Sardar rested; Sreejesh to lead
New Delhi: Mercurial skipper Sardar Singh and ace dragflicker Rupinder Pal Singh were on Tuesday rested from India’s 18-member squad to led by ace goalkeeper PR Sreejesh for the prestigious FIH Champions Trophy to be held in london from June 10 to 17. Besides, the Hockey India selectors have also rested striker Ramandeep Singh and defender Jasjit Singh Kular. It will India’s penultimate tournament before the Rio Olympics and the decision to rest some of the senior players, including Sardar, was taken in order to keep them fresh and fit for the quadrennial extravaganza. After Champions Trophy, India will feature in a six-nation tournament in Valencia, their last preparatory event before the Olympics.
31 caught in retests of 2008 Oly samples
lONDON: In a major doping crackdown stretching back eight years, 31 athletes in six sports could be barred from competing in this year’s Olympics after they were caught in retesting of drug samples from the 2008 Beijing Games, and other positive cases could emerge from the 2012 london Games. The International Olympic Committee opened disciplinary proceedings on Tuesday against the 31 unidentified athletes from 12 countries who competed in Beijing and were planning to take part in the Rio de Janeiro Games in August. The IOC said it could not immediately identify the athletes caught in the Beijing retests for legal reasons, saying it would inform the relevant national Olympic committees in the coming days. The IOC said it would also undertake a “wider retesting program” of medalists from both the Beijing and london Games.
Bencic pulls out of French Open
PARIS: Eighth-ranked Belinda Bencic of Switzerland has pulled out of the French Open after dealing with a back injury since March. Bencic’s withdrawal was announced by the clay-court Grand Slam tournament on Tuesday. She will be replaced in the main draw by lauren Davis of the United States.
Govt to issue timely supplements
new delhi: Government has issued directions to ensure that athletes get timely supplements and consistently high quality food during their preparations for Rio Olympics, 2016. The directions were given by the Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal after his surprise visit to the Sports authority of India’s Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports (NSNIS), Patiala on Monday to take stock of the facilities being provided to the athletes preparing for the Rio Olympics 2016. The Minister directed that the Athletics Federation of India be contacted and food supplements be provided to Track and Field athletes within the next 2 days, keeping in view the international practice and after ensuring that the supplements are free of dope.