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U-17 to boost Indian football: Sports Minister

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Kolkata, Oct 29 (IANS) The success of FIFA Under-17 World Cup will motivate India’s upcoming footballers to improve their game, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said on Sunday, adding he hoped they will be able to qualify for the World Cup in near future.

The Olympics silver medallist, present at the Saturday’s U-17 World Cup prize distribution ceremony here, said big sporting organisations like FIFA now have started giving importance to India and the country should make the best use of it.

“We have got the start. We should not stop here. I hope we get the U-20 World Cup, so that the start gets even bigger momentum. I believe if things go on like this, it is not far when India will play in a World Cup on their own,” Rathore said.

He said it was a matter of pride that the U-17 World Cup was hosted in India.

“It has taken India’s importance at the world level to greater heights. Now the big competitions and sports which were earlier non-existent in India are feeling the need to come to this country,” he said.

Rathore said the fans’ response was fantastic and broke all the records of the most attended World Cup ever.

Rathore described the success of the World Cup as an opportunity to popularise soccer across India as the game is popular only in a few regions like West Bengal, Goa and North East.

“We will take full responsibility from the Centre by bringing up more infrastructure and prepare elite athletes by looking after their funding and resources. You have seen the overall infrastructure and the modifications that have come in place have been very satisfying. We now need to be prepared for the upcoming competitions,” he said.

Conveying his “heartfelt thanks” to all fans here, the former shooter said, “Kolkata has sports lovers. They understand the sport better. They waited for the ceremony to get over even after the match was over. They showed respect to both the teams.”

–IANS
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia

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The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.

Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.

Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”

Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.

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