The Indian football team has made it into the top 100 of the FIFA world rankings for the first time in 21 years. As per the updated rankings, released on Thursday, the Stephen Constantine-coached side has climbed a rung and is now placed at the 100th spot along with Nicaragua, Lithuania and Estonia. The last time India were in the top 100 of the rankings was in 1996, with the 94th spot in February 1996 being the country’s best ever FIFA ranking.

India’s rise in the rankings has been due to triumphs over Cambodia and Myanmar, both away wins. India had clinched a 1-0 victory over Myanmar in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers — the first ever win in Myanmar in over 64 years. The Indian team had also recorded their first ever win in an away encounter in over a decade when they defeated Cambodia 3-2 in an international friendly. They had also registered a 4-1 win against Central American opponents Puerto Rico in an international friendly.

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The Indian team have secured victories in 11 of their last 13 matches including an unofficial match against Bhutan, scoring 31 goals in the process. India will next face Lebanon in an international friendly on June 7, ahead of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying clash against Kyrgyzstan on June 13. Although the Indian team did not play any matches during official FIFA dates last month, the one spot rise came about due to African nation Malawi dropped a staggering 42 points since the last world rankings were announced.

Congratulating the national team, Indian football icon I.M. Vijayan hailed India’s entry into the top 100 of the FIFA rankings, saying the side languished too low for a long time and these are signs of improvement which hold promise for the future. “It’s great news. We have been lying low for too long a period. It was time we did something about it and Stephen Constantine (India coach) has done a good job so far,” Vijayan told IANS over phone.

“During our time the best we got was 95. I’m happy the team is winning away and rankings have shot up considerably,” the ace striker who played for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan and was one of the key members of the India team at the peak of his career, added.

All India Football Federation (AIFF) General Secretary Kushal Das said rankings are at times a “mathematical game” and the team needs to improve in their minds and keep on winning games. “It’s a mathematical game at times,” Das told IANS. “Rankings are not always a true reflection of form. It’s definitely important as it helps us play better opponents in friendlies. But we need to improve in our minds and believe that we can keep on winning football matches,” Das added.

India will next face Lebanon in an international friendly on June 7, ahead of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying clash against Kyrgyzstan on June 13.

IANS

Indian opener Lokesh Rahul on Sunday said he was disappointed at not being able to capitalise upon the good starts into big score.

Rahul batted steadily to score 60 runs with nine hits to the fence and a six before being dismissed while trying to hit a short pitched delivery from Pat Cummins over the onside.

“Quite honestly, I am not regretting anything. I am little disappointed that I have not been able to convert the starts and get big runs for the team. As an opener, my responsibility is to spend as much time in the middle to get big scores in the first innings so that we don’t have to bat in the second innings.”

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“It hasn’t been the worst series for me. I got starts, batted really well. Aussie bowlers haven’t made it easy. They have challenged us in all the games. Thoroughly enjoyed batting and hopefully one good knock in the second innings might be the time. Might be the knock, I have been waiting for the whole series,” he added.

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon captured four wickets in the final session to hand Australia an advantage on the second day of the fourth and final cricket Test.

Lyon returned figures of 4/67 as India reached 248/6 in their first innings at stumps. Ravindra Jadeja was batting on 16 with Wriddhiman Saha on 10 at the other end when the umpires decided to call it a day.

The hosts now trail Australia’s first innings total of 300 by 52 runs.

Commenting on the behaviour of the wicket, Rahul said the cracks on the pitch play a major role in the coming days.

“I think the ball will do things off the crack. Even when we bowled on the first day, a few balls did do something funny off the cracks,” he added.

IANS

Women across India consume 13 per cent lesser protein than men, a survey by Delhi-based mobile health and fitness company HealthifyMe has revealed.

The report, titled ‘HealthifyMeter Gender Watch 2017’ and released on Thursday, is based on 60 million food records of over 1.5 million HealthifyMe app users — half of which are women — across approximately 200,000 locations in the country.

According to dietary recommendations, the energy contribution of protein, fats and carbohydrates for an Indian adult should be in the ratio of 20:30:50.

However, the consumption of protein has remained consistently lower amongst women in India as compared to men.

“Protein deficiency may cause symptoms like a slow metabolism, trouble losing weight, fatigue, poor concentration, and mood swings among others. It is also a lifestyle risk that reduces immunity,” Tushar Vashisht, Co-founder & CEO of HealthifyMe, said in a statement.

“Because women are more prone to osteoporosis — a condition in which bones become weak and brittle — than men, lower protein intake can make them even more prone to fractures,” explained Ambrish Mithal, Chairman and Head (Endocrinology and Diabetes Division) at Medanta Hospitals in Gurugram.

In addition, the report revealed that women consumed a higher amount of carbohydrates as compared to men (56.6 per cent vs. 55.3 per cent energy contribution of carbohydrate) as well as a higher amount of fat as compared to men (29.2 per cent vs. 28.8 per cent).

Also, when it comes to physical activity, women take 20 per cent less steps in a day than men, the report stated.

The disparity in protein consumption was found highest in the north-eastern states of Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh followed by Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab and Delhi.

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–IANS

What makes Priyanka Chopra special in the West is the fact that she carries Indian culture and traditions with her, says the actress’ proud mother Madhu Chopra.

“I think Priyanka is carrying her India, her culture and traditions with her, which is what is making her so special over there (in the West). She has not become a foreigner,” Madhu told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

In that sense, she feels her daughter is representative of a modern Indian woman.

“The modern India is this — who have the values and talent, and who can pick on any industry in the world. If you see, everywhere Indians are doing so well… It’s just that Priyanka is more prominent, we know more about her. But everywhere we see Indians are doing remarkably beautiful,” she added.

Priyanka, who features in American TV show “Quantico” and has a role in upcoming Hollywood film, is often on the move due to her work commitments — dividing her time between India and the US.

Madhu, who also produces films under their home banner Purple Pebble Pictures, says she misses her daughter, and will be going to the US to visit her again in April.

Madhu says she is “hoping” and “praying” to produce a film, which stars Priyanka.

Talking about the mother-daughter bond, Madhu said: “I am quite a parent for her. I am more of mum. With her dad… They were friends. She takes care of me… There was a time when I was her mother, and now she’s my mother.”

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IANS

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday congratulated the women’s team for for pulling off a last-ball thriller against South Africa in the final of the World Cup qualifier at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo.

Chasing a decent 245, captain Harmanpreet Kaur struck a run-a-ball 41 to steer the team over the line by one wicket on the final ball of the match after opener Mona Meshram (59) and Deepti Sharma (71) set the tone with a 124-run second wicket stand. It was also India’s highest successful run chase in One-day Internationals (ODI).

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“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would like to congratulate the women’s cricket team for winning the ICC World Cup Qualifier 2017, in Sri Lanka,” the BCCI said in a statement.

“Having already secured their ICC Women’s World Cup berth courtesy a dominant run in the tournament, India finished on a high, staying unbeaten in the event. It was an all-round show from India as Deepti Sharma topped the run charts while Ekta Bisht finished as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament,” the statement added.

IANS

Grammy award winner and global pop sensation Justin Bieber will make his way to India with his Purpose World Tour in May.

The negotiations for bringing the Purpose Tour to India were on for six months.

 
The ‘Beliebers’ — fans of Bieber — in India, can pre-register for tickets at www.bookmyshow.com from February 22.

India coach Stephen Constantine played down talks of his side’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Qualifiers draw being easy.

 
India have been clubbed with Kyrgyz Republic, Myanmar and Macau in Group A.

 
“On paper it looks favourable. It does give us the hope that we have a legitimate chance to qualify from the group,” Constantine.
 
“I need to take you back to the draw of the World Cup qualifiers where we were drawn with Guam and Turkmenistan and there was a generic feeling all around — ‘no problem, we will have it easy,'” Constantine said.

 
“Myanmar have made it to the final of the Suzuki Cup and on the back of qualifying on merit to the FIFA U-20 World Cup under their German coach, they are a very difficult team to play at home.”
 
Constantine explained why it won’t be smooth sailing for India, who have improved their ranking to 129.
 
Constantine said that the team will assemble in the second week of March to prepare for the Asian Cup qualifiers. India play their first match against Myanmar on March 28.
 
“The plan is to assemble on the weekend of March 11th or 12th as the players would start to assemble after their respective Hero I-League games. But there would be boys who would be involved in the AFC Cup and we will only have them available some days later.”
 
Asked whether India would be playing a friendly before the qualifiers, Constantine said, “Given that we are playing an away game first, we want to play an international friendly on our way to Myanmar. It would benefit us to have valuable match practice as the intensity of international football is different to domestic football.”
 
He added, “Let me reiterate, Myanmar won’t ever be an easy opposition away or even at home.”

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India produced an inspired bowling display to deny England their first limited-overs series in the country since 1984, winning the second Twenty-20 International (T20I) by five runs.

India posted 144/8 after being sent into bat in the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. England, seemingly in control, faltered at the end to be restricted to 139/6.

Young pacer Jasprit Bumrah bowled an inspired last over, conceding only two runs, to deny England a victory. He finished the match with figures of 20/2 in his four overs, giving away only three runs in the 18th over.

Veteran pacer Asish Nehra (3/28) also contributed to India’s win.

England won the first match of the three-match series by seven wickets at Kanpur. The third match is at Bengaluru on February 1.

Sam Billings (12) got England going in the run chase with two huge sixes of leg-spinner Yuzvender Chahal in the third over.

But Nehra struck twice in the next over, having Billings (12) caught by Bumrah at fine leg in the first ball and then induced a leading edge of Jason Roy (10) in the next ball to be caught at mid-on by Suresh Raina.

The twin strikes jolted England. They needed time to get back in their run-chasing groove.

Skipper Eoin Morgan (17) and Joe Root (38) began rebuilding. Root struck two fours in the ninth over, off leg-spinner Amit Mishra, to increase the run rate.

England reached 65/2 in 10 overs, needing 80 more runs to win in 60 balls.

But their ambitions received a blow when Morgan mistimed a lofted shot off Mishra to be caught at deep midwicket in the 11th over.

Mishra then bowled Ben Stokes (38) in the third ball of the over but replays showed he overstepped to concede a no-ball.

Stokes launched himself to a boundary and a six off Raina in the 14th over to increase the run rate. He continued with a pull shot off Chahal for a six to bring up England’s 100 in the 15th over.

England were 104/3 in 15 overs, needing 41 runs off 30 balls.

The 52-run fourth-wicket partnership of Root and Stokes steadily took England to a rare series win in India.

A desperate Kohli, needing a breakthrough, brought back Nehra, who duly responded, removing Stokes with a slower fuller delivery on middle stump that the left-hander missed and was adjudged leg before wicket.

The pressure oscillated towards the English batsmen despite Root anchoring one end. But they needed 24 runs from 12 balls and urgently needed boundaries.

Jos Butler (15) whipped Nehra for a four and a six in the 19th over to inch them closer.

Root was caught lbw by Bumrah in the first ball of the last over, with England needing eight for victory. Bumrah then castled Butler in the fourth ball, with England still requiring seven runs off two balls, which proved too much.

Earlier, India posted a paltry total.

Opener K.L. Rahul (71) was the top scorer for the hosts while Manish Pandey contributed with a crucial 30 runs.

Put in to bat, Indian openers Virat Kohli and Rahul started the innings cautiously by playing the ball to its merit.

After four overs, Kohli, who slammed 21 runs in 15 balls, failed to continue his aggressive batting as he was dismissed by pacer Chris Jordan.

Jordan bowled a slower and wider ball, to which Kohli stepped out for a lofted shot but ended up getting caught at long-on to Liam Dawson.

Incoming batsman Raina, who impressed in the last match at Kanpur, was sent back by leg-spinner Adil Rashid after only two overs with seven runs.

The recalled left-hander tried to slog sweep but ended up hitting the ball straight to Jordan at long-on.

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After eight overs, India were struggling at 56/2 with two premier batsmen departing cheaply.

Rahul, who seemed to be in good nick, played his regular shots and signalled his return to form while incoming batsman Yuvraj Singh failed to step up to the occasion, being sent packing in the 11th over while trying a sweep to spinner Moeen Ali. The Punjab batsman was adjudged leg before wicket.

Unperturbed by the fall of wickets, Rahul went on to slam a quick-fire fifty. His 32-ball knock was laced with three boundaries and two massive sixes.

The fall of Yuvraj’s wicket brought in Manish Pandey, who along with Rahul helped the hosts to get past 100-run mark in the 14th over.

Both batsmen forged a 56-run fourth-wicket partnership before Rahul was caught by Strokes at deep mid-wicket.

Jordan bowled a slower delivery on the off-stump to end an impressive 47-ball knock of Rahul.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni then joined Pandey and together they made their intentions clear right from the beginning of their partnership.

Pandey slammed a huge six off a slower and fuller delivery of pacer Tymal Mills. The 27-year-old got underneath the ball and muscled it out of the field. But he was bowled out by Mills in the same over.

In the last over, the hosts failed to press the accelerator, only managing five runs, losing three wickets in the process.

For England, Jordan scalped 3-22 to be the most successful while Mills, Ali and Rashid chipped in with a wicket each.

Brief score: India: 144/8 (K.L.Rahul 71, Manish Pandey 21; Chris Jordan 3-22), England 139/6 (Joe Root 38, Ben Stokes 38; Asish Nehra 3/28)

Germany’s star forward Christopher Ruhr on Thursday heaped praise on the Indian hockey team, saying the 2014 Asian Games champions are one of the best contenders for a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The two-time World Junior Player of the Year said India can also win the 2018 World Cup because the prestigious tournament will take place in India and it could give extra advantage to the hosts.

“I think India and (2016 Olympic champions) Argentina developed most of all among the big hockey nations over the past 2-3 years. I like the style India plays and I think they are a huge competitor for winning an Olympic medal in 2020,” Ruhr, who was part of Germany’s team that won the bronze medal in 2016 Rio Games, said in a release.

“Also a medal at the World Cup in 2018 — especially because the World Cup takes place in India and the crowds in India are always amazing, which gives the home team another percentage point in motivation,” he added.

Considered as one of the most devastating forwards in the world, the 23-year-old, who was recruited by former champions Ranchi Rays for a whopping $75,000 for his Hockey India League (HIL) debut, has enjoyed tremendous success while playing in India.

Apart from the 2013 Junior World Cup title here, Ruhr also featured in Germany’s team in the 2014 Champions Trophy-winning team in Bhubaneswar.

Ruhr said he has been looking forward to playing in the Indian league ever since the German team lifted the Junior world title at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.

“I am super excited to play in the HIL. Since I played the Junior World Cup in Delhi, I have been dreaming about playing in this country in front of the unbelievable crowds in each stadium. We don’t have big crowds very often, when we play in Germany or Europe,” said Ruhr.

“I can’t wait to play with and against so many world class players and experience the hockey and the country itself,” he added.

He also reckoned that the HIL stint will help his career at this stage when Germany prepare for the World Hockey League Semi-Final and Final competitions to be held this year.

Rühr was the leading goal-scorer with six goals at the previous Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final in Buenos Aires — which Germany won — and further scored three goals in the 2015 Hero Hockey World League Final in Raipur.

“Playing in the HIL will help me a lot for my career because I am going to see so many different styles of hockey and can adapt them to my game to make it more and more unpredictable,” said the Düsseldorf native in Germany.

Ranchi Rays will begin their camp in Mumbai next week where they play their first match of the edition on January 21 against Dabang Mumbai.

–IANS

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