
Special Olympics Bharat president Mallika Nadda speaks on India's participation in Gothia Cup 2025
The tournament is the world's largest youth football tournament, which witnesses participation from around 1,900 teams and 75 nations, playing almost 5,000 games on 112 pitches, as per the tournament's website. The first-ever tournament was held back in 1975 and was kick-started by football clubs BK Hacken and GAIS, and a local newspaper. This year, from July 13 to 19, it will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Speaking on India's participation, Nadda said to the media, 'The Gothia Cup 2025 is being organised in Sweden, where 70 countries from around the world will participate, and approximately 1,900 teams will assemble to play football. The Special Olympics Bharat and the Haryana girls' under-15 team are leaving today for Sweden to participate in the tournament.'
On the participation of the Indian contingent, Ambassador of Sweden to India, Jan Thesleff, said to media, 'We are sending two teams to the Gothia Cup 2025, the world's largest youth football tournament. Over 40,000 athletes and 1,950 teams from more than 70 countries will participate. We are proud that India is well represented. One team is from Haryana, the girls' under-15 team, in which many players are travelling abroad for the first time. They have demonstrated their skills for this tournament. We also have a Special Olympics Bharat team, which is competing for the second time after winning in 2024, and we are proud to send champions again...'
Back in 2023, Minerva Academy FC made history as it became the first-ever Indian club to clinch the Gothia Cup, being held in Sweden, defeating Ordin FC, a Brazilian side. Minerva beat Ordin by 3-1 in the Boys 13 category.
Last year, the SO Bharat team was placed in Group 5 along with Parasport Denmark 2, Special Olympics Finland Mixed, Special Olympics Hong Kong, and Special Olympics Germany 1. SO Bharat won their opening group game against SO Finland 3-0, and then followed it up with a big win of 6-0 against SO Germany. The Indian contingent won over Hong Kong by 6-0 in Match 3, and then followed it up with another big win by 3-1 against SO Denmark to make it into the Final.
The nail-biting group final between SO Bharat and SO Denmark went right down to the wire, but SO Bharat athletes won the thriller with a score of 4-3 to lift the trophy. Muhammad Shaheer, who hails from Kerala, scored seven goals, the maximum by any Indian player. Shaheer, a son of fisherman, has an Intellectual disability and nurtures a passion for football along with other sports, including cycling and swimming. (ANI)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Standard
15 minutes ago
- Business Standard
ENG vs IND: Rishabh Pant ushered off the field due to injury in Manchester
Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant had to be ushered off the field after he suffered a toe injury following a yorker from Chris Woakes during Day 1 of the 4th Test against England in Manchester. Pant took the blow and was visibly in pain after that. After receiving some treatment, the medic decided to call out the stretcher as he was then ushered off with a swelling and a small cut on his right leg. Ravindra Jadeja has replaced him on the pitch as fans would be hoping that the batter can return to bat later in the innings. Pant has been unfortunate with the injuries as it was a finger injury that had prevented him from keeping wickets in the Lord's Test against England recently. With Rishabh Pant looking for boundaries every now and then with his first six coming in the 61st over, Sudharshan's patient knock made the partnership tick in what was a cloudy atmosphere that forced the floodlights to be turned on in Manchester. The duo put up a 50-run stand after tea as Pant also became the first visiting wicketkeeper to score 1000 runs in England. Pant kept at it, targeting Dawson for some more boundaries on the day while Sudharshan patiently kept creeping up towards his fifty.
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
15 minutes ago
- First Post
Shubman Gill faces flak for benching Karun Nair in Manchester Test: 'Chance missed to earn respect'
Karun Nair was benched by the Indian team in the fourth Test against England in Manchester, having failed to convert any of his starts throughout the series and collected 131 runs in three Tests at an average slightly above 20. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif, however, felt he deserved another shot. read more India captain Shubman Gill has faced criticism for not giving Karun Nair a longer rope in the ongoing Test series in England. Reuters India captain Shubman Gill came under fire on the , not just for perishing early with the bat for the third consecutive time but also for failing to back senior teammate Karun Nair. Nair, after all, was benched in the fourth Test at Manchester after featuring in the first three Tests of the five-match series, with the team management opting to bring B Sai Sudharsan back into the XI. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Kaif comes to Nair's support after Vidarbha batter is benched at Old Trafford And former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif was among those who felt Nair should have been back for at least one more game before getting relegated to the bench at Old Trafford, where India find themselves in a must-win situation in their quest for a first series win on English soil in 18 years. 'Today was Shubman Gill's chance to back karun who was down but deserved one more chance. He should have picked Karun Nair. Chance missed to earn the respect when it comes to making tough decisions as a leader,' Kaif wrote on X on Wednesday. Today was Shubman Gill's chance to back karun who was down but deserved one more chance. He should have picked Karun Nair. Chance missed to earn the respect when it comes to making tough decisions as a leader. — Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 23, 2025 Both Sudharsan and Nair had played the series opener at Headingley, at No 3 and No 6 respectively. The visitors, however, opted to bring in an extra all-rounder in Washington Sundar in the lower middle-order in the second Test at Edgbaston, forcing them to choose Nair over Sudharsan and moving him to No 3 in the process. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Nair, however, had collected just 131 runs in three Tests at an average of 21.83 with a top-score of 40 – going past the 30-mark just twice in the series. The Vidarbha batter, who was rewarded for a red-hot run in domestic cricket, was retained in the XI for the third Test at Lord's despite failing to convert promising starts in the series. Skipper Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir, however, ran out of patience after Nair collected just 54 runs across two innings at the 'Home of Cricket'. Also returning to the Indian XI for the first time since the series opener in Leeds was all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who replaced the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy. Additionally, Anshul Kamboj made his international debut in Manchester on Wednesday after replacing Akash Deep, who has also been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series due to injury. Akash, who had starred in the victory in Birmingham, has a groin issue while Reddy has been ruled out due to a knee injury. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD


Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Divya Deshmukh scripts history, reaches FIDE Women's World Cup final after beating former World Champion Tan Zhongyi
India's teenage superstar Divya Deshmukh's dream run at the ongoing FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 continues as she knocked out former World Champion China's Tan Zhongyi in the semifinal in Batumi on Wednesday, becoming the first Indian to reach the finals of this elite tournament. The 19-year-old stunned World No. 4 for the biggest win of her career. She handed Tan a loss in the second leg of their semifinal clash by white pieces to win the tie 1.5-0.5 after drawing the first leg with black pieces. Divya played a wild Alapin Sicilian Defense game to convert a match which ebbed and flowed both ways. The teenage sensation had earlier ousted second seed China's Zhu Jiner in the fourth round, before eliminating compatriot Harika Dronavalli in the quarterfinals. The India No. 2 Harika, who had already reached the quarterfinals in 2023 (the first Indian to make the top eight), took the quarterfinal clash to the tiebreaks after playing two draws in the Classical leg, but the youngster proved too good to handle for the 34-year-old Harika. Divya will take on the winner of the second semifinal played between top seed China's Lei Tingjie and India No. 1 Koneru Humpy. Divya's result meant two Indians can get a spot at the prestigious Candidate tournament. If Humpy qualifies for the final, she will also be assured of a Candidates spot. Even if she loses, Humpy will have another shot at making it into the World Championship challenger tournament. The FIDE Women's World Cup is the most crucial event in the World Championship cycle, offering three qualifying spots for Candidates. The Women's Grand Prix Series 2024-25 and the Grand Swiss provide two spots each, while the last is reserved for the highest-placed player in the 'FIDE Women's Events 2025-26' series. The winner of the Candidates will earn the right to challenge the reigning World Champion, in this case, China's Ju Wenjun.