Sushil to represent India at CWG 2018
New Delhi: Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar on Friday prevailed in the trials conducted for entry into India's wrestling squad for the 2018 Commonwealth Games to be held at Gold Coast, Australia, in April.
The 34-year-old, who is India's only two-time Olympic individual medallist, defeated Jitender Kumar 4-3 in the final qualification round of the 74 kg category at the KD Jadhav Stadium.
He had previously won two gold medals in Commonwealth Games -- in 2010 in New Delhi and 2014 in Glasgow.
After the Glasgow Games, Sushil suffered injuries and even missed the 2016 Rio Olympics.
He returned to action at the National championships last month, and had recently won gold at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in Johannesburg.
Meanwhile, in an incident which should have been avoided, alleged supporters of Sushil and his opponent Parveen Rana clashed at the stadium.
The scuffle allegedly broke out after Parveen bit Sushil during a trial match.
"It's very unfortunate and highly condemnable what has happened today at the stadium. I do not support anyone who gets violent in between sportsmanship. My aim is to fight & win for my Nation like a true sportsman & not to win against any group or individual #JaiHind," Sushil tweeted reacting to the incident.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Brazil's Ancelotti raises doubts about whether Neymar will reach the 2026 World Cup
Sao Paulo (AP): Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.
“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.
Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”
The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.
On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.
Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.
“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.
Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.
“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”
Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.
_vb_69.jpeg)
