World Hockey Body Suspends Two Pakistani Players Following Obscene Gestures

December 15, 2014

pakistan-hockey

Bhubaneswar, Dec 15: Two Pakistani field hockey players were suspended and one was reprimanded for making obscene gestures after their team's semi-final win over hosts India in the Champions Trophy semi-final, the sport's governing body said on Sunday.

Muhammad Tousiq and reserve goalkeeper Ali Amjad were handed a one-match ban that sidelined them from the final of the eight-nation tournament against Germany later on Sunday in Bhubaneswar.

Shafqat Rasool was reprimanded for the same offence, the International Hockey Federation announced after conducting a hearing with Pakistan coach Shahnaz Sheikh and the players earlier in the day.

"The above-mentioned players were seen making gestures that are considered to be obscene," the FIH said in a statement without elaborating. The body had earlier cleared Pakistan of any wrongdoing.

As the final hooter sounded in Saturday night's 4-3 thriller, excited Pakistani players took off their shirts and made rude gestures towards Indian fans at the packed 7,000-capacity Kalinga stadium.

Shahnaz, a former international, also walked out of the post-match press conference in a huff after Indian reporters persisted in asking questions about his players' behaviour after the game.

Tournament director Wiert Doyer, who investigated the incident soon after the match, had let the players off without any action after Shahnaz apologised for their actions.

The FIH U-turn on Sunday came a few hours after Hockey India chief Narinder Batra demanded an unconditional apology from Pakistan and called for strict action by the governing body.

"I am instructing my CEO to inform FIH that in case this kind of behaviour by teams is within normal and tolerable limits of FIH, then we may not be interested to host any more tournaments in India," Batra said in a statement.

"The tournaments may be shifted to countries which tolerate this kind of nonsense and uncouth behaviour."

India are due to host the 2018 World Cup.

Batra also threatened to severe all ties with the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) unless they issued an unconditional apology.

In a separate statement released by the FIH on Sunday, Shahnaz issued a fresh apology on behalf of the PHF.

"The incident.....contained behaviour that is considered unacceptable to Pakistan Hockey Federation and the entire hockey fraternity," he was quoted as saying in the statement.

"As the result, I have spoken to my team and explained to them that they are guests in India and as hosts they have been very hospitable to the team."

The semi-final win helped Pakistan avenge their defeat by India in the Asian Games final in South Korea in October. That loss denied them a direct entry to the 2016 Olympics.

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News Network
April 12,2020

Mumbai, Apr 12: Always eager to share his vast knowledge and experience, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has interacted with 12,000 doctors on sports injuries.

In his over two decade long illustrious career, Tendulkar suffered many health issues, the most prominent being the tennis elbow injury.

The veteran of 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, got to know through one Dr Sudhir Warrier, an orthopaedic surgeon, that several young doctors across the country were utilising the lockdown time to effectively gain knowledge on sports injuries through live webinars.

A session on sports injuries was held on Saturday and Tendulkar, knowing that his experiences will help these doctors, volunteered to be a part of it.

Tendulkar, accordingly, interacted with around 12,000 doctors, who attended the session.

It is reliably leanrt that the 46-year-old legend said he was grateful to the medical fraternity for their service.

During the session, the young orthopaedic doctors got to know how the requirements and treatment outcomes of athletes are different from regular patients, sources said.

Dr Warrier moderated the session with Dr Nitin Patel, physiotherapist, who has worked with Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

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Agencies
June 14,2020

New Delhi, Jun 14: From being a 20-year-old mischievous talented striker to 35-year-old, India captain Sunil Chhetri has seen Indian Football through thick and thin. Coaches, who have nourished the striker with utmost care to yield the best for the team have seen numerous changes from close quarters but one aspect has remained absolutely perpetual, resolute - Chhetri's never-say-die attitude and 'dedication.'

Igor Stimac, current head coach of the Blue Tigers recalled seeing Chhetri during the preparatory camp ahead of the King's Cup 2019 - his maiden assignment with the Blue Tigers.

The Croatian pointed out that despite being the senior-most member of the troop, "Chhetri craved to push maximum to achieve the result after the heartbreak in AFC Asian Cup."

"Dedicated, workaholic and team man -- those are some of the attributes which define Sunil Chhetri. When I first saw him last year, they were back to the National Team camp after a long gap following the AFC Asian Cup. A few boys were new but the fire under his belly probably was more than anyone else. That's the secret of his long career. Congratulations!" All India Football Federation (AIFF) quoted Stimac as saying.

Sukhwinder Singh, while reminiscing the India-Pakistan bilateral series in 2005, revealed that he wasn't sure about the youngster's credibility at all.

"I needed someone who had the trickery, didn't have the fear and had to be quick. Honestly, Sunil wasn't in my mind at all. He wasn't my first option. I had my doubts," Sukhwinder, coach during Chhetri's first national team endeavour, recalled.

He had seen the youngster from close quarters while coaching in JCT FC where Chhetri started blossoming and hogging the limelight. Chhetri, who scored more than 20 goals during his 3-season-long stay in JCT, had already shown signs of performing in the bigger stages which convinced Sukhwinder Singh picking him up for the high-octane bilateral series in Pakistan.

"I haven't seen anyone as dedicated as Sunil. I saw him maturing in JCT and there were flashes of what he could do in the future. I still remember his hunger. In 19 years of my coaching career, I haven't seen anyone as dedicated as Sunil. He remained undaunted and was never willing to shy away from working hard. Shouldering the responsibility for 15 years demands discipline and he keeps it above everything else," Sukhwinder maintained.

According to Stimac, Chhetri is someone who always runs the extra yard, breaks some more sweat during the training session which, in the process encourages the youngsters to emulate him. The entire process aids the cumulative progress of the team and raises the bar.

"I see him as someone who always pushes the bar in the training and never compromises with the regime. He drives the team and he is the character who defines the team. Numerous characters have glorified the Indian Football history and he's definitely one of them who have made his country proud," Stimac said.

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: Skipper Virat Kohli has become the first Indian to reach the 50M followers mark on social media platform Instagram. Kohli, who is breaking cricketing records with each passing match, has a great social media following.

The 31-year old has so far made 930 posts on the platform and his social media posts continue to enthrall fans worldwide. Overall, Instagram's official account has the most number of followers and it is followed by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 200M followers.

In terms of Indians with most number of followers, Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra is on the second spot with 49.9 followers while Deepika Padukone is on the third place with 44.1 followers.

Last year, Kohli had become the most successful Indian Test captain, surpassing Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Currently, Kohli is in action against New Zealand and his side would take on the hosts in the two-match Test series, slated to commence from February 21.

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