‘want athletics in top-4 sports’
New Delhi: International Athletics Federation (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe feels the sport will rise from the unprecedented Russian doping crisis to be among the world's top-four alongside football, tennis and formula one in the next three years. Coe, a double Olympic gold-medallist, said he is hopeful that the 15-point reforms agenda, which was accented to by the IAAF Special Congress this month, will help athletics get back the trust of clean athletes and the public after the doping scandal. "The need to reform was much more on the basis of what the modern sport (athletics) required for the vision I have set. The vision is within the next three-four years, our sport should be the among the top four sports, not the top four Olympics sports," Coe, who took charge as IAAF chief in August last year, told PTI from london. "As you know our challenge will be with football, tennis, formula one, that is the true competition, and our competition is not with swimming and gymnastics," he said.
Syria kids true heroes: Ron
london: Cristiano Ronaldo called Syria's long-suffering children "the true heroes" as he joined a campaign to provide food, medicine and psychological help for kids in Aleppo and other war-stricken cities. "Hello, this is for children of Syria. We know that you have been suffering a lot. I am a very famous player, but you are the true heroes," the Real Madrid and Portugal star said in a video message for Save The Children posted on his social media. "Don't lose your hope, the world is with you. We care about you, I am with you," added the footballer. Nick Finney, of Save the Children's Syria campaign, said "Ronaldo is not only one of the world's most iconic sports figures, but he also has become a beacon of hope for millions of boys and girls worldwide -- and hope is something that Syria's children need now more than ever."
Santosh Trophy matches from Jan 5
Kozhikode: The preliminary round of matches to decide the qualifying teams from South Zone for the Santosh Trophy Football tournament 2017 will be held here between January 5 to 10 next. Announcing the schedule of matches at a press meet here on Saturday, Kerala Football Federation(KFA) General Secretary P Anil Kumar said eight participating teams, including hosts Kerala, are placed in two groups. Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Puduherry have been placed in Group A while group 'B' comprises Tamil Nadu, Services, Telangana and lakshadweep. In the inaugural group 'A' matches on January 5, Kerala will take on Puduherry at 2.30 pm while Karnataka will face Andhra Pradesh in the second match at 4.30 p m, he said. A total number of 12 matches will be played among the eight participating teams and one from each group will qualify for the next stage.