
More questions than answers for Indian football
However, he was not able to replicate any of it with the Indian team. To make matters worse, India did not win a single competitive game under Marquez, with their last win against Kuwait (1-0) in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers round two fixture coming back in November 2023. Underwhelming football tactics and lack of goals made watching India play an eyesore. It all piled on and culminated in Marquez deciding to leave the job as the AIFF had ratified this decision in an executive committee meeting at New Delhi on Wednesday.
As AIFF looks for a replacement, NA Haris, vice president of the body, said that applications will be entertained by a separate committee to hire the next coach. 'We would prefer someone who is Indian and has worked with youth players,' he told this daily. However, he has reiterated that the AIFF will entertain applications from 'everyone and anyone,' suggesting that candidates need not necessarily have to be an Indian. 'The committee will start screening applicants immediately and would then shortlist at least five candidates for the interview out of which one would be hired,' he stated.
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Indian Express
10 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Daily Briefing: The wrench in India's 2036 Olympic dream
Good morning, The controversial 'One Big, Beautiful' Bill, designed to slash taxes and federal spending while benefiting the top 1 per cent, has cleared the US House of Representatives, marking a major legislative win for the Trump administration. The Bill, which adds $3.3 trillion to the national debt and guts funding for food and health programmes aiding low-income Americans, passed after an all-night debate. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered the longest House floor speech in modern history, fiercely opposing the Bill. This followed a dramatic 51-50 Senate vote on Tuesday, with Vice President J D Vance breaking the tie. Though several Republicans had expressed concerns over the Bill, only two (and all Democrats) voted against it on Thursday night. The House passed the Bill 218-214, sending it to Trump's desk for signing. On that note, let's get to today's edition. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) may have thwarted India's ambitious plans to host the 2036 Olympics. At a high-profile meeting in Lausanne on Tuesday, the IOC asked the Indian delegation to set its house in order before preparing the master plan. High-ranking Indian officials, including Gujarat Home and Sports Minister Harsh Sanghavi and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P T Usha, were present at the meeting. Red flags: Sources told The Indian Express that the IOC flagged governance issues at IOA, doping concerns and India's poor performance at the Olympics during the meeting. Crucially, the IOA has not been receiving IOC's athlete welfare grants since October 2024. The international body has said it won't release the funds till the administrative logjam, which has seen Usha at loggerheads with her Executive Council, ends. My colleague Mihir Vasavda goes into the details in his report. However, India's hopes are not completely dashed yet. India could host future Olympics, depending on how quickly it resolves the issues. Notably, the IOC last week decided to 'pause' the selection process of future hosts, owing to transparency concerns flagged by the committee members. This could buy India time. As the Election Commission embarks on the mammoth task of verifying the citizenship of 7.8 crore registered voters in Bihar, The Indian Express visited multiple districts to track the ground reality. While a declaration that an applicant is a citizen is required for all new registrations, this time, the EC is asking for citizenship proof for all new as well as existing voters. Electors must now submit one of 11 specific documents notified by the Commission. Common IDs like Aadhaar, ration cards, or voter cards no longer suffice. This has triggered a rush among voters to obtain residential or caste certificates before the deadline, with many also struggling to procure legacy documents such as those belonging to their parents. Read our report. Hit the brakes: The Delhi government has asked the Centre's Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to put the fuel ban for end-of-life vehicles on hold, just days after it came into effect. The reason? The Environment Minister cited a host of infrastructural issues and even 'public discontent'. Down the drain: Recently, concerns were raised over the inflated cost of work contracts under the Jal Jeevan Mission (rural water tap scheme) in some states. Water Minister C R Patil told The Indian Express that the Centre has stopped paying the tender premium (the difference in the government's approved cost and the bidder's quote) as money was being 'unnecessarily wasted'. Injustice: In 2003, Gujarati-American Sandeep 'Sonny' Bharadia was convicted of burglary and sexual assault in Georgia, US. The conviction was bizarre. On the ill-fated day, Bharadia was 400 km away from the crime site. Only his car, which he had earlier reported missing, was used by the actual perpetrator. Even DNA evidence implicated someone else in the crime. Yet, it took two decades for Bharadia to be exonerated of all charges. Read his story. Gill's day: Shubhman Gill's marathon double century at the second England vs India Test match is the talk of the town. And rightly so. The Indian skipper has overtaken Sachin Tendulkar's highest individual score and even surpassed Virat Kohli's highest score as captain. National sports editor Sandeep Dwivedi writes how Gill, earmarked to take India's batting legacy forward, has earned his stripes. Also read: How Jadeja outlasted Kohli, Rohit, Ashwin to become the great Indian survivor The 'S' word: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has called for the removal of the words 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble to the Constitution. These words were added by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, stoking controversy. The RSS now wants to turn the clock back. But it isn't so easy. Contributing editor Neerja Chowdhury writes why the RSS demands put the BJP in a tricky position. Countering China: The Quad group of nations, comprising India, Australia, Japan and the US, has launched an initiative to secure supply chains of critical minerals. The move is aimed at countering China's stranglehold over the resources vital to new technologies. Under new Ministry of Transport and Highways guidelines, cab aggregators such as Uber, Ola and Rapido may now charge customers up to twice the base fare as the maximum fare. This will allow ride-hailing platforms more flexibility in dynamic pricing, which entails increasing prices during high demand and vice versa during low demand periods. What exactly is dynamic pricing? Is it the same as surge pricing? We explain. 🎧 Before you go, tune in to today's '3 things' podcast episode, where we discuss: what led to the Rath Yatra stampede, why the Telengana chemical factory blast is a 'rarest of rare' case, and the government's bid to fast-track decision-making. That's all for today, folks! Until next week, Sonal Gupta Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take. ... Read More


India Today
15 minutes ago
- India Today
Prince Shubman Gill coronates himself as the new leader of Indian cricket
When Shubman Gill took on the mantle as India's Test captain before the England series, there was a lot of chatter. Some were good and said the youngster needed time to grow into the new role. While others wrote him off before even a delivery was bowled. The scrutiny was such that a small engraving of 'Prince' on his MRF bat was trolled, and he was labelled as before the series started, the youngster said one simple thing. He was looking to be the best batter of the series, something his predecessors in Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar always tried to do. For Kohli, captaincy was never a burden, but a motivator. And it seems to be the case with Gill as Day one, we said that Gill showed why he was the right man for the No.4 spot. But on Day two, it was just all about showing why he is the leader of the new era in Indian cricket. And it was an important knock for Gill, as Michael Atherton pointed out."It was a completely chanceless innings and so important for a young captain, at the start of his tenure, to get runs and lead from the front," said Atherton to Sky Sports. But apart from not giving any chance to England bowlers, there was a lot to admire about the knock from the young captain.A captain looking to win over the dressing roomFor any skipper when he goes on the field, the biggest strength he could have is the support and backing of his teammates. If that bond doesn't exist, then the tenure goes nowhere and ends in the inevitable sacking of the player from his for Gill, the biggest positive has been the fact that he is a well-liked person in the dressing room, one who's trying to stamp his authority on. Sunil Gavaskar said that respect for Gill will be high now, given that he took the onus on himself to make sure he gets that big score to show the dressing room how it is done."And once again, leading by example, you know, the respect for the man goes up. He's a new captain. He's establishing himself as a captain as well, and now he's got 100 in the first game. Yes, the defeat would have been a little bit of a jolt as well. No team gets 830 and then goes on to lose, but that's what happened because England just batted so much better in the fourth innings. So he would want to establish his authority in the change room. By all accounts, he's a very well-liked person in the changing room, and that's always a big plus that you're well-liked by your teammates, and then when you're performing, you're able to take those little gut calls, instinct calls, bowling changes, fielding," said Jadeja was asked if he could gauge the growth of Gill as a captain, and his witty remark pretty much implied that the team is out there to defend their tweaks and learning ahead of the curveOne of the things that made Kohli a major prospect, apart from his natural talent, was how he was always ready to learn before a challenging series. We saw that at the Champions Trophy when he went and started to work with Sanjay Bangar after a rough Australia like that, Gill did his homework for the England tour while he was in the IPL. Typical topper behaviour, one could say, but it showed how eager he was to learn. The India captain discussed it after his knock, and it was just a treat to listen talked about how his initial movement and stance were altered and how he was getting out without a big score. The 25-year-old wanted to fall in love again with his batting, and that's what he has been doing so far."At the end of the IPL, I worked on my technique. I worked on my initial movement and stance. I was batting nicely but getting out after scoring 30-40 runs. So, I wanted to enjoy my batting. I was focusing too hard, so I decided to make the most of it. I started working from the IPL itself.""Moving from T20 to the longer format is tough. You need to work on your mindset. Playing T20s, going after the ball becomes his initial trigger. So, I started practising with the red ball in the IPL itself," said the signs are there that Gill is set to be the next big thing in Indian cricket. Maybe it is just rising to the occasion as a captain. Maybe it's the MRF bat, something the legends of the game had. Or maybe, just maybe, it's just the talent he possesses to be the next superstar.- EndsTune InMust Watch

The Hindu
19 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Women's Euro 2025: World champion Spain routs Portugal 5-0 in opener
Esther González scored twice and world champion Spain delivered a strong statement by routing Portugal 5-0 in their Women's European Championship opener. The 32-year-old González became the oldest player to play for Spain at the tournament and she scored minutes before the youngest, 18-year-old Vicky López, added the second goal. Spain captain Alexia Putellas also scored for La Roja on Thursday, showing she's ready to lead the team to success after missing Euro 2022 with a knee injury. Spain lost to eventual winner England in the quarterfinals of that tournament. "We've been talking about how motivated we are for this (Euro) for so long, and now we had to show it. We have reason to be pleased," Putellas told Spanish broadcaster TVE. Substitute Cristina Martin-Prieto completed the scoring with a header in stoppage time. González wasted little time before opening the scoring after 87 seconds with a flick past Inês Pereira. It quickly became apparent the Portugal goalkeeper would have a busy game. She did. Pereira did well to clear a cross but was unable to stop Mariona Caldentey giving López a tap-in minutes later. Only 24 minutes were played when the fans started a Mexican wave around the nearly 30,000-capacity Wankdorf Stadium, normally home to Swiss Super League team Young Boys. The club also has a women's team, which is also called Young Boys. Spain dominated possession in a textbook first-half display. Teammates' work off the ball ensured there was always a passing option. No player had the ball for long as it zipped around and the Portuguese players were left to chase it. Putellas went close, Pereira denied Clàudia Pina, and it was no surprise when Putellas finally got the third goal after she displayed some brilliant control to evade a defender in the 41st. The fourth came two minutes later when González tucked in the rebound after Pina's cross came back off the post. But Spain coach Montse Tomé may have concerns about her team's second-half performance as her players' level of control dropped. Martin-Prieto's late goal was the only addition. Spain didn't need Aitana Bonmatí. The two-time Ballon d'Or winner stayed on the substitutes bench until going on for López in the 81st. Bonmatí had been a doubt for the tournament after being hospitalized for viral meningitis last week. "She's a very important player for us and we're happy she's back with us after recovering from her illness," Putellas said of Bonmatí. "Now we hope she can get back quickly to top playing form." The game was preceded by a moment's silence for Portugal and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, killed in a car crash with his brother the night before. Italy defeated Belgium 1-0 in the other Group B game earlier. Spain plays Belgium next on Monday.