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FIFA sets up worker welfare body for 2022 Qatar World Cup

April 23, 2016

Doha, Apr 23: The head of soccer`s world governing body FIFA urged Qatar to hasten improvements in safety and labour conditions for builders working on sites for the 2022 World Cup and declared:"we will not just sit and wait".

Gianni Infantino, on a two-day visit to Qatar, announced plans for a special working group to monitor the situation and achnowledged there were still "many challenges".

fifaAmnesty International reported on abuses in Qatar`s preparations for the World Cup in a wide-ranging report three weeks ago based on the accounts of 132 workers at the sites.

It found construction workers from Nepal and India had been charged recruitment fees and housed in squalid conditions.

Infantino said Qatar, the tournament`s first Arab host, supported the monitoring initiative.

"I acknowledge very much the efforts which are being done. I want to see these efforts now being put in practice," Infantino, elected as president of the scandal-plagued federation in February, told reporters. "Of course we will not just sit and wait.

"FIFA will step up its efforts in overseeing....in order to ensure the protection of the workers` rights in the construction of the FIFA World Cup sites is fulfilled".

AMNESTY ACCUSATIONS

The head of Qatar`s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Hassan al-Thawadi, has said Doha is working to reduce abuses he described as occurring on construction sites all over the world.

Infantino faces pressure from human rights groups to press for reform of labour laws in Qatar including its "kafala" sponsorship system, whereby employers effectively control a worker`s freedom to leave the country.

Infantino said he had told Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani measures taken by Qatari authorities to ensure fair working conditions were going in the right direction.

"I, of course, discussed with the prime minister this morning about this topic, about the Kafala (sponsorship) legislation, about how it will be, or how it is going to change with regard to the workers," he said.

Switzerland`s attorney-general has launched a investigation into FIFA`s decision to award the event to Qatar, as well as the 2018 World Cup to Russia, at a vote in December 2010 in Zurich.

But Infantino said there was no question of the tournament being held elsewhere.

In an earlier statement issued by FIFA, Infantino said the hosting of the World Cup was an opportunity to set a benchmark for fair conditions for all workers in Qatar.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Jan 17: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza cruised into the women's doubles final of the Hobart International with her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok here on Friday.

Sania and Kichenok sailed past the Slovenian-Czech pair of Tamara Zidansek and Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (3) 6-2 in the semifinal contest that lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Ukrainian combination will lock horns with second seeds Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang of China. The Chinese pair got a walkover after Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens and Alison Van Uytvanck conceded the other semifinal match because of injury.

While Sania and Kichenok had to fight hard in the opening set, the second set was a cakewalk for the combination.

The first set was a tough contest between the two pairs, bringing the tie-breaker into the equation after it was level at 6-6.

In the tie-breaker, Sania and Kichenok upped their game by a few notches to outsmart their opponents and take the lead.

The second set was a no-contest as Saina and Kichenok broke their opponents thrice -- in the second, sixth and eighth game -- to easily pocket the set and a place in the summit clash.

Saina and Kichenok got 11 break chances out of which they converted four, while their opponents utilised two out of the five break chances that came their way.

The 33-year-old Sania is returning to the WTA circuit after two years. During her time away from the game, she battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break in April 2018 to give birth to her son Izhaan. She is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

Before the ongoing event, Sania last played at China Open in October 2017.

A trailblazer in Indian tennis, Sania is a former world No.1 in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles to her credit.

She retired from the singles competition in 2013 after becoming the most successful Indian woman tennis player.

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News Network
February 9,2020

New Delhi, Feb 9: The Indian Fed Cup team will travel to Dubai for this year's competition as the ITF has named the desert city as the new venue for the matches, to be held from March 3 to 7.

The ITF named the new venue after moving out the matches from then Chinese city of Dongguan due to Coronoavirus threat. The Asia/Oceania Group I matches were originally scheduled to be played from February 4-8.

"The event will be held in the week following the ATP Dubai tournament at the same venue, and will see six nations China P.R., Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Korea Rep. and Uzbekistan - compete for a place in the Fed Cup Play-offs in April," an ITF release said.

The six teams will vie for two spots in Fed Cup Play-offs.

"Being in Dubai makes no difference. But the dates give enough time to Sania for her recovery. Doubles is an important point. Ankita is playing well. The other team members will also get some tournament to play under their belt," India's Fed Cup captain Vishal Uppal told news agency.

Sania's participation was under doubt due to a calf injury she aggravated during the Australian Open, where she pulled out of the mixed doubles before retiring mid-way into her women's doubles opening round match.

"I think we have a good chance but we will have to be at our best and fight hard for every point, every game, every set, every match," Uppal added.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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