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Tag: CWG 2022

  • Long Read: US faculties, the ending faculty for elite athletes

    When Tejaswin Shankar’s first American scholarship provide to play within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) arrived, he was in disbelief. “I thought it was some sort of scam. Aapko koi leke bhi jaa raha hai, padha bhi raha hai, rakh bhi raha hai, aur sab kuchh free mein,’ (Your travel, education and stay are all free). I thought it was some sort of kidnapping racket,” he instructed The Indian Express earlier this month.

    Later, as he realised that he shall be a part of a system of over 500 colleges, every of which specialises in a distinct sport, within the high collegiate competitors on this planet, he has develop into an advocate of it.

    “If it’s free and we can use it, why are we relying on the government to spend crores of rupees on sports budgets? Trust your athletes to come back home and perform at a high level,” he mentioned.

    Tejaswin’s conviction has paid off. The 23-year-old excessive jumper’s bronze on the latest Commonwealth Games was certainly one of a whopping 45 medals received by athletes coming by means of the NCAA system, in monitor and discipline alone. As many as 21 of these medals had been gold, in different occasions like sprints, marathons, discus throw, and triple bounce. The medallists come from everywhere in the world, from Africa and the Caribbean, in addition to the UK and Australia.

    Somdev Devvarman. (FILE)

    Today, American faculties are filled with worldwide student-athletes who’re discovering enormous success. At the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene this yr, 15 champions got here from nations exterior the United States, together with Tunisia, St Lucia, Morocco, and Zimbabwe.

    One of these 15 champions was Tejaswin. The excessive jumper is a six-time All-American athlete and set the Indian nationwide file of two.29m whereas competing for Kansas State University in 2018. At the Hayward Field, he turned simply the second Indian to win two NCAA championships, alongside Somdev Devvarman.

    Devvarman himself is certainly one of simply 13 gamers to have ever received consecutive Division 1 tennis titles at that stage, the second of which noticed him submit a win-loss file of 44-1. Less than a yr later, he turned the primary Indian since Leander Paes to succeed in the ultimate of an ATP occasion on the Chennai Open, the place he had entered the primary draw as a wildcard.

    Tejaswin studied enterprise administration on the Kansas State University on a four-year scholarship.(File)

    Devvarman is one other advocate of younger Indians taking the American scholarship route. He clarifies, nonetheless, that the game one performs have to be considered: monitor and discipline, golf, tennis, and swimming are all at an elite stage within the NCAA, however sports activities like badminton or desk tennis will not be.

    The former high 70 participant instructed The Indian Express that there are issues he realized and unlearned – on and off the court docket – whereas going by means of the system, with out which he was not more likely to develop into the participant that he turned.

    “I think a big question any athlete, or person in general, must ask themselves is ‘what are your parameters for success?’ Do you define success as just winning medals or trophies? Because I’ll be honest, that’s not how I saw it,” he mentioned.

    “I joined the University of Virginia back in 2004, which was a top division 1 programme under the NCAA. But I was not very confident that I would be able to go pro. What mattered to me was just having the freedom to play. To do what I knew best. And over there, with the structure and organisation they gave me, everything from strength coaches to taking care of my nutrition, I felt I got that freedom,” he mentioned.

    On his option to the NCAA title in 2007, Devvarman defeated future two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson within the semifinal, after which future top-10 participant and US No.1 John Isner within the ultimate. He believes that the publicity he gained, to coach and compete with a number of the world’s greatest younger gamers, was essential to his improvement.

    “At the 2006 US Open, Andre Agassi, in the final match of his career, lost the third round to Benjamin Becker (of Germany). In my first year here, Becker won the NCAA title with Baylor (University). I remember watching that match and thinking: ‘If he can do it, so can we.’”

    Success breeds success, and one discovered loads of success tales within the NCAAs, he mentioned.

    Breeding floor for medallists

    The monitor file of athletes which have come by means of the NCAA system, particularly the internationals who usually play on scholarships, appears to vindicate Devvarman’s view.

    Tejaswin and he will not be the one high-profile athletes to go the NCAA manner. In the late Nineteen Sixties, triple jumper Mohinder Singh Gill went by means of the system earlier than successful Commonwealth and Asian Games medals. Discus thrower Vikas Gowda was the 2004 NCAA champion, and 10 years later, received a Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow. And as we speak, athletes in a wide range of disciplines are collaborating.

    But Devvarman believes extra Indians eligible for scholarships must be benefiting from the construction that the NCAA can present. “For any athlete, the most difficult jump is going from a successful junior career to the pros. There is a huge leap in between. That period is usually when they are at university, between the ages of 18 and 22. Playing consistently and looking after your body at that time is so crucial,” he mentioned.

    Devvarman introduced his retirement from the tour in 2017, and whereas many could affiliate him with broadcasting now, he had a quick stint as a coach in Germany, the place he labored with promising younger Indians like Sumit Nagal and Karman Kaur Thandi, whom he feels might have benefitted from the assist he had at that age.

    “They (Karman and Sumit) have struggled with accidents. I keep in mind going by means of the identical in that part. But in Virginia, I had devoted coaching rooms, I might get scans finished, get the fitting rehabilitation course of, the fitting recommendation, the fitting coaching routine.

    “Frankly, in India, this can be quite hard. The whole ecosystem does not exist, and if you want to create it, you have to pay exorbitant costs,” the previous tennis participant mentioned.

    An athlete’s profession is brief, he says, and of their developmental years, they’re one ill-timed harm away from failing to succeed in the heights they’ll. In these years, having a assist system might be essential.

    “I wish more people made the smarter decision. And more importantly, I wish more people knew about the choices they have,” Devvarman added.

    Discus thrower Vikas Gowda was the 2004 NCAA champion, and 10 years later, received a Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow. And as we speak, athletes in a wide range of disciplines are collaborating.

    For all of the evident alternatives an NCAA scholarship could present although, the shortage of accessibility is a problem.

    There are varied divisions within the system, and getting a top-level Division 1 scholarship includes cut-throat competitors, not simply on the sector, however academically too. Most colleges have qualifying standards for his or her scholarships, which embrace aggressive check scores in addition to minimal cut-off scores in any respect ranges of senior education. It requires a sure stage of educational inclination and command over the English language which a nationwide junior champion, who doesn’t come from a privileged background, could not have.

    There are monetary constraints too. Schools on the high of the aggressive curve are probably to present 100% scholarships solely to a high-level recruit, and it’s even rarer for worldwide college students. So, if monetary assist is the first concern, a student-athlete could have to decide on a lesser faculty, which could possibly be detrimental to their improvement, to ensure their training and coaching doesn’t come at too excessive a value.

    Tejaswin’s case additionally highlights a fear of Indian sports activities our bodies. The Delhi-based athlete was snubbed by the Athletics Federation of India for the Asian Championships again in 2019, failing to recognise his leads to the US after he missed the Federation Cup. Ahead of the CWG this yr, barring a last-minute court docket intervention, historical past was about to repeat itself.

    Devvarman places these constraints into perspective earlier than advising younger athletes to pursue the identical route as him. He maintained that, in his expertise, the main target within the NCAA is on growing well-rounded athletes, which has worth past sport.

    “It depends on what your priorities are. A lot of student-athletes I trained with realised they can’t make it to the top, or don’t want to. They went on to find success in other things in life, for which a great education opened doors for them. But if winning medals and competing at the top is the priority, and 100 percent scholarships are not on the table, these things must be kept in mind,” he mentioned.

    AT CWG 2022, Track and Field:

    · A complete of 45 medals had been received by athletes produced by the NCAA system. Of these, there have been 21 gold medals.

    · The high nations to profit:
    Nigeria – 10 medals, 5 gold
    Jamaica – 8 medals, 2 gold
    Trinidad – 5 medals, 4 gold
    Canada – 3 medals, 3 Gold
    Australia – 3 medals, 2 Gold

    · India’s Tejaswin Shankar received the bronze medal in males’s excessive bounce.

    Full break-up: In CWG 2022 Track & Field, medals received by athletes which have come by means of NCAA

    Country
    Gold
    Total
    Ghana
    0
    2
    Nigeria
    5
    10
    St Lucia
    0
    1
    England
    2
    3
    Jamaica
    2
    8
    Barbados
    1
    2
    Trinidad
    4
    5
    Australia
    2
    3
    Bahamas
    1
    2
    Bermuda
    0
    1
    Grenada
    1
    2
    Canada
    3
    3
    Scotland
    0
    1
    New Zealand
    0
    1
    India
    0
    1
    Total
    21
    45

  • Let’s cry after blended doubles match: How Sharath Kamal comforted Sreeja after her heartbreaking loss

    To say she was distraught can be an understatement. After her heart-breaking 3-4 (11-3, 6-11, 2-11, 11-7, 13-15, 11-9, 7-11) loss to Australia’s Yangzi Liu within the ladies’s singles bronze medal match of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, India’ Sreeja Akula was inconsolable.

    Half an hour later, Sharath Kamal, India’s 40-year-old desk tennis star, had simply completed a match himself. He walked into the dressing room and on seeing the 24-year-old Sreeja crying, he mentioned one thing that might lighten the temper.

    “Don’t cry now, cry after the mixed doubles match,” he mentioned with fun, referring to the ultimate he was alleged to play alongside Sreeja in about 5 hours.

    Sreeja couldn’t management her laughter.

    She and Sharath teamed as much as win India’s first-ever blended doubles Commonwealth Games gold and it was a type of redemption for Sreeja after her loss earlier within the day.

    This was additionally the second when the choice of Sreeja’s dad and mom to again their daughter’s desk tennis profession and put teachers on the backburner paid off.

    Till Sreeja turned 18, that they had no thought whether or not she may make a profession out of the game.

    “Nobody in my family is a sportsperson,” Sreeja tells The Indian Express after coming back from Birmingham. “When you don’t have a sportsperson in your family, there’s always an apprehension of being a professional athlete.”

    Sreeja’s desk tennis journey started on the age of eight. Watching her sister, Ravali — who’s three years older than her — play and excel at state tournaments, Sreeja needed to be like her.

    “My dad did play table tennis at local tournaments but it wasn’t at a high level. My parents wanted my sister to play some indoor sport and because my dad loved table tennis, they decided to enroll her in classes,” she says.

    Though Ravali confirmed loads of promise, research bought in the best way after Grade 10. She gave up desk tennis for teachers. So when Sreeja reached that age, she thought that the pure development was to surrender desk tennis and deal with her research.

    “I wanted to become a chartered accountant. My sister convinced me and my family not to make the same mistake she made. She convinced me to continue playing TT because she saw how much I loved it and that I was quite decent at it too,” she says.
    There was one other downside. Though she was doing nicely on the junior stage, her dad and mom weren’t fairly certain it will be financially sustainable to play a sport professionally.

    “It’s only when I turned 18 and got a job with RBI because of table tennis that my family let go of that apprehension. It was then that I too could concentrate more on the sport because I didn’t have to worry about the financial aspect.”

    2019 was the breakthrough 12 months for her, she says. “It was the first time I played in the senior category and won two medals. At the Commonwealth TT Championships in Cuttack, I won bronze in singles and mixed doubles and silver in doubles.”
    While Sreeja and Sharath made the unlikeliest of partnerships in Birmingham, that they had partnered with one another as soon as earlier than. And it occurred by probability.

    “At the 2019 Commonwealth Championship, it so happened that Manika (Batra) fell sick after the team event. And since I play with a pimpled rubber like her, Sharath asked me to play with him. I was so nervous but we ended up winning bronze so it was alright,” she says.

    While she was taking part in her greatest in 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and that meant a break. And she wasn’t used to taking breaks. “I like to over-work myself. I train all the time so I wasn’t used to so much free time but I quite enjoyed it. I got to spend time with family and that was quite refreshing,” she says.

    This 12 months she received the nationwide championships, sealing a spot in India’s crew for the Commonwealth Games. “It’s like I’m living a dream, but a dream I’ve worked very hard for,” she says.

    So what does she anticipate to vary after her gold in Birmingham? Not a lot, Sreeja, who trains in Hyderabad, says.

    “I’ll still have to drive 40 minutes at 5.45am to my training center. I’ll still take the metro every evening to avoid traffic. If anything, I’ll be training harder,” Sreeja, who’s coached by Somnath Ghosh at his academy in a Hyderabad mall, says.

  • Two Pakistani boxers lacking in Birmingham after CWG

    Two Pakistani boxers have gone lacking in Birmingham after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games, the nationwide federation stated on Wednesday.

    Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) secretary Nasir Tang confirmed the information that boxers Suleman Baloch and Nazeerullah disappeared a few hours earlier than the group’s departure for Islamabad.

    The Birmingham CWG ended on Monday

    “The travel documents including their passports are still with federation officials who accompanied the boxing team to the games,” Tang stated.

    He stated the group administration has knowledgeable the Pakistan High Commission within the UK and the related authorities in London concerning the disappearance of Suleman and Nazeerullah.

    Tang stated the paperwork of the lacking boxers have been saved as per the usual working process for all athletes who journey from Pakistan.

    The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has fashioned a four-member committee to research the matter of the lacking boxers.
    Pakistan didn’t win any medal within the boxing competitors of the Commonwealth Games the place it ended up with eight medals, together with two gold, received in weightlifting and javelin throw.

    The disappearance of the boxers got here simply two months after a nationwide swimmer, Faizan Akbar additionally disappeared whereas competing within the FINA World Championships in Hungary.

    Akbar, nevertheless, didn’t even hassle to compete within the championships and went lacking along with his passport and different paperwork simply hours after reaching Budapest. He couldn’t be traced since June.

  • Commonwealth Games 2022: Boxer Jasmine Lamboria eyeing Olympics after bronze in Birmingham

    Commonwealth Games 2022: Indian boxer Jasmine Lamboria gained the bronze medal within the girls’s 60 kg Lightweight class

    CWG 2022: Boxer Jasmine Lambodia eyeing Olympics after bronze in Birmingham. Courtesy: PTI

    HIGHLIGHTSJasmine Lambodia gained bronze within the girls’s 60 kg Lightweight classJasmine Lamboria is trying to carry out in Asian Games and OlympicsJasmine Lamboria was the thirtieth Indian to win a medal in CWG 2022

    Indian boxer Jasmine Lamboria has set her targets clear after her marketing campaign within the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. On Saturday, August 6, Lamboria gained the bronze medal within the girls’s 60 kg Lightweight class. The 20-year-old boxer misplaced to England’s Gemma Paige, who gained the match 3-2 after a break up resolution labored in her favour.

    Paige was the favorite to win the match, however Lamboria made her work laborious for each single level. In the top, Lamboria threw the towel and Paige certified for the ultimate. After her marketing campaign in Birmingham, the Bhivani-born Lamboria talked about doing effectively within the Asian Games and in addition qualifying for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

    “I started pursuing boxing in 2016. The Asian Games are slated for next year. Will have to qualify for the Olympics, too. Would be preparing for that,” Lambodia was quoted as saying in ANI.

    The Asian Games was earlier scheduled to happen this 12 months within the metropolis of Hangzhou in China, however needed to be postponed on account of points surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The event will now happen from September 23 to October 8, 2023 as determined by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

    “The OCA thanks HAGOC, the Chinese Olympic Committee, as well as the governments at all levels for ensuring they (Asian Games) can take place next year,” the OCA had stated in a press release.

    As far as Jasmine is worried, she additionally turned the thirtieth Indian to win a medal on the CWG 2022. Mohammed Hussamuddin, Amit Panghal, Sagar Ahlawat, Rohit Tokas, Nitu Ghanghas and Nikhat Zareen are among the many different boxers to win medal within the multi-sport event.

    — ENDS —

  • Strict coach, nutritionist, mentor, prepare dinner – Nikolai Snesarev, the coach who made Avinash Sable realise he might be a champion 3000m runner

    A day after profitable a historic silver within the males’s 3000 metre steeplechase Avinash Sable was overcome with emotion when trying again on the first time he broke the nationwide document in 2018. Sable took a number of moments to pay tribute to somebody particular, the late distance coach Nikolai Snesarev, his mentor who made him shed his self-doubts.

    Sable’s 8:29.80 set in Bhubaneshwar bettered the practically four-decade outdated nationwide mark within the title of Gopal Saini. But Sable’s thoughts was stuffed with doubts even when he grew to become the quickest steeplechase athlete within the nation.

    “I was not sure if I would get better. Because I ran 8:29 but I was not confident if I could do it again. So many athletes in India had run 8:35, 8:36 but after doing it once they could not repeat it,” Sable mentioned earlier than recalling the contribution of Snesarev, a Belrusian recognized to be a taskmaster.

    In a shock to India’s high distance runners, present and previous, Snesarev handed away final March. Snesarev had returned to the nation to educate Sable for the Tokyo Olympics. He was discovered useless in his room on the National Institute of Sports in Patiala on March 5.

    Avinash Sable (@avinash3000m) is a really reserved individual and barely shows any feelings in public. Here he’s choking up whereas speaking about his former coach Nikolai Snesarev who handed away in March 2021. 🎥 @afiindia pic.twitter.com/J6Y3DNkvox

    — Andrew (@AndrewAmsan) August 7, 2022

    Sable and Snesarev had been about to resume their coach-trainee partnership but it surely was quick lived.

    Snesarev had give up his India job in 2019, although he had a contract until the Tokyo Olympics, when Sable didn’t purchase into his foreign-camp coaching plan within the Issyk-Kul area in Kyrgyzstan. Sable determined to proceed to coach with military coach Amrish Kumar in India forward of the Tokyo Olympics.

    But Snesarev has a particular place in Sable’s coronary heart and he has acknowledged his contribution, on the time of his dying and after profitable silver on the CWG.

    “I will never forget what Nikolai coach did for me. In my life I will have many coaches and each one has their positives. But there are things in life which you cannot forget. Nikolai helped me change my thought process by saying ‘Avinash we can do this’. I never thought I could do all this. I sometimes feel like crying because I have not seen such an honest coach. I feel very bad. His death was a very tough time for me. After that I was disturbed a lot,” Sable mentioned earlier this week.

    A few weeks after Snesarev handed away, Sable broke the nationwide document once more on the Federation Cup in Patiala.

    Sable had posted an Instagram tribute to Snesarev again then. “Your void in my sporting life can never be filled. Sir for two years I was away from you but I have followed every rule of yours. I am doing the same things in practice, which you have taught me. I keep remembering one thing that you had told me. ‘I am 72 years old, but for you Avinash I am willing to take a risk’. Sir I did not know that we would be together again only for a few days,” Sable had posted.

    Producing document breakers and medal winners is what made Snesarev, 72 when he died, a revered coach amongst athletes and officers in India.

    Strict coach, nutritionist, life coach, prepare dinner

    Snesarev first got here to India as a coach in 2005. Five years later Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut gained gold and silver respectively within the 10,000 metres and Sudha Singh took the steeplechase gold on the Guangzhou Asian Games. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Lalitha Babar, additionally skilled by Snesarev, reached the ultimate of the steeplechase, a primary for an Indian monitor athlete since PT Usha 32 years earlier.

    Snesarev’s athletes weren’t allowed to take weight loss program dietary supplements and he cooked wholesome meals for them. (File)

    Snesarev was prepared to coach solely these athletes able to observe his strict coaching routine. He laid down a strict record of ‘don’ts’.

    At competitors venues, his athletes adopted him out and in of a stadium like he was a military commander. They didn’t even dare to speak to one another in whispers.

    Snesarev’s athletes caught to a boiled-vegetable-and-chicken-soup weight loss program, they fasted until dinner on their weekly off from coaching. Like a dad or mum rationing cell phone utilization of a kid, Snesarev stored an in depth watch on display screen time. One or two telephone calls every week had been all they had been allowed.

    He was even apprehensive concerning the high quality of air they breathe. Lighting of licence sticks had been discouraged as a result of the fumes might have an effect on restoration. His athletes weren’t allowed to take weight loss program dietary supplements and he cooked wholesome meals for them.

    Kavita Raut, the ten,000 metre bronze winner of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, recalled how Snesarev’s phrase was remaining. On the day Snesarev had died, Kavita had narrated concerning the coach’s ‘waste no time’ coverage.

    Raut needed to instantly flip her focus to bettering the color of her medal on the Asian Games a number of months later.

    “After I won bronze in the 10,000 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, he didn’t allow me to leave the camp. I was being invited for many felicitation functions. One organiser was even ready to fly me up and down in a helicopter. But Nikolai sir said ‘nothing doing’. He told me ‘this is not the time to celebrate this medal because if you do, you will lose focus and time’. A few months later, I won a silver at the Asian Games. Every single medal I have achieved from 2006 to 2014 is because of him. Without his coaching and care, there would be no success for me,” Raut had mentioned.

    Snesarev wore many hats and was a coach, nutritionist, life coach all rolled into one. Every meal of the athletes was monitored by him. “He would not allow us to even have a recovery drink after a training session. He wanted us to consume only things that were natural. So he would mix lemon juice, a little honey and warm water and give it to us. He would taste it first and then give it to us,” Raut recalled.

    Athletes Snesarev skilled needed to get used to aches and pains as a result of any form of painkillers had been banned. “He felt if we took any sort of medication, it would slow down our recovery. He wanted us to consume natural substances. Everything we ate had to be made in front of him or after being cleared by him. Boiled fish, boiled chicken without any spices and only boiled vegetables, and a soup is what he made us eat every day. It was not easy to train under him, but it was rewarding,” Raut mentioned.

    In a current media interplay earlier than the World Championships, Sable spoke about how he was reluctant to journey overseas for coaching although Snesarev had all the pieces deliberate. Sable was based mostly in Colorado Springs earlier than the World Championships and credited coaching and working with a number of the finest athletes on the planet for his elevated self perception. Snesarev knew Sable had the expertise. Confidence was what Snesarev needed to instill in him a number of years in the past.

    “Nobody worked as hard as him (Snesarev) as a coach. He had lots of plans. He had planned an outside camp (foreign camp). But I made a big mistake by not going outside. I didn’t take any risk. He got angry and he didn’t come back,” Sable mentioned.

  • Commonwealth Games 2022: Neeraj Chopra’s gold has modified mentality of Indian athletes, says Eldhose Paul

    Commonwealth Games 2022: Tokyo Olympics gold-medallist Neeraj Chopra did not participate within the CWG in Birmingham after he pulled out of the match because of damage.

    Neeraj Chopra of India. Courtesy: Reuters

    HIGHLIGHTSNeeraj Chopra had pulled out of CWG 2022 because of damageNeeraj Chopra had gained gold within the Tokyo Olympics final 12 monthsEldhose Paul gained gold medal in males’s triple bounce at CWG

    Athlete Eldhose Paul reckoned that Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal-winning efficiency within the Tokyo Olympics final 12 months has modified the mentality of Indian athletes. Paul, on Tuesday, August 9, obtained a heat welcome on the Delhi Airport after the Indian contingent returned from Birmingham following their Commonwealth Games 2022 marketing campaign.

    The Indian athletes gained as many as eight medals, together with one gold, 4 silver and three bronze. Paul gained the gold medal within the last of the lads’s triple bounce on Sunday, August 7. Paul mentioned that collaborating within the World Athletics Championships helped the Indians an entire lot.

    “I am happy that the national anthem was playing and the first two athletes were from India. I felt proud. We were already preparing for CWG and Asian Games. The World Championships gave us an experience that benefitted us. Neeraj Chopra’s gold (in Tokyo 2020 Olympics) changed our mentality,” Paul was quoted as saying to PTI.

    Neeraj missed the CWG 2022 after he sustained an injury just before the start of the CWG. He was in decent form after he won the silver medal in the men’s javelin in the world championships.

    Paul felt that the Indian athletes have raised the bar to a significant extent and are capable of achieving greater heights in the future.

    “Earlier we had set some limitations for us. But now, Indians are capable of doing something magical. We will have to keep working hard and breaking limits set by us,” he added.

    Paul gained the gold after abandoning his countryman, Abdulla Aboobacker Narangolintevid, who bagged the silver medal. On his third try, Paul pulled off his greatest bounce of 17.03 m and that was sufficient for him to clinch gold.

    — ENDS —

  • Commonwealth Games 2022, Cricket Wrap: India repeat previous errors to throw away golden alternative

    Women’s cricket had a profitable debut on the Commonwealth Games, however India repeated their errors from the 2017 World Cup. From being within the driver’s seat, India collapsed and settled for silver as Australia clinched gold medal of their maiden look.

    Australia (gold), India (silver) and New Zealand (bronze) pose collectively on the podium. (AP Photo)

    HIGHLIGHTSIndia haven’t discovered from their previous errors as they threw away the ultimateIndia discovered a brand new bankable pacer in Renuka Singh, who took most wickets (11)India suffered their third ultimate defeat in opposition to Australia after 2005 and 2020 ICC occasions

    If there’s one group which may push the mighty Australia, it’s India. Harmanpreet Kaur’s group pushed Meg Lanning-led aspect with its terrific fielding, gorgeous run outs and a blinder. But when it got here to creating the 1983 World Cup-esque second for ladies’s cricket in India, India collapsed.

    India misplaced 5 wickets for 13 runs and subsequently fell 9 runs wanting rewriting their historical past. The distinction was precisely the identical 5 years in the past, when Mithali Raj’s group misplaced the 50-over World Cup 2017 to England by 9 runs.

    Back to the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the ghost of the previous bought the higher of India regardless of being within the driver’s seat at one level when captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues had been hammering the Australian bowlers at will. However, Australia, who’ve been a part of a number of profitable World Cup finals, used all their expertise and turned the match of their favour to finish the treble, having gained the T20 World Cup 2020 and the 50-over World Cup 2022.

    INDIA IN GROUP STAGE

    India opened their Commonwealth Games in opposition to Australia within the curtain raiser of the match. India, who had a historical past of dominating Australia within the group stage, misplaced the plot after lowering Australia to 49/5 due to Renuka Singh Thakur. Just when it appeared India would upset Australia, Ash Gardner reaffirmed the Australian depth together with her unbeaten fifty as she took her aspect residence with a three-wicket win and an over to spare. India bounced again within the subsequent two fixtures however had been probably not challenged by arch-rivals Pakistan and Barbados and India sealed their last-four berth.

    INDIA IN SEMI-FINAL

    In a rematch of the 2018 and 2020 T20 World Cup semi-finals, India clashed with hosts England for a spot within the ultimate. Smriti Mandhana performed a match-winning knock of 61 off 32 earlier than Jemimah Rodrigues lifted India to a aggressive complete. During the match, Mandhana bettered her file by one ball as she hit a 23-ball fifty. Heather Knight-less England remained on the backfoot for a lot of the match attributable to a few run outs. England captain Natalie Sciver tried to beat the creeping run fee however after her run out England had been eradicated to the bronze medal match, the place they had been surprised by New Zealand.

    Although the historical past repeated for India, the group discovered a brand new bankable pacer in Renuka Singh Thakur. She completed as the highest wicket-taker within the match with 11 wickets in 5 matches. Overall, it was successful for ladies’s cricket, which featured within the multi-format occasion for the primary time, as gamers loved taking part in in entrance of massive crowd and had a first-hand expertise of receiving medals on the podium and being a part of their nation’s parades on the ceremony.

    — ENDS —

  • Shuttlers land three gold medals in remaining flourish, elevate India to fourth in CWG tally

    INDIA’S BIG-TICKET shuttlers, P V Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and the doubles group of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, wakened on Monday morning in bleak Birmingham, and settled some severe scores. The background rating of the OTT mobster sequence Peaky Blinders, which performs on loop in any respect venues, was apt for the event on condition that revenge was sought and brought, in opposition to opponents with whom the Indians had a good quantity of historical past.

    Alongwith the legendary paddler, Sharath Kamal, who was successful his singles title within the adjoining enviornment, the shuttlers helped India (22 gold) leapfrog over New Zealand (20 gold), and end fourth within the medals tally. But it was the closure to haunting defeats from the previous, which solely comes with scything wins, that basically signed off the Birmingham Commonwealth Games for India.

    “Lost gold,” Sindhu stated, with deep reduction, happy at having exorcised the ghost of Glasgow 2014. That 12 months, she had left the world in tears after shedding the semifinal to Canada’s Michelle Li and settling for bronze on a dreary night. On Monday, on the NEC, she beamed on the “beautiful” UK climate, her confidence and psychological energy blowing Li’s problem to smithereens with a 21-15, 21-13 win.

    Though it was the Canadian winner of 2014 who had prevailed in a monster 57-stroke rally, what summed up the ultimate was an change between the 2 at 11-6 within the second set. Sindhu despatched a motion-drop swirling right into a curve and the shuttle deceptively went cross-court, forcing Li right into a tangled twist attempting to succeed in it. “Lots has happened since 2014. I’ve had lots of surgeries and she’s had lots of gold medals,” Li stated. More pertinently, this time, Sindhu received Li to make numerous errors, which normally result in blistering defeats. And Sindhu had her lacking CWG gold.

    In the lads’s doubles, Ben Lane and Sean Vendy are a pair of cheeky Englishmen who had price Satwik-Chirag a match on the Denmark Challenge occasion in 2019. Their antics would preserve the Indians on their toes, even when their badminton was error-prone. “We had fallen into their trap in 2019,” Satwik recalled.

    P V Sindhu after securing the gold medal within the girls’s singles occasion. (PTI)

    “They’ll do irritating things — deliberately pull the shuttle from our side of the court, make faces, delay, screech,” Shetty defined. Here, they hadn’t anticipated their rivals to make the finals however have been nonetheless cautious of them, owing to the drama that accompanied the high-energy maverick pair.

    “Our coach Mathias Boe and Arun Vishnu knew about this history. They told us to focus on winning points, and not get involved in their craziness and fall in the trap again,” he stated. As scientific as Sindhu’s win, and with equivalent scores, Satwik-Chirag received 21-15, 21-13 to take India two gold away from the Kiwis.

    The duo, who had silver on the Gold Coast version in 2018, recalled that night 4 years in the past when, sitting alongside Kidambi Srikanth who had equally misplaced gold to Lee Chong Wei, the Indians had vowed to win gold subsequent time.

    “I still remember, we went on court right after Srikanth had lost and couldn’t win either. Sitting together, we had taken a pledge that next time it would be gold,” Shetty stated. The wall of noise at Birmingham’s intimate stadium setting — much like the Olympics and World Championships — was became an ambient buzz that propelled them previous the Englishmen, their focus firmly on gold. “They are taller than us, and were stronger today. We were not quite there,” Ben Lane stated.

    Kidambi Srikanth, in reality, received bronze after shedding to his Malaysian nemesis Ng Tze Yong for the second time in every week after the blended group occasion. The heartbreak stays an open wound which will or might not discover a salve in 15 day’s time on the World Championships in Tokyo. But Lakshya Sen was at hand, to precise revenge within the males’s singles remaining after his teammate went down within the Last Four.

    A defensive automaton, the younger Malaysian together with his typical skiddy velocity, was inflicting the Indians all types of bother, nicking the essential males’s singles rubber within the group occasion a number of days again. Srikanth misplaced to him in three video games within the particular person semis, after practically successful. In the lads’s singles remaining, Sen discovered himself a sport down, dealing with the same destiny.

    In 2014, India held the lads’s singles title via Parupalli Kashyap, however Chong Wei had turned up in 2018 to disclaim Srikanth. Now a youthful upstart was threatening to ship Sen packing after he erred from 18-all within the opener to go down 19-21. But Sen had had some conversations with Srikanth, and discovered a workable size in opposition to the Malaysian — placing him beneath stress on the deep backhand and much forehand, taking part in to the strains. The early stress cramped Sen’s free-flowing sport however he discovered his rhythm and shirked off the stress to win 19-21, 21-9, 21-16.

    Ng Tze tends to preserve power within the second, and comes bombarding within the third. Sen stayed alert only for that, fed off his typical defence to launch counters and dismantled the Malaysian to land his first massive Games medal, in a metropolis the place he had misplaced the All England remaining six months again.

    Sen additionally stubbed a brewing controversy that swirled across the group and threatened to spoil the cheer. There had been stinging criticism of Srikanth being performed within the group occasion, with many believing Sen may have crushed Ng Tze. The particular person win introduced the knives out once more. But Sen was forthright in Srikanth’s defence.

    “Look, I had won two important matches back to back in the quarters and semis, and a third straight match could have gotten tricky. Frankly, Srikanth’s match could have gone either way and he was close to winning because Ng was playing well. Even I might have lost. It was a very professional decision taken by coaches to play him, and I completely respect that. It made sense,” Sen burdened.

    Even as Sindhu spoke of the 2024 Paris gold being her final objective after ticking the lacking CWG field, and Satwik-Chirag lastly picked a gold at a Games after an unfortunate Olympics, Indian badminton’s two largest males’s singles gamers, arch rivals as soon as, have been carrying ahead the bonhomie from Thomas Cup into the Commonwealth Games.

    After the shuttlers had misplaced their group remaining earlier, TT star Kamal had dropped in courtside to place an arm round their shoulders, and urge them to battle on. Today, these racquet people, guided by Sindhu’s first gold, pushed India larger on the medals desk.

  • Commonwealth Games Federation CEO hopeful of taking the video games to Africa in close to future

    The Commonwealth Games is prone to enter Africa within the close to future as there may be “active interest” from African nations, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) chief government officer Katie Sadleir mentioned.

    Hopeful of Commonwealth Games debut in Africa prior to later (Reuters Photo)

    HIGHLIGHTSCWG Federation CEO hopeful of taking the video games to Africa in close to futureThe Birmingham Commonwealth Games will conclude on Monday South African metropolis Durban was the unique host for the twenty second version of the CWG

    The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) chief government officer Katie Sadleir is taking note of the energetic curiosity of African nations in internet hosting CWG video games and believes that the Games may enter the sub-continent within the close to future.

    The Birmingham Games will conclude on Monday.

    “I hope it will open up a few eyes for the future Games,” she mentioned, including that “there is active interest from countries in Africa in staging the Games.”

    South African metropolis Durban was the unique host for the twenty second version of the CWG earlier than it pulled out citing monetary constraints.

    “I had the privilege of speaking at the Sports Ministers conference, and there were several ministers there from Africa saying ‘when is it our turn to host a Games?’

    “Certainly it is one thing we’re eager about speaking to a couple different nations collectively to see how the mannequin would love,” she said.

    Largely COVID-19 free, most successful in ticket sales

    =================================

    COVID-19 did cause some initial jitters but Games CEO Ian Reid said they could handle the situation due to a wide network of paramedics and testing facilities.

    “I’m very happy with the way in which that is gone. The strategy we took at first of the Games was very a lot about methods to get athletes and officers to the Village ‘clear’.

    “The focus was very much on making sure that they are tested at the welcome centre. All went off really well.

    “But the suggestions was typically optimistic and the case numbers and the low proportion 1-3 per cent on sure days was a lot decrease than we had anticipated. A overwhelming majority of athletes had been wholesome and in a position to compete with their optimum efficiency,” he added.

    In terms of ticket sales, Reid said the Games would break all records.

    “As of now 1.5 million tickets have been offered throughout the venues and this isn’t the ultimate determine as some matches are nonetheless on. We had 90 per cent in a lot of the venues which might make it probably the most profitable CWG.” PTI TAP AH AH

    — ENDS —

  • CWG 2022: Capsule of India’s gold medal winners Birmingham

    With a wealthy haul of 61 medals (22 gold, 16 silver, and 23 bronze) at this version of the Commonwealth Games, the Birmingham Games turned out to be one of the crucial memorable editions for the 210-strong Indian contingent. From athletics to racquet sports activities, cricket to hockey, boxing to wrestling, the Indian athletes completed with podium finishes in virtually each occasion they took half in.

    Achinta Sheuli

    Achinta Sheuli with the gold medal after successful the boys’s 73kg weightlifting class match of the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG), in Birmingham, UK. (PTI Photo)

    Sport – Weightlifting
    Event – Men’s 73kg
    The Bengal born weightlifter clinched his maiden CWG gold and went on to set a Games document 313kg. He lifted 143kg in snatch (Games Record and likewise equal to his earlier PB) and 170kg in clear and jerk. The 20-year-old received the silver medal on the 2021 Junior World Weightlifting Championships and can be a two-time Commonwealth Championships gold medallist.

    Jeremy Lalrinnunga

    Jeremy Lalrinnunga throughout his gold medal weightlifting spherical at CWG 2022. (PTI)

    Sport – Weightlifting
    Event – Men’s 67kg
    The Mizoram weightlifter received gold within the 2022 Commonwealth Games within the 67kg class, with a Games document raise of 140kg in snatch and 160kg in clear and jerk.
    The 19-year-old represented India within the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and received India’s maiden gold within the occasion in Boys’ 62kg class.

    Mirabai Chanu

    India’s Mirabai Chanu with the gold medal after successful ladies’s 49kg weightlifting class match of the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG), in Birmingham, UK. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)

    Sport – Weightlifting
    Event – Women’s 49kg
    The celebrity Manipuri weightlifter efficiently defended her 49kg title and gave India the primary gold on the Birmingham Games.
    The Tokyo Olympic silver medallist aggregated a complete of 201kg (88kg + 113kg) to stamp her authority within the competitors and obtain a Commonwealth Games document within the course of.

    Rupa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey, Nayanmoni Saikia, Pinki Singh

    Indian ladies’s fours garden bowls group (Lovely Choubey, Pinki, Nayamoni Saikia, Rupa Rani Tirkey) will probably be in motion in opposition to South Africa for the gold medal match. (SAI Media)

    Sport – Lawn Bowls
    Event – Women’s fours
    The India garden bowls ladies’s 4 group of Rupa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey, Nayanmoni Saikia, and Pink Singh bought the nation hooked to a rarely-followed sporting occasion with their inspiring and sensational present after they bagged a historic gold in Birmingham.
    It was India’s maiden ultimate look within the ladies’s fours format of the competitors.

    Bajrang Punia

    Sport – Wrestling
    Event – Men’s freestyle 65 kg
    Bajrang Punia accomplished a hat-trick of Commonwealth Games medals when he clinched gold within the males’s 65kg free-style occasion.
    The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist had received silver in his CWG debut in 2014 in Glasgow after which bettered the color of his medal in Gold Cost 4 years later by successful a gold.

    Sakshi Malik

    The standards for the awards take into accounts the athletes’ performances over a four-year interval. (Source: File)

    Sport – Wrestling
    Event – Women’s freestyle 62 kg
    Sakshi Malik received her third medal on the Commonwealth Games when she annexed gold after beating Canada’s Ana Godinez Gonzalez by fall.
    Sakshi had earlier received silver in 2014 (58kg) and bronze on the 2018 (62kg) Games. Sakshi can be the primary Indian feminine wrestler to win a medal on the Olympics, bagging bronze in 2016.

    Deepak Punia

    India’s Deepak Punia and Pakistan’s Muhammad Inam react throughout the ultimate. (Reuters)

    Sport – Wrestling
    Event – Men’s freestyle 86kg
    Star wrestler Deepak Punia received India’s ninth gold medal in Birmingham by defeating 2018 version’s gold medallist Muhammad Inam of Pakistan 3-0 within the males’s 86kg ultimate.
    A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) within the Indian Army, Deepak additionally received a silver medal on the 2019 World Wrestling Championships within the freestyle 86 kg class.

    Ravi Kumar Dahiya

    India’s Ravi Kumar Dahiya with the gold medal after successful the Men’s Freestyle 57 kg. (Reuters)

    Sport – Wrestling
    Event – Men’s freestyle 57kg
    The Sonepat born wrestler clinched gold in Birmingham by defeating Ebikewenimo Welson of Nigeria 10-0 within the Men’s freestyle 57kg ultimate occasion.
    Dahiya can be a Tokyo Olympics silver medallist from 2020, bronze medallist from World Wrestling Championships in 2019, and a three-time Asian champion.

    Vinesh Phogat

    Sport – Wrestling
    Event – Women’s freestyle 53kg
    Star wrestler Vinesh Phogat accomplished a golden hat-trick of Commonwealth Games gold medals by successful the ladies’s 53kg freestyle wrestling ultimate occasion.
    Vinesh had bagged gold within the earlier two editions at Gold Coast (in 2018) and in Glassgow (in 2014).
    She can be the primary Indian girl wrestler to win Gold at each Commonwealth and Asian Games (Jakarta 2018).

    Naveen Malik

    Naveen Kumar defeated Pakistan’s Tahir Muhammad Sharif by 9-0 in tjhe 74 keg ultimate. It is India’s first main title on this class since Sushil Kumar’s title triumph in 2018 Gold Coast Games. (PTI)

    Sport – Wrestling
    Event – Men freestyle’s 74kg
    Making his Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham, the 19-year-old grappler clinched his maiden gold on the showpiece by defeating Muhammad Sharif Tahir of Pakistan within the ultimate with rating 9-0.
    Naveen made his worldwide debut on the U-23 World Championships final yr and clinched 74kg gold in his second competitors on the U-23 Asian Championships in June this yr.

    Nikhat Zareen

    Nikhat Zareen reacts throughout her spherical of 16 combat with Mozambique’s Helena Ismael Bagao (Reuters)

    Sport – Boxing
    Event – Women’s 50kg
    Reigning World Champion Nikhat Zareen blazed the stage in Birminham as she received her maiden gold medal within the ladies’s 50kg flyweight ultimate occasion. She can be a bronze medallist within the 2019 Asian Championships.

    Amit Panghal

    India’s Amit Panghal, left, and Scotland’s Lennon Mulligan within the Men’s Fly (48-51kg) quarterfinal throughout the Commonwealth Games at The NEC, Birmingham, England, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. (Peter Byrne/PA by way of AP)

    Sport – Boxing
    Event – Men’s 51kg
    Amit Panghal received his maiden gold in Birmingham on the penultimate day of the showpiece occasion.
    The reigning Asian Games champion, he’s additionally the one Indian male boxer to win a world boxing championships silver medal and the present world No. 1 in International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) 52kg class.

    Nitu Ghanghas

    Gold medalist India’s Nitu Ghanghas poses for pictures throughout the presentation ceremony of the ladies’s over 45-48kg (Minimumweight) boxing occasion, on the Commonwealth Games 2022. (PTI)

    Sport – Boxing
    Event – Women’s 48kg
    The 21-year-old Haryana woman received the primary medal for India in boxing at Birmingham when he bagged gold within the ladies’s 48kg ultimate.
    She can be a two-time youth world champion, having received a back-to-back title in 2017 and 2018.

    Sudhir

    The 27-year-old Sudhir, who has an impairment because of the results of polio, thus opened India’s para sports activities medal account within the ongoing CWG. (AP/PTI)

    Sport – Para powerlifting
    Event – Men’s heavyweight
    A para athlete with a polio-induced impairment, claimed India’s gold within the males’s heavyweight para powerlifting occasion in Birmingham and opened India’s para sports activities medal account.
    Sudhir, who can be an Asian Para Games bronze medallist from the 2018 version, lifted 208kg in his first try earlier than rising it to 212kg in his second effort to assemble 134.5 factors and break the Games document.

    PV Sindhu

    PV Sindhu reacts after successful the Women’s Singles Final Badminton match in opposition to Canada’s Michelle Li on the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG), in Birmingham, UK, Monday, Aug. 8, 2022. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)

    Sport – Badminton
    Event – Women’s Singles
    Having received silver (2018 Gold Coast) and bronze (2014 Glasgow), an elusive gold was what lacking from PV Sindhu’s kitty and he or she did it in fashion in Birmingham.
    The two-time olympic medallist gave India its first badminton gold on the final day of this version of the Games.

    Lakshya Sen

    Lakshya Sen confirmed grit to come back from behind to beat the in kind Malaysian Tze Yong Ng in three units (19-21, 21-9, 21-16). (AP Photo)

    Sport – Badminton
    Event – Men’s Singles
    Star shuttler Lakshya Sen made a memorable CWG debut along with his maiden gold in Birmingham.
    Sen has been in wealthy vein of kind for a while now having received his first Super 500 title in January, ending runners-up on the All England Championships and German Open and likewise successful the distinguished Thomas Cup.

    Chirag Shetty/Satwirksairaj Rankireddy

    India’s Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy have fun victory in opposition to England’s Sean Vendy and Ben Lane within the Men’s Doubles Gold Medal Match at The NEC. (AP)

    Sport – Badminton
    Event – Men’s Doubles
    The males’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bettered the color of their medal (silver in Gold Coast 2018) and clinched gold in Birmingham after defeating England’s Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in straight video games.
    Rankireddy and Shetty have been additionally a part of the Indian group that received the historic Thomas Cup title earlier this yr.

    Achanta Sharath Kamal

    Sharath Kamal in motion throughout the ultimate. (PTI)

    Sport – Table Tennis
    Event – Men’s Singles
    Veteran Sharath Kamal’s title will go down in historical past as he turned solely the second Indian paddler to win two gold on the Commonwealth Games, the primary being in Melbourne in 2006 and the most recent one arriving in Birmingham in fashion.
    With his spectacular gold in Birmingham, Sharath’s total medal tally has gone as much as 13 on the showpiece occasion since his debut within the 2006 version.

    Sharath Kamal/Sreeja Akula

    Sreeja Akula and Sharath Kamal in motion at CWG 2022. (Photo: AP)

    Sport – Table Tennis
    Event – Mixed Doubles
    Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula clinched the combined doubles gold in Birmingham by defeating Javen Choong and Karen Lyne of Malaysia 3-1 within the ultimate.
    With Sharath Kamal cementing his CWG legacy with a slew of medals, the highest prize was a deserved reward for the little Sreeja, who missed out on a bronze within the singles occasion.

    Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty, Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan

    (L-R) Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, G Sathiyan and Sanil Shetty. (Screengrab)

    Sport – Table Tennis
    Event – Men’s Team
    The Indian males’s desk tennis group retained its Commonwealth Games gold medal after an in depth combat in opposition to Singapore within the ultimate.
    The likes of Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty, Sharath Kamal, and G Sathiyan gave India’s its seventh for the reason that sport’s introduction in Manchester 2002.

    Bhavina Patel

    Bhavina Hasmukhbhai Patel of India in motion in opposition to Ikpeoyi Ifechukwude Christiana of Nigeria throughout the ultimate of Para Table Tennis occasion at Commonwealth Games. (PTI)

    Sport – Table Tennis
    Event – Women’s singles C3-5
    Star para paddler Bhavina Patel received her maiden gold on the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
    Bhavina, who can be a silver medallist at Tokyo Paralympics, has received a slew of nationwide and worldwide competitions over time, which features a silver medal within the ladies’s singles Class 4 on the Asian Para Table Tennis Championships in Beijing in 2013.

    Eldhose Paul

    India’s Eldhose Paul celebrates after successful gold. (REUTERS/Phil Noble)

    Sport – Athletics
    Event – Triple Jump
    Kerala lad Eldhose Paul clinched a uncommon gold in males’s triple soar and the 25-year-old additionally led a historic 1-2 end in Birmingham.
    The icing on the cake was that India additionally received silver in the identical occasion along with his compatriot Abdulla Aboobacker ending second with a finest soar of 17.02m.