The All India Tennis Association (AITA) is planning to launch a domestic tennis circuit from July to support players who are struggling financially due to the sport's lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic.
The tennis season was halted in early March due to the outbreak, leaving players in the lower tiers who depend solely on tournament winnings without the chance to earn a living.
AITA said it had come up with an intermediate plan with the support of the country's government to reduce some of the pain for the lower-level professionals.
India is currently in lockdown till May 3 and it was assumed that travel restrictions would be lifted in the next two months, the AITA said.
"This circuit will be aimed at benefiting our tennis players across the country since the pandemic has adversely affected their livelihood as well as their overall training and preparedness," AITA said in a statement.
"(It) shall have the objective of helping them be sharp, fit, competitive and match ready without any major financial burden."
The men's ATP Tour and the WTA, which runs the women's circuit, suspended all tournaments until mid-July, forcing the cancellation of Wimbledon, after countries started locking down borders to contain the spread of the flu-like virus.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF), the sport's governing body, was also forced to postpone its lower-tier World Tennis Tour.
The tennis governing bodies have joined forces to step in and devise plans to provide some relief.
While tennis is a lucrative sport for those at the top, those in the lower echelons often struggle to make ends meet.
Sumit Nagal is India's top-ranked men's singles player at No 127 while Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan are ranked No 132 and No 186 respectively.
The 163rd-ranked Ankita Raina is the country's leading singles player in the women's section.
AITA said it will approach companies to contribute to the fund that will be used to create tournaments for Indian players while the professional and ITF circuits remain closed.
"AITA proposes to start tournaments for all age groups," the governing body said. "These will initially (in July and August) be restricted to state level tournaments keeping in mind the need for restricting travel.
"It shall subsequently graduate into zonal and national tournaments in September, October and November once the travel restrictions and social distancing norms are further eased."
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Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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- Flexible payment plans from developers
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
RACE CARD AND SELECTIONS
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7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
The National selections
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5.30pm: Dahess D’Arabie
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6.30pm: Rmmas
7pm: RB Seqondtonone
7.30pm: AF Mouthirah
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U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
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The specs
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Transmission: eight-speed auto
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Moonfall
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The Details
Kabir Singh
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Key facilities
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Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Racecard
5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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2/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
EXPATS
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