GLASGOW [SCOTLAND]

Croatia and England on Tuesday (local time) cruised into the round of 16 stage from Group D in the ongoing Euro 2020.England edged the Czech Republic 1-0 at Wembley while Croatia outclassed Scotland by 3-1 at Hampden Park. With this win, England topped the group by seven points from three games while Croatia clinched the second spot in Group D with 4 points. The Czech Republic will join them in the last 16 as one of the best third-placed teams. In the match between England and the Czech Republic, the sole goal came early in the first half, when Grealish on the left side of the penalty area, lifted the ball to the back post, where Sterling headed in for his second goal of Euro 2020 and broke the deadlock.

Meanwhile, in the match between Croatia and Scotland, the former took the lead early from Nikola Vlasic’s opener but Callum McGregor cancelled that lead soon to give the hosts hope heading into half-time. As the match reached one hour mark, a moment of magic from Luka Modric saw visitors restoring their lead and denying another historic feat from Steve Clarke’s men to reach the last 16 of the first major tournament that Scotland qualified in 23-years. 13 minutes from time, Ivan Perisic’s header gave Scotland a final blow as the World Cup runners-up pipped the Czech Republic to second place in Group D behind England.

LONDON

England Women have announced a 16-member squad for the upcoming ODI series against India. Sophia Dunkley is included and could make her ODI debut when the series gets underway at Bristol on Sunday. Freya Davies and Sarah Glenn, who returned to their regional teams during the Test match, are back in the squad. The only player not to be included from the Test squad who played against India at Bristol is Georgia Elwiss, who has not played an ODI match for England since 2019.“We’re looking forward to playing ODI cricket again after a hugely enjoyable and hard-fought Test match,” head coach Lisa Keightley stated in an official release by England and Wales Cricket Board. “The competition for places across all formats is growing every time we meet to select a squad. The options available to us are the strongest we’ve had since I’ve been in the role and we feel this group gives us a great opportunity for success in the ODI element of the series. “There’s no space on this occasion for Danni Wyatt and Georgia Elwiss, and while I know they’re both disappointed to miss out, it’s important that they’re given the opportunity to play cricket at a regional level ahead of the Vitality IT20 series. We have to balance the needs of the squad and the need of the individual and we’ll always be keen to get people playing competitive cricket where we can.

NEW DELHI

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said any decision that affects Indian athletes will not be acceptable ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. His remarks came as new regulations were put in place by the Japanese government pertaining to entry conditions to Japan affecting 11 countries including India ahead of the Games. “Any decision that adversely affects Indian athletes is not acceptable to us. There should be no discrimination in any form,” Rijiju said to a question from ANI.

Rijiju will also release India’s anthem for Tokyo 2020 Games on Wednesday and the theme is named ‘Cheer for India.’ On the occasion of International Olympic Day, Rijiju also extended his best wishes to all the Olympians of India.“Today there is a program to see off our Olympic team at Nehru Stadium with all covid protocol intact. I will launch the Olympic anthem as well. On Olympic day, I want to extend my best wishes to all Olympians, the Indian Olympic team,” he added.Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and wrote: “In a few weeks, @Tokyo2020 begins. Wishing the very best to our contingent, which consists of our finest athletes. In the run up to the games, here is an interesting quiz on MyGov. I urge you all, specially my young friends to take part.”

In a letter to athletes and other stakeholders on Friday, the Tokyo 2020 organisers announced that there would be an additional set of rules for athletes, officials, and journalists travelling to Tokyo from 11 countries, including India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, due to the “presence of COVID-19 variants which present a higher level of risk.” An Olympic Mission Cell has been set up in the Embassy of India in Tokyo, as a single-window node to provide logistic support to the Indian contingent bound for Tokyo Games. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has decided to depute maximum additional support staff such as coaches, doctors, physiotherapists, to optimise the performance of the athletes in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

One of the utmost indexes of the effects of the Olympic Games is its impact on tourism. The sports tourism implication for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Olympic Games and all involved are enormous. Olympics have lengthy and rich history on tourism. In 1990 Barcelona had 118 hotels. By 1992, this capacity had risen slightly to 148 hotels. Moreover, by 2002 these figure increased drastically to 223. In 2001 tourism in Barcelona, Spain, rose to 7.6%, whereas worldwide tourism fell by 1.3%.

In 1992 Olympic Games have been referred to as the “Communication Games” and not only in term of symbolic culture and tourism aspects, but also for the significant role played by television rights in their funding. The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, saw all of the 10C countries participating for the first time since Munich 1972. The 1964 Olympic Games were among the best organized and the best executed in the history of the Games. When Tokyo first hosted the Olympic Games in 1964, it was seen as an emerging nation recovering from World War II and reinvent the wheel as a powerful economic powerhouse.

Sports Tourism sector which is one of the largest revenues generating sporting industry of host nation and Olympic Games has suffered huge losses- the business of Tourism and an economic downturn. The Olympic Games is not only a sporting spectacle, there is massive money riding on it also. The Olympic Games were initially expected to be a huge tourist draw but health concerns have banned foreign spectators.

In 2019 Japan hosted 31.9 million foreign tourists, who spend approximately $44 billion. The ongoing deadly Covid-19 Pandemic has tested the sporting worldwide like never before and especially postponed Tokyo Olympics.

The Olympics is scheduled to start in Tokyo on July 24. Hardest hit are hotels and restaurants, transportation, infrastructure and consumer retail firms. A worldwide Covid-19 outbreak could scupper the Olympics in Tokyo. In this case the Covid-19 virus, can derail its usual efficiency. Unity in Diversity is one of the core concepts of the Tokyo Olympics.

The tourism economic implications for the 10C, Tokyo Games and all involved are enormous. Tourist need to follow Covid appropriate behavior at all times. Tokyo is under a state of emergency and no decision has yet been taken on whether any local spectators would be allowed to attend the mega Olympic sports festival.

The Writer is an Associate Professor of DU and is a consultant with Limca book of Records.

England duo Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount, who are currently isolating themselves as a precautionary measure, will miss the upcoming Euro 2020 clash against the Czech Republic, confirmed England Football on Tuesday.

“We can confirm that Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount must isolate up to and including next Monday [28 June]. This decision has been taken in consultation with Public Health England,” England Football stated in an official release. The pair were confirmed overnight as close contacts of Scotland’s Billy Gilmour after his positive COVID-19 test following last Friday’s match.

Chilwell and Mount will isolate and train individually in private areas at England’s training base St. George’s Park, with the rest of the squad returning there after the fixture against Czech Republic at Wembley.

“We will continue to follow all COVID-19 protocols and the UEFA testing regime, while remaining in close contact with PHE,” the statement further added.

The entire England squad and staff had lateral flow tests on Monday and all were again negative, as was the case with Sunday’s UEFA pre-match PCR tests.

Earlier, Billy Gilmour was ruled out of Scotland’s final Euro 2020 group game against Croatia after testing positive for COVID-19, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) had stated on Monday.

SFA has confirmed that the midfielder would sit out the meeting with Croatia at Hampden Park on Tuesday night after the latest round of medical checks in the national team camp and was in quarantine after contracting COVID-19.

Meanwhile, more than 60,000 fans will be permitted at the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final at Wembley Stadium following an announcement by the UK government, increasing attendance to 75 per cent of capacity for each game, confirmed the UEFA on Tuesday.

The semi-finals will take place on 6 July (Tuesday) and July 7 (Wednesday), with the final being held on July 11 (Sunday).

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday said it has mutually agreed to part ways with the men’s national cricket team batting coach Younis Khan.

Younis was appointed as the batting coach last year in November on a two-year contract until the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan in an official PCB release said: “It is sad to lose an expert of the stature and experience of Younis Khan. Following a series of discussions, we both have reluctantly but mutually and amicably agreed that it was time to move in different directions.”

“I want to thank Younis Khan for his contributions during his short stint as the Pakistan men’s national cricket team’s batting coach and hope he will remain available to assist the PCB by sharing his vast knowledge with the emerging cricketers,” he added.Both PCB and Younis Khan have agreed to not make any further comment on the reasons for the former captain’s departure.

Pakistan men’s national cricket team will travel to the United Kingdom without a batting coach, while the decision to appoint Younis Khan’s replacement for the West Indies tour will be made in due course.Pakistan men’s national cricket team will tour the UK from June 25 to July 20 for three ODIs and three T20Is, while the West Indies tour will be from July 21 to August 24 where the visiting team will feature in five T20Is and two Tests.