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Indian para-cyclists win one silver, two bronze at Asian Championships

Media Release
February 10, 2018

Naypyidaw (Myanmar), Feb 10: The India team underlined their supremacy in the Asian Para-Cycling Championships by posting three podium finishes, here at the Wunna Theikdi Sport Stadium here in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on Friday.

Last year silver medalist and Bangalore resident Divij Shah,led India’s charge in the para-cycling category winning yet another silver medal, while BSF soldier and resident of Punjab, Harinder Singh bagged the bronze. Harinder had won a bronze medal in last year’s edition as well.

New entrant Madhu Bagri, meanwhile won the bronze in the hand-cycling, a category where India made a maiden participation and Bagri become the first Para Cyclist to win an international  medal in Hand Cycling. She is a former national wheelchair nationa tennis champion and shifted her focus recently to para-cycling after coach Aditya Mehta encouraged her to switch sports and try hand in hand cycling in mid 2017.

“It is a matter of immense pride for me and the whole contingent to have once again made the country proud at the continental championship. The rich haul of medal here in Myanmar not only shows our zeal to become a power-house in the field of para-cycling but allows us to show our mettle to the world,” Divij Shah, who had started off as an armature cyclists to beat the Bangalore traffic said after the podium ceremony.

Aditya Mehta and the AMF Foundation has been the tirelessly working with these athletes and was delighted at their feat and felt that it will only make the athletes more focused and drive them to achieve greater heights.

“I would like to congratulate all the winners. Their achievement once again proves that India is fast becoming a force to reckon  in para-cycling. We believe that we are poised for much better things in the future,” Aditya Mehta said from Myanmar.

Aditya has been the guiding light for these athletes as  Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF) had been working to train and support Para Sports in India with able support under the aegis of Cycling Federation of India (CFI) as they have been working to promote Para Cycling here in India.

About Aditya Mehta Foundation -

“Our vision is to make India a superpower in the world of Para Sports.”

Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF) is a non-profit organisation which aids people with disabilities to pursue sports while providing self-sustenance. The Foundation was started in October 2013, and has grown by leaps and bounds in a short span. Based out of Hyderabad, the foundation’s area of operations spans every corner of the nation. AMP represents a cause that is unique in the country, and a large minority of people has much to benefit from the work that it does.

The foundation raises funds through their signature Fund Raising event, the Infinity Ride, scout out talent among the disabled population of India. They also provide counseling for such individuals and help them get better at their sport/ find a sport that is suitable for them along with provide the necessary equipment, training, funding for these athletes to help them grow in their sport and compete to win at the International level.

Along with civilian talent available, a major portion of the foundation efforts are directed at finding and nurturing talent available in the nations Central Armed Police Forces (BSF, CRPF and ITBP), where there are quite a few permanent injuries which arise while a soldier is on duty at India’s International borders and naxal prone areas. The Foundation currently is working on Mission 100, an initiative  to produce 100 Para Athletes before the 2020 Olympics.

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News Network
March 19,2020

Geneva, Mar 19: Regional Olympic officials are rallying around the IOC and have backed its stance on opening the Tokyo Games as scheduled, as direct criticism from gold medalist athletes built amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Leaders of continental Olympic groups praised the IOC after a conference call Wednesday to update them on coronavirus issues four months before the opening ceremony in Tokyo on July 24.

"We are living through an unpredictable crisis and as such, it is important that we have one policy, expressed by the IOC, and we follow that policy in unison," the Italy-based European Olympic Committees said.

However, when the International Olympic Committee published an interview with its president, Thomas Bach, after a separate call with athlete representatives, it prompted a four-time Olympic champion to urge postponing the games.

Bach acknowledged that many athletes were concerned about qualifying events being canceled, but noted that there were still four months to go until the games are set to be opened.

"We will keep acting in a responsible way in the interests of the athletes," Bach said.

British rowing great Matthew Pinsent wrote on Twitter that the comments from Bach, his former IOC colleague, were "tone deaf."

"The instinct to keep safe (not to mention obey govt instructions to lock down) is not compatible with athlete training, travel and focus that a looming Olympics demands of athletes, spectators organisers," Pinsent wrote.

Responding to the criticism from Hayley Wickenheiser, a four-time Olympic hockey gold medalist, the IOC said it was "counting on the responsibility and solidarity of the athletes."

Members reinforce faith in IOC

The IOC repeated its steadfast stance after a conference call with sports governing bodies, many of which have not completed qualification events for Tokyo.

"There is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage; and any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive," the IOC said.

That message was repeated after Wednesday's conference call by IOC executive board member Robin Mitchell, the interim leader of the group of national Olympic bodies known as ANOC.

"We share the view that we must be realistic, but not panic," Mitchell said in a statement released by the IOC on behalf of the Oceania Olympic group.

Offering unanimous support for the IOC's efforts to resolve qualification issues, the 41-nation Pan-American group noted challenges facing potential Olympians.

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll said his organized recognized there was a global health crisis, but equally was assured by the IOC that the games would go ahead.

"We recognize people are suffering -- people are sick, people are losing jobs, businesses are struggling amid enormous community uncertainty. Things are changing everyday and we all must adapt," Carroll said.

"We owe it to our Australian athletes to do everything we can to ensure they will participate with the best opportunity in those Games."

Australia's team delegation leader said the focus now was "moving to the planning of our pre-Games preparation to ensure we get our athletes to the Games healthy, prepared and virus free."

"Clearly that is a major challenge for all National Olympic Committees," he said.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.

Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.

It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition. 

BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.

Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.

On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.

"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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