NEW DELHI: Twenty-eight pugilists will fly punches for 4 flyweight medals at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Indian boxing sensation Amit Panghal carries lots of hopes in the 52 kg division. Let’s have a look at his preparations for the most important medal of his career.

Amit became a household name when he returned with a gold medal from Jakarta Asian Games 2018. What’s more significant about the performance was his summit win over reigning Olympic Champion Hasanboy Dusmatov from Uzbekistan. Hasanboy could have been his biggest threat. Armyman from Rohtak tested defeat from him in QF of the 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships. Thankfully, Hasanboy is now a professional boxer and he is not participating in the Olympics.

Well, Shakhobidin Zoirov could be the biggest hurdle for the Indian. Reigning Olympic Champion and World Champion is currently World number two. Getting past the Uzbeki boxer will be the herculean task for the Indian. In their last meeting in the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championship in Yekaterinburg (Russia), Amit learned a cruel boxing lesson. He lost 5-0 to Zoirov in the final.

Billal Bennama of France lost to Zoirov in the SF of World Boxing Championship in 2019. Boxer from France could give a tough time to Amit. Indian won quite comfortably in their last meeting. The 25-year-old Indian defeated the Frenchman 5-0 in the Semi-Final of World Boxing 2020 at Cologne.

Saken Bilosinov of Kazakhstan lost to Amit in an intense battle in the same tournament in SF. Kazak pugilist is participating in Tokyo. Daniel Panev Asenov is another sensation. The double European champion cannot be taken lightly. Bulgarian is number 3 in the world in the last updated rankings of Boxing. Hu Jianguan of China clinched Bronze in Rio 2016. His most significant win was over southpaw Cuban Yasveni Veltia. Hu must be looking to upgrade his medal in Tokyo.

Mohd Flissi (Algeria) is a veteran. He must be looking to finish his career at a high. Gabriel Escobar (ESP) and Brandan Ervine (Ireland) will do everything to prove that they are not making up the numbers.

Amit is currently world number 1. He qualified after he defeated Carlo Paalam who is part of the Philippines squad at Tokyo.

The diminutive Indian is known for his foot movement. His short frame could give an advantage for uppercuts and executing sharp angular punches. Now, Amit is connecting well with flawless technique. With time, the rising star has matured in defending. Undoubtedly, he is the biggest Indian hope. He is a big fan of Indian movie star Dharmendra. His wish after the gold at Jakarta was to meet his matinee idol. It was fulfilled with a warm heart from the cine-star.

The road to glory is very tough for the Haryana boxer at the Japanese capital. Gold is all we need.

LONDON: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) have confirmed the Men’s and Women’s Ashes schedule for 2021-22 to be staged in Australia.

The first Men’s Ashes Test will begin at Brisbane’s Gabba from December 8-12 ahead of a day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval from December 16-20. The traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (December 26-30) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 5-9) respectively, with the final Test scheduled for Perth’s Optus Stadium (January 14-18), as per the ECB release.

For the first time in 26 years, the final Ashes Test will not be staged in Sydney.

The multi-format Women’s Ashes series will begin at Manuka Oval, Canberra, with the Test match from January 27-30.

The white-ball matches, which combine with the Test match to form the multi-format series, kick off with three T20Is, to be played at the North Sydney Oval, Sydney (February 4 and 6) and the Adelaide Oval (February 10).

The multi-format series concludes with three ODIs at Adelaide Oval (February 13) and the Junction Oval in Melbourne (February 16 and 19).

At the end of the Women’s Ashes series, England will depart for New Zealand to participate in the ICC Women’s World Cup in a year that will also see them represent Team England at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The UK-bound cricketers have started assembling in Mumbai, and the likes of Mithali Raj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Mayank Agarwal, and Washington Sundar reached the destination through a charter flight.

The BCCI’s official handle tweeted pictures of these players flying to Mumbai and they captioned the post as: “First stop, Mumbai. #TeamIndia. The men’s team will leave for the UK for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and then the five-match Test series against England.

On the other hand, the women’s team will lock horns against England in a one-off Test, three T20Is, and three ODIs.

The BCCI had made a foolproof plan for the national team before they depart for the UK to play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England.

Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of the roadmap drawn had said arrangements have been made for all the players to undergo three RT-PCR tests before assembling in Mumbai on May 19.

“The players will be undergoing three RT-PCR tests at their homes, and once they return negative tests, they will be assembling in Mumbai on May 19. Everyone in the contingent will be undergoing 14-day quarantine in India before they leave for the UK on June 2,” said the source.

Almost all the members of the Indian contingent set to depart for the UK have taken the first dose of their Covid-19 vaccine and they are likely to take the second jab in the UK itself.

India’s Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).

Wicketkeeper-batsman K.S. Bharat will be travelling to the UK with the India men’s squad for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and five-match Test series against England. The wicket-keeper is cover for Wriddhiman Saha who has just recovered from Covid-19. Although Saha has recovered in time to enter the bio-bubble in Mumbai before leaving for the UK on June 2, the selection committee did not take any chances and they decided to add Bharat to the group with an eye on the Covid-19 protocols and guidelines.

Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments said it was a precautionary step with an eye on Saha’s recovery from Covid-19.

“He was added as cover for Saha considering he was still recovering from the virus and wicket-keeping is a specialised job. If Saha wasn’t fit in time, we would have needed a second keeper in the squad for the tour which is a three-month long one,” the source said.

The BCCI had made a foolproof plan for the national team before they depart for the UK to play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England.

The roadmap drawn had arrangements made for all the players to undergo three RT-PCR tests before assembling in Mumbai on Wednesday in charter planes. The Indian players will also be administered the second COVID-19 vaccine by the UK health department.

India’s Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).

South Africa head coach Mark Boucher believes AB de Villiers’’ has his reasons to decide against coming out of international retirement and represent the national team in the upcoming ICC World T20 despite being in good form.

Cricket South Africa on Tuesday announced that De Villiers has decided not to come out of international retirement, saying that his mind won’’t change “once and for all”.

His former teammate and current national coach, Boucher gave reasons behind De Villiers’’ decision, saying that he doesn’’t want to snatch the place of a player who has been in the mix for a while.

“AB has his reasons, which I respect. Unfortunately he’’s no longer in the mix. I say unfortunately because I think we all agree that he’’s still one of the best – if not the best – T20 players in world cricket,” Boucher was quoted as saying by ‘’The Citizen’’ website

“But he alluded to being concerned about coming in ahead of other players who have been a part of the system. I don’’t think it sat well with him, which I understand.

“But as a coach I needed to try and get our best players, for the team and the environment. AB is an energy-booster in any environment, but I respect his reasoning. It was worth a go, but now let’’s move forward.”

CSA’’s reportedly made the statement on Tuesday while announcing the team for a tour of the West Indies.

In May 2018, De Villiers had announced his retirement from international cricket. He played 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is before announcing his surprise retirement.

However, last month the 37-year-old versatile cricketer said it would be “fantastic” to make an international comeback ahead of the ICC World T20.

The ICC World T20 is scheduled to be held in India in October-November.

“If I can slot in, it will be fantastic,” De Villiers had said after he playing match-winning innings for his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore in the now-suspended IPL in April.

Speaking to the reporters in Chennai, De Villiers had then said he will have a chat with South Africa head coach Mark Boucher at the end of IPL 2021 while assessing his form and fitness after RCB’’s campaign in the 14th season of the T20 tournament.

The 2021 Asia Cup, which was shifted from Pakistan to Sri Lanka, was on Wednesday called off due to rising Covid-19 cases in the island nation.

The Asia Cup, which was last held in 2018, was scheduled to be held in June but Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva announced that it will be difficult for them to conduct the tournament.

“Due to the prevailing situation, it will not be possible to play the tournament in June this year,” De Silva told reporters.

The tournament was supposed to be hosted by Pakistan but since India were unlikely to travel there due to political tension between the two nations, it was shifted to Sri Lanka.

With all the teams planning for their FTPs for the next two years, the continental showpiece might only find a slot after the 2023 ICC 50-over World Cup. The Asian Cricket Council headed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah is yet to make a formal announcement.

Due to multiplying cases of COVID-19, Sri Lankan government has put a 10-day ban on international air travel. Sri Lanka are touring Bangladesh for a limited overs series while they will host a second string India team for a six-match white ball series in July.