Archives for July 2018

Goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh will lead the 18-member Indian Men’s Hockey Team at the 18th Asian Games, slated to be held in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18, Hockey India announced on Monday.

Midfielder Chinglensana Singh Kangujam has been named the Vice Captain for the tournament and he will be joined by the experienced Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, Simranjeet Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad in the midfield.

India’s forward line will see Akashdeep Singh return to the squad. Experienced S.V. Sunil, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Dilpreet Singh have been included in the squad.

The team’s defence will be strengthened with the return of experienced drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh who was rested for the Champions Trophy.

The backline will also see three other drag-flickers Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar and Amit Rohidas apart from the experienced Surender Kumar and Birendra Lakra.

Speaking about the team composition, Chief Coach Harendra Singh said: “We have a great mix of players who have shown their abilities in the recent tournaments. It is unfortunate we will be missing out on Ramandeep Singh’s experience as he is ruled out of the Asian Games due to a recent knee surgery he underwent.”

“But it is good to have Akashdeep Singh back in the mix. Both Rupinder and Akashdeep have remained in camp when the team was away in Breda and have had good match practice against Bangladesh over the past week and are raring to go,” he added.

India Squad:

Goalkeepers- 1. PR Sreejesh (Captain) 2. Krishan B Pathak

Defenders- 3. Harmanpreet Singh 4. Varun Kumar 5. Birendra Lakra 6. Surender Kumar 7. Rupinder Pal Singh 8. Amit Rohidas

Midfielders- 9. Manpreet Singh 10. Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (Vice-Captain) 11. Simranjeet Singh 12. Sardar Singh 13. Vivek Sagar Prasad

Forwards – 14. S V Sunil 15. Mandeep Singh 16. Akashdeep Singh 17. Lalit Kumar Upadhyay 18. Dilpreet Singh

Jeb Hockin, an 18-year-old from rural Australia, has become a double world record holder, demonstrating some truly incredible talents with a football.

Hockin set two Guinness world records for a “rabona” style kick, first for hitting the crossbar seven times in a minute, and then scoring a goal from 60 meters on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The “rabona” kick is “where you put your strong leg, behind your weak leg and kick the ball,” Hockin explained.

The teen also became internet famous last week with his “trick shot” videos being shared on the fans’ pages of Manchester United and Real Madrid that have millions of followers.

Australia’s lead goal scorer and former English Premier League and Chinese Super League player, Tim Cahill shared his admiration for Hockin in a video, saying “I’ve supported you from the start and it’s great to see you flourish.”

Hockin will keep kicking and attempting more records, but for now he is proud of what he has accomplished after a decade of practice.

“You start from basically nothing and you build up to all these crazy things,” Hockin said.

“It just goes to show anything is possible,” he added.

Amitabh Bachchan has congratulated ace Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who won gold at the Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup. The megastar also praised her by saying that he was a proud Indian because of her.

Amitabh on Monday tweeted: “Congratulations to Dipa Karmakar. She has won gold in the world championships for gymnastics on the vault. You proved to the world that what was wrongly denied to you in the Olympics, you won it here. Proud of you. We are proud Indians because of you!”

Karmakar, 24, bagged gold in the women’s vault event at the Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup on Sunday held in Mersin, Turkey.

The Tripura girl, who returned to action after two years due to injury, scored 14.150 to clinch the yellow metal. Dipa had topped the qualification round with a score of 13.400.

She also qualified for the balance beam finals by finishing third in the qualification with a score of 11.850.

She will now feature in the Indian gymnastics squad at the upcoming Asian Games.

Croatia have the vitality to beat England in their World Cup semi-final despite playing in two consecutive matches that have gone to extra-time and penalties, coach Zlatko Dalic said.

After overcoming Denmark on penalties in the last 16, Croatia defeated hosts Russia in another shootout last Saturday.

On Wednesday, Croatia will confront England at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium for a place in the final on July 15.

“Of course there is some power left for the English,” Xinhua news agency reported quoting Dalic.

“We will not stop, we will try to play to get the best out of ourselves. We have two matches to play, we are very motivated, we will give our all,” he said.

While Croatia endured a gruelling 120-minute battle against Russia, England progressed to the last four with a relatively straightforward 2-0 win over Sweden last Saturday.

Croatia will be sweating on the fitness of goalkeeper Danijel Subasic after he played through the latter part of the quarterfinal with a hamstring injury.

Former India hockey team captain Sandeep Singh has given a thumbs up to sports films. Singh, on whom the forthcoming film “Soorma” is based, says sports biopics can play an important role in doing away with drugs in India.

Movies such as “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”, “Mary Kom”, “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” and “Sachin: A Billion Dreams” delved into the lives of sports stars like Milkha Singh, M.C Mary Kom, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar.

Singh praises filmmakers for coming forward and engaging the masses in films made on such personalities.

“If biopics are made on sports and sports stars then a sports culture will develop in India. Through such biopics, you get to know that sports is a different world. It is important to inculcate sports culture in children because today if we talk about India and not just north India, there is a major problem of drugs.

“Sports is something that can help in doing away with drugs as drugs and sports don’t go hand in hand. You have to stay miles away from drugs if you want to play a sport,” Singh told IANS in a telephonic interview from Mumbai.

“If there is a sports culture, then future generations will stay away from drugs, and sports biopics can play a role in this. Like they say, ‘What sells is what you see’. So, if biopics are shown then it will leave an impact on children and they will aspire to become sports stars like Sachin, Dhoni and Dhyan Chand.”

In fact, Singh wants his film to be tax-free in India.

“I request the chief ministers of different states to make ‘Soorma’ tax-free so that it can reach out to kids, families in villages and those who come from poor families. They can watch the film and inspire kids to take up sports,” said Singh, who hails from Haryana.

He also wants the film, which is slated to release on July 13, to inspire people who give up easily in life.

“I hope people like the film because the message is to never give up. Nowadays, whenever there is some problem, youngsters get scared easily. But you should not give up,” he said.

Singh is a fighter himself. He was left almost paralysed after he was accidentally shot by an Railway Protection Force jawan inside a train in 2006 while he was on his way to join the national squad due to leave for the World Cup in Germany. The incident forced him to be wheelchair-bound for two years.

But his passion for hockey brought him back on his feet and on the field. He took over as the captain of the Indian national team in 2009.

Asked about the fall and his rise, he said it’s all about will power.

“Every person has it. If you believe in yourself, then you can do anything. You just need to have the confidence and faith in yourself,” said the dragflick expert, who is nicknamed “Flicker Singh”.

And for sharing his life story with the world, he charged only Rs 101.

“My movie should reach every household. It’s not about getting money out of it. Had I been after money, I would have sold the rights of my story to somebody else long time back.

“Many regional channels and filmmakers had offered to make a film on my life. I ignored them as I thought that if I have to do it, then it should be done on a high level so that it can reach more number of people.”

Directed by Shaad Ali, singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh plays his role in “Soorma”, which is produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions, Chitrangda Singh and Deepak Singh.

Singh and his brother Bikramjeet have contributed a lot to the film.

“We have done the sports choreography. We have trained Diljit and Taapsee Pannu,” said the 32-year-old.

Does he miss playing hockey?

“Yes, I do. I still play, but not at the international level,” he said.

Hockey is not his only passion.

“I love listening to music. I also like to visit different cities and places and explore old structures. I like to know about them and their history,” said Singh. Former India hockey team captain Sandeep Singh has given a thumbs up to sports films. Singh, on whom the forthcoming film “Soorma” is based, says sports biopics can play an important role in doing away with drugs in India.

Movies such as “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”, “Mary Kom”, “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” and “Sachin: A Billion Dreams” delved into the lives of sports stars like Milkha Singh, M.C Mary Kom, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar.

Singh praises filmmakers for coming forward and engaging the masses in films made on such personalities.

“If biopics are made on sports and sports stars then a sports culture will develop in India. Through such biopics, you get to know that sports is a different world. It is important to inculcate sports culture in children because today, if we talk about India and not just north India, there is a major problem of drugs.

“Sports is something that can help in doing away with drugs as drugs and sports don’t go hand in hand. You have to stay miles away from drugs if you want to play a sport,” Singh told IANS in a telephonic interview from Mumbai.

“If there is a sports culture, then future generations will stay away from drugs, and sports biopics can play a role in this. Like they say, ‘What sells is what you see’. So, if biopics are shown then it will leave an impact on children and they will aspire to become sports stars like Sachin, Dhoni and Dhyan Chand.”

In fact, Singh wants his film to be tax-free in India.

“I request the chief ministers of different states to make ‘Soorma’ tax-free so that it can reach out to kids, families in villages and those who come from poor families. They can watch the film and inspire kids to take up sports,” said Singh, who hails from Haryana.

He also wants the film, which is slated to release on July 13, to inspire people who give up easily in life.

“I hope people like the film because the message is to never give up. Nowadays, whenever there is some problem, youngsters get scared easily. But you should not give up,” he said.

Singh is a fighter himself. He was left almost paralysed after he was accidentally shot by an Railway Protection Force jawan inside a train in 2006 while he was on his way to join the national squad due to leave for the World Cup in Germany. The incident forced him to be wheelchair-bound for two years.

But his passion for hockey brought him back on his feet and on the field. He took over as the captain of the Indian national team in 2009.

Asked about the fall and his rise, he said it’s all about will power.

“Every person has it. If you believe in yourself, then you can do anything. You just need to have the confidence and faith in yourself,” said the dragflick expert, who is nicknamed “Flicker Singh”.

And for sharing his life story with the world, he charged only Rs 101.

“My movie should reach every household. It’s not about getting money out of it. Had I been after money, I would have sold the rights of my story to somebody else long time back.

“Many regional channels and filmmakers had offered to make a film on my life. I ignored them as I thought that if I have to do it, then it should be done on a high level so that it can reach more number of people.”

Directed by Shaad Ali, singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh plays his role in “Soorma”, which is produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions, Chitrangda Singh and Deepak Singh.

Singh and his brother Bikramjeet have contributed a lot to the film.

“We have done the sports choreography. We have trained Diljit and Taapsee Pannu,” said the 32-year-old.

Does he miss playing hockey?

“Yes, I do. I still play, but not at the international level,” he said.

Hockey is not his only passion.

“I love listening to music. I also like to visit different cities and places and explore old structures. I like to know about them and their history,” said Singh.

Belgium winger Nacer Chadli has said Spanish coach Roberto Martinez deserved credit for the team’s success at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Under Martinez, Belgium won Group G ahead of England and impressively rallied back from a 0-2 deficit against Japan to make it a 3-2 win before defeating Brazil 2-1 in the quarterfinals, reports Efe.

“Roberto Martinez started with a small club (Wigan), he did a very good job and went to Everton, and with his experience, style and way of thinking, we are here today, it’s because of him,” Chadli said in a press conference on Sunday ahead of the semifinal clash against France.

Chadli said defeating Brazil gave the team a big boost, but confirmed the team would not get caught up in the hype.

“The enthusiasm in Belgium after the Brazil-Belgium clash is just wonderful. But we have to be with our feet on the ground now,” the West Bromwich Albion player said.

“If you can beacounter-attackdo not have to fear anyone. We respect everybody, but if we play with fear we will not be able to beat France,” Chadli said.

Chadli praised France, calling it a team of high quality that masters the counter-attack and paying special tribute to Kylian Mbappe.

“Apart from (Argentine star Lionel) Messi, I have not seen (players) doing things like what Mbappe does at his age, but yet there is no anti-Mbappe plan as we have not spoken yet about how we are going to play,” Chadli said.