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Lahiri becomes 1st Indian to qualify for President's Cup team

September 8, 2015

New Delhi, Sep 8: Ace golfer Anirban Lahiri added another feather to his cap by becoming the first Indian to qualify for the prestigious President's Cup.

Lahiri

Lahiri, World No.40, came through as one of the automatic qualifications for the International Team, which will take on United States in the biennial Presidents Cup in Korea.

In the International Team standings, the deadline for which ended on Monday, Lahiri finished seventh to make the team.

Also becoming the first from his country to make the team was Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee, who was ninth.

Expressing his elation at the qualification, Lahiri, winner of Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open, said, "I can't describe the feeling because growing up, you look up to events like the Ryder Cup and feel terrible about it as you can’t be a part of something like that.

But thankfully, we have the Presidents Cup for us to aim for and it is an achievement to make the team.

At one stage, Lahiri had fell out of the Top-10, but his fifth place finish at the PGA Championships hauled him back into the zone.

"I know Jeev (Milkha Singh) was really close to getting in one year when he was in the world's top-50 and unfortunately, he couldn't due to injury.

It would have done a lot of good for golf, not just in India but also in the whole of Asia."

He added, "I'm looking forward to being a part of the International Team. It'll be a massive boost for golf in the region. You get so many eyeballs and everybody in America will be watching.

To be a part of something historic like that is extremely special. All I want to do is make sure that I get a point for the International Team."

Lahiri has a good record at Matchplay, having been part of the Asian Team in EurAsia Cup and he also performed well at the WGC-Matchplay.

Lahiri contributed two points out of three including a singles win over higher ranked Victor Dubuisson.

Thongchai, currently ranked 44th in the world, has come close to making the International Team previously and was delighted to add another career highlight to his glowing resume.

The Thai legend was the playing captain for Team Asia in the thrilling come-from-behind 10-10 draw with Team Europe in the inaugural EurAsia Cup in Malaysia last yea, where he defeated Graeme McDowell in the singles.

"It's a proud moment for me. It'll be the first time that a Thai player will play in the Presidents Cup. I think it can help the other young Asian players. When they see that I can get into the team, then they too will aim for it" said the 45-year-old, who holds 13 Asian Tour victories and has also triumphed twice on European soil.

Lahiri and Thongchai join Jason Day (Aus), Louis Oosthuizen (SAF), Adam Scott (Aus), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Branden Grace (SAF), Marc Leishman (Aus), Charl Schwartzel (SAF) and Danny Lee, the Korean-born Australian in the International Team with captain Nick Price naming two picks later on Tuesday.

As of now the International team has four Australia, three South Africans and one each from Japan, India and Thailand.

The U.S. team will consist of Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar and Chris Kirk, with two more picks to be included.

The Presidents Cup will be held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Songdo IBD, Incheon City, from October 6 to 11.

Asian Tour Chairman Kyi Hla Han hailed Lahiri and Thongchai for their achievements.

"The Asian Tour is delighted and proud to see our members Anirban Lahiri and Thongchai Jaidee earning automatic places in the International Team.

"It is another feather in the cap for them as Anirban will be the first Indian and Thongchai the first Thai to play in the Presidents Cup.

"It is a fitting reward for their magnificent performances on the Asian Tour and across the globe over the past two seasons," he said.

"We expect them to contribute immensely towards the International Team’s attempt to regain the Presidents Cup but ultimately, their presence will boost the development of the game across Asia.

Young golfers will now have another reason to aspire for the top and with Japan's Hideki Matsuyama also in the International Team, it proves that Asian golf has grown in stature and strength.

This is another fantastic testament towards the role played by the Asian Tour in developing professional golf in the region.

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News Network
June 18,2020

Jun 18: Sri Lanka "sold" the 2011 World Cup final to India, the country's former sports minister said on Thursday, reviving one of cricket's most explosive match-fixing controversies. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was sports minister at the time, is the second senior figure to allege the final was fixed, after 1996 World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga. "I tell you today that we sold the 2011 World Cup finals," Aluthgamage told Sirasa TV. "Even when I was sports minister I believed this."

Aluthgamage, sports minister from 2010 to 2015 and now state minister for renewable energy and power, said he "did not want to disclose" the plot at the time.

"In 2011, we were to win, but we sold the match. I feel I can talk about it now. I am not connecting players, but some sections were involved," he said.

Sri Lanka lost the match at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium by six wickets. Indian players have strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Ranatunga, who was at the stadium as a commentator, has previously called for an investigation into the defeat.

"When we lost, I was distressed and I had a doubt," he said in July 2017. "We must investigate what happened to Sri Lanka at the 2011 World Cup final."

"I cannot reveal everything now, but one day I will. There must be an inquiry," added Ranatunga, who said players could not hide the "dirt".

Sri Lanka batted first and scored 274-6 off 50 overs. They appeared in a commanding position when Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar was out for 18.

But India turned the game dramatically, thanks partly to poor fielding and bowling by Sri Lanka, who were led by Kumar Sangakkara.

Sri Lankan cricket has regularly been involved in corruption controversies, including claims of match-fixing ahead of a 2018 Test against England.

Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan cricket board said the International Cricket Council was investigating three unnamed former players over alleged corruption.

Sri Lanka introduced tough penalties for match-fixing and tightened sports betting restrictions in November in a bid to stamp out graft.

Another former sports minister, Harin Fernando, has said Sri Lankan cricket was riddled with graft "from top to bottom", and that the ICC considered Sri Lanka one of the world's most corrupt nations.

Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was suspended in 2018 for corruption relating to a limited-overs league.

He was the third Sri Lankan charged under the ICC anti-corruption code, following former captain and ex-chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya, and former paceman Nuwan Zoysa.

Jayasuriya was found guilty of failing to cooperate with a match-fixing probe and banned for two years. Zoysa was suspended for match-fixing.

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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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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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