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Disappointed, hurt that squash not part of Olympics: Dipika Pallikal

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8 years ago

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1Dipika-Pallikal-1Mumbai: With squash failing in three consecutive bids since 2005 to become part of the Olympic programme, Indian star Dipika Pallikal expressed her disappointment on Sunday and said she and other top players are hurt the sport hasn’t got deserving place in the quadrennial Games.

Squash was kept among eight sports short-listed for possible inclusion at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo but eventually failed to make be in the five sports that were recommended by the host nation in September last year.

Squash is being played in more than 185 countries and World Squash Federation president Narayana Ramachandran was left devastated after the sport was not included in the Tokyo Games.

“For every athlete, being part of Olympics is the biggest thing and it is a dream to win medals. It obviously hurts, and we are disappointed that our sport is doing well in all the spheres and still failed to win Olympic bid,” Dipika, an adidas athlete who is promoting the initiative adidas uprising, told IANS in an exclusive interview on Sunday.

“Our sport is an Olympic sport and deserves to be there. We are proud what squash has done over the years,” she said.

In September 2013, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reinstated wrestling in the 2020, 2024 Olympics.

English squash star Nick Matthew earlier pointed out that the Professional Squash Association (PSA) should take over Olympic bid from World Squash Federation (WSF), and Dipika seconded him. She believes that with quality members present in the PSA, it can push the sport into the Olympics.

“We all agree…what PSA has done for us. We have grown a lot because of PSA and players. PSA will definitely bring big difference, and people who are there know and having played the game, understand it more,” the 24-year-old said.

The World No.17 backed out of the individual event of the ongoing South Asian Games in Shillong due a shoulder injury while playing the quarter-final in the Cleveland Classic held in Ohio, US. But she will compete in the team event.

“I backed out because I have injury on my shoulder. I needed more rest before I play the team event. I hope Joshna Chinappa (World No.13) does well in the individual event. We all know she can win gold,” the Chennai-born said.

“I wanted to play in the team as I knew without me it will be 50-50 chance. Saurav Ghosal (World No.18) is there in men’s and we have a good team. We have good chance to win four gold medals,” said Dipika, the first Indian to break into the top 10 in the WSA rankings.

Speaking about the rising status of Indian women sportspersons — starting from tennis star Sania Mirza to badminton’s Saina Nehwal and herself in squash, the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games doubles gold medal winner said, “Women’s sport in the country is growing really well. Girls should really take up sport and play. Thinking has changed in the country. Now we have role models who have done that.”

The Arjuna Award and Padma Shri award winner stressed that besides her, Joshna and Saurav, the country lacks young talent who can replace the big three in future.

“After me, Joshna, Saurav there is not so much potential that you can look up to, who will take Joshna’s or Saurabh’s place. Unfortunately, I can’t say that we have juniors who are good enough. We have to go back to drawing board to find new talent,” she bemoaned.

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Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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2 years ago

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June 25, 2022

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PureWin Online Betting

The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index

Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.

The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports

Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.

All for the Tourists

The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.

“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.

To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.

Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market

With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.

Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.

Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.

Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting

Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.

Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.

The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.

If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.

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