In the epic Mahabharata, Droṇāchārya was the 3rd incarnation of Brahma, an avatar of Brihaspati and was the royal preceptor to the Kauravas and Pandavas. He was a master of advanced military arts, including the divine weapons or Astras.
Some consider Droṇāchārya as a casteist due to his pervert behavior towards Ekalavya, the son of a Nishadha chief, who came to him for instruction. Droṇāchārya refused to train Ekalavya along with the kshatriya princes because Ekalavya was not a kshatriya prince but hailed from a lower caste.
Holding Droṇāchārya in high esteem as his virtual guru, Ekalavya made a clay idol of Droṇāchārya, and began his study of archery by himself in front of the idol. Through his steadfast determination and practice Ekalavya became a warrior of exceptional prowess and proclaimed that he was a pupil of Droṇāchārya.
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Ekalavya’s Guru Dakshina (Author: Ramnadayandatta Shastri Pandey)
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But Droṇāchārya had a strong bias in favor of Arjuna, his favourite pupil and.had promised him that he would train him as the world’s greatest archer. So, to prevent Ekalavya from excelling Arjun, the perverted Droṇāchārya demanded that Ekalavya cut off the thumb of his right hand and offer it as Guru Dakshina (fee) for proclaiming that he, Droṇāchārya, was his teacher. Immediately, Ekalavya severed his thumb and offered it to Droṇāchārya, his evered guru though he was aware that by doing so, he would lose his prowess as an archer.
Ironically, the Indian Government now presents the Dronacharya Award for excellence in “Sports Coaching” in the name of Droṇāchārya, the biased casteist guru.
On February 15, 2017, BCCI announced the schedule of Vivo IPL 2017 (IPL 10) matches. A total of 60 matches will be played from April 5, 2017, to May 21, 2017,across 10 Indian cities.
Venues
The following have been chosen as venues for the Vivo IPL 2017 tournament:
In this month of April as in years before, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is again set to enthral the cricket fans across the globe.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the schedule for the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament.
For the second consecutive year, BCCI has confirmed Vivo as title sponsor of the 10th edition of Indian Premier League’s T20 event.
Like last year, this year too, the former IPL three times champions Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royal will not participate in the tournament.
The Teams participating in
Vivo Indian Premier League 2017 (IPL 10)
The Captains of the teams participating in
Vivo Indian Premier League 2017 (IPL 10)
On February 19, 2017, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was removed as captain of IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiants and replaced by Australian Steve Smith.
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The Captains of IPL 2017 teams
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Captains of the IPL 2017 teams. Left to Right:
Delhi Daredevils: Zaheer Khan (India)
Gujarat Lions: Suresh Raina (India)
Kings XI Punjab: David Miller (South Africa)
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (India)
Rising Pune Supergiants: Steve Smith (Australia)
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (India)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (India)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (Australia)
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Broadcasters and Digital Streaming Platforms for IPL 2017
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the list of broadcasters and digital streaming platforms around the world. Several broadcasting networks and television channels will bring live coverage of Vivo IPL 2017 across the globe.
In India, Sony Pictures Network (SPN) has bagged the global rights to broadcast all the IPL matches live on Sony SIX, Sony SIX HD, Sony Max, Sony Max HD for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives & their respective territories, Commonwealth & possessions.
Broadcasting Rights
Vivo Indian Premier League 2017 (IPL 10)
Country/Region
Broadcaster
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives & their respective territories, Commonwealth & possessions
Sony Pictures Network (SPN) – Sony SIX, Sony SIX HD, Sony Max, Sony Max HD, Hotstar
Indian subcontinent
Cricketgateway.com
Afghanistan
Lemar TV & Cricketgateway.com
Australia
Cricketgateway.com
Bangladesh
Bong BD and Cricketgateway.com
Caribbean
Sportsmax and Flow TV
Canada
Cricketgateway.com & Ethnic channel group
European territory
Talk Radio
Hong Kong
Now TV & Cricketgateway.com
Malaysia
Astro & Cricketgateway.com
(MENA Counties) – Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen only
OSN Rights
New Zealand
Sky NZ
SEA
Cricketgateway.com
Singapore
Singtel, Starhub, Eleven sports (OTT) and Cricketgateway.com
South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa Sport
SuperSport
South America
Cricketgateway.com
United Kingdom Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man & Channel Island & the European territories & possessions only
The mark of the highest skill of a snooker player is the ability to score a century break.
In snooker, English billiards and in other British usages, a century or century break is the scoring of 100 points or more, potting at least 26 consecutive balls from the break off until clearing the table in a frame.
English professional snooker and pool player Ronald Antonio O’Sullivan, OBE (born December 5, 1975), has described a player’s first career century as the “ultimate milestone for any snooker player“.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan at Snooker German Masters 2015 in Berlin (Photo: DerHexer)
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Ronnie O’Sullivan, widely considered as one of the greatest players in the sport’s history is known for his rapid playing style. Due to his mercurial temperament and ambivalent relationship with the sport, Ronnie O’Sullivan has taken prolonged period of leave and has repeatedly threatened to retire from the sport.
O’Sullivan’s achievements in snooker began at an early age. As a child snooker prodigy, he made his first century break at age 10, and his first maximum break at age 15.
In 1992, at the age of 16, O’Sullivan turned professional and because of his rapid playing style earned the nickname “The Rocket“.
O’Sullivan’s achieved his first major professional success by winning the 1993 UK Championship at the age of 17 years and 358 days, making him the youngest player ever to win a ranking title – a record he still holds.
He is also the youngest player to have won his first title in 1995 at the age of 19 years and 69 days.
Over 20,000 century breaks have been recorded by snooker players in professional tournaments.
A century of centuries is the achievement of 100 or more century breaks in a career, a feat few players have achieved to date. Only Neil Robertson has achieved one hundred 100s in a single season, during 2013/2014.
The following players are reported to have passed 100 breaks and at least the given threshold (in 50 break increments) above this, and Ronnie O’Sullivan tops the list with 850.
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The Triple Crown is a collective term used for the three most prestigious major snooker tournaments: the UK Championship, the Masters, and the World Championship. In Triple Crown events, O’Sullivan’s has a record of five UK Championship titles, a record seven Masters titles, and five World Championship titles.
Stephen Hendry has a record of 36 ranking titles. O’Sullivan’s career total of 28 ranking titles puts him in joint second place with Steve Davis and John Higgins and in snooker’s all-time prize-money list, his career earnings of over £8 million put him in second place after Hendry.
As a prolific break-builder, O’Sullivan holds the record for the most competitive career century breaks with 863. He also holds the record for the 13 maximum breaks, the most ratified in professional competition, and for the three fastest competitive maximum breaks, the quickest of which he played in 5 minutes and 20 seconds at the 1997 World Championship.
Shraddha Shukla from Kanpur’s Cantonment area swam 10 km from Ganga Barrage to Siddhnath ghat at age six and a year later she swam 6 km from Kanpur to Unnao. On August 11, 2013, when she was eight, she covered 16 km downstream in just 80 minutes nipping 10 minutes from her earlier best. The following year, Shraddha swam to Allahabad from Massacre ghat in less than a week.
On Sunday, August 28, 2016, the 12-year-old Shraddha Shukla was ready to set a record by swimming 570 km in the swollen Ganga from Kanpur to Varanasi in 10 days. She plunged into the river Ganga at Massacre Ghat, Kanpur at 11:10 am and scheduled to reach Varanasi on Tuesday, September 6, 2016. According to her father and coach Lalit Shukla, she would set a record by swimming about 70 km a day with breaks after every four to five hours. The total distance covered would equal 13 Olympic marathons.
Lalit Shukla hopes his daughter if selected to take part in the Olympics would win a gold medal for India.
A Mumbai-based senior Indian journalist and documentary filmmaker, Vinod Kapri, who in 2014 won a National Award for the documentary film “Can’t Take This Shit Anymore” contacted Lalit Shukla.
For two days, Vinod Kapri along with three of his associates travelled on Lalit Shukla’s boat. He noticed that most of the time Shraddha Shukla travelled in the boat instead of swimming and whenever they approached a ghat or when people were around she dropped into the waters and swam. So, according to Vinod Kapri, the girl swam only when spectators were present.
When Kapri questioned why Shraddha swam only two to three km per day instead of 70 Kms, covering most of the distance on the boat, Lalit got irritated and threatened him. Kapri then hired a motor boat for himself and his team.
While waiting near Vindhychal ghat in Mirzapur, Kapri and his team spotted Lalit Shukla’s boats and started filming. They found the girl sitting in the boat with her father. When the team started filming, Lalit Shukla hurled abuses and issued life threats.
Lalit Shukla repudiated Vinod Kapri’s claim that his daughter swam only when spectators were present. He said that after every 15-20 km they pulled the girl out of the water to apply a cream on her body and give her something to eat.
The Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (UPSCPCR) ordered a probe into the alleged violation of rights of the 12-year-old swimmer, who is said to have covered a distance of 570 km in 10 days.
Virat Kohli (c), Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Lokesh Rahul (wk), Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Sachin Baby, Iqbal Abdulla, Chris Jordan, Sreenath Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal
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Bench
Abu Nechim, Akshay Karnewar, David Wiese, Harshal Patel, Kane Richardson, Kedar Jadhav, Mandeep Singh, Parvez Rasool, Praveen Dubey, Sarfaraz Khan, Tabraiz Shamsi, Travis Head, Varun Aaron, Vikas Tokas, Vikramjeet Malik
Chepauk Super Gillies
TUTI Patriots
VB Thiruvallur Veerans
Lyca Kovai Kings
Dindigul Dragons
Impressions 