Former IOA president, 2010 CWG chief Suresh Kalmadi dies at 81
Pune (PTI): Former Indian Olympic Association president and veteran sports administrator Suresh Kalmadi died at a hospital here in the early hours of Tuesday.
He was 81.
Kalmadi is survived by his wife, son and daughter-in-law, two married daughters and a son-in-law, as well as grandchildren.
Kalmadi, who had been unwell for some time, died around 3.30 am.
A towering figure in Indian sports administration for more than two decades, Kalmadi served as IOA president from 1996 to 2011, making him one of the longest-serving heads of the country's apex Olympic body.
Born in 1944, Kalmadi began his professional life as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force, taking part in both the 1965 and 1971 wars, before entering politics and sports administration.
He went on to represent Pune in the Lok Sabha multiple times as a Congress leader and also served as a Union minister, while steadily consolidating his position in Indian and international sports bodies.
As IOA president, Kalmadi had enormous influence during a period when Indian sport was expanding its global footprint.
He also served as president of the Asian Athletics Association and was a member of the IAAF Council, making him one of India's most powerful sports administrators internationally.
Under his IOA tenure, India achieved a historic breakthrough at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when shooter Abhinav Bindra won the country’s first-ever individual Olympic gold medal. He was also the Chairman of the Organising Committee when Delhi hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Kalmadi was also closely associated with the growth of athletics and sports infrastructure in Pune, and played a key role in initiatives such as the Pune International Marathon, which became a regular fixture on the Indian road-running calendar.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
