Suspend Kalmadi, Verma, Bhanot from IOA: IOC Ethics Commission

October 7, 2012
kalmadi
New Delhi, October 7: In a major blow to the aspirations of Suresh Kalmadi, V K Verma and Lalit Bhanot ahead of the elections, the Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee has recomended that the tainted trio be suspended from all their functions within the IOA with immediate effect.

The Commission also observed that in view of their tainted history, the trio's candidature for the upcoming elections of the Indian Olympic Association was "not possible".

The Ethics Commission's recommendation came after IOC president Jacues Rogge asked for its view following IOA vice-president Jagdish Tytler's query on the position of these three officials ahead of proposed IOA election on November 25 this year.

The IOC President had asked the Ethics Commission for its opinion in order to know whether it is possible, according to the Code of Ethics, for Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot to stand as candidates for positions on the IOA Board at the upcoming elections.

"Point B.5 of the IOC Code of Ethics, in the 'Integrity' chapter, states that 'The Olympic parties shall use due care and diligence in fulfilling their mission. They must not act in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement.

"Messrs Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot were all tried by a criminal court pursuant to the law on corruption linked to a sports event (2010 Commonwealth Games). The court even sentenced them to preventive detention for several months.

For his part, Mr Kalmadi was released, but banned from leaving the national territory unless agreed by the court," chairman of the IOC Ethics Commission, Youssoupha Ndiaye said in his reply.

"Although, owing to the application of the principle of presumption of innocence, the Ethics Commission cannot take any final decision on the situation of Messrs Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot, it must however recommend a provisional measure to protect the reputation of the Olympic Movement", the Ethics Commission said.

"In view of this analysis of the facts, the IOC Ethics Commission is of the opinion that it should recommend that Messrs Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot be suspended from all their functions within the IOA until the final decision by the competent court in India.," he said.

"That, in consequence, any candidature from these three men for any position within the IOA is not possible."

The Ethics Commission also came hard on the IOA for keeping the IOC in dark over the positions of Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot irrespective of repeated reminders.

"At no time, and in spite of numerous reminders and requests from the IOC, did the NOC (IOC) clearly make any statement regarding the situation of these three officials nor take any provisional measure concerning them," it said.

All the three officials were jailed and subsequently released on bail in connection with the Commonwealth Games corruption scandal.

Kalmadi was the chairman of the Organising Committee while Bhanot was the Secretary General. Verma was one of the Director Generals of the Organising Committee.



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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
July 21,2020

Jul 21: The tickets sold for the now-postponed ICC T20 World Cup will remain valid if Australia hosts the edition in 2021 instead of India.

In case the event is shifted to 2022, all ticket-holders will be entitled to a full refund, the ICC stated on its website on Monday night after postponing the mega-event this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tournament was to be held in October-November but will now be conducted later because of the pandemic.

The ICC has not yet announced which country will host which edition as there are operational issues that both the Indian and Australian cricket Boards need to sort out.

The world body had opened ticket booking through its ticketing partners and a significant number was already sold.

"Ticket holders are welcome to retain their tickets, noting, if Australia hosts in 2021, tickets will remain valid for fans who have already bought and will be automatically updated to reflect the new dates.

"If Australia hosts in 2022, for tickets already bought a full refund will be processed automatically," ICC stated in a series of FAQs.

Fans can retain their tickets until a date is confirmed for the event.

Refund requests can be made until December 15 and they will be processed within 30 days after an online submission.

The hospitality package will also remain valid for the 2021 fixtures.

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Agencies
June 4,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 4: Indian men's hockey team defender Harmanpreet Singh is delighted and honoured to be nominated for the Arjuna Award by Hockey India.

The Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal has been nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award while her compatriots Vandana Katariya, Monika and Harmanpreet Singh have been nominated for the Arjuna Award.

"I was extremely delighted to hear the news. It's an honour to be nominated for the Arjuna Award and I am sure the nomination will motivate me to perform even better in the upcoming years. All of us have received tremendous support from Hockey India over the years and I was extremely happy to know that Rani has been nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Vandana Katariya and Monika have been nominated for the Arjuna Award. They have put up some brilliant performances in the recent past and I would like to extend my congratulations to them," Harmanpreet said.

The 24-year-old dragflick sensation stepped up his role in the team and shouldered the responsibility of vice-captain with aplomb. As a defender-dragflicker, he was instrumental in the team's winning performance in the FIH Series Finals in Odisha. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Test Event, he captained the team to victory in the absence of Manpreet Singh who was rested for the tournament.

Harmanpreet was also part of the Indian team that won the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers against Russia last year. Harmanpreet said that he has been able to perform for the team only because of the support he has received from his teammates.

"I am very happy with the way I have been contributing to the team in the last couple of years. However, I have been able to come up with the goods only because of the way my teammates have supported me. Hockey is a team sport and all of us ensure that we are contributing to the team's cause in some way or the other. If we score a goal, then it's not only the goal scorer, who takes the credit, but the entire team is credited for a particular effort," said the defender.

Harmanpreet added that booking a place in the Tokyo Olympic Games was the biggest achievement for the team in 2019.

"It was simply amazing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in front of our home crowd last year. I will cherish the memory forever. The balance of our side was fantastic and everyone chipped in to make the tournament a memorable one. Now, we will give everything we can to come up with great results at the Olympics next year. It's our sole target at the moment and all of us are up for the challenge. Hopefully, we will become a much better side once we play our first match in Tokyo," he said.

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