November 14, 2023 saw plenty of notable headlines in Indian sports, chief among them the exit of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy - Chirag Shetty from the Japan Masters in the first round itself. In addition, Neeraj Chopra was nominated for the World Athlete of the Year award.
Here's how the day transpired:
Wrestling: No gold medal bouts for Olympic qualifiers
United World Wrestling have announced that the gold medal bout will be done away with at the Continental and World qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The two winning semifinalists will earn quotas, while the World qualifiers will offer an additional quota for the bronze winner.
The Asian Qualifiers will be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from April 19-21 while the World Olympic Qualifier will be held in Istanbul, Turkey from May 9-12.
The World Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia in September this year had offered five quota places in each of the six weight categories in three styles, with Antim Panghal the only Indian wrestler to have won a quota for Paris with a bronze medal.
Meanwhile, the Wrestling Federation of India still remains suspended by the UWW, as the WFI is yet to hold elections.
Neeraj among final nominees for IAAF's world athlete of the year award
Neeraj Chopra has been named one of the final nominees to win the IAAF's world athlete of the year award. This year saw Neeraj become India's first track and field world champion, while he also defended his Asian Games title.
The elusive 90m mark continues to remain a future target for Neeraj, but it was a year to savour, as even his Diamond League performances remained consistent. Pole vault star Mondo Duplantis, shot put legend Ryan Crouser, the fastest sprinter this year Noah Lyles and Kenyan marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum are the other nominees.
The names of the five finalists for Men's World Athlete of the Year honours have been confirmed, as the countdown to the #AthleticsAwards continues.
Press release ⬇️
- World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) November 14, 2023
SatChi lose
Well, this is bit of a shocker. World no. 5 and top seeds Satwik-Chirag have lost their Japan Masters opening round match against Chinese Taipei's Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han.
They began the match on an expected note, winning the first game 21-16 but then couldn't keep up the momentum and lost the next two 18-21 and 16-21. Flurry of errors in the second and third game proved to be costly for the Indian pair.
Unfortunate. One of those days where it just didn't work out for them.
No other Indian players are slotted to play today.
Hockey: India squad for Junior Men's World Cup
Hockey India have named the squad for the upcoming FIH Men's Junior World Cup, which is set to take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from December 5 to 16.
The team will be captained by Uttam Singh and Araijeet Singh Hundal has been named as vice-captain. Almost all the players in the squad played at this year's Junior Asia Cup which India won after beating 2-1 Pakistan in the final.
In the previous 2021 edition, which took place in Bhubaneswar, India finished fourth after losing to France in the semifinal. Before that, India emerged champions in 2016 after beating Belgium. The players, who featured in the 2016 edition went on to become the core of the senior national team. The likes of Harmapreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Krishan Pathak, Varun Kumar, Simranjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Sumit and Nilakanta Sharma helped India win the Junior World Cup in 2016 and are now important members of the senior team.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Mohith HS, Ranvijay Singh Yadav. Defenders: Shardanand Tiwari, Amandeep Lakra, Rohit, Sunil JoJo, Amir Ali.
Midfielders: Vishnukant Singh, Poovanna C B, Rajinder Singh, Amandeep, Aditya Singh.
Forwards: Uttam Singh (C), Aditya Lalage, Araijeet Singh Hundal (VC), Sourabh Anand Kushwaha, Sudeep Chirmako, Boby Singh Dhami.
Replacement players: Sukhvinder, Sunit Lakra.
FIFA World Cup Qualifier: India vs Kuwait
Apart from badminton, there's a FIFA World Cup Qualifiers second round match between India and Kuwait on Wednesday.
It's going to be a tough away fixture for Igor Stimac's side, who played with Kuwait twice recently at this year's SAFF Championship. The first game ended in a tense draw and then India defeated Kuwait in the final of the tournament on penalties.
There are also injuries for key players like Ashique Kuruniyan, Anwar Ali and Jeakson Singh who'll miss the match against Kuwait and also the next one against Qatar. The game against Qatar will take place on the 21st at Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium.
Stimac has spoken about his objective of finishing second in the group, which also features Afghanistan, but obviously it's not going to be easy. A lot will depend on how they perform against Kuwait, who are below India in world rankings (India 102, Kuwait 136) but both teams are almost at the same level, as we saw at the SAFF Championship.
Abhinav Bindra's advice for Indian cricket team
Abhinav Bindra, India's first individual Olympic gold medallist, has penned wise words for the Indian men's cricket team who will face New Zealand in the World Cup semifinal tomorrow.
On handling pressure, he writes, "Remember, the present moment is like a perfect shot - it's all you've got. Stay in it. Your routine is your ritual - it's what turns pressure into performance. Stick to it, but don't be afraid to throw in a googly and adapt when the situation demands.
Crisis? That's just another word for 'I'm about to make history'. So when the going gets tough, the tough don't just get going, they dig deep and build a skyscraper right there."
He added, "Lastly, pressure is like your shadow in the afternoon sun - it might look big, but it's not heavier than a cricket ball. Don't run from it. Embrace it, high-five it, and you'll learn to dance with it on the pitch. So go ahead, knock it out of the park, but remember, if you find yourself in a sticky wicket, there's nothing that a deep breath and a calm head can't fix."
Nice touch by Bindra who knows a thing or two about handling pressure at the biggest stage.
I-League
Sreenidi Deccan picked up a 2-2 draw away to Shillong Lajong to climb to third in the table, while Aizawl FC's win away to NEROCA saw them climb to fourth.