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When camaraderie, bonding were the key ingredients in India’s Thomas Cup triumph

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India’s maiden Thomas Cup title on Sunday came on the back of some solid camaraderie shown by the players on and off the court. However, HS Prannoy has revealed that ‘bonding’ is something which is not common in a sport like badminton, where shuttlers play individually in tournaments.

The 29-year-old said following India’s gold medal-winning performance against the most successful team in the tournament’s history — Indonesia — that the players made a “conscious effort” to gel and ensure there were slip-ups this time around.

Not getting overawed by Indonesia’s reputatioin — they have 14 titles to their name in the tournament — India defeated the favourites 3-0 on Sunday after previously reaching the Thomas Cup semis in 1952, 1955, and 1979.

Prannoy, whose selection in the side for the tournament had raised questions, said, “The way everyone bonded this week, I think I should give credit to all the players out there and I think we made a conscious effort to do this because we knew this is not something which is very common amongst us… because we play individual events the entire year.

“And, to come to a team event and all of a sudden to gel is slightly tough. But I think we all made this conscious effort,” said Prannoy, who had won the decisive singles game against Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the semifinal to earn India its maiden entry in the final.

He said that from the day the team left Hyderabad for the tournament in Bangkok, the focus and discussion centred around team bonding, which he felt is the essence of a team sport.

“The day we left Hyderabad, we had a team discussion saying that this is the time where we can win this… we have a team which can actually challenge for the title. But the only thing, which we will have to consciously do is to help and support each other because that’s what is going to change the results in the entire tournament,” opined Prannoy, who played the semifinal with an ankle injury and still managed to guide the team into the final.

Badminton stalwart, Kidambi Srikanth, termed it as one of the biggest achievements in his personal career.

“Individual events are always different from team events and we hardly get to play any team events. Thomas and Uber Cups are one of the biggest team events that we have. So, when you actually end up winning such a big tournament, it really is a very big win. It will actually take a while before you actually know what has happened.

“I would rate this as one of my biggest wins, that’s for sure. Everyone did extremely well. I don’t think there is any one individual to be singled out. Everyone in the team has done extremely well. Having said that, it was one of my best performances also,” said Srikant, who clinched the deciding singles in the final beating world No. 9 Jonatan Christie comfortably to guide India to the historic win.

He said that despite being the oldest member of the contingent in a team comprising of youngsters, he didn’t have to give any motivational speeches.

“Well, I might have played more number of events than anyone else, but I didn’t have to give any big, long-long speeches. It was just about letting them know that they are doing well and it is just that you get just one hour to play… and you really get that one hour to do well every day. I am very happy that all the youngsters really stepped up and played really well when it mattered. Frankly, I didn’t have to tell them anything,” said the 29-year-old Srikanth.

“They were really pumped up, very excited… when we came here we said whatever it takes to win this medal we will do. And, these youngsters handled the pressure well.”

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

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