Cricket stars Kirti Azad and Yusuf Pathan achieved significant victories, while football great Prasun Banerjee retained his seat. However, other sports figures faced setbacks in India's general elections.
Para-athlete Devendra Jhajharia (BJP), a double Paralympic gold medallist in javelin throw, and former hockey captain Dilip Tirkey (BJD) conceded defeat in Churu (Rajasthan) and Sundargarh (Odisha) respectively.
Azad and Pathan, running on Trinamool Congress (TMC) tickets, emerged victorious. Former football captain Banerjee, also on a TMC ticket, won by 1.69 lakh votes from Howrah (West Bengal), marking his third consecutive term in the Lok Sabha.
Azad, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, defeated West Bengal BJP heavyweight Dilip Ghosh from Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency by 1,37,981 votes. Ghosh, a former BJP state chief and national vice-president, represented Midnapore in his previous term.
Yusuf Pathan, originally from Gujarat, defeated five-time Congress MP and opposition leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in West Bengal's Bahrampur constituency by over 85,000 votes. This was Yusuf's first political campaign. He was part of the Indian team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup.
Azad, son of former Bihar chief minister Bhagwat Jha Azad, played seven Test matches and 25 One-Day Internationals for India between 1980 and 1986. He was first elected to parliament from Darbhanga in Bihar in 1999 and again in 2009 and 2014 on a BJP ticket.
Azad was suspended by the BJP in 2015 and unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Dhanbad on a Congress ticket before joining TMC in 2021.
Jhajharia, a first-time contestant, lost by 72,737 votes to Congress' Rahul Kaswan in Churu, Rajasthan.
Tirkey, the current head of Hockey India, was defeated in Sundargarh by BJP's Jual Oram, a former Union minister.
(PTI)
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)