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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T'gana RTC strike: Talks between govt, employees successful
Hyderabad (PTI): Talks between employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) who were on strike and the state government concluded successfully on Friday as the government agreed to the key demands of the workmen.
Following a day-long marathon of talks between the leaders of the employees' Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the cabinet sub-committee, the government announced after midnight that it acceded to the demands, including a merger of RTC with the government, 11 per cent pay revision and elections to the employees' unions.
A committee comprising officials and employee leaders would be appointed over the merger of RTC with the government, it said.
The RTC management has also agreed to address the remaining issues as well, an official release said.
The employees would call off their strike and the RTC buses would hit the roads shortly, it said.
The employees had been on an indefinite strike since April 22 over a series of demands, including the merger of RTC with the government.
Earlier in the day, a driver of the RTC, who attempted suicide on April 23 during the strike, died at a hospital here in the early hours of Friday.
Shankar Goud, a 55-year-old driver, set himself ablaze by pouring petrol at Narsampet in Warangal district when the employees were staging a protest on Thursday in support of their demands.
Goud suffered serious burns, was initially admitted to a state-run hospital in Warangal, and later shifted to a super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad for advanced treatment.
"He succumbed (to injuries) at about 1.30 am on Friday," a senior official said.
The driver’s body was taken to his relative’s village, Muttojipet in Warangal district, for funeral rites.
Tension prevailed in Muttojipet as his family members and RTC employees attempted to take the body to the Narsampet bus station, where he worked, to enable his colleagues to pay their last respects. However, police did not permit this, citing law-and-order concerns.
This led to a deadlock before the funeral could proceed.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised the Telangana government for not allowing the body to be taken to the Narsampet bus station.
Kumar, Minister of State (Home), visited Muttojipet village in Warangal district, where the funeral was held, and paid homage to Goud.
“They (family members) want to take the body to the bus depot for five minutes. Is the RTC bus depot in Pakistan or Bangladesh? They are emotionally attached to taking the body there. The government is hurting sentiments and creating fear among RTC employees,” Kumar told reporters.
He also expressed anger at the police for not allowing the body to be taken to the bus station and staged a protest, according to a release from his office.
RTC employees and BJP workers attempted to take the mortal remains in an ambulance to Narsampet, but were stopped by the police.
Later, after discussions with the police, the family members and RTC employees agreed to conduct the funeral in the village.
Sanjay Kumar, stating he would abide by the family’s decision, left the village after the funeral was conducted there.
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh, a house, and a government job would be provided to the kin of Goud.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock over the employee’s death and conveyed deep condolences to the grieving family, according to the release.
The RTC employees’ JAC had earlier announced an agitation programme from April 24 to 29, including silent marches and submission of memorandums to MLAs and other leaders.
