Haider Ali has won Pakistan its first medal at this year’s Rio Paralympic Games.
The 32-year-old athlete, who is his country’s only representative at the Games, won the bronze medal with a leap of 6.28m in the men’s T37 long jump category.
China’s Shang Guangxu won the gold with a jump of 6.77m while Brazil’s Evangelista Cardoso Mateus jumped 6.53m to bag silver in the event.
This is Ali’s second paralympic medal – he won a silver with a record jump of 6.44m in Beijing 2008.
Sumit Nagal
DISILLUSIONED players declined national duty and their governing body grappled with infighting as Indian tennis struggled to stay afloat in a largely disappointing 2024.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the players being at loggerheads was not a new development. But the striking part was the lack of transparency in decision-making and nearly non-existent effort to address the concerns of the players.
The result was that the game plunged to new depths.
The AITA president Anil Jain, who was accused of using his position for personal gain, avoided facing a no-confidence motion from the state associations only after he agreed to step aside.
Towards the end of a forgettable year, a new team of administrators won the elections, promising to change Indian tennis, but a legal challenge filed by two former players did not allow the reform process to begin.
There were accusations that the elections were held in violation of the sports code. The matter will not be heard before March 25, putting on hold the much needed revamp of the system.
In a nutshell, everything that could have gone wrong for Indian tennis in 2024, did go wrong. Yuki Bhambri refused to play for India in a Davis Cup tie against Sweden in September without offering any reason for his decision.
But it was made clear by federation sources that his withdrawal was in response to being left out of the Paris Olympics where Rohan Bopanna, a top 10 player, preferred N Sriram Balaji as his doubles partner.
Bhambri had travelled to Islamabad in Pakistan, despite security concerns, for a Davis Cup engagement in January-February and had the administrators discussed the situation with him, he might have been persuaded to let go of his misgivings.
But AITA could not give a convincing reply to Bhambri either about why his name was not sent for inclusion in the target Olympic podium scheme nor the role Bopanna played in making the choices for Paris.
Meanwhile, the decision by India’s top singles player, Sumit Nagal, to pull out of ties against both Pakistan and Sweden took everyone by surprise.
Captain Rohit Rajpal had agreed to Nagal’s demand for a remuneration amount of $50,000 (£39,980) for annual Davis Cup duty, but the player cited a back strain to pull out of the Sweden tie. He also withdrew from an ATP Tour event the following week.
AITA went public with Nagal’s demands for money after India were thrashed 4-0 by a beatable Sweden. This again triggered a war of words between AITA and Nagal.
Amid this controversy, Sasikumar Mukund, the secondbest singles player in India, was not even picked for the tie because a ban was imposed on him for his earlier refusal to travel to Pakistan owing to security fears and other disciplinary violations.
On court, India did not enjoy much success either. The 44-year-old Bopanna won the Australian Open men’s doubles title with Matthew Ebden in January, the high point of a productive partnership that drew to a close in November. But singles success was very limited.
After a decent first half in which Nagal touched a careerhigh rank of 68, his form began to fade in the second half of the season. Such was his struggle that in his last 12 tournaments, Nagal has managed to win only two matches – one at the Kitzbuhel Challenger in July and one at the Swiss Indoors Basel ATP event in October.
Placed 98, Nagal is now on the brink of dropping out of the top 100 and the next best player is Mukund, who is currently ranked 368.
The next line of players – Manas Dhamne, Karan Singh, Dev Javia and Aryan Shah – do not seem to have the support needed to become world beaters.
As for the women’s circuit, no player looks promising enough to be touted as the next big thing.
Given the crisis of talent, commentators say India needs a robust domestic circuit and a chain of ATP Challengers and WTA/ ITF women’s events to find players capable of competing on the global stage.
Saikia's cricketing background includes a brief stint as a wicketkeeper-batter for Assam, scoring 53 runs in four first-class matches during the 1990–91 season. (Photo: Getty Images)
Devajit Saikia is set to take charge as the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), one of the wealthiest and most influential governing bodies in global sports.
Saikia, a lawyer with a modest cricketing career, was the only nominee for the role and is expected to be confirmed at a BCCI members' meeting in Mumbai on Sunday.
The 55-year-old currently serves as interim secretary, a position he assumed after Jay Shah became chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) last month.
Shah, who has led the BCCI since 2019, is the son of India’s home minister, Amit Shah.
Saikia has previously stated that administration was never part of his plans.
"It was never my intention to be a cricket or sports administrator. Even today I don't like being an administrator," he told broadcasters last year.
He said his entry into administration was driven by his experience of "corruption" in cricket governance in his home state of Assam.
Saikia's cricketing background includes a brief stint as a wicketkeeper-batter for Assam, scoring 53 runs in four first-class matches during the 1990–91 season.
His administrative journey began as general secretary of a cricket club in Assam under Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is now the state's chief minister and a leader in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Saikia and Sarma later worked together in the Assam state cricket association.
When Sarma became chief minister, he appointed Saikia as the advocate general, the state government's chief legal adviser.
Saikia’s transition to BCCI administration came after Shah’s departure to the ICC, with Saikia already serving on the board.
Saikia’s appointment has drawn criticism from political opponents in Assam, who argued that it was inappropriate for him to accept an "office of profit" while serving in the state government. He dismissed the criticism as "misguided."
In his personal life, Saikia is known for his passion for biking and adventure sports.
(With inputs from AFP)
In 2022, the Delhi-based player became the youngest Indian athlete to participate in the Commonwealth Games. (Photo: Getty Images)
INDIA's squash talent Anahat Singh secured the U-17 title at the British Junior Open on Monday with a hard-fought victory over Egypt's Malika El Karaksy in Birmingham.
The 16-year-old top seed staged a comeback to defeat the second-seeded El Karaksy in five games, with scores of 4-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5, 11-3.
Anahat has previously won the British Junior Open in the U-11 and U-15 categories.
Last year, she finished as the runner-up in the U-17 category.
In 2022, the Delhi-based player became the youngest Indian athlete to participate in the Commonwealth Games.
She has also earned bronze medals at the Asian Games and Asian Championships.
Currently, Anahat is ranked 82 in the PSA world rankings.
(With inputs from PTI)
England's men's ODI team is scheduled to play Afghanistan in Lahore on February 26. (Photo: Getty Images)
OVER 160 British politicians have called on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to boycott their Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan next month as a stand against the Taliban regime's restrictions on women's rights.
The Taliban’s return to power in 2021 has effectively banned female participation in sports, a move that violates the International Cricket Council's (ICC) regulations. Despite this, Afghanistan continues to compete in international cricket.
England's men's ODI team is scheduled to play Afghanistan in Lahore on February 26.
A cross-party group from the House of Commons and House of Lords, including figures such as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, urged the ECB to "speak out against the horrific treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban."
ECB CEO Richard Gould responded by emphasising the importance of a unified international approach. "The ECB strongly condemns the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime," he said.
"The ICC Constitution mandates that all member nations are committed to the growth and development of women's cricket. In line with this commitment, the ECB has maintained its position of not scheduling any bilateral cricket matches against Afghanistan.
"While there has not been a consensus on further international action within the ICC, the ECB will continue to actively advocate for such measures. A coordinated, ICC-wide approach would be significantly more impactful than unilateral actions by individual members."
Afghanistan, ranked eighth in ODI cricket, has seen significant success in recent years. They defeated England at the 2023 ODI World Cup and reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup last year, knocking out Australia.
(With inputs from AFP)
Afghanistan put on an all-round display in the 2nd test match to beat the hosts by 72 runs on the final day. (Photo: Afghanistan Cricket)
AFGHANISTAN secured a 72-run victory over Zimbabwe on Monday, wrapping up the two-Test series 1-0 at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
Star leg-spinner Rashid Khan took his seventh wicket of the innings as Afghanistan completed the match in just 15 deliveries on the final day.
Zimbabwe resumed on 205-8, with captain Craig Ervine unbeaten on 53, needing 73 more runs to chase down the target. However, the hosts failed to add any runs to their overnight score.
Richard Ngarava was run out for three, and Khan (7-66) dismissed Ervine leg before, sealing Afghanistan’s first Test win since defeating Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi four years ago.
Ervine, who faced 103 balls and hit one six and four fours, was Zimbabwe’s top scorer. Rashid Khan finished with match figures of 11 wickets, having claimed four in the first innings.
Khan credited the team’s batters for their second-innings performances, highlighting the contributions of centurions Rahmat Shah (139) and debutant Ismat Alam (101).
"The way they performed second time round got us back into the match," Khan said.
Reflecting on Alam’s performance, Khan said, "The way Ismat shrugged off the disappointment of being out for nought in his first innings was amazing. He was hurt during the second innings, but carried on for the sake of his country."
Khan, who is recovering from back surgery, described taking 11 wickets in the match as encouraging. "It was all about adapting to the conditions, which initially favoured the bowlers, then the batters," he said.
Rahmat Shah, named Player of the Series, and Ismat Alam played pivotal roles in overcoming Afghanistan’s 86-run first-innings deficit, ensuring the visitors finished the series with a decisive win.
(With inputs from AFP)
