Indian men’s hockey team to open Olympics campaign against NZ
Lausanne, March 6: The Indian men’s hockey team will take on New Zealand in its opening match of the Paris Olympics on July 27, according to the schedule announced on Wednesday. India, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists, are in Pool B and will take on Argentina on July 29, Ireland on July 30, Belgium on August 1 and Australia on August 2. Pool A consists of the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France, Great Britain and South Africa. The quarterfinals will be played on August 4 with the semifinals on August 6, while the bronze-medal playoff and the final will take place on August 8. The ceremony was held in the presence of International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach and FIH president Tayyab Ikram. The matches will be taking place at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in Colombes. Belgium are the defending champions in the men’s category. (PTI)
WFI to allow only ‘genuine’ wrestlers to compete at trials
New Delhi, March 6: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) would allow wrestlers from their original states to compete at the upcoming trials and one grappler will be compete in to compete in more than one categories over two days of selection competition, starting March 10. In its circular issued on Tuesday, the WFI, wrote, “Wrestlers participated in Senior National Championship held at Jaipur will bring their WFI Licence Book, Birth Certificate, Adhar Card to verify the genuineness of their state.” “Several wrestlers, who actually hailed from Haryana, represented states like Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim at the Nationals conducted by the ad-hoc committee in Jaipur. This is wrong and we will now allow this,” a WFI source said. “Sikkim and Arunachal are not even affiliated state bodies. We will not stop anyone from competing but wrestlers has to come from his original state,. Even if a genuine wrestler comes from Arunachal, we will allow him as a special invitee,” said the source. The trials are being held to select the teams for the Asian Championships and Asian Olympic Games Qualifiers, both scheduled to be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. With two sets of senior National Championships taking place earlier this year, the WFI has told the grapplers coming for the crucial upcoming national trials to bring all necessary documents to prove their “genuineness”. (PTI)
Women’s Natl will be selection trial to pick new core probables: HI
New Delhi, March 6: Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey on Wednesday said the women’s national championship to be held from March 13 in Pune will double up as a selection trial to pick a new group of core probables. The nationals will be held from March 13 to 23. The national women’s hockey team has endured an underwhelming run in the past few months, the lowest point being its failure to qualify for this year’s Paris Olympics. “…we will have participation from 28 states and UTs, with members of the Indian team representing their respective states. Hockey India selectors will be closely watching the performances of all the players and based on their recommendation, a new core group will be selected,” Tirkey said in a press release from Hockey India. Tirkey said no player can take her “place for granted”. The national team is without a national coach after Dutch-woman Janneke Schopman resigned from the post citing a hostile work environment. (PTI)
Spanish prosecutors accuse Carlo Ancelotti of alleged tax fraud
Madrid, March 6: Spanish state prosecutors have accused Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti of alleged tax fraud, claiming he used shell companies to hide parts of his income during his first stint at the club a decade ago. Prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday that they are accusing Ancelotti of two accounts of tax fraud that would be punishable with four years and nine months of prison. They accused the Italian coach of having defrauded 1 million euros in 2014 and 2015 by only declaring the income he received from Real Madrid while omitting his income from image rights. Prosecutors claimed he set up a “confusing” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings. Ancelotti allegedly used companies “lacking any real activity” based outside Spain “so that neither he nor the mentioned companies had to pay taxes on the large sums earned in Spain or outside our country,” the prosecutors said. (AP)
Paralympics organisers bar Russians, Belarusians in Paris
Bonn (Germany), March 6: Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred Wednesday from marching in this year’s Paralympics opening ceremony in Paris, even if they are approved to compete as neutrals. The International Paralympic Committee set limits on athletes from the two countries which are stricter than those detailed by the International Olympic Committee for the Paris Games that open a month earlier. The IOC in December decided against a blanket ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes over the invasion of Ukraine. “As the athletes will participate in an individual and neutral capacity, they will not march in the Opening Ceremony on August 28 or have a flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony on September 8,” the IPC said. At the Paris Olympics, Russian and Belarusian athletes approved as neutrals – first by governing bodies of individual sports, then in further vetting overseen by the IOC – can take part in the July 26 opening ceremony. (AP)
Sumit Nagal loses to Hong in final qualifying round at Indian Wells
Indian Wells (US), March 6: Indian tennis ace Sumit Nagal went down to South Korea’s Seong-chan Hong after putting up a spirited fight in the final qualifying round of Indian Wells Masters here. The 26-year-old Nagal lost 6-2, 2-6, 6-7 (4-7) on Tuesday. Earlier, Nagal brushed past the challenge of American wildcard Stefan Dostanic in straight sets in his first outing at the Indian Wells Masters. The India No. 1 singles player beat Dostanic in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the qualifying. And while Nagal may have lost, he assured himself of 10 ranking points and USD 14,400 prize money by making the final qualifying round. Nagal recently made history by becoming the first Indian men’s singles player in a decade to advance to the second round of the Australian Open. (PTI)