Suspected bookie showed exit door during second ODI

अंतरराष्ट्रीय क्रिकेट में सट्टेबाजों की लिप्तता का डर एक बार फिर भारत और इंग्लैंड के बीच दूसरे वनडे के दौरान सामने आया। रिपोर्टों के अनुसार पुलिस अधिकारियों ने एक दर्शक को कथित रूप से 'उप महाद्वीपिय' सट्टेबाजों को सूचना देने के कारण बाहर निकाल दिया।

रिपोर्ट के अनुसार इंग्लैंड एवं वेल्स क्रिकेट बोर्ड (ईसीबी) के भ्रष्टाचार रोधी इकाई (एसीएसयू) के प्रमुख क्रिस वाट्स ने पुष्टि की कि पुलिस ने एक दर्शक को 'टिकट की शर्तों का उल्लंघन' करने के लिए स्टेडियम से बाहर कर दिया गया। लाइव फीड में कुछ सेकेंड के लिए देरी हो गई थी (सामान्यत गेंद फेंकने के बाद), सट्टेबाजी बाजार में मैदान पर अंदरूनी सूचना के मुताबिक हेराफेरी की जा सकती है।

रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, 'माना जा रहा था कि कार्डिफ में यह व्यक्ति भारतीय पारी के दौरान दो लैपटॉप और एक मोबाइल फोन का इस्तेमाल कर रहा था, जिसके बाद उसे मैदान से बाहर कर दिया गया। ईसीबी भ्रष्टाचार रोधी इकाई के एक अतिरिक्त अधिकारी के सीरीज के अंतिम तीन वनडे में मौजूद होने की संभावना है।'

Source: Cricket News in Hindi and Newspaper

Pele's son sentenced to 33 years in prison for money laundering

Edinho, who played as a goalkeeper for his father's former club Santos, served a jail sentence for drug trafficking between 2005 and 2006. At the time, he admitted to being a drug addict but denied trafficking charges.
             
He was found guilty of money-laundering on Friday by a judge in the beachside city of Praia Grande. Four other men accused of being part of the same gang received similar sentences.
             
Edinho, whose real name is Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, is expected to appeal against the judge's decision but must hand over his passport to the authorities. He may be preventively arrested while a higher court considers his appeal.
             
Edinho, 43, currently works as a goalkeeping coach for Santos. His lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
             
Pele, widely regarded as the best footballer of all time, helped Brazil win the World Cup three times. Brazil is hosting this year's World Cup from June 12-July 13.

Read more Latest News from Sports News

Sunrisers Hyderabad Have A Tough Task At Hand Against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League

After being outplayed by Mumbai Indians in their previous match, Sunrisers Hyderabad face another tough battle when they take on table-toppers Kings XI Punjab at the Rajiv Gandhi International cricket stadium in an IPL match on Wednesday.

The Kings XI Punjab have had a rampaging campaign in this edition of the IPL before the Kolkata Knight Riders got the better of them in a match on May 11 at Cuttack.

Having suffered a sudden setback, the Punjab side would be keen to come all guns blazing against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who cannot afford to lose any more matches in order to stay in contention for a place in the semi-finals.

Punjab's star duo of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller have been in scintillating form and the team's old warhorse Virender Sehwag has also, of late, been reminding about his batting prowess.

While batting has been the mainstay of Punjab, the bowling department is no less potent with the presence of pacer Sandeep Sharma, one of the top wicket-takers this season and Australian import Mitchell Johnson, who slowly gathered some momentum after a rather indifferent start...

Source: Cricket News in Hindi

From ndtv News

Mumbai still optimistic of hosting IPL final

It is to be noted that the IPL Governing Council on May 10 decided to shift the final of the IPL from Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The final will be played on June 1.

An emergency meeting of the MCA was held on Monday during which it was decided that the association will write a letter to the IPL GC asking for reasons for the shift. "We have not received anything in writing about shifting the final away from Mumbai," MCA joint secretary PV Shetty told dna.

"We did not know the actual reasons as to why it was shifted. Our vice-president Ravi Savant has spoken with BCCI interim president for the duration of the IPL, Sunil Gavaskar about the issue. Gavaskar will talk to the members of the IPL GC and get back to us on Tuesday. We are very optimistic of the IPL final coming back to Mumbai," he said.

Nitin Dalal, joint secretary, MCA, said: "We have asked them for the reasons. We are waiting for their reply. We can get the required permissions from the authorities. As a special case, the Mumbai police will help us with the necessary permissions including the late night noise."..

Source: Cricket News in Hindi

From delhidailynews News

Maria Sharapova joins Li Na to move into third round of Madrid Open

Johannesburg: Russian ace Maria Sharapova has joined Chinese star Li Na in moving into the third round of the women's Madrid Open following their respective second round wins on Tuesday.

Sharapova, who won her first tournament of the season on her return to clay in Stuttgart two weeks ago, reeled off five straight games to beat world number 57 Christina McHale from USA 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in fine form.

According to Sport24, Sharapova has set up a meeting with either Spain's Garbine Muguruza or 2011 US Open champion Sam Stosur in the last 16...

Source: Sports News in Hindi

From dna News

Rajasthan hold edge against Hyderabad

 Up against an outfit that is struggling to stay afloat, fancied Rajasthan Royals will look to consolidate their position in the pecking order when they lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing seventh Indian Premier League (IPL) in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

Rajasthan Royals staged a dramatic fight back to down Kolkata Knight Riders by 10 runs in their last match, while Sunrisers Hyderabad were overshadowed by Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Led by inspiring Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, Rajasthan are placed third in the points table with five wins and two reverses, while the Southern team is struggling to keep their chances alive in the competition having already suffered four defeats in six games to be placed seventh in the eight-team cash-rich tournament.

Watson has always been the key man in the RR set-up and it will be no different this time around. The Aussie, who struck a 20-ball 31 to go with his 3/21 with the ball, will look to do better with the willow at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera. ..

Source: Cricket News in Hindi

From TH News

Groin Injury Rules Out Wayne Rooney Against Hull City

Wayne Rooney will miss Manchester United's final home game of the season against Hull City on Tuesday after being ruled out with a groin injury. Rooney was sidelined for Saturday's 1-0 loss to Sunderland due to a combination of the groin problem and a stomach bug.

It was initially believed the England forward would be fit for United's Old Trafford finale, but interim manager Ryan Giggs revealed on Monday that the 28-year-old has still not recovered. "Wayne is probably struggling for the game. He's not quite recovered. We'll continue to monitor him," Giggs told MUTV.

Reports last week claimed Rooney was confident his fitness problems would not affect his chances of being ready to shine at the World Cup. England manager Roy Hodgson is due to announce his squad next week for the tournament in Brazil.

Rooney's absence for the Hull game means Dutch striker Robin van Persie could make his first start in seven weeks as he has now fully recovered from a knee injury...

Source: Sports News in Hindi

From ndtv News

Virat Kohli Retains Top Spot in ODI Rankings

Virat Kohli has retained his top spot in the ICC rankings of ODI batsmen while his compatriot Ravindra Jadeja is among the top-five in the rankings for both bowlers and all-rounders.

India remained second in the list of teams with 112 points as Australia maintained their top rank with 115 points.

Kohli, with 881 points, topped the list of the batsmen, followed by South African A.B. de Villiers with 872 points.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was sixth with 783 points while Shikhar Dhawan was ranked eighth with 723 points.

In bowling, Jadeja remained at fifth position with 676 points while Ravichandran Ashwin was 14th. Among all-rounders, Jadeja is ranked fourth.

Source: Cricket News in Hindi 

From indiawest News

IPL 2014: Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab – Live Score

As expected, Kings XI Punjab are fielding an unchanged XI, while Mumbai Indians have left out left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha for talented seamer Jasprit Bumrah.

Mumbai XI:

Ben Dunk, Rohit Sharma (capt.), Corey Anderson, Ambati Rayudu, Keiron Pollard, Aditya Tare, Harbhajan Singh, Chidhambaram Gautam (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga

Punjab XI:

Cheteshwar Pujara, V Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, George Bailey (capt.), Rishi Dhawan, Mitchell Johnson, Akshar Patel, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Sandeep Sharma

Toss:

Punjab skipper, George Bailey won the toss and have opted to bat first. Rohit Sharma also said, they would have also like to bat first as the pitch is dry.

===================================================

Mumbai: On paper, they are all tigers and lions. It`s altogether another story that only a few live up to their colours, rather stripes. The match-up between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab will pit two such teams with names and claims galore, albeit with some historical difference.

What has happened so far this season has once again underlined the fact that, past is not present. Mumbai Indians won the tournament last time around. But in 2014, they have found themselves wanting in almost every field. Whereas, Kings XI Punjab – historically one of the under-performing teams in the Indian Premier League, have won all there five matches so far and have truly blossomed as a perfect team.

But, what happened during the UAE-leg can no longer be considered the basis to out-rightly dismiss the Rohit Sharma-led squad from the reckoning. Now onwards, the tournament will be played in India, at home, with fans, noise and new zeal. In fact, the Mumbai franchise have won all their eight matches at Wankhede Stadium in 2013. And today, they welcome the pace-setters in their lair. And what spurred them to such a perfect record was the combination of these factors. So, the question is: Will Wankhede help Mumbai regain their lost touch?....

Source: Cricket News in Hindi

From Znews

Sania-Cara pair reach Portugal Open final

 Sania Mirza alongwith her doubles partner Cara Black stormed into the finals of the Portugal Open with a straight-set victory over third seeded American pair of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in Oeiras.

Continuing their fabulous run, the top seeded combo of Sania and Cara took an hour and 14 minutes to get the better of their American rivals, 6-4 6-3 at the $250,000 clay court event.

First set saw the Indo-Zimbabwean pair struggle a bit, as they could convert only three of the eight breakpoints they got but they managed to held their nerves to finally win it.

In the second set, two decisive breaks of serve enabled Sania and Cara to wrap up the match comfortably in their favour...

Source: Sports News in Hindi

From TH News

South African fans upset over Proteas Test squad losing number one ranking

The Proteas losing their No 1 status in Test cricket to Australia has caused somewhat of an uproar among South African cricket fans.

According to Sport 24, prior to South Africa's home Test series against Australia earlier this year, it was widely reported that the hosts would not lose their No 1 status even if they came unstuck in the three-Test series.

Australia duly won the series 2-1 to move past India into second spot, but still trailed South Africa (127 points) by 12 ratings points.

Now, South Africa finds itself ranked second, because as of May 1, a new two-year cycle in the ICC rankings has started, which saw results from the 2010/11 season dropped from the calculation. Also, results from the 2012/13 season are now reduced to a weighting of 50 percent.

This has enabled Australia to gain eight ratings points to move up from 115 to 123, while South Africa dropped from 127 to be level on 123, but Australia are ahead by a fraction of a point...

Source: Cricket News in Hindi

From BS News

Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova set for Miami WTA final rematch

Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams will have a rematch of their 2013 final in the Miami WTA semi-finals on Thursday after both advanced in formidable style on Tuesday.

Sharapova, who has not beaten the world number one American since 2004 and has lost 14 consecutive matches in the rivalry, regained her big-match confidence after twice being pushed to three sets by defeating Petra Kvitova 7-5, 6-1.

Top seed Williams pounded German fifth seed Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-2, taking 62 minutes and ending with seven aces and four breaks of serve in windy conditions.

"When the wind picked up I just had to concentrate," said Williams, who holds six Miami titles. "I felt better today than in any of my other matches.

"When you're facing a top-10 player, you have to lift your game, That's what I was able to do."..

Source: Sports News in Hindi

From ndtv News

World Twenty20: Former Pakistan coach predicts India-Pakistan final

Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has tipped arch rivals India and Pakistan to play the final of the 2014 World Twenty20. Lawson, who was in charge of the Pakistan team between 2007-2008, said conditions in Bangladesh were ideally suited to both sides as was evident from their performances in the recently concluded Asia Cup.

The two rivals meet on March 21 in what is being termed as the 'real' curtain- raiser for this year's World T20.

"India and Pakistan will be playing on slow paced and low-bounce pitches and as such they may start as the two most likely to play in the final once again. Pakistan have the spin king in Saeed Ajmal and the the all-round talents of Mohammed Hafeez and Shoaib Malik and the inimitable Shahid Afridi. That's plenty of slow bowling on their preferred surface," Lawson wrote in his column for Al Jazeera.

For the talented Pakistan team, the challenge essentially will be to curb their tendency to implode if they are to repeat their 2009 World Twenty triumph. Mohammad Hafeez's men take on Australia, defending champs West Indies and a qualifier after their clash against India in what is perhaps the tougher of the two groups at the World T20.

Source: Cricket News & Sports News

From ibnlive News

ICC World Twenty20: India vs Pakistan - Preview

Battered and bruised in the first quarter of 2014, India will aim to take fresh guard when they open their World Twenty20 campaign against traditional foes Pakistan here on Friday in what promises to be a cracker of a contest.

While form favours Pakistan even though they were battered by South Africa in a warm-up game last evening, history would be on India`s side as they have never lost to their arch-rivals on all three meetings of the previous editions of World T20.

The Pakistan national team has played more T20 Internationals than its Indian counterparts, who last played an official T20 International against Australia in October last year.

There will be some great inner battle within the main contest. Shahid Afridi`s pyrotechnics against Ravichandran Ashwin`s variations, Umar Gul`s pace against Virat Kohli`s bravado, Saeed Ajmal`s guile against Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s flair.

But then, cricket is a fickle game and India have not had a great run this year so far. Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s side has won only two official international matches this year having beaten Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the Asia Cup last month.

They have lost to all major teams like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

Even they lost to Sri Lanka in the first warm-up game before beating England convincingly by 20 runs in the final warm-up tie to somewhat redeem themselves.

While a victory acts as a morale booster after having inculcated the habit of losing, it would be a completely different ball-game when the `Men In Blue` take the field against Mohammed Hafeez`s men.

It is impossible to think that Afridi`s last-over exploits wouldn`t play on the Indian cricketers` minds ahead of the game although the format is completely different.

There would be immense pressure on both sides and one can expect a full house at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium as people are going crazy for the tickets of the match.

For Dhoni, there are a number of issues that he needs to fret upon although yesterday`s England game was an indication as to what kind of line-up he is planning to field tomorrow.

There are still some concerns with both batting and bowling. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan`s performance in shorter versions hasn`t been good enough but the skipper is not known to tinker too much with his side.

Also the fact that Ajinkya Rahane, who can be an option as an opener having done the job for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, is also not inspiring confidence of the highest order.

While critics have panned Dhoni for not being flexible with his team selection, he did try something `Out of the Box` during the last edition in Sri Lanka where Irfan Pathan came in as an opener.

His run-a-ball 31 was one of the primary reasons that India lost to Australia and were subsequently knocked out of the tournament. Dhoni has never really experimented big time after that.

A good start is always crucial as it helps to seize the initiative early on in the match. Both Rohit and Dhawan would be aware that a couple of defeats could mean end of the road for India in this edition...

Source: Cricket News

From Zee News

Hockey India Senior Men Championship: TN beat FCI by 4-3

After suffering a loss in their first game against Uttar Pradesh 5 -2, Hockey Odisha today registered their first win by defeating Karnataka by an impressive 3- 1 on board. Tamil Nadu saw a similar fate as they too register their first win in the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2014 (Division A) played at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in Lucknow today, as they defeated Food Corporation of India 4-3.

Hockey Odisha clearly learned from their previous mistakes and played an inspiring game against Karnataka. Committing one error Hockey Odisha lost a chance to win by a clean 3-0 as Karnataka?s Biddappa B.S successfully cashed on to the opportunity of converting the penalty corner in the 24th minute of the game. On the other hand, Hockey Odisha?s Amon Mirash Tirkey, Deepak Kullu and Dispan Tirkey penetrated a goal each in the 12th, 56th and 60th minute of the match and led the team to a fantastic 3-1 win over Karnataka.

The last match of the day of Division A, motivated with yesterday?s success, Food Corporation of India displayed a confident attitude and showed brilliant skills in the first half of the game as they dominated the match with 2-1 on board with successful strokes by Ganendrajit Ningomban in the 15th minute and Munish Rana in the 23rd minute, till the half time.

The second half of the game saw Munish Rana converting a penalty corner in the 45th minute and banking another goal to his credit, but the team ultimately failed to leverage on the opportunities. Alternatively, S. Monoj of Tamil Nadu tried leveling the scores with Food Corporation of India in the 21st minute in the first half itself, but it was V. Vinod Rayer?s and V. Raja?s field goals in 43rd and 63rd minute respectively and B Laxman Karan?s penalty corner conversion in the 61st minute which turned the tables of the match and led the team to a charming 4-3 win.

Source: Sports News

From newstrackindia News

Pujara the bowler: Why is Indian cricket penalising specialists?

You know Indian cricket is in a strange place when batsman Cheteshwar Pujara takes up bowling to try and get into the ODI team and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh talks about the need to out-bat Ravichandran Ashwin (another off-spinner) in a bid to break in. Once upon a time, the way to get into the team if you were a batsman was to score tons of runs – force your way into the team with the sheer weight of runs. And similarly for the bowler, picking up bagfuls of wickets was the only way to convince selectors of your quality.

But now having multiple-facets to your game seems more important. Specialisation can take a back seat simply because you have nothing to fall back on if you fail in your chosen area, which will make it easier for you to be knocked out of the team. Greg Chappell first introduced Indian cricket to the concept of three-dimensional players – players who are good batsmen, fielders and bowlers; who provide tremendous value to the team while batting and bowling. 

But he promptly forgot to mention that such players are rare or else every second player would be a Garry Sobers or a Kapil Dev. In the last two series – we have seen Ambati Rayudu (who has also donned the keeping gloves for Mumbai Indians in the past) get a bowl. Suresh Raina, struggling with his batting, turns to bowling. Rohit Sharma bowls as well. Yuvraj Singh’s bowling is almost as important to the team as his batting now. Virat Kohli gets a bowl from time to time and so does Mahendra Singh Dhoni. 

Then come the bowlers who can bat. Ashwin and Jadeja are leading the way in that department. During the tours of South Africa and New Zealand, Ashwin’s batting seemed to be keeping him in the team as he just wasn’t able to take any wickets – so much so that he seemed to be morphing into the next coming of Ravi Shastri (who went from left-arm orthodox spinner to opening the batting). Jadeja, on the other hand, is a scorer of triple-centuries at domestic level who only managed to get into the team as a bowler. Even now, it is as a bowler that he makes the cut...

Source: Cricket News

From firstpost News

IPL first half goes to UAE, final leg may be in India

 The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to hold the first leg of the slam-bang T20 tournament IPL in UAE from April 16 to 30 while the second leg could be played from May 1 to 12 in either Bangladesh or India if the home ministry grants permission to the board to bring back the T20 tournament to its home country after the end of the seventh phase of elections on April 30.

"We had to decide on dates for the tournament but we are still hopeful that the home ministry will allow us to bring back IPL to India early so that over 70 per cent of the matches are held here," said IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal.

The home ministry, he said, is yet to take a decision on BCCI request allow the IPL to be held in India from the first week of May by when seven of the nine phases of elections will be over.

The final phase of the IPL, which will include the all crucial playoffs and the final, when viewership is at its highest, will be played in the country.

The home ministry had confirmed to BCCI that it will have no objection if the IPL is held after the final leg of the elections are over on May 12. it had, however, also made it clear that the cricket board will have to take prior permission from state governments because of security issues.

A senior BCCI official, who did not wish to be named said the board will also work out the details of a compensation package for IPL teams.

If more than half of the IPL matches are moved to an overseas location, it would mean a loss of 40-50 per cent in revenues for IPL teams as a considerable chunk of their revenues come from ticket sales on their home grounds. Even sponsorship and merchandising opportunities will get impacted due to the move...

Source: Cricket News

From indiatimes News

IPL: Shane Watson to lead RR, Dravid to be mentor

Rajasthan Royals on Monday appointed star Australian all-rounder Shane Watson captain of the Jaipur franchise for the upcoming Indian Premier League in place of the retired Rahul Dravid who was anointed its mentor.

Former India captain Dravid, who retired from all forms of cricket last year, will be involved in all aspects of cricket strategy - mentoring the team and guiding youth and talent development initiatives for the franchise, Royals announced here today.

"I am honoured to lead the Rajasthan Royals, an extraordinary team which has always given me amazing opportunities," said the 32-year-old Australian on his new appointment for the upcoming IPL season scheduled to start next month.

"(Compatriot) Shane Warne and Rahul Dravid had a lot of faith in me while they were captains and gave me opportunities that helped improve my cricket. I hope to live up to the confidence shown in me by the franchise and give our fans an exciting season of cricket," he said.

"I would like to thank our fans for showing trust in me through their votes on the digital medium. The Royals are one big family and I feel very privileged to be a part of such a special franchise," he added about the franchise`s initiative.

"My aim will be to continue playing our best cricket and maintain the winning momentum. We all want to repeat the 2008 IPL success and last season, we were quite close to that. I am confident that we can do it again," he added.

Welcoming Watson`s elevation, Dravid described the burly Aussie as a player with top notch leadership skills. "I would like to congratulate Shane Watson on his appointment as the Captain of the Royals. He is not only one of the world`s best all-rounders, but a leader par excellence," the team`s new mentor said.

"Watson has been with the team since the first season and is familiar with the players and the staff. The Royals Squad is a bunch of extremely energetic and talented players who know their roles perfectly well and I am sure they will thrive under Watson`s inspiring leadership," Dravid added.

Source: Cricket News

From Z news

Dhoni-led Team India to leave for ICC World T20 on March 14

The under-fire Indian squad, which flopped in the just concluded Asia Cup in Bangladesh, is set to depart from here on Friday for the ICC World T20 Championship, scheduled in the same country from March 16.

India open their campaign, to regain the title that they won in its inaugural year in 2007, against arch-foes Pakistan on March 21 at Mirpur in a Super 10 game.

Prior to the lung opener the team, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni - who had skipped the Asia Cup because of a side strain - would play in a couple of warm-up games against Sri Lanka (March 17) and England (March 19).

According to Cricket Board sources, Dhoni and under-fire coach Duncan Fletcher are not scheduled to address the media here prior to leaving for Dhaka.

"The media conference will be held after they reach Dhaka," BCCI sources told PTI.

There was no pre-departure media meet when the team, led by stand-by captain Virat Kohli, left from here on February 23 for the Asia Cup.

Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma and Varun Aaron.

Source: Cricket News

From Z news

Rahul Gandhi scores with soccer in trophy-winning Mizoram

 Rahul Gandhi has reason to smile even though a tough battle is fast approaching. On the eve of Mizoram's assembly elections in November last year, the Gandhi scion had said basic sports amenities would be provided to each district in Mizoram so that the state could produce homegrown football stars. By clinching 2014's Santosh Trophy, the country's top football tournament, Mizoram moved one step closer to that dream.

"The talent of Mizoram's youth is known across the country. Your love for football, your love for sports is known and we want to see future Ronaldos and Messis from Mizoram," Rahul had said. Mizoram is the second northeastern state after Manipur to win the trophy.

"One day, we will produce Messis and Ronaldos, but we are still at the very beginning of that dream. Earlier, Mizoram tried to clinch top football titles of the country without building a base, but we have learnt from our mistakes and efforts are on to hone young talent. Working with FIFA and AIFF, the state has implemented the FIFA Grassroots Course very effectively and we can see the change. The state FA recently won an award for football policy implementation," Lal Thanzara, president of Mizoram Football Association, said.

Referring to the AICC vice-president's commitment to Mizo footballers, Lal Thanzara, who is also the state's health minister, said Rahul's speech worked wonders by inculcating a sense of confidence among Mizo footballers.

"If top leaders of the country give assurances and impart confidence, the effect is always positive. Rahul's promise to build new stadiums in all the districts of the state has enlivened Mizoram's football," Lal Thanzara added.

The ruling Congress in Mizoram has already built three artificial grass stadiums in Mizoram, while the fourth is under construction at Champhai district.

"BJP president Rajnath Singh came, but did nothing. Rahul gave Mizo youths what they needed-confidence," Lal Thanzara said.

Mizoram sports minister Zodintluanga, too, gave the credit to Rahul and said his visit had a positive effect on the sports scenario of the state.

"The people of Mizoram have a close affinity with the Gandhi family. We do not need essays from political leaders. We need a practical solutions and he did that by giving Mizo youths what they craved for-football stadiums," Zodintluanga said.

Lalnghinglova Hmar, honorary secretary of the state FA, attributed the Mizoram team's success to the untiring efforts of sports minister Zodintluanga and Lal Thanzara, president of the state FA.

"They left no stone unturned to promote football in the state. Mizoram dreamt of clinching this title for so many years. They knew it and gave it their all. Now, this dream has become a reality," Hmar said.

Source: Sports News

From TOI News