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Here are all the key updates from December 30, Saturday:
Dabang Delhi beat UP Yoddhas, U Mumba extend Titans' misery
Telugu Titans' wretched run in PKL season 10 continued, as they went down 34-52 to U Mumbai, who climbed up to fourth in the PKL standings, while the Titans remained rooted to the bottom.
In the other match of the day in Noida, the home team UP Yoddhas went down by ten points to an Ashu Malik-inspired Dabang Delhi, who shrugged off the absence of their influential leader Naveen Kumar and posted a much-needed win.
India name 26-man squad for AFC Asian Cup
Igor Stimac today named his squad to go to the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in a couple of weeks. Sunil Chhetri and Sahal Abdul Samad headline the squad, that has lost a couple of important players in Anwar Ali and Jeakson Singh to injuries.
Bajrang urges Sports Ministry to restart wrestling activities in view of Paris Olympics
Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia has urged the Sports Ministry to restart wrestling activities while stressing in the fact that there are just seven months left for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Bajrang, who competes in the 65kg freestyle, had won bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
"Wrestling work has come to a standstill for the last several months. Neither have any national competitions been held nor have any camps been organized to prepare the players. There are Olympic Games are in 7 months, but no one seems serious about the Olympics whereas wrestling has given four consecutive medals in the last four Olympics. The Sports Ministry is requested to start all wrestling activities as soon as possible so that the future of the players can be saved," Bajrang said on social media.
There has been no wrestling competitions or camps held in India for several months following the wrestlers' protests against former Wrestling Federation of India [WFI] president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Even the election of a new WFI committee could not restore normalcy as the Sports Ministry suspended the new panel for violating its constitution in announcing the national U-15 and U-20 Championships.
Bajrang, along with Vinesh Phogat, had returned his national awards while Sakshi Mallik has announced her retirement from the sport.
पिछले कई महीना से कुश्ती का कामकाज ठप है. न कोई नेशनल हुआ है और न ही खिलाड़ियों को तैयार करने के लिए कैम्प लगे हैं. 7 महीने बाद ओलंपिक खेल भी हैं लेकिन कोई भी ओलंपिक के लिए गंभीर नहीं दिख रहा जबकि पिछले चार ओलंपिक्स में कुश्ती ने लगातार चार मेडल दिए हैं.
खेल मंत्रालय से निवेदन...- Bajrang Punia ���� (@BajrangPunia) December 30, 2023
Hockey: 18-member squad named for Olympic Qualifiers
Hockey India has named an 18-member squad for the Indian women's team's FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers to be held in Ranchi 13-19th January 2024.
India are placed in Pool B alongside New Zealand, Italy, and the United States. Meanwhile, Germany, Japan, Chile, and the Czech Republic will battle it out in Pool A. India open their campaign against the United States on the January 13, followed by a match against New Zealand the next day and will go up against Italy in the last Pool B match on the January 16th. The top three teams in the competition will secure qualification for the 2024 Olympics.
Speaking on the team selection, chief coach Janneke Schopman said, "The FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Ranchi 2024 is an important tournament on our Paris 2024 Olympics journey. It is imperative that we live up to expectations and all the players in the squad are working to secure qualification. After careful consideration, we have chosen a well-balanced team with immense skill and experience in all departments. Also, Savita and Vandana have faced high-pressure situations numerous times in their career so far, they are well equipped to guide the rest of the team as the Captain and Vice Captain."
Full squad -
Goalkeepers: Savita, Bichu Devi Kharibam
Defenders: Nikki Pradhan, Udita, Ishika Chaudhary, Monika
Midfielders: Nisha, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Neha, Navneet Kaur, Salima Tete, Sonika, Jyoti, Beauty Dungdung
Forwards: Lalremsiami, Sangita Kumari, Deepika, Vandana Katariya
Jamshedpur part ways with coach Scott Cooper
Indian Super League club Jamshedpur FC have parted ways with their coach Scott Cooper, the team announced last evening. Cooper joined the club at the start of the season and managed to lead them to only two wins in 12 games. The 4-1 loss to Odisha FC on Friday was the last straw as the clubbed let him go shortly after. Jamshedpur are currently placed 10th in the ISL standings.
"After thorough deliberation, Jamshedpur Football Club has reached an agreement to mutually part ways with Head Coach, Scott Cooper. The club sincerely appreciates Scott's contributions during his tenure as head coach and wishes him success for his future endeavours," the club said.
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After thorough deliberation, Jamshedpur Football Club has reached an agreement to mutually part ways with Head Coach, Scott Cooper.
The club sincerely... pic.twitter.com/EvfdGVV8kW
- Jamshedpur FC (@JamshedpurFC) December 29, 2023
What happened yesterday?
In ISL, Odisha hit four past Jamshedpur while NorthEast and Goa played out 1-1 draw.
PKL: UP Yoddhas edge past Bengaluru Bulls; Patna Pirates beat Haryana Steelers.
WFI offices moved out of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's Delhi residence
You can check all the details of yesterday's news events here