Uttam Singh to lead India in
Junior Hockey World Cup
New Delhi, Nov 14: Talented forward Uttam Singh will lead India in the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup, to be held in Kuala Lumpur from December 5 to 16. India, the reigning Asian champions, are placed in Pool C alongside Canada, South Korea and Spain. They will start their tournament campaign against Korea on December 5. In their next fixtures, India will face Spain on December 7 and Canada on December 9. India had finished fourth in the last edition of the tournament, and coach CR Kumar said the team is all set to take their journey much forward. “We have a formidable squad. We draw inspiration from the 2016 Junior World Cup-winning team. We are fortunate to have a bunch of seasoned players, who were part of the last Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar. “They will shoulder leadership roles and mentor their teammates. Our ultimate priority is to clinch victory in the Junior World Cup, and we are committed to taking measured steps,” said Kumar. Pool A boasts of defending champions Argentina, Australia, Chile, and Malaysia. Pool B includes Egypt, France, Germany and South Africa. Pool D sets the stage for fierce competition with Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Pakistan vying for a quarterfinal berth.
India squad:
Goalkeepers: Mohit HS, Ranvijay Singh Yadav.Defenders: Shardanand Tiwari, Amandeep Lakra, Rohit, Sunil JoJo, Amir Ali. Midfielders: Vishnukant Singh , Poovanna C B, Rajinder Singh, Amandeep, Aditya Singh. Forwards: Uttam Singh (Captain), Aditya Lalage, Araijeet Singh Hundal (vice-captain), Sourabh Anand Kushwaha, Sudeep Chirmako, Boby Singh Dhami. Reserve players: Sukhvinder, Sunit Lakra. (PTI)
No gold medal bouts at Paris
Olympics qualifiers for wrestling
New Delhi, Nov 14: The next year’s Continental qualifiers offering spots for the Paris Olympics will not have gold or bronze medals bouts and the winners of the two semifinalists will make the cut for the 2024 Games, according to the new format approved by the world governing body UWW. Apart from four Continental Qualifiers, the World Qualifier will also not offer gold medal and the two semifinal winners will earn quotas while the winners of the bronze-medal bouts will compete for the third quota in each of the six weight categories in three styles. The Pan-American Qualifiers in Acapulco, Mexico from February 28 to March 1 will open the qualification opportunities. “All five Paris Olympic Qualifiers next year will have four seeds in each of the weight classes and no gold-medal bouts,” UWW said on its website. African & Oceania Qualifiers will be held in Alexandria, Egypt from March 22-24 and the European Qualifiers in Baku, Azerbaijan are scheduled to take place from April 4-7. The Asian Qualifiers will be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from April 19-21 while the World Olympic Qualifier will be held in Istanbul, Turkiye from May 9-12. The World Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia in September this year had offered five quota places in each of the six weight categories in three styles. Talented Antim Panghal was the only Indian wrestler to have won a Paris Games quota with a bronze medal in Belgrade. (PTI)
Bayern sign promising 17-year-old Australian winger Irankunda
Munich, Nov 14: Bayern Munich has signed an agreement for 17-year-old Australian winger Nestory Irankunda to join the club in July. Irankunda has been acclaimed as one of Australia’s brightest-ever prospects since making his debut for Adelaide United at the age of just 15 in January 2022. Soon after he became the second-youngest scorer in the history of the A-League, Australia’s main men’s football competition. He’s played 39 times for Adelaide. Bayern said Tuesday that Irankunda will join the German champion on July 1 on “a long-term contract.” He turns 18 in February, making an international transfer possible. “I’m happy to have this all finalized and to be heading to one of the best clubs in the world – it’s a real dream come true,” Irankunda said in an Adelaide statement. Born in Tanzania, Irankunda has played for the Australian national Under-17 team and was called up for the senior team in March but did not play. “Nestory is an extremely quick winger, a strong dribbler and finisher with good drive towards goal. We’re convinced by his potential and that he will take the next steps with us,” Bayern’s director of youth development Jochen Sauer said in a statement. (AP)