New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Friday revealed that equal penalties will be imposed on both coaches and athletes if the latter fails a dope test. This initiative is designed to hold coaches accountable and foster a culture of clean sports, said AFI President Adille Sumariwalla.

“Coaches of the athletes who are caught for doping and are sanctioned will get a similar punishment. It is high time people were called out, named and shamed,” said Sumariwalla in a virtual press conference after the AFI took the pathbreaking decision at its executive committee meeting on Friday.

“We will suspend the coaches (who have coached dope offenders), we will inform departments concerned and they will not be allowed to enter the stadiums. These people have to be removed from whatever posts they are holding.

The decision came in on the day it was revealed that Olympics-bound woman boxer Parveen Hooda has been provisionally suspended for a whereabouts failure, which is considered an anti-doping rules violation.

However, it seems more like a move to hold up the growing stature of Indian athletics in the wake of some superb performances by the Indians in the international circuit after Neeraj Chopra boosted it by winning the Olympics and World Championship titles and discouraging the taint of doping.

The AFI decision on Friday was taken after discussions with various stakeholders for about six months. “We had talks with various agencies regarding this. If the coaches take a share of the athletes’ cash award, then they should also get the stick.”

All coaches, including those with NIS diplomas, must register with the AFI to guarantee accountability. The name of the coach will have to be disclosed by athletes on dope control papers to ensure responsibility and identification, Sumariwalla noted. “There can’t be only carrot there; there has to be a stick for them also.” This step will also stop several instructors from claiming accolades when an athlete succeeds.

The Olympic-bound competitors, many of whom are preparing overseas, will begin a coaching camp in Poland on July 5 and move into the Paris Games on July 28.

Among other crucial decisions on Friday, the AFI resolved to decentralise the coaching camps following the Olympics, implement a similar calendar for state and district competitions, enhance the technical administration of the events (including disciplining officials who neglect their duties), and digitize merit certificates using the government’s Digilocker app to prevent certificates for jobs and promotions from being falsified.

–IANS

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Mumbai, May 17 (IANS) Nicholas Pooran hammered an audacious sensational 29-ball 75 while skipper K.L Rahul scored a trademark patient half-century as Lucknow Super Giants posted 214/6 in 20 overs against Mumbai Indians in Match 67 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday.

Coming in with his team crawling at 69/3 at the halfway mark, Pooran blasted five boundaries and eight maximums, making him the player to hit the maximum number of sixes for LSG, as he and Rahul cobbled together a superb partnership in which the West Indies batter did most of the scoring.

Pooran raced to his fifty off 19 balls and raised a 100-run partnership off 40-odd deliveries to set up LSG on course for a total past 200. Nuwan Thushara and Piyush Chawla claimed three wickets each — picking three wickets without the addition of a run in the death overs to pull things back for the inexperienced Mumbai Indians bowling unit in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah after skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Earlier, Lucknow Super Giants got off to a poor start losing Devcutt Padikkal, who came in for Quinton de Kock and opened the innings for the first time this season, was trapped lbw by Nuwan Thushara off the third ball of the opening over, in which he bowled two wides. Padikkal left for a zero, exhausting one DRS review in the process.

Skipper K.L Rahul and Marcus Stoinis propelled the score to 49, with the overseas player hitting five boundaries as he scored 28 off 22 balls before he was sent back by Piyush Chawla, LSG down to 49/2 in the sixth over.

Stoinis was trapped plumb in front by a wrong’un and LSG were down to 69/3 when Deepak Hooda was out for 11, caught brilliantly by Nehal Wadhera off Chawla. He failed to keep down his slice through off-side and Wadhera pulled off a double-handed catch off a perfectly-timed dive. LSG were 69/3 at the halfway stage.

But Nicholas Pooran, who stepped into the field, changed the complexion of the game with a stunning assault on the Mumbai Indians bowling, hammering five sixes in his first 35 runs.

Pooran put on a dazzling display of power-hitting as he started his extraordinary knock with a six off Anshul Kamboj in the 11th over. In the next over by Kamboj, Pooran smashed a four and two sixes, picking the attempted yorkers cleanly out of the ground. Hardik was hit for two sixes in the 14th over as the Mumbai Indians bowlers bowled to the West Indies batter’s strength, giving him width and an opportunity to chance his arms.

Pooran went berserk in the 15th over, hitting Arjun for sixes off successive balls, picking the full-tosses cleanly as he raced to his third fifty of IPL 2024 off just 19 balls.

Tendulkar walked off the ground with cramps and Pooran celebrated the landmark by hammering Naman Dhir, who completed the over, for a six and four off successive deliveries. He handed Nuwan Thushara, brought in by Hardik Pandya to quell the rampaging Pooran, by hitting him for back-to-back boundaries before the Sri Lankan pacer had the last laugh, getting him to swing straight down to Suryakumar Yadav at long-on.

Meanwhile, K.L Rahul, who was soldiering on from the other end, completed his half-century off 37 balls, hitting two boundaries and three maximums as he and Pooran raised 109 runs for the fourth wicket off 44 balls, with Pooran doing the bulk of the scoring. Rahul kept one end intact as he has done throughout the season, building up the platform for Pooran to launch his audacious attack.

However, Mumbai Indians pulled things back by taking three wickets on the same score, as Arshad Khan (0) and K.L Rahul fell quickly. Thushara claimed two of those wickets off successive balls while Chawla got the third as MI salvaged the situation.

Ayush Badoni blasted 22 off 10 balls and Krunal Pandya struck 12 off 7 as Lucknow Super Giants struck 36 runs off the last 17 balls to take their score past the 200-run mark. Badoni struck two sixes and a four in the last two overs as LSG set Mumbai Indians a challenging target.

Brief scores:

Lucknow Super Giants 214/6 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 75, K.L Rahul 55; Nuwan Thushara 3-28, Piyush Chawla 3-29) against Mumbai Indians

–IANS

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Astana (Kazakhstan), May 17 (IANS) Four Indian men pugilists Yaiphaba Singh Soibam, Abhishek Yadav, Vishal and Gaurav Chauhan ended their Elorda Cup 2024 campaign with bronze medals after going down in their respective semi-finals on Friday.

Yaiphaba (48kg) and Abhishek (67kg) suffered close 3-4 defeats against Kazakhstan’s Zhussupov Askhat and Mursal Nurbek respectively after their bouts were reviewed.

Meanwhile, Vishal (86kg) ended his campaign with a 0-5 loss against the reigning world champion Oralbay Nurbek of Kazakhstan. Gaurav also lost 0-5 to another Kazakh boxer, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Kamshybek Kunkabayev, in the 92+kg semi-finals.

Late on Thursday, Shalakha Singh Sansanwal (70kg) and Monika (81+kg) ended their campaigns with bronze medals after losing in their respective semi-finals.

On Saturday, Reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen (52kg), Minakshi (48kg), Anamika (50kg) and Manisha (60kg) will fight for the gold medals.

The finals will be played on Saturday.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) have signed Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for the upcoming second season of the Major League Cricket (MLC), the American franchise-run T20 league.

LAKR in a photo posted on social media ‘X’ wrote, “Shakib Al Hasan joins LA Knight Riders for the 2024 Major League Cricket in USA.”

Knight Riders retained Sunil Narine—the star of KKR’s incredible run at the top of the league in the current IPL 2024. Andre Russell, Jason Roy, Spencer Johnson, Unmukt Chand, Ali Khan, Saif Badar, Nitish Kumar, and Shadley van Schalkwyk are also in the squad. They have also brought in local players Derone Davis, Matthew Tromp, Cirne Dry, and Adithya Ganesh for the next campaign.

LAKR came last in the 2023 MLC, the inaugural season. LAKR is owned by the parent body of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL which also owns the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, in the ILT20, and the Trinbago Knight Riders men and women in the CPL.

The match between MI New York and Seattle Orcas, the winners and runners-up of the first tournament, will kick off the second edition on July 5. The 29th of July will mark the final.

This year’s MLC player draft took place on March 21. To fill out the rosters of the six teams, a second draft is scheduled for June 16.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Sunil Chhetri has been the face of Indian football on the global stage for nearly two decades and as he gets ready to hang his boots, Indian head coach Igor Stimac has expressed his respect for his decision to retire and showered praise on what he has done for Indian football for the last so many years.

Currently standing as the third-highest active goal-scorer in the world behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the Indian football team captain announced on Thursday that he will draw the curtains on his illustrious 19-year international career after the upcoming World Cup Qualifier game against Kuwait on June 6. As he prepares to play his final match in national colours, he leaves behind a legacy that will endure.

His remarkable football career has earned him the honour as the nation’s highest goal-scorer with 94 goals and amassing an impressive 150 appearances for his country.

Stimac also expressed his optimism about delivering a standout performance in their forthcoming match against Kuwait next month to bid a heartwarming farewell to their captain.

“He knows best how he feels and when it’s the appropriate time to do things,” the Croat told the-aiff.com.

“I just wish we all do everything to make June 6 very memorable for him and all Indian football fans,” he added.

Chhetri not only impresses with his performance and records but also with his approach to the game, his hard work, dedication, and leadership qualities both on and off the pitch, setting himself as a role model to be idolized by the nation for years to come.

“He became a legend while still playing, and that’s something only a few can do,” opined Stimac.

“He’s an inspiration to everyone, absolutely committed to the Indian jersey, which is something these youngsters need to follow. Playing for the country with passion and love, and as he said, with ‘intense joy’,” he added.

Stimac expressed his delight at the opportunity to coach a player like Chhetri, who has established himself as a modern-day legend during his playing career. The Croatian revealed the special relationship that he shared with the 39-year-old over the past five years as the head coach of the Blue Tigers.

“I had the pleasure of coaching such a wonderful human being and getting to know his beautiful family,” he shared.

The Croatian extends his best wishes to his most reliable forward for his retirement days. The head coach also believes that whatever Chhetri pursues in his post-football career will ultimately benefit the entire country in a broader sense.

“We were more than simply a coach and a player, and I am very proud of the relationship we have amongst us and the group. I am very confident that whatever he decides to do after football will have an immense impact on society in a very positive way. He was born to become a GOAT,” Stimac commented.

–IANS

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