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
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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Agencies
May 9,2020

Tokyo, May 9: As the world continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of Tokyo Game Show have cancelled 2020 showpiece event.

TGS 2020 was slated to be played from September 24 to September 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center. However, there now talks going on for holding an online event instead.

According to the Verge, this is the first time that TGS has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996.

TGS 2020 gained more attention because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

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News Network
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has proposed radical changes in the LBW laws, stating that a batsman should be given out leg before as long as the ball is hitting the stumps irrespective of the spot of its landing and impact.

Chappell also said captains should agree on one way of working up the ball which will encourage swing bowling, even as the ICC is considering the use of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of sweat and saliva in post-COVID-19 scenario.

"The new lbw law should simply say: 'Any delivery that strikes the pad without first hitting the bat and, in the umpire's opinion, would go on to hit the stumps is out regardless of whether or not a shot is attempted'," he wrote in a column for ESPNcricinfo.

"Forget where the ball pitches and whether it strikes the pad outside the line or not; if it's going to hit the stumps, it's out."

The 76-year-old said the change in lbw law would attract expected criticism from the batsmen but it would make the game more fair.

"There will be screams of horror - particularly from pampered batsmen - but there are numerous positives this change would bring to the game. Most important is fairness.

"If a bowler is prepared to attack the stumps regularly, the batsman should only be able to protect his wicket with the bat. The pads are there to save the batsman from injury not dismissal.

"It would also force batsmen to seek an attacking method to combat a wristspinner pitching in the rough outside the right-hander's leg stump," said Chappell.

He cited Sachin Tendulkar's example on how he negotiated Shane Warne's round the wicket tactic during the 1997-98 Test series in India.

"Contrast Sachin Tendulkar's aggressive and successful approach to Shane Warne coming round the wicket in Chennai in 1997-98 with a batsman who kicks away deliveries pitching in the rough and turning in toward the stumps. Which would you rather watch?

"The current law encourages "pad play" to balls pitching outside leg while this change would force them to use their bat. The change would reward bowlers who attack the stumps and decrease the need for negative wide deliveries to a packed off-side field," he said.

Chappell said his proposed change to the lbw law would also cut down "frivolous" DRS challenges.

"This change to the lbw law would also simplify umpiring and result in fewer frivolous DRS challenges. Consequently, it would speed up a game that has slowed drastically in recent times.

"It would also make four-day Tests an even more viable proposition as mind-numbing huge first-innings totals would be virtually non-existent."

On the substitute of shining the ball without sweat and saliva, Chappell said international captains should find out a way of working up the ball.

"With ball-tampering always a hot topic, in the past I've suggested that administrators ask international captains to construct a list (i.e. the use of natural substances) detailing the things bowlers feel will help them to swing the ball.

"From this list, the administrators should deem one method to be legal with all others being punishable as illegal," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

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