Hilfestellungen » second straight game. Batum suggested th

She remembers the match well. She was 18. Scrawny. Wide-eyed. At her first Olympics. She wasnt meant to have come this far. She had no business beating the world No. 5 Wang Chen along the way. But she had. And now, against world No. 16 Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia, she had won a marathon first game 28-26.It was the quarterfinals of the 2008 Olympics. Yulianti soon drew on all her experience to level the contest against the world junior champion from India. Game three and Saina Nehwal took an 11-3 lead. Ten more points and she would be in the semi-finals -- within touching distance of a medal.And then, just like that, in a matter of minutes it was over. Yulianti overturned the deficit and built a substantial lead of her own. Saina would return home empty-handed, but an ambition had been sparked -- to one day be called an Olympic medallist.That Olympics gave me lot of fame, lot of recognition, she says. People got to know who Saina is and (that) shes doing really well in badminton. Of course I lost the medal, but that gave me a lot of confidence that yes, I can win a medal in the Olympics.Four years later in London, the dream was realized. The gawky teenager from Beijing had transformed into a formidable force. She had won a clutch of big titles and risen steadily up the rankings. Saina versus China, the headlines exclaimed as she challenged the dominance of the foremost badminton nation in the world.In London, Saina won her first four matches in straight games before running into Chinas Wang Yihan in the semi-finals. She lost in a one-sided contest and was left in a play-off for the bronze against another Chinese, Wang Xin. Saina lost the first game but fortuitously; her opponent was forced to concede with an injury.At 22, Saina had become only the second Indian woman after weightlifter Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic medal.In Rio, Saina will begin the competition as one among a group of about half-a-dozen players capable of clinching gold. Though her ranking has slipped to fifth, the difference in points separating the top players is marginal and in recent months no one player has dominated the circuit.Under the eagle eye of coach Vimal Kumar, besides achieving optimal fitness, the thrust over the final phase of preparations before the Olympics has been on tactical subtleties against specific opponents. Some players such as Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei have been massive stumbling blocks for Saina. Ying has won the last six matches between them, going back to 2014 and holds an 8-5 advantage in their head to head. So perplexed is Saina by Yings play that she has described her as a mystery and a puzzle.Other potential banana skins lurk as well. The 2012 Olympic Gold medallist Li Xureui leads Saina 12-2 in their head-to-head encounters. World No. 1 Carolina Marin has won some big tournament finals against Saina in recent years and Thailands Ratchanok Intanon has also been a persistent stumbling block.Well aware but undaunted by the ferocity of competition she faces, Saina is exuding an air of confidence as the Games approach. Much of her belief flows from a healed body after battling a niggling ankle injury for months. Forced to stay away for the first few months of the year, Saina has built momentum gradually since returning to the circuit at the All England Championships in March, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Ying.In the tournaments that followed, Saina consistently reached the quarterfinal and semifinal stages before making a timely breakthrough at the Australian Open Super series in June. By clinching her last pre-Rio competitive tournament -- where she conceded only one game in five matches, including two over higher ranked players -- Saina confirmed her form, fitness and pedigree ahead of the Games.I take each tournament as it comes, she says. Rio Olympics will also be like any other games. My approach to the game is very positive and I would like to keep it like that and focus on my game. I feel that on the day that I am 100% fit, I have the potential to defeat anyone.There has been a neat symmetry to Sainas Olympic forays so far. At Beijing, she made a muscular announcement to the world of her ability. In London, she strode deservedly on to the podium as one of the leading players in the world. Perhaps Rio will be remembered as the time she basked in the golden glow -- that determined little pint of a girl, who wouldnt settle for anything less.Freddie Freeman Braves Jersey . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Orlando Cepeda Jersey .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. https://www.cheapbraves.com/1813o-jerry-royster-jersey-braves.html . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. 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Mark Melancon Jersey . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at .CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- On the first day of workouts, new Memphis Grizzlies coach David Fizdale approached point guard Mike Conley and told him he wanted him to be more aggressive scoring the ball this season.Thats all Conley needed to hear.The 10-year NBA veteran continued his high level of play Monday night, scoring 31 points as the Memphis Grizzlies got off to a fast start and defeated the Charlotte Hornets 105-90 for their fifth straight win.Conley came in averaging a career-high 18.3 points per game. He had five 3-pointers and shot 11 of 21 from the field, including a long 3 with 4 minutes left that thwarted Charlottes fourth-quarter rally and sent the crowd streaming toward the exits.He wanted me to be much more aggressive, Conley said of Fizdale. I believe Im one of the better point guards in the league and he does, too. Hes given me the opportunity to go out there and show it.Marc Gasol was dominant in the first half and finished with 13 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.The Grizzlies controlled the tempo from the start, jumping out to a 16-4 lead. They pushed their advantage to 24 at halftime, shooting 58 percent from the field, including 10 of 16 from 3-point range.It started with our defense, Fizdale said. Our guys are really taking pride in trying to build a championship defense. We all know the saying. Theyre really digging in and really taking it to heart that we have to get stops. We also said our defense will travel. And it traveled tonight and it led to being unselfish on the offensive end.The Hornets simply had no early answer for Gasol, who controlled the game with his shooting and passing.Gasol had 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first half along with seven assists and six rebounds. He repeatedly got Roy Hibbert off his feet with pump fakes near the top of the key, drove the lane and either scored or set up teammates with easy shots.We didnt have the readiness we need to play against a good team and they jumped on us, Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. Frankly that is two games in a row that we didnt play like the same team that got to 8-3. Thats part of learning annd evolving into the team I think we can be.dddddddddddd Its a long season and everyone is going to have nights like this.TIP-INSGrizzlies: Tony Allen was listed as questionable with a groin injury, but looked just fine and finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.Hornets: Cody Zeller missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury. Zeller is day to day but is still having trouble lifting his arm. ... Hornets owner Michael Jordan, who will receive the Presidential Medal of Honor on Tuesday, sat courtside.FRANK THE TANK HURTFrank Kaminsky turned in perhaps his best game as a pro for Charlotte, tying a career high with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting. But his night ended badly when he left with less than 3 minutes to play with a sprained left ankle. Clifford said he wasnt sure the extent of the injury.STREAK IS OVERKemba Walker had 17 points for the Hornets, snapping a string of 11 straight games with 20 or more.NEW ORLEANS HANGOVERCharlottes Nic Batum and Marvin Williams were a combined 2 of 13 from the field, and the Hornets missed 11 of 31 free throws in losing their second straight game. Batum suggested the Hornets were still dwelling on coughing up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and losing to New Orleans last weekend.We had no energy, Batum said. We didnt get into this game. It might be a hangover from New Orleans because it was a tough one for us. I think we thought about that game too much tonight.GRITTY GRIZZLIESFizdale wasnt thrilled with his teams defense in the second half -- and he let the players know it.We got casual, Fizdale said. We got cool. I said, `Guys, were from Memphis. Theres nothing cool about us. Were gritty. We couldnt lose that edge. They knew exactly what I meant and we got our bearings back.UP NEXTGrizzlies: They look to make it six straight wins when they visit the 76ers in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.Hornets: Things arent going to get any easier for the Hornets, who host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. ' ' '