Cricket set for Asian Games return in 2022, IOA welcomes move
Bangkok: Cricket is set for a return at the Asian Games after the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Sunday included it in the sports programme for the 2022 edition in Hangzhou.
The decision was taken at the OCA's General Assembly here.
"Yes, cricket has been included in the sports programme for 2022 Hangzhou Games," OCA honorary vice-president Randhir Singh told PTI.
Cricket was dropped from the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia after featuring in 2010 and 2014, albeit without the presence of the game's powerhouse India.
India opted out of the quadrennial event owing to the team's packed international schedule.
The Indian Olympic Association welcomed the decision of the OCA to include cricket in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games programme.
"We welcome the decision of the OCA. Which format will be played is not yet confirmed but it is a welcome decision," said IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta, who attended the General Assembly in Bangkok.
He said the IOA would want to have an Indian cricket team in the 2022 Asian Games.
"The IOA will request the BCCI to send a cricket team in the 2022 Asian Games. India can win in both men and women's events and increase its medal tally," Mehta said.
In all probability, the T20 format will be played at the Asian Games, like it happened during the 2010 and 2014 edition in Guangzhou and Incheon respectively.
Since the mega event is still some years away, the BCCI has plenty of time to deliberate on the Indian team's participation.
"There is a lot of time to go for 2022 Asian Games. In due time, we will discuss and decide," a BCCI official said.
The decision to include cricket in the 2022 programme was on expected lines after Randhir visited Hangzhou last month to zero in on a suitable venue.
Sri Lanka and Pakistan won the men's and women's gold in 2014 while Bangladesh and Pakistan claimed the top honours in 2010.
Cricket has also been played once at the Commonwealth Games, in 1998, when India and Pakistan sent teams to Kuala Lumpur. However, the Shaun Pollock-led South Africa won the gold there and Australia, captained by Steve Waugh, the silver.
In the 2014 Asian Games, OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah had criticised the BCCI for not sending its teams for the second edition in a row.
"I'm sorry that India, for the second Games, did not send a team. I respect their decision but I believe the people in charge are not interested in promotion of the game but only in making it a business, in making money out of it. They want to control the market and control the game," he had said.
In another major decision taken at the OCA General Assembly on Sunday, it was announced that Oceania countries, including Australia, will be invited to compete at the 2022 Asian Games.
It was reported that the number of Oceania athletes who will be allowed to compete in Hangzhou will be decided at a later date.
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Justice Sanjiv Khanna appointed next CJI, oath on Nov 11
New Delhi, Oct 24: Justice Sanjiv Khanna was on Thursday appointed the 51st Chief Justice of India.
He will take oath on November 11, a day after incumbent Justice D Y Chandrachud demits office on attaining the age of 65.
Justice Chandrachud took over as the CJI on November 8, 2022.
Justice Khanna will have a tenure of a little over six months as CJI and would demit office on May 13, 2025.
"In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, Hon'ble President, after consultation with Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India as Chief Justice of India with effect from 11th November, 2024," Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal posted on X.
Justice Khanna was appointed an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and was made a permanent judge in 2006. On January 18, 2019, he was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court.
Born on May 14, 1960, he studied law at the Campus Law Centre of Delhi University.
Some of the notable judgments of Justice Khanna in the Supreme Court include upholding the use of electronic voting machines in elections, saying the devices were secure and eliminated booth capturing and bogus voting.
He was also part of the five-judge bench that declared the electoral bond scheme, meant for funding of political parties, as unconstitutional.
Justice Khanna was a part of the five-judge bench, which upheld the Centre's 2019 decision abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution which granted a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Justice Khanna, who is the senior-most judge after the outgoing CJI, and the executive chairman of the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA), had granted interim bail to the then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, an accused in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam cases, for campaigning in Lok Sabha elections.
He is the nephew of former apex court judge H R Khanna, who was part of the landmark verdict propounding the basic structure doctrine in Kesavananda Bharati case of 1973.
The retirement age of Supreme Court judges is 65 years, while high court judges demit office at the age of 62 years.
The Centre recently asked CJI Chandrachud to name his successor.
According to the memorandum of procedure (MoP) -- a set of documents guiding appointment, elevation and transfer of high court and Supreme Court judges -- the law minister writes to the CJI to name his or her successor.
Law Minister Meghwal had written to CJI Chandrachud asking him to name his successor.
The MoP says the senior-most judge of the apex court is considered fit to hold the office of the CJI and the views of the outgoing head of the judiciary have to be sought "at an appropriate time".
The MoP, however, does not specify the time limit for the initiation of the process of recommending the name of the successor CJI.
In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, Hon’ble President, after consultation with Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India as Chief Justice of India with effect from 11th…
— Arjun Ram Meghwal (@arjunrammeghwal) October 24, 2024
