Vijender to fight for WBO Asia title in India

February 18, 2016

New Delhi, Feb 18: Unstoppable so far, star Indian boxer Vijender Singh will now gun for his maiden title in the professional circuit when he fights for the WBO Asia belt come June in front of home fans in the national capital.

VijenderThe middleweight boxer, who earned worldwide fame by becoming India’s first Olympic and World Championships medallist at the amateur level, has exhibited rampaging form even in the pro arena.

Since his debut in the circuit last October, the 30-year-old from Haryana has won all his three pro contests via knockouts. His next bout is scheduled for March 12 in Liverpool, the opponent for which is yet to be named.

“I am already excited. My first title fight, that too in front of my own people, in my own country. It cannot get better than this. I have no idea who my opponent is going to be but I am sure I will carry on the way I have so far,” Vijender told PTI from Manchester where he is currently training for the March 12 showpiece.

The venue for the Asia title bout could be the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, which will be examined by WBO officials on February 22.

“It’s the next level for him. He will fight for the WBO Asia title in June and a team of WBO officials will recce for venues in Delhi. The first venue to be checked out will be the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium,” Vijender’s India promoters, IOS Boxing Promotions’ MD Neerav Tomar said.

The WBO delegation, which will touch down in India on Saturday, comprises the body’s first vice-President John Duggan, Chairman Officials Michael Pernick, and referee Mark Nelson.

They will be joined by Vijender’s UK promoters Queensberry Promotions’ chief Francis Warren . Also there would be Benjamin Murphy, the Broadcasting Head of Boxnation — the official broadcasters of Vijender’s bouts in the UK.

“For the time being, Vijender will continue to train and fight in the UK. After his March 12 bout, which will be of six rounds, Vijender will fight two more bouts in April and possibly beginning of May. These two bouts will be eight-round affairs,” Tomar said.

“This will be followed by the Asia title bout in June which will be either 10 or 12 rounds in all,” he explained.

As for Vijender’s opponent, Tomar said it could either be a Chinese or a Korean.

“There will be a series of meetings to decide on who would be his opponent. Most probably, it would either be a Chinese or a Korean,” he said.

During their time here, the WBO officials will also explore avenues for promoting professional boxing in India at the grass root level.

“The WBO officials will conduct a seminar for the Indian Boxing Council (IBC) on Sunday. There will be discussions on how to take pro boxing to the grassroot levels,” Tomar said.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan deeply regrets his "silly mistake" of not reporting a corrupt approach by an Indian bookie to the ICC, leading to his one year suspension from the game.

Shakib was banned for two years, one year of it suspended, for failing to report corrupt approaches during an IPL edition by an alleged Indian bookie named Deepak Aggarwal.

"I took the approaches too casually When I met the anti-corruption guy and told them and they knew everything. Gave them all the evidence and they knew everything that happened," Shakib told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"To be honest, that's the only reason I was banned for a year, otherwise I'd have been banned for five or 10 years," he added on the ICC's investigation.

The 33-year-old, who was in brilliant form before the ban, amassing 606 runs in the 2019 World Cup in the UK, said he regrets how he went about the situation.

"But I think that was a silly mistake I made. Because with my experience and the amount of international matches I've played and the amount of ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct classes I took, I shouldn't have made that decision, to be honest."

Lesson learnt, Shakib's advice to all young criceters is to never take any such message lightly.

"I regret that. No one should take such messages or calls (from bookies) lightly or leave it away. We must inform the ICC ACSU guy to be on the safe side and that's the lesson I learnt, and I think I learnt a big lesson," he added.

The all-rounder, whose ban ends on October 29, said he became a bit arrogant and never felt he was doing anything wrong by not reporting the bookie's approach immediately.

"Because you do most things right in your life, you tend to get arrogant with some decisions. You may not realise but you're doing wrong by the books. It never came to my mind that I am doing something wrong

"It was just a feeling of 'okay, what's going to happen, leave it' and I continued with my life. But that's the mistake I made. And that happens," Shakib said.

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News Network
February 14,2020

Hamilton, Feb 14: Batting first, India finished at 263 for nine on the opening day of the three-day warm-up game against New Zealand XI here on Friday.

Hanuma Vihari made 101 off 182 balls before retiring, while Cheteshwar Pujara scored 93.

Besides, Ajinkya Rahane (18) was the only other Indian batsmen to register double digit score.

The likes of Prithvi Shaw (0), Mayank Agarwal (1) and Shubman Gill (0) failed to cash in on the opportunity.

Scott Kuggeleijn (3/40) and Ish Sodhi (3/72) shared six wickets between them for New Zealand.

Brief Scores:

India: 263 for 9 in 78.5 overs (Hanuma Vihari 101, Cheteshwar Pujara 93; Scott Kuggeleijn 3/40, Ish Sodhi 3/72).

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News Network
July 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was earlier banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code, on Friday, said that people are bound to make mistakes and the important thing is that how well they make a comeback.

Shakib was banned from all forms of cricket on October 29 last year after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. He will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020.

"You have to be honest. You just can't lie to the people and pretend different things. Whatever happened has happened. People are bound to make mistakes. You are not 100%. The important thing is how well you can comeback from those mistakes. You can tell other people not to make those mistakes. Tell them the path so that they never take those paths," Shakib told Deep Dasgupta in a videocast hosted by ESPNcricinfo.

The 33-year-old all-rounder said he has seen many controversies ever since he was first made captain in 2009. He had trouble with the board chief, selectors and the media, mainly about selectorial decisions and not being made permanent captain between 2009 and 2010.
He believes those experiences have changed him as a person over time.

"I think [it's] combination of both [controversy following him, and vice versa]. I got the responsibility so early in my career, I was bound to make mistakes. I was captain when I was 21. I made a lot of mistakes, and there are so many things that people think about me. Now I realise that it was my fault in some areas, and in some I was misunderstood. But I get it completely. It is part and parcel in the subcontinent," Hasan said.

"Of course I will try to minimise [my mistakes] as much as I can, but by the time I got married, and now I have two kids, I understand the game and life better. It has made me a calmer person than I was in my twenties. I have changed quite a lot. People won't see me doing a lot of mistakes now. My two daughters changed my life completely," he added.

Shakib is likely return to international cricket during Bangladesh's proposed Test series against Sri Lanka in October. 

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