On this day in 2013: Twitter reacts as MS Dhoni-led team India’s Champions Trophy win completes a decade


They won the T20 World Cup in 2007, and the ODI World Cup in 2011. And within two years, MS Dhoni-led India got their hands on the 3rd ICC trophy, the Champions Trophy.

It was English summer in 2013 when team India voyaged for their Champions League quest, which was last shared with Sri Lanka in 2002 when rain washed out the Final, under then captain Sourav Ganguly.

India had a new look squad for the Champions Trophy, with the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and others not finding themselves in the team. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja were some of the names who made their way into the England flight.

India won all five matches in the tournament, beating Sri Lanka in the semi-final, and then England in the Final to win the trophy. It was a surreal affair at Edgbaston as a rain-marred Final saw a 20-over affair.

India, under Dhoni’s guidance and courtesy of some brilliant bowling by Jadeja, Ashwin and Ishant Sharma – won the match by 5 runs and thus etched their names in the history books. And this happened on June 23, which completes a decade today.

Since then, India haven’t won an ICC trophy. Today, a decade passes since India have won an ICC trophy. And on a bittersweet day such as this, fans took to social media and paid homage to MS Dhoni and that Indian team which last won this nation an ICC silverware-

Dhoni became the first and only captain to have won three ICC trophies.

A picture collage which transcends the emotion, passion for a billion of this nation.

India cricket’s apex body BCCI had a message for that special day in England.

Check out the complete highlights of the ICC Champions Trophy Final in 2013 here-





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Shai Hope joins MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli in elite list after century against Nepal


A brilliant batting display from Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran earned West Indies an important victory over Nepal in the ongoing ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe on Thursday (June 22).

The Caribbean player scored 132 runs off just 129 balls against Nepal. His scintillating knock comprised of 10 fours and 3 sixes, as the Windies posted a total of 339 for 7 at the end of their 50 overs. Nicholas Pooran also scored a 115 off just 94 balls.

But Shai Hope, who scored his 15th ODI century on Thursday, has managed to get his name among some of the stalwarts of the game.

“Superb! A run machine,” exclaimed West Indies legend and commentator Ian Bishop, whereas former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower mentioned his conversion rate from the fifties to hundred as sensational. Hope has scored 50+ scores 37 times in ODI cricket, and out of them, 22 have been centuries.

Shai Hope joins Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni is elite list

But apart from his centuries, Hope has got his name alongside MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and some other greats with another humongous achievement.

With the century against Nepal, Hope’s ODI batting average has crept up to 50.26, which means the Barbados-born player is among the six players who have 50+ ODI batting averages after playing at least 100 innings.

Former India captain MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli are on the list, and so are Joe Root, Michael Bevan and AB de Villiers.

Batters with 50+ averages in ODI Cricket (minimum 100 innings)

Player Country Batting Average Innings
Virat Kohli India 57.32 265
AB de Villiers South Africa 53.50 218
Michael Bevan Australia 53.17 196
MS Dhoni India 50.58 297
Shai Hope West Indies 50.26 105
Joe Root England 50.06 147

All Stats are as of June 22, 2023. Players in bold are still active in international cricket.





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Seattle Orcas: Full Squad, Captain, Complete Fixtures List, Coaching Staff ahead of MLC 2023


The Orcas team is owned by GMR Group, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. They will be based in Seattle, a city in the Washington (Washington DC is different) state of the United States of America.

Seattle Orcas

(Image Courtesy: Seattle Orcas)

Seattle Orcas have made some decent signings for the inaugural MLC season. Sri Lanka all-rounder Dasun Shanaka is in the squad, whereas South Africa’s wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock, and Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh are also going to play for them in the first season.

Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza, Proteas bowler Wayne Parnell will be two more international stars who will don the Orcas shirt.

The team plans to have their home ground at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington. The cricket ground is set to have a capacity of up to 6,000 people and is expected to complete by 2025. All their matches in the first season will be played in Morrisville, the solitary ground which will host MLC 2023 matches.

Seattle Orcas Squad MLC 2023

Shehan Jayasuriya, Nauman Anwar, Harmeet Singh, Cameron Gannan, Dasun Shanaka, Quinton de Kock, Matthew Tromp, Andrew Tye, Aaron Jones, Heinrich Klaasen, Angelo Perera, Shubham Ranjane, Mitchell Marsh, Sikandar Raza, Phani Simhadri, Wayne Parnell, Izharulhaq Naveed

The Orcas are yet to confirm their captain ahead of the MLC 2023.

Seattle Orcas Coaching Staff MLC 2023

Pravin Amre is set to be the head coach for the Orcas in the inaugural season. Former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor is the batting coach, whereas Former South Africa bowler Johan Botha will have bowling coach duties.

Seattle Orcas MLC 2023 Fixtures List

Here is the full list of matches of the Seattle Orcas team in the MLC 2023-

Match Date (India) Time (in IST)
Seattle Orcas vs Washington Freedom July 15 6:00 am
San Francisco Unicorns vs Seattle Orcas July 16 6:00 am
Seattle Orcas vs Texas Super Kings July 22 4:00 am
LA Knight Riders vs Seattle Orcas July 24 12:00 am
MI New York vs Seattle Orcas July 26 4:00 am





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IOA’s ad-hoc committee faces criticism after allowing special trials to protesting wrestlers for Asian Games 2023


The wrestlers — including Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Satywart Kadian among others — earlier urged for time to be fit for the trials as they were underprepared following months of protest against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

In the past, the elite wrestlers were at times granted exemption from trials given their hectic schedule to compete in international tournaments and to help them stay fit for the big-ticket tournament. In the recent past, Bajrang and Ravi were handed direct semifinal entries into the Commonwealth Games trials and were followed by exemption from World Championship trials due to the tournament’s proximity post CWG.

However, the recent decision faced criticism from some quarters as they feel nothing has changed as they saw the ad-hoc committee’s decision as a favour while drawing parallel with WFI.

“It was being portrayed that the protest was to bring about a change in Indian wrestling. But I fail to understand, how. The same things are being repeated. A few wrestlers are getting favours. Earlier, it was WFI which was favouring these wrestlers by giving them exemptions and now this ad-hoc body,” said the father of a wrestler.

“Anyway, what can we do about it? We are ready for a fight. But it is not fair that these wrestlers compete in just one bout and our children have to go through a full draw. Ye log to bas malaai khaana chahte hain (These top wrestlers just want cream of everything),” he added.

Meanwhile, an official who was associated with the previous WFI set up, said, this move further proves their point that the top wrestlers all the time want to skip trials.

“They always had a problem with WFI’s fair policies. They never wanted to come to Indian team through trials. We honoured their unjustified demands because they are top wrestlers but they are still making the same demands. It proves our point, they want to control over WFI matters,” said the official, who did not wish to be named.

With inputs from PTI



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BCCI invites applications for vacant Men’s Selection Committee post; check job description and eligibility criteria


“Select the Senior National Team for representation in Tests, One Day Internationals, Twenty/20 and any other format,” the BCCI has mentioned in the role purpose section of the job description.

The Candidate applying should have played a minimum of seven Test matches, 30 first-class matches, 10 ODIs and 10 T20Is. He should also have retired from the game at least 5 years ago. No person who has been a member of any Cricket Committee (as defined in the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations of BCCI) for a total of 5 years shall be eligible to be a member of Men’s Selection Committee.

All the applications should be submitted by June 30, 6 PM IST.

Post Sharma’s resignation, former India opener Shiv Sunder Das, who has 23 Tests to his credit, took over as the chairman of the panel that also has S Sharath (South), Subroto Banerjee (Central) and Salil Ankola (West).

The big names in Indian cricket, of late, have opted to stay away when it comes to applying for the national selector’s job. The ones, who willingly do it, are not taken seriously for lack of stature, say insiders.

Remuneration has a lot to do with that and BCCI is unlikely to get a reputed name from north zone to replace Chetan Sharma unless it significantly raise the pay package.

Sharma lost his job in February following a sting operation, where he was seen discussing confidential information related to the Indian players and team selection.

The chairman of the senior selection panel earns Rs 1 crore annually while the four other members are paid Rs 90 lakh per annum.

The last time the selection panel was headed by reputed former cricketers was when former captains Dilip Vengsarkar (2006-2008) and Krishnamachari Srikkanth (2008-2012) were at the helm.

Someone like Virender Sehwag is eligible to replace Chetan Sharma from the north zone but he might not be interested becasue of the aforementioned reason. Moreover the chief selector job has also been considered as a thankless job by many.

Any change in remuneration is highly unlikely, but it would be intresting to see how BCCI move forward after inviting the applications.



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No Neeraj Chopra in 54-member squad for Asian Athletics Championships 2023; Murali Sreeshankar, Tejaswin Shankar among star names


Another notable absence in the squad is 3000m steeplechase Avinash Sable, who has been training in the USA for the World Athletics Championships in August. The prominent inclusions in the squad are long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, Asian record holder shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor and new decathlon champion Tejaswin Shankar.

neeraj-chopra-asian-athletics-championships-2023-squad-afi

Neeraj Chopra

The team, which has 26 women in it, was picked by the selection committee of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), which had set qualifying marks for the Asian Championships, after taking into account the performance of the athletes in the various competitions this season up to June 6.

“We did not consider any performance at the National Inter-State Championships (which ended on Monday in Bhubaneswar) for Asian Championships as the selection was over on June 6 and entries sent to AAA (Asian Athletics Association) on June 11,” Indian athletics chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair told PTI on Thursday.

He had said that last week a preliminary team for the continental meet was already picked and the National Inter-State Championships was the “confirmatory” event for those who were training abroad and also didn’t participate in the Federation Cup held in May in Ranchi.

Nair had said during the National Inter-State Championships that the team for the Asian event would be announced after a review meeting of the AFI selection committee. Most the athletes were picked on the basis of winning gold and silver and breaching the Asian Championships mark at the Federation Cup.

Sreeshankar, the country’s newest Diamond League medallist was named on the basis of his performances before the National Inter-State Championships, where he produced a stunning 8.41m leap. Some athletes were also named on the basis of their performances outside of the Federation Cup and National Inter-State by taking into account the earlier domestic and international events.

A few athletes, who were very close to the qualifying mark, were also named in the team. Baranica Elangovan was named for the women’s pole vault on the basis of her 4.10m effort — the Asian Championships qualifying mark — at the Indian Grand Prix 3. She was third with 3.60m in the Federation Cup and had a ‘No Mark’ during the National Inter-State.

Lili Das was also picked in the women’s 1500m on the basis of her timing abroad as she had clocked a season’s best of 4:14.16 — better than qualifying time of 4:17.90 — at Portland, USA, earlier this month. She did not take part in the Federation Cup and finished ninth at the National Inter-State with a time of 4:23.69.

Federation Cup 1500m gold and silver medallist Ankita (4:16.99) and Chanda (4:17.55) were respectively named for 5000m and 800m.

The Team: Men: Rajesh Ramesh and Muhammed Ajmal (400m/4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Amoj Jacob (4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Nihal Joel William, Mijo Chacko Kurian and Muhammed Anas Yahiya (4x400m Relay), Krishan Kumar and Mohammed Afsal (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj and Jinson Johnson (1500m), Gulveer Singh (5000m/10000m), Abhishek Pal (5000m/10000m), Mohammed Nurhasan and Bal Kishan (3000m Steeplechase), Yashas Palaksha and Santhosh Kumar (400m hurdles), Tejaswin Shankar (Decathlon), Sarvesh Anil Kushare (High Jump), Jeswin Aldrin and Murali Sreeshankar (Long Jump), Praveen Chithravel and Abdulla Aboobacker (Triple Jump), Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Karanveer Singh (Shot Put), Rohit Yadav and D P Manu (Javelin Throw), Akshdeep Singh and Vikash Singh (20km Race Walk).

Women: Jyothi Yarraji (200m/100m Hurdles), Nithya Ramraj (100m Hurdles), Aishwarya Mishra (400m/4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Chanda and Lavika Sharma (800m), Lili Das (1500m), Ankita (5000m), Parul Chaudhary (5000m/3000m Steeplechase), Sanjivani Jadhav (10000m), Priti (3000m Steeplechase), Pooja and Rubina Yadav (High Jump), Baranica Elangovan (Pole Vault), Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan (Long Jump), Abha Khatua and Manpreet Kaur (Shot Put), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw), Swapna Barman (Heptathlon), Priyanka and Bhawna Jat (20km Race Walk), Rezoana Mallick Heena and Jyothika Sri Dandi (4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Anjali Devi, Jisna Mathew and Subha Venkatesan (4×400).

With inputs from PTI



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How many viewers watched WTC Final 2023 between India and Australia? Revealed


After the arrival of the Indian Premier League, the craze of cricket has hit a new level. We have witnessed groundbreaking numbers of viewership in IPL 2023, and the number is only expected to grow bigger in the coming years.

But amid the pouring love for T20 cricket and the franchise teams, the viewers still have a certain appetite for Test cricket and when it comes to the Indian team, it promises a large section of people glued in front of their TV or streaming screen.

India took part in the World Test Championship Final recently against Australia. Although Rohit Sharma and his troops suffered a disappointing defeat, there was no shortage of enthusiasm as it broke all viewership records in Test cricket.

WTC Final 2023 Viewership

Broadcasters Star Sports announced 124 million people watched the WTC Final 2023 on their TV channel and streaming platforms. The data was taken from BARC as the broadcasters say this is the highest-ever viewership for a Test match, and comfortably overtook WTC Final 2021 numbers by 32 percent.

“The overwhelming response from fans is a testament to our relentless efforts to enhance accessibility to cricket and foster a deeper passion for the game. Star Sports’ marketing campaigns, coverage standards, and ground-breaking programming exemplify our unwavering mission to serve sports fans across the country. This record reaffirms our conviction in the growth potential of sports and marquee sporting properties on TV,” a spokesperson for Star Sports said.

Test cricket has become more of a sporadic fixture in recent times, but with the introduction of WTC, the flair of the traditional format is back. The Indian team has reached the Final of the tournament twice in a row, but failed to overcome the final hurdle in both occasions.



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Premier League 2023-24 Summer Transfers: Complete List of club-wise Done Deals


After an exhilarating 2022-23 season, the 2023-24 season promises to bring a lot more spice. This season, clubs are expected to make some astronomical deals and we can expect yet another big-spending market in the summer.

We have already seen some pieces of business for the upcoming season already. Brighton have been busy and have snapped up a couple of players already. They signed Watford’s Joao Pedro and have also brought in James Milner from Liverpool for free.

Aston Villa have snapped up the signature of Youri Tielemans for free after the Belgian’s contract expired at relegated Leicester City. Liverpool have signed Argentine midfielder Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton and are the only club among the traditional big six to confirm a major signing in the summer.

Here is a clubwise complete list of all done deals from the English Premier League this summer. This page will be regularly updated to update all the transfers in the league.

Arsenal

Transfer In

None

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Pablo Mari AC Monza 5 million
Ainsley Maitland-Niles Free Agent Free

Aston Villa

Transfer In

Player From Fee (in £)
Youri Tielemans Leicester City Free

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Jed Steer Free Agent
Ashley Young Free Agent
Caleb Chukwiemeka Crawley

AFC Bournemouth

Transfer In

Player From Fee (in £)
Hamed Traore Sassuolo 22 million

Transfer Out

Player Out Fee (in £)
Jordan Zemura Udinese Free
Jack Stacey Norwich Free
Jefferson Lerma Free Agent
Junior Stanislas Free Agent
Christian Saydee Portsmouth Free

Brentford

Transfer In

Player From Fee (in £)
Kevin Schade Freiburg 22.1 million
Mark Flekken Freiburg 11.2 million
Romeo Beckham Inter Miami Undisclosed

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Pontus Jansson Malmo Free
Saman Ghoddos Free Agent
Joel Valencia Free Agent
Tariqe Fosu Free Agent

Brighton

Transfer In

Player From Fee (in £)
Joao Pedro Watford 30 million
James Milner Liverpool Free
Mahmoud Dahoud Borussia Dortmund Free

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Alexis Mac Allister Liverpool 35 million
Taylor Richards QPR Undisclosed
Haydon Roberts Bristol City Free

Burnley

Transfer In

Player From Fee (in £)
Jordan Beyer Borussia M’Gladbach 13 million
Michael Obafemi Swansea Undisclosed

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Ashley Barnes Norwich Free
Matthew Lowton Free Agent
Will Norris Free Agent

Chelsea

Transfer In

Player From Fee (in £)
Christopher Nkunku RB Leipzig 52 million
Kendry Paez Independiente Undisclosed

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Tiemoue Bakayoko Free Agent
Dujon Sterling Rangers Free Transfer
N’Golo Kante Al-Ittihad Free Transfer

Crystal Palace

Transfer In

Player From Fee (in £)
Jefferson Lerma Bournemouth Free

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
James McArthur Free Agent
Luka Milivojevic Free Agent
Jack Butland Rangers Free

Everton

Transfer In

None

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Moise Kean Juventus 34 million
Niels Nkounkou Saint-Etienne 1.7 million
Yerry Mina Free Agent
Andros Townsend Free Agent
Asmir Begovic Free Agent
Isaac Price Free Agent

Fulham

Transfer In

None

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Joe Bryan Free Agent

Liverpool

Transfer In

Player From Fee (in £)
Alexis Mac Allister Brighton 35 million

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Roberto Firmino Free Agent
Naby Keita Werder Bremen Free
Calvin Ramsey Preston North End Loan
James Milner Brighton Free
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Free Agent

Luton Town

Transfer In

None

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Sonny Bradley Free Agent
Harry Isted Free Agent
Henri Lansbury Free Agent

Manchester City

Transfer In

None

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Benjamin Mendy Free Agent

Manchester United

Transfer In

None

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Axel Tuanzebe Free Agent
Phil Jones Free Agent

Newcastle United

Transfer In

Player From Fee (in £)
Yankuba Minteh Odense Boldklub 6 million

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Chris Wood Nottingham Forest 15 million
Yankuba Minteh Feyenoord Loan
Ciaran Clark Free Agent
Matt Longstaff Free Agent

Nottingham Forest

Transfer In

Player From Fee (in £)
Chris Wood Newcastle United 15 million

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (in £)
Jack Colback Free Agent
Jordan Smith Free Agent
Adnan Kanuric Free Agent
Cafu Free Agent
Andre Ayew Free Agent
Jesse Lingard Free Agent
Lyle Taylor Free Agent

Sheffield United

Transfer In

None

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (In £)
Enda Stevens Free Agent
Billy Sharp Free Agent
Kyron Gordon Free Agent
Jack O’Connell Free Agent

Tottenham Hotspur

Transfer In

Player From Fee (In £)
Pedro Porro Sporting Lisbon 39 million
Dejan Kulusevski Juventus 25.6 million

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (In £)
Lucas Moura Free Agent

West Ham United

Transfer In

None

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (In £)
Arthur Masuaku Besiktas 2 million
Manuel Lanzini Free Agent

Wolves

Transfer In

Player From Fee (In £)
Boubacar Traore Metz 10 million

Transfer Out

Player To Fee (In £)
Joao Moutinho Free Agent
Diego Costa Free Agent
Adama Traore Free Agent
Jeong Sang-bin Minnesota United Undisclosed



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Asia Cup 2023: PCB would-be chairman Zaka Ashraf does U-turn on ‘Hybrid model’ hours after rejecting


The Hybrid Model by virtue of which Asia Cup will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka will have India playing all their games, including two against the arch-rivals in the island nation.

asia-cup-2023-pcb-zaka-ashraf-hybrid-model

Zaka Ashraf

The model was proposed by Ashraf’s predecessor and bete noire Najam Sethi. Ashraf, who will take over the reins of PCB on June 27 had “rejected” the idea during a media conference.

It has been learnt that Ashraf didn’t know that PCB chief Sethi had already been a signatory to ‘Hybrid Model’ which has been passed by the all-powerful ACC Executive board headed by BCCI supremo Jay Shah and the decision can’t be reversed.

Pakistan Cricket Board could have faced punitive action if Ashraf without full details of the event would have created a roadblock. “In my personal opinion, this whole hybrid model isn’t beneficial for Pakistan and I didn’t like it,” Ashraf was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.

“Being a host, Pakistan should have negotiated better to make sure that the entire tournament should have been played in Pakistan. Sri Lanka taking the bigger lot of games, leaving Pakistan with only four games, isn’t in the best interest of our country,” he added.

Ashraf then admitted that he didn’t know full details and did a complete U-turn.

“But I see the decision has been made, so we have to go with it. I will not block or have any intention not to comply with the decision. I cannot do much about it but to honour the commitment. But going forward, every decision we make will be made for and in the interest of the country.”

With inputs from PTI



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IOC derecognises International Boxing Association; boxing to remain Olympic sports


The International Olympic Committee voted to derecognise the IBA at a specially called meeting — an outcome that was inevitable after being recommended two weeks ago by the executive board, a body chaired by IOC president Thomas Bach.

ioc-suspends-international-boxing-association

IOC president Thomas Bach

The vote was 69-1, with 10 members abstaining. Boxing was never really in danger of being kicked out of the Olympics over the four years since the IOC suspended the sport’s governing body in an effort to force changes.

“We highly value the sport of boxing. We have an extremely serious problem with IBA because of their governance,” Bach told IOC members during their online meeting.

The dispute centered on the IBA’s management under presidents from Uzbekistan and Russia which the IOC disapproved of, its finances being backed by Russian state energy firm Gazprom, plus the integrity of bouts and judging.

“The boxers fully deserve to be governed by an international federation with integrity and transparency,” the IOC president said.

The IOC is already overseeing boxing competitions for the Paris Olympics without IBA involvement, as it did for the Tokyo Games in 2021. It was unclear if boxers representing national federations who stay affiliated to the IBA will be classed as eligible for the Paris competition.

Boxing can now be confirmed on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic program, which the IOC and Bach withheld as leverage against IBA. Boxing is “guaranteed” to be in Los Angeles, members were told Thursday.

The sport is good for Olympic business with broad appeal — 25 different countries won boxing medals in Tokyo, with nine taking gold — and the IOC repeatedly said its problem was with boxing officials, not its athletes.

“We appreciate boxing as one of the most global sports. We embrace the values of boxing,” Bach said, praising the sport’s “important social role promoting inclusion.”

The IBA, which called the decision a “tremendous error,” can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The expulsion was “catastrophic for global boxing and blatantly contradicts the IOC’s claims of acting in the best interests of boxing and athletes,” the Lausanne-based boxing body said in a statement.

Olympic boxing has had a tainted reputation for decades, typified by notorious judging at the 1988 Seoul Games that denied American light-middleweight Roy Jones Jr. the gold medal against home fighter Park Si-hun. Jones, who now has Russian citizenship, was enlisted by the IBA last year to support its fight for Olympic status.

There were allegations ahead of the 2012 London Olympics of cash deals planned to fix medals, and further doubt cast by fighters on the integrity of bouts at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. At those Olympics, the president of boxing’s governing body, then known by its French acronym AIBA, was long-time IOC member CK Wu of Taiwan.

“The IOC has failed to recognize the destructive actions of CK Wu, who led the International Boxing Association to bankruptcy, collapse, and corruption at all levels,” the IBA said.

After Wu was ousted by boxing officials in 2017, the sport’s problems with the IOC intensified. National federations defied IOC warnings in 2018 by electing Gafur Rakhimov as president. The businessman from Uzbekistan allegedly had ties to organisedd crime and heroin trafficking.

Umar Kremlev’s election to replace Rakhimov in 2020 followed another round of IOC election warnings that went unheeded. The IBA’s debts approaching $20 million were cleared under Kremlev and the IOC objected to the boxing body’s financial reliance on Gazprom.

Kremlev announced last month at the men’s world championships that the IBA was no longer sponsored by Gazprom, and his rhetoric against Olympic officials got more confrontational.

Thursday’s meeting went ahead after a late appeal by the IBA to CAS against the IOC board’s recommendation failed this week. IOC vice president John Coates recused himself from the debate and vote on boxing because he has led the CAS management board for the past 12 years.

The IOC can now start to work with a rival organisation created this year called World Boxing. It has drawn support from officials in the United States, Switzerland and Britain, countries whose national federations resisted Kremlev’s leadership of the IBA.

With inputs from AP via PTI



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