Sania should follow tradition, play for Pakistan after marriage: PTF chief

KARACHI: Pakistan Tennis Federation chief Dilawar Abbas wants Sania Mirza to play for Pakistan after her marriage with former cricket captain Shoaib Malik later this month.

Sania intends to continue playing for India even after tying the knot with Shoaib on April 15 in Hyderabad but Abbas said she should give playing for Pakistan a thought.

"It is great news for our tennis community that Sania Mirza is getting married to Shoaib Malik. We welcome her and hope that she would become a Pakistani national and play for us in future. She has a great future ahead and we would be delighted if she plays for Pakistan," Abbas told 'The News'.

"Asian women traditionally follow their husbands which is why I'm hopeful that someday she would be inspired by Shoaib to play for Pakistan," he added.

The 23-year-old Sania, who is the most successful woman tennis player from the sub-continent, will settle down with Shoaib in Dubai post marriage.

Abbas said even if she decides to continue playing for India, Sania can still help her husband's country by promoting the game among women here.

"She can encourage our girls to take up tennis, she can inspire them to become world class players," he said.

"We would hope that Sania would lend a helping hand to women's tennis in Pakistan," he added.

Abbas suggested that Sania team up with Pakistan's number one tennis player Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in the mixed doubles circuit.

"Both Sania and Aisam are really good doubles players. I believe that their team would not just achieve great results internationally but will also help bridge the gap between India and Pakistan," he said.

PTI

Tom and Jerry turn 70

Tom, the cat smiles, frowns and just stares at you, all cool. Jerry is a bundle of energy, shows attitude and is quite a shrewd trouble-shooter of a mouse.

They both are still chasing each other with their mind-boggling antics on television. The duo's pranks have been making people laugh for years now.

And, now, they turn 70.

“Tom and Jerry is a piece of art. It is created just once. Even after 70 years, it is growing more popular than ever. Our surveys show that nearly half of TJ viewers are adults,” said Krishna Desai, director-programming, South Asia, Turner International.

While Chandigarh was the first stop for Tom and Jerry to start off their birthday celebrations, their next destination is Mumbai where a full train will be painted in their colours, she said.

“In some cinema halls, we plan to give surprise gifts to people sitting in ‘T’ (Tom) and ‘J’ (Jerry) rows,” Desai said.

Special shows will be aired March and April on popular Cartoon Network channel to mark the 70th year of the cartoon show.

The “Tom and Jerry” show is a major hit on the Cartoon Network channel, which was launched in India in 1995. The show is beamed across the country in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telegu.

Despite competition from other cartoon channels, the “TJ” show stands tall. “The show has shown that if you want to entertain kids, you must keep TJ in mind. The show moves at the right pace and has enduring characters,” Desai said.

“We have 160 titles (episodes) and six feature films on TJ. It is difficult to describe in words why it is so popular among all age groups. But it is working so beautifully,” Desai said.


Even though the show has so many adult viewers, Turner International is guided by the principle - “target purely on kids”. To cater to the Indian cartoon market, Cartoon Network has launched several “desi” shows like “Chhota Bheem”, “New Adventures of Hanuman” and films like “My friend Ganesha”.

Tendulkar presented with 200 bats by fans

Sachin Tendulkar was presented with 200 bats on Tuesday by the fans for becoming the first batsman to crack a ODI double century.

Tendulkar appreciated the initiative by his fans, put autographs on some of the bats and then advised the them to distribute the bats among the budding players of the city, to whom these would certainly be an inspirational gift.

Harshit Talati, a municipal cooperator and Harish Malani, president of the Sandhi Education Society, accompanied by Atul Bedade, chairman of the selection committee of Baroda Cricket Association, had been here to present 200 bats to Tendulkar.

Sachin was in Surat to play an exhibition Twenty20 match. "These 200 bats were collected by the fans of Tendulkar when he created ODI history by making 200 runs against South Africa. The fans collected these bats as mark of respect towards Tendulkar," Talati said.

Talati said Tendulkar appreciated the gesture towards him and after autographing some of the bats, he gave them back to us for their distribution among the budding players of the city.

pti

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Busy Bee Urvashi

Senior actress Urvashi seems to be suddenly busy again in Malayalam films. The actress not much seen in recent films made a comeback a couple of years ago with Achuvinte Amma and Bharya Oru Suhurthu. But now the actress will be seen back to back Malayalam films that are under various stages of production.

Urvashi has recently completed her role in ‘Mummy And Me’ directed by Jithu Joseph. She plays the title role in the movie, supported in the cast by Archana Kavi, Kunchakko Boban and Lalu Alex. She will be joining the sets of few other movies in the coming weeks including ‘Best Of Luck’ in which she will be seen with Prabhu.

The talented actress will also be seen in a humorous role in the movie ‘Saa Kudumbam Shyamala’. This will be a powerful role for the star as an ever interfering mother of the character played by Kunchacko Bobban. To be directed by Radhakrishnan Mangalthu, producer Gopakumar and writer Krishna Poojapura of last year’s big hit ‘Ivar Vivahithirayal’, will once again come together for this flick. The movie's cast lines will also include Lalu Alex, Nedumudi Venu, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Salim Kumar. ‘Saa Kudumbam Shyamala’ is expected to kick off its shoot by the second week of May.

Mohanlal for khadi

Thiruvananthapuram: Superstar Mohanlal who has endorsed a lot of luxury items like gold, real estate, financial companies, textiles and has even done a surrogate ad for a liquor company, is now turning Gandhian!

Mohanlal has accepted Kerala Industries Minister Elamaram Karim’s plea to become the goodwill ambassador of Khadi and Handloom clothes in the State. Karim also said that the actor would do it free of cost.
Elamaram Karim said : “ The clothes woven by these sectors wove many lives as well. Support for them would not only boost their production but also strengthen the culture and heritage of the State. Hats off to Mohanlal for supporting Khadi.”

Win against Pakistan is our Holi gift to the country: Rajpal

NEW DELHI: It called for a massive Holi celebration for the Indians. They had earned it; they had played out of their skins to get it. Only, the day after their memorable win over Pakistan, they had no time to get into the festive mood. Bigger and tougher tasks beckoned.

"When is the time to celebrate? We have the match against Australia coming up (on Tuesday), next we play Spain, then England. We can't relax now, we have begun well, we would like to carry on the good work," said midfielder Arjun Hallapa.

The team did have a small celebration at the team hotel on Sunday night, where they just sat together after dinner and poured out their emotions.

"That was no celebration actually, we just shared our thoughts. It was a very emotional moment for all of us. The stadium ambience was simply unforgettable!" added Dhananjay Mahadik, who had an excellent day in the deep.

After a sound night's sleep, the Indians were back for practice by 11 on Monday morning. One, though, could feel the jovial mood. There was a new spring in their steps as they went through the fitness drills.

"More than us, we are glad to have made the whole of India happy. This is our Holi gift to the country," chipped in Rajpal Singh, the Indian skipper.

What were the things they did right against Pakistan? "We had formed a strategy and we just followed it. We had identified the players we had to mark out. Like we managed to pin down Waseem (Ahmed), and that choked their midfield. We also managed to restrict the movements of Rehan Butt, who can be really dangerous upfront. We stuck to the gameplan," explained Halappa.

He added that India would play the same way against Australia. "We will finalise our tactics in the team meeting tonight. We know it would be a tough game. The Australians are known to be relentless in their attacks so we need to be solid in the midfield. We should be able to match them in physical fitness too. The mood in the team is very positive, we are confident of going the distance," said the Bangalore lad.

Vikram Pillay, too, voiced the same thoughts. "We are all very happy," he said, but added that there was a whole tournament left to play. "There are no celebrations. After all it's just one match and it is not a point for big celebrations as yet. There are tougher matches ahead."

The unassuming right-half felt it was teamwork that led to the emphatic win. "Every player did his job. Everyone worked hard and wanted to win, all 16 of us. We played focussed hockey, minute by minute," Pillay, part of the 2001 Junior World Cup-winning squad at Hobart, added.

But he ended the retrospection then and there. "We play Australia in our next match and they will come hard at us," he said. "It's a new match, a new day and like us, Australia want three points badly''

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