|
Post by janie on Aug 25, 2005 20:08:06 GMT -5
Yes, it was! You see they are all dressed up in their colorful go-see-Sania saris! And they are ready to ROOOOAAAAARRRR!!!!
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 15, 2005 19:03:47 GMT -5
From the Indian Express Ek baar phir for the Uberoi dad Sikha and Neha boast a celebrity link to India JAYDIP SENGUPTA Posted online: Friday, September 16, 2005 at 0241 hours IST KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 15: His claim to fame is three-fold. He is the brother of actor Suresh Oberoi, he claims have pioneered technology outsourcing in India 25 years back, and is the father of Shikha and Neha Uberoi. It has been a roller-coaster ride for Mahesh Uberoi, but 30 years after leaving the country’s shores for greener pastures, he is back to where he belongs. A mechanical engineering graduate from IIT, Chennai in 1971, Uberoi moved base to Syracuse, working at various companies like Xerox and L&T before setting up his own that specialised in technology outsourcing. One of his operation centres was Mumbai and in 2001, sold the others to a Canadian company. It was a big decision, but he knew what he was doing. “My daughters were growing up and beginning to go places in the tennis world and I had to make a choice. I was always sure it would be the right choice,” he said. Mahesh played tennis and wanted his daughters to take it up as well since he believed the only way for a country to be recognised is by producing world-class athletes. “I have five daughters. While the eldest Diya plays the sport, she is more into studies. But the rest are all seriously into the game. Shikha and Neha apart, the youngest Nikita and Nimita, who are twins and just 11, are very promising,” he said. Understandably, his daughters are the biggest fans of their first cousin Vivek Oberoi. “They watch all his movies and whenever we are in India, make it a point to attend all his films’ premieres,” he said. Interestingly Uberoi is the family surname and it was Vivek’s father Suresh who apparently changed it. “It was a mistake, really. He had just signed his first film Ek Bar Phir, but signed his name mistakenly as Oberoi instead of Uberoi. The film did fairly well and so he decided to keep the changed surname,” he said. The proud father, who watched Shikha hold her own against Venus Williams on the Arthur Ashe Stadium last year, however, admits it is a tough ask doubling up as coach, a la Richard Williams. “I travel with Shikha and Neha because I am also their coach. But, it is rather difficult since I have to look after so many aspects,” he said. Mahesh hopes to see all four of his tennis-playing daughters represent India in Fed Cup. “It is my dream,” he said.
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 17, 2005 22:43:12 GMT -5
Fed up with the Fed Cup? Home-based players fear being elbowed out by those playing abroad JAYDIP SENGUPTA Posted online: Sunday, September 18, 2005 at 0031 hours IST
KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 17: The team-rift virus is spreading. From the cricket team to the Davis Cup squad and now to India’s Fed Cup team. With the home-grown Indian players being edged out by the ‘mercenaries’ in the Fed Cup squad, the undercurrent of discontent could just be on the verge of simmering beyond control.
The qualifying draw at the Sunfeast Open had Fed Cup squad members like Rushmi Chakravarthi, the Bhambri sisters, Sanaa and Ankita, and Poonam Reddy battling it out for a place in the main draw with only one assured of making it.
Neha Uberoi, of Indian descent but based in the US, was given a wild card for the main draw and is one of two players vying for eligibility to play for India in the Fed Cup. The other, Sunitha Rao, also living in the US, made the main draw by default after Marlene Weingartner pulled out.
Shikha Uberoi has a high enough ranking to get an automatic place in the country’s Fed Cup squad and, given the trend, so would Sunitha and Neha.
So, if the All-India Tennis Association (AITA) has its way, we could have an Indian Fed Cup squad made up of US-based players, barring of course, Sania Mirza — and that is what has spread some alarm among the Indians.
‘‘Being an Indian and staying in India obviously doesn’t help’’, said Rushmi, who has been a regular in the Fed Cup squad for about seven years now. ‘‘We don’t have sponsors and have to finance our trips abroad. So, we can’t play many tournaments and that doesn’t help our rankings. On the other hand, the girls who are based in the US are better off financially and play lots of tournaments, which helps their rankings. But it doesn’t help them enough to represent the US. So, what better place than India, although they would think twice about going through the grind here?’’
Rushmi’s finger pointed towards the AITA’s tactics of taking the easy way out. ‘‘When they have readymade players, why bother to nurture indigenous talent?’’
Back in 2003, when Sunitha’s father had asked the AITA to pay up for his daughter’s training if they wanted her to play for India, the association turned its back. The stakes are higher and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the AITA yields to desperation in the end.
(Indian Express)
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 19, 2005 10:38:00 GMT -5
Long way to go for Sania: Wilander Rohan Vyavaharkar
Monday, September 19, 2005 (New Delhi):
Indian tennis enthusiasts are waiting for Tuesday, when Sania Mirza plays her first round match in the Sunfeast open.
The 18-year-old also has the attention of the visiting Swedish Davis Cup captain Mats Wilander.
A former world number 1 and eight-times Grand Slam winner, Wilander says Sania has a long way to go to the top, and high expectations from her fans so early on could land up hurting her eventual goal.
He also feels that Sania does have the shots in her repertoire to beat the big guns, but she needs to calm down and learn to put the pressure of winning points on her opponents, instead of the other way around.
A French Open winner at the age of 17, Wilander certainly knows all about winning big, and he believes that Sania needs to earn the respect of the top players by beating them consistently.
Once she's done that, he says, the world number one ranking could be well within her reach.
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 20, 2005 9:32:16 GMT -5
Wynne's many fans will be fascinated to know that she is competing in the Islamic Women's Games in Teheran next week.
|
|
|
Post by Wagasi on Sept 26, 2005 18:19:45 GMT -5
this Sania hype is nuts. I'd hate to see what kind of sophomore slump she'll have (Klina Sprem part deux I think). She's done well enough by getting as far as she has (I didn't even think she'd be top 50 this year), it's crazy to put so much pressure on her to get even further, but that's Indians for ya
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 26, 2005 18:38:37 GMT -5
this Sania hype is nuts. I'd hate to see what kind of sophomore slump she'll have (Klina Sprem part deux I think). She's done well enough by getting as far as she has (I didn't even think she'd be top 50 this year), it's crazy to put so much pressure on her to get even further, but that's Indians for ya The Sprem comparison is interesting since they are both hit-and-miss players.
|
|
|
Post by janie on Sept 27, 2005 7:24:57 GMT -5
Wynne's many fans will be fascinated to know that she is competing in the Islamic Women's Games in Teheran next week. The Islamic Women's Games?? Drat, I wish that would be televised! It's in Teheran? So I guess the women will all be competing in long robes & <omg, Brinyi, have you thought of this> headscarves!!
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 27, 2005 7:36:36 GMT -5
I'm not so sure about the attire, because it might be that men will not be allowed to watch the Islamic Women's Games. When the Iranian badminton team played at the Asian Games in India, they said that when they play at home they can play in normal badminton attire because men do not attend. But since there were men in the audience in India, they had to cover up.
|
|
|
Post by janie on Sept 27, 2005 7:57:33 GMT -5
oh, okay. Yes, I think banning men is an excellent idea, and the US Open ought to consider it as well. ;D
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 27, 2005 8:01:17 GMT -5
oh, okay. Yes, I think banning men is an excellent idea, and the US Open ought to consider it as well. ;D ;D
|
|
|
Post by janie on Sept 27, 2005 10:50:11 GMT -5
Just catching up on old news -- so the Uberois have a Bollywood star for a cousin? Wow! And if their Dad really is the one who started the HUGE tech outsourcing thing in India, that's incredible. I wonder if it's true, or if he is just another delusional and egotistical nut?
|
|
|
Post by Wagasi on Sept 27, 2005 11:31:22 GMT -5
Yeah, their cousin is cutie Vivek Oberoi. Their dad Mahesh did start one of the first Indian outsourcing companies in the US but I don't know whether he was the absolute first to come up with that idea. Not that it matters really, I'm sure he's filthy rich all the same.
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 27, 2005 14:19:12 GMT -5
Teheran ( Berita ) : Four Indonesian tennis players won tickets for individual quarter finals of the fourth Women's Islamic Games after defeating their rivals in the second round here Sunday. The four successful female players were Maya Rosa, Ayu Fani Damayanti, Septi Mende, and Wynne Prakusya. In the championship, held at Azadi lawn tennis complex here, Maya Rosa defeated Davtyan Lusine of Armenia 6-3 and 6-3. Rosa will face Arghavan Rezai of Iran who beat Aoroy Makhyumova 6-0 and 6-0. Fani beat Sara Mehboob of Pakistan 6-0 and 6-0 In the quarter final, she will meet Khunyan Nunshuk of Armenia who defeated Iran's Shedi Taboyaboi. Mende followed Rosa and Fani's success by defeating Ajerbaijanian player Shukufa Abdullahyeva. Mende will face Gayov Tunyan of Armenia in the quarter finals. The second most popular player in the championship, (me guesses second after Rezai) Wynne Prakusa, won the ticket to the quarter finals after beating Assa Berthe of Senegal. Ayu Fani, the youngest of the all the Indonesian tennis players, said she was optimistic that she and her colleagues would reach the seminals.
|
|
|
Post by janie on Sept 28, 2005 18:41:21 GMT -5
It's not every day that you have a Fanny beating a MyBoob!
|
|
|
Post by janie on Sept 28, 2005 18:48:03 GMT -5
Yeah, their cousin is cutie Vivek Oberoi. Their dad Mahesh did start one of the first Indian outsourcing companies in the US but I don't know whether he was the absolute first to come up with that idea. Not that it matters really, I'm sure he's filthy rich all the same. Thanks for the scoop, gopher! Am going to look up a pic of this Vivek. I have seen many, many Bollywood films (on video) in my day, but none since the early 80's so I doubt I could have seen Vivek! Unless he was playing a babe in arms. Bollywood rules as I remember them (maybe these have changed!): 1) If a character coughs, they will die by the end of the movie -- it is never a cold, it is always TB. 2) If a woman faints, she is pregnant. If a woman is pregnant, she will faint! 3) Someone will get run over by a car. These rules are making me nostalgic -- I need a Bollywood fix!
|
|
|
Post by janie on Sept 28, 2005 18:50:55 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Wagasi on Sept 29, 2005 1:19:17 GMT -5
Thanks for the scoop, gopher! Am going to look up a pic of this Vivek. I have seen many, many Bollywood films (on video) in my day, but none since the early 80's so I doubt I could have seen Vivek! Unless he was playing a babe in arms. Bollywood rules as I remember them (maybe these have changed!): 1) If a character coughs, they will die by the end of the movie -- it is never a cold, it is always TB. 2) If a woman faints, she is pregnant. If a woman is pregnant, she will faint! 3) Someone will get run over by a car. These rules are making me nostalgic -- I need a Bollywood fix! Nope, the rules haven't changed Here's some more: 4) Mothers-in-law are scheming snakes who will do whatever it takes to make their daughters-in-law miserable until about 10 minutes before the end of the film. 5) Even poor village maidens have access to $5000 saris for dance numbers 6) The Swiss Alps were placed on this earth for the sole purpose of furnishing dream sequences 7) The 'cool' kids in college consist of middle-aged, overweight men with apparently lots of martial arts expertise that comes in handy when dealing with goons sent by their girlfriends' family. If you're interested Janie, a good Vivek film is Saathiya. The music is good and it's well made overall. He's most famous for being involved in some scandalous love triangle with Aishwarya Rai (whom you may know!) and another Bollywood actor.
|
|
|
Post by janie on Sept 29, 2005 10:31:55 GMT -5
Nope, the rules haven't changed Here's some more: 4) Mothers-in-law are scheming snakes who will do whatever it takes to make their daughters-in-law miserable until about 10 minutes before the end of the film. 5) Even poor village maidens have access to $5000 saris for dance numbers 6) The Swiss Alps were placed on this earth for the sole purpose of furnishing dream sequences 7) The 'cool' kids in college consist of middle-aged, overweight men with apparently lots of martial arts expertise that comes in handy when dealing with goons sent by their girlfriends' family. If you're interested Janie, a good Vivek film is Saathiya. The music is good and it's well made overall. He's most famous for being involved in some scandalous love triangle with Aishwarya Rai (whom you may know!) and another Bollywood actor. LOL! How could I have forgotten the Evil Mothers-in-Law or the aged college students! The fancy saris are also familiar, but the Swiss Alps? That must be a new twist! I will try to find a way to rent that movie you suggest. If Blockbuster doesn't carry Bollywood, there is an Indian store we go to for spices, dal, Basmati rice etc which also rents videos, so I can check there. Thanks a million for bringing back these happy memories. I can't wait to see the village break into song and dance again! The other day I was flipping through the tv channels & I came across an American movie with a Hollywood version of a Bollywood song/dance number -- it was, I guess, "The Guru", with Marisa Tomei. It was very well done, right down to the goofy facial expressions, and it made me nostalgic to see the real thing again. The only Bollywood star's name I can remember from my old watching days was Wahida Rehman, but there was one male star who seemed to be in EVERY SINGLE MOVIE! don't remember his name, though. Ah, such golden memories!
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 29, 2005 12:26:07 GMT -5
Aishwarya Rai, hubba hubba!
|
|
|
Post by Wagasi on Sept 29, 2005 17:45:18 GMT -5
Wow Wahida Rehman, you're oldskool Janie Maybe the male star you're thinking of is Amitabh Bachhan (he's still acting though only elderly roles now thankfully). At the risk of hijacking this thread, I'd like to suggest another movie with Aishwarya Rai called Devdas. It's the most expensive Bollywood movie ever made and it shows The acting can get hammy but of course who cares when the sets, costumes and choreography are stunning. Do you live in the GTA? Any of the stores on Gerrard or Albion/Rexdale will have them. I saw the Guru in theatres. It was good but Jimmy Mistry (the guru) seems to always get miscast. He, a brit by birth, was also in a recent Canadian production 'A Touch of Pink' and he played a Canadian living in the UK and his Uk boyfriend was played by Kristen Reid, a Canadian. to make this post relevant to the thread, my dad, who pretty much stopped paying attention to the wta after Steffi retired, just got his interest in the sport rekindled by one miss Mirza.
|
|
|
Post by janie on Sept 29, 2005 18:58:35 GMT -5
Hammy acting in a Bollywood pic? No!! Yes, I am definitely oldskool! And I am American, and I live in the US, but once upon a time I lived in an ashram with a real guru, and for fun we used to watch videos of Hindi movies there. It was maybe the best time of my life. as for the thread -- go Sania! Don't let gopher's Dad down!
|
|
|
Post by janie on Oct 1, 2005 11:46:32 GMT -5
Great news from a Jakarta-based poster @ wtaworld: "Angie [Widjaja] from Indonesia is back to practice on Monday, Oct. 3rd, 2005 after over a year injury!!"
|
|
|
Post by Wagasi on Oct 1, 2005 21:49:06 GMT -5
I just assume everyone's Canadian Do you speak any Hindi janie?
|
|
|
Post by janie on Oct 2, 2005 7:24:06 GMT -5
No, not a word of Hindi. There was always somebody there translating those movies for us. But I used to know a little bit of Tamil! I even learned to write it, a little. But I only remember a couple of words now. And they arent even useful words -- for example I remember kudaray = horse
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Oct 2, 2005 21:54:43 GMT -5
Wynne showed junior hotsot Agnes Szavay what's what and qualified for the Tashkent main draw. Good compensation for losing to Rezai in the final of the Islamic Women's Games.
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Oct 3, 2005 7:36:49 GMT -5
Streycova beat Wynne 4-6 6-3 6-2 -- ah well, nice to see her earn her way into a WTA main draw, even if it's one of the most pathetic ones of the year. ;D
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Oct 12, 2005 16:24:16 GMT -5
Great news from a Jakarta-based poster @ wtaworld: "Angie [Widjaja] from Indonesia is back to practice on Monday, Oct. 3rd, 2005 after over a year injury!!" Some not so good news, via the Jakarta Post: Angie set for January return Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta National number one Angelique "Angie" Widjaja has opted to give next month's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games a miss, setting a target to return to the WTA Tour in January. Angie's manager Virginia "Vivi" Rusli said on Tuesday the Bandung native would play the Australian Open warmup tournaments and the Grand Slam in January if all went well with her recovery from left knee surgery. "That is our program. Besides, Angie is eager to play tennis but she has to wait for her total recovery from her left knee injury," Vivi said. After concentrating on building up her thigh strength to reduce the risk of further injury to her knee, Angie, who will turn 21 on Dec. 12, began to practice on Tuesday. "Theoretically, with less burden on her knees, we hope that Angie will not suffer injury in the same areas," Vivi added. Angie suffered the knee injury during the Qatar Open in February last year. She returned to the WTA Tour after three months, but underwent surgery in Australia in November 2004. She has put off a return to the tour several times, including giving up a wildcard to play the Wismilak International -- a tournament she won on her debut in 2001 -- in Bali in September. In June, she underwent surgery after developing an infection in the knee. Her rankings -- she reached a singles high of 55 in March 2003 and 15 in doubles in February 2004 -- have slipped off the computer after a year of inactivity. Angie, who enjoyed a sparkling junior career that included the Wimbledon (2001) and Roland Garros (2002) crowns, is expected to play in the Fed Cup World Group II tie here against China in April. "Ibu (Mrs.) Martina Widjaja, the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) chairwoman, has asked Angie to totally concentrate on her recovery program. She understood that Angie could not play in the SEA Games, but she asked Angie to be ready for the Fed Cup next year," Vivi said. Indonesia is seeded second in the group, behind Switzerland and ahead of Croatia and Thailand, but the Chinese women -- led by Li Na -- will be a tough prospect. For the 2005 SEA Games, Pelti said it would prepare either Septi Mende or Maya Rosa to replace Angie. Wynne Prakusya, Romana Tedjakusuma and Ayu Fani Damayanti -- who played Fed Cup this year -- have secured slots for the SEA Games women's tennis team. In the 2003 SEA Games, Indonesia won three golds, with women's doubles Wynne/Maya contributing one gold. The other two golds were from the men's team and mixed doubles events.
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Oct 19, 2005 17:02:10 GMT -5
Tennis-India's Mirza to train with Federer coach
NEW DELHI, Oct 19 (Reuters) - India's Sania Mirza will train with the coach of men's world number one Roger Federer in the run up to the Australian Open, her father said on Wednesday.
The world number 32 will work with Australian Tony Roche during a three-week stint, Imran Mirza told Reuters from the southern city of Hyderabad.
"She is going to Australia on Dec. 5," he said. "He will be working on serve and volley, that's what he is an expert at."
Roche, who trains Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Federer on a limited basis, agreed to help Mirza after she was recommended to him by former Indian Davis Cup player Jaideep Mukherjea.
"We had been talking to him (Roche) for some time now but getting dates was not easy," Imran Mirza said.
The 18-year-old previously benefited from stints under Italy-based coach Bob Brett, and has travelled with John Farrington of Bahamas since August.
|
|
|
Post by janie on Oct 19, 2005 20:22:34 GMT -5
Hope Tony has time to give Sania at least a dim concept of tennisich strategy.
|
|