Sports
IOC announces finalists for Climate Action Awards 2024; International Hockey Federation among finalists
Paris, Aug 6 (IANS) International Hockey Federation (FIH), World Rowing, World Rugby, and International Canoe Federation (ICF) besides the International Biathlon Union (IBU) were on Tuesday shortlisted in the International Federation (IF) category for the annual IOC Climate Action Awards 2024.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the names of the finalists for the annual awards celebrating those within the Olympic Movement who are taking concrete measures to address climate change. The announcement of the finalists was made on the sidelines of the Paris Olympics in three categories — the National Olympic Committee (NOC), International Federation and athletes categories.
The winners of this year’s awards will be announced during UN Climate Week between September 22 and 29 this year.
Supported by Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner Deloitte, the IOC Climate Action Awards encourage, recognise and reward innovative projects from National Olympic Committees (NOCs), International Federations (IFs) and athletes aimed at reducing the environmental impact of sport, while inspiring the wider Olympic Movement to take action.
“Climate change is taking its toll on everyone, and sport is no exception,” said Marie Sallois, the IOC’s Director of Sustainability. “We all have the responsibility to reduce our impact. The IOC Climate Action Awards aim to celebrate those who are driving climate action within the wider Olympic Movement. The high number and quality of applications we have received this year illustrate the progress made in addressing climate change across the Olympic Movement.”
This year’s finalists are:
In the NOC category:
Comité Olímpico de Chile – for a comprehensive sustainability strategy that focuses on reducing carbon footprint, recycling waste and influencing the community, and has resulted in, for example, increasing the amount of recycled waste at the Olympic Training Centre from two tons in 2022 to 98 in 2023. The Chilean NOC is also empowering athletes to use their voice on social media, TV, radio and other channels to inspire and educate the wider community about sustainability.
Hellenic Olympic Committee – for implementing a clear carbon reduction strategy, which includes actions such as replacing the lighting system in buildings’ infrastructure, educating personnel on sustainable procurement practices and adopting a comprehensive waste management plan and green practices, resulting in a planned 24 percent reduction in 2025 emissions compared to the 2022 footprint.
Mauritius National Committee – for developing a comprehensive carbon footprint reduction plan focusing on travel and procurement. Key initiatives include a local community-based project that has encouraged around 50,000 people to switch from plastic bottles to glass bottles to reduce plastic waste, and the design of a “Bio Climatic gym” that uses sustainably sourced PEFC-certified wood, 100 percent renewable energy and natural air ventilation instead of carbon-heavy air conditioning – the first of its kind in Mauritius.
Comite Olímpico Espanol – for collecting 4,500kg of old sports clothing to manufacture Spanish flags needed for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, with a supporting awareness-raising campaign reaching 8.6 million people. To further reduce the use of textiles, the number of kits provided to athletes will be limited and, together with the flags, will be reused at future competitions.
Swiss Olympic – Having created a carbon reduction plan and working on minimising its own emissions, the NOC is focusing on providing funds to its national federations, their clubs and partner organisations through the “Swiss Olympic Climate Fund”, to support their carbon reduction efforts. For example, the NOC has contributed to the funding of a heat pump system for a 50-year-old swimming pool in Frauenfeld, Thurgau, which has the potential to save 500 tons of CO2 annually.
The Swiss Olympic Climate Fund has also helped fund an electric bus for the Ticino Group of Blind and Visually Impaired Athletes. Moving forward, the NOC is aiming to support 100 other projects across all its member and partner organisations, leading to a long-term plan of reducing emissions across all sports within Switzerland.
In the IF category:
International Biathlon Union (IBU) – for working with TV broadcasters, in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union, to measure their carbon footprint during the 2023/24 World Cup season and identify initiatives they can implement to reduce emissions in the future, to provide learnings for other sports. The IBU is the first Olympic IF that has looked at systematically reducing its major events’ broadcasting emissions – an area that is often deemed difficult to address.
International Canoe Federation (ICF) – for creating, with the Italian Canoe Federation, a programme called “Developing Environmental Circular Knowledge” (DECK), which identified 50 environmental management and circular economy best practices for canoe competitions, and for creating a rating tool for evaluating any type of paddling event. The focus areas include recycling and redistribution of leftover food, switching to greener mobility options like car sharing, transitioning to digital tickets to minimise the use of paper, and managing spectator movement at events to ensure the protection of biodiversity.
International Hockey Federation (FIH) – for working with the artificial turf industry to develop a new technology – Dry Turf – that reduces the amount of water needed for hockey pitches, achieving a 40 percent reduction from London 2012 to Tokyo 2020, and an anticipated further 30 per cent reduction for Paris 2024.
The aim is to replace 2,000 water-based artificial hockey pitches globally, saving approximately 7.6 billion liters of water per year. The FIH has also introduced “wet balls” that release water at the point of contact between the ball, the surface and the stick, to ensure the sport can be played at the highest level on dry turf. The project is part of the FIH’s wide-ranging sustainability strategy and a comprehensive carbon reduction plan, which includes the first-ever carbon-zero artificial turf, which is currently being used at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
World Rowing – As one of the first signatories of both the Sports for Climate Action and Sports for Nature Frameworks, World Rowing has partnered with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) for many years on the conservation of water. Their latest project, “The Water Wardens”, aims to create a global movement around the need to conserve water, engaging rowers as actors of change and providing educational resources for use by organisations, clubs and schools. Activities have included Water Protection Conferences and a mobile application for the rowing community to upload data on water issues, with 145 clubs actively engaged.
World Rugby – for collaboration with its partners to develop a Carbon Emissions Reporting Tool (CERT), which enables the forecasting and measurement of emissions across events such as tournaments, meetings and events, helping overcome the lack of one-size-fits-all reporting options currently available. CERT guides rugby event organisers in identifying actions that can be taken to reduce emissions and enable knowledge sharing between World Rugby, local organising committees, national federations, suppliers and other stakeholders.
In the athlete category:
Christopher Blevins, Mountain Biking, USA – for the “Where do we land?” multimedia project that intertwines animation and spoken word poetry to delve into the urgent reality of climate change, launching in summer 2024.
Imogen Grant, Rowing, Great Britain – for helping to launch the Clean Water Sports Alliance to improve river health and water quality, as part of the UK National Training Centre sustainability group. As an ambassador for the Rivers Trust, Imogen has also spoken at several events across the UK to raise awareness and educate athletes on their responsibilities.
Lina Taylor, Beach Volleyball, Bulgaria – for educating professionals from government corporations and NGOs on how they can apply a sustainability lens to everything they are doing. Through her Climate Executive Coaching business, she educates leaders in these sectors to build the skills to influence and inspire climate action. In just two years, Lina has coached over 2,000 people in 30 countries and across 60 organisations. Lina is also supporting fellow athletes and NOCs, training them individually in climate solutions.
Marion Thenault, Skiing, Canada – for measuring her own carbon footprint with WSP Canada and working on standardising her travel quantification process to help other athletes to follow suit. Thenault is also working with the Le Relais Foundation to reduce the environmental impact of the Le Relais Ski Aerials World Cup in Canada by implementing projects focused on an improved waste management system, sustainable procurement and optimised spectator transport.
Oliver Scholfield, Hockey, Canada – for co-founding “Racing to Zero”, a sport-focused sustainability consultancy that helps organisations to understand and mitigate their environmental impact.
–IANS
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Bengaluru, Aug 22 (IANS) Shivamogga Lions’ woes continued as they suffered a 28-run defeat to the Mysore Warriors in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
Mysore Warriors delivered a well-rounded performance, anchored by Karun Nair’s (45) swift knock, supported by a few other good contributions in the middle order, and highlighted by late-innings fireworks from J Suchith (22*) and Manoj Bhandage (23).
On the bowling front, Vidyadhar Patil (3/29) and Karthik CA (3/31) played crucial roles in restricting the Shivamogga Lions. Sharath HS’ (4/29) lethal spell with the ball and valiant efforts from Abhinav Manohar (46) and Nihal Ullal (46) with the bat couldn’t turn the tide in Shivamogga’s favour.
Chasing 180, Shivamogga Lions got off to a disastrous start, with Vidyadhar Patil’s lethal first over leading to the dismissals of Mohith Bangalore (2) and Dheeraj Mohan (0) in consecutive deliveries. Skipper Nihal Ullal (46) managed to crack a few early boundaries, but Hardik Raj (17) was also removed by Krishnappa Gowtham, leaving the Lions reeling at 41/3 by the end of the powerplay.
K Gowtham then engineered the run out of Rohan Naveen (11), further denting the chase. The in-form Abhinav Manohar (Impact Player) joined Ullal, and the duo breathed life into the innings, putting together a 70-run partnership in just 43 balls.
However, Ullal fell short of his first half-century of the season, leaving the Shivamogga Lions at 123/5 in 15.1 overs. Manohar also narrowly missed his milestone, holing out to K Gowtham off Karthik CA. Manohar’s 26-ball knock included four sixes and three fours, adding valuable runs to the total.
Karthik CA struck again two deliveries later, dismissing Shivraj S and leaving the Lions in deep trouble. With 47 runs needed from the final 18 balls, Ashok D tried to keep the chase alive by smashing a six and a four off Vidyadhar Patil, but perished in the same over, effectively ending Shivamogga’s prospects. Shivamogga Lions finished at 151/9 in 20 overs, enduring their sixth consecutive loss.
Batting first, Mysore Warriors faced an early challenge as Sharath HS unleashed a menacing spell. He struck in the powerplay, dismissing Karthik SU (8), and then returned in the seventh over to remove CA Karthik (30), who smashed three sixes in a 34-run stand with Karun Nair (45) and Harshil Dharmani (0).
Nair continued in fine touch and peppered the boundary with six fours and two sixes during his 23-ball stay before falling to Ashok D in the 11th over.
Kishan Bedare (17) steered the innings, forming a 28-run partnership with Nair and adding another 29 runs with Sumit Kumar (28) before being caught and bowled by Bharath Dhuri, leaving the Warriors at 116/5 in 16.1 overs. The depth of Mysore’s batting lineup came to the fore as Manoj Bhandage and J Suchith launched a late assault.
Vasuki Koushik, tasked with the 18th over, began with a six and a four from Sumit Kumar. Bhandage then took charge, hammering three consecutive sixes off Koushik in the same over before falling as Sharath’s fourth wicket in the 19th ending a blistering 23-run cameo off just seven balls. J Suchith, carried on the momentum, smashing two sixes and a four in an 8-ball flurry, pushing the Mysore Warriors to a competitive 179/7 in their 20 overs.
Brief scores: Mysore Warriors 179 for 7 in 20 overs (Karthik CA 30, Karun Nair 45, Sumit Kumar 28; Sharath HS 4-29) beat Shivamogga Lions 151/9 in 20 overs (Nihal Ullal 46, Abhinav Manohar 46 runs; Vidyadhar Patil 3-29, Karthik CA 3-31) by 28 runs.
–IANS
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Castle Rock (Colorado), Aug 22 (IANS) Indian Americans Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia who failed to make it to the Top-10 last week at the St Jude Championships, the first of the three Play-offs events, will be looking for a better showing as they move towards the finale at the Tour Championships after that.
Last week Hideki Matsuyama, after leading by five at one time, had to birdie the last two holes to win the St Jude Championships. He became the first Asian to win a Play-off event and it was his 10th PGA Tour win, the highest from the continent.
Last week Bhatia was T-12, Rai was T-16 and Theegala was way behind in T-46, but all three have entered the second of the three Play-offs events.
World No, 2 Xander Schauffele, a two-time Major winner in 2024, was tied second last week with Viktor Hovland, while World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was fourth last week, though World No. 3 Rory McIlroy had a poor week in T-68 place.
Among Asians Korea’s Si Woo Kim has all to play for at the BMW Championship, the second of three FedExCup Playoffs events, in Colorado this week, with two big goals providing the drive for him to step up his game.
The four-time PGA TOUR winner tees up at Castle Pines Golf Club with the intention of breaking into the top-30 of the FedExCup points list and qualify for the Playoffs Finale, the TOUR Championship next week. Kim is presently ranked 44th after last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.
A strong week is also required for Kim to keep alive his hopes of earning a spot in the International Team to face the U.S. Team in the Presidents Cup in Royal Montreal next month. Currently 14th on the team roster, the top-6 after this week’s BMW Championship will secure automatic spots, with captain Mike Weir naming six more picks after the TOUR Championship.
Compatriots Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun An, who are 10th and 15th respectively on the FedExCup rankings, are virtually assured of teeing up at the TOUR Championship, which will use a staggered-scoring format based on positions after this week.
Irrespective of how his week plays out, Kim is pleased to secure his top-50 status, which guarantees starts in all eight Signature tournaments next season.
–IANS
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New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) The packed schedule of men’s county cricket in 2025 will remain largely unchanged, despite concerns raised by the majority of players over the impact on their physical well-being.
According to a survey conducted by the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) earlier this season, more than 80 per cent of players expressed fears that the current schedule is too demanding and poses risks to their health.
However, despite these concerns, the 2025 schedule is set to continue as usual. Each county will still compete in a minimum of 14 County Championship matches, eight Metro Bank Cup fixtures, and 14 Vitality T20 Blast games. The changes for next season will be largely cosmetic, offering little relief for players concerned about the gruelling calendar.
The PCA has been advocating for adjustments that would spread out the T20 fixtures across the week, aiming to reduce tight turnarounds and introduce more consistent three-day breaks between Championship games.
“There’s definitely room for improvement in 2025 compared to 2024,” said Daryl Mitchell, the PCA’s interim chief executive, in an interview with ESPNcricinfo. “The schedule can definitely be managed better. Certainly, the Blast was very much looked at through a commercial lens, trying to squeeze as many games as possible into Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Utilizing the majority of the week is probably the way forward, trying to spread them out to give that time for recovery, travel, and preparation.”
The T20 Blast, in particular, has been the main point of debate when it comes to scheduling. The timing of the knockout stages has been a significant concern. In 2023, these stages were held immediately after the group matches in July, allowing counties to retain their overseas players. This year, however, the knockout stages will be pushed to September, giving clubs an extended six-week window to market and sell tickets for home quarter-finals.
While these adjustments offer slight improvements, the overall schedule remains packed, leaving many players apprehensive about how much more they can push themselves physically in the long term. Despite the calls for change, it appears that any significant reduction in the number of fixtures is unlikely in the future, with commercial considerations still driving much of the decision-making process around county cricket.
–IANS
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New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) After ending his T20I career with an elusive T20 World Cup title in Barbados, captain Rohit Sharma revealed that it was his dream to transform the team without thinking too much about the results.
Rohit-led Indian team ended the decade-long ICC title drought after beating South Africa in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 to lift their second title in the format. In 2023, the Men in Blue failed to win the World Test Championship and 2023 ODI World Cup under Rohit’s leadership after losing to Australia in the finals.
The swashbuckling opening batter also credited the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, former head coach Rahul Dravid and chief selector Ajit Agarkar for their support in transforming the team and creating a fearless culture in the squad.
“It was my dream to transform this team and not worry too much about stats and results and also to make sure that we create an environment where people can go out and play freely, without thinking too much. I got a lot of help from my three pillars Jay Shah, Rahul Dravid and chairman of selector Ajit Agarkar. That was critical for me to do what I did. Obviously, not to forget players who came in at different points in time and helped the team to achieve what we have achieved today,” Rohit said in a video posted by BCCI on X.
On Wednesday, Rohit was awarded ‘Men’s International Cricketer of the Year’ while Dravid was accorded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at Ceat Cricket Rating Awards 2023-24 in Mumbai. India’s batting stalwart Virat Kohli was named the ‘Men’s ODI Batter of the Year’ while on the bowling front, Mohammed Shami was awarded the ‘ODI Bowler of the Year’.
The 37-year-old batter finished as the second-highest run-getter in the T20 World Cup with 257 runs including three half-centuries and at a strike rate of 156.70. He played a major role in providing solid starts for the team on the slow pitches of the USA and the West Indies.
After lifting the title, Rohit joined Kohli to announce his retirement from the T20I. With 4,231 runs, Rohit is the leading run-getter in the format behind his teammate Kohli (4188 runs). Both batters will continue to play the other formats of the game. The duo last featured for India in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka earlier this month.
–IANS
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Gotemba (Japan), Aug 22 (IANS) A year after being the youngest ever to make the cut at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Kartik Singh, now 14 years of age, is the highest ranked among the four Indians set to take part in the 15th AAC to be held in Japan.
As of date Kartik is the highest ranked Indian at 199 while the other three players to have received the invitation for this prestigious event are Krishnav Nikhil Chopra and Vedant Sirohi, both past participants in the event and Rakshit Dahiya will be in the four-player team.
Kartik Singh has also been named to the 2024 Junior Presidents Cup team. A regular winner in junior and amateur events, Kartik will spearhead the Indian challenge.
Apart from India’s Kartik Singh, there are seven others named to the 2024 Junior Presidents Cup International Team. They are Joshua Bai, Warut Boonrod, Xihuan Chang, Rayhan Latief, Khanh Hung Le, Thangwin Lee, Anh Minh Ngyuyen,
As many as 113 players have been confirmed for the Championship, which will be held October 3-6, 2024, at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba in Gotemba, Japan. A full list of confirmed players can be found. The field will be 120 with a few more names to be added by the Organisers.
India’s best ever placing has been second place by Rayhan Thomas, who was runner-up in Sentosa, Singapore in 2018. The Dubai-based Indian Rayhan has since turned professional, and last week won his first pro title on India’s Professional Tour of India Tour.
Krishnav, who plays college golf in the US, is the son of former India cricketer turned commentator, Nikhil Chopraa, who often takes the role of a caddie for his son.
Created in 2009, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship was established by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), The R&A and the Masters Tournament to further develop amateur golf in the Asia-Pacific region.
The champion will receive an invitation to compete in the 2025 Masters Tournament and The 153rd Open, while the runner(s)-up will gain a place in Final Qualifying for The Open.
The confirmed list which has players from 38 APGC member organizations is highlighted by defending champion Jasper Stubbs of Australia and four players representing China inside the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking: Wenyi Ding (No. 4), Xihuan Chang (No. 36), Xiangyun Bai (No. 61) and Paul Chang (No. 97).
Ding finished runner-up to Stubbs in the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur while Xihuan Chang reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Junior Amateur in July.
Other top-100 participants include Vietnam’s Anh Minh Nguyen (No. 68) and Japan’s Rintaro Nakano (No. 78).
Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith. Over the Championship’s 14-year history, the Championship has served as a springboard to some of the world’s top players, including Matsuyama, Smith, Cameron Davis, Ryan Fox, Si Woo Kim, Satoshi Kodaira, Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Min Woo Lee, Keita Nakajima and C.T. Pan. Collectively, alumni of the Asia-Pacific Amateur have gone on to win 27 tournaments on the PGA Tour to date and more than 130 across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
As the host nation, Japan will lead the list of up to 43 APGC member nations represented with 10 players in this year’s field. A player from Japan has won four of the 14 editions of the Championship (Matsuyama/2010, 2011; Takumi Kanaya/2018; Nakajima/2021).
–IANS
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