China drill was to be in Secunderabad

The Indian Army was initially in favour of Secunderabad (Hyderabad’s twin city) being the venue of the second joint Sino-Indian Army exercises in the country, well-placed South Block sources have revealed. The exercise, codenamed Exercise Handin-Hand, has started in Belgaum, Karnataka, which was ultimately selected as the venue. Sources indicated that it was felt in government circles that Belgaum should be the venue, probably because several sensitive defence establishments are located near Secunderabad and Hyderabad. Sources said that the thinking in government circles from the beginning was that the exercise could be held in southern India.

The Army had earlier considered other venues, including Mhow in Madhya Pradesh and Dehradun in Uttarakhand. But once it became clear that the exercise was to be held in southern India, the Army initially proposed that Secunderabad be the venue, sources said. This was due to several reasons.

Sources said that whenever exercises with a large neighbouring country like China are conducted, the focus is on showcasing the best in terms of infrastructure to gain what is known as “moral ascendancy”.

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Tired of controversies, Sania stops playing in India

Tired of being dragged into one controversy after another in the past few months, Sania Mirza has decided against playing in India for now.

Sania has opted out of next month's Bangalore Open and has cited the petty controversies that have been dogging her for quite some time for the pullout.

"I am not playing in Bangalore Open. I have been advised by my manager not to play (there) because a lot has been happening in the past few months," Sania said.

"Everytime I have played in India, there has been some kind of problem. So we just thought it was better not to play this time," she added.

Ever since her breakthrough 2005 season, Sania has been battling controversies ranging from her on court attire being dubbed indecent by Islamic fundamentalists to the recent flag controversy during the Hopman Cup in December last year.

In fact, the off-court furores had shaken the world number 29 to such an extent that she had contemplated giving up the game altogether a few weeks before last month's Australian Open.

Sania, who will undergo a MRI scan on Tuesday, said she is pleased with the good beginning in this season, reaching the mixed doubles final at Australian Open in the company of Mahesh Bhupati.

On her encounter with Venus Williams, Sania said, ''though I played well in the first set, I could not break her service in the second set."

The injury, due to a torn abductor muscle, in the left leg had forced her out of the first three matches in the Asia-Oceania Zone Group One competition at Bangkok. Sania saved India from relegation in the Federation Cup beating Hong Kong 2-1 in the final match.

image and article source:www.ibnlive.com