Indian Olympians recall universal values on Olympic Day

Agencies
June 23, 2018

New Delhi, Jun 23: The Olympians Association of India (OAI) on Saturday recalled the power of sport in uniting peoples and cultures to mark the Olympic Day and vowed to work for the betterment of those who have brought laurels to the country so that they do not become "forgotten heroes".

Joining hands with their counterparts all over the world in celebrating the World Olympic Day, the Indian Olympians' umbrella body said it was facilitating various programmes to have the Olympians contribute their experiences and expertise to inspire all, including the next generation of budding champions.

"Recognising the power of sport and the Olympic movement, we look inwards at our 1985 Indian Olympians who have represented our country at Olympic Games since 1900," the OAI said in a press release.

"In the Olympic Charter, Olympism is expressed as a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles," it added.

OAI President Shiva Keshavan, who has represented the country in six Winter Olympics, said, "Every four years we got inspired by these special individuals who reached the pinnacle of the sporting world in pursuit of excellence. They proudly marched behind our Indian flag and were lauded, but later they were the forgotten heroes.”

"Going ahead, OAI would like to impact all the past and future Olympians. It’s going to be a challenging journey, but we have to be patient and put our heads down and work. With the support of our Olympians and Indian fraternity, we believe we are headed in the right direction," he added.

Formed in 2015 to serve the Indian Olympians and further the cause of Olympism, the OAI is affiliated to the World Olympians Association (WOA) -- an integrated part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

OAI General Secretary Malav Shroff said, "As a not-for-profit organisation, we sought to do something for the Olympians, by the Olympians. We envisage ourselves as an alumni association for the Indian Olympians looking to act as a support system for them while encouraging them to give back to the sport and society in general.

“Five Sports Education sessions have been conducted at academies across India... Olympians highlighted the finer points of sports excellence and provided real solutions to everyday issues and shared their journey as an Olympian to motivate the trainees, their parents and coaches.

"Also, Academic Education has been enabled at three academies for young promising sportspersons who do not have the means or access to proper education," said Shroff, who is also a board member of the WOA.

Olympian sprinter and OAI treasurer Adille Sumariwalla said: "Olympians deserve recognition, respect and dignity. They are role models and assets for our nation. In our country, sport is slowly gaining the importance it deserves. At OAI we believe we can further this cause by collaborating with the government, sports administration bodies and various stakeholders.

"We aim to act as the welfare wing for Indian sports and supplement the efforts of the more established sports administration bodies such as Sports Authority of India and Indian Olympic Association. We hope to pool all the resources available for the continued development and improvement of our country’s sport and ecosystem in general.”

To mark the 70th anniversary of World Olympic Day, the OAI is releasing a video titled 'Olympism - Around Us, About Us, Within Us.' The video will be available for worldwide viewing on www.IndianOlympians.in and its other social media handles.

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Agencies
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Indian pacer S Sreesanth has slammed England all-rounder Ben Stokes for questioning MS Dhoni's intent during a World Cup match, saying that the former captain will end Stokes' career.

Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' had questioned Dhoni's intent during India's 31-run defeat at the hands of England in the premier tournament last year.

"For Ben Stokes, I will only say that you should pray that Dhoni does not play against you in the future. Dhoni does not forget things easily," Sreesanth said during a Live session on Helo.

"I wish Stokes all the best for whenever he faces Dhoni again, be it IPL or an England vs India match. You must be earning in millions now, Dhoni Bhai will end your career. Dhoni will strike the ball everywhere and he (Stokes) can never dismiss Dhoni. Before he (Stokes) opens his mouth, he should make sure to wear a helmet," he added.

Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding had also come out in support of Dhoni and said that the wicket-keeper batsman wanted to win the match against England.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding had said on his official YouTube channel.

"...It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 percent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," he had added.

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News Network
July 1,2020

New Delhi, Jul 1: After being named as India's 'Most Valuable Player' in Test cricket in the 21st century, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Wednesday said that he will always aim to give his best for the country.

His remark came as Jadeja achieved an MVP rating of 97.3 and as a result, he was also rated as the second most valuable player Test player worldwide, only second to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

"Thank you Wisden India for naming me the 'Most Valuable Player'. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans, and well-wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind," Jadeja tweeted.

Based on CricViz's market-leading analytics, each player in world cricket was awarded an 'MVP rating' by Wisden using a statistical model to rank their 'match impact' compared to their peers.

Jadeja has played in 49 Tests from 2012, managing to score 1,869 runs and has also picked up 213 wickets.

"It might come as a surprise to see Ravindra Jadeja, India's spin-bowling all-rounder, feature as India's number one. After all, he's not even always an automatic pick in their Test team. However, when he does play he is picked as a frontline bowler and has batted as high as No.6 - contributing to a very high match involvement," the official website of Wisden quoted CricViz's Freddie Wilde as saying.

"But Jadeja's position is based on more than simply volume: it's what he does when he's involved that really counts. The 31-year-old's bowling average of 24.62 is better than Shane Warne's and his batting average of 35.26 is better than Shane Watson's. His batting and bowling average differential of 10.62 runs is the second-best of any player this century to have scored more than 1,000 runs and taken 150 wickets. He is an all-rounder of the very highest quality," he added.

With the bat in hand, Jadeja has managed to score one century and 14 fifties in the longest format of the game.

He was last seen in action during India's two-Test series against New Zealand earlier this year.

He would have been in action for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL had the tournament commenced from March 29.

However, the IPL has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand), Feb 11: KL Rahul struck a combative 112 but New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of India by winning the third ODI by five wickets, here on Tuesday.

Rahul helped India recover from a shaky start to post a challenging 296 for 7 but the Kiwis overhauled the target with 17 balls to spare.

This is the first whitewash that India has suffered in an ODI series in more than a decade.

Sent in to bat, India were down 62 for 3 in the 13th over after the dismissals of Mayank Agarwal (1), captain Virat Kohli (9) and Prithvi Shaw (40) but Rahul got a useful ally in in-form Shreyas Iyer (62) to take India to a competitive total.

Rahul, who hit nine fours and two sixes during his 113-ball innings, and Iyer stitched exactly 100 runs from 18.2 overs for the fourth wicket to revive the Indian innings.

After the end of the promising innings of Iyer, Rahul shared another 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Manish Pandey (42).

The Kiwis were off to a confident start in their chase with Martin Guptill (66) and Henry Nicholls (80) and putting on a 106-run stand. However, wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets to bring India back in the game.

Colin de Grandhomme (58) and Tom Latham (32), though, took their side past the finish line with an unbeaten 80-run partnership.

Brief Scores:

India: 296 for 7 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 112, Shreyas Iyer 62; Hamish Bennett 4/64).

New Zealand: 300 for 5 in 47.1 overs. (H Nicholls 80, M Guptill 66; Y Chahal 3/47).

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