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Smriti shines as India beat Pakistan in CWG 2022

While his captain R B Ramesh was more pragmatic. He said, “In any professional sport, one has to be ready for any type of position and situations.”…reports Asian Lite News

All the six Indian Teams in fray in both sections of the 44th Chess Olympiad being played here won their matches to maintain a clean slate.

The India A Team ranked second beat Greece with a 3-1 score, Team B trounced Switzerland 4-0 and Team C beat Iceland 3-1. The Indian women won their third-round matches to keep up perfect scores. India A defeated England 3-1, India B scored over Indonesia 3-1 and India C beat Austria 2.5-1.5.

The highlight of Sunday’s round was Ramesh Babu Praggnanandhaa playing for Team B and wriggling out of an inferior position, which appeared totally lost at one point against Swiss grandmaster Yannick Pelletier.

The teenager, without giving up, continued to pose problems, making it difficult for his opponent to find the winning way. Pelletier fell short on time, missed his way and ended on the losing side on the 67th turn.

Pragg wasn’t satisfied despite winning a point as he said, “I have played badly and this point doesn’t give me any joy and I struggled throughout this game in a bad position”.

While his captain R B Ramesh was more pragmatic. He said, “In any professional sport, one has to be ready for any type of position and situations.”

Last minute entrant Indian women c team defeated Austria by a narrow 2.5-1.5 score to win their third-round match.

The women’s A Team also looked poised to win their match against England.

In the Open section, all the three Indian teams clinched their third-round matches against Greece, Switzerland and Iceland respectively even though one game in each team was still in progress.

Koneru Humpy was rested today and Harika took over on the top board for her first game at this Olympiad which incidentally is her 9th one along with two virtual ones.

The 31-year-old Harika is in the advanced stages of her first pregnancy and was playing Jovanka Houska of England on the top board for India A team. Harika opted for the Queen’s gambit and declined variation against Jovanka as fortunes fluctuated throughout this game.

The players indulged in a spate of exchanges at regular intervals to enter a rook and three pawn each ending and with no progress possible, decided to split the point on the 40th turn.

A disappointed Harika quipped, “The game was balanced with the position fluctuating only slightly and I never had enough advantage to press.”

WGM Nandhidhaa P V representing team c was the first player to gain a point, courtesy a walkover by Chiara Polterauer who is unwell.

Nadhidhaa who has notched 3 points in 3 outings said, “This is my first Olympiad and I am playing in my home town Chennai and this is enough to give me extra energy. In my opinion ratings and seedings don’t matter. Even our team has a chance to be amongst the medals and we are ready to give our best.”

Eesha Karavade enhanced her space advantage in a Sicilian Defence game against Katharina Newrkla with the latter playing passively.

A centralised knight and well posted pieces indicated winning possibilities for Eesha but the game abruptly ended in a draw after 27 moves with most pieces still gracing the board.

Representing Team A, Harikrishna played an exciting game in a Catalan Opening against Dimitri Mastrovasilis, one which was replete with fireworks. Harikrishna was at his tactical best and launched an attack with a bishop sacrifice on the 24th turn. Black’s castle was ripped open and a well posted knight in enemy territory started creating problems for the black King, especially with the queen also joining the action.

Harikrishna then offered the sacrifice of his second bishop on the 28th turn which was promptly rejected.

However, with Harikrishna’s pieces swarming around the Black King, Dimitri decided to resign on the 29th turn.

Harikrishna was happy with the proceedings and summed up, “I gave a lot of thought before sacrificing the double bishops as I wanted to ensure my calculations were right and reckoned that if it didn’t work out in a checkmating position, I held sufficient advantage to walk towards victory.”

ALSO READ-India’s Harika targets medal at 44th Chess Olympiad

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All 6 Indian teams win matches on 3rd day of Chess Olympiad

Fox News says that Americans are already looking forward to 2024, and the majority of voters revealed they do not want either Biden or Trump to run for President, and so does a recent Suffolk University/USA Today…reports Asian Lite News

Amid predictions of a Trump vs Biden rematch in 2024, polls suggest voters want neither, but a new face with a focused agenda to repair the economy, the job market and control rising prices of groceries and gas, and eventually the 40-year-high inflation ahead of the winter.

Odds seem stacked against the Democrats in the upcoming Nov mid-term polls, with President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ ratings plummeting by the day and Donald Trump with a wafer-thin edge over the incumbent President.

The battle of the ballot is going to be over the Biden administration’s efforts to rejuvenate the economy and rid it of inflation, fears of recession, control soaring house rentals, properties, grocery prices, shortage of raw materials, scarcity of baby food formulas vs Trump’s ability to survive the tearing pieces of evidence of his alleged collaboration in assembling and inciting a riotous mob at the Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021 to not to certify Biden’s election.

However, how much of this is going to weigh in with the voters in midterms and in the primaries with the party members and funders for both the ex and incumbent is the big question.

Most Democrats want someone other than Biden to run for president in 2024 – but he could still beat Trump, says CNBC quoting a poll. Only 26 per cent of Democrats said they would prefer him to be their party’s candidate in the 2024 election, and 64 per cent want someone else, a new poll survey has found. Biden’s age (82 in November this year) and job performance were the top reasons cited by Democrats on why they wanted a candidate other than Biden to be the party nominee, The New York Times/Siena College poll found.

Just 13 per cent of voters of all kinds say the US is “on the right track”, while 77 per cent said it was “headed in the wrong direction”. However, Biden would likely defeat Trump again if the election were held now, the survey suggested, with 44 per cent of voters selecting him, compared to 41 per cent for Trump.

While that finding is potentially very bad news for Biden’s reelection hopes, the poll has even worse news when it comes to younger Democratic voters and for how all voters see the country’s direction. A whopping 94 per cent of Democrats who are less than 30 years old said they want someone besides Biden, the survey found.

A Gallup poll last week that found that just 33 per cent of respondents believe Biden deserves to be reelected, while 67 per cent said he does not deserve a second term. That is 4 percentage points lower than the level of support for reelection Trump saw in an April 2018 poll, which came more than two years before he faced Biden.

In the Times/Siena poll, the top problems that voters believe are facing the US were the economy, which 20 per cent of respondents identified as the most important problem, followed by “inflation and the cost of living”, which 15 per cent identified. Eleven per cent of respondents identified “the state of democracy” or “political division” as their top concern, while 10 per cent said gun policies were the most important problem.

Abortion and women’s rights were cited as the top concern for 5 per cent of respondents. The Supreme Court in a major ruling on June 24 said there is no federal right to abortion, reversing a nearly half-century-old opinion that it issued in the Roe v. Wade case. The decision is expected to ultimately result in abortion being banned or more severely restricted than it previously was in nearly half of the US states.

UK’s The Guardian says on the Republican side of the ledger, “Someone else” (than Trump) also led, with 38.1 per cent of the vote.

Florida Governor Rino DeSantis has attracted 23.4 per cent support and Mike Pence, Trump’s Vice President, received 20.5 per cent.

Also attracting support were the former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, and Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton.

Fox News says that Americans are already looking forward to 2024, and the majority of voters revealed they do not want either Biden or Trump to run for President, and so does a recent Suffolk University/USA Today.

Roughly 68 per cent of voters said they do not want Biden to run again and 65 per cent do not want to see Trump make another run for the White House. Asked who in the Democratic Party voters would rather see run for President in 2024, Harris and Senator Bernie Sanders, tied for first place, with nearly 18 per cent support for each. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg received 16 per cent.

Among the other rumoured 2024 contenders, Senator Amy Klobuchar received 11 per cent, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez clocked in at 10 per cent, and California Governor Gavin Newsom garnered just 8 per cent.

DeSantis appears to be Trump’s toughest competition in 2024. But reports also suggest that Trump has been unbeatable head-to-head in any of the earlier bids at his presidency and 3rd bid will not buck the trend.

Trump received the most support with 43 per cent choosing him as their 2024 pick. DeSantis came in second place with 34 per cent support. While 8 per cent still remain undecided, 7 per cent said Pence would be their choice. Representative Liz Cheney, who is a member of the Jan 6 Committee, Haley and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie all received under 3 per cent of the vote.

Biden, who sees himself as the Democrat with the best chance of beating Trump, is suffering from anaemic approval ratings. Yet one top Democratic donor said the poll showing Biden beating Trump, who could announce a new run for the White House any day, is giving the President “some life at a time when he really needs it”.

Biden ran in the 2020 contest to end Trump’s presidency, saying no other Democrat could take him on and win after the Republican’s shocking win over Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016. Biden, Barack Obama’s Vice President for the previous eight years, didn’t run in 2016. Given Biden’s political problems, the 2024 scenario is setting itself up as quite the conundrum for Democrats.

“Trump is like a steroid boost for Democrats,” said Jim Kessler, Executive Vice President for policy at the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way.

He acknowledged that the November midterms are likely to be difficult for Democrats but said that a Trump reelection announcement could help boost turnout among the base.

ALSO READ-Asia Cup shifted from Sri Lanka to the UAE

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Asia Cup shifted from Sri Lanka to the UAE

The six-team Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format this year as a precursor to the T20 World Cup in Australia. The UAE also hosted the previous edition of the tournament, in the ODI format in 2018, an event that was won by India…reports Asian Lite News

The 2022 edition of the Asia Cup was on Wednesday officially shifted from Sri Lanka to the UAE. However, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will remain the hosts of the marquee multi-nation tournament, which will be played in middle-east Asia between August 27 and September 11.

The decision to move the tournament out of Sri Lanka was taken due to the ongoing political turmoil in the island nation.

“The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is eagerly looking forward to conducting its much-awaited Asia Cup tournament from August 27 th to September 11 th , 2022, as scheduled,” a Asian Cricket Council statement said.

“However, considering the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka, the ACC after extensive deliberation has unanimously concluded that it would be appropriate to relocate the tournament from Sri Lanka to the UAE,” it added.

Sri Lanka is going through one of its worst crisis with supplies of food and fuel drying up. The country has still been able to host bilateral cricket, with Australia and Pakistan making the trip over, but with the Asia Cup being a multi-team tournament, the challenges of hosting it in the midst of economic turmoil were considered a tough task.

BCCi secretary and ACC President Jay Shah said that every effort was made to host the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the decision to shift the venue to the UAE was taken after much deliberation.

“Every effort was made to host the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the decision to shift the venue to the UAE was taken after much deliberation. The UAE will be the new venue while Sri Lanka will continue to retain hosting rights. This edition of the Asia Cup is extremely important as it will help Asian nations prepare for the ICC World Cup, and I thank the SLC and the Emirates Cricket Board for their understanding and cooperation,” said Shah.

The six-team Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format this year as a precursor to the T20 World Cup in Australia. The UAE also hosted the previous edition of the tournament, in the ODI format in 2018, an event that was won by India.

“We were really looking forward to hosting our Asian neighbours in Sri Lanka for the much-anticipated Asia Cup,” SLC President Shammi Silva said.

“While I fully stand by the ACC’s decision to shift the Asia Cup to UAE considering the current context and magnitude of the event, Sri Lanka cricket will work closely with the ACC and the Emirates Cricket Board to ensure that we still have an exciting edition of the Asia Cup,” he added.

ALSO READ-Paddy Upton joins India support staff under Dravid

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India’s Harika targets medal at 44th Chess Olympiad

Pregnant in the advanced stages, Harika said she is still in the best possible shape mentally and is determined to give her best…reports Asian Lite News

Star India chess player Dronavalli Harika is raring to go all out and give her best shot to win a medal at the 44th Chess Olympiad, starting on Thursday in Mamallapurm, Chennai.

The 31-year-old has been the backbone of the Indian women’s team at the Olympiad for the last 18 years. Playing her eighth Olympiad in a row, Harika is in the process of setting the national record of continuous successive Olympiad appearances since she made her debut in 2004.

“I am optimistic about our chances but don’t want to put any pressure on ourselves. Of course, we are the top seeds on paper but at the end of the day, it matters on how we perform collectively,” Harika said.

Pregnant in the advanced stages, Harika said she is still in the best possible shape mentally and is determined to give her best.

“Off board I have tried to keep myself in the best shape possible and chess-wise have kept up my practice and played in some online chess events till last week to stay in touch. I am very happy with the Team composition and I am sure that we will be aspiring to perform above our capacity.”

The combination of Koneru Humpy on the top board and Harika on the second board offers an almost insurmountable barrier for their opponents and eases the pressure on the lower boards.

Aware of the challenges lying ahead of the team, Harika named Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, USA and Kazakhstan amongst the teams to watch out for at the event.

“All of us are intent on performing well so that sponsors get motivated to host more and more prestigious tournaments in India. The perception of chess has changed for the positive in India and hosting this Olympiad will have a big impact in all aspects of chess,” she added.

India’s best effort has been a fourth place in 2012 Olympiad in Turkey where Harika had secured an individual silver medal on the second board.

Harika is one of the most decorated Indian players having won numerous medals at age categories and in open categories. She is a ‘Padmashree’ awardee and one of the most solid and consistent players on the Indian chess scene and this time too she promises, “I have mentally willed to give my best.”

India is hosting the prestigious event for the first-time ever and it will go on till August 10.

ALSO READ-India to host 2025 Women’s World Cup

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India to host 2025 Women’s World Cup

Speaking of India as host for the 2025 grand event, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said it’s a step in the right direction for the popularity of women’s cricket…reports Asian Lite News

India will host the 2025 Women’s World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Tuesday.

Apart from India, Bangladesh and England will host T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026 respectively, while Sri Lanka, subject to their qualifying for the tournament, will host the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in 2027.

The venues for the four marquee women’s global events, which are part of the next cycle of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, were ratified by the ICC Board on Tuesday in Birmingham, on the final day of the global cricket body’s annual conference.

The ICC said that the hosts were finalized through a “competitive bidding process” and each bid was reviewed by the board sub-committee chaired by Martin Snedden along with Clare Connor, Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Skerritt.

“We are delighted to have awarded ICC women’s white ball events to Bangladesh, India, England and Sri Lanka. Accelerating the growth of the women’s game is one of the ICC’s strategic priorities and taking these events to some of our sport’s biggest markets give us a fantastic opportunity to do that and deepen its connection with cricket’s one billion plus fans,” said ICC Chairman Greg Barclay in a statement.

India will host the Women’s ODI World Cup for the fifth time, in 2025, and its first global women’s tournament since 2016 when the T20 World Cup ran parallel to the men’s event. The 2025 edition is set to be similar to the 2022 edition, with eight teams taking part and playing a total of 31 matches.

Speaking of India as host for the 2025 grand event, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said it’s a step in the right direction for the popularity of women’s cricket.

“India hosted the 50-over women’s World Cup in 2013 and the sport has undergone tremendous transformation since then. The popularity of women’s cricket is rapidly rising, and this is a step in the right direction. The BCCI will work closely with the ICC and fulfil all the requirements,” said Ganguly.

Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that the board “will leave no stone unturned to make it a memorable event” and how they are expecting the ICC tournament to boost the popularity of the sport further.

“We are taking several steps to raise the profile of the sport right from the grassroots level and hosting the World Cup will further boost the popularity of the sport in the country. The BCCI remains committed to women’s cricket in India. We have the infrastructure in place, and I am confident we will have a very successful edition of the World Cup,” said Shah.

England will be hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time since 2009.

“We saw back in 2017 how hosting the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup captured people’s imagination and I’ll never forget watching Heather Knight lift the trophy on that magical day at a sold-out Lord’s,” ECB Interim CEO Clare Connor said.

“Women’s cricket has developed rapidly since then, from the numbers of girls picking up bats through All Stars and Dynamos, joining clubs, and being able to progress on a pathway to the highest levels of performance. We’re seeing right now the positive impact that the Women’s Euros is having for football, and hosting this global cricket event will give us another incredible opportunity to inspire even more girls to pick up a bat and ball,” she added.

Bangladesh in turn will be hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup for the second time around.

As per ICC, the inaugural edition of the Women’s ICC Champions Trophy, set to be held by Sri Lanka, will be based on the T20 format. It will be held in February 2026, with six teams competing for the trophy across 16 matches.

ALSO READ-India wicket keeper Karuna Jain retires

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Paddy Upton joins India support staff under Dravid

The 53-year-old has already joined Team India ahead of their five-match T20I series against the two-time champions, a Cricbuzz report said…reports Asian Lite News

Paddy Upton has joined India’s support staff under head coach Rahul Dravid in the West Indies as the mental conditioning coach, ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup later this year.

Between 2008 and 2011, Upton was part of India’s support staff as assistant to Gary Kirsten – the then coach – in a similar capacity, a stint that culminated in Team India’s World Cup win under MS Dhoni. Upton then teamed up with Kirsten with the South Africa team that went on to become the No. 1 Test team in 2013.

The 53-year-old has already joined Team India ahead of their five-match T20I series against the two-time champions, a Cricbuzz report said.

It has been learnt that Upton’s appointment has been done on the recommendation of Dravid. The pair have worked together previously, in early 2010s during the latter’s playing career and subsequently at Rajasthan Royals and the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils, where they served as mentor and coach respectively.

Upton has also served as Performance Director of the South Africa team and later as head coach on the T20 circuit with stints at Sydney Thunder (BBL) and Lahore Qalandars (PSL) besides his role in the IPL. Most recently, he served as the ‘Team Catalyst’ at Rajasthan Royals, who reached their first IPL final since the 2008 season.

Notably, India have a packed schedule ahead of them before the T20 World Cup in Australia. Post the five-match series against the West Indies, they will play a short ODI series in Zimbabwe, the Asia Cup in August before subsequent white-ball assignments at home against Australia and South Africa.

ALSO READ-Boxer Lovlina alleges mental harassment at CWG Village

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Boxer Lovlina alleges mental harassment at CWG Village

The BFI said that the federation is closely working with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) so that Sandhya Gurung, coach of Lovlina Lovlina Borgohain, could be a part of the team in Birmingham…reports Asian Lite News

With just three days left for the Commonwealth Games to kick-start, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain on Monday took to social media to share her ordeal where she alleged that she had been going through ‘mental harassment’ due to her coaches being frequently changed.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has issued a statement on Monday, saying that the federation is trying to give her all kinds of support.

Reacting to the post of Lovlina Borgohain, the Sports Ministry tweeted, “We have urged the Indian Olympic Association to immediately arrange for the accreditation of the coach of Lovlina Borgohain.”

The BFI said that the federation is closely working with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) so that Sandhya Gurung, coach of Lovlina Lovlina Borgohain, could be a part of the team in Birmingham.

“Only 33 per cent of the playing contingent is allowed as ‘Support Staff’ which in BFI’s case for the 12 boxers (8 men and 4 women) stands to be 4 support staff, (including coaches) who were to travel with the Team to Burmingham,” BFI said.

“Boxing Federation of India ensured that Sandhya Gurung was at the training camp in Ireland. BFI is closely working with IOA so that Sandhya Gurung could be a part of the team in Birmingham. In the meanwhile, delegate transport and accommodation at ETO’s hotel has been already provided to her,” BFI said in a release.

“The requirements of boxing with respect to coaches and support staff is a little different as there are multiple bouts, which could be one after another. The IOA understood BFI’s point of view and therefore, extended help with maximum possible additional support staff. With IOA’s help the number of support staff went up from 4 to 8 for the entire contingent of 12 boxers,” the BFI said.

The star boxer said that her preparations for the major events have been constantly impacted because of her coaches, who helped her to a historic medal in Tokyo, being removed without explanations.

In a tweet, the 24-year-old boxer from Assam said that she has been facing problems in training after authorities denied entry to her coaches in the Commonwealth Games Village.

Lovlina said that one of her coaches has been sent home and another has been denied entry to the Commonwealth Games Village.

“Today with great sorrow I want to reveal that harassment is going on with me. The coaches who helped me win the Olympic medal were removed which hindered my training process. One of the coaches is Sandhya Gurungji, who is a Dronacharya awardee. Both of my coaches have to plead to be included in the training camp and they are added quite late,” Lovlina said in a tweet.

“Right now my coach Sandhya Gurungji is outside Commonwealth Village. With all this, my training process has stopped exactly 8 days before the games. My second coach has also been sent back to India. This happened even after I made many requests, due to which I have suffered a lot of mental harassment. I don’t know how to focus in the game. Due to this my last world championship was also spoiled. And because of this politics I do not want to spoil my CWG. I hope that I could break this politics and win a medal for my country. Jai Hind,” she wrote.

The boxer sealed the berth in the Indian team for the CWG in the 70 kg event with a dominating 7-0 win against Railways Pooja in the selection trials held in Delhi.

Lovlina scripted history when she won the women’s 69 kg bronze medal at Tokyo 2020, becoming the third Indian boxer to win a medal at the Olympics after Vijender Singh (bronze at Beijing 2008) and Mary Kom (bronze at London 2012).

IOA, Sports ministry take note of Lovlina’s tweet

The Sports Ministry and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) were quick to take note of the allegations made by Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain against the authorities for derailing her preparations for the Commonwealth Games.

Responding to Lovlina’s tweet, the IOA said in a statement that it has taken cognizance of the concern raised by team India boxer Lovlina on social media regarding her coach Sandhya Gurung’s accreditation at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

“The matter of Ms. Gurung’s accreditation was a late request received following the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee’s Delegation Registration Meeting with the national delegations. However, given the 1OA places the convenience of the Indian athletes at the highest level, a special request has been made to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee on a priority basis to provide Ms. Gurung with the requisite accreditation,” the IOA said in a release.

Earlier, the sports ministry had directed the IOA to arrange the accreditation for Lovlina’s coach Sandhya Gurung.

“We have urged the Indian Olympic Association to immediately arrange for the accreditation of the coach of Lovlina Borgohain,” the tweet read.

The Indian boxing squad arrived at the Games Village in Birmingham on Sunday night, following a 15-day training camp in Ireland.

However, Lovlina’s personal coach Sandhya Gurung was not allowed entry after she failed to produce an accreditation. Lovlina then took to Twitter and shared her plight in a long post.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has also issued a statement on Monday, saying that the federation is trying to give her all kinds of support.

The BFI said that the federation is closely working with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) so that Sandhya Gurung, coach of Lovlina Lovlina Borgohain, could be a part of the team in Birmingham.

“Only 33 per cent of the playing contingent is allowed as ‘Support Staff’ which in BFI’s case for the 12 boxers (8 men and 4 women) stands to be 4 support staff, (including coaches) who were to travel with the Team to Burmingham,” BFI said in a release.

“The Boxing Federation of India ensured that Sandhya Gurung was at the training camp in Ireland. BFI is closely working with IOA so that Sandhya Gurung could be a part of the team in Birmingham. In the meanwhile, delegate transport and accommodation at ETO’s hotel has been already provided to her.”

“The requirements of boxing with respect to coaches and support staff is a little different as there are multiple bouts, which could be one after another. The IOA understood BFI’s point of view and therefore, extended help with maximum possible additional support staff. With IOA’s help the number of support staff went up from 4 to 8 for the entire contingent of 12 boxers,” BFI said.

ALSO READ-India wicket keeper Karuna Jain retires

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India wicket keeper Karuna Jain retires

Karuna, the Bengaluru-based wicketkeeper, went on to thank everyone in her family as well the BCCI and state associations she represented in domestic circuit…reports Asian Lite News

India wicketkeeper Karuna Jain on Sunday announced her retirement from all forms of cricket. Karuna featured for India in five Tests, 44 ODIs and nine T20Is from 2005 and 2014, making 195, 987 and nine runs respectively.

On her ODI debut in 2004, she made 64 against the West Indies in Lucknow, which made her an integral part of the Indian team.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been a part of my cricketing journey from the very beginning to all my coaches, support staff and my team mates whose been a part throughout my career.”

“Each one of them has taught me something different about the game and life that made me the player and person I am today. It’s been an incredible journey I’ve been able to have and it would not have been possible without everyone who supported me during my ups and downs,” said Karuna in a statement posted on her official Instagram account.

In women’s Tests, she effected 17 dismissals behind the stumps, which is the second-best tally among Indian keepers after Anju Jain, who made 23 dismissals. Karuna, the Bengaluru-based wicketkeeper, went on to thank everyone in her family as well the BCCI and state associations she represented in domestic circuit.

“My family being the biggest support and my brother being a cricketer himself made it easy and challenging for me to adopt the game and deliver the best in every time I stepped onto the grounds. I could continue to play the sport and contribute for a very long time because of unflinching support and sacrifices done by them.”

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the BCCI and the State Association that I have represented which include Air India, Karnataka and Pondicherry and all the support extended by them. With a lot of happy and satisfied feelings, I’m able to make this announcement of my retirement from all forms of cricket and looking forward to contributing back to the game.”

ALSO READ-Neeraj Chopra clinches India’s first-ever silver medal at World Athletics

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Neeraj Chopra clinches India’s first-ever silver medal at World Athletics

The Indian nevertheless, ensured three additional throws to try and climb back into a medal position as he was placed fourth after Round 3. The bottom four drop out after the first three throws…reports Asian Lite News

Tokyo Olympics javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra on Sunday (IST) ended India’s 19-year-long wait for a medal at the World Athletics Championships after he clinched the silver medal at the 2022 meet with historic throw of 88.13m.

This was India’s second medal at the World Championships and the first podium finish since Anju Bobby George won a bronze medal in long jump at Paris in 2003.

Chopra’s best effort of 88.13m in the final at the Hayward Field was short of Anderson Peters’ gold medal-winning mark of 90.54m while Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch won the bronze with 88.09m.

The 24-year old Indian, who made the cut for the Oregon 2022 men’s javelin throw final courtesy an 88.39m mark in the qualification, made a disappointing start with a foul. On the other hand, reigning champion Peters of Grenada set the benchmark high with a 90.21m attempt in his first throw of the final.

Needing to shatter his personal best and the national record of 89.94m, set at the Stockholm Diamond League last month, for a shot at gold, Neeraj posted 82.39m and 86.37m with his second and third attempts, respectively. However, he was still short of a medal position after the third series of throws.

The Indian nevertheless, ensured three additional throws to try and climb back into a medal position as he was placed fourth after Round 3. The bottom four drop out after the first three throws.

Meanwhile, Peters extended his lead at the top with a 90.46m mark in his second attempt. Chopra finally climbed up into the top three with an 88.13m fourth attempt which saw him leapfrog the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch and Germany’s Julian Weber into the silver medal position.

The Tokyo Olympics champion fouled his fifth and sixth attempts but had done enough to win India its maiden silver medal at the World Championships.

Peters breached 90.54m with the final throw to increase his margin of victory and became the first man since the legendary Jan Zelezny to successfully defend a men’s javelin throw crown at the World Athletics Championships.

It was only the fifth time that the javelin throw final was won with a 90m-plus throw in the 18 editions of the World Championships.

Another Indian javelin thrower — Rohit Yadav — finished 10th with a best attempt of 78.72m, which came in his third attempt. His two earlier attempts measured 77.96m and 78.05m.

ALSO READ-Neeraj Chopra to lead 37-member athletics team in Commonwealth Games


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 BCCI awarded Rs 4cr in cash to Tokyo Olympic medallists

Javelin thrower Chopra was awarded Rs 1 crore while the hockey team was given Rs 1.25 crore in total. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain was awarded Rs 25 lakh…reports Asian Lite News

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) spent Rs 4 crore in giving cash awards to India’s Tokyo Olympics medallists earlier this year, a report said.

During its recent Apex Council meeting, the Indian cricket board revealed its expenditure on other stuff besides cricket to its members. As per the BCCI document, the board donated Rs 10 crore to the Indian Olympic Association to support the country’s athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games, a Times of India report said.

Earlier, late in March, the Indian cricket board felicitated Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and members of the bronze-medal-winning Indian men’s hockey team before the IPL’s opening match.

Javelin thrower Chopra was awarded Rs 1 crore while the hockey team was given Rs 1.25 crore in total. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain was awarded Rs 25 lakh. Apart from them, Rs 50 lakh each was also awarded to the two silver medallists — weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and wrestler Ravi Dahiya. In line with Borgohain, the other bronze medallists — shuttler PV Sindhu and wrestler Bajrang Punia — were given Rs 25 lakh each.

The BCCI spent Rs 5 crore on PM Care Mementos for Olympics participants. Close to ? 9.5 crore were also spent on ‘Support to Indian Contingent for Tokyo Olympics’ and its sub-categories.

The report further said that BCCI also donated Rs 3.8 cr to buy Oxygen Concentrators during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. Notably, on May 24, 2021, the BCCI had announced that it would contribute 2000 Oxygen concentrators (10-Litre capacity) to boost India’s efforts in overcoming the deadly virus.

“The nation has been hit by an unprecedented second wave of the coronavirus with demands for medical equipment and life-saving oxygen witnessing a major spike. Over the next few months, the Board will distribute the concentrators across India with the hope that critical medical aid and care will be provided to the needy patients and this initiative will reduce the havoc unleashed by the pandemic,” the BCCI had said in a statement at that time.

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