Suspended PCI to conduct elections on March 9
New Delhi, Feb 18: The suspended Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) on Sunday announced that it will conduct its delayed polls March 9. The Sports Ministry had on February 4 suspended the body for not holding election on time. The four-year term of PCI Executive Committee had ended on January 31. The ministry had even advocated forming of an ad-hoc panel to run the day-to-day affairs of the sports body but the world governing body of the game, IPC did not allow it. PCI president Deepa Malik and general secretary Gursharan Singh issued the election notice in which they asked all the state affiliated units to send the names of representatives, who would be eligible to vote in the polls. The notice mentioned that elections will be conducted as per the guidelines of the National Sports Development Code and PCI by-laws. The PCI will share the details of the Returning Officer separately. PCI will elect one President, two Vice Presidents, one Secretary General, one treasurer, two joint secretaries and five Executive Members. (AP)
AIFF names 23-member squad for Turkish Women’s Cup
New Delhi, Feb 18: The AIFF on Sunday announced a 23-member women’s senior team to compete in the Turkish Women’s Cup 2024 in Alanya from February 21 to 27. The team will leave for Turkey on Monday for the tournament in which India had participated twice in 2019 and 2021. AIFF Acting Secretary General M. Satyanarayan said, “Our Senior Women’s National Team are going to play for the first time after the Olympic Qualifiers, which makes the Turkish Women’s Cup an important tournament for us. The players have had a week-long preparation (camp in Bengaluru) before flying off to Turkey.” Estonia (February 21), Hong Kong (February 24) and Kosovo (February 27) are the Blue Tigresses’ opponents in the four-team tournament, which will be held in a round-robin format. The title will be won by the table toppers.
The team:
Goalkeepers: Shreya Hooda, Elangbam Panthoi Chanu, Monalisha Devi Moirangthem Defenders: Ashalata Devi Loitongbm, Ranjana Chanu Sorokhaibam, Dalima Chhibber, Juli Kishan, Astam Oraon, Shilky Devi Hemam. Midfielders: Anju Tamang, Sangita Basfore, Karthika Angamuthu, Manisha, Kajol Dsouza, Indumathi Kathiresan. Forwards: Grace Dangmei, Soumya Gugloth, Karishma Purushottam Shirvoikar, Sandhiya Ranganathan, Sanju, Pyari Xaxa, Kaviya Pakkirisamy, Jyoti. Head coach: Langam Chaoba Devi. (PTI)
Defending champ Alcaraz upset by Jarry in Argentina Open semis
Buenos Aires, Feb 18: No. 2-ranked Carlos Alcaraz was upset by Nicolás Jarry of Chile 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the semifinals of the Argentina Open. Jarry, after the biggest win of his career, will face home crowd favorite Facundo Díaz Acosta in the final on Sunday. It will be their first tour-level meeting. Alcaraz was the defending champion but hasn’t looked as sharp and aggressive this week as he was a year ago. The 20-year-old smashed his racket onto the court after his defeat, a rare feature for the Spaniard. “Congratulations to Nico for this match and good luck for him in the final,” Alcaraz said after his defeat. The Spaniard will play next week at the Rio Open tournament in Brazil, also on clay, which he won in 2022 and reached the decider last year. While he hasn’t played in a final since August nor won a title since Wimbledon, this was only Alcaraz’s fourth loss on clay in 31 matches since 2023. This was also only his third loss in 49 matches in the same period against players ranked outside the top 20. (AP)