Haryana, Punjab in final of senior men’s national hockey c’ship
Chennai, Nov 27: Haryana and Punjab emerged triumphant on Monday in their respective semi-final matches to set up an exciting final in the 13th Hockey India Senior Men’s National Championship 2023 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium. Hockey Haryana managed to beat the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 1-1 (4-2 SO) in a penalty shootout after the match was tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation time. Indian Men’s Hockey Team forward, Abhishek, scored in the 41st minute to give Hockey Haryana the lead, but BP Somanna (60+) of Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu scored the equalizer for his side in the dying embers from a penalty corner, taking the game to a penalty shootout. Indian Men’s Hockey Team defender Sanjay, Rajant, and Indian Men’s Hockey Team forward Abhishek and Joginder Singh scored in the shootout, while goalkeeper Pawan made some crucial saves to secure Hockey Haryana’s win. Hockey Punjab defeated Hockey Karnataka by 5-1 in the second Semi-Final. Midfielder Shamsher Singh (4’) opened the account for Hockey Punjab, followed by goals from forward Sukhjeet Singh (13’), Captain Harmanpreet Singh (39’, 44’) and forward Akashdeep Singh (45’). The only goal for Hockey Karnataka was scored by Abharan Sudev B (18’). (IANS)
Olympic selection trials for
shooting from May 3
New Delhi, Nov 27: The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) will conduct the 2024 Paris Olympics selection trials for pistol and rifle events from May 3 and 23 onwards in New Delhi and Bhopal respectively. A statement issued by the governing body for shooting sport in the country said that the first set of trials will take place at the Karni Singh ranges here from May 3, while the second set of trials will be held at Bhopal from May 23. A total of four trials of two sets each will be held and the best three scores will be considered for arriving at the Final Average Score (FAS) to select the squad for the Olympics. As per the amended criteria for selecting the squad for Paris, those who have earned Olympic quota places for the country in fire-arm events (50m rifle and 25m pistol) will have two bonus points added to their FAS, while in air gun events (10m air rifle and air pistol), one point will be added to their FAS. Earlier this month, the NRAI amended its 2022 policy, formulated post the 2020 Tokyo Olympics debacle. The policy is based on each shooter getting a Final Average Score (FAS), which will be computed by taking the average of the top-three Olympic Selection Trial scores plus the quota bonus point, or points — whichever is applicable as per event — to arrive at FAS. The new policy made in 2022, and subsequently amended on November 15 this year, has done away with the bagful of points Olympic quota winners, Asian Games, World Championships, World Cups and Asian Championships medallists used to get prior to the 2020 Tokyo Games. (PTI)
Controversial president of the Bulgarian soccer body resigns
Sofia, Nov 27: Borislav Mihaylov, the controversial president of the Bulgarian soccer federation and a former national team goalkeeper, resigned Monday following mass protests against him. A new president will be elected at a federation congress next year. Several thousand soccer fans had taken to the streets in recent weeks to demand the resignation of Mihaylov, the goalkeeper on the Bulgaria team that reached the semifinals at the 1994 World Cup. The fury was fueled by the federation’s decision to play a European Championship qualifying match against Hungary on Oct. 16 in an empty stadium, and longer-term unhappiness with the national team’s decline. Additional pressure for the resignation came from the country’s prime minister, Nikolay Denkov, who urged in a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to take “decisive action” by removing Mihaylov as federation leader and installing an interim management. The letter, which was published on the government website, cited “long-amassed criticism and dissatisfaction of football clubs” with soccer leadership in the country. It also pointed out that FIFA’s statutes grant it the power to remove member federation leaders “under exceptional circumstances.” On Monday, Mihaylov rejected all claims about “criticism by the soccer clubs” and snapped at reporters that only reason to quit was “to calm everyone down.” He added that his resignation was not requested by any of the soccer clubs. (AP)