London, 1 June 2009
Utah Jazz guard and Olympic gold medalist catches up with India’s rising stars
Two of India’s rising stars, Suresh Raina and Pragyan Ojha, met the gold standard from another sport on Sunday when they caught up with top National Basketball Association (NBA) player and Olympic gold medalist Deron Williams at Lord’s on Sunday.
Batsman Raina and Ojha, the left-arm spinner, are part Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s ICC World Twenty20 defending champions, and they came face-to-face with the 24 year-old Utah Jazz guard after a training session ahead of their opening warm-up match against New Zealand, which takes place today (Monday).
Williams, who is 1.91 metres tall, was a member of the United States of America (USA) team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and in 310-game career for the Jazz to date, he averages 16.2 points, 8.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds and one steal per game.
And after his meeting with Raina and Ojha, who were joined by team manager V.Chamundeshwaranath, Deron Williams said: "I am excited to be at the home of cricket here at Lord’s and I wish the reigning world champions India and the other teams the very best.
"London is a great city and I look forward to returning in October with the Utah Jazz when we play the Chicago Bulls as part of NBA Europe Live presented by EA Sports."
Ojha, the 22-year-old left-arm spinner, said: "It was a pleasure to meet up with Deron, who is an immensely successful basketball player and a gold medalist at the Olympics. He came across as a nice bloke who was down to earth, which was brilliant.
"Being a part of the Indian team for the ICC World T20 in England is a dream come true. I am looking forward to make the most of the opportunities that come my way."
Raina, the 22-year-old batsman whose off-spin grew in prominence during the recent Indian Premier League, added: "We are looking forward to defending our title. It is a pleasure to be in England for this tournament."
ICC MEDIA RELEASE
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