USD 575-mn Qatar World Cup stadium opens to fanfare

Agencies
May 17, 2019

Al Wakrah, May 17: Qatar inaugurated its first purpose-built stadium for the 2022 World Cup, staging a prestigious domestic cup final in the $575 million, 40,000-capacity Al-Wakrah venue.

The ground, designed by late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid and located in a coastal town south of Doha, erupted into cheers as Emir Cup finalists Al-Sadd and Al-Duhail ran onto the pitch on Thursday.

There were some traffic jams and tight security checks as the ground, which was nearly full for the prestigious fixture, began to fill ahead of kick-off.

"I've travelled the world and I've been to stadiums in different cities including the UK," said Yousef al-Jaber, a 35-year-old oil company research director from Doha.

"Finally I was able to go to one in Qatar that is world-class," added the Chelsea fan who watched the game with his wife and two sons.

"It's a one of a kind, it's a futuristic design. Al-Wakrah is a coastal city and the architecture is inspired by that."

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani tweeted on his verified account ahead of kick-off that the ground's name would be changed to "Al Janoub stadium" meaning "stadium of the south".

The venue's distinctive retractable roof -- meant to resemble the sails of a traditional dhow fishing boat -- is made of 1,400 pieces and was shipped to Qatar from Italy.

It was plunged into darkness for the pre-match show and performers assembled around a giant illuminated inflatable pearl on the centre of the manicured pitch.

 'It is worth it'

A video describing the Gulf nation's history as a pearling station played on the ground's two big screens.

The pearl then slowly transformed into a representation of the Emir Cup trophy before a 150-strong marching band serenaded the stadium.

Former Dutch international Ruud Gullit, who attended the ground's maiden game, called it "a beautiful stadium".

"You go on the pitch and you want to play," said the former captain of the Netherlands side that won the European Championship in 1988.

"The design is fantastic, and of course there's the air conditioning." Asked about the stadium's USD 575 million price tag, spectator Sunil Moorkanat, 52, said, "it is worth it".

"It's the whole infrastructure you have to look at. The ambience is fantastic and all the amenities," added the engineer from India who has been living in Qatar for six years.

Officials had promised that the stadium would be "one of the loudest stadiums" in the world because of its design.

Groups of fans, many of whom wore pristine white Qatari thobes, drummed and sang as Al-Sadd held Al-Duhail to a tense 1-1 stalemate at half-time.

Of the eight stadiums Qatar is building or refurbishing for 2022, Khalifa International was already open and will host this year's World Athletics Championships.

Al-Wakrah, 15 kilometres south of the capital Doha, will be used in the World Cup for fixtures up to and including quarter-finals.

Its capacity will be reduced to 20,000 after the global soccer spectacle.

The stadium was one of Hadid's last major designs before her death in March 2016, aged 65.

"Hadid would have loved to be here but her spirit is," added Al-Jaber, the spectator.

The project has not been without controversy and Hadid took successful legal action after it was claimed she did not care about the rights of workers involved in its construction.

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News Network
June 13,2020

Mumbai, Jun 13: Vasant Raiji, who was India's oldest first-class cricketer at 100, died in Mumbai in the wee hours of Saturday.

Raiji was 100 years old and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

"He (Raiji) passed away at 2.20 am in his sleep at his residence in Walkeshwar in South Mumbai due to old-age," his son-in-law Sudarshan Nanavati told PTI.

Raiji, a right-handed batsman, played nine first-class matches in the 1940s, scoring 277 runs with 68 being his highest score.

He made his debut for a Cricket Club of India team that played Central Provinces and Berar in Nagpur in 1939.

His Mumbai debut happened in 1941 when the team played Western India under the leadership of Vijay Merchant.

Raiji, also a cricket historian and chartered accountant, was 13 when India played its first Test match at the Bombay Gymkhana in South Mumbai.

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and former Australian skipper Steve Waugh had paid a courtesy visit to Raiji at his residence in January when he had turned 100.

It has been learnt that the cremation will take place at the Chandanwadi crematorium in South Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.

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Agencies
February 5,2020

Hamilton, Feb 5: Ross Taylor and Tom Latham played knocks of 109 and 69, respectively, as New Zealand defeated India by four wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series here at the Seddon Park on Wednesday.

Chasing 348, New Zealand got off to a steady start as openers Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls put on 85 runs for the first wicket, however, India finally got the breakthrough in the 16th over as Shardul Thakur dismissed Guptill (32).

Tom Blundell and Nicholls then put on 24 runs for the second wicket, but their vigil came to an end in the 20th over as Kuldeep Yadav had Blundell (9) stumped at the hands of wicket-keeper KL Rahul, reducing Kiwis to 109/2.

Nicholls then retrieved the innings for the hosts as he found support in Ross Taylor. The duo mixed caution with aggression to stitch together a partnership of 62 runs. But with their back against the wall, skipper Kohli lifted the side up as he ran out Nicholls (78) in the 29th over, reducing New Zealand to 171/3.

Skipper Tom Latham, came out to bat next, and he increased the tempo of the Kiwi innings. He took a special liking to Kuldeep and kept on sweeping him to pick easy boundaries on the legside.

Taylor and Latham put on a stand of 138 runs to take Kiwis closer to victory. But with 39 runs away from the target, Kuldeep dismissed Latham (69) to revive India's hopes of making a comeback.

Mohammed Shami removed Jimmy Neesham (9) in the 46th over while Colin de Grandhomme (1) was sent packing via a run-out to send cat among the pigeons in the Kiwi camp. In the end, Mitchell Santner and Taylor took the hosts over the line by four wickets and with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul's knocks of 103 and 88, respectively, helped India post 347/4 in the allotted twenty overs.

After being put in to bat, India got off to a quickfire start as openers Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal put on 50 runs. Colin de Grandhomme finally provided the breakthrough to the Kiwis as he sent Shaw (20) back to the pavilion in the eighth over.

Agarwal (32) was also dismissed soon after by Tim Southee and the Men in Blue were reduced to 54/2 in the ninth over.

Skipper Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then retrieved the innings for the visitors as the duo put on 102 runs for the third wicket. Kohli brought up his 58th half-century in the 28th over.

Ish Sodhi got the crucial breakthrough of Kohli (51) in the 29th over as he clean bowled him to reduce India to 156/3. However, Iyer continued to march on and brought up his maiden ODI century in the 43rd over.

KL Rahul, who came in to bat at number five provided the much-needed impetus to the innings. He along with Iyer put on a stand of 136 runs for the fourth wicket.

Iyer (103) was finally sent back to the pavilion by Southee in the 46th over, reducing India to 292/4.

In the final overs, Rahul and Kedar Jadhav hammered the Kiwi players to take India's score past the 340-run mark. Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 348/6 (Ross Taylor 109*, Henry Nicholls 78, Kuldeep Yadav 2-84) defeat India 347/4 (Shreyas Iyer 103, KL Rahul 88*, Tim Southee 2-85) by four wickets.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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