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Croatia’s Luciaja Begic Clinches Miss World Sports Challenge Title

Delhi Capitals’ academy coaches and women cricket players conducted a clinic and gave guidance on cricket…reports Olivia Sarkar

As a part of the 71st Miss World Pageant, the sports challenge for the Miss World Sports/Miss World Sportswoman title was held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on 24th February. During this challenge, the delegates were tested on their fitness, good health, sports skills, and positive mindset.

The top 32 delegates were announced to compete in the sports finals and Luciaja Begic from Croatia claimed the first spot. The Sports Challenge involved competitions in cricket, football shootout, shuttle run, hockey shootout, and 400mtr race. Hockey India, India’s national hockey federation, supported the event by providing local women players and coaches to showcase hockey skills and #indiakagame. The All India Football Federation, India’s national football body, sent a selected team including coaches to engage with the delegates and represent Indian women in football. Delhi Capitals’ academy coaches and women cricket players conducted a clinic and gave guidance on cricket.

As the winner of the Sports Challenge was announced, the Chairman and CEO of the Miss World Organization, Julia Morley CBE, shared, “We are thrilled to announce that Luciaja Begic from Croatia has won the coveted Miss World Sports Challenge this year. She embodies the spirit of fitness, health, and positivity that this competition seeks to highlight. Her dedication and excellence left no doubt that she deserves this honour. Winners like her exemplify why the Miss World Organization remains committed to testing delegates on more than just their outward beauty. We want to celebrate women who are actively bettering themselves in body, mind, and spirit. Congratulations again to our new Miss World Sports Challenge winner!”

The top 32 delegates were announced to compete in the sports finals and Luciaja Begic from Croatia claimed the first spot. The Sports Challenge involved competitions in cricket, football shootout, shuttle run, hockey shootout, and 400mtr race. Hockey India, India’s national hockey federation, supported the event by providing local women players and coaches to showcase hockey skills and #indiakagame. The All India Football Federation, India’s national football body, sent a selected team including coaches to engage with the delegates and represent Indian women in football. Delhi Capitals’ academy coaches and women cricket players conducted a clinic and gave guidance on cricket.

As the winner of the Sports Challenge was announced, the Chairman and CEO of the Miss World Organization, Julia Morley CBE, shared, “We are thrilled to announce that Luciaja Begic from Croatia has won the coveted Miss World Sports Challenge this year. She embodies the spirit of fitness, health, and positivity that this competition seeks to highlight. Her dedication and excellence left no doubt that she deserves this honour. Winners like her exemplify why the Miss World Organization remains committed to testing delegates on more than just their outward beauty. We want to celebrate women who are actively bettering themselves in body, mind, and spirit. Congratulations again to our new Miss World Sports Challenge winner!”

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Croatia clinches third place after win against Morocco

FIFA World Cup: Croatia stun Brazil in penalty shootout to reach semis. (Credit : FIFA.com)

Some of the Morocco players surround the referee at the end, but if anything it’s Croatia that should have had a penalty awarded in that second half…reports Asian Lite News

Croatia clinched their third top-three finish at the FIFA World Cup with a 2-1 play-off victory over tournament sensation and history-makers Morocco on Saturday night at Khalifa International Stadium.

Zlatko Dalic’s side once again showed their class in Qatar having finished runners-up to France four years ago and confirmed their status as one of the elite footballing nations with another third-place finish to go alongside that secured in their competition debut in 1998.

Morocco finished fourth, the best result for an African nation in World Cup history.

A much more exciting 90 minutes of football was what fans saw than many had anticipated, as both sides have left the shackles firmly off.

Josko Gvardiol dived to head in his first goal of the World Cup and break the deadlock for Croatia in the seventh minute, but celebrations didn’t last long as Achraf Dari also used his head to equalize just a minute later.

But the Croatians had the final say still in the first half when Mislav Orsic pulled out a stunning curler from distance to put them ahead before the break.

Croatia’s opening goal was by one who is not even 21 years old and gives a glimpse of the future of Croatian international football. Gvardiol is the youngest Croatian to score in a FIFA World Cup match. Gvardiol put his team ahead with a header after a well-worked free-kick routine, 1-0.

With Luka Modric looking likely to be retiring from international football, Croatia is understandably looking to see where their next generation of stars is to come from.

Dari levels it up with a header of his own. Modric flicks on a free kick from the right from Morocco, and the defender finishes from close range, 1-1.

Orsic puts his side back in front with a peach of a shot. Morocco fail to clear their lines and the Croat punishes them with the sweetest of curling efforts. Orsic scored a beauty to put his team back in front, but Morocco have had their chances as well, as they continue to show how good they are at attacking, as well as defending. Orsic, curling, looping try sailed over the keeper, but with power, clipping the inside of the post and ending in the nets.

After that frantic first 10 minutes inside the Khalifa International Stadium, this game has settled more into the expected pattern. Croatia are starting to dominate possession, with Morocco happy to sit deep and contain.

There wasn’t much to see on the pitch during the second half as both teams looked exhausted after a hard-fought first part and coming from intense semi-final games.

We may have not seen any more goals in the second half, but it was still an intriguing watch with both teams getting feisty as the game progressed. Croatia showed their class at this level, and had the better chances to score even as Morocco chased a leveller.

There was a spark of action in the 74th when Gvardiol was set to complete his brace but went down inside the box. Croatia players and bench screamed for a penalty but nothing was given.

In response, Morocco found Youssef En-Nesyri unmarked inside the box but his effort from close-range was denied by a massive save from Dominik Livakovic in the 77th.

This was the second time the teams met in Qatar after they played out a goalless draw in their Group F opener on November 23. While Croatia failed to reach the final following a 3-0 defeat to Argentina, Morocco lost 2-0 to champions France in the semi-finals.

Some of the Morocco players surround the referee at the end, but if anything it’s Croatia that should have had a penalty awarded in that second half.

Not a great look from the Atlas Lions, but they’ve been a great team throughout this World Cup.

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Croatia beat Japan 3-1 on penalties

Croatia will take on the winners of Monday’s late match between Brazil and South Korea in the quarterfinals…reports Asian Lite News

Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was the hero, saving three penalties in the shootout, as Croatia edged past Japan after a 1-1 draw to reach the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals at Janoub stadium.

The Russia 2018 runners-up held their nerve and won the penalty shootout 3-1 as Livakovic kept out the first two efforts before stopping Maya Yoshida’s kick, then Mario Pasalic converted the vital effort to take his side through.

At the end of full-time play, the teams were locked one-all and the 30 minutes of extra time also failed to break the deadlock.

Croatia will take on the winners of Monday’s late match between Brazil and South Korea in the quarterfinals.

On Tuesday, the last round matches of the last-16 stage will take place between Morocco and Spain followed by Portugal and Switzerland.

The Samurai Blue started badly in the penalty shootout with Takumi Minamino and Kaoru Mitoma unable to beat Livakovic, while Marko Livaja’s effort hit the post, it did not make much of a difference as Livakovic proved outstanding in the Croatian goal.

Earlier, Croatia came back from a goal down to draw level through Ivan Perisic. The 33-year-old’s 55th-minute equaliser was his sixth goal at the World Cup and the first one in Qatar taking his individual tally of international goals to ten.

The Tottenham Hotspur striker, currently playing in his third World Cup, is now tied with Davor Suker as the top goal-scorer at the World Cup, which he scored in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

Japan proved beyond any reasonable doubt that they are capable of giving any side a strong game and looked dangerous on the break.

The Europeans have had more possession and an equal amount of shots on target as the Japanese in the first half.

Japan were the livelier side and took a deserved lead two minutes before half-time when Celtic forward Daizen Maeda wherein a whipped cross bounced around in the box and fell to Maeda, who got to the end of the cross to give Japan the much-deserved lead.

Ten minutes after the resumption, Croatia equalized when Perisic unleashed a brilliant powerful header, off Dejan Lovren’s cross, into the bottom corner with incredible precision.

Though the official match attendance stood at 42,523 in the nearly 45,000-capacity arena, there were some empty seats in some of the upper tiers of the venue, but the noise made by both teams made it feel like the arena was packed to the brim.


Thereafter, neither side could find a breakthrough and the game ticked into the additional 30 minutes of extra time, with Brighton midfielder Mitoma’s spectacular strike pushed over by Livakovic.

At the other end, Marko Livaja’s flicked header looked to be looping in, but Shuichi Gonda managed to gather and Lovro Majer dragged a shot in the 120th minute.

The contest went to nerve-shredding penalties, where Livakovic emerged as the man to lead Croatia’s celebrations.

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Early exit for Belgium as Croatia reaches last 16

Croatia finished second in the group with one win and two draws collecting five points and will face Group E winners, which are most likely to be Spain…reports Asian Lite News

The 2018 runners-up Croatia survived some anxious moments in their Group F goalless draw against Belgium but made it to the Knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

At the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Croatia made it to the last 16 stage as group runners-up while the draw meant World No.2 side Belgium had to make an early exit from the football showpiece event.

The disappointment of the tournament were Belgium which only had four points from three matches, winning one, losing one and drawing one and crashing out of the tournament.

Group F runners-up Croatia go through to play the winners in Group E in the last 16, while Morocco qualify for the knockout stage for the first time in 36 years, emerging as group winners. They will meet the runners-up of Group E, which contains Costa Rica, Germany, Japan and Spain, in the last 16.

The Atlas Lions started their Qatar campaign with a 0-0 draw against Croatia and added another feather in the cap by defeating Word No.2 Belgium 2-0 a few days ago. With Thursday’s win, their second in the group, they finished with seven points and topped the group.

Croatia finished second in the group with one win and two draws collecting five points and will face Group E winners, which are most likely to be Spain.

Among the teams which had already qualified for the World Cup on Wednesday were Australia, France, Portugal, Brazil, Senegal, The Netherlands, Argentina, Poland, USA and England.

The opening half produced next to nothing in the way of notable action — save for a penalty awarded to Croatia but overturned by the VAR, who detected Dejan Lovren stepping marginally offside prior to Yannick Carrasco’s foul on Andrej Kramaric.

Romelu Lukaku, who replaced Dries Mertens at half-time, came into the game with intent and immediately brought additional energy to the Belgium side.

But his missed opportunities in the second half proved costly, with each one bringing an audible collective groan from the stands and Inter Milan striker punched the dugout in frustration after the final whistle.

Croatia were unconvincing — they had a penalty ruled out by VAR due to an offside in the build-up in the first half — but did enough to secure progression.

However, they looked a level below what they showed to reach the final in Russia four years ago and their celebrations were fairly subdued after scraping through.

The golden Belgian generation led by Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku probably missed the last chance of winning a World Cup after they failed to break the deadlock against Croatia despite several clear chances in the second half.

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India, Croatia hold 10th FOCs, review bilateral relations

Both agreed to hold the next round of Foreign Office Consultations at mutually convenient dates next year in New Delhi, the MEA added…reports Asian Lite News

India and Croatia held the 10th session of Foreign Office Consultations in Zagreb on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement released on Saturday

During the Consultations, both sides carried out a comprehensive review of the existing bilateral relations, including strengthening of cooperation in trade and economic relations, defence and maritime, science & technology, innovation, research & development, higher education, tourism, culture, and people-to-people ties, the Ministry said.

The two sides also exchanged views on international issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in the UN and other multilateral fora, climate change and sustainable development, the Ministry added.

Both sides exchanged views on regional issues such as the EU, QUAD, Indo-Pacific, the Ukraine conflict and developments in India’s neighbourhood, the Ministry maintained.

Both agreed to hold the next round of Foreign Office Consultations at mutually convenient dates next year in New Delhi, the MEA added.

At the FOCs, the Indian side was led by Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, the Croatian side was led by Petar Mihatov, Director General for Political Affairs of the country’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

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Jaishankar to visit Slovenia, Croatia and Denmark

During his visit to Croatia on September 3, EAM will hold bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Gordan Grli Radman, and will call on the Croatian leadership…reports Asian Lite News.

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar will embark on an official visit to Slovenia, Croatia and Denmark from September 2-5, 2021 with an aim to widen ties with Europe with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region and Afghanistan’s future.

According to an official statement, he will be in Slovenia from 2-3 September which is currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and has invited him to attend an informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of EU Member States on September 3. The Minister will also hold a bilateral meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Dr Anze Logar, apart from calling on the Slovenian leadership.

Jaishankar will attend the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) being held in Slovenia, and will participate in the panel discussion on “Partnership for a Rules Based Order in the Indo-Pacific”. He will also hold discussions with his EU counterparts on issues of mutual interest.

At the 16th Bled Strategic Forum which is one of Europe’s premier foreign ministerial forums will be held in Slovenia on September 1-2 and the Minister will present India’s vision on the Indo-Pacific region as a key player that emphasises on maintaining rule of law and inclusive approach amid China’s aggression.

During his visit to Croatia on September 3, EAM will hold bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Gordan Grli Radman, and will call on the Croatian leadership.

During his visit to Denmark on September 4-5, Jaishankar will co-chair the fourth round of the Indo-Danish Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) along with Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod.

The JCM will undertake a comprehensive review of our bilateral cooperation under the Green Strategic Partnership, which was established during the Virtual Summit in September 2020. EAM will also call on Danish dignitaries.

The visit of EAM will provide an opportunity for reviewing the progress in our bilateral ties with the three Central European countries, and for strengthening our multifaceted relationship with the EU, the MEA said in a statement here today.

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