Sports
Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers: We are here, we are ready, and we will do it: India’s coach Igor Stimac

With exactly a week left for India to kick off their campaign in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers here — beginning on June 8, head coach Igor Stimac spoke out his mind on the toughest team to face, the injuries, the preparations, him dealing with the boys, and much more.
In an interview, he stressed his confidence about qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.
Excerpts:
Q. We witnessed a spectacle in the stands the last time India played an international match in Kolkata. What are you expecting this time?
A. For the last couple of years we have only been playing away from home. That has been difficult for the team. There have been so many Covid-19 measures, and it has been really difficult. Nobody was thinking about football at that time, and everyone survived some difficulties. Now that we are back to normalcy and can play matches at home again, it feels great.
Q. What is special about Kolkata?
A. Kolkata is a football city. One can feel football, live football, breathe football. you get that extra push that is needed to get the players over the limit. I would like to call all the supporters to come back to the stadium and support us. I felt real passion when I last saw them in Kolkata, and it would be great to play with their support behind our back.
Q. Which team do you think will be the toughest to face in Group D?
A. Afghanistan are the one that come first to mind. More so because physically, they are much stronger. They have so many players from foreign leagues that have well-organised football throughout the year. While these players are playing in quality leagues abroad, we are trying to build that same here, which will take time. That’s why I consider them as one of the major opponents.
Q. What’s your assessment of Hong Kong?
A. Hong Kong have changed a rule that now allows them to naturalise foreigners. So, we will have to see how much better they are now. Foreign players can bring a lot of value to the team. We try to make sure that the players that we bring to the National Team understand the importance of quick decision-making on the pitch. But our boys are doing well, and I’m happy with the work they’ve done since we started camp in Bellary, and then continued the good work in Kolkata.
Q. How confident are you prior to the three matches?
A. We are confident. We have three games to make sure that India qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2023. That’s the sole objective. We are here, we are ready, and we will do it.
With a week left, how are the preparations going on?
It’s the final week and there are a few things we are working on — putting in the final touches. We are working on set-pieces and on certain aspects of our attack and defence. Obviously, there are different aspects to each of these. There are certain issues, especially with niggling injuries to some players, but we are dealing with them as best we can.
Q. What’s the update on injuries in the camp?
A. Liston (Colaco) had joined us with an injury after the AFC Cup — so that’s an area where we are looking into. He has done well with ATK Mohun Bagan, and he’s a player who can provide real quality in one-on-one situations, and also can pass well, and score. However, Ritwik Das was diagnosed with chickenpox recently, so we have brought in Deepak Tangri as his replacement. Deepak can play both positions in midfield, and as a central defender where we actually prefer him.
Q. Anyone whom you are missing?
A. We miss some others like Rahul KP, Apuia, Vikram, and Rahim Ali. I mention Rahim all the time for a specific reason. Maybe he will be the one to replace Sunil Chhetri. That’s why we need to think of managing these players and treating them well.
Q. What kind of mindset will the team be approaching these three matches with?
A. We are going in with a positive mindset. To be successful you need a positive mindset, a good character, and a little bit of luck. If you go into a game with the intent to defend for 90 minutes, you will not succeed. You need to go into the game with the intention of hurting your opponents, or you will go down – be it in the first five minutes, or in added time.
Q. Is there any pressure on the players?
A. There is absolutely no pressure on them when it comes to the results. Nobody will ask them questions if we fail. The questions will come to me. The pressure on them is to follow the plan that we have set out for them. There is a Head Coach who has a plan and tells them what to do.
Q. What are you telling them?
A. It’s very important to think about what to tell them, and where to push them beyond. You cannot always push the players beyond the limit — you need to pick and choose the moments when you need to do that. What I request of them always is to stay disciplined and follow what we are working on. Of course, they can make mistakes, and things can be a bit here and there in the 90 minutes. But that’s football — you make mistakes. But the most important thing is not to repeat them.
International
Murder of Hindu leader: India slams Bangladesh, says killing follows pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities

New Delhi, April 19: India on Saturday issued a sharp condemnation of the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu community leader in northern Bangladesh, calling it part of a “pattern of systematic persecution” of minorities under the country’s interim government.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal voiced India’s grave concern, stating that the incident reflects an alarming trend of targetted violence against Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh.
“We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government, even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” Jaiswal said in a post on social media platform X.
He added, “We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions.”
India has previously expressed similar concerns over rising attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, but this latest incident has drawn particular attention due to Roy’s prominence in the Hindu community.
Roy, who served as the Vice-President of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, was abducted from his residence in Dinajpur district on Thursday evening. According to police and family accounts, he received a phone call around 4:30 p.m., after which four unidentified men arrived on motorcycles and forcibly took him to Narabari village. He was reportedly assaulted and later found unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital in Dinajpur, where he was declared dead on arrival. His wife, Shantana Roy believes the attackers used the call to confirm his location before carrying out the abduction.
Opposition leaders in India also slammed the shocking incident in the neighbouring country.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted that religious minorities, especially Hindus, are being persecuted in Bangladesh.
“Attacks on other religious minorities are also continuing. Recently, the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh made a very condemnable and disappointing comment about the northeastern states of India. The persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh, human rights violations, and the attempt to erase the memories of the 1971 Liberation War are efforts to weaken the relationship between India and Bangladesh. From 1971 till today, India has always wished for peace and prosperity for all the people of Bangladesh. This is in the best interest of the subcontinent,” he said.
International
Death toll from US airstrikes on Yemeni fuel port rises to 38: Houthis

Sanaa, April 18: The death toll from US overnight airstrikes on the Yemeni fuel port of Ras Isa has increased to 38, with 102 others wounded, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Friday, citing Houthi-controlled local health authorities.
According to al-Masirah, the casualties include five paramedics who were killed upon arriving at the scene, when the US military launched another wave of airstrikes on the port just minutes after the first on Thursday night.
More than 14 airstrikes on the fuel port were reported during the two waves, igniting massive fires in tanks storing imported fuel. The fires were extinguished within hours, said the report.
The US Central Command said earlier in a statement that it struck and destroyed the Ras Isa port on Thursday to “eliminate this source of fuel for” and “degrade the economic source of power of” the Houthis, Xinhua news agency reported.
In mid-March, US President Donald Trump ordered “decisive and powerful military action” against the Houthis after the group announced plans to resume attacks on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, citing Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza as the reason.
Earlier on April 17, Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi had said his group had launched 26 attacks against Israel and 33 strikes on the US aircraft carrier and warships in the Red Sea since March 15.
In a televised speech aired by the group’s al-Masirah TV on Thursday, the Houthi leader said the attacks on Israel were carried out using “30 ballistic missiles and drones,” while those targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its escorts involved “122 ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”.
However, the Israeli military has reportedly intercepted many of the Houthi projectiles before they reached targets, Xinhua news agency reported.
The US Central Command dismissed the Houthi claims of daily attacks on the US aircraft carrier as “outlandish” in a post on the social media platform X.
Meanwhile, the Houthi leader noted that the US military had conducted more than 900 airstrikes against his group’s positions across northern Yemen during the past 30 days.
Tensions between the Houthi group and the US military have escalated since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 to deter the group from attacking Israel and US warships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, said their attacks aim to press US-backed Israel to stop the offensive against the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported last Saturday that a Yemeni drone was intercepted near the Dead Sea within the Jordanian airspace before it could reach Israel.
The Jordanian army confirmed later last week that an unidentified drone entered Jordanian airspace and crashed in the Ma’in area of Madaba governorate, near the Dead Sea, and no casualties were reported.
Even since Israel renewed its intensive strikes in March across the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have been launching frequent attacks against Israeli and US targets.
Earlier last week, the Houthi military spokesperson claimed fresh attacks against the US aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman, and other US warships in the northern Red Sea.
Maharashtra
ICC, BCCI, ECB and CA to bankroll plan to support Afghan women cricketers: Report

Mumbai, April 16: The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) plans to support the exiled female cricketers from Afghanistan will be bankrolled via contributions by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Cricket Australia (CA), a report claimed on Wednesday.
The initiative to assist Afghanistan’s displaced women cricketers, which will include coaching and mentorship, “will be constituted through a dedicated fund,” and it will be fully funded by the ICC and the three boards.
An ICC spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the fund will not include any contribution from the Afghanistan Cricket Board. The ACB will continue to receive its full amount from the ICC.
The ICC has recently announced that it will put in place a plan to support women cricketers exiled from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country and banned the participation of females in sports and disbanded the teams.
“Last year, the prospect of ring-fencing an amount for women’s cricket from the ACB’s portion of the ICC’s revenue distributions was discussed but that plan did not come to fruition. The ACB is the only Full Member board that does not field a women’s team, and is not able to because of the severe restrictions on women’s rights after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021,” the report claimed.
The report also said, the ICC’s latest plan to engage with Afghanistan’s female cricketers neither amounts to official recognition nor does it clear the path for Afghanistan to field a women’s team, as such a team can only be ratified by the ACB. Instead, the ICC hopes to work with Afghanistan’s female cricketers to provide them with both access to the game and funding for further education.
“The ICC does not select a team for Afghanistan. Rather, we are committed to addressing the complexities of the issue and finding a solution that fits within the ICC’s legal and constitutional framework,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.
The report also confirmed that the ICC’s initiative will not be limited to the 19 Afghan cricketers resident in Australia but, “the plan is to include all displaced Afghan women cricketers regardless of their location.”
The ICC has so far not clarified on what will the Afghanistan women cricketers in exile do after getting coaching and mentorship from this fund.
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