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August 06 Monica DeviLifter Monica Devi fails dope test, withdrawn from Beijing Weightlifter Monica Devi was today withdrawn from the Indian squad for Beijing Olympic Games hours before she was to board the flight to the Chinese capital for failing a dope test hours, sources said. Monica tested positive for anabolic salt in a test conducted on June 29, the sources said. Monica (69kg), who comes from Manipur, was the sole lifter from India to have been selected for the Beijing Games. In the pre-Olymic trial conducted by Indian Weightlifting Federation in July this year, P Sailja of Andhra Pradesh had performed better than Monica but the latter was chosen ahead of her for the Beijing Games. However, earlier in April this year, Monica had done better in the Asian Championship in Japan. Tommy John SurgeryJoe DiMaggio Sports Medicine Blog: Is Tommy John Surgery Becoming an Epidemic?
It was only last year that Francisco Liriano was undergoing Tommy John Surgery, and last week his return to the Minnesota Twins' pitching rotation gave Twins fans cause for optimism during the team's playoff run. Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) reconstruction, or "Tommy John Surgery" as it known amongst baseball fans, is a surgery that many professional baseball players have undergone. Unfortunately, it is becoming a much more common procedure in younger athletes, particularly those still in high school. I have actually been interviewed by journalists twice in the last week and they both used the word "epidemic" to describe the increasing number of teenagers having their UCL reconstructed. Throwing a baseball generates a significant amount of stress across the elbow and shoulder. The UCL is one of the main stabilizers at the elbow to counteract these stresses. It connects the ulna, one of bones in the forearm, to the humerus or upper arm bone. Tears of the ligament frequently result from progressive microtrauma. However, there are occasions where on one throw the player will feel a "pop" and the ligament tears. The good news for most people is that regular everyday activities are not affected by the lack of a functional UCL. Unfortunately, for throwers without a functional ligament, generating their normal velocity or control is near-impossible. Before Tommy John became the first player to undergo UCL reconstruction by Dr. Frank Jobe more than 30 years ago, UCL tears were career ending. Now, the surgery is commonplace. In 2006, about 1 in 9 players in the major leagues had undergone the procedure. The list of names is impressive: John Smoltz, Mariano Rivera, and Kerry Wood, just to name a few. The principles of the surgery have remained fairly similar since Jobe did the first one, and they involve drilling holes in the humerus and ulna through which a tendon, harvested from somewhere else in the body, is woven through. One of the more novel modifications, developed by David Altchek, chief of the Sports Medicine Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery, was to decrease the size of the drill holes placed in the humerus. Another benefit of Altchek's modified procedure was tensioning the ligament became a bit easier. Initially, the surgery was reserved for professional players, but more recently, high school students are undergoing these procedures at alarming rates. This is a disturbing trend that is directly related to kids throwing too much. Some of the risk factors for UCL tears in teenagers that a research study from The Andrews Sports Medicine Center identified include year-round throwing, inadequate rest between starts, throwing more than 80MPH (probably because these are the kids that get asked to throw a lot by their coaches) and pitching in showcases. Little League Baseball has added pitch count limits and mandatory rest days between starts for each age group to help prevent injury in kids. That being said, parents and coaches have to take an active role in keeping track of pitches thrown; many of these kids play on several teams and one coach doesn't know what the other is doing. No matter which technique is used, good to excellent results can be expected in about 90% of the cases. Players must be aware, however, that recovery time is about 9 to 12 months before they can compete at their previous levels. Ideally, by knowing the risk factors, we as a society will better prevent these injuries in our kids so they wont have to experience these long recovery times. December 13 Sania Mirza reaches Asian Games finalDOHA, Qatar - India's Sania Mirza upset top-seeded Li Na 6-2, 6-2 Tuesday to move into the final of the Asian Games women's singles event against another Chinese player.
Fourth-seeded Mirza repeatedly left Li stranded on the baseline with her forehand crosscourt shots and avenged a loss to the higher-ranked Chinese player 2-1/2 years ago in their only previous encounter.
Mirza's title contest Wednesday will be against second-seeded Zheng Jie, who defeated third-seeded Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-3, 6-2. Lee Hyung-taik, the top-seeded player in men's singles, advanced 7-5, 6-0 over sixth-seeded Filipino Cecil Mamit. In Thursday's title encounter, Lee will take on third-seeded Danai Udomchoke of Thailand, who clinched a 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 victory in the semifinal against fifth-seeded Go Soeda of Japan. Mirza, 67th in the world rankings, turned the form book upside down by knocking out Li, Asia's highest-ranked player. "It's one of my most memorable matches because it's paved the way for me to play for a singles gold medal," said Mirza as thousands of Indian expatriates celebrated her victory in the stands, dancing to the sound of drum beats. "The crowd can be distraction some time, but I'm thankful to the spectators as they came out in large numbers to support me," Mirza said. Mirza won a bronze medal in mixed doubles in the last Asian Games. In Doha, she has already won a silver in the women's team event. Li said Mirza outplayed her in this encounter as "my game was erratic and I couldn't bring into play tactics to negotiate Mirza's aggressive play. Aggression was the feature of Zheng's game against Nakamura. "I was more aggressive today and tried to make Aiko move as she's not so quick," Zheng said. "China's loss in the team event has been really upsetting for us, but I wasn't thinking about that when I got on the court." U.S.-based Mamit said his game fell apart in the second set against Lee, the top-ranked men's player in the event after injuries forced 2002 Asian Games champion Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand to withdraw. "I couldn't move well in the first set, but I gained in confidence as the match progressed," said Lee. Mamit also finished on the losing side in the men's doubles semifinal. The Filipino pair of Mamit and Fredrick Taino was swept aside 6-2, 6-4 by defending champions Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi - the Indian pair moving within one match of clinching the gold medal again. Thailand's Ratiwatana brothers - Sanchai and Sonchat - beat South Korea's Jun Woong-sun and Kim Sun-young 6-1, 6-3 to move into a final against Paes and Bhupathi. The women's doubles final will be between top-seeded Zheng and Yan Zi of China and fourth-ranked Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung of Taiwan. Yan and Zheng beat Japanese duo Ryoko Fuda and Tomoko Yonemura 6-2, 6-2, while Chan and Chaung upset China's Athens Olympics doubles champions Li Ting and Sun Tiantian 6-3, 6-2. Mirza and Paes rallied to beat China's Yu Xinyuan and Sun 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 to advance to the mixed doubles final Wednesday. They'll face the Japanese pair of Satoshi Wabuchi and Akiko Morigami for the gold medal. January 21 Sania Mirza speaks about her Australian Open loss.Sania Mirza, who crashed out of the Australian Open on Thrusday blamed her defeat to a lack of rhythm throughout the match. “I really didn’t have the rhythm throughout the match, I saw it coming… I knew I was going to make some errors here and there when it really mattered and that’s what happened,” she said.
Sania was defeated by Michaella Krajicek 6-3, 7-5. She looked completely sluggish in the first set. She tried to recover in the second but could not match her opponent. Later that day she and her partner lost their doubles match too.
Sania Mirza, who has had not a great start to this year said, “It is hard when you are not playing your best tennis and the other girl’s coming from winning a tournament.” Mirza said, “I think the match was pretty winnable, but that is how it is,”. She added, “The bottom line is I did not play up to my standard and did not play well. Of course I’d love to have done better. But it’s the beginning of the year and I just have to put it behind me.” Mirza dismissed reports that conservative Islamists had issued a fatwa criticising her on-court clothing after she crashed out of the Australian Open. The 19-year- old Muslim commented, “I have not heard of it now, so I guess it is over,” Mirza said on Thursday when asked about the fatwa, saying “times have changed” since Nirupama Vaidyanathan became the first professional Indian women`s tennis player in the 1990s. January 18 Sania Mirza is now second round Australian Open 2006Sania Mirza, India’s ace woman tennis player from Hyderabad, climbed up the first ladder in the Australian Open 2006 at Melbourne, Australia, played on Day 2: Tuesday, 17 January, in court 2. This Grand Slam event played on hardcourt / outdoors surface with a prize money of A$19,300,000 and draw as 128M/96Q/64D, is a dream of any tennis player.
Last time in Australian Open 2005, the 18-year-old Sania Mirza, (then ranked 166 )who got a wild card entry into the Australian Open in Melbourne, beat Hungarian Petra Mandula a former French Open quarterfinalist ,6-2, 6-1 in the second round, to sail into the third round, where no Indian women ever reached. The only other Indian woman to win a match at a Grand Slam is Nirupama Vaidyanathan, who made it to the second round of the Australian Open in 1998.
Sania Mirza who is seeded 32 in this Australian Open 2006, beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-6(6), 6-2 in the first round. Now in the second round Sania will meet Michaella Krajicek of Netherlands. In doubles Sania Mirza has paired with Corina Morariu of United States of America. Corina has played Australian Open 7 times and her best Singles Performance is 2nd Round (1998) and Best Doubles Performance is Runner Up (2001, 2005). Best of Luck Sania ! We pray for your win. |
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