David Alexander Robertson, coach of Kashmir’s famous football club Real Kashmir FC, has been honoured with British Empire Medal (BEM) for his services to the community in the valley and strengthening UK-India relations, a feat he dedicated to the people of Kashmir and the team he has been engaged with. According to the list released on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday, “Manager, Real Kashmir Football Club, India, receives a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the community in Kashmir and UK-India relations.” The 52-year-old Robertson, who has been coach of Real Kashmir Football Club, has received a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to the local community. “The award recognises Robertson’s outstanding contribution to the sport and the community as head coach of RKFC since January 2017,” the official list read.
Boxer Dingko Singh loses fight against cancer
The 1998 Asian Games gold medal-winning boxer Dingko Singh passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer. Dingko, who passed away at his home in Manipur’s Sekta village was 42 and is survived by wife Babai Ngangom, a daughter and a son. The news left the boxing fraternity in great distress. President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Narendra Modi led the tributes. Diagnosed with liver cancer in 2017, Dingko’s fight got tougher last year since the onset of the pandemic. He had to be airlifted to Delhi for his radiation therapy last year during the nationwide lockdown in April but a bout of jaundice didn’t allow the therapy to be undertaken. Back in Imphal, he tested positive for Covid-19 and spent a month in hospital to recover from it. Reportedly, he had to sell off his house to meet the expenses of his treatment. But the bantamweight boxer challenged all those adversities with the same agility and spirit that he was famous for. A fearless challenger in the ring, Dingko beat two Olympic medallists - Sontaya Wongprates of Thailand and Timur Tulyakov of Uzbekistan - en route to his Asian Games gold in Bangkok, which bolstered the Indian boxers’ belief in their ability at the global arena.
NZ win series, become No 1 ranked Test side
New Zealand overpowered England by eight wickets in the second Test at Edgbaston on Sunday as they sealed a 1-0 series win with more than a day to spare. The series victory saw the visitors dislodging India from the top spot in the ICC Test team rankings ahead of the World Test Championships final in Southampton from June 18. Set a target of just 38 after England tailender Olly Stone was out to the very first ball of the fourth day, the Blackcaps finished on 41-2. Stand-in captain Tom Latham, leading the team in place of the injured Kane Williamson, hit the winning boundary to be 23 not out after the first Test of a two-match series at Lord’s ended in a draw last week. Victory gave New Zealand just a third win in 18 Test series in England and a first this century after their 1986 and 1999 triumphs. By contrast, this was England’s first series loss at home since a 2014 defeat by Sri Lanka. England resumed on the brink of defeat at 122-9 in their second innings, a lead of just 37 runs, after a top-order collapse that had seen them slump to 76-7.
Ex-Ranji player Desai named NCA batting coach
Apurva Desai, former Ranji Trophy player from Surat and a level-3 coach, has been appointed as batting coach at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Desai will be working under NCA director and former India captain Rahul Dravid. During his three-year tenure, Desai will also be preparing batting programmes for NCA, national and zonal camps and coaching workshops of level 1, 2 and 3. He has been working with the NCA as a visiting coach for the last 12 years. “We will be focusing on training coaches for the new format. We will deliberate on systems and processes with coaches with Dravid heading the operations. It will be a multifaceted role as there will be camps and courses with teams,” Desai said. Before his selection at NCA, Desai was a member of the advisory committee of Surat District Cricket Association. In the past he has coached players of Andra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Nepal seniors as well as under-19 teams, junior team of USA, and also in Bangladesh Premier League.
Javelin gold for Chopra in Lisbon
India’s Neeraj Chopra won the javelin gold medal in the Meeting Cidade de Lisboa with a throw of 83.18 metres recorded with his sixth and last attempt. In the field of five Portuguese competitors, 23-year-old Chopra’s best throw was 83.18m, which turned out to be a gold medal winning effort as the other competitors failed to cross the 80m mark. Chopra has a season best of 88.07m recorded in March in Patiala.
