Nasheman News : Putting India and England as favourites to win the forthcoming ICC World Cup, batting great V.V.S. Laxman on Wednesday said Virat Kohli and Co. are peaking at the right time after their historic ODI series triumphs in Australia and New Zealand.

“It’s all about peaking at the right time which is so important. The World Cup is a long format so every player should be at his best physically and mentally if India has to win the World Cup. They start as favourites. For me, India and England start as favourites,” Laxman told reporters on the sidelines of Bengal’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament preparations here.

The 44-year old is a batting consultant of the Bengal team as a part of Cricket Association of Bengal’s Vision 2020 programme.

The World Cup kicks off in England from May 30 with India taking on South Africa in their opening game on June 5 in Southampton.

The Indian team edged Australia 2-1 in the three-match series and then went on to thump New Zealand by a healthy margin of 4-1 in the 50-over format.

India will now take on Australia at home in five ODIs and two T20s starting February 24.

“I think brilliant. The way they played, I would like to congratulate the entire team,” Laxman said.

“The way they played right from the Australia series to the New Zealand series… and it’s not only one or two players who have put their hand up. Everyone has contributed. So it’s great to see bowling and batting departments contribute,” he added.

Talking about the Bengal team which failed to make the final at home last season after finishing third in the Super League Group B of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Laxman said: “The preparation has been really good. We had a lot of match simulation. In T20 cricket, better than nets is match simulation. It has been a very realistic practice. We played a couple of games too.”

The 2011 champions Bengal open their domestic T20 campaign against Mizoram in their group D fixture at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on February 21.

Laxman was part of a three-day camp which took place at the Eden Gardens and concluded at the Jadavpur University Campus ground here on Wednesday.

Laxman, who has been with the team led by Manoj Tiwary since 2014, said he was disappointed with Bengal failing to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Ranji Trophy, adding the team has the potential to win the tournament.

“I am disappointed that they did not qualify but the potential of the side is to go on and win the Ranji Trophy,” he said.

Laxman also backed Bengal coach and former India opener Arun Lal, saying his presence in the dressing room will make the players mentally strong.

“Arun has always been someone who is mentally tough and he will inspire the team. He is a great asset to the team.”

Laxman also hoped that the BCCI look into playing U-23 CK Nayudu Trophy final in neutral venues with the summit clash game this time between Punjab and Bengal ending in just two days. Punjab edged past Bengal by one wicket to clinch the title.

“That is something that the BCCI has to work out. The wicket could have been better. It was spinner friendly. You want U-23 finals to go the distance as it gives an opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their talent. But youngsters should also know how to play in different conditions,” he concluded. 

Nasheman News :  Former champion Rituparna Das of PSPB and top seed Riya Mookerjee of the Railways put on a brilliant display to book their berths in the pre-quarterfinals of the 83rd Senior National Badminton Championships here on Wednesday.

Also winning on Day 2 of India’s biggest domestic badminton event was former champion Sourabh Verma and 2017 runner-up Lakshya Sen, both of whom made it to the pre-quarters.

World No.57 Das, who was crowned the champion in 2017, needed only 24 minutes to breeze past Namita Pathania 21-10, 21-7. 

Riya, placed 114th in the world, staved off some stiff resistance from the ninth-seeded Gayatri Gopichand to win 21-17, 21-17.

The 14th seeded Sen continued his fine run from the Inter-Zonal competition with yet another facile 21-10, 21-10 victory over Bengal’s top seed Arintap Dasgupta. 

Verma, the winner of the Nationals in 2011 and 2017, was equally dominant in his 21-13, 21-14 triumph over Munawer Mohammed.

Harsheel Dani of Maharashtra was made to work hard by Kartikey. The World No.131 fought back from a game down to register a 16-21, 21-18, 21-8 win in 56 minutes.

Sixth seed Aryamann Tandon beat Madhya Pradesh’s Priyanshu Rajawat 21-15, 21-10 while fifth seed Rahul Yadav from Telangana emerged a 21-12, 21-11 winner over Jaswanth D.

In the women’s singles, 14th seeded Malvika Bansod caused an upset by ousting the seventh-seeded Shikha Gautam 21-11, 21-16 in a fourth-round encounter that lasted 33 minutes.

Fourth seed Vaidehi Choudhari faced no hassles in her 21-17, 21-13 dismissal of Kerala’s Aadya Variyath.

Maharashtra’s sixth-seeded rising star Vaishnavi Bhale too progressed, courtesy of a 21-19, 21-9 win over the 10th seeded Reshma Karthik. 

Maharashtra had a double delight on Day 2 of the Senior Nationals as the 15th seeded Neha Pandit showed her admirable fighting spirit in her 21-18, 20-22, 21-16 upset win over third seed Bhavya Rishi.

Eighth seed Shruti Mundada and unseeded Deepshikha Singh advanced when their respective opponents, Vrushali Gummadi and Deepali Gupta, retired.

Seasoned campaigners Manu Attri and Maneesha K, seeded seventh at this tournament, showed the door to the mixed doubles top seeds Utkarsh Arora and Karishma Wadkar 21-19, 21-18 on their way to the quarter-finals.

Shlok Ramchandran and Mithula UK also joined them by prevailing over Sanjai Srivatsa D and Kavipriya S 21-17, 21-13.

The veteran men’s doubles team of V Diju and Rupesh Kumar KT also kept their impressive run going. Kumar, former South Asian Games gold medallist, and Diju, a former World No. 6 in mixed doubles, required just 20 minutes to dispatch Prince Chaturvedi and Sangram Chutia 21-15, 21-11 en route to the pre quarter-finals.

The top shuttlers, led by Saina Nehwal and P.V.Sindhu, will begin their challenge from Thursday. 

The top eight seeds in singles have been directly placed in the pre-quarters while the top four seeds in doubles will start from the quarters.

Nasheman News :  Expressing confidence ahead of the 2019 shooting World Cup, to be held at the Dr Karni Singh shooting range here from February 20, Commonwealth Games 2014 gold medallist Apurvi Chandela hopes the prestigious event will fetch India a number of Olympic quotas.

Shooters from around the world will be eyeing the 16 quota places on offer at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in eight events for men and women.

Speaking to media, Apurvi, who has already bagged an Olympic quota for India last year after finishing fourth at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup 2018 in Changwon, South Korea, said that as Indian shooters will be competing on their home turf this time, they will enjoy home advantage while simultaneously battling increased expectations.

“The advantage would be that we are getting a chance to train here (India). But of course it is the match day which matters the most,” the 26-year-old said.

“The other countries are also strong including us (India). So, we will try to do well and I hope more quotas come for the country for the 2020 Olympics,” she added.

Commenting on how home conditions will help her, Apurvi said: “I compete in the 10 metre air rifle event, which is held indoors. So conditions won’t matter much for me. But yes, it will matter in the 50 metres event because of the wind factor.

“But the way we are practising, I believe everything will be good for India,” she added.

The Jaipur-born shooter, who paired with Ravi Kumar for the 10 metre air rifle mixed team event and won a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games, also said her personal target will be to deliver her best and bring more medals for the country.

With the Tokyo Olympics nearly a year away, Apurvi said that as a team India looks strong with a mixture of youth and experience.

The ace shooter, however, said she won’t change her strategy or technique in the World Cup but might opt for a new kit in the Olympics.

“I haven’t changed my style or technique. I have been shooting consistently and getting good results and so I am satisfied,” she said.

Nasheman News :  A day after leading the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to their maiden Inter-State Inter-Zonal title, Lakshya Sen carried his impeccable form to make a winning start at the 83rd senior National badminton championships here on Tuesday.

The Asian junior champion, seeded 14th at India’s biggest domestic event, needed 28 minutes to dismiss Rahul Patel 21-13, 21-13 on his way to the third round.

Sen, who will face Vipul Saini next, had reached the semi-finals in the previous edition and is looking to improve on that.

Former two-time champion Sourabh Verma of PSPB also began his campaign on a positive note with a commanding 21-10, 21-8 demolition of Jayapragasham VS.

The first day of the Nationals witnessed as many as 250 matches played on 9 different courts. 

The hosts had a lot to cheer about on Day 1 as five singles shuttlers from Assam won their opening round matches. Iman Sonowal set up a clash with Sourabh Verma after outplaying Jammu and Kashmir’s Raghav Dogra 21-9, 21-3.

Assam’s Orijit Chaliha lost to Mithun Manjunath 21-11;21-9 in the second round; earlier Orijit emerged a winner 21-14, 21-18 over Gujarat’s Vishal Dave while Rituporna Bora defeated West Bengal’s Anirban Mandal 21-5, 21-18.

In women’s singles, Megha Bora Morchana had it easy against Nagaland’s Ekumyala whom she beat 21-9, 21-14. Suzen Burhagohain advanced when Goa’s Yasmin Syed retired, trailing 2-3.

Among other matches, 2018 Ghana International winner Harsheel Dani won a blockbuster battle between two of India’s rising stars when he prevailed over former World Junior Championships silver medallist Siril Verma 23-21, 21-17 to reach the third round.

Men’s singles top seed Arintap Dasgupta completely outclassed Anay Shirpurkar 21-8, 21-5 while fifth seed Rahul Yadav Chittaboina needed 32 minutes to show the door to Karan Choudhary 21-17, 21-8. Sixth seed Aryamann Tandon blitzed past Bidyasagar Salam 21-6, 21-6 en route to Round 3.

Mixed doubles seventh seeds Manu Attri and Maneesha K hardly broke sweat in their 21-5, 21-6 destruction of Mohit Tiwari and Smirti Nagarkoti. Jammu and Kashmir’s Dogra and Rupal Anand notched up a fine 21-12, 21-15 victory over Sikkim’s Rewash Rai and Tashi Choden Gurung.

Shlok Ramchandran, who played a brilliant role in guiding the AAI to their Inter-Zonal triumph, hardly faced any hassle in his mixed doubles opener in partnership with Mithula UK. The two teamed up to beat Akshit Mahajan and Anupama Upadhyaya 21-12, 21-19 en route to the third round.

The preliminaries will continue till Wednesday and will decide who all get to meet the top eight singles seeds who will begin their challenge directly from the pre-quarters. 

Similarly, in doubles, the top four teams have been exempted from playing until the quarters.

The seeds will be placed after the Super Draw is conducted on Thursday. 

Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu will be the top attractions in women’s singles. In the absence of defending champion H.S. Prannoy and former winner Kidambi Srikanth, BWF World Tour Finals semi-finalist Sameer Verma will be the biggest name in men’s singles.

Madrid, Feb 12 (IANS) The Union of European Football Associations on Tuesday said all UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches this week will observe a minute of silence to pay tribute to late Argentine forward Emiliano Sala.

“On behalf of everyone at UEFA, I would like to express my sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of Emiliano Sala for their loss,” said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

Sala went missing on January 21 after a small plane he was on crashed while flying over the English Channel on its way from Ligue 1 team Nantes to English Premier League side Cardiff City. But Sala’s death could not be confirmedthe until February 7, reports Efe news.

“I am deeply saddened that his life was so cruelly taken away at such a young age and I urge supporters across the continent to pay their respects to his memory over the coming days,” he said.

Clubs participating in this week’s games will wear black armbands in honour of Sala.

On February 7, the United Kingdom’s government agency investigating civil aircraft accidents said a body had been retrieved from wreckage of a plane identified as the one in which Sala was travelling.

“The body brought to Portland Port today (Thursday, February 7) has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala,” police in southwestern England said.

Following the announcement, Nantes said that Sala who scored 48 goals over 144 first tier French football matches would have a special place in the history of the club.

Sala and pilot David Ibbotson were the only two occupants of the aircraft that lost contact with air traffic controllers some 24 kilometers (15 miles) north of the Channel Island of Guernsey at 8.23 pm on January 21.

The player was travelling from the French city of Nantes, where he had bid a final farewell to his former teammates, to Cardiff in south Wales, where he was to join the local team and begin the next stage of his career in the English Premier League.

Nasheman News :  India A women’s hockey team defeated France A 2-0 in the third match at the Padma Shri Mohammad Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday.

The hosts were helped by goals from local girl Mumtaz Khan (42nd minute) and Sharmila Devi (60th), with both scoring two well-crafted field goals to give their team another victory in the four-match series.

The match saw the visitors dominate in the opening minutes, but the Indian defence made sure that they did not score the first goal. 

With two goal-less quarters having passed, it was the Indian women who broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute. Lucknow’s very own young striker Mumtaz Khan registered her name on the score-sheet as she produced a very calm finish under pressure to give her team a 1-0 lead.

The French had several chances, but could not get past India’s goalkeeper Bichu Devi Kharibam. 

Some reflex saves from the Indian shot-stopper meant that India took their lead into the last quarter. 

The eventful last quarter saw both teams vie for the next goal, but eventually it was the hosts who were successful, scoring another field goal in the last minute of the match to extend their lead to 2-0, and take the third Match.

[Nasheman news] LondonEngland football great, goalkeeper Gordon Banks, whose safe pair of hands helped the Three Lions to their only World Cup final victory in 1966, has died at the age of 81, his family said on Tuesday.

One of the all-time-great keepers alongside the likes of Russia’s Lev Yashin, Banks’ split-second, acrobatic block to deny Pelé’s rocketing header in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico by scooping the bouncing ball over the crossbar is still widely regarded as one of the best saves ever made.

“Gordon Banks, the goalkeeper who made the save of the century against Pelé, has died,” mourned Spain’s sports newspaper As, reports Efe news.

In an interview following the game, which Brazil went on to win 1-0, Banks said Brazil’s famous number 10 approached him and said: “I thought that was a goal,” to which he replied: “You and me both.” 

He said he could be seen laughing as he took his position for the ensuing corner as fellow England great, and captain at the time, Bobby Moore turned and said: “You’re getting old, Banksy, you used to hold onto them.” 

Tributes from the world of football rolled in for the late goalkeeper.

“We’re deeply saddened to hear that Gordon Banks, our World Cup-winning goalkeeper has passed away,” England’s national team wrote on Twitter adding: “Our thoughts are with Gordon’s friends, family and supporters at this difficult time.” 

Gary Lineker, another England legend who played for the national team between 1984 and 1992 said: “England’s World Cup winner was one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time and such a lovely, lovely man.” 

Banks of England, as he came to be known, had spells at English clubs Leicester City and Stoke City before his career was cut short when he lost the sight in one eye in a car crash in 1972, just two years after his famous save in Guadalajara. 

He had attempted to overtake another car on a sharp bend when he collided with an oncoming vehicle and ended up in a roadside ditch. He required hundreds of stitches to his face but would never regain binocular vision. 

Despite attempts to resume his career, he retired from professional soccer in the United Kingdom and later went on to have spells in the North American Soccer League. 

Banks had a brief managerial career at Telford United. 

In 2015, it was announced the former goalkeeper was undergoing treatment for kidney cancer.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi Two cricket World Cup wins in 44 years, yet the flame carried in the hearts and minds of savants in India burns. As a top tier team, India once again is in search of the Golden Fleece.

Workload management of the stars will be on top of the mind when the selectors meet in Mumbai on Friday to pick the squad for the white ball series against Australia. 

The Indian team is set to play two T20Is and five ODIs against the Aussies in what is set to be the last set of international games that the boys get before going into the 2019 World Cup in England, starting on May 30. The only practice they will get after this is in the Indian Premier League. 

The Selection committee will look at keeping the right balance as they would not only wish to give the senior guys ample rest before going into the showpiece event, but also wouldn’t want to give the Australians the upper hand in what will be the last series before the World Cup. India has been playing incessantly overseas and the fast bowling wolf pack has had no real rest. 

BCCi sources said: “Workload management of the senior players will definitely be the main area of discussion as we all know that the Indians have been on the road and the selectors and team management have made a conscious effort to ensure that the players get ample rest between games and series. Like you saw, regular skipper Virat Kohli was rested for the back end of the New Zealand series. You might see Rohit Sharma rested for some games here.

“But it is also important to note that the Indians would want to keep the foot on the pedal and ensure that they don’t give the Australians any momentum going into the World Cup. A good series against India would mean a confidence booster for the team. So, there has to be a balance so that the composition of the team is not affected,” he explained.

While Rishabh Pant is almost certain to get more game time, it will be interesting to see if someone like Ajinkya Rahane gets one last go to seal a place in the World Cup squad. In the bowling department too, Jasprit Bumrah is almost certain to make a comeback after a well-earned rest during the New Zealand series.

In fact, head coach Ravi Shastri has already made it clear that players will be monitored even during the IPL.

“We’ve been in touch with the BCCI and CoA in this regard. We have certain plans in place and we’ll be looking to follow them. Usually, the two months of IPL are seen as relatively free months for me and I can just sit down and enjoy the cricket, watch out for new, young talents that keep emerging. But this IPL will be about monitoring the players, keeping the World Cup in mind,” he said in a recent interview.

[Nasheman news] Tokyo The organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Tuesday said that they were confident that the new venues would be completed in time for test competitions to be held later this year, despite problems in many projects.

The organizers on Tuesday showed the progress made in the construction of the new sports facilities in the Tokyo Bay area to reporters and evaluated the status of the work — with less than a year and a half to go before the Olympics, reports Efe news.

One of the biggest projects is the new Aquatics Center, which has been embroiled in a scandal about the falsification of technical data related to its anti-earthquake systems by a Japanese company.

The arena would have to replace or repair 32 such units used in its structure, which are mandatory according to Japanese law, after the company KYP admitted to using irregular material in its seismic protection systems.

Takahiro Otani, the head of planning and development of the venues, told Efe in a statement that this unexpected change would not affect the original schedule, which aims to complete the Aquatics Center by February 2020 and host test competitions in April.

He added that earthquake protection was “100 percent guaranteed” in this facility, which would have a capacity of 15,000 and host the Olympic competitions in swimming, synchronized swimming and diving.

Around 55 percent construction is complete for the Aquatics Center, which means that the work is progressing at a slower rate than the other projects due to its enormous size: 65,000 square meters, two Olympic-size swimming pools and another one for diving.

Other facilities which have witnessed delays include the new Ariake Tennis Park, where the organizers had to find a new construction company after the first contractor went bankrupt.

Work is progressing as per schedule for the 15,000-capacity Ariake Arena stadium, which will host volleyball, and the Olympics Gymnastics Center – with a capacity of 12,000 – as well as the venues for kayaking, canoeing and archery.

All these facilities are located on artificial islands in the Tokyo Bay, the area with the biggest concentration of Olympic venues, where the 18,000-capacity Olympic Village is also being constructed.

The organizers said that all the venues will be ready in time for a series of test competitions before the Games, to be held in three rounds: the first this summer, the second between October 2019 and February 2020 and the third in spring 2020.

The second Summer Olympics in the Japanese capital – 56 years after the Tokyo 1964 Games – will be held between July 24 and August 9, 2020, while the Paralympic Games will start on August 25 and finish on September 6.

Nasheman News : National-level kabbadi player Vikesh Kumar Rawat died after being run over by a truck in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district on Tuesday.

Rawat died instantly near the Blooming Buds school situated on the Deoghar-Dumka highway. The body was sent for post-mortem.

Expressing grief, kabbadi players in Deoghar said Rawat had to participate in the recruitment of the Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) at Bokaro on Wednesday. 

Rawat had represented Jharkhand from junior to senior level in kabbadi games from 2011 to 2014.