Emre Can admits he is still unhappy at Juventus and “anything can happen” but insists “I won’t be beaten. I will continue to work hard.” Emre Can does not seem to be in Maurizio Sarri’s plans after he was left out of Juve’s Champions League squad, while he is still awaiting his first Serie A start this season. Now, the 25-year-old concedes things are not going to plan in Turin but assures he will work hard to force his way back into contention. “I’m an ambitious guy, and I always want to compete at a top level,” he told Kicker. “I am learning from this difficult moment, that everything won’t always be how I expected it to. I haven’t even started a match and I can’t be happy, but I won’t be beaten. “I will continue to work hard on myself. I will go to the gym before or after the training sessions, I’m doing extra sessions to be ready when called upon.” The German was then specifically asked about a return to the Bundesliga. “Anything can happen in football.” Watch Serie A live in the UK on Premier Sports for just £11.99 per month including live LaLiga, Eredivisie, Scottish Cup Football and more. Visit: https://subscribe.premiersports.tv/
Month: November 2019
Hockey India downplays Harendra’s return to fold
Just months after being removed from the post of coach with the senior men’s hockey team, Harendra Singh has been quietly brought back in to the system as the coach of the junior team.Harendra was shown the door after just one tournament in charge when India, without several senior players, finished sixth among seven teams at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in May.Interestingly, Hockey India has downplayed the development claiming that the appointment is part of a plan that was already in place.There is already a development team in the books of the federation with Olympian Mukesh Kumar as its designated coach.Hockey India says both squads have different personnel and have been put together for different reasons.”The chain of command has been there for some time. There is no scope for any confusion.Mukesh is the coach of the development team while Harendra will be in charge of the juniors,” Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra told MAIL TODAY on Monday.He said the two teams are in place for different purposes.”The juniors are players under 21 years of age. However, there are several good players above that age who may not be ready to be in the reckoning for the senior side. We want to keep them in the system and that’s why we have formed the development side,” Batra said.”In the coming months, while the senior team will be taking on top teams like Australia, Germany and the Netherlands, the development squad will face secondstring sides like Japan, China and Malaysia.”advertisementThe development has not gone down well with Mukesh, who was earlier marked as the coach of the junior team. He was at the recent trials in Jalandhar, where 48 players were shortlisted for the camp in Bangalore.The Olympian was miffed when he learnt that Harendra had been made coach of the junior side and left the camp in a huff.Batra admitted that Mukesh needs to be placated. “He is an experienced player and we value his expertise. We will talk to him soon and sort out the confusion,” he said.However, Batra stressed that there was no way Harendra could come back into the coaching staff for the senior side.”Michael Nobbs is the chief coach of the senior side with Mohammad Riaz as his assistant. The Australian is happy with his inputs and we don’t envisage any change,” Batra added.The next assignment for the under- 18 squad is an international tournament early next month in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.No venue for nationalsThe men’s and women’s junior nationals are scheduled to be held next month, but there is no decision yet about the venue of the event.Jharkhand was to host both the tournaments, but later expressed its inability to do so.”Now we are looking for some other venue that can hold the event in October or early November,” Batra said.”We are talking to three or four state units but no final decision has been reached yet.” The under- 18 nationals are significant as stepping stones to the squad for the men’s and women’s Junior World Cups to be held in India in 2013.The 48 players shortlisted for the tournament in Johor Bahru will be further pruned on the basis of performance at the nationals.”We have already given our longterm programme to the government for approval,” Batra said.Core of junior girls’ squad in placeThe team that won the bronze medal at the Girls’ Under-18 Asia Cup in Bangkok will form the core of the Indian squad at the 2013 Junior World Cup.”We still need to have a look at the junior nationals. We will have open trials and will see a few more players there,” Batra said.Apart from age verification, the players’ overall fitness and performance will be assessed, he added.
ODI series against England: Harbhajan Singh axed; Sharma, Aravind new faces in Team India
A prolonged slump in form has finally cost off-spinner Harbhajan Singh his spot in the Indian One-Day International team as the selectors on Thursday picked a young side in the absence of as many as seven first-choice players. After a disastrous and winless tour of England, the selectors met in Chennai anddecided to go in for fresh legs.The new names in the 15-member squad for the first two ODIs are leg-spinner Rahul Sharma and left-arm fast bowler Sreenath Aravind.Apart from them, Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane and Parthiv Patel have been rewarded for their good showing in England, while Manoj Tiwary will beef up the middle order.In the pace bowling department, Jharkhand pacer Varun Aaron gets another chance to showcase his skills, while Vidarbha pacer Umesh Yadav too has been drafted in. Among the spinners, left-armer Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin will look to come into their own on the turning tracks.Gautam Gambhir is back in the side after missing the ODI series in England because of a concussion he suffered during the Test series. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side will be without the services of Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel and Ishant Sharma due to injuries.Karnataka’s 27-year-old fast bowler Aravind has been rewarded for his good performances in the domestic circuit and the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).The left-armer has taken 68 wickets in 20 first-class matches with an average of 27.11.Leg-spinner Rahul, 24, also did well in the IPL and should add variety to the Indian attack.advertisementIt means there is no place in the side for the likes of Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla.Also, left- arm pacer Ashish Nehra, who was said to be in contention due to his experience, doesn’t find a place in the side, along with the hard-hitting Yusuf Pathan and pacer RP Singh.The first of the five ODIs will be played in Hyderabad on October 14, while the Capital will host the second game on October 17. Mohali (October 20), Mumbai (October 23) and Kolkata (October 25) are the other three venues.Kolkata will also be the venue for the lone Twenty20 match of the tour on October 29.Nehra lividAshish Nehra is baffled and deeply hurt after the selectors ignored the Delhi seamer for the first two ODIs against England.”I have submitted my fitness certificate before the ODI series in England. I was ignored and they even summoned RP Singh from a holiday. Now they have again ignored me,” Nehra said.”I still don’t know where I exactly went wrong after being India’s highest wicket- taker in ODIs since my comeback in 2009. Also till the Pakistan match (World Cup semi-final) where I fractured my finger, I didn’t have any major injury issues,” the 32- year- old said.”Please check the records, which India bowler has bowled maximum number of overs at the death in last two years. You want me to prove my fitness but then I am not even good enough to be in any of the Challenger Trophy teams. Aapne Kerala se Srinagar tak sabko chance diya hai, sirf Ashish Nehra hi nahin hai (You have given a chance to each and everyone from Kerala to Srinagar).How come I have become such a bad bowler in a space of few months?” Nehra asked.When asked if his age could be a factor, he retorted: ” For God’s sake, I am 32 and not 42. Virender Sehwag is older than me.And had age been a criteria, then Rahul Dravid couldn’t have made a comeback in ODIs at 39.”Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, R Vinay Kumar, Sreenath Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar
CWG probe: Sandeep Dikshit to judge mother Sheila Dikshit’s case in PAC?
Sandeep Dikshit stood out when he became the first Congress leader to question the UPA government’s handling of Anna Hazare’s fast two months ago.But did he fail to show the same conscientiousness when it came to discharging his parliamentary duty? The Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi did not recuse himself from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), of which he is a member, when the CAG report on the Commonwealth Games came up for discussion last Monday.His decision to attend the PAC meeting has raised serious questions of conflict of interest and parliamentary ethics. For, the CAG has indicted his mother Sheila Dikshit and her government for the CWG mess, apart from others including jailed former Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi.Dikshit accepted that he attended the PAC’s opening meeting held to discuss the CAG report on the Games.”That day only officials of the sports ministry and the CPWD had come to depose and there was no one from the Delhi government,” Dikshit said, defending his decision.Click here to EnlargeThe Congress MP further said: “Can the parliamentary PAC discuss a state subject? It should be done by the PAC of the Delhi assembly.” But when pointed out that Parliament has already accepted CAG’s combined report on the CWG projects and Delhi government officials would, in due process, also be summoned by the PAC, Diskhit said: “I will see when it comes.” “I’m not going to take any decision which is not in consonance with the ethics of Parliament,” he finally stated.Legal experts agree that Dikshit should have withdrawn himself from the PAC. Since the CAG report is comprehensive, no portion of the performance audit can be seen in isolation.advertisement”He can’t be the judge in his own mother’s case. He should immediately withdraw from the PAC because justice should not only be done but also seen to be done,” senior lawyer Kamini Jaiswal said.Former additional solicitor general Amarendra Sharan agreed: “It’s a clear case of conflict of interest. Sandeep should recuse himself from PAC meetings when CWG is being discussed if the CAG has indicted Sheila Dikshit’s government.” PAC chairman Murli Manohar Joshi was not available for comments.Parliament has clearly laid down ethical practices that says MPs should declare the nature of interest while participating in the proceedings if they have personal, pecuniary or direct interest in any matter placed before both the Houses.The Lok Sabha Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, in fact, says in Rule 255 that an MP’s inclusion in a parliamentary committee becomes objectionable on the grounds that the member has a personal, pecuniary or direct interest on a topic being debated before the House since it may prejudice the functioning.Rule 371 goes a step further, saying that the vote of an MP can be challenged on the grounds of conflict of interest.In the PAC, voting does take place if there is no unanimity on the adoption of a report, as witnessed in the 2G scam where the Opposition and the UPA were divided.The CAG’s performance audit report on the CWG, which was tabled in Parliament during the last session, had criticised Delhi chief minister Sheila’s decisions on several projects, including upgrading streetlights in the Capital.The CAG also blamed the government for gross administrative mismanagement and giving inflated contracts to private companies for executing projects for the big- ticket event.
F1: Bollywood celebs up glamour quotient at Grand Prix
Bollywood lent its starry glamour to the inaugural Indian Grand Prix with actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Bipasha Basu heading to the venue here to watch the race live on Sunday.”Driving to the Formula 1 Race! So excited… Cannot believe the crazy traffic & how hot it is! Bring on the speed boyz… We are ready!” Preity Zinta wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.SRK, who is back from hectic ‘Ra.One’ promotions, tweeted, “Long flight great sleep. Got pleasantly hit by the Delhi winter start. Refreshed… reloaded… ready to enjoy F.One & Ra.One in my hometown I am ON (sic).””I am here to watch the race. Speed enthralls me. I am a big fan of Michael Schumacher and really wanted to meet and shake hands with him. What a man he is!” said Fardeen Khan, who attended the F1 after-party Saturday night.”Touchdown in Delhi! Its amazing how a few people have made the whole nation proud. Go Sahara Force India!! Let’s win it on home ground,” Minissha Lamba posted.”Off to Delhi for F1! Happy !!!,” said Bipasha.”Enroute #F1… can feel the excitement on the roads…90000 people expected… that many cars and that much traffic. Phew (sic),” said Raima Sen.”On my way to the FORMULA ONE racing, exuberance all over!!! (sic),” filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar tweeted, while actor Ranvir Shorey said, “All set for the race.”
Delhi Police speeds up fixing probe
With three Pakistani players convicted by a London Court in connection with spot-fixing, the Delhi Police is now expediting the investigations in the match fixing scandal which broke out in early 2000.Two police commissioners and several DCP’s of the Crime Branch have changed ever since the case was registered by Delhi Police. So far the case is yet to come to any conclusion.South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and late skipper Hansie Cronje have allegedly been named in the scandal. However since the last two years, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, is yet to get a crucial report about the taped conversation of Cronje from the Forensic Science Laboratory. The final report could prove crucial in investigating the case.The police said that the crime branch would write a letter to the Forensic Science Laboratory asking for the report to come to a conclusion in the investigation.”We had submitted the tapes of the conversation between Hansie Cronje and Sanjay Chawla. The tapes were sent two years ago and the report is awaited. Next week, we will again write to them to give us the report. Once we get the forensic report the case can move forward,” said a senior police official from the Delhi police.However, the process is likely to start on Tuesday. The crime branch has already interrogated Nicky Boje and Herschelle Gibbs in connection with the case. A lot of senior police officials have been transferred in the last several years but the case is yet to come to a valid conclusion.advertisementPolice officials said that it was not only the forensic report but they were also awaiting the bank records of the cricketers named in the case.The Delhi Police had written to various South African banks requesting them to hand over the account details of Hansie Cronje and Nicky Boje but the reply is still awaited.”We will send another reminder to the banks. The case can move forward if we get the information that we have asked from various agencies,” added the senior police official.
West Bengal Congress to contest Rajya Sabha polls
The Congress party is to contest the coming Rajya Sabha polls in West Bengal, state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said in Kolkata on Sunday.”Our high command has communicated to me that the Congress will put up a candidate in the coming Rajya Sabha polls in West Bengal. Abdul Mannan is our likely nominee,” said the West Bengal Pradesh Congress president.Asked whether there was a connection between Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi agreeing to resign as railway minister and the Congress deciding to field a candidate to the upper house of Parliament from West Bengal, Bhattacharya said: “One should not look at this development in this way.”On whether the Trinamool could withdraw one of its candidates and extend support to Mannan, Bhattacharya said “it is too premature”.On Friday, the Trinamool announced the names of union minister of state Mukul Roy and journalists Kunal Ghosh, Mohammed Nadim-ul-Haq and Vivek Gupta as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls.On March 30, five Rajya Sabha members from the state would be elected to fill up vacancies arising April 2.According to the arithmetic in the assembly, Trinamool with 185 seats can elect three members to the upper house of parliament.In order to send its fourth candidate, it has to depend on the support of alliance partner Congress which has 42 assembly members.A candidate needs 49 votes to cross the finishing line in the Rajya Sabha race in West Bengal.The Left Front with 61 seats had already re-nominated Centre of Indian Trade Unions secretary Tapan Sen.advertisement
Gadgets on the go
Seiko AstronInnovations with analogue watches are always fascinating. And if you are a regular globetrotter, Seiko’s new watch is something you must take a gander at. Their new Astron Solar GPS is an analogue wristwatch capable of using GPS to detect your time zones and automatically setting time; all to atomic precision. The solar capabilities are a welcome bonus and the device is water resistant to 10m. Touted to launch by September; will be priced US$ 1,860 upwards. www.seiko.co.jpSony Cyber-shotThe Sony engineering team is on a roll. The company recently launched a handful of cameras, but there is one we find particularly interesting, the HX30V. This point-and-shoot is capable of shooting 18.2 mp images and has 30x optical and 60x digital zoom. But most fascinating is the built-in Wi-fi, which means your camera can connect to your Android or iOS devices to transfer pics. Sharing and expanded data capability from a point-and-shoot is a real bonus. The other features seem pretty standard: GPS and Full HD recording at 30 fps. Priced at US$ 420. www.sony.comPS VitaOK. This is addictive. Sony’s latest iteration of their famed Playstation Portable series, The Vita, is a gorgeous device with simply no parallel in the handheld gaming scene. With stronger processing power, built-in 3G, dual-analog sticks and a splendid OLED screen, the Vita has dragged the PSP line into the future. Interestingly, this device is more powerful than the Playstation 2! The 5″ OLED screen packs the punch and the touch-abilities are a great, um, touch. Gone are the UMDs and in are games with memory cards. The Vita is available in two flavours: Wi-fi at Rs. 19,900 and Wi-fi + 3G at Rs. 24,900. www.sony.comMegellan WatchesHeading abroad to train for the next few marathons a la Murakami? Megellan GPS has just launched two splendid watches, the Switch and the Switch Up. Designed to meet the requirements of runners and multi-sport athletes, these watches are packed with innovative features. The GPS is capable of tracking distance and speed and the watch packs in a barometric altimeter for elevation data. A mounting kit accessory also supplies you with heart rate information. The device plays nice with many online fitness sites and is available from US$ 249 upwards. www.magellangps.comThe new iPadThey came, they saw and they conquered. Apple’s trailblazing run in the tablet space continues with the launch of their new iPad. What’s remarkable? A display that has no comparison in the market. We’ve seen the Retina display in the iPhone 4; the same technology now comes to the iPad. To put this in perspective, the new iPad has more resolution than your humongous HD TV. Meaning: Images and videos like never before. Also remarkable is that the new iPad maintains the 10-hour battery life with that display, a faster and better graphics processor and better (faster) networking capabilities. A competitor in sight? We don’t see one. Best part of the deal: it costs as much as the iPad 2 did when it launched, starting from US$ 499 for Wi-fi and US$ 629 for Wi-fi + 4G. www.apple.com-Ashwin Raghunath is a producer and anchor with CNBC-TV18, Ashwin is correspondent for Tech Toyzadvertisement