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Sushil Kumar named flag-bearer

July 16, 2012

sushilNew Delhi, July 16: Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Sushil Kumar will be India's flag-bearer during the opening ceremony of the London Games, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced on Sunday.

Sushil, one of the stars of India's history-making Olympics four years ago, will lead the strong Indian contingent that will hope to better the three-medal haul of Beijing.


The 66-kg wrestler, who would be competing in his third Games, was among the four Olympic medal winning sportspersons chosen for the role. Others were Beijing Olympics medal winners-- gold-medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and bronze-medallist boxer Vijender Singh and tennis's doubles exponent Leander Paes, a bronze medallist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

“It's a proud moment for me that such an honour has been bestowed upon me. I know there were other names considered as well. I feel privileged to have been chosen to lead the Indian contingent,” said a delighted Sushil.

The IOA was keen on having Bindra doing the honours but the shooter had reportedly conveyed his reluctance with his 10m air-rifle event scheduled two days after the opening ceremony on July 30. Likewise, Vijender's competition begins the very next day, scheduled for July 28.

With Paes having done the honours at the Sydney Games in 2000, Sushil was chosen for the role.

"With Abhinav Bindra and Vijender Singh having their events soon after the opening ceremony and Leander Paes already donning the role in Sydney Olympics, we have chosen Sushil Kumar to be the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the London Games," IOA acting president VK Malhotra told reporters on the sidelines of a send-off function by the ONGC.

However, it will not be easy for Sushil either as the wrestlers will be training in Belarus from July 20th to August 5. Indian wrestlers' competition will begin only on August 10 and the team will only reach a few days before their event. Sushil, whose event is slated on August 12, will have to come specially to London for the opening ceremony.

“He will come for a day to London and will then return to his training at Belarus. The wrestler will be coming to London on August 6th. The IOA discussed the matter with us and we agreed. It is a good news for wrestling that Sushil is becoming the flag-bearer. It will encourage more youngsters to take up the sport,” Wrestling Federation of Indai (WFI) general-secretary Raj Singh told Deccan Herald.

Sushil too wasn’t worried about the cramped schedule. "I will be in Belarus with the wrestling team but will fly down to London for the opening ceremony,” he pointed out. “It’s just a 2-2.5 hours away by flight. It is because of the love and respect of the people that I have got this opportunity. It will only motivate me to do well. It is a big thing for us wrestlers and it will encourage a lot of youngsters.”

Sushil was also the World Champion in 2010, and a gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.



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Agencies
August 7,2020

Islamabad, Aug 7: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, known for his blistering deliveries on the cricket field, recently baffled many with a deadly off-field bouncer by claiming he is willing to eat grass if it enabled an increase in budget for his country's Army!

"If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army," said Akhtar in an interview with ARY News.

The 'Rawalpindi Express', considered the fastest bowler in history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.

"I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only," the once feared fast-bowler said.

Akthar had also claimed to ARY News interview that he was willing to take a bullet for his country and had turned down a county stint just because he wanted to fight the 1999 Kargil War.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been strained in the recent months over several issues, the latest being Pakistan's attempt to broach in the UNSC the issue of Kashmir on the first anniversary of the India's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and to split the erstwhile state into two union territories .

Pakistan also has not been in a good financial position and under prime minister Imran Khan, himself an all rounder cricketer, has added nearly USD 22 billion, that is 35 per cent to the nation's international debt pile in the last two years, according to an Asia Times report in July.

While Pakistan recently received USD 1.39 billion from the IMF to cushion the economic shocks caused due to COVID-19 outbreak, Akthar had a few months ago proposed that a joint cricket match be played between India and Pakistan to raise funds to fight the coronavirus. The suggestion that was put down by cricketers in India.

Meanwhile the 'Pindi boy' whose deadly pace and bounce was once dreaded by batsmen had recently taken to Twitter to deny former India cricketer Virender Sehwag's claim of sledging him.

Sehwag along with other Indian crickerters such as Harbhajan Singh and even Rahul Dravid had been at the receiving end of Akthar's sledging and antics during their playing days.

"Yes, totally self made story by him. Mujhe yeh bol k bach k jana kidhar tha us nay," Akthar tweeted to a report in which Sehwag claimed that he had sledged the 'Rawalpindi Express' by telling him that Sachin Tendulkar was his father.

During an awards ceremony Sehwag had recounted that fed up with Akthar's sledging and retaliated by telling him to say the same things to Tendulkar, who smashed the 'Pindi boy' for a six. Sehwag quipped that he told Akthar then that "Baap baap hota hai".

In the recent ARY interview, asked about the allegation made against him by former India cricketer Virendra Sehwag that he makes pro-India comments for greater following on social media channels, Akhtar said, "I cannot talk on the basis of hate." 

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News Network
January 30,2020

Hamilton, Jan 30: Caught unaware about the Super Over scenario, Rohit Sharma took five minutes to “find” his abdomen guard after the third T20 International against New Zealand had ended in a tie on Wednesday.

The India vice-captain said the team had almost given up with New Zealand going great guns at one point.

“Everything was packed. All my stuff was inside my bag. I had to get it out. It literally took me five minutes to find my abdomen guard because I didn’t know where it was,” Rohit said.

“I mean we never thought it would go to the Super Over, the way they were batting at one point. It looked like they could easily win the game,” he added.

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News Network
March 29,2020

Sydney, Mar 29: Steve Smith's two-year leadership ban ended quietly Sunday, leaving him eligible again to captain Australia at a time of uncertainty over when international cricket will resume.

Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned from leading Australia for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal in South Africa. His sentence ended Sunday and he can again captain Australia if called upon.

Australian players were due this week to conclude a series of matches in New Zealand and, for some, to join the Indian Premier League. But it wasn't clear Sunday if the IPL will take place this year and when international matches will resume. Australia's scheduled mid-year tours to England and Bangladesh are in doubt.

Smith told Channel Nine television's Sports Sunday he is doing his best to stay mentally and physically fit, training in his home gym, going on 10 kilometer (6 mile) runs and practising the guitar.

"It's obviously not looking likely (the IPL will go ahead) at the moment," Smith said. "I think there might be some meetings over the next few days to discuss what the go is with it all.

"I'm just trying to stay physically and mentally fit and fresh and, if it goes ahead at some point, then great. And if not, there's plenty going on in the world at the moment. So just play it day by day."

It seems unlikely Smith will return to the captaincy when cricket resumes. Tim Paine is firmly established as Australia's test captain and at 35 is not immediately considering retirement. Aaron Finch has captained Australia successfully in white ball cricket.

The conclusion of Smith's ban ends the period of upheaval in Australian cricket that followed the ball tampering incident in the second test at Cape Town in 2018 when Cameron Bancroft, with the knowledge of Smith and his vice-captain David Warner, used sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.

Smith and Warner received one-year bans from international and most domestic cricket and Bancroft was banned for nine months. The scandal also resulted in the resignation of coach Darren Lehmann and the departure of Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland.

Warner remains under a career-long leadership ban.

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