New Delhi [India], March 22 (ANI): The Indian men’s skeet team comprising of Mairaj Khan, Angad Bajwa and Gurjoat Khangura on Monday won a gold medal in the ongoing ISSF Shooting World Cup in New Delhi.
The Indian team defeated Qatar 6-2 in the final to bring a gold medal for the country. This is India’s third gold medal of the day so far. The India women’s skeet team settled for a silver after losing 4-6 to Kazakhstan in the final.
Earlier in the day, India’s Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker won a gold medal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed team event at the Karni Singh Shooting range.
Saurabh and Manu defeated opponents from Iran 16-12 in the final. The Indian pair of Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Deswal bagged a bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol mixed team event.
India began their campaign on a winning note as Elavenil Valarivan and Divyansh Panwar beat the Hungarian pair of Denes Easter & Istvan Peni 16-10 in the final of the 10M Air Rifle Mixed Team event to win a gold medal.
10m Air Pistol shooters Abhishek and Yashaswini attained the number one rankings after their heroics in the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun. Elavenil Valarivan also retained her spot on the Women’s 10m Air Rifle rankings, meaning three Indian shooters now hold the top spot.
“3 Indian shooters are #1. 10m Air Pistol shooters #YashaswiniDeswal & @abhishek_70007 become World #1 after their gold & bronze at the @ISSF_Shooting World Cup. Women’s 10m Air Rifle @elavalarivan retains her #1 ranking. #TOPSAthlete #Shooting,” the Sports Authority of India (SAI) tweeted. (ANI)

Zurich [Switzerland], March 22 (ANI): FIFA President Gianni Infantino believes that the 2022 Qatar World Cup would be the best-ever and he also said that Qatar has the capability in batting Covid-19 pandemic to ensure the best possible tournament.
Earlier this year, Qatar had hosted the Club World Cup with a 30 per cent crowd in attendance. Infantino also said that FIFA is in constant touch with the Qatar government to hold the World Cup safely.
“We will see the best World Cup ever in November, December 2022 in Qatar. The best World Cup ever means a World Cup with full stadiums. I am 100 per cent sure about that,” Goal.com quoted Infantino as saying.
“I’m 100 per cent sure about that because we have already witnessed in one of the most difficult periods, how we could organise the Club World Cup in Qatar with 30 per cent occupancy of stadiums in a healthy and safe environment,” he added.
Infantino also believes that the world might see the end of the Covid-19 pandemic before the 2022 World Cup.
“Looking forward, even more so, the vaccination has just started around the world. I was told around a week ago that there are around two and a half billion vaccines available. Now we are around seven or eight billion people in the world. Maybe not everyone wants to be vaccinated but hopefully, we understand that the vaccines are quite efficient to over 95 per cent. So it is a question of a few months until everyone will have the opportunity to get vaccinated and we get rid of this Covid once and hopefully for all,” said Infantino.
2022 FIFA World Cup will be played in Qatar from November 21 to December 18. This will be the second World Cup held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. (ANI)

Lahore [Pakistan], March 22 (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday informed that a South Africa-bound player who had tested positive for the coronavirus, returned negative for the virus and he will “enter the bio-secure bubble on Tuesday where he will remain in isolation for 24 hours”.
After completing his isolation he will undergo two further tests on March 24, PCB said in a release.
“If the results of both the tests are negative, then he will be allowed to integrate with the side and cleared to travel to Johannesburg on March 26,” it added.
Meanwhile, all the remaining 34 members of the side, presently attending a training camp in Lahore, cleared their third Covid-19 tests conducted on March 21. Their final tests will be conducted on Thursday.
On March 17, PCB had confirmed that one member of the squad had tested positive for coronavirus.
“A total of 35 tests were conducted on the South Africa-bound Pakistan men’s national cricket team on Tuesday, 16 March. All squad members have tested negative, except for one player,” PCB had said in a statement.
“The player who has tested positive will undergo a repeat test on Thursday at his residence. If he tests negative, only then he will be eligible to travel to Lahore where he will remain in isolation for two more days before being retested,” it had added.
The 35-member Pakistan squad will depart for Johannesburg on March 26 for the three ODIs and four T20Is against South Africa. They will then fly to Bulawayo on April 17 for three T20Is and two Tests against Zimbabwe. The side is scheduled to return on May 12. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 22 (ANI): Four FIFA/Elite AFC referees and assistant referees from India have been invited by the Japan Football Association (JFA) to officiate in two of their international friendly matches to be held on March 25 and 29 respectively.
These matches will take place at the Nissan Stadium in Kanagawa and Kitakyushu Stadium in Fukuoka, and are for Japan’s preparation for the forthcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers & Olympic Games.
Referee Rowan Arumughan, along with assistant referees Joseph Louis Tony and Sumanta Dutta and fourth official Coimbatore Ramasamy Srikrishna, will officiate in the international friendly between the national teams of Japan and South Korea, which is slated to take place on Thursday at the Nissan Stadium in Kanagawa.
On March 29, the Saison Card Cup 2021 match between the Japan U-24 national team and Argentina U-24 national team at the Kitakyushu Stadium in Fukuoka will be officiated by Coimbatore Ramasamy Srikrishna, along with assistant referees Joseph Louis Tony and Sumanta Dutta and fourth official Rowan Arumughan.
Ravishankar J, Referees Director, All India Football Federation (AIFF), stated, “This is the first time the services of our Indian referees have been sought for by the Japan FA for these important games. We wish our officials all the best for the forthcoming matches.” (ANI)

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], March 22 (ANI): India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday said that the ‘Umpire’s Call’ is creating a lot of confusion at the moment and the lawmakers need to look at it so that it does not leave a grey area when a big tournament is being played.
On Saturday, India defeated England in the fifth T20I, and as a result, the hosts won the series 3-2. Now both teams will lock horns in a three-match ODI series, beginning Tuesday in Pune.
“Look, I have played in the time where there was no DRS. The umpire made the decision whether the batsman liked it or not, it stayed like that. Vice-versa, if the umpire gave it not out and it was out, it stayed like that. Whether it was marginal or not, according to me, umpire’s call right now is creating a lot of confusion. When you get bowled as a batsman, you do not expect the ball to hit more than 50 per cent into the stumps to consider yourself getting bowled.
“If the ball is shown clipping the stumps, basic cricket common sense, I do not think there should be any debates on that, if the ball is hitting the stumps, it should be out. Whether you like it or not, you should lose the review,” said Kohli during a virtual press conference on Monday.
“If it hits the stumps or missing the stumps, it should not matter how much the ball is clipping because it is creating a lot of confusion. One more factor that needs to be considered is how the fielding team responds to a dismissal that is claimed. This is somewhere defining the soft signals as well. You have to question what the spirit of the game is and what those guidelines are because if things like that happen with the Indian cricket team overseas then you are talking about completely different conversation about spirit of the game.
“So look, it is a serious thing which needs to be considered because there is a lot at stake in bigger tournaments. You do not want any grey area hampering the game and it leaves with you no clarity,” he added.
In the fourth T20I against England, Suryakumar Yadav was sent back to the pavilion by Sam Curran. The batsman tried to play a ramp shot but Dawid Malan ended up taking the catch. Replays indicated that the ball might have hit the ground when Malan was taking the catch, however, as the soft signal was out, the third umpire stayed with the on-field call citing “lack of conclusive evidence”.
Batsman KL Rahul has been out of form in recent times and as a result, he was dropped for the fifth and final T20I. The right handed-batsman managed to score just 15 runs in four T20Is.
Answering a question on Rahul’s form, Kohli said: “Regarding form, there is a song which comes to my mind –‘kuch to log kahenge, logo ka kaam hai kehna’. I feel there is a lot of impatience. People themselves are thinking what is going on the minds of the players and there is a judgement. People tend to enjoy hearing criticism of players. In the team, we understand how to manage players. If the player is going through a tough phase, we understand what we need to do. The outside noise does not matter to me.” (ANI)

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], March 22 (ANI): Virat Kohli on Monday said that if Suryakumar Yadav continues to bat in the manner he is doing right now, then the Indian skipper would be willing to play any kind of role that the team needs him to.
On Saturday, India defeated England in the fifth T20I, and as a result, the hosts won the series 3-2. Now both teams will lock horns in a three-match ODI series, beginning Tuesday in Pune.
Skipper Kohli confirmed that Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma will be opening the batting in the first ODI against England, but he did not rule out the possibility of him opening going ahead in the future in white-ball formats.
“Firstly, the combination that plays on the field, the selectors do not have any role in that just like the management does not have any role in who gets selected. Secondly, as Rohit mentioned it was a strategic move, but we did enjoy batting together in the last T20I. We did enjoy our partnership and we saw the effects of us batting together and knowing what we can do to the opposition if we bat throughout. It is not a guarantee that it is going to be continued in the future,” said Virat during a virtual press conference on Monday.
“I am going to open in the IPL to keep all options open. I have batted at three, four and now I need to understand my role as an opener which I have done successfully in the past in T20 cricket so that I provide an option to open up a slot for someone like Surya, if he can continue to bat like that, I should be open to playing any kind of role that the team requires me to. We will have a conversation about this when we get closer to the T20 World Cup. It would be interesting to see how I go about my job as an opener in the IPL,” he added.
When asked whether ODIs have come out of nowhere in the year where the side is preparing for the T20 World Cup, Kohli said: “Look, it is a difficult one. Scheduling is something that is not in our control. For us, in international games, every game is important and every game has value. It is an opportunity to represent your team and for us, that remains the sole focus. Yes, along the way as I have said in the past, scheduling and workload are something everyone will be very aware of. In today’s day and age, you never know when restrictions are going to come in and even in the future, you might have to continue playing in bubbles.
“It is important to consider how much cricket you are playing, it is just not about the physical side of things, it is mental side as well. Players need to be spoken to and consulted with all around. Otherwise, it is going to be a case of whoever can last plays and if not, some other player replaces that person and I do not think it is healthy for cricket system and culture going forward,” said Kohli.
When asked whether the team is sceptical of playing in Maharashtra where the Covid-19 cases continue to rise, Kohli said: “There have been cases outside the bubbles in all places we have played at. There are a lot of cases, in today’s time you have to be aware and particular about the precautions that you need to take and that is in our control. We are continuing to do that, we have been successful in two cities, we are sure that with our medical setup and how the bubble is created, we will have a successful leg in Pune and then carry it forward in the IPL also. The players understand how much is at stake, they have not felt unsafe in the hotels and bubbles.”
India’s ODI squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur. (ANI)