Asian Champions Trophy hockey | India beat Pak 3-1

Agencies
October 21, 2018

Muscat, Oct 21: India made a stupendous comeback after being a goal down as they beat Pakistan 3-1 in the 5th Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament to stretch their unbeaten streak against arch-rivals to 11 games.

Captain Manpreet Singh (24th), forward Mandeep Singh (31st) and Dilpreet Singh (42nd) scored for the winners with Indian captain's impressive performance earning him 'Man of the Match' award on Saturday night.

India dominated the proceeding despite Muhammad Irfan Jr's first-minute strike that had put Pakistan ahead.

Ranked fifth in the world, India went into the match with a 10-match unbeaten streak against Pakistan but it was the World No. 13 side, who started in good rhythm.

It was a quick start for the Pakistanis as they won a penalty corner in the first minute and managed to score through Irfan Jr, who was the quickest to react after Indian custodian PR Sreejesh had made a save off the PC execution.

The goal came as a setback for the Indian team but they did manage to regain control in the next few minutes, keeping possession and trying to make inroads in the Pakistani defence through darting runs down the flanks.

It was a tactic that worked as they earned a couple of penalty corners. But the Pakistani defence held on in the opening quarter to take their one-goal advantage into the two-minute break.

India tried to look for the equaliser in the second quarter but struggled inside the striking circle.

But it was a moment of magic from skipper Manpreet, which saw India finally get their equaliser as the midfielder showcased individual brilliance to score in the 24th minute.

Manpreet won possession just inside Pakistan's half, making a marauding run into the striking circle and weaving past three defenders in the process to finish the move all by himself as he stroked the ball into the far-post to revive India's spirits.

Both the teams had a couple of chances in the closing stages of the second period, but neither could manage to convert as the teams went into the half-time break level at 1-1.

In the third quarter, it was Mandeep Singh's turn to get his name on the score-sheet and give his team a 2-1 lead.

A turnover in the 31st minute saw Akashdeep Singh make a defence splitting run into the striking circle and pass the ball to fellow striker Mandeep, who had his back towards Pakistani goal but flicked the ball between his own legs as Pakistani Goalkeeper Imran Butt had no chance.

India had a good third quarter as they denied their arch-rivals in making many circle entries and then extended their lead to two-goals as Dilpreet Singh scored his fourth of the tournament to put India 3-1 ahead.

The crucial goal came in the 42nd minute as India attacked their opponents through a quick counter-attack which was led by Akashdeep, who raced past Pakistani midfielders and then found Lalit Upadhyay on the right flank.

Lalit then moved forward towards the baseline and struck a hard low shot towards goal, which was padded by Imran Butt into the path of Dilpreet Singh, who calmly slotted home.

The Indian team maintained their high-pressure play in the last quarter as they looked to win the ball back as soon as they lost possession and won the 50-50 battles to make sure that Pakistan could not have chances to make their way into the match.

Young Goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak, who replaced Sreejesh playing his 200th game, made a good interception in the last few minutes to help India maintain their strong hold on the match.

India had chances of their own as goal-scorers Mandeep Singh and Dilpreet Singh had opportunities to extend India’s lead even further, but neither could manage to score again.

India will play Japan on Sunday evening.

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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police will file 12 chargesheets against 536 Tablighi Jamaat members from three countries, officials said on Thursday.

Till now, the police has already filed chargesheets against 374 foreigners from 32 countries.

The officials said the charges against the Tablighi Jamaat members pertain to violation of visa rules, government guidelines regarding the Epidemic Disease Act and acting negligently in a way that was likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life.

The Tablighi Jamaat, a religious organisation in Nizamuddin in South Delhi, had allegedly organised a congregation in March in violation of mass gatherings.

The Tablighi Jamaat’s Nizamuddin Markaz (centre) had become a coroavirus hotspot in the national capital.

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News Network
March 4,2020

London, Mar 4: The UK government has reiterated its concern over the potential impact of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and said it is continuing to follow the events in India closely.

In response to an urgent question on “Recent Violence in India” tabled by Pakistani-origin Opposition Labour Party MP Khalid Mahmood in the House of Commons on Tuesday, UK’s Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Nigel Adams said the UK engages with India at all levels, including on human rights, and also referred to the country's "proud history" of inclusive government and religious tolerance.

"The UK government also have concerns about the potential impact of the legislation (CAA),” said Adams, the Minister for Asia who was standing in for UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is on a visit to Turkey.

"It is because of our close relationship with the government of India that we are able to discuss difficult issues with them and make clear our concerns where we have them, including on the rights of minorities. We will continue to follow events closely and to raise our concerns when we have with them,” said the minister.

While Mahmood, who had tabled the urgent question for an FCO statement, described the government response as “facile”, another Pakistani-origin MP Nusrat Ghani called on the government to relay the UK Parliament's concerns to the Indian authorities.

British Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said the violence had brought back “painful personal memories” from the 1984 Sikh riots while he was studying in India and fellow Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill also referenced 1984 in her intervention.

Other MPs sought to highlight the steps taken by the Indian authorities to restore “peace and tranquillity” in Delhi.

“He will be aware that it is not just Muslims who have been killed; Hindus have also been killed as part of the riots,” said Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman.

Scottish National Party (SNP) MP Alyn Smith sought the UK government’s intervention to share best practice around countering the online disinformation campaign being used in India to “inflame tensions”.

“We are in constant contact on these issues, and we know how important this is to Members of Parliament and their constituents, who may have family in the area,” said Adams, in his response.

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Agencies
March 10,2020

Mumbai, Mar 10: The addition of two new members, including the chairman, in the national selection committee, has not changed the panel's stance on M S Dhoni, who will "have to perform" in the upcoming IPL to be considered for T20 World Cup selection, a top BCCI official told PTI.

The Sunil Joshi-led selection panel met for the first time in Ahmedabad on Sunday to pick a rather "straightforward" squad for the three ODIs against South Africa beginning in Dharamsala on March 12.

Fit-again Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan made their way back into the side.

Joshi's predecessor MSK Prasad had made it clear that the team has moved on from Dhoni and he has to first play to be considered for selection.

Dhoni, who has not played since the World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand in July, will be making his highly-awaited comeback in the IPL beginning March 29.

"It was a pretty straightforward selection meeting and since Dhoni was obviously not in the reckoning this time (for South Africa series), there was no formal talk about his future," a BCCI source told PTI.

"He will be back in the reckoning only if he has a good IPL. And why only him, there are so many senior and young players who will play in the IPL. If they do well, they are ought to be considered too. So, you could see some surprise inclusions," he said.

The T20 World Cup will be played in Australia in October-November and the games India play after the IPL leading up to the mega event will also be a factor in the final squad selection.

"But the performance in the IPL could be the clincher," the source added.

Head coach Ravi Shastri too has hinted that Dhoni could be back after a good IPL but his future remains a subject of intense speculation as he has not played a game in more than seven months.

With his heir apparent Rishabh Pant not setting the world on fire and K L Rahul being groomed into a full-time wicketkeeper-batsman, Dhoni's comeback cannot be ruled out.

His countless fans will finally get to see him in action when he leads Chennai Super Kings against defending champions Mumbai Indians in the IPL opener at Wankhede Stadium on March 29.

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