Sports

Ahmedabad, Sep 4 (IANS) Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday declared that the city of Ahmedabad would soon be developed into the biggest sports city in the world.

Speaking at the unveiling function of the anthem and mascot for the 36th National Games at the EKA Arena, TransStadia here in Ahmedabad, Shah, said: "Ten years ago, when Modiji was the chief minister here, he started the Khel Mahakumbh. At that time Gujarat was nowhere in sports on the global map.

"Now, we have the Narendra Modi Stadium, the largest stadium in the world, and very soon we will have the world's biggest sports city too," Shah said, addressing over 10,000 people at the majestic venue.

The Home Minister, who is also the MP from Gandhi Nagar, led a power-packed audience at the glittering curtain-function, including Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur. The country's grandest sporting extravaganza will take place in six cities of Gujarat, from September 29 to October 12.

"Once upon a time, we Gujjus were mostly seen as just businessmen. But Modiji started Khel Mahakumbh 11 years back and that event has become so big that as many as 55 lakh youngsters took part in this edition. We even offered a whopping Rs 29 crore as prize money to the winners," Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel said.

"We are delighted that the National Games are back after 7 years and this one will be the biggest and grandest ever," Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said.

"It normally takes years to organise an event of this scale but Gujarat did this in less than three months. It is all thanks to the efforts of the CM, with IOA supporting our initiative in a big way. Over 12,000 athletes, officials and support stage will enjoy not only the sporting extravaganza but also the Garba here," he added.

Top dignitaries from the world of politics and sport were present on the occasion.

Aptly titled Saavaj, lion in Gujarati, the mascot represents India's cultural heritage while also giving a glimpse of a rapidly growing India which is set to become a global leader again.

The anthem of the Games, encapsulating the philosophy of Judega India, Jitega India, has been rendered by Bollywood star singer Sukhwinder Singh.

The lyrics of the national sports festival's theme song inspire the youth of the country to connect and conquer historic places like the Statue of Unity and Sabarmati. Embellished with impressive sports scenes, the theme song captures the heart of how athletes triumph despite adversity.

--IANS

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Dubai, Sep 4 (IANS) Virat Kohli slammed his second consecutive fifty in as many matches as India posted a competitive 181/7 against Pakistan in the second Super Four match of Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

Pushed into batting first, Kohli top-scored with 60 off 44 balls, hitting four fours and a six, while running hard between the wickets and was superb against pacers in an innings where India reverted back to its aggressive attacking approach.

Kohli's knock came after the opening pair of captain Rohit Sharma and K.L Rahul came out all guns blazing in a 54-run opening stand. For Pakistan, spinners Mohammad Nawaz (1-25) and Shadab Khan (2-31) bowled eight overs between themselves and conceded just 56 runs. Pacers Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf had a wicket apiece.

Sharma gave India a rollicking start, dancing down the pitch to lift Shah over cover for four and ended the 10-run opening over with a pulled six over deep mid-wicket. He then elegantly lofted Hasnain for another four over mid-off.

Rahul joined the boundary-hitting party with a brace of sixes off Shah in the third over. A beautiful lofted off-drive went over wide long-off while a flicked loft off the wrists was slammed straight down the ground.

Sharma's carnage continued as he crunched a drive past cover for four and pulled Rauf on the very next ball over deep mid-wicket for six. Rahul got India's fifty in 4.2 overs by dancing down the pitch to hammer Nawaz down the ground for four.

Rauf broke the 54-run opening stand in the final over of the powerplay, as Sharma mishit a slower ball to point. India's second wicket fell on the very first ball post-powerplay as Rahul holed out to long-on off Shadab.

Suryakumar Yadav and Kohli got two fours each to continue India's high-risk approach. But Nawaz struck in the tenth over, having Suryakumar slog-sweeping straight to backward square leg.

With Nawaz keeping things tight, Kohli took to taking fours off Shah and Hasnain through pull and drive. Rishabh Pant hoicked hard off Shah and had an outer edge on a slog off Shadab for a brace of fours.

But the leg-spinner had the last laugh as Pant reverse-swept straight to backward point. In the next over, Hardik Pandya punched a cross-seam ball from Hasnain straight to a forward diving short mid-wicket to depart for a two-ball duck.

Deepak Hooda's first four was driven firmly through the gap between mid-off and extra cover off Rauf. He then arched back to ramp a bouncer from Hasnain over the keeper's head. Kohli got his fifty in 36 balls with some style, shuffling towards off-side and whipping Hasnain over deep mid-wicket for six.

The last two overs didn't bring a glorious finish for India as Deepak Hooda skied high to long-on off Shah while Kohli fell inches short of his crease while trying to complete the second run. But misfields in the deep on the last two balls gave India back-to-back fours and took the total above 180.

Brief scores: India 181/7 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 60, Rohit Sharma 28; Shadab Khan 2-31, Mohammad Nawaz 1-25) against Pakistan

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS) The All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey, on Sunday stressed on the importance of engaging in dialogue and finding solutions in order to prepare and implement a "time-based roadmap" for Indian Football.

"India is a diverse country and therefore, the solutions for the betterment of football must be specific as per our need. No cut and paste clarification is available for that. Therefore, the most important part is to engage in inclusive dialogues to identify usable solutions for our own football-centric challenges," Chaubey said.

The newly-elected AIFF president Chaubey was speaking at the three-day third edition of Global Soccer Conclave jointly organised by Sports Tech giants, Tech Mahindra, Amazon, Government of Odisha, FICCI and sports edtech leader, Sportz Next in Mumbai.

"AIFF will facilitate the process and ultimately strategise a time-based roadmap to ensure empowerment of football ecosystem in every state," he added. "Youth development, quality human resources, and above all accountability can ultimately bring winning performance inside the pitch as well as outside."

Chaubey said that the newly-elected committee has the necessary experience to take up the challenges and reach the destination.

"The challenges can be tough, but the newly-elected committee has the necessary experience to take up the challenges and reach the destination. The problems don't have quick-fix answers. But I can promise that there will be sustainable solutions, and they will bring results. I assure you that we have already started moving towards that direction by creating various high-power committees to suggest the solutions that we are looking for," he said.

--IANS

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Dubai, Sep 4 (IANS) Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes talismanic batter Virat Kohli looks a lot calmer after returning from the one-and-a-half break to return for Asia Cup 2022. Shastri added that the break taken by Kohli after India's tour of England ended was a much-needed one.

Kohli, in a prolonged lean patch seen from him not scoring a century in international cricket since November 2019, began Asia Cup 2022 with a crucial 35 in the thrilling five-wicket win over Pakistan in India's first Group A match. He then scored an unbeaten 59 in India's second Group A win over Hong Kong.

"Virat Kohli looks a lot calmer, he needed that break. When you are mentally tired, you are fighting against yourself. Your body tells you something to do, your mind tells you something to do, but you can't take it. The break could have helped him. The fact that he spent some time on the field would also help him," said Shastri ahead of India's Super Four match against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan left-arm pacer Wasim Akram urged fans from both teams to not go overboard irrespective of what the result is at the end of the match. "And that's where we experts have to suggest to fans from both India and Pakistan. The teams will compete, and they will give their 100 percent, day in and day out. But in the end, it's a game of cricket. Somebody has to win, somebody has to lose.

"Any team loses, just say 'bad luck, well tried, better luck next time'. Whichever team wins, 'well played'. We (fans) just go overboard, we players, once the game is finished, we move on very quickly. We have to motivate ourselves again. So that's very important for cricket fans, both sides."

Shastri agreed with Akram's comments, conceding the India-Pakistan contest is totally "over-hyped" from the outside. "It's over-hyped from the outside. There is no love lost. The players will go at each other's throats on the field. That's how it should be."

"There's a great rivalry. It's the biggest box office when it comes to a game of cricket. You look at the first game of the Asia Cup, every time these two teams play, it's massive."

--IANS

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Dubai, Sep 4 (IANS) Pakistan captain Babar Azam has won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the second Super Four match of Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

India have brought in Hardik Pandya (rested from the previous match against Hong Kong), Deepak Hooda and Ravi Bishnoi in their playing eleven in place of injured Ravindra Jadeja (out of the tournament due to right knee injury), Dinesh Karthik and Avesh Khan, meaning Rishabh Pant will keep wickets.

Pakistan, on the other hand, got in pacer Mohammad Hasnain in their playing eleven, replacing fellow fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani, who is out due to a suspected side strain.

"The dew could be a factor, that's the reason we're bowling first. We had a lot of positives from the last match against India. The message is to play positively," said Azam after winning the toss.

In the last meeting between these two teams in Group A match last Sunday, on the back of Hardik Pandya's 3/25 and unbeaten 33 off 17 balls, with contributions from Jadeja (35 off 29 balls) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/26), India won in thrilling fashion by five wickets and two balls remaining.

India skipper Rohit Sharma said he would have opted to bowl first too. "But now we need to play freely and assess a good score on this pitch. Momentum counts in this format, you've to be on the money from the start, not worry about external pressures. Injury is something we can't control, Jadeja has been ruled out and he's back home. It was a headache to select the playing XI."

Before the toss, Sanjay Manjrekar said the pitch has an even covering of grass and expected it to play true, instead of two-paced. Wasim Akram, on the other hand, felt there should be more carry for the fast bowlers and that opting to bowl first after winning the toss should be ideal.

Playing XIs:

India: K.L Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS) The India U-17 boys will be looking to kick-start their SAFF Championship campaign on a positive note in Sri Lanka, as they face Bhutan in their first match at the Racecourse International Stadium in Colombo on Monday.

Speaking on the eve of the match, India head coach Bibiano Fernandes showed a lot of respect for India's opponents in the first match, stating the importance of starting with a win.

"Bhutan are a good side, and we respect them a lot. Our previous batches have had some good moments against them, but this is a completely new batch, and we start from square one. So we will be looking to put our best foot forward tomorrow and start our campaign with a win," said Fernandes at the pre-match press conference.

Bibiano, who has been the head coach of this age category (previously the U-16s), has helped his sides qualify for the AFC U-16 Championship (now known as the AFC U-17 Asian Cup) in the 2018 and 2020 editions. While the Blue Colts came within one step of qualifying for the U-17 World Cup when they made it to the quarterfinals in 2018, it will be a new challenge for the current batch.

"We are here obviously with the expectation to win the championship, as always, though we have come with a completely new set of players. The last two years have been a difficult time for everyone, as we could not get any international exposure due to the pandemic," said Fernandes.

"However, that has been the case for everyone as well, and this comes with a new set of challenges. We know the likes of Nepal and Bhutan are good teams, so every match will be crucial for us. We will take it one game at a time."

India have been clubbed in Group B alongside Bhutan and Nepal, and they get their campaign against the former at the Racecourse International Stadium on Monday, September 5 at 4 PM IST. The match will be streamed live on the Eleven Sports platforms.

--IANS

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New York, Sep 4 (IANS) Danielle Collins advanced to the fourth round of the US Open 2022 after defeating Alizé Cornet 6-4, 7-6(9) at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, here.

No. 19 seed Collins has the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in her career and will now face No. 6 seed Aryna Sabalenka for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The 28-year-old Collins is part of a quartet of American women into the Round of 16, joining No. 8 seed Jessica Pegula, No. 12 seed Coco Gauff, and No. 29 seed Alison Riske-Amritraj. Collins has paved her way into the second week with wins over Naomi Osaka, Cristina Bucsa, and Cornet.

"Honestly, I'm having the time of my life. This is what we dream of as a kid, playing these night matches," the American said.

Collins broke Cornet in the fifth game of the opening set and was off to the races. With relentless baseline pressure, she quickly amassed 20 winners through the first eight games.

The American played a tidy match, minimising her errors and putting in a physical effort at the baseline, but the French veteran struggled to find any space to keep Collins at bay. Her only hope was to bait Collins into errors. But on this night, the American did not miss.

The second rolled along with both women taking care of their serve. Only one break separated the two in the opening set, but neither woman was able to generate a single break point in the second set.

In the tiebreak, neither player was able to break away. Collins saw her first match point at 6-5 saved with a strong first serve from Cornet, while Cornet could only watch as Collins erased a set point with a clean backhand winner to level at 7-7.

Collins saved a second set point with her 50th winner of the night. Collins' gutsy saves would be rewarded. On her second match point, Collins closed out the victory after 1 hour and 52 minutes on late Saturday night.

As far as stats are concerned, Collins went unbroken in the match, facing down just one break point, while firing 52 winners to 29 unforced errors. Cornet hit 17 winners and just 9 unforced errors in the match.

Collins faces a formidable foe in the next round. Sabalenka has won all three prior meetings, with two of those wins coming at the US Open, in the first round in 2018 and the third round just last year. Sabalenka has lost just one set to Collins and comes into the match off a 6-0, 6-2 win over Clara Burel.

--IANS

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Sharjah, Sep 4 (IANS) Rahmanullah Gurbaz's attacking fifty went in vain as Sri Lanka began the Super Four phase of Asia Cup 2022 with a comfortable four-wicket win over Afghanistan at the Sharjah International Stadium, here on Saturday.

An excellent attacking knock by Rahmanullah Gurbaz (84 off 45) powered Afghanistan to a challenging 175/6 in 20 overs. Apart from Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran also played an impactful knock (40 off 38) for Afghanistan, who would have hoped for a blistering finish but they lost wickets in a cluster in the last few overs.

Chasing a challenging total, openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis set the tone set for Sri Lanka by putting on a 62-run stand. The powerplay was utilised well by the duo with the latter also going after Rashid Khan, sweeping him for two sixes and taking 17 off his first over.

Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed Mendis (36 off 19) to give Afghanistan the first breakthrough. Mujeeb Ur Rahman then got rid of Pathum Nissanka (35 off 28), who tried to play a shot wide outside off but was caught by Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

While the duo fell in the space of nine balls, Sri Lanka had some good fortune coming their way. Rashid did not review an LBW call against Gunathilaka which later showed three reds. Gunathilaka (33 off 20) was also dropped, as was Rajapaksa (31 off 14), which all allowed Sri Lanka to stay in the hunt despite losing wickets at regular intervals.

With 49 needed off the last five overs, Rajapaksa went 4, 4, 6 against Naveen ul Haq and brought the equation down. Wanindu Hasaranga struck three boundaries eventually to help chase the target in 19.1 overs with four wickets in hand.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/30), Naveen-ul-Haq (2/40), Mohammad Nabi (1/34), and Rashid Khan (1/39), were the wicket-takers for Afghanistan.

Earlier, put into bat first, Afghanistan were off to a good start, scoring 49/1 in the powerplay.

While Gurbaz was in an attacking mode and did the bulk of the scoring, Hazratullah Zazai was not able to not find any fluency right through his innings. Eventually, Zazai played across to a length delivery and was clean bowled for 13 off 16 in the 5th over.

Even after the powerplay, Gurbaz continued his attacking intent and completed his fifty in 22 balls. He got support in Zadran and they kept the scoreboard ticking for Afghanistan.

Both Gurbaz and Zadran put on a stand of 93 runs for the second wicket. When Gurbaz got out in the 16th over, Afghanistan were 139-2 and looked set for a strong finish.

However, they lost the wickets of Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (1), and Najibullah Zadran (17) in the 17th and 18th overs respectively. Rashid Khan (9) managed to hit a six in the last over and took Afghanistan to 175-6, which was not enough in the end.

Dilshan Madushanka (2/37), Maheesh Theekshana (1/29), and Asitha Fernando (1/34) were the wicket-takers for Sri Lanka.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 175/6 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 84, Ibrahim Zadran 40, Dilshan Madushanka 2/37) lost to Sri Lanka 179/6 in 19.1 overs (Kusal Mendis 36, Pathum Nissanka 35; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/30) by 4 wickets

--IANS

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London, Sep 4 (IANS) Former Champions Chelsea came back from a goal deficit to overcome West Ham United 2-1 in a home encounter here.

The match came alive in the second half and things came to a head in the frantic final few minutes as both teams tried their best.

There was little sign of what was to come during a largely uneventful first half, where neither team really threatened the opposition goalkeeper, despite Chelsea enjoying the vast majority of possession against a West Ham side who were happy to sit back and defend.

However, midway through the second session, the visitors somehow took the lead completely against the run of play. Edouard Mendy managed to claw a dangerous corner away from his goal but was floored by a bundle of bodies in the process, meaning when the ball came back in there was nothing he could do to prevent Michail Antonio from scrambling in at close range.

Chelsea tried to increase the pressure but it took a double substitution to find a way back into the game, as Ben Chilwell did brilliantly to latch on to Thiago Silva's high pass into the box, beating two defenders in the air before directing the dropping ball under Lukasz Fabianski and into the net.

Chilwell then turned provider to put the Blues ahead with two minutes remaining, as his low cross was turned in by fellow sub Kai Havertz, but that turned out to be far from the end of the drama.

Almost straight from the kick-off, Max Cornet, who had hit the post with his first touch shortly before Chelsea took the lead, fired the ball into an empty net with Mendy down injured following a challenge by Jarrod Bowen.

This time the referee intervened on Mendy's behalf, though, viewing the incident on the pitchside screen and ruling the goal out for a foul on the goalkeeper, allowing Chelsea to hold on in the final few minutes for a memorable comeback victory over West Ham.

Chelsea thus moved to fifth position with 10 points from three wins and a draw, from six matches.

--IANS

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Dubai, Sep 3 (IANS) India head coach Rahul Dravid on Saturday refused to rule injured Ravindra Jadeja out of the 2022 T20 World Cup, saying that the mega event in Australia is still six or seven weeks away from now and he doesn't want to jump to any conclusions so early.

Dravid's comments come in the wake of reports that Jadeja, who has sustained a right knee injury, may undergo major surgery and will miss the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in October-November.

The coach said that he would like to wait and watch as the medical team comes up with its prognosis.

"Jadeja has injured his knee; he is obviously ruled out of the Asia Cup. He is under the care of the medical team, he is going to see the doctors, see the experts. The World Cup is still a fair bit away, and we don't want to jump to any conclusions and rule him out or rule him in. We'll see how it goes," Dravid said during a press conference ahead of India's Super 4 match against Pakistan.

"Injuries are a part of the sport; it is part of our job to try to manage them. A lot will depend on rehab and the severity of the injury. I don't want to rule him out or don't want to make too many comments until we have a much clearer picture and a better idea, especially because the World Cup is six or seven weeks away from now," he added.

The 33-year-old Jadeja played the first two games of the ongoing Asia Cup against Pakistan and Hong Kong before he was on Friday ruled out of the tournament. He provides the team with much-needed balance -- along with Hardik Pandya, with his all-round abilities and played a crucial role in India's win over Pakistan.

Against Pakistan, Jadeja first gave away just 11 runs in the two overs he bowled, before being promoted to No. 4 in India's chase of 148, specifically since he was the only left-hand batter in India's top seven. He scored a crucial 35 off 29 balls in a 52-run partnership with Hardik Pandya that put India on the brink of victory. Pandya then finished it off after Jadeja fell to Mohammad Nawaz in the first ball of the last over.

On the other hand, the left-handed batter didn't get an opportunity to bat against Hong Kong. During bowling, he dismissed top-scorer Babar Hayat and only gave away 15 runs in his four overs.

Apart from Jadeja, fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel are also missing the Asia Cup for India. As per Dravid, the current situation doesn't stop them from using this tournament as an opportunity to build and grow the team for the World Cup.

"There are a few key players missing from this team. But it's probably true of one or two other teams as well, who are probably missing one or two key players. That can happen, but it doesn't stop us from using this tournament as a really good opportunity to build and grow our team for the World Cup," the coach said.

"And of course, it gives us the opportunity, I guess, in a lot of ways to look at other players who are potentially vying for spots, who are in contention and are looking for one or two spots, see how they perform and to give other people some opportunities as well. And of course, we know that once hopefully guys like Bumrah, Harshal and Jadeja are back then, as and when, we can respond to that and react to that," he added.

The former India captain also mentioned that the team management has always been trying to build a pool of players who can step in when key players get injured.

"But if for some reason unfortunately if they have to miss out then we've developed some other players, we've tried to build a back-up, we've tried to build a group and that's really been our endeavour right through...we're trying to build a bigger pool of players that can step in because as we've seen obviously with the kind of challenges we've had with Covid as well, and with injuries you've got to have back-up, you've got to have people who can step in any given situation," he said.

"When people miss out due to injuries, it gives us the chance to build that squad and grow that squad. Of course, we'd love to have our guys with experience and our best players playing all the time but it might not happen," he added.

--IANS

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