Report Wire

Tag: Indian express India

  • Eager to host 2036 Olympics…dream of 140 cr Indians: PM Modi

    Making a proper declaration of India’s curiosity in internet hosting the Olympics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned right here Saturday that the nation will “leave no stone unturned in our efforts” to host the Summer Games in 2036.

    Hosting the Olympics, Modi mentioned, is the “age-old dream and aspiration of 140 crore Indians.” He was addressing a gathering of greater than 100 of the who’s who of world sport – with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach seated on the dais – in Mumbai throughout the opening ceremony of the governing physique’s annual summit, referred to as the IOC Session.

    “India is eager to host the Olympics in the country. India will leave no stone unturned in the preparation for the successful organisation of the Olympics in 2036, this is the dream of 140 crore Indians. This dream has to be fulfilled with your cooperation and support,” the Prime Minister advised the IOC delegates. “I am very confident that India will get consistent support from the IOC.”

    He added that the nation is “eager” to host the Youth Olympic Games in 2029 as a precursor to the mega occasion. For the report, after Dakar, Senegal hosts the Youth Games in 2026, the following version can be held in 2030 as per IOC’s four-year programme.

    2036 is the earliest out there slot to host the Summer Olympic Games as the following version can be held in Paris in 2024 adopted by Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032.

    In his speech, Modi didn’t reveal the title of the candidate metropolis however it’s believed that Ahmedabad is a front-runner. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave – which additionally homes Modi’s eponymous stadium – is projected as one of many most important venue clusters.

    In December final yr, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a gathering with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to evaluate the state’s preparedness to host the Olympics. The state authorities has reportedly engaged an Australian consultancy agency to organize its bid.

    Earlier this week, Bach had mentioned the IOC “noted there’s a great interest and there are apparently serious considerations here within India” to bid for the Games.

    “We have to wait now how this will turn into a project and will be brought forward to us. Only then we can form an opinion,” he had mentioned.

    As per the choice coverage, the IOC first will get into an off-the-cuff dialogue with host nations. If the world physique is happy with the planning and functionality of the candidate, then it enters a “targeted dialogue” when the IOC’s Executive Board invitations the “preferred host” to refine and current their proposal.

    There isn’t any mounted timeframe for electing the hosts.

    Modi mentioned organising G-20 occasions in “more than 60 cities” was “evidence” of India’s organising capability.

    “Organising global events in the country gives us a chance to welcome countries. Due to our fast-growing economy and well-developed infrastructure, India is prepared to host mega global events,” Modi mentioned. “The world has witnessed this during our G-20 presidency. We have organised events in more than 60 cities. This is evidence of our logistics and our organising capacity at all levels.”

    Modi’s announcement comes days after India’s athletes returned from their best-ever haul on the Asian Games, with the contingent profitable greater than 100 medals for the primary time on the occasion.

    ExplainedWhat IOC appears to be like at

    The IOC appears to be like at a number of elements: candidate metropolis’s funding technique, the flexibility to ship the Games, transport infrastructure, lodging capability, alignment of venues with native growth plans, socio-economic and geo-political elements, and public help.

    The PM added that “performances indicate the transformation and speedy development in the sports landscape of India.”

    Most Read

    1
    When ex-ISRO chief was advised to ‘get lost’ by ISRO satellite tv for pc centre

    2
    Suhasini Maniratnam says folks know Aishwarya Rai solely as a ‘beauty’, however she is aware of her as a ‘real person’: ‘She has got so many qualities…’

    See More

    “Sports is not the medium of winning medals but it is a medium to win people’s hearts. Sports belong to everyone, it is for everyone. Sports not only create champions, it also promotes peace, progress, and wellness. Therefore, sports is a very strong and empowered medium of connecting the world,” Modi mentioned.

    Earlier, Bach welcomed the PM talking in Hindi, “aapka bahut bahut swagat,” and underlined India’s “rise.”

    Calling India an “inspiring place,” he mentioned: “We are so pleased to be in India — a country that is on the rise in so many respects, including Olympic sports. India is a truly inspiring place to hold our IOC Session. A country which combines its splendid history and dynamic presence with a vigorous confidence in the future…India is an inspiring place. The entire Olympic community in India can be proud of the Asian Games performance.”

  • Rohit places to relaxation shadow of previous: ‘Yes, we have not won; it is fine… It happens’

    THE LAST time India received an ICC match was in 2013, when M S Dhoni lifted the Champions Trophy. A decade later, captain Rohit Sharma says he wouldn’t enable the decade-long futile Cup chase to drag down his workforce throughout the 50-over cricket carnival that begins on Thursday, when defending champions England tackle New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

    “Yes, we have not won; it’s fine! I’m not a person who overthinks and puts myself in a tough place where I’m not able to make a decision. England started winning now; in 2019 they won the World Cup after so many years. It happens. Australia is the only consistent team who have won. After 2007, they won the ODI World Cup in 2015. They won the T20 World Cup in Dubai,” Sharma advised The Indian Express.

    So who will win the Cup? “I don’t have an answer for it. How can I say that now? All I can hope is that the team is in a good space. Everybody is fit and fine. That’s all I can hope for. I cannot say beyond this. Space is such an important factor and it’s a very key thing now,” he mentioned.

    Sharma additionally burdened he could be glad if the expectations from the followers aren’t too excessive. “What people are expecting we can’t control. In India wherever we go, be it airports or hotels, they say, ‘World Cup jeetna hai sir’ (You have to win the World Cup). It happens everywhere. It will never stop,” he mentioned with a smile.

    India’s document within the ICC occasions has been some extent of rivalry. They have usually performed properly to achieve the enterprise finish of the tournaments however have been unable to win the knockout is ok… It occurs’ video games that matter.

    In 2015, India reached the semifinal solely to lose to Australia. Next time, in 2019, they misplaced within the semifinals once more – to New Zealand. In the 2 latest T20 World Cups, in UAE in 2021, and in Australia in 2022, the workforce didn’t make it to the ultimate.

    Last yr in Australia, Sharma had taken over the captaincy from Virat Kohli however the jinx had continued. Now he has an opportunity to depart a legacy, however he mentioned he doesn’t wish to suppose in these phrases.

    “Every year there is an ICC trophy now; if you don’t win it’s an unsuccessful year! People just forget what good work has happened in these 10 months. Rightly, as the Indian cricket team, we are expected to win major trophies. We are one of the top teams in the world. We have to be good at it. It has been disappointing for sure,” Sharma mentioned.

    At 36, this might be his final World Cup as a pacesetter and possibly as a participant. Does he really feel that the captaincy got here to him on the proper time or was it delayed? “Obviously, you want to be at your peak for this, say when you are 26-27. But you cannot always get what you want. You are talking about the Indian captaincy and there have been stalwarts in the Indian team. Many more players deserved to be the captain of the team. I had to wait for my turn and that’s absolutely fair enough. The guys before, Virat was before me, so was MS (Dhoni),” he mentioned.

    Most Read

    1
    Jawan field workplace assortment day 26: Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster refuses to decelerate, nears Rs 1100 crore worldwide gross

    2
    World Cup: Hasan Ali’s father-in-law in Nuh, Haryana waits to see his grandchild for first time when India meet Pakistan at Ahmedabad

    See More

    “Just look at the names that are missed out: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag … these are all stalwarts of Indian cricket. Not to forget Yuvraj Singh. He never captained India. Yuvraj has been such a match winner for India, he should have been the captain at some stage but he didn’t get it. That’s life. I got it now and I am grateful for it. I would rather have it when I know how to captain a team, when I know what is required and all. Rather than when I don’t know the ABCD of captaincy. So in that respect, this is good.”

    Sharma additionally laid out the challenges forward of enjoying an almost two-month-long match that additionally was the rationale for a lot headache behind the workforce choice. “A team needs to play 11 games to reach the World Cup final. Last time we played this format was in 2019, but to play 11 ODIs in one-and-half months is not easy. It’s a long World Cup. We don’t want any of our pacers to break down. Hence we have selected more of them.”

    On the comparability with the Class of 2011, Sharma mentioned the Dhoni-led World Cup profitable workforce had extra skilled gamers. “In the 2011 team, everybody was a big name. Did any position change? No. You suddenly didn’t have to bring Harbhajan Singh at number 4-5 because all the guys are match winners in the positions that they play. Now we have a lot of newer faces. We had an injury problem, two players (Rahul and Shreyas) are making a comeback after two months. So, things looked different and selection calls had to be made.”

  • India win squash gold in thriller with Pak, stun China in desk tennis doubles

    “12-10 in the fifth, in the decider of the Asian Games gold medal match, India vs Pakistan, how do you write it!” gasped Abhay Singh. “How do you write it?”

    India’s man of the second, who almost stop the game two years in the past, captured the feelings finest.

    Where to even start to explain the relentless drama, the insufferable stress and the astonishing fightback that in the end led to a squash gold medal with a 11-7, September 11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10 victory? With the bickering begin to what turned out to be one of many all-time basic India-Pakistan matches? Or the cold-blooded, completely skilled exhibition by veteran Sourav Ghosal, which introduced India again into the combo?

    Perhaps, it’s finest to begin on the finish of this titanic conflict that reworked from ugly to elegant to driving. With the hysterical scenes on the finish of an adrenaline-fuelled gold medal match. A rhapsodic Abhay flinging his racquet up to now into the packed stands that it landed within the row in entrance of the referee’s desk; his opponent, Pakistan’s Noor Zaman, burying his head in his palms and bolting out of the world, unable to fathom what had simply occurred; his teammate Harinder Pal Sandhu, unable to manage his feelings, climbing to the highest of the court docket.

    Seconds in the past, Abhay and Zaman had been locked contained in the cage like prizefighters because the capability crowd roared in delight and shock, taking turns to chant names of each the international locations. And the 25-year-old Indian, on whose shoulders rested the gold medal hopes, seemed useless and buried.

    Down two match factors within the deciding sport, Abhay’s shoulders dropped, the Indian bench went silent and the momentum was firmly with Pakistan. “In your head, you have lost,” Abhay mentioned.

    From that hopeless place, Abhay resurrected himself with brave stroke-play to win 4 consecutive factors, clinch the tie and lead India to an exciting 2-1 win over Pakistan, an erstwhile squash powerhouse, and declare the group gold medal.

    It was India’s second gold medal of the day, after Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale received the tennis blended doubles title, and simply earlier than the historic triumph of the ladies’s doubles desk tennis group of Suthirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee gorgeous Chinese world champions and world quantity 2 pair Chen Meng and Yidi Wang to enter the semifinals and guarantee themselves a medal.

    But on a day when India’s athletes received large throughout sports activities — from tennis to desk tennis to trace and subject — the squash gold is not going to be forgotten any time quickly for its unrelenting drama and the sensational comeback.

    The victory was even sweeter for India as this was a grudge match, having misplaced to Pakistan within the preliminary spherical simply three days in the past. And extra so for Abhay, who had suffered a humbling defeat by the hands of Zaman.

    Sparks flew all through this three-match tie, similar to it did when the 2 groups met Wednesday. After India misplaced that encounter 2-1, veteran participant Ghosal obtained his youthful teammates, Abhay and Mahesh Mangaonkar, collectively for a briefing.

    “Both Abhay and Mahesh got very, very emotionally charged. It’s my belief that’s not the way to play them (Pakistan),” Ghosal mentioned. “I told them yesterday you almost have to be robots. Literally, like no emotions. No emotion is more powerful than any other outward thing you can show.”

    No love misplaced

    If staying bereft of feelings was the sport plan, India didn’t start nicely. The opening match between Mangaonkar and Nasir Iqbal changed into an disagreeable brawl with each gamers colliding into one another — typically inadvertently, at occasions strategically — after which complaining always to the umpire, alleging interference.

    The antics appeared to backfire on the Indian, who obtained more and more annoyed when the referee didn’t hearken to his pleas. Mangaonkar was dropping the psychological sport in addition to the technical one as Iqbal made him transfer everywhere in the court docket, discovering the appropriate angles, top and placement to maintain the ball away from the Indian, particularly on the far facet of the forehand.

    Iqbal received the opener in straight video games, placing the onus on Ghosal — India’s No. 1 participant for 860 consecutive weeks. The man who has saved the nation’s flag flying ensured it didn’t bow out tepidly on this tie.

    Digging into his many years of expertise and displaying impenetrable calmness, Ghosal made quick work of Muhammad Asim Khan, permitting the Pakistani participant simply 9 factors throughout three video games to power the gold medal match right into a decider.

    Ghosal might have wrapped up his contest in precisely half an hour however he was deeply concerned all by the 2 hours the tie lasted. The 37-year-old was the chief cheerleader from the bench, shouted phrases of recommendation and warning in between factors and went into breathless monologues throughout sport intervals, giving directions to his teammates.

    Before the all-important match between Abhay and Zaman, each Ghosal and coach Christopher Walker sat Abhay down and went over the technique. “It was quite cold so we just had to be very careful hitting the ball back,” Walker mentioned. “We made sure he’s covering the front very well since when the ball doesn’t bounce much when you take it to the front and play the drop shots. The drop shots become a bigger weapon as the match goes on.”

    These phrases ringing in his ears, Abhay entered the court docket to play what turned out to be a match of nice deception, artistry and gamesmanship. He appeared to be heading for a simple win after wrapping up the primary sport inside no time, and racing to a 7-4 lead within the second.

    Most Read

    1
    India vs England highlights, World Cup 2023 Warm-Up Match: Game known as off in Guwahati on account of incessant rain

    2
    Jawan field workplace assortment day 23: Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster beats Pathaan’s worldwide file, mints Rs 1055 crore to develop into second-biggest Bollywood movie ever

    See More

    But then, the tide turned and Zaman made a robust comeback with a flurry of cross-court hits, pinning Abhay to the backcourt and utilizing the drop photographs with lethal accuracy.

    Abhay stayed alive within the match along with his unimaginable athleticism and stubbornness to not give in regardless of being put underneath relentless stress. Eventually, he did simply sufficient to disclaim Pakistan what, at a number of factors, felt like an assured gold.

    Especially when Zaman had two match factors to seal the gold medal and had the group vociferously backing him. “The only thing I was thinking at 10-8 was how did I get here but I had all the confidence in myself,” Abhay mentioned. “There was a lot of talk from the other team three nights ago, some on social media… Well, I am looking forward to some tonight.”

  • In final yr’s disaster, Lanka cricketers went all out to assist; followers are returning the love

    It’s nearly 1:30 on Friday night time and roughly 25 minutes since Charith Asalanka scored the successful runs in opposition to Pakistan, propelling Sri Lanka to the Asia Cup closing in opposition to India. The presentation ceremony is over and the commentary crew are packing up.

    However, on the spectator stands inside R Premadasa Stadium, nobody is able to go away. As chants of ‘Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka’ proceed to reverberate round, for a lot of, Sunday’s closing in opposition to India can’t come any sooner.

    There is one thing unmistakable that swells in from the stands together with the ‘Papare’ soundtrack, grown from Sinhala Baila music: it’s the sound of individuals falling in love once more with the nationwide cricket staff, the only unifying drive in a rustic that suffered via an financial turmoil in 2022.

    India’s captain Rohit Sharma and different examine the sector earlier than the resume of Asia Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan delays in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Monday, Sept.11, 2023. (AP)

    As far as cricketing achievements go, Sunday’s sport shall be particular for India, who’ve overwhelmed Pakistan and Sri Lanka within the group phases and need to win a multinational match forward of the World Cup closing. But for the Sri Lankans, the Asia cup has gone past mere victory and loss. When the 2 sides meet Sunday, India shall be going through not simply 11 gamers however a packed crowd of Sri Lankans bursting with love and gratitude for his or her nationwide cricket staff.

    “This is our way of returning the favour,” mentioned Dayani, a working girl, who took a time off to rejoice on the stadium.

    “Let us say it is just a thanksgiving. When we were struggling to make ends meet [during the financial crisis], they helped us in every way possible, including providing food materials and ration. We know they didn’t reveal it in public, but we do know these guys should be shoulder-to-shoulder with us.”

    It’s a outstanding flip of occasions.

    Only 4 years in the past, with one cricketing title after one other, together with Sanath Jayasuriya, getting caught in a crackdown on corruption, and the staff’s efficiency plummeting, followers had chosen to remain away. Even the well-known ‘Papare’ band might hardly be noticed throughout matches.

    And with among the present gamers embroiled in disciplinary points (some have been despatched again from abroad excursions, a participant was even arrested in Australia on sexual-harassment expenses) and inflation hitting the pockets exhausting, cricket took a again seat.

    All that appears to be forgotten now.

    “Fans have been amazing in the recent past and the way the guys have performed has attracted more crowds to the game,” mentioned captain Dasun Shanaka. “Especially the youngsters, they have been amazing in the last two years and the record is good so they see that we are fighting in the middle (rather) than (seeing) what the end result is. They are looking to enjoy cricket, apart from their jobs.”

    During the match in opposition to Pakistan, as Maheesh Theekshana hobbled off the sector, he acquired a standing ovation from the group. The cheer got here regardless of Theekshana not having the most effective of the times with the ball and accounting for just one wicket within the match. They maybe remembered the economical disaster final yr when, simply earlier than becoming a member of his IPL staff Chennai Super Kings, Theekshana visited his alma mater St Benedict College in Colombo to assist just a few faculty youngsters.

    During the turmoil, whereas most of their former gamers together with the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Muttiah Muralidharan have been vocal supporters of the protestors, the present staff helped by distributing rations, canned fish and even coming to the monetary assist of many.

    “They (fans) want to see these kids Dunith Wellalage and Pathirana and young batsmen like Asalanka, (Pathum) Nissanka, how they chip in and they eagerly wait for these guys to perform, that’s what the difference is,” Shanaka mentioned. “Now everyone wants to come and see what they are doing. Now we are in the Asia Cup final again, and they are expecting us to do something special.”

    The locals have been ready to throng the stadium because the Super 4 fixtures landed in Colombo. However, with the ticket costs prohibitive — even a budget concrete seat value LKR 10,000 (INR 2,500), they stayed away when Sri Lanka confronted Bangladesh the earlier Saturday, a contest that has developed into a giant rivalry in these components.

    Most Read

    1
    Jawan field workplace assortment day 9: Shah Rukh Khan-Atlee movie is outpacing Pathaan, crosses Rs 735 crore mark worldwide

    2
    “Selling a false dream”: Indian college students overseas open up about psychological well being points

    See More

    But when the Pakistan Cricket Board – which is internet hosting the occasion in Sri Lanka — woke as much as the empty stands, slashing the costs, the followers started to show up in numbers. Most of the tuk-tuk (because the auto rickshaws are referred to as right here) drivers have been cajoling the journalists to conjure a ticket for them to purchase.

    The few years of issue behind, in Sri Lanka, cricket is starting appears to look promising once more. Having received the T20 Asia Cup final yr, the staff entered this yr’s Asia Cup as underdogs and, regardless of the absence of 4 of their first-four bowlers on account of accidents, are actually ready to grab their second in opposition to top-dogs India.

    The Papare band is prepared. The individuals are prepared. The love is actual.