Sports Update: Neeraj Chopra, Women’s cricket team, Indian hockey team and more
India’s star Neeraj Chopra will challenge the big guns
India’s veteran javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra, will challenge the world’s best in the first leg of the Doha Diamond League on Friday. Along with him, Asian Games silver medalist Kishore Jena of India will make his debut in the Diamond League. After this, the second phase of the league will be held in Morocco on May 19.
Reigning world and Asian Games champion India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is expected to face a tough challenge from former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and Olympic and World Championship medalist Jakub Wallach of the Czech Republic. European champion Julian Weber of Germany is also among the 10 players who will feature in the league. Chopra’s best individual performance is 89.94 meters, which is also a national record. His eyes are touching the 90-meter mark.
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Neeraj Chopra ji is also the defending champion here, having defeated Wallace and Peters in 2023. Neeraj Chopra had thrown the javelin 88.67 meters here last year. In such a situation, along with saving the book, Neeraj Chopra will also have difficult challenges like reaching the limit of 90 meters and defeating the opponents. However, Neeraj Chopra has also won three different stages of the Diamond League and hoisted the flag of India by winning the Champions Trophy in 2022.
26-year-old Indian javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra has trained hard in South Africa and Turkey. This will be Neeraj Chopra’s first tournament of the year, in which he will also be aiming for the second Diamond League book. Kishore Jeena ji has also done rigorous training in Australia.
Harmanpreet Singh to command Indian hockey team
Harmanpreet Singh has the opportunity to lead the 24-member Indian team in the Europe leg of the FIH Hockey Pro League starting on May 22. Midfielder Hardik Singh has been made the vice captain. The first phase of the FIH Hockey Pro League will be played in Antwerp, Belgium, from May 22 to May 30, while the second phase will be played in London from June 1 to June 12.
India is currently in the third position in the Pro League table with 15 points from 8 matches. The Netherlands are on top with 26 points from 12 matches, while Australia is in second place in the points table with 20 points from 8 matches.
Indian women’s team crushes Bangladesh
After star batsman Richa Ghosh’s unbeaten inning of 28 runs, the brilliant bowling of Radha Yadav (3 wickets) led the Indian women’s cricket team to defeat Bangladesh women’s cricket team by 21 runs in the fifth and final women’s T20 cricket match on Thursday. With this, the Indian women’s team defeated Bangladesh and won the series 5-0. India scored 156 runs for five wickets with Richa Ghosh’s brilliant 17-ball inning of three sixes and one four. D Hemalatha and Harmanpreet Kaur also added 60 runs for the third wicket. In reply, Bangladesh team could reach only 136 runs for six wickets in 20 overs.
Gujarat Titans challenge Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings will face a tough challenge in Gujarat Titans’ bastion Ahmedabad on Friday. Chennai Super Kings would like to overcome the challenge of Gujarat Titans who are going through a bad phase and cement their place in the playoffs. However, due to injuries and commitments of international players, Chennai will definitely miss the lack of key players. On the other hand, the road ahead has become very difficult for Gujarat Titans, who have won only one in the last five matches.
Gujarat is also not out of the race yet but it will have to win the remaining three matches by a huge margin. Along with that, Gujarat Titans team will also have to depend on the results of other teams. If everything goes right then Gujarat Titans’ dream of going to the playoffs can also be fulfilled.
Bajrang Punia suspended, said no information
Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia’s troubles are not stopping. After NADA, the global governing body UWW has also suspended him. However, Bajrang Punia says that he has not received any information about suspension from UWW. However, while updating its internal system, UWW has clearly mentioned that Bajrang Punia is suspended.
According to the latest introduction of Bajrang Punia, he is suspended till 31st December 2024 due to the above reason. It says that Bajrang Punia is temporarily suspended by NADA India for alleged ADRV (Anti-Doping Rule) violation.
But surprisingly, even after knowing about NADA’s decision, Sports Authority of India has approved an amount of approximately ₹ 900,000 for Bajrang Punia’s training abroad. Bajrang Punia has admitted that he had sent the proposal to the Sports Authority of India. He also said that his lawyer will definitely reply to NADA.
Bajrang Punia further said that I am surprised that the Sports Authority of India has approved it. I’ve actually canceled my plans. Now I am not going anywhere for training. Mission Olympic Cell has been informed in the meeting held on 25th April that Rs 882000 in addition to flight fare has been approved for Bajrang Punia’s proposal to train in Dagestan, Russia from 28th May.
Bajrang Punia’s initial proposal was for 35 days of training from April 24 but due to failure in accommodation rules, he decided to postpone the trip considering the travel dates. The offer also included a visit to his strength and conditioning coach Kazi Kieron Mustafa Hasan and training partner Jitendra, who trains Bajrang Punia.