Never expected to be the costliest player of HIL: Moritz Fuerste

September 20, 2015

New Delhi, Sep 20: Ace German striker Moritz Fuerste had never expected to become the costliest player of Hockey India League (HIL) and the star playmaker, who was sold for $105000, is more than excited to be a part of the Kalinga Lancers squad.

FuersteThe midfielder had a base price of $30,000 and at one point Delhi Waveriders and Uttar Pradesh Wizards were leading the race in securing the two-time Olympic champion during the auction held here earlier in the week. However, the Lancers entered the race much later, when the bid was in $90,000, to steal Fuerste for the highest price.

"I never expected anything like that. I am more than excited and I am very happy to play for Kalinga Lancers," Fuerste told PTI Bhasha in an email interview when asked about if he was expecting such a whopping amount.

"It seems that Kalinga Lancers are a very professional franchise. Dilip Tirkey (mentor) is a key figure and also Mark Hager is a great coach. And I already worked with team manager David John so it looks like a great set up," he said about his new team.

Two-time Olympian Fuerste is also excited about the new HIL rule of counting one field goal as two and believes that it will put more emphasis on strikers as well as defenders.

"Obviously that makes strikers even more important. On the other hand you can argue that it also is more important to defend your goal better than before. Anyway I like that idea. It should bring some spice into the game," he said.

He also feels that not only Indian players but foreign players are also benefitting from HIL.

"It is not just young Indian players who get chance to play with the best players in the world but it is also beneficial for overseas players. It is not only because of the money, but also skillwise as it has widened our personal horizon. And the hockey is also not that bad at all."

When asked about Indian team's chances in Rio Olympics he said that India will fight for last four. "I think India will fight for semi finals in Rio.

"India has got some fantastic players like Manpreet Singh , Birendra Lakra, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh to name a few. Manpreet is a great team player, which is something Indian players are not world famous for. Biru (Lakra) is a very talented player and so calm on the ball. Strikers like Akashdeep and Mandeep are also impressive, especially in the circle. And Rupinder Pal Singh is still one of the best defenders in the world. I enjoy watching those guys play," he added.

Apart from hockey, he loves coming to India for the food and enthusiasm of the people.

Currently busy in preparation for World Hockey league finals to be held in Raipur in December, Fuerste is hopeful of a good show by Germany.

"We had a bad day in the European final. But that won't bother us any further. We are back on track now and looking forward to the WL Final," added the striker.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

Silverstone, Aug 2: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on Sunday won his seventh British Grand Prix title after a dramatic last-lap at the Silverstone Circuit.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas were at the first and second spot respectively until tyre drama struck.

Second-placed man Bottas was the first to suffer as his tyre deflated on lap 50, resulting in 11th place finish. Hamilton also suffered a similar issue before the final few seconds of the race.

However, with Max Verstappen having opted to pit a few laps from the end to try and claim the fastest lap, Hamilton had enough time in hand to just cross the line first, five seconds ahead of Verstappen and the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

McLaren's Carlos Sainz had been set to finish fourth, but his own last lap tyre issue saw him eventually come home P13, allowing Renault's Daniel Ricciardo to claim fourth, following a late pass on the sister McLaren of Lando Norris.

Renault's Esteban Ocon finished sixth, having enjoyed a race-long battle with Lance Stroll's Racing Point, with Pierre Gasly having enjoyed a fine race to finish seventh for AlphaTauri.

Alex Albon finished eighth for Red Bull, having recovered from a lap 1 tussle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that saw him fall to last, while Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10, Vettel holding off a late charge form the recovering Mercedes of Bottas.

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News Network
March 12,2020

New Delhi, Mar 12: No foreign player will be available for this year's IPL till April 15 due to visa restrictions imposed by the government to contain the novel coronavirus threat, a top BCCI source told PTI on Thursday, casting fresh doubts on the fate of the event.

"The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government's directive, they can't come till April 15," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The government issued fresh advisory with a ban on all existing foreign visas, except a few categories like diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in the wake of new positive cases of novel coronavirus in the country.

India has reported 60 positive cases in the outbreak which has led to over 4,000 deaths globally.

The fate of the IPL itself will be decided on March 14 at the event's Governing Council meeting in Mumbai. "All decisions will be taken by the GC in Mumbai," the source said.

Having the IPL, starting March 29, played in empty stadiums is an option being explored.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Islamabad, Aug 7: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, known for his blistering deliveries on the cricket field, recently baffled many with a deadly off-field bouncer by claiming he is willing to eat grass if it enabled an increase in budget for his country's Army!

"If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army," said Akhtar in an interview with ARY News.

The 'Rawalpindi Express', considered the fastest bowler in history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.

"I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only," the once feared fast-bowler said.

Akthar had also claimed to ARY News interview that he was willing to take a bullet for his country and had turned down a county stint just because he wanted to fight the 1999 Kargil War.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been strained in the recent months over several issues, the latest being Pakistan's attempt to broach in the UNSC the issue of Kashmir on the first anniversary of the India's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and to split the erstwhile state into two union territories .

Pakistan also has not been in a good financial position and under prime minister Imran Khan, himself an all rounder cricketer, has added nearly USD 22 billion, that is 35 per cent to the nation's international debt pile in the last two years, according to an Asia Times report in July.

While Pakistan recently received USD 1.39 billion from the IMF to cushion the economic shocks caused due to COVID-19 outbreak, Akthar had a few months ago proposed that a joint cricket match be played between India and Pakistan to raise funds to fight the coronavirus. The suggestion that was put down by cricketers in India.

Meanwhile the 'Pindi boy' whose deadly pace and bounce was once dreaded by batsmen had recently taken to Twitter to deny former India cricketer Virender Sehwag's claim of sledging him.

Sehwag along with other Indian crickerters such as Harbhajan Singh and even Rahul Dravid had been at the receiving end of Akthar's sledging and antics during their playing days.

"Yes, totally self made story by him. Mujhe yeh bol k bach k jana kidhar tha us nay," Akthar tweeted to a report in which Sehwag claimed that he had sledged the 'Rawalpindi Express' by telling him that Sachin Tendulkar was his father.

During an awards ceremony Sehwag had recounted that fed up with Akthar's sledging and retaliated by telling him to say the same things to Tendulkar, who smashed the 'Pindi boy' for a six. Sehwag quipped that he told Akthar then that "Baap baap hota hai".

In the recent ARY interview, asked about the allegation made against him by former India cricketer Virendra Sehwag that he makes pro-India comments for greater following on social media channels, Akhtar said, "I cannot talk on the basis of hate." 

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