Sports

Dubai, Oct 14 (IANS) Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy feels that one can expect "something special" from the Nicholas Pooran-led side in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. West Indies, the two-time T20 World Cup winners, have to go through the first round of the tournament in order to make it to the Super 12 stage.

"I just spoke to Nicholas Pooran and he reckons the guys are shaping up well. I have a really good feeling about this squad because we have so much talent. The batters are there as always. Kyle Mayers is such a talent and times the ball brilliantly and we know Nicholas is a match-winner.

"The good thing this time round is we have bowlers who can take wickets. We didn't know where our wickets would come from last time but this time we do. You can rely on Akeal Hosein, he's in the top 10 in the world and Odean Smith keeps improving, so it's about fine-tuning and getting the right combinations.

"I would never write off the West Indies and I have a funny feeling that something special is going to happen in Australia," wrote Sammy in his column for the International Cricket Council (ICC) ahead of West Indies' first match against Scotland on October 17 in Hobart.

In the run-up to the T20 World Cup, West Indies have been far away from their dominating self in the shortest format of the game. They suffered losses in home series to India and New Zealand, before losing 2-0 to Australia.

Moreover, in the warm-up match, they somehow managed to get the better of the UAE by 17 runs, before their warm-up match against the Netherlands was abandoned due to rain. Sammy, the captain of West Indies T20 World Cup wins in 2012 and 2016, recalled how he and former all-rounder Dwayne Bravo talked about creating a legacy for the side in T20Is.

"After the opening game of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, we thought 'wow, this game is tailor-made for us West Indians'. Dwayne Bravo and I would talk about creating a legacy. We had the opportunity to do that in the T20 format and we grabbed that with both hands.

"Clive Lloyd, Sir Viv and the greats started it by winning two World Cups in the 70s, and the teams of the 80s and 90s set the standard in the Test arena. We made T20 our own for a decade and our players went on to become some of the greatest and most sought-after in the world."

Sammy signed off by rueing that separating the T20I side after their dramatic 2016 triumph resulted in the West Indies losing a chance to give exposure to young cricketers. "It's the last memory I have in a West Indies shirt, that was my last game, and it's a good one to remember. We created history that day, it was amazing.

"The sad thing is that after 2016 that team was dismantled. They brought the guys back in 2021 but they were way past their best. We had a chance to mix the young players in with the experienced guys and we lost a massive opportunity to become stronger."


--IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS) Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir feels that the Rohit Sharma-led side shouldn't only look to survive against Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi, but they should also need to see a way to score runs against him.

Afridi was the star performer for Pakistan when they had defeated India by ten wickets in their 2021 T20 World Cup tournament opener in Dubai, picking 3/31 in his four overs and taking out the top three of Rohit Sharma, K.L Rahul and Virat Kohli.

Now with his availability being confirmed for the Men's T20 World Cup in Australia after completing his recovery from a right knee injury, India will undoubtedly face a huge challenge from Afridi when the two teams open their Super 12 campaign in a high-octane clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23.

"When it comes to Shaheen Afridi, don't look to survive. Look to score runs from him. Because the moment you look to survive, everything becomes really small. Whether it's your backlift, whether it's your footwork, and obviously, in T20 cricket you can't look to survive."

"I know that he can be dangerous with the new ball, but again, irrespective, the Indian batters need to score more runs, get into better positions, and look to time the balls rather than to hit it. India will be fine because India has got the quality in their top 3 or 4 who can definitely take on Shaheen Shah Afridi," said Gambhir on 'Game Plan' show on Star Sports.

Further talking about how India's batting should go about at Melbourne, former India left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan explained, "Look, one thing is clear. When you play at the MCG, the straight boundaries are not that big. It's the side boundaries that are massive. Obviously, India needs to be smart, especially the batting."

"Probably, it will be difficult to hit the side boundaries, so they have to play the gaps and probably convert the twos into threes and ones into twos, because running between the wickets will be very important."

Irfan further elaborated about how India's bowlers would have to adjust their lengths to try and curb the likes of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, currently doing the bulk of scoring for Pakistan, from scoring big runs on October 23.

"Don't give them any width whatsoever, especially Rizwan, because he's the guy who takes the Powerplay on his shoulders. Just try to get the pace going. Babar takes his time. So, you need to be aware of those situations and those batters. First of all, the line has to be on the stumps, with tight lines. And with both batters, the length changes slightly."

"When it comes to Rizwan, you can afford to bowl more fuller. You can try to hit him beneath the knee roll. This is where your line and length can be. And when it comes to Babar Azam, you need to get him out LBW, but your aim should not be on his front leg, it should be behind his leg because he's slightly open. See, you need to make that kind of planning."

"This is where Arshdeep and Bhuvneshwar Kumar come in with that in-swinging delivery. We need to be aware that Pakistan are not very good with spin bowling. So, you need to keep an eye on whether you can give one odd over to spinners in the Powerplay. You know, I'll be very tempted to see what the team management is doing."


--IANS
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Perth, Oct 13 (IANS) Opener K.L Rahul made 74 off 55 balls, but his efforts went in vain as India lost their second practice match to Western Australia XI by 36 runs at WACA Stadium on Thursday.

After Western Australia XI made 168/6 in their 20 overs, India could get only 132/8 in 20 overs, with Rah'l's 74 comprising nine fours and two sixes. The next best score in India's innings, in which Rohit Sharma (though he was the captain), Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav did not bat, was 17 by Hardik Pandya and 10 by Dinesh Karthik.

Electing to bowl first, Josh Phillippe was taken out early by Arshdeep Singh on a pitch that had some bounce. D'Arcy Short (52 off 38 balls) and Nick Hobson (64 off 41 balls) shared a partnership of exactly 100 runs, where the duo took the spinners to the cleaners.

The century stand was broken when Short was run-out and Hobson soon followed after holing out in the deep. Ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin then struck in consecutive balls to remove Ashton Turner and Sam Fanning apart from taking out Cameron Bancroft in the same over.

Eventually, Western Australia XI finished on 168/6, with Ashwin grabbing figures of 3-32. From the pacers' perspective, Harshal Patel took 2-27, in a welcome change after being on the expensive side in the recent times while Arshdeep ended with 1=25 in his three overs.

In the chase, Rishabh Pant failed to get going yet again, being constantly beaten by left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff. Eventually, Pant holed out for nine off Behrendorff. India suffered another blow when pacer Lance Morris dismissed Hooda, leaving th' visitors' at 39/2 in eight overs.

Pandya looked good before holing out off left-arm spinner Hamish McKenzie. At that stage, India slumped to 58/3 in the 10th over with Rahul at 21 off 28 balls and trying to hold fort from one end. Morris, with his fast pace, was troubling India with Axar Patel falling to him for just two runs.

McKenzie had another scalp to his name by dismissing Dinesh Karthik and despite Rahul getting his fifty in 43 deliveries as well as taking 20 runs off Behrendorff in the back-end of the innings, India fell well short of the target. Morris was impressive for Western Australia XI with 2-23 in his four overs.

India will now move to Brisbane where they will play two warm-up matches against defending champions Australia on October 17 and last year's runners-up New Zealand on October 19.

India, the inaugural Men's T20 World Cup winners in 2007, are in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage at T20 World Cup, alongside Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa and two qualifying sides from the first round of the tournament.

They will open their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), followed by matches on October 27 (against the first qualifier side at SCG), October 30 (against South Africa at Perth Stadium), November 2 (against Bangladesh at Adelaide Oval) and November 6 (against second qualifier side at MCG).

Brief scores: Western Australia XI 168/6 in 20 ov'rs (Nick Hobson 64, D'Arcy Short 52; Ravichandran Ashwin 3/32, Harshal Patel 2/27) beat India 132/8 in 20 overs (K.L Rahul 74; Lance Morris 2/23, Matt Kelly 2/26) by 36 runs

--IANS

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By Niharika Raina
New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) India left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav remarked that he was not at all dejected over his non-selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup, starting in Australia this month and insisted he's working on his processes on match-by-match basis apart from a boost in confidence.



"I am not disappointed (over not getting selected) in the T20 World Cup as I am working on my process match by match. I am assessing how I can improve. My confidence improved after the IPL. I went to the West Indies and bowled well there."

"I bowled well in Zimbabwe, too, and for India A recently. I've always had confidence. Wickets or the lack of them don't reflect the confidence I have. Throughout the series, I was bowling as well as I wanted to bowl. My confidence has gone up," said Kuldeep in the post-match press conference.

Kuldeep had suffered a knee injury during the second half of IPL 2021 and had to undergo surgery for the same, keeping him out of action for a long time. After he made a comeback through the ODIs against the West Indies, Kuldeep shined in IPL 2022, picking 21 wickets for Delhi Capitals, becoming the fifth leading wicket-taker in the competition.

A hand injury saw him miss the five T20Is against South Africa at home, followed by short series against Ireland and trip to England. Since his comeback through five T20Is against the West Indies, Kuldeep has been looking at his best. He mentioned that working hard on his rhythm and zero compromise on his ability to spin the ball post comeback from injury is bringing him the desired results.

"I have worked on my rhythm after coming back from injury. That's the reason I could increase the pace of my deliveries. Earlier, I used to impart pace on the ball from my shoulder. But now I got the rhythm to vary the pace. I got the confidence from the IPL. But my focus has always been on getting the ball to spin. I'm not compromising on the spin. I'm getting good turn and batsmen are not getting so much time to play the deliveries, so I'm working on that."

Kuldeep, who starred in India's seven-wicket ODI series decider victory in New Delhi with a brilliant 4/18, signed off by explaining the difference between him bowling in 20-over and 50-over formats. "I now know the difference between bowling ODIs and T20Is, which I realised during the IPL and in the subsequent T20 matches I played. When I was playing first match in Zimbabwe, my pace and rhythm was as per the T20 format."

"Suddenly, I had to change as the batter has a lot of time to play a shot and won't play much of them. So I had to realise that varying my pace was very important, like oscillating between slow and fast is very important apart from difference in flighting and batter trying to get runs against you."

"In T20s, you need to keep hitting the right lengths. It is very rare that you flight the deliveries as if a batter is under pressure, you would want to flight the ball. With IPL and so much cricket around, I try to hit the length as much as I can and at same pace so that batter doesn't get time to play. In ODIs, it's totally different as varying pace becomes very important."


--IANS

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Dubai, Oct 12 (IANS) Mehar Chhayakar, an Indian cricketer formerly based in the UAE who was linked to corruption cases in the Middle-east country in 2019, has been banned from all cricket for 14 years for seven breaches of the sport's anti-corruption code, said the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday.

The ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found Chhayakar guilty of attempting to influence aspects of the UAE's ODI series in Zimbabwe in 2019 as well as matches in the Global T20 franchise tournament in Canada the same year.

The ICC issued a statement on Wednesday, saying, "Mehar Chhayakar has been banned from all cricket for 14 years after an ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found him guilty of seven breaches of the ICC and Cricket Canada Anti-Corruption Codes."

ICC also listed the charges against the cricketer, with the global cricket governing body saying he was involved in "fixing or contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly" on two separate occasions.

"Chhayakar, was found to have breached the following provisions of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code and Cricket Canada Anti-Corruption Code in relation to matches in the Zimbabwe v UAE series in April 2019 and matches in the GT20 in Canada in 2019," said ICC.

"Article 2.1.1 (on two separate occasions) -- Fixing or contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly or being a party to any agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any International Match, including (without limitation) by deliberately underperforming therein.

"Article 2.1.4 (on two separate occasions) -- Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach any of the foregoing provisions of this Article 2.1.

"Article 2.4.6 (on two separate occasions) -- Failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperation with any investigation carried out by the ACU in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code (by any Participant), including (without limitation) failing to provide accurately and completely any information and/or documentation requested by the ACU (whether as part of a formal Demand pursuant to Article 4.3 or otherwise) as part of such investigation.

"Article 2.4.7 -- Obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code (by any Participant), including (without limitation) concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence of or may lead to the discovery of evidence of Corrupt Conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code)."

ICC general manager, Integrity Unit, Alex Marshal, said, "We first encountered Mehar Chhayakar through his involvement in organising a corrupt cricket tournament in Ajman, in 2018. The charges for which he has now received a lengthy ban are further examples of his continuing efforts to corrupt and damage our sport.

"We will be relentless in pursuing and disrupting the people who try to corrupt cricket. With a ban of 14 years, the Tribunal has sent a clear message to anyone intending to corrupt our game."

Chhayakar's offences are linked to the previous cases of former UAE players Qadeer Khan and Gulam Shabbir. Both Qadeer and Shabbir accepted sanctions for admitted breaches of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code relating to approaches they received from Chhayakar.

--IANS

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By Niharika Raina
New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) Before the start of India's ODI series against South Africa, a major talking point was how the hosts were able to field an entirely competitive squad despite the first-choice players flying early to Australia to prepare for the T20 World Cup.



South Africa, on the other hand, fielded their main squad for the series which carried huge importance for direct qualification in next year's ODI World Cup.

Now, after the 2-1 ODI series loss, which has made things difficult for them to get a direct qualification, head coach Mark Boucher admitted that fielding two different teams for two white-ball formats could have been better.

"In a perfect world, yes. It took us some time to get used to conditions (in India), we didn't arrive early enough. The Indian side we played against were fresh; they were bouncing around. Our guys were fatigued. But it's also difficult because we don't have the depth India does. We also had pressure to try and win every game. So we decided to stick with the squad we thought could win games. But in hindsight it could have been a better option," said Boucher in the post-match press conference.

In Tuesday's ODI series decider, where they missed Temba Bavuma, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi due to illness, South Africa were shot out for just 99 in 27.1 overs, their lowest ODI score against India, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Barring Heinrich Klaasen and Janneman Malan to some extent, none of the batters were able to put a price on their wicket and fell either to the brilliance of India's bowling attack or caused their own downfall.

"With the schedule that we've had you can't expect the players to be up for every single game. That's when you rely on your technical side and your mental side to pull you through. We've been a little bit weak in both those departments.

"(In the match) especially there were a couple of soft dismissals up front and maybe one or two technical things on a pitch that was uneven in its turn -- one turned, one didn't -- and we were found out there.

"I allude back to keeping the players fresh so that the mental part of their game is right up there along with the technical side. I think then we can get the best results from these players," stated Boucher, who will step down as South Africa's head coach after the end of T20 World Cup in Australia.

South Africa, now ranked 11th in ODI World Cup Super League points table, have now got only five matches -- three against England in January and two against the Netherlands in March at home -- to make a serious push for the direct qualification and avoid taking the World Cup qualifiers route.

But the path to winning all of them, let alone emerging victorious in three of those matches, isn't as straightforward as it looks. ODIs against England are happening when the inaugural SA20 will be on while the 50-over matches against the Netherlands may have a clash with 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"That's not ideal. The reason we are in this situation is that we haven't always had continuity in our one-day team, and there's been various reasons for that -- players leaving to come to the IPL and Covid. The guys will know what's required against the Netherlands and England."

"We've got to win those games, and if we don't we've got to accept the fact that we've got to go and qualify for the next World Cup. We understand the situation we're in and we'll have to man up and face it when it comes our way," concluded Boucher.

--IANS

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Christchurch, Oct 12 (IANS) Pakistan will have the services of their pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi for the two warm-up games against England and Afghanistan ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, after he missed the Asia Cup in the UAE, the seven-match T20I series against England and the Tri-series currently underway in New Zealand due to a right-knee ligament injury.

The young pace bowler, who wrecked India in Pakistan's 10-wicket win against the arch-rivals in the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, will join the Babar Azam-led squad in Australia after undergoing a rehabilitation programme under the supervision of the PCB Medical Advisory Committee.

The two warm-up games are scheduled on October 17 and 19 respectively, following which the team will play India in the blockbuster Super 12 match on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"I am super excited at the prospect of re-joining the national side for the T20 World Cup and playing my part in the campaign," Shaheen was quoted as saying by ICC. "It has been a difficult period for me to be away from the game and the team I love the most, and not be part of some gruelling and exciting matches.

"I have been bowling six to eight overs trouble-free for the past 10 days with full run-up and pace. While I have enjoyed bowling and batting in the nets, nothing can replace the feel of match environment and I can't wait to be in that setting," added Afridi.

Shaheen's match fitness will be assessed by the team management during the two warm-up matches. Shaheen Afridi had departed for London to complete rehabilitation following an injury to the right knee ligament.

"It has been a rigorous and challenging rehabilitation programme, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. To be honest, I am feeling fitter than ever before and can't wait to wear the playing kit," he added.

--IANS

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By Niharika Raina
New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) South Africa head coach Mark Boucher was left surprised over India bowling with far more aggression than the visitors in the recently-concluded ODI series which they lost 2-1.



At the same time, Boucher felt the conditions in Australia will help South Africa's fast bowlers in being aggressive during the T20 World Cup to be held later in the month in Australia.

"Keeping the guys fresh mentally and physically is going to be vital. Then we'll get the best results. Australia will suit our fast bowlers a lot better. We have got some good pace, some good bounce in our attack, so we need to keep the aggression there. I think in this last one-day game we played there wasn't enough aggression."

"Surprisingly India's bowling attack in the ODIs bowled with far more aggression than what we did. We did chat about it and the way Anrich Nortje bowled (during the match) was a positive sign for me, especially going into the conditions where that will be quite effective," said Boucher in the post-match press conference.

In Tuesday's ODI series decider in New Delhi, South Africa were unable to come out of a spin trip led by Kuldeep Yadav's 4/18, with Shahbaz Ahmed (2/32) and Washington Sundar (2/15) playing their part well. Along with Mohammed Siraj's 2/17, India skittled out South Africa for just 99, which the hosts chased down with seven wickets in hand to take the series 2-1.

Boucher admitted that the loss to end their tour of India was disappointing, but South Africa have now the T20 World Cup in their sights, with keeping players fresh a challenge for him.

"I think we have taken some lessons and we have had good chats behind closed doors to speak about things that we can get better at. That will stand us in good stead going forward to Australia where the conditions are completely different. It's disappointing to lose but we have a massive competition in front of us and that is what we are gearing up for.

"For the T20 stuff, keeping the guys fresh. We have come off a long tour of England straight into India, a couple of guys have been playing in the Caribbean league (CPL) as well. Keeping the guys mentally and physically fresh is going to be vital for the management and myself to monitor."

One of the biggest concerns for South Africa ahead of the showpiece event has been the form of regular skipper Temba Bavuma, who missed out on the last two ODIs due to illness. On his return to international cricket, Bavuma has made just 11 runs in four outings on the tour of India, a major concern which Boucher duly acknowledged with the T20 World Cup on the horizon.

"Temba will want to try and get some sort of form before the World Cup. We do still have two warm-up games and the conditions will suit his style of batting. We'll try to get him back up and running again and get him into the nets and hopefully give him a knock or two before the World Cup starts and see where he is at. He is the captain and we treat him like that.

"The conditions will suit (Bavuma's) style of batting a bit more in Australia. We'll try and get him back up and running again, get him into the nets to get him used to conditions and hopefully give him a knock or two before the start of the World Cup to see where he is at."

--IANS

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Kolkata, Oct 10 (IANS) Riding on brilliant goals by Kwame Karikari and Rahim Ali, Chennaiyin FC kickstarted their Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 campaign in style after beating ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Monday.

Chennaiyin's Ghanaian striker Karikari (64th minute) scored a goal off penalty on his ISL debut before Rahim (83rd) struck home the winner. Manvir Singh (27th minute), on the other hand, netted the lone goal for the hosts.

Playing in front of the home fans, the 26-year-old striker put ATK Mohun Bagan in the lead by striking the opening goal. With a counter-attacking display by the Mariners, Manvir successfully converted a pass from Dimitri Petratos, leaving Chennaiyin FC goalkeeper Debjit Majumder with no chance as ATK Mohun Bagan ended the first-half with 58 percent of the ball possession.

Anirudh Thapa-led side came back aggressively after the break, creating more pressure on the opposition defence line.

They were soon rewarded for their attacking display when substitute player Karikari brought the ball into the penalty area before the opposition goalkeeper Vishal Kaith committed an error. Karikari made no mistake while taking the penalty kick and beautifully produced an equaliser for his side.

The goal shifted the momentum towards Chennaiyin as they continued to create opportunities before Rahim doubled the score for them. Edwin Sydney Vanspaul sent a good pass forward on the right wing to Karikari, who then cut the ball back to Rahim before the Indian found the far corner with a wonderfully placed shot to score the winner.

After the winning start to the campaign, Chennaiyin FC will now travel back home to Chennai for their next game against Bengaluru FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday. It will be a homecoming for Thomas Brdaric's men, who return to the city to play an ISL game after two years.

Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the last two seasons of the league were conducted behind closed doors in Goa. However, it has returned to its traditional home and away format in the ongoing season with the fans cheering for their favourite teams and stars from the stadiums.

--IANS

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Gandhinagar, Oct 10 (IANS) After failing to make an impression in two other sports, Haryana's Ankit Sharma decided to take up boxing as his profession. The move paid rich divided as Ankit on Monday stormed into the men's flyweight semifinals in the ongoing 36th National Games here.

First, he took up skating but the National Championship silver medallist had to leave it as he fell down during an event and returned home with broken teeth. Then, he tried his hand at taekwondo. But despite his best efforts, he could not shed the extra kilos, and also withdrew from the sport.

Determined to give his son a sports life, Rampat Sharma, who manages a construction business, decided to take him to Rohtas Kumar, a coach at a nearby Boxing Academy in Sonipat.

"Initially, I put him into skating. He won two silver medals in junior-level competitions in Bhiwani. Later, in another competition, he slipped and returned home with a couple of broken teeth. I found the sport too dangerous for the child and decided to take him to taekwondo. I wanted him to lose some weight. But after a few weeks I couldn't find any positive results," Rampat revealed.

"He was around 4 or 5 when I decided to put him in boxing. I decided to take him to the coach who has taken care of his career since then," he added.

For coach Rohtas Kumar, the 2019 Khelo India Youth Games gold medallist, was one of his most hardworking wards.

"He came to me when he was around 6 years. He was a chubby kid but was very disciplined from the beginning. Even after winning a medal, he wouldn't go overboard with his celebrations or stop his training. He's one of the very few kids who wouldn't let me rest even on Sundays," the coach recalled.

Ankit Sharma missed the Asian Championships trials last month due to an injury in his left shoulder. Now back to full fitness, he has looked impressive in the initial rounds.

A gold medallist at the 2022 Inter-University Games, Ankit will be up against Punjab's Sparsh Kumar in the semifinals of the men's flyweight 51kg weight division. Kumar expressed confidence in his ward's chances of winning the gold but cautioned Ankit against any complacencies, the organisers informed in a press release on Monday.

"Everyone comes prepared. It will be foolish to take the opponent lightly. But Ankit has the potential to clinch the gold medal at the National Games, this will boost his confidence, going forward," he said.

After the National Games, Ankit will be returning to the national camp to prepare for the upcoming Senior National Boxing Championships in December. He also has one eye on the Asian Games and the World Championships, which will also serve as a qualifying event for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

--IANS

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