Neeraj Chopra becomes Audi India’s new brand ambassador
India’s Olympic gold medalist and World Champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra joined hands with Audi India as an ambassador, marking a collaboration bringing together two entities powered by performance, precision, and a progressive mindset. Chopra, whose historic javelin throw gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 captured the nation’s imagination, with this partnership, celebrates the shared values between the athlete and the brand – world-class performance, explosive speed, and iconic stature. Neeraj expressed his admiration for the brand, saying, “I’ve always admired Audi – not just for the cars, but for what the brand stands for. As an athlete, these values resonate deeply with me. Whether it’s on the field or in life, the pursuit of excellence never stops. I’m excited to join the Audi family and represent a brand that inspires forward motion in everything it does.” Neeraj, who followed up his Olympic Gold with top spots at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and World Championships, would later win Silver at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Recently at the Doha Diamond League, he made history by becoming the first Indian javelin thrower to breach the 90-m mark.
The First Kolkata Derby this season might be on the 9th of August
The first ‘Kolkata Derby’ between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan Super Giants in the coming season might take place in the Durand Cup at the Salt Lake Stadium on 9th August. Durand Cup is going to take place from 22nd July to 25th August across six venues which are Kolkata (VYBK/Kishore Bharati Krirangan), Imphal (Khuman Lampak Stadium), Ranchi (Morhabadi Stadium) Jamshedpur (JRD Tata Sports Complex), Shillong (JLN Stadium) and Kokrajhar (Sai Stadium). Significantly, The prestigious tournament which will witness 14 teams from the ISL, I-league and two teams from Indian Army, has been granted Rs 25 lakh by the Union Sports Ministry for the organization of the tournament. It is believed that Mohun Bagan Super Giants management has decided to field the club’s reserve squad that will have a few experienced footballers who took part in the ISL. On the other hand, East Bengal which is in the process of building up the team are likely to participate in the competition with full strength, to salvage some pride from their last season’s overall misery. It is also learned that East Bengal has already signed a preliminary contract with a Palestinian professional footballer Mohammed Rashid. According to Husam Younis, the assistant coach of Palestine youth team, Rashid is very hard working boy. He is a fighter of the game, a true warrior. He always looks for challenges. No matter how difficult the challenge is, he always wants to win challenge.
Juyel ensures a berth in the Indian team for Youth World Championship defying severe odds in the selection trial
Juyel Sarkar, a student of Bengal Archery Academy in Jhargram, West Bengal, secured his place in the Indian youth squad for the Youth World Championship and Asia Cup this year. But it was not easy for Juyel to make the Indian team. The selection trials for the Youth World Cup and Asia Cup at Pune witnessed torrential rain and treacherous and strong winds. Still, the 19-year-old archer who earned competence in international archery under the tutelage of Olympian Rahul Banerjee at DRB Academy, Kolkata did not give up and maintained supremacy. On his way back to Kolkata, Juyel expressed gratitude to his Rahul sir and said, “The weather condition was challenging. I am happy to have made a formidable score in the trial.” Rahul Banerjee however heaped a lot of praise on his student and explained, “The weather condition was hugely challenging. Additionally, a new scoring format was experimented for the first time. Still, Juyel maintained the supremacy, gaining an overall score of 15.2 in the trial. I changed his shooting technique and I feel that clicked in the selection trial. This part, he brought a noticeable change in his temperament, showing more determination and aggression nowadays.” The youth World Championship will be held in Canada in August while Asia Cup will take place in Shanghai and this will be the fourth time Juyel will be donning India shirts.
