Messi, the superstar illuminating a small Russian town

Agencies
June 15, 2018

Bronnitsy, Jun 15: Lionel Messi's arrival in Bronnitsy, a quiet town with 20,000 residents some 50km southeast of Moscow, has brought an unprecedented level of attention to a place most renowned for its Archangel Michael cathedral.

But as the euphoric shouts echoing around a temporary stand suggests, its selection as Argentina's team base camp has transformed it into one of the epicentres of the World Cup.

Flags bearing Messi's face hang over barriers, while a giant mural of the Barcelona star towers above the people of Bronnitsy as they come to terms with the intense spotlight now fixated on their hometown.

Never has it been subjected to such scrutiny, and perhaps never again will this town founded in the middle of the 15th century attract such global recognition.

Around 400 fans flocked to Argentina's base camp on Monday for the team's first open training session, each and every one desperate to steal a glimpse of Messi in the flesh.

None of them were yelling "Aguero", "Mascherano" or "Higuain". They were all waiting for Messi to emerge from a building by the training ground and began to eagerly chant his name.

"Messi! Messi!" they screamed, trying to draw the attention of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. He duly obliged, staying behind to sign autographs and posing for photos at the end of the hour-long session, during which his every touch was warmly applauded.

The bleachers were full to overflowing and trembled with emotion. But supporters there weren't the only ones who didn't want to miss out, Argentina's ambassador to Russia, Ernesto Lagorio, was also in attendance.

"It was great, it went very well, it's been a nice afternoon," he told AFP.

Others like physical education teacher Lucas Ledezma, who waited for the team's bus to arrive last Saturday, repeated that same sentiment.

"We dream that we can do it, I think it's a World Cup the national team deserves, that Messi deserves and that all us Argentines deserve," said the 30-year-old Ledezma, who left the Argentine city of Cordoba in on January 5 and cycled 14,000km to follow the Albiceleste.

'Painting a legend'

If anything is on a par with Messi these days it could be the enormous mural of him that stares out at passers-by on one of the streets adjacent to Bronnitsy's main road.

"When I was painting Messi, I was painting a legend of my time. Messi is one of the best players (in the world)," said 29-year-old street artist Sergey Erofeev, who was commissioned to redesign the wall after winning a competition.

Erofeev, still with paint splattered on his trousers and in broken Spanish that he only recently learned, confessed he has a dream of his own.

"I want Messi to come and see my work," he said.

Close to Argentina's training base is a house that has been converted into a makeshift sports bar serving "Mate Listo", a version of the caffeine-packed drink popular in South America.

It's impossible to walk through Bronnitsy without hearing Messi's name, mostly in conversations between locals, and his image is everywhere you turn.

Only his presence, and the stringent security surrounding him, have managed to alter an otherwise peaceful day in a town that has openly welcomed the striker despite struggling to get close to him.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan deeply regrets his "silly mistake" of not reporting a corrupt approach by an Indian bookie to the ICC, leading to his one year suspension from the game.

Shakib was banned for two years, one year of it suspended, for failing to report corrupt approaches during an IPL edition by an alleged Indian bookie named Deepak Aggarwal.

"I took the approaches too casually When I met the anti-corruption guy and told them and they knew everything. Gave them all the evidence and they knew everything that happened," Shakib told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"To be honest, that's the only reason I was banned for a year, otherwise I'd have been banned for five or 10 years," he added on the ICC's investigation.

The 33-year-old, who was in brilliant form before the ban, amassing 606 runs in the 2019 World Cup in the UK, said he regrets how he went about the situation.

"But I think that was a silly mistake I made. Because with my experience and the amount of international matches I've played and the amount of ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct classes I took, I shouldn't have made that decision, to be honest."

Lesson learnt, Shakib's advice to all young criceters is to never take any such message lightly.

"I regret that. No one should take such messages or calls (from bookies) lightly or leave it away. We must inform the ICC ACSU guy to be on the safe side and that's the lesson I learnt, and I think I learnt a big lesson," he added.

The all-rounder, whose ban ends on October 29, said he became a bit arrogant and never felt he was doing anything wrong by not reporting the bookie's approach immediately.

"Because you do most things right in your life, you tend to get arrogant with some decisions. You may not realise but you're doing wrong by the books. It never came to my mind that I am doing something wrong

"It was just a feeling of 'okay, what's going to happen, leave it' and I continued with my life. But that's the mistake I made. And that happens," Shakib said.

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News Network
July 9,2020

Tokorozawa, Jul 9: Olympic boxing hopeful Arisa Tsubata is used to taking blows in the ring but it is during her work as a nurse that she faces her toughest opponent: coronavirus.

The 27-year-old juggles a brutal training regime in boxing gloves with long, irregular hours in surgical gloves at a hospital near Tokyo.

Tsubata mainly treats cancer patients but she said the virus was a constant threat, with medical experts warning at the peak of the pandemic that Japan's health system was close to collapse.

"We always face the risk of infection at medical facilities," she said.

"My colleagues and I have all worked under the stress of possibly getting infected."

Like most elite athletes, the virus played havoc with Tsubata's training schedules, meaning she welcomed the postponement of this year's Tokyo Olympics until 2021.

"It was a plus for me, giving me more time for training, although I wasn't sure if I should be so happy because the reason for the postponement was the spread of the infectious disease," she said.

Tsubata took up boxing only two years ago as a way to lose weight but quickly rose through the ranks.

"In a few years after becoming a nurse, I gained more than 10 kilos (22 pounds)," she laughed.

"I planned to go to Hawaii with my friends one summer, and I thought I wouldn't have much fun in a body like that. That is how I started boxing."

She quickly discovered a knack for the ring, winning the Japan national championship and a place on the national team.

But juggling her medical and sporting career has not always been easy and the first time she fought a foreign boxer came only in January, at an intensive training camp in Kazakhstan.

"That made me realise how inexperienced I am in my short boxing career. I was scared," she admitted.

Japanese boxing authorities decided she was not experienced enough to send her to the final qualifying tournament in Paris, which would have shattered her Tokyo 2020 dreams -- if coronavirus had not given her an extra year.

Now she is determined to gain the experience needed to qualify for the rescheduled Games, which will open on July 23, 2021.

"I want to train much more and convince the federation that I could fight in the final qualifiers," she said.

Her coach Masataka Kuroki told AFP she is a subtle boxer and a quick learner, as he put her through her paces at a training session.

She now needs to add more defensive technique and better core strength to her fighting spirit and attacking flair, said Kuroki.

"Defence! She needs more technique for defence. She needs to have a more agile, stronger lower body to fend off punches from below," he said.

Her father Joji raised Arisa and her three siblings single-handedly after separating from his Tahitian wife and encouraged his daughter into nursing to learn life-long skills.

He never expected his daughter to be fighting for a place in the Olympics but proudly keeps all her clippings from media coverage.

"She tried not to see us family directly after the coronavirus broke out," the 58-year-old told AFP. "She was worried."

Tsubata now want to compete in the Games for all her colleagues who have supported her and the patients that have cheered her on in her Olympic ambitions.

"I want to be the sort of boxer who keeps coming back no matter how many punches I take," she said.

"I want to show the people who cheer for me that I can work hard and compete in the Olympics, because of them."

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Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

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