Iran capt to miss Asian Cup
Tehran: The captain of the Iranian women’s soccer team Niloufar Ardalan will miss the Asian Cup tournament because her husband has confiscated her passport in a domestic quarrel, according to reports. The Iranian news website fararu.Com reported on Monday that the 30-year-old midfielder would miss the tournament as her husband didn’t want her to travel abroad. Under Iranian law, husbands can stop their wives from traveling outside of the country. On Tuesday, Ardalan posted a message on her Instagram account saying she wanted Iranian law changed to allow women to travel without their husband’s consent. She wrote: “I am only a national soldier who fights to raise the flag of our country.” Ardalan is the captain of the Iranian national soccer team. The women’s Asian Cup begins on Thursday in Malayasia.
5 cities bid for 2024 Olympics
lausanne (Switzerland): The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday named Budapest, Hamburg in Germany, los Angeles, Paris and Rome as the final candidates for the 2024 Olympics. IOC president Thomas Bach said there were five ‘outstanding cities’ in the race for the Games which will be decided in two years. “What we see are five really highly qualified candidate cities,” Bach told reporters. He added that the contest for 2024 would be ‘strong and fascinating.’ The announcement of the five cities was made hours after the midnight Tuesday deadline for bids. los Angeles and Paris are the early frontrunners.
Hangzhou to host 2022 Games
Ashgabat (Turkmenistan): The Chinese city of Hangzhou was on Wednesday awarded the 2022 Asian Games, organisers and state media said, in another win for China’s global sporting ambitions. Hangzhou in eastern China — best known for the West lake, a placid and much-painted tourist attraction — was the only candidate city, a report by the country’s official Xinhua news agency said. Its sole candiancy made it a shoo-in for selection by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) at its congress in the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat. An OCA spokesman confirmed the decision to AFP, saying the body, the Chinese Olympic Committee and Hangzhou had already signed the hosting contract at the meeting. The award comes shortly after Beijing won the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, having hosted the Summer Games in 2008, and means China will host two major multi-sport events in the same year.
Jangra receives Arjuna Award
New Delhi: Boxer Mandeep Jangra on Wednesday received the Arjuna Award from Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal here. He received a statuette, certificate and award money of Rs 5 lakh from the minister. Jangra, silver medallists in both the 2013 Asian Championships and 2014 Commonwealth Games, could not receive the Arjuna Award from the President of India on August 29 as he was taking part in an international boxing tournament abroad at that time.
Sindhu wins, Kashyap loses
Seoul: Top Indian shuttler P V Sindhu started her campaign at the $600,000 Korea Open with a hard-fought win over Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, but it was curtains for Parupalli Kashyap in men’s singles event at the Super Series tournament here on Wednesday. Two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, Sindhu eked out a 21-19, 21-23, 21-13 win over the former World Champion in a women’s singles match that lasted one hour and nine minutes. Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap, however, could not cross the opening round hurdle after his battle ended with a narrow 21-17, 16-21, 18-21 loss against Wei Nan of Hong Kong in an hour-long match. Also Pradnya Gadre and Sikki Reddy lost 24-26, 9-21 to the Japanese pair of Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito in the women’s doubles competition.
Platini slamming staffer quits
Malta: A FIFA staffer who was at the center of an internal investigation into an alleged attempt to discredit presidential hopeful Michel Platini has left the scandal-plagued governing body. FIFA said in a statement to The Associated Press that “Thomas Renggli resigned on 1 September.” FIFA was responding to questions about the outcome of the investigation. But Renggli, who was working as part of FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s staff, told the AP: “I am still under contract.” Citing Swiss employment law, FIFA declined to discuss Renggli’s case further.