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Saina Nehwal life after marrying Parupalli Kashyap has been ‘dream run’

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Saina Nehwal, Indian badminton player, Indian shuttler, London Olympics, Badminton news, Sports news

Mumbai: For London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, life after marrying fellow shuttler Parupalli Kashyap last December has been a “dream run”. India’s star shuttler, who recently won the Indonesia Masters — her first title in two years — says it won’t be wrong to call marriage her “lucky charm”.

“Everything is falling in place. It’s like a dream run. I never thought that after marriage, I would go on to win my first title after two years, which I was really hoping for,” Saina told media persons in an interview here.

 

Saina Nehwal, Indian badminton player, Indian shuttler, London Olympics, Badminton news, Sports news

 

“It has been long since I won my Super Series title, but I was happy that I could reach one semi-final and one final after that… Unfortunately, Carolina Marin had to retire after the injury but I think I was quite lucky to win the tournament,” she added.

The reigning Asian Games champion was feeling doubly lucky about walking the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Summer/Resort 2019 ramp for Chennai-based designer Vaani Raghupathy in a lehenga in her favourite colour, yellow.

Would she say marriage has been her lucky charm?

 

Saina Nehwal, Indian badminton player, Indian shuttler, London Olympics, Badminton news, Sports news

 

“Yes, I would say that,” Saina said with the blush of a newly-married bride.

Saina has often been lauded for being mentally tough — a compliment recently paid to her by her former coach Vimal Kumar.

“Thank you to Vimal sir for saying that, but I know it since my childhood. I used to fight matches and win them, and it’s all because of my fighting spirit. Mentally, I am a little stronger, and that has been one of my specialties.

“I’m not someone with great stroke qualities, but I have to learn them,” Saina said, adding that facing injuries and yet being strong are a part and parcel of every sportsperson’s life.

 

India’s star shuttler Saina Nehwal says it won’t be wrong to call marriage her ‘lucky charm’:

 

“There is no shortcut in sports. Injury is part of a sportsperson’s life. We have to be patient and go with the flow. We should make sure we have good training and be fitter. Rest is not in our hands,” she said.

The Hyderabadi shuttler, who is set to compete in the prestigious All England Championships from March 6 to 10, knows where she needs to up her game.

 

 

“I have to be very careful in tough situations because in bigger tournaments, I have to fight it and overcome it. The last time I lost in the All England Badminton final was in 2015.

“I have to make sure I have to overcome (issues) and win major events as well. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I am going to correct a few of my mistakes and movements.”

“If I do that and if I am one of the fittest in the tournaments, I can go on winning them,” she said with true sportsmanship.

 

Saina Nehwal, Indian badminton player, Indian shuttler, London Olympics, Badminton news, Sports news

 

At the moment, she is looking forward to the preparations for four to five weeks. She has the senior nationals in Guwahati from February 10-16 and then the All England Championships in Birmingham.

Since badminton takes a majority of time in the couple’s lives, Saina says it becomes “difficult” sometimes.

“Even he has to play certain tournaments to get a certain ranking and so do I. This is an Olympic year, and everyone’s trying to be a part of it.”

Nevertheless, she hopes they can take a quick break in May or June.

 

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Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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PureWin Online Betting

The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index

Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.

The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports

Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.

All for the Tourists

The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.

“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.

To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.

Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market

With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.

Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.

Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.

Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting

Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.

Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.

The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.

If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.

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