Sport

Paris to kick off 2024 Games under tight security

Starting at 7:30 p.m. (1530 GMT), in broad daylight, the ceremony, which marks the official start of the Paris 2024 Games, will pass by many of the French capital’s beloved landmarks, including the Louvre museum and Pont des Arts bridge.

Published

9 months ago

July 26, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: )

France aims to wow the world on Friday with an extravagant Olympics opening ceremony through the heart of Paris, officially kicking off a Games fraught with security risks at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, Reuters reported.

Some 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers and 2,000 private security staff will ensure the safety of the parade along the river Seine, its banks and surrounding monuments, in an unprecedented display of security.

A procession of barges will take nearly 7,000 athletes along the river past Paris’s most famous landmarks, while more than 300,000 spectators will watch from the banks.

Since the last Olympics in Beijing in 2022, wars have erupted in Ukraine and Gaza, providing a tense backdrop to the Games. France is at its highest level of security – though officials have repeatedly said there is no specific threat to the opening ceremony or the Games.

As part of a vast security operation, authorities have turned to powers passed under an anti-terror law, placing 155 people under surveillance measures that strictly limit their movement, according to official data and a Reuters review of cases.

Meanwhile, Israeli competitors are being escorted by elite tactical units to and from events and given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics, officials say.

Scores of world leaders will be in Paris for the opening ceremony, which will be protected by snipers on rooftops. The Seine’s riverbed has been swept for bombs, and Paris’ airspace will be closed, read the report.

For the Games more generally, radar-surveillance planes and Reaper drones will watch sensitive sites from above, and Mirage 2000 fighter jets will be on standby to intercept aircraft straying into restricted airspace.

EVERYTHING READY

“Everything is ready,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a video he posted on X. “Even the (Olympics) rings are there,” he said, overlooking the Eiffel tower. “Enjoy the Games!”

Macron, who won a second mandate two years ago, had hoped the Olympics would cement his legacy.

But his failed bet on a snap legislative election has weakened him and is casting a shadow over his moment on the international stage.

High security also means much grumbling from locals, after police imposed a security zone along the river ahead of the opening ceremony, erecting metal barriers to fence off neighbourhoods and requiring authorisation – passes with QR codes – to enter.

Cafes along the banks of the Seine, which normally buzz with activity in the summer, have been left very quiet due to the restrictions.

That has not helped lift the national mood over the Olympics, which Macron will hope improves once the Games have properly started.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means Moscow’s usually huge delegation of athletes has been reduced to 15 who met and accepted eligibility requirements to compete as neutrals, according to a list published by the IOC on July 20.

Belarus will send 17 athletes competing as neutrals, Reuters reported.

Ukraine is sending 140 athletes – its smallest contingent since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

FLOATING PARADE

“We’re going to take advantage of all the historic monuments around the Seine, and there won’t be a single riverbank or bridge that won’t be filled with music, dance, or performance,” the ceremony’s choreographer Maud Le Pladec, opens new tab has said.

It will the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside of a stadium.

Details including some of the artists taking part, who will be the last to carry the torch and light the Olympic cauldron to mark the start of the Games, have been kept secret.

The artistic team said they had been rehearsing in private to keep it all under wraps.

One big unknown for the open-air ceremony is the weather. It is currently forecast to be cloudy, while organisers were hoping there would be a “golden hour” of sunset lighting up buildings midway through the ceremony.

More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since Paris last staged the Games. Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday. The closing ceremony will take place on Aug. 11, read the report.

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Sport

IPL 2025: League boss says tournament could grow to 94-match format in 2028

IPL expanded to its current 74-match format in 2022 following the sale of the Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) franchises.

Published

2 days ago

April 28, 2025

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: )

IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal said this week that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is actively considering expanding the Indian Premier League (IPL) season to a whopping 94-match format for the next media-rights cycle, which will start in 2028.

However, the board has no plans to introduce new franchises.

IPL expanded to its current 74-match format in 2022 following the sale of the Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) franchises.

There had however been plans to grow the format to 84 matches for this year’s season but this did not materialize due to time constraints and broadcasters’ aversion to too many double-headers.

However, Dhumal told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview that an expansion from 2028 is possible.

“Definitely, that might be an opportunity,” Dhumal said. “We’ve been discussing in ICC, we’ve been discussing in-house in BCCI.

“Given how the interest of the fan is changing with regard to bilateral and ICC events, in regard to franchise cricket and T20 cricket, we’ll have to talk more seriously about it and see how we can create maximum value for the stakeholders of the game.

“Ideally, we’d want a larger window, or to maybe go on from 74 to 84 or 94 at some point… So that every team gets to play against every team home and away, for that, you need 94 games.

“Given the window and the kind of commitments that we have with regards to bilateral cricket and ICC events, that may not be possible in the short term. But given the landscape, how it is changing and evolving over the years, maybe at some point in time we would look and take that option,” he said.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the duration of the IPL’s window will form part of the discussions next year when boards thrash out the details of the next future tours programme (FTP).

Officials at multiple franchises have told ESPNcricinfo that they would prefer a 94-match season, but an increase would likely depend on broadcaster interest.

TV and streaming numbers typically drop midway through the IPL season, which broadcasters privately attribute to viewer fatigue. The 2025 edition will stretch to nine weeks, with 12 double-headers scheduled, and an increase to a full home-and-away season would likely require two more weeks in the international calendar.

Dhumal described the IPL 2025 season as a success, hailing the “competitive spirit” among teams and the emergence of several young Indian players. He also believes that it would be good for the IPL to have a first-time champion this season, with Delhi Capitals (DC), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Punjab Kings(PBKS) and LSG all in the mix for the playoffs at this stage.

“Every year, it’s been growing,” Dhumal said. “We are very glad how the fans have loved this tournament, and the broadcast numbers and in-stadia numbers are all phenomenal. We are hoping to carry on with this being a special edition, the 18th edition. We are very sure that it’ll continue to grow in the way we’ve seen over the last 17 years.”

Sport

Afghanistan A to play one-off Test against Sri Lanka A

A number of players in the squad have however already played in the national side.

Published

2 days ago

April 28, 2025

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: )

Afghanistan A and Sri Lanka A will take on each other from Tuesday in an unofficial Test – which will make up part of the process to increase the importance of red-ball cricket in Afghanistan.

A number of players in the squad have however already played in the national side.

All Squads

Afghanistan A

Bahir Shah, Darwish Rasooli, Ijaz Ahmad Mehri, Imran Mir, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Malik, Ismat Alam, Shams Ur Rahman, Zia-ur-Rehman, Afsar Zazai (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Arab Gul, Bashir Ahmad, Fareed Ahmad, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Khalil Gurbaz, Mohammad Ibrahim, Mohammad Saleem, Yama Arab, Ziaur Rahman.

Sri Lanka A

Kamil Mishara, Nuwanidu Fernando, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Pavan Rathnayake, Ravindu Rasantha, Sonal Dinusha, Wanuja Sahan, Lahiru Udara (WK), Sadeera Samarawickrama (WK), Asanka Manoj, Dilshan Madushanka, Dilum Sudeera, Isitha Wijesundara, Milan Rathnayake, Shiran Fernando, Tharindu Ratnayake.

Sport

Patel and Mendis help Sunrisers beat Kings in Dhoni’s 400th T20

Fast bowler Harshal Patel grabbed four wickets and Kamindu Mendis showed his allround skill as Sunrisers Hyderabad upstaged Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in Chennai on Friday.

Published

4 days ago

April 26, 2025

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: )

Patel grabbed 4-28 and was ably assisted by skipper Pat Cummins and Jaydev Unadkat — both finishing with identical figures of 2-21 — to dismiss the home team for a below-par 154 in 19.5 overs.

South African youngster Dewald Brevis was the top scorer for the Kings with a blistering 25-ball 42, cracking four sixes and a boundary on his debut for the franchise.

Skipper M.S. Dhoni failed to make his 400th T20 a memorable occasion, managing just six runs and coming out on the losing side.

Sunrisers achieved the target in 18.4 overs for the loss of five wickets with Ishan Kishan leading the way with a solid 34-ball 44 with five boundaries and a six.

Mendis struck an unbeaten 32 off 22 balls, adding 49 in an unbroken sixth wicket stand with Nitish Kumar Reddy who finished with a 13-ball 19 not out.

The victory lifted Sunrisers to eighth on the 10-team table topped by Gujrat Titans with 12 points in eight matches while five-time champions Kings are at the bottom with four points in nine.

Patel, declared man-of-the-match, attributed discipline as the key for his fine bowling.

“I figured out pretty early that hitting it on a good length around the stumps was important because it was hard to hit with the horizontal bat,” said Patel.

Dhoni blamed losing a cluster of wickets for the poor batting show.

“I think we kept losing wickets and another thing is in the first innings the wicket was slightly better,” said Dhoni. “A total of 157 wasn’t a justifiable score.”

Earlier, Chennai Super Kings were rocked by Sunrisers’s pacer Patel who ripped through the middle and lower-order batting.

The home team started on a wrong note when opener Shaik Rasheed was caught in the slip off the very first delivery of the match by fast bowler Mohammad Shami.

Seventee-year-old Ayush Mhatre was impressive in his 19-ball 30, which was studded with six boundaries, while Ravindra Jadeja managed 21 with a six and a boundary.

Jadeja’s dismissal brought Dhoni to the crease as the crowd roared to welcome their hero in his 400th T20 match but Dhoni’s stay lasted for just ten balls.

It was Brevis who assured Kings get past 150 with some lusty hitting.

Deepak Hooda also chipped in with a 21-ball 22 with a six and a boundary.