India's freestyle wrestler Sumit Malik (125kg category) has lost his place in the Tokyo-bound Indian contingent due to a failed dope test. The sample was taken during the Olympic qualifiers held in Sofia, Bulgaria in early May. Ironically, Malik, from Haryana’s Rohtak district won his quota place for the Olympics at the Sofia event. The banned performance-enhancing substance found in his urine sample is known as methylhexanamine – which qualifies in the category of a ‘specified’ substance. This means Sumit won’t be able to compete at the Tokyo Games. It has also ruined India’s chances of fielding a wrestler in the freestyle 125kg category. The country’s much-hyped wrestlers like Narsingh Yadav, Amit Dhankar, Sandeep Singh Mann and Jitendra failed to land India a quota place in the 74kg category. There was more bad news for Sumit. For his dope failure at an international UWW event, the world body is likely to impose a hefty fine of Rs 16,00,000 on the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), which the WFI intends to recover from the Haryana wrestler. If Sumit is found guilty and the wrestler, in turn, doesn’t pay the fine, then the WFI might ban him for life since the federation has a policy of recovering the penalty from dope-tainted grapplers. For doping offence committed at international meets, the national federation is bound to pay Rs 16,00,000 to the UWW.
Javelin thrower Chopra set to miss preparatory event
Neeraj Chopra, India’s medal hope at Olympic Games in men’s javelin throw, looks doubtful for this month’s Kuortane Games due to travel restrictions placed by Finland government on Indian visitors. Kuortane Games is a one-day athletics meet scheduled to take place on June 26. “It looks doubtful as Chopra hasn’t got approval to travel to Kuortane from the Finnish government though he would be competing in Karlstad Grand Prix in Sweden on June 22,” a source said. Chopra, the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games champion, last week got a visa to travel to France. “He will be based in the northern part of France in Lievin for a fortnight and will undergo a 10-day quarantine mandatory for Indians. But it is uncertain whether he would get a window of two hours a day to train outdoors during quarantine,” added the source. Chopra is expected to leave for European training-cum-competition stint this week. He will be accompanied by coach Klaus Bartonietz and physio Issan Marwaha.
Qatar edge past 10-man India
It’s hard defending against Qatar. The Asian champions scored 16 goals in their first six matches of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers, failing to find the target only in the goalless draw against India. When the two teams faced off again at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha last week, India braced for another tough night. The task only got tougher when Rahul Bheke picked up his second booking and was sent off in the17th minute. For the remainder of the match, India tried to defend, bravely, with numbers at the back. Their efforts, though, were not enough as Qatar got the better of India1-0 to open a seven-point gap at the top in group E. Qatar were dominant from start to finish and had 35 shots throughout the game. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was terrific for the visitors, making countless saves, many from close range. The goalkeeper was beaten just once in the 33rd minute when Abdulaziz Halem found the back of the net from inside a crowded goalmouth. India didn’t have much to show, offensively. Coach Igor Stimac, understandably, started with five at the back - slotting Ashique Kuruniyan at left-back - and it was only Manvir Singh who had a look at the rival goal at the half an hour mark.
Never claimed to be vegan: Kohli
India skipper Virat Kohli clarified that he has never claimed to be vegan. In the 'Ask Me Anything' session last week on Instagram, the Indian skipper had answered a question from a fan which sparked a debate on various social media platforms. When a fan asked him about his diet, Kohli said: "Lots of vegetables, some eggs, 2 cups of coffee, quinoa, lots of spinach, love dosas too. But all in controlled quantities." After this, the fans were surprised to know that Kohli has had eggs in his diet as they thought he was vegan. And the Indian skipper said he is vegetarian and he never claimed to be vegan. "I never claimed to be vegan. Always maintained I'm vegetarian. Take a deep breath and eat your Veggies (if you want)," Kohli tweeted.
Marin withdraws from Tokyo Olympics
Spain's Olympic women's singles badminton champion Carolina Marin confirmed that she is unable to defend her crown in Tokyo due to a knee injury. Marin, a five-time European and three-time world champion who beat PV Sindhu to claim gold at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, said she has torn her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and both meniscus in her left knee. "The preparation during the last two months had become very difficult for reasons beyond the team's control, but we were excited and knew that I would... (be in) the best possible shape for the Olympics. It won't be possible. I know that I am in safe hands and have a lot of people by my side,” Marin said.
Rashid declines Afghanistan T20 captaincy
Star Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has declined captaining the T20 side fearing it might affect his performance as a player which he feels is more crucial to the team. Afghanistan have been changing captains frequently and earlier this week named Hashmatullah Shahidi as their Test and ODI skipper. However, the Afghanistan Cricket Board is yet to name the T20 captain.
Jayasuriya to coach Melbourne club
Sri Lankan great Sanath Jayasuriya is set to make his cricketing comeback after serving a two-year ICC ban with a coaching stint at Melbourne club Mulgrave. Jayasuriya was banned in February 2019 for breaching the ICC anti-corruption code. As per a Herald Sun report, former Sri Lanka opener Tillakaratne Dilshan convinced 51-year-old Jayasuriya to take up the job.
Marin withdraws from Tokyo Olympics
Spain's Olympic women's singles badminton champion Carolina Marin confirmed that she is unable to defend her crown in Tokyo due to a knee injury. Marin, a five-time European and three-time world champion who beat PV Sindhu to claim gold at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, said she has torn her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and both meniscus in her left knee. "The preparation during the last two months had become very difficult for reasons beyond the team's control, but we were excited and knew that I would... (be in) the best possible shape for the Olympics. It won't be possible. I know that I am in safe hands and have a lot of people by my side,” Marin said.
