President Droupadi Murmu Lauds India's Global Chess Domination: 'A 19-Year-Old Girl...'
President Droupadi Murmu praised India's global chess dominance in her national address on Thursday, highlighting the country's impending 'transformative changes" in the sporting domain.
Eighteen-year-old D Gukesh's victory as the youngest world champion last year marked the beginning of an exceptional season for India's chess prodigies, including R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidith Gujarati, Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh, and R Vaishali, who consistently excelled in high-pressure international events.
Last month, nineteen-year-old Divya Deshmukh became the youngest women's World Cup winner, defeating Humpy in the final.
'Our youth, brimming with new confidence, are making a significant impact in sports and games. Chess, for instance, is now dominated by India's youngsters like never before. We foresee transformative changes that will establish India as a global sporting powerhouse under the vision of the National Sports Policy 2025," said President Murmu.
'Our daughters are our pride, breaking barriers in every field, including defence and security. Sports are vital indicators of excellence, empowerment, and potential. A nineteen-year-old girl (Deshmukh) and a thirty-eight-year-old woman (Humpy) from India were the finalists in the FIDE Women's World Cup for the chess championship," she stated.
'This highlights the sustained and globally comparable excellence among our women across generations. The gender gap in employment is also narrowing. With 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam', the empowerment of women is now a reality rather than just a slogan," she added.
The National Sports Policy mandates accountability from administrators and establishes procedures to 'ensure ethical practices, fair play, and healthy competition in the sports sector."
It also advocates the creation of national agencies and inter-ministerial committees for swift action and effective issue resolution, promoting transparency and seamless operations across the sports ecosystem.
The policy proposes a revamped funding mechanism, including initiatives such as 'Adopt an Athlete", 'Adopt a District", 'Adopt a Venue", 'One Corporate-One Sport", and 'One PSU-One State" where feasible.
Following the policy's unveiling on July 1, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya presented the long-awaited National Sports Governance Bill in Parliament. The landmark legislation, ensuring a strict regulatory framework for National Sports Federations and a speedy dispute resolution mechanism, has been passed by both houses of Parliament.
Mandaviya, who termed it the single biggest sporting reform since independence, has pledged to implement its provisions within the next six months.
With PTI Inputs
First Published:
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
27 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
'Jasprit Bumrah is a very honest man. Siraj did it recently, but he…': Harbhajan Singh counters India pacer's criticism
Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh has come in support of Jasprit Bumrah after the premier pacer faced scrutiny for his workload management on the England tour. It was pre-decided before India travelled to England for the five-match series that Bumrah would play only three games. Sticking to that plan, the team kept him out of the final match at The Oval, even with the series hanging in the balance. He claimed a couple of five-wicket hauls in the three Tests he played, but didn't create much of an impact. It was Mohammed Siraj, who turned out to be the standout bowler in the series, as he also played all five Tests. Meanwhile, after the series ended, several former cricketers, including Irfan Pathan, Sandeep Patil, Dilip Vengsarkar and Mohammad Azharuddin, were critical of Bumrah for picking and choosing matches to manage workload. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are the vital cogs in Indian pace line-up.(PTI) Harbhajan defended Bumrah amid questions over his absence in the final Test against England, stressing the pacer's honesty and self-awareness. He elaborated that Bumrah understands his body's limits, especially after injury, and described 'workload' as carrying the bowling burden for the entire team. 'I don't know how much pain he (Jasprit Bumrah) is suffering from. But what I do know is that he is a very honest man. He knows about his body. He knows how much load his body can take and how much it can't. He has just come back after an injury. A lot of them are asking what workload means. Workload means when a bowler like Bumrah bowls on his own like he did in Australia. That is called workload because he is taking the load of others as well,' Harbhajan said on Times of India. 'Bumrah did that in Australia, and in the end, he broke down' The veteran spinner highlighted the physical toll on fast bowlers, noting that while Mohammed Siraj has recently shouldered the extra workload, it's unsustainable year-round. 'Siraj did it recently, but he can't do that for a whole year. There can come a series when you feel like you need to put in the extra effort and need to take a toll on the body. Bumrah did that in Australia, and in the end, he broke down. Siraj took it as well, and let's hope that he does not break down. I think a player's honesty is most important in this regard,' he added.
Hindustan Times
27 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
India's workload problem might have a simple solution
Mumbai: For the entire 2023 season, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli didn't play a single T20I game. As it was the 50-over World Cup year, India fielded a different set of players for the two limited overs formats. Hardik Pandya was leading the T20 side and Rohit the ODI team. File image of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. (AFP) In the 2024 season, the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, became the main focus. With one series to go, the India selectors brought Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli back into the T20 fold. It proved to be a successful move with Rohit leading India to their first ICC title since 2013 Champions Trophy. In the press conference to announce the team, in May 2024, Rohit, who was named as captain, explained the selectors' line of thinking. 'We have actually in the past if you noticed, whichever format happens, we give priority. Us being where we are, a lot of players were given a break. The focus was on the 50-over WC (2023) which is why we (Rohit and Virat) had given T20s a miss. Test cricket was the constant which we kept playing. That is what we discussed in the selection committee group,' Rohit had said. As India plans for the new season ahead, with the selection committee set to pick the team for the Asia Cup T20 on August 19, how do they handle their main players will be the question? The next major selection duties for Ajit Agarkar's committee are going to be the Asia Cup, the Test matches against the West Indies, the limited overs tour of Australia followed by the Test series against South Africa at home. The Asia Cup ends on September 28, the West Indies Test series starts on October 2. It ends on Oct 14 and India play their first ODI in Australia on Oct 19. The limited overs tour of Australia finishes on Nov 8, and the first Test against South Africa is on November 14. It's a packed calendar and if you are an all-format player, there's hardly any breathing room. There's no time for even a little bit of rest and recuperation. And this scenario begs the question: should the main players who form the nucleus of the Test side be made to regularly play in the other formats? Or will Indian cricket be better served by fielding separate sides for each format? Given how workload management seems to be becoming the theme of the season, this is the key decision in front of Agarkar's committee. Big player pool The advantage for India is having a large player pool to choose from thanks to the impetus provided by the IPL. India Test captain Shubman Gill and vice captain Rishabh Pant can be picked for the T20 side as well but is there a need for them to play in the T20 side for the Asia Cup? It is not that India has struggled with the results without their big names. Under Suryakumar Yadav' since Rohit, Virat and Ravindra Jadeja chose to retire after the 2024 World Cup, the T20 side has been on a roll. Starting with a 3-0 clean sweep in Sri Lanka as well as at home against Bangladesh, they have won four series in a row, finishing the last season with a 4-1 win over England. Most impressive was Surya & Co's 3-1 win over South Africa in South Africa in November 2025, before playing England at home. One of the attractions of adding big names is to attract market forces and get sponsorships. Surya's side is playing such a thrilling brand of cricket they are a marketing team's delight. The best example was the cricket they played in South Africa. On the tough seaming and bouncy playing surfaces, the India top-order put up a breathtaking display. Sanju Samson set the tone with a blazing 50-ball 107 (10 sixes) in the series opener at Durban before finishing with a 56-ball 109 (9 sixes) in the final match at Johannesburg. His opening partner Abhishek Sharma also sparkled with a 25-ball 50 and an 18-ball 36 in the third and fourth T20Is. Who can forget Abhishek's last T20 innings -- a 54-ball 135 (13 sixes) against England at the Wankhede Stadium. After a gruelling Test series, when you have a Samson, do you need to risk Gill or when you have Abhishek, do you need to risk the rising Test star, Yashasvi Jaiswal? The T20Is can be used to give the experience to other players. When the World Cup is round the corner, the top players can be considered, like in the case of Rohit and Virat's selections ahead of 2024. With everyone playing in the IPL to know the form of the players, they don't really need to play the T20Is. Pace talent There being no dearth of batting talent in India, the most precious commodity is the pace bowlers. Along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj has emerged as a standout bowler. The selectors have to be careful of their workload management. To help manage the workload of the main pacers better, they have a decent talent pool of Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, pace all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Avesh Khan and Mayank Yadav to use and rotate. Off-season needed The players have to put India first but the point is that given the demands on the modern players, is the team's interest better served by putting India first for the big tournaments or by playing every series? For the BCCI's think tank, the key is to find a way to create an off-season for the players, like in the old days where for a couple of months the players were able to take a proper break, give the body a chance to recover, and work on their fitness. If the BCCI helps prized commodities Gill & Co find that, they will remain fitter and sharper for the series and tournaments that truly matter.
News18
37 minutes ago
- News18
England making Jacob Bethell its youngest ever mens cricket captain at 21
Agency: London, Aug 15 (AP) Jacob Bethell will break a record which has stood for 136 years when the 21-year-old allrounder becomes England's youngest ever men's cricket captain next month. Bethell will lead England against Ireland in three Twenty20s in Dublin. The previous youngest England captain was Monty Bowden, who was 23 in 1889 when he took charge for a test in South Africa after regular skipper Aubrey Smith fell ill with fever. Some senior players will be missing in Ireland including usual white-ball captain Harry Brook, who will be in charge of one-day international and T20 games against visiting South Africa earlier in September. 'Jacob Bethell has impressed with his leadership qualities ever since he has been with the England squads, and the series against Ireland will provide him with the opportunity to further develop those skills on the international stage," England men's selector Luke Wright said in a statement on Friday. The captaincy is part of a rapid rise for Bethell, who made his debuts for England in all three formats only last year. The series in Ireland begins on Sept. 17. (AP) UNG view comments First Published: August 15, 2025, 22:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
