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Meet Sudarshan Gopaladesikan: Indian-origin performance analyst who went from working for Infosys to joining Premier League giant Newcastle United

Meet Sudarshan Gopaladesikan: Indian-origin performance analyst who went from working for Infosys to joining Premier League giant Newcastle United

Time of India2 days ago
Newcastle United have made an interesting backroom addition with Sudarshan Gopaladesikan joining as Technical Director (Support Services). The Indian-origin expert brings years of experience in elite sports performance. His role will focus on improving player fitness, recovery, and preparation, areas that have become crucial in modern football's demanding calendar.
A remarkable journey across sports
Sudarshan started his career with an Infosys internship before moving to the US for a PhD in biokinesiology and physical therapy at the University of Southern California. He specialised in human movement and injury prevention. His first big break came with Major League Baseball side Los Angeles Dodgers.
We have appointed Sudarshan Gopaladesikan as our new Technical Director 🤝Sudarshan joins after leaving Atalanta, where he was Director of Football Intelligence, and will lead football data operations for our men's, women's and Academy teams.Welcome to Newcastle United, Suds!
After his MLB stint, he joined the English Institute of Sport, working with Olympic athletes. That paved his path into football, first with Manchester City's City Football Group as Lead Data Scientist, focusing on player performance and injury analytics. Later, he became Head of Sports Science and Data at Chelsea.
From Infosys to Premier League: Joining Newcastle United at 36
Sudarshan Gopaladesikan, now 36, is Newcastle's latest recruit in their push to strengthen off-pitch operations. Club CEO Darren Eales praised him as an 'innovative, forward-thinking leader' with a proven track record across multiple sports. His appointment also adds rare Indian representation in Premier League technical teams.
So proud that someone of Indian origin is doing something massive in football. Sudarshan worked in Bengaluru for a while earlier in his life and he is such a role model for those in India who want to make it to the big leagues in football. https://t.co/Mscq0tPHMB
Gopaladesikan expressed excitement at joining a club with 'a unique connection between the team, city, and fans.' He won't be involved in transfers but will be key in ensuring players stay fit and ready to compete at the highest level.
Newcastle's long-term vision just got a significant boost with his expertise.
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Flat Jasprit Bumrah, tired Mohammed Siraj, nervy Kamboj, how India's nightmarish day unfolded at Old Trafford
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  • Indian Express

Flat Jasprit Bumrah, tired Mohammed Siraj, nervy Kamboj, how India's nightmarish day unfolded at Old Trafford

India could blame the weather but that would still sound like an excuse. When England bowled in the morning, there was cloud cover and rain. Late in the afternoon when Indians got the ball in hand there was bright sunlight. Data also showed that the swing and seam movement dropped drastically as the day progressed. Indian pacers surely didn't get favourable conditions but they didn't help their cause by having their worst day of the tour. Pedestrian first spells by the entire pace unit helped England to pull away. The 166-run opening-wicket stand between Ben Duckett (94) and Zak Crawley (84) at over 5 runs per over tilted the balance of the game on England's side. At 225/2, England trail by 153 runs. By the end of the day, India's first innings total of 358 looked insufficient on this track that kept changing its character based on the cloud cover and sunshine. This clearly was a game of two halves. After the engrossing session-and-half in the afternoon, the evening lacked drama or intrigue. Jasprit Bumrah had an off-day—he was off-target and his pace too was off. Debutant Anshul Kamboj didn't live up to his promise of being accurate and owner of the 'heavy ball' that troubles batsmen. Mohammed Siraj lacked sting. Shardul Thakur was ineffective. After the pace department had collectively failed and were wicketless in the early part of the England innings, captain Shubman Gill threw the ball to Ravindra Jadeja. On the second ball of India's spinner-in-chief's first over, England opener Crawley stepped down the surface and smashed the ball over long-on for a six. It was at this point, probably for the first time in the series that India looked deflated. Nothing seems to be working for them. The England opening pair of Crawley and Duckett hadn't looked this solid in the last three Tests like they did at Old Trafford. Forget getting them out, they weren't even beaten in the first couple of hours of their stay. Like was the case when the Indians batted, there was hardly any play and miss. But for a couple of balls that Bumrah bowled from round-the-wicket and beat Duckett's bat, it was the case of tight batting against undisciplined bowling. Bumrah bowled to a packed off-side field to Crawley. The plan was to invite him to swing his bat freely and try one of his booming drives. It wasn't that the England opener had gone into the shell, it is just that most times the ball was so wide outside off stump that the batsman wasn't tempted. The famous Bumrah consistency was missing and even his pace seemed to have dropped. When attempting to change his line, he would often drift down the leg-side. Siraj looked tired. There was nothing amiss in his action, his stride had the usual rhythm, the jump too was also in place but the balls lacked the zip. Like most bowlers with diminishing energy levels, Siraj's effort balls would tail on the leg of the batsmen, making the off-side heavy field redundant. England commentator Nasser Hussain made a sharp observation about the two England openers Duckett and Crawley. He said they both had it in them to punish the bad balls but Duckett was more focused and apt in dealing with the good balls. But at least in this Test, Crawley's shot-selection had improved. There was a Thakur over where he bowled a couple of great balls—they came in, bounced and seamed away. These balls he left and when the bowler erred in his length he pulled it to square leg for a boundary. Duckett, like he always does, jumped on loose balls and there were many. If a ball was marginally short on the off-side, he would bring out his tight jab to the cover region. When the ball was short, he didn't go blind to the fielders on the fence, like the Indians. India's two left-handers Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar were both out to Stokes' leg-side trap. He would bowl a sharp short ball that climbed towards the head of the batsmen. Sudharsan and Washington both ended up guiding the ball into the hands of the lone fielder on the fine-leg boundary. India too tested Duckett with the short ball but he had control over his shot, he kept it down and played square of the wicket. Both Duckett and Crawley missed their centuries. First Crawley edged a Jadeja ball to slips and Duckett was out flashing at a Kamboj short ball outside the off-stump. They certainly weren't top wicket-taking balls but they got the batsmen to commit unforced errors. As the day ended and players were in the dressing room, two worried men, in India blues, walked up to the pitch. After a brief inspection, coaches Gautam Gambhir and Shitanshu Kotak walked on the turf, talking while staring at the grass blades. India might be feeling the ground under their feet shaking.

India-UK FTA: Import of Britain-made luxury cars to get cheaper
India-UK FTA: Import of Britain-made luxury cars to get cheaper

Indian Express

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India-UK FTA: Import of Britain-made luxury cars to get cheaper

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'UK is back on world stage': Keir Starmer after trade deal with India
'UK is back on world stage': Keir Starmer after trade deal with India

Business Standard

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'UK is back on world stage': Keir Starmer after trade deal with India

The trade deal comes at a time when US President Donald Trump's tariff policies continue to disrupt global trade Bloomberg The UK has restored its international standing after years of 'performative' politics under successive Conservative governments, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview after sealing a long-sought trade deal with India on Thursday. The trade deal — the biggest struck by Britain since Brexit — will cut the vast majority of India's tariff lines for the UK, helping exports from Scotch whisky to cars. But speaking at his Chequers country retreat after meeting with Indian Premier Narendra Modi, Starmer said the agreement didn't mark the limit of the UK's ambition, and would provide a baseline of cooperation to build on for the two countries. 'We have re-established the place and position of the UK on the world stage,' Starmer told Bloomberg in his only interview with a major publication to mark crystallisation of the pact, referring also to increased cooperation with the European Union and a trade pact with the US. Now, 'we're seen as a country which other countries want to be working with and delivering with.' The deal signed earlier Thursday by the Indian and British trade ministers eliminated or reduced a swath of tariffs and lifted other barriers to commerce. The pact came after three years of intense negotiations touching on thorny topics such as visas, and tax breaks. The two nations concluded talks in May, completing Britain's biggest trade deal since Brexit and India's most significant such agreement to date. 'This isn't merely paving the way for economic partnership but is also a blueprint for our shared prosperity,' Modi said earlier Thursday, speaking alongside Starmer at Chequers. In an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday evening, Modi's trade minister, Piyush Goyal, said the deal will 'open the doors for more robust and resilient supply chains,' as well as encouraging 'greater investments because of the stable and predictable business environment.' 'It's a win win for both UK and India,' he said. A separate bilateral investment treaty is still being negotiated between the UK and India, which could include more controversial elements such as a provision which allows investors to sue either government if they believe a policy change has unfairly affected their profits. 'I do hope we will get that also across the hump soon,' Goyal said of the treaty, declining to discuss the sticking points. The trade deal comes at a time when US President Donald Trump's tariff policies continue to disrupt global trade, and Starmer told Bloomberg that it marked 'a real statement of intent as to how close we want our two countries to be as we go forward in an uncertain world.' He added that he and Modi had already begun to discuss which areas they could build on. Starmer, whose Labour Party was elected to power a year ago, also made a jibe at his Tory predecessors Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak — both of whom set and missed their own deadlines for agreeing a deal with India, with the former famously promising one by Diwali 2022. 'Serious, pragmatic, respectful diplomacy trumps performative politics any day of the week,' Starmer said. He added that the 'quiet, serious, pragmatic, respectful way' in which he had asked officials to proceed 'achieved results compared with the noisy performance of my predecessors.' Starmer and Modi earlier attended a showcase of businesses who hoped to benefit from the trade deal. Representatives from firms including the supermarket chain Sainsbury's and family-run Spice Kitchen staffed stands under a marquee in the Chequers rose garden, and said they were excited about the opportunities for further cooperation between the UK and India. 'We import a lot from India,' said Spice Kitchen's Sanjay Aggarwal, who runs the business with his mother Shashi. 'Hopefully some of our costs will come down.' Starmer had said he 'loves to cook and loves Indian food,' Aggarwal added. For Modi, the deal reinforces his push to position India as a viable alternative for global supply chains looking to diversify. The pact — India's first major one in a decade — signals that the South Asian nation is willing to lower its barriers to attract investments as it negotiates a bilateral trade deal with the US. It will also act as a springboard for India's ongoing talks with European Union. For Starmer, the deal will be a welcome step toward his goal of boosting economic growth in the UK. While it is expected to add £4.8 billion ($6.5 billion) to the UK's annual economic output — a tiny increase to the size of the economy — Starmer's Labour government hopes successive incremental wins will help encourage investment and turn around lackluster business sentiment. With Trump due to arrive in Scotland on Friday for a personal visit during which he'll meet with Starmer, the signing comes as Britain works to flesh out the trade pact it agreed with the US. Meanwhile the New Delhi administration is racing to clinch a deal with Washington before Aug. 1, when higher tariffs are due to kick in. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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