Union Sports Minister only listens to everybody! FSDL wants to reduce the AIFF-proposed amount
Looking forward to the resumption of the country’s premier football leagues this season, Indian football did not find any ray of hope even after a series of virtual meetings with Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday afternoon. The ISL clubs, the I-League clubs, cxountry’s a few leading broadcasters, and the FSDL, commercial partner of the AIFF, put their proposals to the Union Sports Minister accordingly since the afternoon. FSDL also had a separate meeting with the Union Sports Minister. Then, ISL and I-League club representatives had a meeting jointly in the evening with the Sports Minister, where the Joint-Secretary, Union Sports Ministry, the broadcasters, FSDL, and AIFF top brass were also present. It has been learned that no specific time frame has been given to the clubs regarding the resumption of the ISL and I-leagues this season. Union Sports Minister has only assured them of a response, which will be taken shortly, looking forward to the solution of this stalemate. It is also learned that after ISL clubs’ proposal to resume the ISL, bearing their own expenses, I-League club bosses urged the Sports Ministry to bring out a system in running the country’s premier leagues. One of the I-League club bosses revealed on condition of anonymity, “We urged for running of the Leagues systematically or make a merger of the ISL and elite I-League. If that cannot be done then a system must be there where relegation and promotion in the ISL must be applied. Promotion in the ISL has started, but that is also creating confusion. When a club is being promoted to ISL, is the respective club’s capacity to fulfil all financial terms for the ISL being monitored at all? We saw Mohammedan Sporting, that how they failed to pay salaries to their ISL footballers. We saw how they failed to clear the ISL coach’s salary. So, along with relegation, the system of promotion should be transparent.” However, FSDL in their assertion conveyed the message that Indian football does not have the financial value demanded by the AIFF in their initial tender. It meant, the company wants to pressure the AIFF to reduce the amount. One of the leading broadcasters pointed out that Indian football should have a proper structure. The broadcaster cited the example of India’s domestic cricket, which is played nearly six to eight months a year.
Prakash Padukone steps away from PPBA; Joins Padukone School of Academy set up by his daughter Deepika
After gracing the post of founder and managing director for more than three decades, iconic Prakash Padukone stepped away from Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA). The 70-year-old badminton legend has already joined a new venture named Padukone School of Badminton (PSB), which has been introduced by his daughter, actress Deepika Padukone. PSB has also started centres in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. While Prakash Padukone is the mentor of PSB, former India shuttler Aditya Prakash is the head coach. As its aftermath, PPBA’s name has been changed to Centre for Badminton Excellence (CBE). “Prakash wanted to retire and concentrate on other ventures, primarily the Padukone School of Badminton (PSB), which focuses on grassroots-level badminton programs,” CBE’s head coach U Vimal Kumar revealed. PPBA, co-founded in 1994 by Padukone, Vimal and Vivek Kumar, will continue to operate from the Centre for Sports Excellence, Bengaluru, with its current coaching team led by Vimal Kumar and supported by former India international Sagar Chopda, DK Sen (Lakshya Sen’s father), Umendra Singh Rana and international coaches Yong Sung Yoo and Irwansyah Adi Pratama. Lakshya Sen, the most famous product of PPBA, will continue to train at CBE with South Korean coach Yong while two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu will resume training with Indian women’s coach Irwansyah after she recovers from injury. Other Indian badminton players who train at CBE are Ayush Shetty, Kiran George, Devika Sihag and Isha Rani Barua. Prakash, while reacting to The Indian Express on his decision to quit PPBA, said, “This has not been an easy decision; it is one I arrived at after considerable reflection and after carefully weighing all the pros and cons. It was a privilege to work alongside the coaching teams, athletes, and partners over the past 3 decades. I remain deeply grateful for the trust and collaboration extended to me.”
Ravi Shastri warns under-pressure Gambhir! Advices him on how to handle pressure
Probably the whole cricketing world is aware of the fact that India’s coach Gautam Gambhir is going through hard times after a 2-0 Test series loss against South Africa. The first coach in India’s cricket history to concede two home-series losses has been facing aplenty of flak from fans as well as the former India internationals. However, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has shared some advice to Gambhir on how to handle the situation. Shastri has acknowledged that Gambhir could be fired, but asked him to deal with the matter calmly and patience. “If your performance is poor, you could be fired. Therefore, you need to maintain patience. Communication and man-management skills are crucial here,” said Shastri, in an interview with Prabhat Khabar, as quoted by Hindustan Times. “Only then can you motivate the players to win. And that’s what we did. The most important thing is to enjoy whatever you do. Don’t take it as pressure,” he added. During his tenure of a year and a half as India’s head coach, Gambhir has experienced some big highs and some devastating lows. During the period, Team India have won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the Asia Cup 2025 titles, clinching both trophies without losing a single game. However, India’s form in red-ball cricket has declined considerably. Under Gambhir, India have been whitewashed at home by New Zealand and South Africa, and have also lost to Australia Down Under. In the meantime, Gambhir’s relationship with star players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has also received scrutiny, with multiple reports stating that the head coach’s dynamic with the two stalwarts has soured over time. Gambhir’s next major assignment as India’s head coach comes in the form of the T20 World Cup 2026 on home soil, for which the hosts will be firm favourites.
In a rare decision, AFI issues a provisional ban on the Athlete and the coach for a doping offence
In a rare incident, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has issued provisional suspensions to gold-medal-winning middle-distance runner Sanjana Singh and her coach, Sandip Mann, for doping offences. Sanjana Singh trains under the guidance of Sandip Mann at Rohtak, Haryana. 18-year-old Sanjana Singh won two gold medals in the 1500 and 5000 meter events in the SAFF in October, and she tested positive for two steroids, methandienone and oxandrolone. The athlete, who turns 19 on December 23, has been provisionally suspended for the doping offence, according to the latest update on the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) website. The NADA also mentioned one athletics coach, Sandeep (without surname), who has been handed a provisional suspension for “Trafficking or Attempted Trafficking of Prohibited Substances”. Middle-distance runner Himanshu Rathi has also been provisionally suspended after he tested positive for stimulant mephentermine. Triple jumper Sheena Varkey, 33, has accepted a three-year suspension for Ligandrol (SARM) use under a ‘case resolution agreement’. She previously won silver at the Uttarakhand National Games this year. Distance runner Basanti Kumari, who competed in the 2025 World University Games marathon, tested positive for 19-norandrosterone. At the same time, triple jumper Sheena Varkey has accepted a three-year suspension for a Ligandrol (SARM) violation under the ‘case resolution agreement’. The 33-year-old Kerala jumper had won silver at the Uttarakhand National Games this year. Another athlete, Basanti Kumari, a distance runner who participated in the 2025 World University Games in a marathon, tested positive for 19-norandrosterone. Weightlifter Sankar Logeswaran, who won gold in the recent Khelo India University Games, was also provisionally suspended after testing positive for the steroid Drostanolone.
