Jeddah, Jun 19: The Saudi Arabian Football Federation said everyone is safe after a minor technical fault with the plane carrying the team to Rostov, in Russia.
A video, which appeared on Social media, showed a fire on one of the aircraft’s engines.
In a Twitter post, the federation confirmed the team had landed safely in Rostov, where they will play Group A favorites Uruguay in the World Cup on Wednesday.
New Delhi, May 8: India skipper Virat Kohli believes cricket in empty stadiums is a real possibility in post COVID-19 world and though it is unlikely to have a bearing on the intensity of players, he feels the magic would certainly go missing.
Cricket Boards across the globe are exploring the option of resuming the sport in empty stadiums. There is speculation that fans could be kept away from stadiums in a bid to salvage the T20 World Cup in Australia, which is currently under threat due to the global health crisis.
"It's quite a possible situation, it might happen, I honestly don't know how everyone is going to take that because we all are used to playing in front of so many passionate fans," Kohli said in Star Sports' show 'Cricket Connected'.
"I know it will be played at a very good intensity but that feeling of the crowd connecting with the players and the tension of the game where everyone goes through it in the stadium, those emotions are very difficult to recreate," he added.
Kohli said the many moments which are created because of the passion brought in by fans, would be missing.
"Things will still go on, but I doubt that one will feel that magic happening inside because of the atmosphere that was created.
"We will play sports how it is supposed to be played, but those magical moments will be difficult to come by," he said.
Cricketers such as Ben Stokes, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Pat Cummins have backed the idea of playing behind closed doors.
However, legendary Australian Allan Border has said it would defy belief to host a World Cup without spectators.
Another Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and some other cricketers have also expressed similar sentiments.
Jan 6: Former India opener Kris Srikkanth on Sunday said he would prefer K L Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan in the T20 World Cup later this year.
Former India opener Kris Srikkanth on Sunday said he would prefer K L Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan in the T20 World Cup later this year.
Dhawan is returning to international cricket after a long gap. During the senior left-handed batsman's absence, Rahul has emerged as one of the top contenders for the opener's slot in limited-overs cricket.
"Runs against SL (Sri Lanka) don't count. If I was chairman of selectors, I won't pick Dhawan in the T20 WC squad. There is no competition between him and Rahul. Only one winner," Srikkanth said on Star Sports.
Before the series, the 34-year-old Dhawan said that he is looking forward to a "new start" in a new year and wants to win the World Cup for India.
New Delhi, Jun 22: Claiming to be saddled with faulty equipment from China, the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) on Monday called for a boycott of sports apparatus made in that country after the violent face-off in eastern Ladakh killed 20 Army personnel last week.
The IWLF ordered four weightlifting sets, comprising barbells and weight plates, from Chinese company 'ZKC' last year. The body said that the equipment turned out to be faulty and the weightlifters are no longer using them.
"We should boycott all Chinese equipment. The Indian Weightlifting Federation has taken the decision that it will not use any equipment made in China," IWLF secretary general Sahdev Yadav said.
The IWLF, in a letter, has informed the Sports Authority of India (SAI) about its decision to stop using any equipment made in China.
"In a letter to SAI we have written that IWLF won't be using the Chinese equipment," he said.
"In future also we will not use made in china sets. We will use sets made by Indian origin companies or any other company but not from China," Yadav added.
National coach Vijay Sharma revealed that the plates were found to be sub-standard when the lifters started training again earlier this month following the easing of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
"The sets were spoilt. We can't use them now," Sharma said.
"All the weightlifters in the camp are against China. They have stopped using Chinese apps like Tik Tok. Even while ordering things online, they check where the product has been manufactured," he added.
Asked why the sets were even ordered, Sharma said they had no option as the equipment from China is to be used in the Tokyo Olympics and lifters needed to be familiar with it.
"We had ordered four sets from China for Olympic training a year ago. Now, since we have resumed training post the lockdown we haven't used them. All the lifters are against the use of Chinese equipment," he said.
He said equipment was ordered from China for the first time.
"We don't order equipment from China as the quality is very bad. This was the first time we got it."
The weightlifters are currently training with equipment made in Sweden.
"Post the lockdown we started training on sets from Swedish company 'ELICKO'. SAI has issued 10 sets for us. The main training takes place with those. Maximum international competitions have sets from ELICKO," Sharma said.
Yadav also said that there are ready alternatives to Chinese equipment.
"We have a lot of alternatives. We already have good Indian sets and we also have equipment from Sweden. We will use that, why should we use Chinese?" Yadav said.
Calls to boycott China-made goods erupted across India after the Galwan valley clash last Monday. It was the most violent face-off between the troops from the two countries in more than four decades.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has said it is open to boycotting Chinese products in the wake of the incident.
The BCCI will also review IPL's sponsorship deals, including the title deal with Chinese mobile manufacturing company Vivo later this week.
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