India start Champions Trophy campaign with 3-1 win over England

December 1, 2012

india_hockey


Melbourne, December 1: India made a bright start to their campaign at the Champions Trophy hockey tournament with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over England in Pool A at the State Hockey Centre on Saturday.

The new-look Indian team clinched a morale-boosting win through goals from opportunistic field goals from Danish Mujtaba (22nd minute) and Yuvraj Walmiki (38th) before Gurwinder Singh Chandi scored in a set-piece penalty corner (66th minute).

Earlier, the India defence was breached by a drag flick from Richard Smith on England's maiden penalty corner in the 14th minute.

Playing the first major international event after their disastrous last-place finish in the London Olympics, India have come to the elite eight-nation Champions Trophy with a new look team after dropping several ageing stars.

England have brought a young, experimental team here after several regular players took a break following the Olympics, where Great Britain finished fourth.

Many seasoned players in the England line-up went back to their full-time jobs or universities and left the places open for young players to be inducted for this tournament.

India will take on New Zealand on Sunday in their second outing in Pool A, which also features Olympic gold medallists Germany. Germany edged past New Zealand 3-2 in the other Pool A match.

Giving a good display of competitive hockey, the young Indian outfit had to fight back after conceding the early lead when Smith's rising drag-flick went high into the goal.

India forced their first penalty corner four minutes later, but V R Raghunath's low drag flick was blocked on the goal-line by a defender.

England could have gone two up in the 21st minute when an opportunistic deflection by David Condon on a long through ball went across the goalmouth.

Mujtaba put India back on par by deflecting a long diagonal ball into the goal after lunging forward to beat his marker and also managed to put the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper.

India conceded a soft penalty corner in the 26th minute when an unmarked Raghunath carried the ball in trying to stop a long-range shot.

Walmiki made the most of a diagonal ball from Sunil as he managed to get an opportunistic touch past goalkeeper George Pinner three minutes into the second session.

India came close to scoring another field goal in the 44th minute when three strikers moved into the circle, where goalkeeper George Pinner did not have any company, but he came out to narrow the angle and Chandi's flick was too feeble to cause any trouble.

India's second penalty corner also failed to make an impression on the rival defence and the English strikers had a period of domination midway in the successive minutes.

Goalkeeper T.R. Potunuri, who got to play in the absence of first-choice custodian P.R. Sreejesh, managed to block the feeble pushes into his pads.

Sreejesh got injured during the nine-a-side International Super Series in Perth last week and has been replaced in the squad by another goalkeeper, Sushant Tirkey who has been flown in as a replacement.

Midway through the second half, Sunil was carried off on the stretcher due to cramps, but India continued to press the English defence were rewarded with their third and final penalty corner which produced Chandi's goal.

Chandi dived forward to deflect Raghunath's low drag-flick into the English goal to round off the scoring four minutes from the hooter.

India had another opportunity to increase the margin in the penultimate minute when captain Sardar Singh gave unmarked Walmiki a fine pass, but Walmiki's slow speed allowed the defenders to catch up.


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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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News Network
February 16,2020

Feb 16: Mayank Agarwal finally found some form going his way and Rishabh Pant mixed caution with his customary aggression as India's warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI ended in a draw in Hamilton on Sunday. The match was called off an hour after lunch with India reaching 252 for four just 48 overs into their second innings. Agarwal, who had gone through a wretched period since the second Test against Bangladesh, retired on 81 off 99 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to his name. To the relief of the Indian team management, Pant played in his customary manner to reach 70 off 65 balls, but also showed discretion when the opposition bowlers were in the midst of a good spell.

There were four sixes -- two each off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Henry Cooper. While Sodhi was hit down the ground, Cooper was dispatched over extra cover on a couple of occasions.

He didn't curb his aggression though; there were times when he was ready defend against the spinners and also leave some of the deliveries that the Kiwi pacers bowled.

Even though Pant is easily the better batsman compared to his senior Wriddhiman Saha, the innings might have come too late in the day considering that the latter is a better keeper and possibly a more responsible batsman in pressure situations.

The biggest positive to have emerged from the second innings is Agarwal's poor run coming to an end.

The Seddon Park track easing out was definitely a factor but Agarwal's footwork was more assured as he played some glorious on-drives and pull-shots off fast bowlers.

Before this game, Agarwal had played 10 competitive games including first-class, ODIs and List A matches and couldn't cross the 40-run mark in 11 completed innings.

He even bagged a pair against New Zealand A in an unofficial Test match. Once he had got his form back, he didn't come out to bat after lunch giving Saha an opportunity to score an unbeaten 30, his runs coming mostly against non-regular bowlers.

The Agarwal-Pant pair added 100 runs in 14.3 overs and it also helped that part-timers like Cooper was introduced into the action. In the morning, Prithvi Shaw (39 off 31 balls) was bowled through the gate by Daryl Mitchell as the batsman left a gaping hole between his bat and pad.

Shaw, though, seemed to have done enough during his brisk 72-run stand with Agarwal, which could put an end to the debate around the opening slot even though the tracks in Wellington and Christchurch could be a test of technique for the flamboyant Mumbaikar.

It was a match that Shubman Gill would perhaps like to forget in a hurry as he was dismissed cheaply for the second time in a row. He scored 8 before Daryl Mitchell trapped him leg before.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Mumbai, Jun 7: The Mumbai airport became home for a 23-year-old Ghanaian footballer for 74 days after he got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that led to cancellation of flights.

The ordeal of Randy Juan Muller reminded people of Tom Hank's character in the Hollywood film "The Terminal", and it ended after Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, reached out to help him.

Muller has now shifted to a local hotel and is waiting for airlines to resume operations so that he can fly home.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) also provided him all help, including food, and allowed him to use the airport WiFi network to make calls, an official said.

Muller, a Ghana national who used to play for a club in Kerala, was scheduled to fly home by Kenya Airways flight when the lockdown was announced and he found himself stranded at the Mumbai airport.

"He would spend his time at the airport's fancy artificial gardens and somehow buy food from stalls and pass his time with the airport staff. Muller told me the airport staff was very helpful," Yuva Sena office-bearer Rahul Kanal said.

A security officer at the airport gave him mobile phone to call his family back home.

A Twitter user brought Muller's plight to the notice of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray following which Kanal reached out to the footballer and helped him move into a hotel.

On Saturday, Muller thanked Thackeray and Kanal for their help.

"Thank you Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul Kanal. Thank you very very so much. I appreciate what you have done. Salute," he said.

Kanal in a tweet said when he met Muller at the airport, the latter cried with happiness.

"Have no words to salute his willpower and fight for survival in such circumstances at this age," Kanal said.

An official at the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said the footballer was provided all help.

"All personnel at the airport, including from MIAL and CISF, gave him every possible help during his stay at the airport. Besides food, he was also allowed to use the airport WiFi network to make calls. Airport staff would recharge his phone at their own expense," the official said.

The 2004 film "Terminal" of Steven Spielberg was about a man stranded at a US airport after being denied entry into the country and a military coup back home.

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