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Thursday, May 4, 2017

Rahul Tripathi's rains boundaries; Puyol to launch sales & Kheleo ??

Engrossed in IPL ?  - do you know or heard of ‘Kheleo’ (what ?) or Carles Puyol set to launch ticket sales ??  (honestly I read about them just now !!)

Yesterday it was all about - Rahul Tripathi’s feat of 52-ball 93 to power Rising Pune Supergiant to their sixth win in seven games and move to third spot in the league. Despite wickets falling at the other end, Tripathi produced a full-blooded onslaught - hitting 78 runs in boundaries - and ensured Rising Pune had only a little to do towards the end. The chase of 156 got a bit harder with the loss of Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni, and then Tripathi himself with six needed. But Daniel Christian's flat six over deep midwicket off Colin de Grandhomme sealed victory with four balls to spare, consigning Kolkata Knight Riders to only their second defeat in six home games this season. The result was set up by Rising Pune's bowlers, led by Jaydev Unadkat's 2 for 28.

The man born in Ranchi and playing for Maharashtra, Rahul Tripathi wasn't part of the Inter-State and Inter-Zonal T20s this season. He wasn't picked for Mahararashtra's first four matches in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. He bats in the middle order for his state and is known more for his stickability than ball-striking ability in the Indian domestic circles. He was only picked in the last round of the auction by Rising Pune Supergiant and was sent to open with Rahane. 

Carles Puyol Saforcada is a Spanish retired professional footballer. Mainly a central defender, he could also play on either flank, regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation.  A one-club man, he served as the longtime team captain for his only club Barcelona after taking over from Luis Enrique in August 2004, and went on to appear in 593 official games for the club and win 21 major titles, notably six La Liga trophies and three Champions League.  In Aug 2014, after 15 seasons as a Barcelona first-team player, and a decade as club captain, Carles Puyol announced his retirement at a specially held event at the Camp Nou.  

Soccer is not all about Germany, France, Argentina and famous clubs.  Nigeria becoming the first country to win the title for a fifth time was the biggest story of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015, but by no means the only one.  The  presence of Mali in the final made for just the second occasion on which two teams from the same continent have contested the deciding match. As such, ‘Una fiesta un nuestra cancha’ (a party on our pitch), as the slogan Chile used to welcome the world put it, was ultimately celebrated to a distinctly African beat.  Now cometh the time for FIFA U17 and it is in India. 

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be the 17th  edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the U17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be hosted by India between 6 and 28 October 2017. This will be the first FIFA tournament hosted by the country. The final will be held the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 28 October 2017.

Nigeria, the 2015 champions, will not be able to defend their title as they failed to reach the final round of the CAF qualifying tournament. In doing so, they became the first incumbent title holder since Switzerland in 2009 to fail to qualify for the subsequent tournament.  A total of 24 teams qualify for the final tournament. In addition to India who qualified automatically as hosts, the other 23 teams qualify from six separate continental competitions.

Spain’s football World Cup winner Carles Puyol will be in India this month to launch the sale of tickets for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. Puyol will be involved is the launch of ticket sales of the Under-17 World Cup. He will grace multiple events in New Delhi and Mumbai between May 15 and 17 to promote the tournament. The first set of tickets for the FIFA U-17 World Cup will go live on May 16 at exactly 19:11 hours, paying tribute to the year in which Indian football made history. It was in 1911 that an Indian football team, Mohun Bagan, for the first time won the IFA shield by defeating an English team East Yorkshire Regiment. Anticipating what will be his first visit to India, Carles Puyol added, “I’m very excited and curious to discover the country and its people. I’m really drawn to the culture of India, its traditional medicine, its food and, of course, the way football is developing there, which is one of the main reasons behind my visit,” Puyol said in a release.

Earlier last year, the Organisers had  unveiled “Kheleo”, the leopard, as the tournament’s mascot. The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is a wild cat  seen in the Himalayan foothills through mainland Southeast Asia into China. Since 2008, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Its total population is suspected to be fewer than 10,000 mature individuals, with a decreasing population trend, and no single population numbering more than 1,000 adults. It is one of two members of the genus Neofelis, and is classified under the family Felidae. It represents the smallest of the big cats, but despite its name, it is not closely related to the leopard !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

4th May 2017

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