Spotlight on Salman Khan at IOA’s Rio 2016 Olympics contingent send-off

July 19, 2016

New Delhi, Jul 19: The Indian Olympic contingent was given a warm send-off, but it was Bollywood actor and IOA’s Goodwill Ambassador Salman Khan who turned out to be the cynosure of all eyes, instead of the 20-odd Rio-bound athletes present on the occasion.

IOA

A record contingent of 121 athletes, including 54 women, will represent India at the upcoming sporting extravaganza in the Brazilian city known for its sand and sea.

“The contingent this time is one third more than last time and this itself proves that Indian athletes are improving. It is not just about winning medals but qualifying to participate in the Olympics itself is a huge thing,” Indian Olympic Association president N Ramachandran said.

Besides Ramachandran and his colleagues from IOA secretary general Rajiv Mehta and treasurer Anil Khanna, other dignitaries present were Sports Minister Vijay Goel, Sports secretary Rajiv Yadav, SAI DG Injeti Srinivas, Chief-de-Mission Rakesh Gupta and Deputy Chief de Mission Anandeshwar Pandey.

And there was, of course, Salman accompanied by music maestro AR Rahman, who is also IOA’s Goodwill Ambassador.

Tennis ace Sania Mirza, shuttlers PV Sindu and Kidambi Srikanth, talented wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Babita and Sandeep Tomar, archer Deepa Karmakar and paddler Manika Batra were some of the well-known athletes present on the occasion.

Salman said, “People have a lot of hope from this contingent, I wish you guys all the very best. I am here from Bombay to give you a send-off and respect that you deserve. I know how difficult it is to be a sportsperson and I know it because I couldn’t become one.

“I didn’t have that much strength to become a sportsman but you guys have it and that’s why you guys have qualified. Go there and give your best. Please don’t come early.”

Salman was controversially appointed as Goodwill Ambassador, which left the country’s sporting fraternity divided.

During the ceremony, Salman and Rahman gave the athletes flower bouquets with the cine star indulging in a bit of trademark banter.

Admirers lined up the passage leading to the hotel as they awaited Salman’s arrival. Once in, a lot of hotel staff were seen excitedly trying to get a glimpse of Salman and incessantly clicking photographs. A few were heard whispering to each other that they had “cancelled” their offs to see the actor in person.

Sports Minister Goel lauded the efforts of the athletes and support staff.

“We are sending 121 athletes this time, which is the highest contingent till now. This contingent is one third more than last year’s. We are sending players in 15 disciplines. Players have worked very hard and even the coaches are worked well. We have provided them all the facilities under the vision of Prime Minister which is ‘khelo aur khelne do’,” Goel said.

Rahman, who performed a song that matched the occasion, said, “Once upon a time I thought that it was impossible task for an Indian to get an Oscar or a Grammy but time has proved that it was possible to win and it is a testimony that anything can be achieved.”

Ramachandran spoke about the importance of sufficient funds in running sports.

“We have very quickly realised for the IOA to be truly independent it must have fund and towards this IOA has done an association with IOS and the various commercial firms who have come forward to support the cause of the sports person in India.

“I was shocked when I was told that the brand value of IOA is something like 500 crores. It just blew my mind. We have started in a very small way for the IOA to be truely independent financially. We need the government’s facilities which are spread all over the country through the Sports Authority of India (SAI), for our athletes to train and also to go abroad and train with better equipments.

“Technology has changed for the athletes today. It is not what used to be 10 years ago and there is an old saying that if you don’t change then people will change you so our view is to change, change for the better and to change with time.”

Rashesh Shah, Chairman & CEO, Edelweiss Group, which is a sponsor of IOA, said “Olympics is a real opportunity in a way of our saying thank you to the athletes. We have given Rs 1 crore insurance cover from our insurance company to each and every athlete.”

Shah said it is a way of supporting them because they are truly the brand ambassadors of India as they have shown excellence.

“Also, in view of brand association Olympics is so prestigious, it is also very beneficial. We think sports and business have a lot of common elements,” Shah said.

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News Network
July 1,2020

New Delhi, Jul 1: After being named as India's 'Most Valuable Player' in Test cricket in the 21st century, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Wednesday said that he will always aim to give his best for the country.

His remark came as Jadeja achieved an MVP rating of 97.3 and as a result, he was also rated as the second most valuable player Test player worldwide, only second to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

"Thank you Wisden India for naming me the 'Most Valuable Player'. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans, and well-wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind," Jadeja tweeted.

Based on CricViz's market-leading analytics, each player in world cricket was awarded an 'MVP rating' by Wisden using a statistical model to rank their 'match impact' compared to their peers.

Jadeja has played in 49 Tests from 2012, managing to score 1,869 runs and has also picked up 213 wickets.

"It might come as a surprise to see Ravindra Jadeja, India's spin-bowling all-rounder, feature as India's number one. After all, he's not even always an automatic pick in their Test team. However, when he does play he is picked as a frontline bowler and has batted as high as No.6 - contributing to a very high match involvement," the official website of Wisden quoted CricViz's Freddie Wilde as saying.

"But Jadeja's position is based on more than simply volume: it's what he does when he's involved that really counts. The 31-year-old's bowling average of 24.62 is better than Shane Warne's and his batting average of 35.26 is better than Shane Watson's. His batting and bowling average differential of 10.62 runs is the second-best of any player this century to have scored more than 1,000 runs and taken 150 wickets. He is an all-rounder of the very highest quality," he added.

With the bat in hand, Jadeja has managed to score one century and 14 fifties in the longest format of the game.

He was last seen in action during India's two-Test series against New Zealand earlier this year.

He would have been in action for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL had the tournament commenced from March 29.

However, the IPL has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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News Network
May 14,2020

May 14: Veteran South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis has proposed a two-week isolation period for players before and after the T20 World Cup as a way to stage the event as per schedule later this year.

Like other sports, cricketing action too has come to a complete halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fate of the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October-November is shrouded in uncertainty.

Talking to Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal, du Plessis said travel was going to be an issue despite Australia being less affected by the deadly contagion.

"I am not sure... reading that travelling is going to be an issue for lot of countries and they are talking about December or January. Even if Australia is not affected like other countries, to get people from Bangladesh, South Africa or India where there is more danger, obviously it's a health risk to them," du Plessis said.

"But you can go in before the tournament (for) two weeks isolation and then play the tournament and afterwards two weeks isolation," said the former captain.

Several countries across the globe, including South Africa, Australia and India, have travel restrictions in place and the veteran Proteas batsman joked travelling by boat is not an option.

"But I don't know when South Africa will open their travel ban because we can't go there like old days on boats," du Plessis said.

In March, South Africa's ODI series against India was called off after the first match in view of the pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreak, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected more than 44 lakh people worldwide while causing close to 3 lakh deaths.

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