Brazilian superstar Neymar could play in India
New Delhi, Aug 24: If having Pele, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi was not enough, India could next host Brazilian superstar Neymar when his new club, Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal, visits the country to play against Mumbai FC in an AFC Champions League game.
Mumbai FC players and coaching staff could not hide their excitement the moment the team drew Al Hilal on Thursday, realising that it could pave the way for them to rub shoulders with one of the world's best players in the group stage of the continental club showpiece.
Al Hilal, the third-place finishers in the 2022 23 Saudi Pro League, had recently signed Neymar, a former Barcelona FC star -- with whom he won the UEFA Champions League title. His last club stint was at Paris Saint German, alongside Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
Neymar's new Saudi club is also the most successful team in the AFC Champions League history, having won the title four times, besides being runners-up on five occasions.
Al Hilal have bolstered their squad for the upcoming season with some big-name signings including Neymar Jr, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Yassine Bounou and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The group stage of the AFC Champions League is a home-and-away affair and thus it will be interesting to see if Neymar is seen in action at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, Mumbai City FC's home venue.
If Neymar travels to Pune, it would be an opportunity of a lifetime for Indian fans to catch a glimpse of him playing in the country.
FC Nassaji Mazandaran of Iran and PFC Navbahor Namangan of Uzbekistan are the other two sides in Group D.
The draw for the AFC Champions League 2023-24 group stage was held at the Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
Mumbai City FC made it to the AFC Champions League group stage for the second straight season, following their League Shield win during the ISL 2022-23 and the subsequent play-off versus Jamshedpur FC.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo's Saudi side Al Nassr were drawn with Persepolis FC of Iran, Al Duhail SC of Qatar and FC Istiklol of Tajikistan in Group E.
The 10 group winners, along with the three best runners-up across the five West Zone groups, will make it to the round of 16.
Last season, Mumbai City FC scripted a couple of victories over Al Quwa Al Jawiya of Iraq, finishing in second place in Group B with seven points.
From next season onwards, no Indian club will get a direct entry into Asia's top-tier club competition as a result of a revamp in the competition structure, the Asian Football Confederation has said earlier.
In the second-tier AFC Cup draw, Indian clubs Odisha FC and Mohun Bagan Super Giant have been clubbed with Bashundhara Kings of Bangladesh and Maziya S&RC of Maldives.
Odisha made it to the competition by virtue of winning Super Cup 2023, followed by a play-off triumph over Gokulam Kerala.
Mohun Bagan, the ISL 2022-23 champions, won the play-off versus Hyderabad FC. They then beat Nepal's Machhindra FC in Preliminary Round 2 before winning against Bangladesh's Abahani Limited Dhaka in the play-off.
The AFC Cup match format for the group stage remains the same as the ACL, with the group winners heading into the inter-zone play-off semifinals.
While Odisha will play their home games at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Mohun Bagan will have Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan as their base.
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Delhi Polls: BJP faces protest, placates MLA amid resentment over ticket distribution
New Delhi, Jan 12: Resentment surfaced in the BJP on Sunday over ticket distribution for Delhi Assembly polls, with a protest held outside its Delhi unit office and an angry outburst by the outgoing MLA from Karawal Nagar who was not included in the candidate list released a day earlier.
As MLA Mohan Singh Bisht threatened to revolt after being denied a ticket from Karawal Nagar, the party rushed to control the damage and announced his candidature from the Mustafabad seat this evening.
A group of protesters from Tughlakabad in South Delhi held a dharna at the gate of the Delhi BJP office, demanding a change in the candidate from the constituency.
"Vikram Bidhuri Tum Sangharsh Karo; Modi Se Bair Nahi, Rohtas Teri Khair Nahi," the protesters, including mostly youngsters, chanted as the party leaders tried to pacify them.
In the second list of BJP candidates for the polls declared on Saturday, Rohtas Bidhuri was fielded from the Tughlakabad seat. In 2020 Assembly polls, Vikram Bidhuri who is a relative of senior party leader Ramesh Bidhuri, lost to AAP's Sahiram by over 13,000 votes.
A similar protest was also held by some party workers outside the Delhi BJP office against Mehrauli candidate Gajainder Yadav after the announcement of the first list of candidates earlier this month.
Bisht, the senior-most BJP MLA in the outgoing Assembly elected five times from Karawal Nagar, openly expressed unhappiness over being denied the ticket to contest from his stronghold.
A senior party leader said he was pacified after a meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda.
Bisht, after getting the ticket from Mustafabad, expressed confidence that he would win the seat for the BJP.
"I met the national president and things were ironed out. I have assured that I will contest from Mustafabad and win the seat for the party," Bisht told PTI.
The MLA said he and the BJP had considerable support in Mustafabad and he has already attended two public meetings there.
The BJP won the Mustafabad seat, having a significant minority community presence, in the 2015 Assembly polls but lost it to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2020.
Earlier in the day, Bisht told PTI that the party's decision to replace him with Kapil Mishra was "wrong" and its consequences will be visible after voting on February 5.
"You have challenged the 'samaj' (his Uttarakhandi community), not Mohan Singh Bisht. The BJP will lose at least 8-10 seats because of this decision, including Karawal Nagar, Burari, Mustafabad and Gokalpuri," Bisht warned.
The BJP fielded Kapil Mishra, a Hindutva hardliner, from Karwal Nagar in North East Delhi, which was rocked by massive communal violence just after the 2020 Assembly polls.
Sources in the party claimed that there was also "deep resentment" among the Delhi BJP's Scheduled Castes Morcha leaders over being denied tickets from different constituencies including Madipur and Kondli.
A top Delhi BJP functionary stressed that there are many ticket aspirants, so it is natural for those who did not get selected to feel disappointed.
"The BJP is a disciplined party and its leaders understand this. Sooner or later, everyone will realise this and work for the victory of the party giving up their resentment," he said.
The elections to 70 Assembly seats in Delhi are scheduled on February 5. Results will be out after the counting of votes on February 8.
The BJP, out of power in Delhi since 1998, is making all-out efforts to return to power. In the 2015 and 2020 Assembly polls, the party was completely routed by the AAP, scraping through with just three and eight seats, respectively.
