India’s sports minister on Wednesday urged wrestling champions who have staged protests accusing their federation chief of sexual harassment to await the outcome of investigations into the allegations before deciding their next course of action.

Minister Anurag Thakur said the national capital’s police is investigating the case, following directions from the Supreme Court. He asked the wrestlers to have faith in the probe.

Thakur was speaking a day after Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and Asian Games champion Vinesh Phogat said they would toss their medals into the river Ganges as part of their demand for the arrest of their federation chief.

A prominent farmers’ leader convinced them to call off that action, promising a solution within five days.

The athletes had been camping in New Delhi since April 23 demanding action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has denied allegations of sexually harassing female athletes.

“Dear players, wait for and have faith in the Delhi Police investigation. It has registered the FIR on the Supreme Courts direction,” Thakur told reporters, referring to the complaint registered by the police.

He added that while the investigation was proceeding it would not be appropriate to take any action that could hurt any other sport or players.

A member of parliament for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Singh has been stripped of his administrative powers.

He protested his innocence again on Wednesday.

“I am once again saying that even if a single allegation is proved against me, I will hang myself, Singh said at a public event in his home state of Uttar Pradesh according to a Press Trust of India report on the Times of India website.

“Brij Bhushan will not be hanged by throwing medals in the Ganga. If you have proof, give it to the court and if the court hangs me, I will accept it,” Singh said.

The United World Wrestling on Tuesday criticised the “lack of results” in the investigations against Singh and reminded the Indian Olympic Association of a promise it made in April to hold fresh elections for the WFI within 45 days.

ROME: Juventus will pay a fine of 718,000 euros ($790,000) and not challenge a 10-point penalty in a settlement reached on Tuesday with Italy’s football authorities over payments to players and the club’s accounts.

With the settlement, Italy’s most successful club aims to clear the slate with the game’s regulators before the end of the current Serie A season and provide clarity for their future, which has been clouded by financial scandals.

There will be no further points deducted for this season, after the team were docked 10 points last month in a separate case regarding the club’s player transfers.

Shares in Juventus rose as much as 9.9% on the Milan Stock Exchange after the settlement was announced and were up 5.1% by 1350 GMT.

The Agnelli family is the majority owner of the club through their investment company EXOR.

Under the terms of the agreement, which also covers allegations of undue relationships with players’ agents and other clubs, Juventus will pay the fine and drop any appeals in other cases, Italy’s football federation FIGC said.

Juventus said that, while reiterating the correctness of their actions and the soundness of their arguments, they had decided to accept the settlement “in the best interest” of the club itself, their shareholders and stakeholders.

“The settlement of all open FIGC sports proceedings allows the company to achieve a definite result,” Juventus said in a statement, adding this would remove “tension and instability” and allow the club to focus on planning for next season.

With one match left to play, the agreement leaves Juventus seventh in the Serie A table, allowing them to qualify for next season’s Europa Conference League and still potentially aspiring for a spot in the more lucrative Europa League.

However, the club might have to forfeit a place in European competitions because of sanctions that could be imposed in a separate probe by European football’s ruling body UEFA, newspapers have reported.

Tuesday’s settlement also includes fines for seven Juventus former and current executives, while the position of former Chairman Andrea Agnelli will be assessed in a hearing on June 15, FIGC said.

Inquiries into Juventus by sports authorities were triggered by investigations from criminal prosecutors in Turin, where the club are based, in a case regarding alleged false accounting.

As part of this case, Agnelli, 11 other people and the club itself risk standing trial.

The club have denied any wrongdoing on this and said their accounting is in line with industry standards.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2023

NEW DELHI: India’s top wrestlers were talked out of their plans to toss their medals into the river Ganges on Tuesday as part of their ongoing demand to arrest their federation chief over sexual harassment allegations.

The athletes had been camping in New Delhi since April 23 demanding action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has denied allegations of sexually harassing female athletes.

Singh could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Several of the protesting wrestlers were briefly detained by Delhi Police on Sunday and their campsite was cleared after they tried to move towards India’s new parliament building.

Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, and Asian Games champion Vinesh Phogat reached the north Indian town of Haridwar along with fellow wrestlers to dump their medals as a mark of protest.

A prominent farmers’ leader, Naresh Tikait, convinced them to call off the act promising a solution within five days. “Because of them, we hold our head high in international sports arena,” Tikait told the media.

“We will make sure they won’t have to hang their head in shame.” A member of parliament for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Singh has been stripped of his administrative powers.

Earlier on Tuesday, the wrestlers issued a statement spelling out their plans to drown their medals in the river.

“For us, our medals are sacred, and so is the river Ganges,” they said in a statement in Hindi.

“This holy river is the perfect custodian of our medals, not the system that shields the offender.” They also announced plans to begin an indefinite hunger strike in New Delhi.

The United World Wrestling issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the detention of the wrestlers and criticising the “lack of results” in the investigations against Singh.

Wrestling’s governing body reminded the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) of its promise, made in April, to hold fresh elections for the WFI within 45 days.

“Failing to do so may lead UWW to suspend the federation, thereby forcing the athletes to compete under a neutral flag,” it warned.

The UWW would hold a meeting with the wrestlers to inquire about their condition and safety, it add-ed.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2023

KARACHI: Portugal-based Easah Suliman and England-based Otis Khan were on Tuesday named among 28 players who will attend the Pakistan national team camp for the upcoming four-Nations Cup in Mauritius and the SAFF Championship in India.

Alongside central defender Easah and attacker Otis, seven other foreign-based players were named for the camp including strikers Hassan Bashir and Abdul Samad, midfielders Harun Hamid, Rahis Nabi and Adnan Yaqoob, defender Abdullah Iqbal and goalkeeper Yousuf Butt.The training camp gets underway from Wednesday with the team due to travel to Mauritius for the four-Nations Cup where they face the hosts in the opener on June 11 before matches against Kenya and Djibouti.

At the SAFF Championship in Bangalore, Pakistan face India in their opening game on June 21 before facing Kuwait and Nepal in their other Group ‘A’ matches.

If they make the final squad, Easah and Otis will make their debuts for Pakistan in Mauritius.

The 25-year-old Easah, a product of the Aston Villa academy, was a former England under-20 international and currently plays in the Portuguese second-tier while Otis, 27, is on the books of Grimsby Town in England’s fourth tier.

All the other foreign-based players have featured for Pakistan in the past, including the 36-year-old Hassan, who is the country’s second-highest goalscorer with nine.

Harun and Samad made their Pakistan debuts in the 1-0 friendly loss to the Maldives in March while Rahis returns to the side for the first time since featuring in the first round of qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup against Cambodia in 2019.

Pakistan are also due to feature in the first round of qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which are scheduled for October.

Training camp probables:

Goalkeepers: Saqib Hanif, Salman-ul-Haq, Abdul Basit, Yousuf Ijaz Butt; Defenders: Mohammad Umar Hayat, Ali Khan Niazi, Mohammad Sufyan, Mohammad Umer Saeed, Mamoon Moosa Khan, Syed Abdullah Shah, Haseeb Ahmed Khan, Sardar Wali, Sohail, Easah Suliman, Abdullah Iqbal; Midfielders: Alamgir Ali Khan Ghazi, Ali Uzair Mahmood, Moin Ahmed, Shayak Dost, Mohammad Waleed Khan, Rahis Nabi, Harun Arrashid Faheem Hamid, Umair Ali, Mohammad Adnan Yaqoob; Forwards: Abdul Samad Shahzad, Otis Jan Mohammad Khan, Hassan Naweed Bashir, Mohammad Waheed.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2023

India’s top wrestlers have threatened to hurl their medals into the Ganges river on Tuesday as they demand the arrest of the head of the Wrestling Federation of India over sexual harassment allegations.

The wrestlers had been camping in New Delhi since April 23 demanding action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has denied any wrongdoing.

Singh, a member of parliament for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Several of the protesting wrestlers were briefly detained by Delhi Police on Sunday and their camp site was cleared after they tried to move towards India’s new parliament building.

Singh has been stripped of his administrative powers but the wrestlers are seeking his arrest over allegations of sexual harassment against female wrestlers.

Wrestlers including Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia issued a joint statement on Tuesday spelling out their next step in the north Indian town of Haridwar.

“For us, our medals are sacred, and so is the Ganges river,” they said in a statement in Hindi.

“This holy river is the perfect custodian of our medals, not the system that shields the offender.”

The athletes said that after throwing their medals into the river they would return to New Delhi to begin a hunger strike at the India Gate war memorial.

Cricket’s cash-starved associate member nations fear the proposed new international revenue distribution model, which heavily favours the game’s superpowers, could potentially stall the growth of the game.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has proposed a new revenue-sharing model for the 2024-27 cycle to be voted on at its July board meeting in Durban.

According to figures leaked to Cricinfo, cricket’s financial engine India would alone claim 38.5 per cent, primarily in recognition of its contribution to the commercial revenue pot.

The 12 full members of the ICC would collectively take 88.81 per cent with the rest distributed among 94 associate members.

The ICC has not commented on the figures, though general manager Wasim Khan said on Monday all members would get more money under the proposed model than in the past.

Pakistan have already made clear their opposition to the model in its current shape and resentment is rumbling among other, less developed, cricketing nations.

Sumod Damodar, one of the three associate member representatives on the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee, said the proposal would not meet the needs of associate members.

“If what is being proposed and discussed is likely to be the outcome then, as an associate member representative, I would be (disappointed),” he told Reuters.

“There are numerous practical reasons why it would be inadequate for associate members.”

Damodar, vice chairman of Botswana’s board, said associate members who have earned one-day international (ODI) status need more money to sustain their high-performance programmes, while the others need cash to bridge the gap.

Citing the rapid rise of Nepal in men’s cricket and Thailand in the women’s game, Damodar said more countries would step up if they were given the required financial support.

Vanuatu Cricket Association Chief Executive Tim Cutler said the proposed model would only accentuate the inequality between cricket’s haves and have-nots.

“The new model is now even more heavily weighted towards the bigger cricketing nations, and there is a risk that the proposed changes will exacerbate this imbalance, putting the future of the game at further risk,” Cutler told Reuters.

“The sad reality is, cricket will not grow beyond its current corners of the world […] if the allocation of the games global funds aren’t more equally allocated with a view to actually growing the game.”

With full members having 12 of the 17 total votes on the ICC board, Cutler said diverting funds away from themselves, or making independent decisions for the good of the game, would be like “turkeys voting for Christmas”.

The ICC did not respond to a request for comment when asked about the concerns of the associate members.

Stronger and richer

Former ICC President Ehsan Mani said there was a lack of vision at the governing body in its approach to developing cricketing nations, despite the huge commercial potential of some of them.

“One of the biggest risks for global cricket is its over-dependence on one country, India, for a major part of the revenues generated,” the former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman told Reuters.

“Countries like the USA and the Middle East and, in longer term, China would bring enormous benefits to the ICC, its members and the global game. World cricket would be stronger and richer for it.”

For Mani, India grabbing the lion’s share of ICC revenues “makes no sense” and he advocated equal shares for all full members.

“World cricket needs a strong West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan,” he added.

“Cricket in Zimbabwe has suffered due to lack of funds as have Ireland and Afghanistan. Lack of investment in some of these countries will make the game unsustainable and world cricket will be poorer for it.”

DUBAI: International Cricket Council (ICC) general manager Wasim Khan expects the cricket boards of Pakistan and India to approach amicable “conclusions” to the ongoing deadlock between them over the Asia Cup and the World Cup with the sport’s global governing body’s assistance.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has categorically refused sending its team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, which is scheduled to be held in the country in September. The PCB, meanwhile, has warned of a “very real possibility” of Pakistan withdrawing from the World Cup, which is to be hosted by India a month later.

Discussions over a “hybrid model” — that would see India playing their Asia Cup matches at a neutral venue — however, are still ongoing after it was proposed by the PCB’s interim Management Committee chairman Najam Sethi.

But, even if the proposal is accepted by the BCCI, the PCB may demand playing their World Cup matches outside India — a situation which has seemed to put organisers ICC in a flux, with the schedule of the One-day International showpiece yet to be released with only five months to go before its opener.

To conduct meetings with the PCB over the issue, ICC chairman and chief executive Greg Barclay and Geoff Allardice are set to arrive in Lahore on Tuesday, a visit Wasim hoped will prove fruitful.

“That’s something that’s obviously ongoing at the moment,” Wasim told a virtual press conference on Monday. “Geoff Allardice, our CEO, and Greg are in Pakistan at the moment discussing a number of areas with the PCB hierarchy.

“But that’s certainly up to the two countries and the hierarchy within the ICC to discuss them and come to some conclusions.”

A final decision over the Asia Cup is expected after an imminent Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) executive body meeting this week. The ACC is headed by Jay Shah, who is also the BCCI secretary.

According to reports that emerged from India on Sunday night, Shah and the BCCI are still opposed to the “hybrid model” and want the tournament to be entirely shifted from Pakistan to another country, preferably Sri Lanka.

Dates and venues for the World Cup will be announced after the World Test Championship (WTC) final in London from June 7.

CO-EXSISTENCE WITH T20 LEAGUES

The emergence of lucrative T20 leagues has challenged the ICC to maintain the popularity of international cricket in the last few years, but now it seems that the body is observing acceptance rather than trying to resist what now looks like an unstoppable phenomenon in the sport.

After the BCCI became the pioneer of such competitions by launching the Indian Premier League in 2008, top cricket nations in Pakistan, Australia, England have came up with their own versions of franchise T20 leagues — The Hundred in England’s case.

But now after South Africa held the inaugural SA20 last year, even blossoming cricket nations, namely UAE and the United States, have launched T20 leagues, further cramping the cricket calendar.;

Wasim said there was only one way to cope with the rising number of leagues, which have also seen big names like New Zealand pacer Trent Boult and England batter Jason Roy cancel their contracts with their national sides.

“The fact that we’re seeing some highly competitive domestic T20 leagues around the world provides more choice for fans, more choice for players in terms of taking part, which is only going to improve the product particularly around our white-ball tournaments, the ICC World Cups,” said the official.

“Obviously, the way the schedule is structured now and the emergence of these leagues, there has to be a way for us to co-exist. Nothing is going to be removed so we are going to have to co-exist moving forward.”

Wasim, however, was more hopeful about Test cricket, having the Full Members of the ICC on board over retaining the WTC in the next eight-year cycle of the Future Tours Programme.

“The context for red-ball cricket, when there is competition from other formats, competition for the time of players, the World Test Championship is still very dear to countries and players,” he said. “We’ve heard from some of the top stars around the world talking about the importance of Test cricket.

“It’s important we continue to find an opportunity to co-exist, to ensure our schedule moving forward beyond the next cycle, beyond 2027 is something that provides something for everybody, for all the fans. We have the purists who still love watching Test cricket, players who still love playing it, fans who enjoy white ball as well.”

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2023

DUBAI: Josh Hazlewood made the cut when Australia submitted their final 15-man squad for next week’s World Test Championship (WTC) final despite recent injury concerns, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced.

The paceman cut short his Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign earlier this month after reporting “minor side soreness” but had been declared fit by Cricket Australia for the winner-takes-all test at The Oval in London starting on June 7.

The 32-year-old joins captain Pat Cummins, Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc as the specialist fast bowlers in the squad with all-rounder Mitch Marsh and batter Matthew Renshaw, who were included in the original party, missing out.

India confirmed the 15 players they announced three weeks ago after wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul withdrew with a right leg injury and was replaced by the uncapped Ishan Kishan.

Uncapped opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was named alongside Mukesh Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav as standby players for India after a strong IPL campaign.

Standby players can now replace an injured player in the squad only with the approval of the ICC technical committee.

After the final, in which both sides will be seeking a first title, Australia go straight into the Ashes series against England with the first Test starting at Edgbaston on June 16.

Squads:

AUSTRALIA: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

INDIA: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K.S. Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan.-

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2023

PARIS: Novak Djokovic started his bid for a men’s record 23rd Grand Slam singles title with a straight-sets victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic in the French Open first round on Monday.

Two-time Roland Garros champion Djokovic held off a late rally from his American opponent on Court Philippe Chatrier to clinch a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) victory.

He has still not lost in his opening match of a major since the 2006 Australian Open.

“I’m very motivated to stay in this tournament for a long time, it’s just the start now,” said Djokovic after kicking off his 19th consecutive French Open campaign.

“I’m happy. I’ve started well and hope I can improve further for the next match.”

The 36-year-old will face Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, who he has beaten four times in as many meetings, in the second round.

Djokovic is only seeded third at Roland Garros this year despite the absence of his great rival and 14-time winner Rafael Nadal through injury, behind world number one Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

He is tied with Nadal for most men’s Slam singles trophies and just one behind the 23 of Serena Williams. Margaret Court holds the all-time record of 24.

Kovacevic, the world number 114 playing in his first Grand Slam match, battled hard but could not put Djokovic under sustained pressure until it was too late.

One break in the sixth game was enough for the Serbian star to take the opening set, before he raced through the second.

Djokovic broke to love to start the third set before saving three break points in the second game.

Kovacevic did break for the first time in the match to level the set at 3-3, only to drop serve again immediately.

Djokovic uncharacteristically stumbled when serving for the match as Kovacevic forced a tie-break to the delight of the crowd.

But the world number three quickly regrouped, dominating the breaker before ending Kovacevic’s resistance on his first match point with a thumping forehand return.

At Court Simonne Mathieu, Canadian 10th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered a third defeat at the opening hurdle in four visits to Roland Garros as he lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to Fabio Fognini.

The unpredictable Italian, who himself has lost in the first round six times in nine tournaments so far this season, pulled off a shock win.

The world number 52 will next face Australian Jason Kubler.

Meanwhile, British 14th seed Cameron Norrie came through a five-set thriller on Court Suzanne Lenglen to beat home wildcard Benoit Paire 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist will take on resurgent Frenchman Lucas Pouille for a third-round berth.

Canadian Denis Shapovalov scraped past Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3.

Chinese hopes of a first men’s singles match win at the French Open since 1937 were dashed as Wu Yibing lost 7-6 (7/4), 6-1, 6-1 to Robert Bautista Agut and Shang Juncheng was beaten 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 by Juan Pablo Varillas.In the women’s draw, former runner-up Sloane Stephens dumped out 16th seed Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-4.

Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the losing finalist in 2021, brushed aside Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 6-2.

Croatian 22nd seed Donna Vekic and American Madison Keys also secured their places in round two.

In Sunday’s late action, top seeds Karen Khachanov and Hubert Hurkacz battled their way into the second round.

Russian Khachanov defeated local favourite Constant Lestienne 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 and the 11th seed was joined in the second round by Polish 13th seed Hurkacz who battled past David Goffin 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

Monte Carlo champion Andrey Rublev, the seventh seed, overcame a mid-match wobble to beat Laslo Djere 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Women’s third seed Jessica Pegula was in no mood for any adventures and cruised into the next round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over fellow American Danielle Collins.

Canadian Leylah Fernandez downed 21st seed Magda Linette 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 while Poland’s Magdalena Frech sent 29th seed Zhang Shuai packing after a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2023