Page 35 - Sports

Witnessed Brij's inappropriate behaviour towards female wrestlers: Jagbir

International referee Jagbir Singh on Thursday claimed that he has been a witness to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's inappropriate behaviour towards female grapplers on several occasions since 2013. Brij Bhushan is currently under scrutiny after top Indian wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, demanded his arrest for alleged sexual harassment of women grapplers. "I am an UWW referee since 2007 and I have been a referee before the birth of the the protesting wrestlers. I also know Brij Bhushan for a long time," Jagbir told PTI. "I couldn't say much because until the girls register complaints, I could not do anything. But I saw the episode with my own eyes and felt bad," he said. Jagbir, who has been a coach-cum-international referee since 2007, said he witnessed Brij Bhushan's misbehaviour with his own eyes on numerous occasions. "After he became the president during his second tour in 2013 in Kazakhstan, the president told us 'I will feed you Indian food

Delhi Police takes wrestler Sangeeta to WFI chief's official residence

Delhi Police on Friday took wrestler Sangeeta Phogat to outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's official residence here to recreate the sequence of events that led to the sexual harassment of which he has been accused. According to sources, Phogat was accompanied by women constables. "At 1.30 pm women officers took Sangeeta Phogat to Brij Bhushan's official residence in Delhi. They were there for half an hour. They asked her to recreate the scene and recall the places where she faced harassment," sources said. The Delhi Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing sexual harassment allegations against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP from Kaiserganj, Uttar Pradesh is likely to submit in the court its investigation report in the two cases registered against him by next week, officials said on Wednesday. As part of its investigation, the SIT has questioned more than 180 people, the Delhi Police officials said. Top wrestlers of the country, ...

French Open: Swiatek ends Haddad Maia's dream run to reach her third final

Defending champion Iga Swiatek booked her place in the Roland-Garros final for the third time in four years after she ended the dream run of 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, beating her 6-2, 7-6(7).

Father of minor wrestler admits filing false allegations against WFI chief

The father of the minor wrestler told PTI on Thursday that they deliberately filed a false police complaint of sexual harassment against WFI chief because they wanted to get back at him for the perceived injustice against the girl. The startling admission by the father substantially weakens the case against Brij Bhusha Sharan Singh who has relentlessly faced protest for the past six months by wrestlers, who have accused him of sexual harassment. The complaint by the minor wrester has also led to investigation under POCSO Act. "It's better that truth comes out now instead of court," he told PTI when asked why he is changing his story now. "Now that interactions have started, the government has promised fair enquiry into my daughter's defeat (in Asian U17 championship trials) last year, so it is also my duty that I rectify my mistake," he said. He also provided elaborated explanation for the origin of his and his daughter's animosity against Singh, who has vehemently denied the sexua

Delhi HC permits govt to release funds for Indian team for Special Olympics

The Delhi High Court has allowed the Centre to release funds to enable the participation of the Indian team in the upcoming Special Olympics World Games, 2023, modifying a 2022 order barring the government from providing assistance to sports federations not compliant with laws governing sports administration. The court passed the order after the Centre said it was finding it difficult to release money to facilitate the participation of athletes in the Special Olympiad in view of its earlier direction. The government told the court that it had granted permission on earlier occasions to release funds to help Indian teams participate in various sporting events. "In view of the above, this Court is inclined to permit the Union of India to release money for travel expenses, accommodation, etc. for the participation of Indian team in Special Olympics World Games, 2023," said a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad in an order passed on June 2. Specia

India clears Pakistan football team's participation in SAFF Cup: AIFF

The Indian government has cleared the Pakistan football team's participation in the SAFF Cup in Bengaluru from June 21 to July 4, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Thursday. AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said India has "done its part" by clearing Pakistan's participation in the eight-nation regional tournament and it's now up to the neighbouring country to complete the formalities. "Yes, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and Sports Ministry all have cleared (Pakistan's participation)," Prabhakaran told PTI. "We have done our part. We welcome them (Pakistan). All the participating countries have got visa clearance. They have to do their part of the visa formalities." India and Pakistan are in the same group and they face each other on June 21 in their campaign opener. This is the first time in five years that the two neighbouring countries would be playing against each other. The last time India took on Pakistan on the football field

India's campaign ends in Singapore Open badminton after Kidambi's defeat

India's campaign ended at the Singapore Masters badminton tournament after Kidambi Srikanth lost in straight games to Chia Hao Lee of Chinese Taipei in the men's singles second round here on Thursday. Srikanth lost 15-21 19-21 in just 37 minutes against Lee in their first meeting on the professional circuit. The 2021 World Championships silver medallist Srikanth beat Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-15 21-19 in the opening round. Chia Hao Lee, on the other hand, beat Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in his opening match after being promoted to the main draw from the reserve. Earlier, upcoming Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat's dream run ended with a second round loss to third seed Kodai Naraoka. The unseeded Rajawat, who had stunned world No. 15 Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in the opening round, lost to Naraoka 17-21 16-21 in straight games. Having ousted HS Prannoy in the first round, the world No. 4 Naraoka of Japan maintained his lead as the world No. 37 Indian played catch-up througho

WTC Final Day 1 Highlights, IND vs AUS: Head, Smith power Aussies to 327/3

India, led by Rohit Sharma would be against Pat Cummins' Australia as the two teams vie for their maiden World Test Championship. Catch all the updates here

Wrestlers to halt protest till June 15 after Anurag Thakur assures action

Wrestler Sakshi Malik accompanied star wrestler Bajrang Punia. However, Vinesh Phogat, one of the prominent faces in the protest, did not attend the meeting

WTC Final preview: India ahead as Aussie miss Hazlewood in ultimate clash

The Australian team would miss not having Josh Hazlewood in their side in a game that would be more about testing the patience of the Indian batters

French Open 2023: From Medvedev's 'wild' exit to Varillas historic feat

Daniil Medvedev won his first title on clay just before the start of the French Open 2023 and was rated as one of the challengers to Novak Djokovic for the title, but was ousted in the 1st round

On the mat, WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a Nelson hold

Over the past few days, support for wrestlers has grown. Nearly all members of India's 1983 cricket World Cup-winning team appealed to the wrestlers to not throw their medals into the Ganges

India win two gold and one bronze in Asian U-20 Athletics Championship

Fast-rising Rezoana Mallick Heena and Bharatpreet Singh clinched a gold medal each in women's 400m race and men's discus throw respectively to launch India's campaign at the Asian U-20 Athletics Championship on an emphatic note, here on Sunday. Heena clocked 53.31 seconds -- just a tad below her personal best of 53.22s -- to win the gold. She had also won a gold in the Asian U-18 Athletics Championships in Tashkent in April. Bhartpreet picked up the second gold for India with a best throw of 55.66m on the opening day of competitions. Antima Pal won India's third medal of the day -- a bronze -- in the women's 5,000m race with a time of 17 minutes and 17.11 seconds.

Lionel Messi leaves team amid boos after final match: Club website

Lionel Messi didn't care about the boos in his final game for Paris Saint-Germain as the French league champion lost to Clermont 3-2. Disrespectful PSG supporters booed Messi when the Parc des Princes announcer read his name on a warm evening. A few minutes later, Messi walked onto the field with a smile on his face, holding his three children's hands before the team photo and kissing them on their foreheads before kickoff. I would like to thank the club, the city of Paris and its people for these two years. I wish you all the best for the future, Messi told the club website. In two seasons at PSG, Messi won two French leagues and the French Champions Trophy and notched 32 goals and 35 assists in all competitions. Messi scored in a 1-1 draw at Strasbourg a week ago to help PSG clinch a record-extending 11th French league title. By notching a 496th career league goal, the Argentine genius also broke Cristiano Ronaldo's scoring record for Europe's top five leagues. The World Cup wi

Events like Khelo India Games take sports to new heights, says UP CM

The third edition of the Khelo India University Games, organised in four cities of Uttar Pradesh, concluded in Varanasi on Saturday with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying such events are taking sports to new heights. The closing ceremony was held in a simple manner in view of the triple train accident in Balasore in Odisha and a two-minute silence was observed, according to an official statement. The accident has claimed 288 lives and injured more than 1,100. The Games had begun on May 25 and were held across nine venues in Lucknow, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Gautambuddh Nagar. "Despite the heat, the way the players participated in this event with full readiness and won medals, I congratulate and wish them the best. I heartily congratulate those who have displayed excellent sportsmanship here," the chief minister said on the occasion, according to the statement. During the closing ceremony, a short film summarising the third edition of the Games was also screened. The chief minis

MS Dhoni is very well-liked, pretty much worshipped in India: Devon Conway

New Zealand and CSK left-handed opener Devon Conway said talismanic wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni is very well-liked and worshipped in India, adding that the support for him is quite incredible

Don't take any step that would undermine sports: Anurag Thakur to wrestlers

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday asked protesting wrestlers not to take any step that would undermine sports, a day after the grapplers threatened to immerse their medals in river Ganga at Haridwar. Thakur also urged the wrestlers to be patient and trust the investigation into the allegations against the Wrestling Federation of India's former chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. "I urge the wrestlers to be patient till the outcome of the investigation. I also urge them not to take any step that would undermine sports," the minister said while replying to queries from reporters. Thakur's remarks come a day after the country's top wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, along with hundreds of their supporters, reached Har ki Pauri to immerse their medals in the river Ganga but were persuaded by Khap and farmer leaders not to do so. The wrestlers are demanding the arrest of Singh who is accused of sexually harassing several women grapplers.

Sindhu, Prannoy advance to semifinals of Malaysia Masters, Srikanth out

Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy advanced to the women's and men's singles semifinals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament with hard-fought wins over their respective opponents here on Friday. While double Olympic medallist Sindhu, seeded sixth in the tournament, beat lower ranked Yi Man Zhang of China 21-16, 13-21, 22-20, Prannoy earned a 25-23, 18-21, 21-13 win over Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the quarterfinals. Sindhu faces seventh seed and world number nine Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia in the semifinals on Saturday. Tunjung upset second seed Yi Zhi Wang of China in the quarterfinals 21-18, 22-20. Tunjung has been in fine form recently and Sindhu had lost to her in the Madrid Spain Masters final in straight games in April. The Indian will, however, go into the semifinals with a 7-1 head-to-head advantage over Tunjung. World number nine Prannoy faces qualifier Christian Adinata, ranked 57, of Indonesia, who beat Kidambi Srikanth 16-21, 21-16, 21-11

India looks to continue Pro League supremacy under new coach Fulton

A rejuvenated Indian men's hockey team will look to carry on its fine form from the home leg and maintain its supremacy at the top of the standings when it begins the Europe sojourn of the FIH Pro League against Olympic champions Belgium here on Friday. During the European leg of the tournament, India will also take on the Netherlands and Argentina in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. India overcame a disappointing World Cup campaign earlier this year to climb to the top of the 2022-23 Pro League table with an unbeaten record against world champions Germany and mighty Australia. The Indians secured three outright wins from the Rourkela leg, while also winning a shootout bonus point in the fourth match against the Kookaburras. India are currently leading the table with 19 points from five outright victories from eight matches and two from shootouts. The Harmanpreet Singh-led side will look to carry on with their winning momentum when it takes on Belgium on Friday and Great Britain on ...

IPL 2023: CSK vs GT match sets record for highest-ever digital viewership

The record was previously held by the IPL match between CSK and RCB on April 17