WFI not keen on trial, Sushil's Olympic dream shrinks further

May 19, 2016

New Delhi, May 19: Sushil Kumar's fight for an Olympic berth suffered another blow on Wednesday with the Wrestling Federation of India ( WFI ) strongly hinting that they would prefer Narsingh Yadav for the Rio by insisting on not having a trial given the quota winner's "consistent performances".

sushilFollowing the Delhi High Court directive, a special WFI committee, formed on the instruction of the court, held a meeting with the two-time Olympic medallist, to sort out as to who between Sushil and Narsingh would represent India in the men's 74kg freestyle category at the mega-event in August.

"Sushil has put forward his views before the committee and has maintained what he has been saying since the very beginning that he should get a chance to undergo a trial," WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh told reporters.

"We have told him that 'you have put Indian wrestling at a pedestal and we cannot ignore your contribution and we all respect you'. But on the other hand, there is another wrestler who has brought the Olympic quota and also has been giving consistent performances. So, can we be unfair to him also?," Brij Bhushan added.

Asked what if the High Court, during its next hearing on May 27, instructs the Federation to take a final call, Brij Bhushan said, "The Federation has taken its decision."

The meeting chaired by the WFI president included senior vice president ID Nanavati, secretary general and the chief coach, besides Sushil. Sushil's mentor and father-in-law Satpal was also present in the meeting.

"Since it was a friendly meeting, we also allowed Satpal to be a part of it. We heard Sushil and Satpal's point of view and we also put forward WFI's dilemma. We said that Federation is not just for one wrestler or one category. I asked Sushil what he would have done had he been in my place with one wrestler having immense contribution in the past and another with consistent performances," said Brij Bhushan.

Asked if WFI got convinced by Sushil's opinion, the president said: "Convince hone ka koi sawal hi nahin uthta hai (there is no question of getting convinced).

"Whatever is our view point on the matter, we will submit it to the court in our reply."

On why there has been a communication gap between Sushil and WFI after Narsingh had qualified almost eight months back in last September, Brij Bhushan said, "I have never told Sushil or for that matter any other person that WFI will hold the trials. Whenever I have been asked by the media if trials would be conducted, I had always said that if I talk about the issue now it would hamper the training of the wrestlers and that's why I never spoke about it. I said when the time will come to take a decision, I would decide on the matter."

The WFI president said if the Court orders us to conduct a trial, this matter would not stop there.

"If the court decides that we should hold the trial, the matter would not stop there. Then it will again go to the Supreme Court.

"But if court instructs WFI to conduct a trial and if the higher court also says it, then we will have to listen to the court," he said.

Brij Bhushan said Sushil would not be allowed to be in the national camp until the next hearing.

Sushil, meanwhile, said that he has put forward his stand that there should be a trial.

"I have always wished Narsingh well. He is my colleague and he has also done well for the country. But now what the present situation is in 74kg, the decision can only be taken after conducting the trial," said the 32-year-old.

Asked if he was disappointed with the WFI's stance, Sushil kept up a brave front.

"No. They have always supported me. Sent me for training in Georgia. I have always got exposures via the Federation and they have always stood by me. My chief has also always stood by me," he said.

Sushil had moved court as his last resort having already taken the matter to the doorsteps of Prime Minister's Office.

He had also appealed to the Sports Ministry, IOA, WFI and fans to give him a chance to undergo a trial for the Rio Games, as according to the rules, quota belongs to the country and not to a particular wrestler.

The former World champion had argued that the government has spent a substantial amount of money on his training and even the federation has been asking him to keep practising.

Narsingh, meanwhile, has been staking his claim to represent India at the Olympics since last year when he secured a quota place at the World Championship in Las Vegas after winning a bronze in 74kg. Sushil, who missed the event due to a shoulder injury, has been demanding a trial.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Jan 15: Australia openers David Warner and Aaron Finch both struck superb centuries to complement their bowlers’ inspired display as the touring side handed out a 10-wicket thrashing to India in the opening one-day international in Mumbai.

India, world-ranked No 2 in ODIs, suffered a middle-order collapse on their way to being bundled out for 255 in the final over of their innings after Australia captain Finch won the toss and opted to field in the first of the three-match series.

Warner and Finch then smashed the Indian bowlers to all corners of the ground, picking up boundaries seemingly at will to chase down the target with 74 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium.

Left-handed Warner successfully used the decision review system twice to overturn the umpire’s decision on his way to his 18th ODI century, hitting three sixes and 17 fours in his unbeaten knock of 128, from 112 balls. Finch completed his 16th century in the format, his unbeaten innings 110 from 114 features two sixes and 13 fours.

Earlier, Australia’s left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who made his ODI debut in India 10 years ago, picked up three wickets to set up Australia’s victory. He struck the first blow with the new ball when he sent back Rohit Sharma for 10.

India managed to recover from that early loss through a second-wicket stand of 121 between opener Shikhar Dhawan, who top-scored for the hosts with 74, and KL Rahul. However left-arm spinner Ashton Agar broke the stand by dismissing Rahul for 47 before Agar caught Dhawan off Pat Cummins in the next over.

The hosts were hoping for a solid innings from captain Virat Kohli, who batted a position lower than his usual No 3 spot to accommodate Rahul, to get them out of trouble. However, he lasted only 14 balls, hitting leg-spinner Adam Zampa for a six before offering a return catch to the bowler on the very next delivery to be out for 16.

Starc then returned to the attack, removing Shreyas Iyer cheaply as India lost four wickets for 30 runs to be reduced to 164 for five. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja then fell just short of a half-century partnership, before the remaining four wickets falling for 42 runs, with Cummins and fast bowler Kane Richardson picking up two wickets apiece for Australia.

To compound India’s woes, wicketkeeper Pant suffered a concussion after being hit on his helmet by a short-pitched delivery from Cummins. The Indian cricket board said Pant, who did not come out to keep wicket and was replaced behind the stumps by Rahul, was under observation. The two sides will meet in Rajkot for the second ODI on Friday.

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News Network
April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

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News Network
May 26,2020

Mumbai, May 26: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said that if he was playing currently he and Virat Kohli would have been the best of friends off the field, but real enemies whenever they stepped on the field.

Akhtar also said that he would have liked to challenge Kohli to drive the ball.

"Virat Kohli and I would have been the best of friends as both of us are Punjabi, but on the field, we would have been the best of the enemies. I would have loved to get inside the head of Kohli. I would have told him that you cannot play a cut or pull shot against me," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I would have gone wide of the crease and bowled a ball that would go away from him, I would have forced him to drive the ball as it is his favourite shot. So I would keep forcing him to play the drive shot at my pace," he added.

Akhtar also said that he wishes that Kohli could have played against some of the top bowlers in the game.

The Rawalpindi Express said that Kohli would have enjoyed the challenge of facing bowlers like Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, and Waqar Younis.

"I would also keep talking to him, because if I get him to lose his focus then that would have been great. The great thing about Kohli is that he gets more focused when he is challenged. But I believe Virat Kohli would have still scored the same amount of runs if I was playing," Akhtar said.

"I really wish that he had played against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, and then Virat would have also enjoyed the challenge," he added.

Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

Currently, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in second place in the Tests rankings.

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