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Virat Kohli's support for MS Dhoni is remarkable, says Sourav Ganguly

Agencies
November 17, 2017

Kolkata, Nov 17: Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly hailed the way current captain Virat Kohli has come out in support of an under-fire MS Dhoni in the twilight of his career.

"He (Kohli) is a fantastic captain. I don't know what he does inside dressing room or what he does tactically, as I'm too far away (from the team). I don't know what he speaks in team meetings but the way he looks after his players is remarkable," Ganguly said during a book launch here.

"I keep saying about MS Dhoni and what I see of Virat on MS is fantastic. A champion player (Dhoni) who's probably on his last leg of his career and Virat coming and saying that he's my man and I want him to play is fantastic," he added.

A few former India cricketers, including VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar, recently raised questions about Dhoni's T20I future, creating quite a storm in the country's cricketing circles.

Kohli, however, has said his friendship with Dhoni has grown immensely over the years and it's a blessing to have him in the side.

Ganguly said: "He's top class cricketer, one of the best India have produced for a long long time. He reaches out, he handles it well.

"I like Virat Kohli and when I see him on the field, I sit on my sofa and watch. I've said it many times he's a champion player. When I see him captaining India, he wants to win in all conditions. He's very passionate," Ganguly lavished praise on the current Indian skipper.

 Asked about his style of captaincy, Ganguly said: "Everyone has their own style. You have to allow an individual to blossom, allow to deliver."

Ganguly said his best legacy was to create the self belief of winning away matches.

"It's difficult to identify one series. We were 0-1 down and won 2-1 against Australia was remarkable in 2001," said the 45-year-old former skipper.

"But I keep saying you always be judged how you do outside India. Of all our wins, Pakistan was good as well. It's the belief we had of winning way that's the legacy. After Dravid took over captaincy, we went to England and won there in 2007, so it's the belief we can win away," he added.

One of the most memorable wins for India under Ganguly was the 2002 NatWest final at the Lord's where the former skipper and Virender Sehwag had a 106-run stand while India were chasing 326.

Recollecting the famous NatWest final win, Ganguly said captaincy was about holding back your emotions.

"We had a terrific start and then Ronnie Irani came to bowl his slow medium bowlers. I told Sehwag 'dont leave at this stage'," he said.

"Ronnie pitched it up and Sehwag scored a boundary. I told him to rotate a strike, he scored two more and also swept another. I finally stopped going at him, he understood that I was not happy.

"Later he told me 'don't get angry all those balls were 'hittable'. Captaincy is not about being boss, also about holding back your tempers."

One of the most memorable image from that final was Ganguly taking off his shirt and and twirling it wildly at the Lord's Balcony.

"Before that we had lost three finals. A lot of that expression after the game was a sigh of relief. I just got carried away," he said.

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News Network
June 5,2020

Jun 5: The Asian Football Confederation has awarded the hosting rights of the 2022 Women's Asian Cup to India for the first time since 1979.

The decision was taken at the AFC Women's Football Committee meeting. In February, the AFC Women's Football Committee had recommended India to be hosts.

In a letter to the All India Football Federation, Dato Windsor John, General Secretary, AFC wrote: "The Committee awarded the hosting rights of the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 Finals to the All India Football Federation."

The tournament will likely be held in the second half of the year. In the 1979 edition, India had finished as runners-up.

"I need to thank the Asian Football Confederation for finding us suitable to host the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2022," AIFF President, Praful Patel said.

"The tournament will galvanise the aspiring women players and bring in a holistic social revolution as far as women's football in the country is concerned," he added.

The tournament will feature 12 teams, expanded from the previous slot of eight teams.

India qualifies directly as hosts. The event will also serve as the final qualification tournament for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The tournament comes as the latest boost to AIFF as India is slated to host the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup next year.

India had also hosted the AFC U-16 Championships in 2016 and the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017.

"The tournament will play a huge role in further popularising women's football in India. The Women’s Asian Cup 2022 comes on the back of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2020, and will help us sustain, and build on the momentum gained," AIFF General Secretary, Kushal Das said.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Filipina weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz noticed live-streamed concerts were collecting money for coronavirus relief and was struck by inspiration: why not raise funds with an online workout?

Since then the Olympic silver-medallist -- and strong contender for her country's first Games gold -- has made enough money to buy food packs for hundreds of hard-hit families in the Philippines.

Diaz has done it all from Malaysia, where she was training to qualify for the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics when much of the world locked down against the virus in March.

"I thought (distribution) would be impossible because I'm not physically present," Diaz, 29, told news agency.

"It's a good thing that I have trusted friends and trusted family members who understand why we need to do a fundraising."

That circle of supporters has handed out the packages, which include vegetables, eggs and rice, to more than 400 families.

The food was bought with donations from about 50 people who joined sessions that lasted up to three hours, and gave them a rare chance to train with an elite athlete.

Diaz rose to fame in 2016 after snagging a surprise silver in the 53 kilogramme category in Rio, becoming the Philippines' first female Olympic medallist and ending the nation's 20-year medal drought at the Games.

Two years later, she won gold at the Asian Games in Indonesia.

However, her quest to qualify for Tokyo is on hold ahead of the Games' rescheduled opening in July 2021.

"I thought all the hard work would soon be over... then it was extended," she said. "But I'm still thankful I can still continue with (the training) I need to do."

Still, the lockdown broke her daily training regimen, keeping her away from weights for 14 days for the first time in her career.

"I felt like I was losing my mind already. I've been carrying the barbell for 18 years and all of a sudden it's gone. Those were the kinds of anxiety that I felt," she said.

But she got access to some equipment, and with her coach's urging, got back to work. She was relieved to find her strength was still there.

Instead of a Tokyo berth, the past months have been about a different kind of accomplishment for Diaz: helping her countrymen get through the coronavirus crisis.

Rosemelyn Francisco's family in Zamboanga City, Diaz's home town, is one of the first to get help from the athlete's initiative, and is deeply grateful.

Her family was not wealthy to begin with, and the pandemic has cost her husband his construction job.

"The food she donated has all everything we need, including eggs," said Francisco, 27.

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