IOC Young Leaders Programme welcomes 25 new recruits for 2025 to 2028

  

Out of more than 5,000 applications: IOC Young Leaders Programme welcomes 25 new recruits for 2025 to 2028

LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND), FEB 19 After receiving an overwhelming number of more than 5,000 applications, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced the selection of 25 new IOC Young Leaders for 2025 to 2028. The selected candidates will embark on a four-year journey to create grassroots sport-based initiatives aimed at addressing social issues in their communities.

The launch of this new cohort saw an unprecedented level of interest, with a remarkable 5,270 young people from 169 countries and territories registering for the first phase of selection. This overwhelming response highlights the growing commitment of young people to drive positive change through sport. "The selection of these 25 exceptional young leaders from diverse backgrounds underscores our commitment to empowering the next generation to build a better world through sport. The record number of applicants highlights how young people globally recognise the important role of sport in society,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Their innovative ideas and dedication to leveraging sport for positive social change inspire us all. We look forward to supporting them as they contribute to the Olympic Movement and make a meaningful impact in their communities. This is what the Olympic Movement stands for: building a better world through sport." Coming from 25 countries and territories across five continents, this new cohort of IOC Young Leaders brings together a diverse group of passionate changemakers who will work to develop innovative projects aligned with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this programme, the IOC Young Leaders will receive a bespoke four-year capacity-building programme that includes expert guidance and coaching, access to an extensive sport and sport-for-development network, and seed funding of USD 10,000, which will help them turn their ideas into impactful and sustainable initiatives. A growing community impacting over 55,000 lives Since its launch in 2016, the IOC Young Leaders Programme has supported 145 Young Leaders from 77 countries and territories, who have collectively delivered over 160 projects, positively impacting over 55,000 lives in communities worldwide. This initiative directly contributes to Olympism365, the IOC’s strategy to strengthen the role of sport as an enabler for the SDGs, by empowering young people to drive social change through innovative solutions. This year’s selection further expands the programme’s global reach, with IOC Young Leaders coming from countries that have not yet been represented in the programme: the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Poland and Zimbabwe. The 2025–2028 IOC Young Leaders The selected IOC Young Leaders 2025-2028 are: Africa Otim Ambrose (Uganda) Prince Apoh (Ghana) Jordan Joel (Nigeria) Audrey Oronda (Kenya) Nadine Taderera (Zimbabwe) Americas Guadalupe Beltrán (Argentina) Kyndall Hudson (USA) José López Aceves (Mexico) Ayanna Morgan (Barbados) SunMin Park (Canada) Camila Tauil Alves Barreira (Brazil) Rafael Valdivieso (Dominican Republic) Asia Chloé Abou Chabake (Lebanon) Laher Hiten Gala (India) Tin Sum Lee (Hong Kong, China) Sara Merican (Singapore) Amirtya Soerakoesoemah (Indonesia) Yenlik Ultarakova (Kazakhstan) Europe Oleksandra Boliak (Ukraine) Sofia Bonicalza (Italy) Marta Gorczyńska (Poland) Murhad Hussain (Great Britain) Eduardo Oliveira (Portugal) Georges Speyer (France) Oceania Kalinda Robinson (Australia). ====balbirsingh227@gmail.com

Egypt and United States remain perfect at FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 Oman 2025

Egypt and United States remain perfect at FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 Oman 2025

LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND), FEB 19 Day 2 of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 Oman 2025 witnessed more thrillers, with two strong contenders emerging in Egypt and United States, as both teams won a second consecutive match to start the tournament. Egypt's win also ensured them of a place in the semi-final that will be played on Saturday, 22 Feb, while USA are one point away from booking their place in the semi-final. Austria's narrow win over Scotland keeps Pool B completely open with all four teams having a chance of making it through on the final day of pool matches on Thursday, following a rest day tomorrow.  China 1 – 1 Poland For the second day in a row China made a lightning quick start to the game, however, unlike against Egypt yesterday, China managed to get on the board against Poland early with Chao Jeiming scoring with a back post tap in, in the second minute of the game. While both teams created plenty of chances in the first half, no more goals were scored with defences holding down the fort and not even conceding a penalty corner, despite multiple circle penetrations.     Poland were more threatening after the break, winning 6 penalty corners over the course of the second half, but the Chinese defence, especially keeper Gu Runze stood firm and kept the Polish out until the final minute. As China looked to protect their one goal lead, Polish pressure mounted and a poor tackle by Qijun Chen with 5 seconds left on the clock gave Poland a penalty stroke which was promptly smashed in by Gracjan Jarzyński to earn Poland a crucial point at the death to take their tally to 4 points in two games.  Chinese keeper Gu Runze was awarded player of the match for his stellar performance in the goal that almost led to a Chinese win, and ended up earning them their first point of the tournament.  Chile 1 – 3 Egypt An end to end start to the game saw Chile capitalise, converting on their first penalty corner of the game in the 6th minute through a roaring Juan Amoroso drag flick. It took Egypt multiple circle penetrations to score their opener but when they did it was glorious with Mohamed Nasr beating 4 defenders and the goalkeeper before passing it to Ahmed Elganaini who had an open goal to tap the ball into, levelling the score at 1-1 which would hold till the half time.     With a win guaranteeing a semi-final spot for Egypt, they had a huge opportunity midway through the third quarter to grab the lead through a penalty stroke, but the usually reliable Mahmoud Mamdouh put his effort wide, giving Chile a lifeline. Two penalty corner goals in the final quarter for Egypt finally put the game to bed, making Egypt the first semi-finalists at the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 Oman 2025!  Mohamed Nasr who created the opening goal for Egypt with his magical run was awarded player of the match, and speaking about his assist he said: “Ahmed and I play together a lot including in club hockey so we have a really good understanding. I knew if I could get the ball to him, he would be in the right place to finish and that's exactly what he did.”  Scotland 2 – 3 Austria Scotland were the stronger of the two European sides in the opening exchanges but it took them until the 26th minute to get the lead when Jamie Golden ripped a drag flick into the top left corner from Scotland’s third penalty corner of the game. Austria made some headway late in the final minutes of the opening half through a string of penalty corners, but Scotland’s stellar rush defence ensured they entered the half with the lead.     Austria didn’t have to wait long to equalise though, with Moritz Frey finding Josef Winkler who tapped the ball into an open goal less than five minutes into the second half. They also managed to snatch the lead in the final minute of the third quarter, where a busted penalty corner attempt still led to the ball ending up with captain Steyrer who converted from close range. Fulop Losonci added a third for the Red Capricorns doubling their lead in the final quarter, and while Golden scored his second to half the deficit late in the fourth quarter, Scotland couldn’t find the equaliser, giving all three points in the crucial tie to Austria.  USA 4 – 0 Oman Following a 10-1 loss on opening day, Oman were heavy underdogs coming into the game against USA, who looked amongst the strongest contenders on day one. But Oman gave a much better account of themselves in the opening half against USA, especially in the midfield where they played with much more control. USA still managed to get into the halftime break with a 1-0 lead, but Oman had a great chance to go level with a few seconds left in the half from a penalty corner, which was cleared off the line after an almighty scramble.  Two trends from their opening match followed USA into the second game. The first was a missed penalty stroke that could have doubled their lead early in the third quarter. The second one was more positive however with Sekayi Charasika scoring from a penalty corner for a second game in a row, doubling the Americans lead in the third quarter. Charasika added a second and Motta scored in the final minute as USA came away with the three points, and just one point away from securing a semi-final spot.  Sekayi Charasika was awarded the player of the match and gave a shout-out to his teammates, saying: “Really proud and happy at how the group welcomed me into the fold over the past couple of months. We started training together in December and to start the tournament with 2 wins in 2 games is a real pleasure.”  FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 – 18 February 2025 Hockey Oman Venue, Muscat, Oman  Result: Match 1  China 1-1 Poland Player of the match: Gu Runze (CHN) Umpires: Titus Mulwa (KEN), Ilanggo Kanabathu (MAS) Result: Match 2  Chile 1-3 Egypt Player of the match: Mohamed Nasr (EGY) Umpires: Jayden Pearson (AUS), Clare Barwood (WAL) Result: Match 3  Scotland 2-3 Austria Player of the match: Florian Hackl (AUT) Umpires: Tyler Klenk (CAN), Sourabh Rajput (IND) Result: Match 4 USA 4-0 Oman Player of the match: Sekayi Charasika (USA) Umpires: Benjamin Messerli (SUI), Sheena Hori (JPN). ====balbirsingh227@gmail.com

Yuvraj Sandhu and Manu Gandas enjoy two-shot advantage at halfway stage

  Yuvraj Sandhu and Manu Gandas enjoy two-shot advantage at halfway stage

 AHMEDABAD, FEB 19

Yuvraj Sandhu

Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Sandhu, winner of the PGTI season-opener last week, and Manu Gandas of Gurugram enjoyed a two-shot advantage at the halfway stage of the INR 1 crore Glade One presents Gujarat Open 2025 being played at the Glade One Golf Resort & Club, Ahmedabad.

Manu Gandas

Yuvraj (32-34) and Manu (31-35), a former winner at Glade One, were placed atop the leaderboard with identical totals of six-under 66 as they carded second-round scores of 34 and 35 respectively.

Saptak Talwar (34-34) of Greater Noida posted a second straight 34 to be placed third at four-under 68.

Defending champion Abhinav Lohan (36) and Ahmedabad’s Varun Parikh (34) were both placed tied 10^th at two-under 70.

The first two rounds of the event consisted of nine holes each. After the completion of 18 holes on Wednesday, the cut was applied at even-par 72. Fifty-two professionals made the cut.

The third and fourth rounds will now consist of 18 holes each. The tournament will be played over a total of 54 holes. The par for the course in the first two rounds was 36. The par for the course in the third and fourth rounds will be 72.

Yuvraj Sandhu produced two birdies on day two to rise one spot into the joint lead.

Overnight leader Manu Gandas continued on top of the pack as joint leader as a result of his two birdies and one bogey on Wednesday.

====balbirsingh227@gmail.com

Dalwinder Singh and Jaya Kapoor in semi-finals

 Dalwinder Singh and Jaya Kapoor in semi-finals

CHANDIGARH, FEB 19

Dalwinder Singh and Moksh Puri advanced into the semifinal in the men’s singles of the CLTA-AITA National Ranking Tennis Championship for Men & Women (Rs.1 Lakh prize money each) at the Sector !0 TEnnis Stadium here today.

Fourth seed Dalwinder Singh (PB) defeated fifth seed Mukul Ramanan (TN) 6-1, 6-2. Dalwinder played high level tennis and dominant throughout the match with his aggressive game style to beat his opponent without getting much pressure. Third seed Moksh Puri (DL) won from Omar Rehan Sumar (MH) 6-4, 6-1 in straight sets. 7^th seed Yash Yadav (MP) and Vatsal Manikantan (TN) also moved into the Semifinals.   

In the women’s singles Quarterfinals Qualifier Jaya Kapoor (UK) upset 3^rd seed Saily Prashantkumar Thakkar (GJ) in 3 setter match 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. 4^th seed Vidula Amar (KA) and Jasmine Rawat (HR) also advanced into Semifinals    

Results:

Men's  singles (q-finals):  Vatsal Manikantan (TN) bt. Jatin Nain (HR) 6-3, 6-1,  Moksh Puri (DL) [3] bt. Omar Rehan Sumar (MH) 6-4, 6-1,   Dalwinder Singh (PB) [4] bt. Mukul Ramanan (TN) [8] 6-1, 6-2 ,  Yash Yadav (MP) (Q) [7] bt. Sarthak Sudan (DL) [2] (Q) 6-3, 6-2. 

 Women’s  singles (q-finals):  Jasmine Rawat (HR) bt. Suhani Gaur (RJ) 6-3, 6-4,  Jaya Kapoor (UK) (Q) bt. Saily Prashantkumar Thakkar (GJ) [3] 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, Vidula Amar (KA) [4] bt. Divya Bhardwaj (GJ) [5] 6-1, 6-2,      Rutuparna Choudhary (OD) [2] bt. Jigyasa Narsinghani (RJ) 7-5, 6-3.

Men’s doubles (semi-finals):   Vatsal Manikantan (TN)/ Tanishq Mukesh Jadhav (MH) w/o Bikramjeet Singh Chawla (DL) / Aditya Kothari (DL),   Jatin Nain (HR) / Mayank Sharma (DL) bt. Priyanshu Choudhary (RJ) / Lokesh Pun (HR) 7-5, 6-4. 

Women’s  doubles (semi-finals):  Bhumika Dahiya (DL) / Ayushi Tanwar (RJ) bt. Shefali Arora (DL)/ Diya Ketan Desai (GJ) [1] 6-4, 6-1,  Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari (MH)/ Saily Prashantkumar Thakkar (GJ) [2] bt. Soni Prupti (GJ)/ Pal Upadhyay (GJ) 4-6, 6-2, 10-6 . 

=====balbirsingh227@gmail.com

German men dominate India as Spanish women rally to beat hosts

  

German men dominate India as Spanish women rally to beat hosts LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND), FEB 18  Germany’s men made the most of their scoring opportunities in their first match of the Bhubaneswar leg of the FIH Hockey Pro League on Tuesday, notching up a dominant victory over hosts India, reports FIH. It was also not the best of days for India’s women who squandered a lead on two occasions and eventually went down to Spain. In the day’s other fixture, England’s men were also guilty of giving up their lead against Spain, but they rallied for an extra point by winning the ensuing shootout.  (Men’s) England 2 – 2 Spain (SO: 1 – 0) England squandered a two-goal lead in the fourth quarter in their 2-2 draw with Spain but fought back to clinch the shootout and remain unbeaten in the competition so far. The first half was evenly contested with England creating the better chances from open play while Spain earned more penalty corners. Jacob Payton fired England ahead with his first international goal in the 13th minute, getting in behind the Spanish defence and making a first-time strike on the run. Sam Ward doubled England’s lead in the 32nd minute with a trademark drag flick, his 138th international goal taking him past Ashley Jackson at the top of the England and GB record books. The clock ran down on the third quarter without further goals, but the match was still very much alive heading into the final quarter. The Red Sticks hit back in the 49th minute when Nicolas Alvarez finished well off a long pass through the midfield. The momentum then swung in their favour when Bruno Font levelled the scores with an exceptional running deflection with seven minutes left on the clock. There were clear scoring opportunities at both ends of the pitch in an exciting finish, but neither team could find the winning goal and the match went to a shootout where England prevailed.    England goalkeeper James Mazarelo was named the player of the match and said: “I think we’re probably initially a little bit frustrated that we couldn’t get over the line in normal time, but then credit to the boys, it’s often really difficult to turn it around in a shootout after you’ve conceded two goals in the last quarter.”  (Women’s) India 3 – 4 Spain Spain came from behind twice in their exciting 4-3 win over hosts India. The Indians bossed the opening stages of a fast-paced first half, but it took 19 minutes before Baljeet Kaur opened the scoring with a deflection from open play. Sofia Rogoski responded almost immediately for Spain with a well-directed backstick shot from close range, and Estel Petchamé then fired them to a 2-1 lead with her 25th-minute penalty corner strike. There was plenty of action in an end-to-end third quarter. India put Spain under incredible pressure with a high press, earning Rana Sakshi a goal on debut when she dispossessed Spain outside their circle. The Spanish had some success in escaping the press, but it was Rutaja Dadaso Pisal who scrapped hard in the goalmouth to put India 3-2 ahead as the clock ran down on the quarter. India paid a heavy price for two lapses in concentration early in the fourth quarter. First Petchamé completed her brace for Spain in the 49th minute, playing to the whistle and levelling matters from a penalty corner rebound. Then Spanish captain Lucia Jimenez snatched the lead from a quickly taken free hit at the top of the circle. The hosts pulled their goalkeeper off and threw everything at chasing a goal, but they were impatient and turned over too much possession unnecessarily.    The player of the match was awarded to Spain’s Lucia Jimenez who said: “We are a young team, new team, and our goal was to just grow and keep fighting and just gain some points and I think we did a really good game. We had some mistakes and they made us pay for that because they are really a great team. I think it was an entertaining match.”   (Men’s) India 1 – 4 Germany Germany took their chances in a comprehensive 4-1 win over hosts India who couldn’t capitalise when they were in the ascendancy. The first half was played at a blistering pace with high-quality chances in both circles. India looked better in the opening exchanges, but the Germans claimed the lead through Florian Sperling in the 7th minute. India replied in the 13th with a series of neat passes in the circle for Gurjant Singh to tap in, but Thies Prinz scrambled one out of the air to restore the Germans’ lead within a minute. Play ebbed and flowed through the rest of the half and Germany led 2-1 at half time. India threatened without reward in a goalless third quarter, creating high-quality chances and earning three penalty corners. The match was still up for grabs heading into the final period and it was Germany who snatched the advantage, Michel Struthoff’s 48th-minute penalty corner rebound giving them a crucial two-goal cushion. The home side again failed from a flurry of penalty corners before Raphael Hartkopf sealed the result for Germany, scrambling one in on his knees in the goalmouth in the 55th minute.     Germany’s Moritz Ludwig was named player of the match and said: “I think we played defensively quite good, we were effective in the opponent’s D and defended with a big heart, so yes, we played good. Current Hero Top Scorers: Women – Freeke Moes (NED), Yibbi Jansen (NED), Jinzhuang Tan (CHN) (4 goals) Men – Sam Ward (ENG) (9 goals) Kalinga Hockey Stadium, Bhubaneswar, India (IND) Women Result: Match 23 (W) India 3 - 4 Spain Player of the match: Lucia Jimenez (ESP) Umpires: Timothy Sheahan (AUS), Junko Wagatsuma (JPN), Tamara Leonard (AUS-video)  Men Result: Match 21 (M) England 2 - 2 Spain (SO: 1 - 0) Player of the match: James Mazarelo (ENG) Umpires: Ahmed Elsayed (EGY), Annelize Rostron (RSA), Rawi Anbananthan (MAS-video)  Result: Match 22 (M) India 1 - 4 Germany Player of the match: Moritz Ludwig (GER) Umpires: Wanri Venter (RSA), Bevan Nichol (NZL), Annelize Rostron (RSA-video)