QPlay: Indian Hockey Coach Fired, Johnson Wins The Open & More
All the latest sports news in The Quint’s morning wrap.
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I Am Fired as Indian Hockey Coach, Claims Van Ass
Indian men’s hockey team chief coach Paul van Ass has claimed that he has been fired by Hockey India following his alleged public altercation with federation president Narinder Batra.
As far I know I was fired one week after the Hockey World League Semi-finals in Antwerp, Belgium. Roelant Oltmans (High Performance Director) was asked to replace me.
– Paul Van Ass to PTI
Van Ass’s future with the Indian team was in serious doubt after he failed to report on time for the national team’s camp that began at the SAI centre in Shilaroo, Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.
I am yet to get official confirmation but I expect it to get it by the end of this week. That is precisely the reason why I didn’t turn up for the camp.
– Paul Van Ass to PTI
Zach Johnson Wins British Open After Four-hole Play-off
American Zach Johnson claimed the second major victory of his career when he beat Australian Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa in a four-hole playoff at the British Open on Monday.
Johnson, who also won the U.S. Masters in 2007, was one under par for the extra holes. Oosthuizen was level par and Leishman two over.
Fellow American Jordan Spieth failed by one stroke to make the playoff, finished with a three-under 69 for 274, 14 under.
The only Indian in contention, Anirban Lahiri finished with a total of six-under 282 at tied 30th on the leaderboard, one better than the tied 31st he finished in the 2012 edition.
Ganguly in Working Group to Draw up Roadmap for IPL-9
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has been named in the four-member working group formed to draw up the roadmap for IPL 9 even as the BCCI sought to dispel the notion that it was dilly-dallying in implementing the Justice R M Lodha Committee’s verdict, saying it has already accepted the order in totality.
The committee will be chaired by IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla and will have BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur and Treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhary as the other members. BCCI’s legal adviser U N Banerjee will assist the panel.
The committee will have six weeks’ time to study the Lodha committee report and will give its recommendations after talking to all the stakeholders.
– Rajiv Shukla to PTI
Dravid Bats for Pujara
India A coach Rahul Dravid has reposed faith on out-of-form Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, saying the Saurashtra cricketer is just a big innings away from regaining his confidence.
A player like Pujara will find the way, he has got the desire, the hunger, he is looking to get better, he has got the technique, and he is keen to improve. It is just matter of time that he comes back and gets a chance to play in the eleven and one or two scores will change things for him.
– Rahul Dravid, India A coach
The 27-year-old from Rajkot is currently the skipper of the India A team, which is set to take on Australia A in two unofficial Test matches, slated between July 22 and 25 and from July 29 to August 1.
BCCI Drops 50-year-old Duleep Trophy From Domestic Calendar
Due to the packed schedule of domestic and international cricket, the more than half a century-old Duleep Trophy inter-zonal competition has been given a break for the first time since its inception by the Cricket Board for the upcoming season.
The BCCI’s 2015-16 domestic calendar, released today by the Board which boasted in the media release that it will host 900 matches in the span of six months starting October 1, has discarded for the first time the inter-zonal competition after it was started in 1961-62.
It’s not clear whether the tournament, which since its inception had served as a virtual selection trial to pick the Indian teams for home and away Test rubbers in days gone by, will be resurrected in the next 2016-17 season.
Prankster Showers Sepp Blatter With Fake Money
FIFA president Sepp Blatter was showered with fake paper money by a British protester before the start of a press conference on Monday and, visibly shaken, walked out of the auditorium.
The protestor, identified by British media as comedian Lee Nelson, real name Simon Brodkin, was taken away by Swiss police.
Nelson was wearing a North Korean flag and before hurling the paper bills at the 79-year-old, he shouted “This is for North Korea 2026” -- a reference to the year of the next available World Cup hosting opportunity.
“Cheers, Sepp, it’s all there,” he yelled.
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