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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
PGTI asks players to reaffirm allegiance, or face expulsion
Pune: Is Indian golf staring at its own 'LIV' moment? The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) has asked its players to sign a declaration form, re-affirming their allegiance to the body and declaring they would not compete in any rival tournament. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The move comes when the tour is on a mid-season break, and in the wake of the launch of the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL), which has been sanctioned by the Indian Golf Union and approved by the sports ministry. "I shall not engage in, or associate with any activity, event or organization that is detrimental to the interests … of the Society. I shall not participate in any professional golf event that conflicts with official PGTI-sanctioned tournaments without prior written approval … as per Clause 1.10 of the PGTI Handbook," reads a part of the form sent out to the players. Amandeep Johl, Chief Executive Officer of the PGTI, sought to play down the development. "There is nothing new in the form. It is part of the PGTI Handbook. This is Appendix 2, which is a standard registration form, which has been there forever," Johl told The Times of India. He, however, admitted that the move was prompted by the imminent launch of a rival 'entity'. "I have no problem with my player playing anywhere, in India or abroad, private or public, but you can't have your foot in both the boards. That's not fair to the rest of the membership," he said. "Choose where you want to go, my best wishes. I am happy that there are 30 players who are going to earn a new livelihood, a better livelihood, if they feel it is a better livelihood. " Earlier, PGTI president and former India cricket captain Kapil Dev had written a strongly worded letter to the players warning them against being "part of a REBEL TOUR" which was "designed to create division and disruption", urging them to "stand united", else face "disciplinary action including suspension". Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The IGPL envisions a city-based league with three-day events that have no cuts. It has so far signed up 30 players — a mix of active veterans like Gaganjeet Bhullar; seniors like Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa; as well as some competing on the PGTI Tour, and about 10 players from WPGTI. Its management includes some of the founding members of PGTI. Asked why PGTI couldn't co-sanction the league like the women's tour has done, Johl said the discussions failed at a nascent stage. "They did reach out to us, but the demands were a little unacceptable to PGTI," he said, without disclosing the details. Johl reminded that PGTI was the Indian body recognized by the US PGA and DP World Tour, and awarded world ranking points which enables a player to represent the country at Olympics and Asian Games. He said the two tours would be able to co-exist provided "they talk on a level-playing field." "We are an 18-year-old body. Their brand is not even registered," he said.
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Koneru Humpy braces for 'tough' all-Indian FIDE Women's World Cup final: 'Divya has played tremendously well...'
Koneru Humpy outclassed Chinese top-seed Lei Tingjie in the tie-breaks to win the FIDE Women's World Cup semi-final 5-3 and set up an all-Indian final against Divya Deshmukh, who had defeated Tan Zhongyi on the previous day. read more Koneru Humpy set-up an all-Indian final against Divya Deshmukh at the FIDE Women's World Cup after defeating China's Lei Tingjie in the semi-finals. Image credit: FIDE Koneru Humpy fought back from 2-3 down in the tie-breaks against Lei Tingjie to defeat the Chinese top-seed 5-3 and advance to the final of the FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia on Thursday. Veteran Grandmaster Humpy, in the process, set up a dream all-Indian final against International Master Divya Deshmukh, who had triumphed in the other Sino-Indian semi-final with a 1.5-0.5 victory over Tan Zhongyi on Wednesday. Humpy had found herself in a winning position earlier during the Classical round of the semi-final, and could have clinched victory on Wednesday itself but for a late fightback from GM Lei that resulted in Game 2 ending in a draw. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Lei would then find herself on the verge of victory on the following day, defeating Humpy with white pieces in the third rapid tie-break game (10+10) on Thursday after the first two – with time controls of 15+10 – ended in a draw. The 38-year-old Indian GM, however, bounced back in style to clinch the must-win fourth game in just 39 moves and keep her hopes of reaching the final alive. There was no looking back for the reigning women's rapid world champion thereafter she would go win both blitz tie-breaks (5+3) to complete a 5-3 victory over the 2022 Women's Candidates winner. Humpy vs Divya to decide the World Cup champion Humpy set her sights on the mouth-watering showdown against Divya after beating Lei, and described the all-Indian final as 'one of the happiest moments for chess fans'. 'I think it's one of the happiest moments for the chess fans… but of course as a player tomorrow it will be quite a tough game as well. Divya has played tremendously well in this whole tournament,' Humpy was quoted by as saying after her victory over Lei. Also Read | Divya Deshmukh finally establishes herself among chess' elite with historic run to Women's World Cup final Humpy, however, wasn't entirely impressed with her performance against Lei, adding that she struggled with black pieces against her highly-rated opponent. 'It was a very tough match and she also gave a very good fight. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I think initially I played quite bad with the black pieces and she always had the advantage. After the loss, it was a very difficult situation, but I was able to come back,' she added. Besides entering the World Cup final, Humpy and Divya have also qualified for the Women's Candidates next year by virtue of being guaranteed a top-three finish in the ongoing tournament. That's at least two Indians battling it out to earn the right to challenge China's Ju Wenjun for the FIDE Women's World Championship. The final gets underway on Saturday and could extend till Monday, 28 July, if the contest goes into the tie-breaks. The all-Chinese third-place playoff between Lei and Tan will be taking place around the same time, with the winner joining the two Indians at the Candidates.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
RCB, Karnataka cricket body to face action for stampede
BENGALURU: The Siddaramaiah cabinet decided on Thursday to initiate legal action based on retired HC judge John Michael D'Cunha's report indicting IPL franchise RCB, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and event management firm DNA Entertainment Networks for the June 4 stampede outside Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium in which 11 cricket fans died and over 50 others were injured. "Action against (suspended) government officials depends on the outcome of the departmental inquiry," law and parliamentary affairs minister H K Patil said after the cabinet meeting in which the inquiry report was formally accepted. DNA Entertainment immediately filed a petition in Karnataka HC, asking for the inquiry commission's report to be quashed on grounds of alleged procedural lapses and bias. CM Siddaramaiah suspended ex-Bengaluru police chief B Dayananda and four other senior cops on charges of crowd-management lapses, while fending off allegations that his govt was just as reponsible for clearing a victory parade for IPL champions RCB even before the final in Ahmedabad got over on June 3. The Central Administrative Tribunal has since stayed the suspensions. DNA's petition alleges that the report was submitted in "undue haste", ignoring "critical documentation" demonstrating the firm's efforts to manage the event inside the stadium. It argues that an event management company can't be held liable for crowd mismanagement outside the venue, which is under the government's jurisdiction. The firm has also flagged simultaneous inquiries in alleged violation of Article 20(2) of the Constitution, which prohibits multiple proceedings for the same offence. HC had taken suo motu cognizance of the stampede deaths and sought a report from the state government, following which the commission of inquiry was announced. A parallel CID investigation and a magisterial inquiry led by the deputy commissioner (Bengaluru urban) are underway. The D'Cunha commission named KSCA president Raghuram Bhat, former secretary A Shankar, ex-treasurer ES Jayaram, RCB vice-president Rajesh Menon, DNA managing director T Venkatavardhan and vice-president Sunil Mathur, among others, as responsible for the stampede.