanchand Singh was battling liver cancer.
"His condition had deteriorated significantly in recent days, following which he had been admitted to the hospital on February 21. He was placed on ventilator support and breathed his last early this morning," Kumar said.
Due to his father's critical condition, Rinku had to return home midway through the T20 World Cup. However, he rejoined the Indian team ahead of the match against Zimbabwe on February 26. He had also recently visited Noida to meet his father.
Rinku's former coach, Masood Amini, told PTI Videos in Aligarh that Khanchand Singh had been battling advanced-stage liver cancer and was in the terminal phase of the illness.
"He had been unwell for quite some time. He was suffering from liver cancer. For the past three to four days, he was on ventilator support," Amini said.
Amini said Rinku's father worked tirelessly to support his family and educate his children.
"He started out working as a gas cylinder delivery man and worked very hard to raise his family," he said.
The 28-year-old cricketer, a resident of Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh, credits much of his success to his father. Khanchand Singh, who worked in gas cylinder distribution in Aligarh, supported his son's dream of becoming a cricketer despitefacing financial hardships.
The family said Khanchand Singh's last rites will be performed in Aligarh, and Rinku will attend the funeral.
