Ahead of the Olympics, some Indian athletes want to use their influence to take their personal coaches to Tokyo. It is unfortunate that some of these athletes are also succeeding in their plans.

The most unfortunate thing is that athletes whose medal hopes are very slim, have been allowed to take their personal coach. Manika Batra may be a star table tennis player of the Commonwealth Games but winning a round or two at the Olympic level will be no less than a big achievement but her demand to have a personal coach along with her has been accepted.

The demand of a boxer Amit Panghal to take his personal coach along with him was turned down. Amit is a strong contender for a medal this time, who is the top-ranked player in the world apart from winning silver in the World Championship and gold in the World Cup. They have been discouraged by these officers even before they can perform. Bhavani Devi, who qualified for the Olympics in fencing, had to bow down to the insistence of the authorities to take her mother along. She is now being taken to Tokyo as the manager of fencing team.

This time the names of many capable coaches have been cut. Once Pullela Gopichand in badminton and Jaspal Rana used to have big flair in the shooting first as a player and then as a coach. This time their students will also be in Tokyo but their names have been removed from the list going to Tokyo. The name of the Korean coach who is coaching PV Sindhu has been cleared. Sai Praneeth’s Indonesian coach has also got the green signal.

Two physios will also go along. Similarly, once Sania Mirza also had a lot of running in the IOA and the Sports Ministry, but today the situation is that there is no coach with her. This time she will compete in women doubles along with Ankita Raina. Zeeshan Ali’s name not being in the list is shocking news.

It is true that weightlifter Mirabai Chanu is a medal prospect but the names of three coaches and two physios have been cleared along with her. O.P. Baishya, President of the Weightlifting Federation of India, is an influential person and a very close to IOA. He used his influence to send more support staff along with Mirabai.

Indian Handball Association President Anandeshwar Pandey was making a lot of hue and cry that if no Taekwondo player is going to Tokyo, why is its president Namdev being sent. He had even said that he would not release his checks as treasurer of the IOA. Eventually the IOA came under pressure and Namdev’s name was dropped and Anandeshwar Pandey’s name was inserted. Since then Anandeshwar Pandey is calm or to say that he is very happy. Perhaps he has also forgotten that on the basis of the logic on which he has got Namdev’s name cut, he himself is on the same boat. Now the matter of sending Madhukant Pathak as a manager with the athletic team has become hot. Madhukar was the treasurer of the organizing committee of the National Games which were held in Ranchi and there have been many serious allegations against him. Until he is cleared of the charges, there is no justification for him to be made manager of an athletics team that is expected to win two to three medals this time at the Olympics.

The issue of players placing arbitrary conditions is not new in Indian sports. Nine years ago, at London Olympics, Sania Mirza was successful in making her mother Naseema the manager of the tennis team. Three years ago in the CWG, Saina Nehwal had even warned the officials to keep her father in the sports village otherwise she would withdraw from the team. Here they should understand very well that they are the ambassadors of their country during these games. Their behavior in a foreign country can tarnish the image of the country.

Hockey legend Dhanraj Pillay feels that the biggest asset of the current hockey team is their fitness and he also said the Manpreet Singh-led side would do very well in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

“I am very confident they will do it this time. They have been doing well in the last 5 years. Fitness is their biggest asset. In those days, we didn’t have the kind of support system they have now. This team has done wonders, won hearts of millions of fans with their recent performances particularly the Champions Trophy (in 2016 and 2018) and the World League Finals (2015 and 2017) results. I know they can do it this time,” Pillay said in an official release issued by Hockey India. On Monday, Pillay even sent a personalised letter to skippers Manpreet Singh and Rani wishing both the teams good luck. “Since I am also in Bangalore, I would have loved to meet them in person but due to protocols, I did not. I sent them a letter wishing them the very best and I wanted to convey to them that they should be careful about their diet when they are in the Olympic village. I wanted to convey to them that they should enjoy the best part of their athletic life by being calm and relaxed,” said Pillay.

“To both men and women’s team, I want to say, don’t think about the podium finish. Go match-by-match and stick together as one unit right until the last day, the last match of the tournament,” he added. There are several notable firsts in terms of participation for India. For the first time in its history, a fencer from India (Bhavani Devi) has qualified for the Olympic Games. Nethra Kumanan is the first-ever female sailor from India to qualify for Olympic Games. Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj are the first swimmers from India to qualify for an Olympic Games by achieving the ‘A’ Qualification Standard in swimming.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has already confirmed that boxer Mary Kom and men’s hockey team captain Manpreet would be the flagbearers for the Indian contingent. Wrestler Bajrang Punia will be the flagbearer at the closing ceremony. The Indian contingent would depart for Tokyo on July 17.

The countdown to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has begun. India is sending a team of 126 athletes to the Olympics. This is India’s largest delegation to the Olympics in its history. India will compete in 69 events across 18 sports this time.

This will also be the first time that India competes in such a diverse range of sports.

India will compete in the Tokyo Olympics with a total of 228 people, including 119 athletes. According to IOA President Narendra Batra, out of 119 players, 67 are male and 52 are female. We’ll be competing in 85 medal events.

On July 17, the first team from India to Tokyo will depart from here. This game will include a total of 90 players and officials. The Indian sailing team’s four members and coaches arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday. Sailing players who were practising in several European countries made their way to Japan’s capital. The boxing and shooting teams, respectively from Italy and Croatia, will also arrive in Tokyo.

Mirabai Chanu, a world-class weightlifter, will arrive in Tokyo on July 15 or 16. When it comes to medal contenders, badminton star PV Sindhu, boxer MC Mary Kom, Amit Panghal, wrestler Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Neeraj Chopra in javelin throw, and shooter Manu Bhaker will be the focus of the entire country this year. Aside from that, this year’s Indian hockey squad is a serious contender for a medal.

Meanwhile, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launched the Olympic contingent’s “Cheer4India” song and urged the audience to support the athletes entirely during the Tokyo Games. The official song of the Indian contingent for the Tokyo Olympics, titled Cheer4India: Hindustani Way, is co-written by Grammy Award winner A.R. Rahman and teenage singer Ananya Birla.

A scintillating knock from Chris Gayle helped West Indies thrash Australia by six wickets in the third T20I. With this win, West Indies secured T20I series victory over Australia with two more games to go. A quality death bowling from West Indies had restricted Australia to 141/6 before the hosts chased down the total comfortably with 31 balls to spare.

During the run chase, Gayle also became the first player to smash 14,000 runs in the shortest format of the game. Chasing 142, West Indies got off to a bad start as Mitchell Starc struck in the first over dismissing Andre Fletcher for four runs.

Lendl Simmons and Chris Gayle then stitched a 38-run stand for the second wicket before Riley Meredith removed the opener reducing West Indies to 42/2 inside the powerplay.

However, Gayle continued smashing the ball as he found his form to bring up his first T20I fifty since 2016. He smashed three consecutive sixes to get to his half-century. Meredith dismissed Gayle in the 12th over but the damage was done as West Indies just needed 33 runs in eight overs. Pooran and Andre Russell in end guided the hosts to a series-clinching win over Australia in the 15th over.

Earlier opting to bat first, Australia scored just 141 runs despite a good start. Matthew Wade and skipper Aaron Finch stitched a 41-run stand for the first wicket in five overs. However, the visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals as the batsmen never really looked comfortable during the innings.

Australia were 80/4 in 12 overs and Moises Henriques (33) and Ashton Turn (24) revived the visitors’ innings but failed to get to a decent total.

Brief Scores: Australia 141/6 (Moises Henriques 33, Aaron Finch 30; Hayden Walsh 2-18); West Indies 142/4 (Chris Gayle 67, Nicholas Pooran 32; Riley Meredith 3-48)

Former India pace bowler Ajit Agarkar feels that spinner Kuldeep Yadav needs to regain form and get his confidence back if he wants to claim a spot in the T20 World Cup squad.

Sri Lanka and India will lock horns in three ODIs and as many T20Is from July 18 after the series was rescheduled last week. Kuldeep last played for India in a T20I match in January 2020 and Agarkar admitted that it was a little “unfair” on the spinner.

“Sometimes I feel that it was a little bit unfair on him (Kuldeep) to miss out on series. But he needs to get his confidence back and start bowling well. Both him and Chahal know there are guys behind them and if you have a competition, the team will do well,” said Agarkar in a virtual press conference.

“Spin has been a little bit of a worry for India, especially after Chahal and Kuldeep stopped playing together but there are players like Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakraborty and if those guys can do well, it will give more options to Virat Kohli.

“T20 World Cup is not too far away so it is a good opportunity for the guys to put pressure on players who are already in the team to make their case. These performances won’t get unnoticed,” he added.

Surya had a good start in international cricket as he set the T20 stage on fire after hitting a fifty-plus score in just his second T20I against England earlier this year. Ishan Kishan too had blast on debut as he slammed a fifty in the first match.

“Suryakumar looks front runner to me this point, one or two performances do not necessarily cement your place but he has been a versatile player. He started his T20 career in the IPL lower down the order and has progressively moved up,” said Agarkar.

“Ishan Kishan had a really good last IPL and had fifty on a debut too. I am only taking two names because there are lots of names in the list but these are the two guys who played and did well in the T20I for India,” he added.

The former India pacer feels the players who are more consistent in the upcoming white-ball games might get a spot in the World Cup squad. “There are always those two or three slots the guys are fighting for, and that’s why it becomes a lot more important for the consistency coming up ahead of the World Cup.

“It’s an opportunity for these guys to cement their place and there is an IPL as well, so there are lots of opportunities coming in especially in white-ball cricket. The players who are more consistent than others will get a chance, looking at what team management plans are,” said Aga

Former Indian cricketer and 1983 World Cup winner Yashpal Sharma passed away on Tuesday due to a cardiac arrest. “Yashpal Sharma passed away around 7:40 in the morning due to cardiac arrest. He was declared dead on arrival,” sources close to the family told ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah condoled the demise of former India cricketer Yashpal Sharma on Tuesday. PM Modi termed Yashpal an “inspiration” for teammates, fans and said he is “anguished” by the passing away of the former cricketer. “Shri Yashpal Sharma Ji was a much beloved member of the Indian cricket team, including the legendary 1983 squad. He was an inspiration for teammates, fans as well as budding cricketers. Anguished by his passing away. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti,” PM Modi tweeted.

Amit Shah hailed Yashpal’s contribution to India’s historic victory in the 1983 World Cup and said his demise is a great loss to the cricketing world. “Yashpal Sharma was a great player of cricket who contributed significantly to India’s historic victory in the 1983 Cricket World Cup. His thrilling innings will always be in our memory. His death is a great loss to the cricketing world. My condolences to his family and supporters. peace,” Amit Shah tweeted in Hindi.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly too condoled the demise of the former India cricketer. “Sad to hear the news of Yashpal Sharma ..had the opportunity to work with him as captain, player and then on TV. A very important part of the 1983 win which showed young players like us dream of trophies. RIP,” tweeted Ganguly.

Yashpal had made his debut for India in 1978 against Pakistan in Sialkot. He scored 11 runs off 26 balls as Pakistan defeated India by eight wickets.

The 66-year-old former cricketer played his first game in the longest format in 1979 against England at Lord’s. The right-handed batsman played 37 Tests and 42 ODIs for India, scoring 1606 and 883 respectively in the formats.

The right-handed batsman played a key role in India’s 1983 World Cup win. He had scored 11 runs in the final as India registered a historic win over West Indies. Yashpal played his last game in international cricket in 1985 during the West Indies tour of India.