Ghosal 1st Indian to make Asiad final, Pallikal gets bronze

September 22, 2014

Incheon, Sep 22: Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian to enter the Asian Games final, beating 2006 champion Ong Beng Hee while Dipika Pallikal secured the country its maiden women's singles medal, a bronze, after losing the semifinal to world number one Nicol David here today.

Top seed and World No.16 Ghosal lived up to his billing, outplaying 35th-ranked Beng Hee of Malaysia 11-9 11-4 11-5 in 45 minutes on the glass court of Yeorumul Squash Courts.

Ghosal Pallikal
The two players have beaten each other once on the PSA professional tour but Ghosal had lost to Beng Hee in the team semifinal of the Asian Championships in June.

Ghosal today was too good for his 34-year-old Malaysian opponent, who had won gold in the 2002 Busan and 2006 Doha edition besides getting a bronze in Guangzhou four years ago.

It is certain now that the Indian will return home with a different medal colour after settling for back-to-back bronze in the last two editions.

He has already said that it is his best chance of winning a memorable gold. The final will be played tomorrow and Ghosal awaits the winner of the semifinal between Max Lee of Hong Kong and Abdullah Almezayen of Kuwait.

Earlier, World No.12 Pallikal could not better the colour of her assured bronze, losing to David in the women's singles semifinals.

The 23-year-old Indian was outplayed 4-11 4-11 5-11 by David, who took merely 25 minutes to storm into the final.

The top-seeded Malaysian came into the match as the overwhelming favourite, having won four titles in five attempts since the sport was introduced in the 1998 Bangkok Games.

And David was in top form from the word go today as well, hardly giving a chance to Pallikal, who had played a draining semifinal match against compatriot Joshana Chinappa yesterday.

India had won three medals (all bronze) out of four categories at Guangzhou 2010 and this time they look good for medals in all four categories including the team championships.

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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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