AFP Asia

Indian sport is battling to shake off its reputation for being one of the world’s worst doping offenders as the country pushes an ambitious bid to host the 2036 Olympics.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has raised concerns about the number of Indian competitors taking performance-enhancing drugs and so too has the country’s best-known athlete.The 2021 Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra made a blunt admission earlier this year.”Doping is a big problem in India among our athletes,” he told local media, saying they instead should “eat well, rest well and work hard”.The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) last month formed a new anti-doping panel after the IOC flagged India’s poor record.The government has passed a new national anti-doping bill aiming to tighten enforcement, expand testing facilities and “ensure the highest standards of integrity” in sports.”Obviously the IOC would want to make sure that in awarding the Games to a country, the host has a robust doping policy and governance,” Michael Payne, former IOC marketing director, told AFP.The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) lists India among the worst offenders among nations submitting more than 1,000 samples.India’s national anti-doping agency, NADA, insists the figures reflect more aggressive testing in the nation of 1.4 billion people.From 5,606 samples collected in 2023, 213 came back positive.The synthetic steroid stanozolol is the most widely used banned substance taken by Indian athletes, experts say.                                      – Careers at stake -Despite its vast population India has won only 10 Olympic golds in its history. Experts say desperation to add to that and escape poverty is one reason why some Indian athletes are prepared to risk doping.Success in sports can be a ticket to coveted government jobs, often with the police or armed forces.That provides life-long financial security after their sporting careers end.”Athletes know that they can be punished but still put their careers at stake,” lawyer Saurabh Mishra, who has defended athletes in doping scandals, said.”(They know that) getting a medal will help them clinch a government job.”Athletics leads India’s doping violations, followed by wrestling, where 19 athletes were recently banned.In July under-23 wrestling champion and Paris Olympics quarter-finalist Reetika Hooda tested positive and was provisionally suspended.Mishra said some athletes are victims of ignorance, consuming banned substances through supplements or medicines, but others take risks knowingly.Sometimes they are encouraged by their coaches to dope.Sports medicine expert Saranjeet Singh, who has written extensively on doping in India, said a recent surge in violations was only partly due to stricter testing.”They cannot achieve the level of performance that they want at international level and use banned drugs for a short cut,” Singh told AFP.- Bigger hurdles -India now faces a race to prove its credibility, as it competes with the likes of Indonesia, Turkey, Chile and Qatar for the 2036 Games.The former IOC marketing director Payne noted that many past Olympic hosts had chequered doping histories.While doping is an issue, India’s greater obstacle to staging an Olympics lies elsewhere, he said.”The bigger issue is confidence in the overall operational delivery capabilities of the host, and there India has a lot of work to do,” Payne said.He was referring to the corruption-riddled 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, memories of which still linger. “That is the biggest hurdle facing India’s bid,” Payne said.

The fields are full but the paddy brown and wilted, and the air thick with the stench of rotting crops and livestock — the aftermath of record monsoon rains that have devastated India’s breadbasket.In Punjab, often dubbed the country’s granary, the damage is unprecedented: floods have swallowed farmlands almost the size of London and New York City combined.India’s agriculture minister said in a recent visit to the state that “the crops have been destroyed and ruined”, and Punjab’s chief minister called the deluge “one of the worst flood disasters in decades”.Old-timers agree.”The last time we saw such an all-consuming flood was in 1988,” said 70-year-old Balkar Singh in the village of Shehzada, 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of the holy Sikh city of Amritsar.The gushing waters have reduced Singh’s paddy field to marshland and opened ominous cracks in the walls of his house. Floods and landslides are common during the June-September monsoon season on the subcontinent, but experts say climate change, coupled with poorly planned development, is increasing their frequency, severity and impact.Punjab saw rainfall surge by almost two-thirds compared with the average rate for August, according to the national weather department, killing at least 52 people and affecting over 400,000.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a relief package worth around $180 million for Punjab.- ’10 feet high’ -The village of Toor, sandwiched between the Ravi river and Pakistan, is in tatters — strewn with collapsing crops, livestock carcasses and destroyed homes.”The water came past midnight on August 26,” said farm worker Surjan Lal. “It rose up to at least 10 feet (three metres) in a matter of minutes.”Lal said the village in Punjab’s worst-affected Gurdaspur district was marooned for nearly a week. “We were all on rooftops,” he said. “We could do nothing as the water carried away everything from our animals and beds.”In adjacent Lassia, the last Indian village before the frontier, farmer Rakesh Kumar counted his losses. “In addition to the land I own, I had taken some more on lease this year,” said the 37-year-old. “All my investment has just gone down the drain.”To make things worse, Kumar said, the future looked bleak.He said he feared his fields would not be ready in time to sow wheat, the winter crop of choice in Punjab.”All the muck has to first dry up and only then can the big machines clear up the silt,” he said.Even at the best of times, bringing heavy earth-movers into the area is a tall order, as a pontoon bridge connecting it to the mainland only operates in the lean months.For landless labourers like 50-year-old Mandeep Kaur, the uncertainty is even greater. “We used to earn a living by working in the big landlords’ fields but now they are all gone,” said Kaur.Her house was washed away by the water, forcing her to sleep in the courtyard under a tarpaulin sheet — an arrangement fraught with danger as snakes slither all over the damp land.- Basmati blues -Punjab is the largest supplier of rice and wheat to India’s food security programme, which provides subsidised grain to more than 800 million people.Analysts say this year’s losses are unlikely to threaten domestic supplies thanks to large buffer stocks, but exports of premium basmati rice are expected to suffer.”The main effect will be on basmati rice production, prices and exports because of lower output in Indian and Pakistan Punjab,” said Avinash Kishore of the International Food Policy Research Institute in New Delhi.Punishing US tariffs have already made Indian basmati less competitive, and the floods risk worsening that squeeze.The road to recovery for Punjab’s embattled farmers, analysts say, will be particularly steep because the state opted out of the federal government’s insurance scheme, citing high costs and a low-risk profile because of its robust irrigation network.Singh, the septuagenarian farmer, said the water on his farm was “still knee-deep”.”I don’t know what the future holds for us,” he said.

After youth protests over corruption and joblessness toppled Nepal’s parliament and left dozens dead, villagers like Santosh Sunar see their own struggles reflected in the nation’s turmoil.The 31-year-old is jobless and desperately seeking work, yet he dreads the day he finds it — knowing it will likely mean splitting his family further, leaving his daughter with his mother, with his wife already abroad. “There are no opportunities even after education,” said Santosh, who lives in the rural settlement of Pharping, on the outskirts of the capital Kathmandu.He is far from alone. A “staggering” 82 percent of Nepal’s workforce is in informal employment, one in five Nepalis aged 15–24 are jobless, according to the World Bank.With few prospects at home, where GDP per capita is only $1,447, millions of Nepalis look abroad.Remittances now account for a third of GDP, the world’s fourth-highest rate. In Pharping, nearly every second household has a relative overseas.- ‘What can we do?’ -Santosh’s wife Amrita, 22, is a waitress in Dubai. “We really miss each other,” Santosh told AFP, who has previously worked in India’s tech-hub of Bengaluru. “It’s tough being away from your wife — and tougher knowing I’d also have to leave my mother and young daughter when I find work,” he said. “But what can we do?”More than 839,000 Nepalis left the country of 30 million to work abroad last year, according to government data.Tackling endemic corruption and unemployment tops the agenda for Nepal’s new leader, 73-year-old former chief justice Sushila Karki, who was sworn in as interim prime minister on Friday.Her predecessor quit on September 9, as protesters set parliament and key government buildings on fire.Protests began a day earlier, sparked by a ban on social media, but fuelled by long-standing economic woes.At least 72 people were killed in two days of protests, with 191 still recovering in hospital, according to government figures.Santosh didn’t take part, but said he backed what the protesters had done.His mother, Maiya Sunar, 48, dreams of a time when the young don’t have to choose between food and family. “We miss living like a family,” she said. “But I also understand that the young have no choice.”- ‘No option’ -Her neighbour, Kamala Sunar, 40, also faces the prospect of living without her children nearby. Her younger daughter Diksha, 24, works as a housekeeper in Dubai.Now her older daughter, Rakshya, 27, a single mother to a two-year-old, hopes to follow in her sister’s footsteps, leaving her daughter behind.”She has repeatedly warned me against the idea, as the hours are long and the living conditions tough,” Rakshya told AFP.”But what life would I be able to give my daughter here? There is nothing here. If I toil for a few years, and save some money for her education, maybe my daughter would have a bright future.”Sitting outside their one-room house, with unplastered brick walls painted red and white, Kamala said the thought of her daughter leaving fills her with sadness. “Most of our people our age have no option but to leave,” Kamala said. Shyam Bahadur Khatri, 69, an elected village official, said that Nepal is creating ageing villages where subsistence agriculture was the only option. “There will be no young person left even to carry the dead,” he said, warning of the future.

Sri Lanka were made to sweat before edging Hong Kong by four wickets in the Asia Cup  on Monday, as Wanindu Hasaranga’s late cameo spared the former champions an embarrassing stumble.Chasing 150 on a sluggish surface, Sri Lanka looked comfortable at 119 for two with 31 needed off 30 deliveries, but a flurry of wickets, four for eight runs, set nerves jangling. Hasaranga steadied the innings with an unbeaten 20 off nine balls, striking two fours and a six to seal victory with seven balls left.Pathum Nissanka was again the batting linchpin, cracking 68 off 44 balls with six fours and two sixes. The opener, ranked seventh in the ICC T20 batting standings, posted back-to-back half-centuries to become the tournament’s leading scorer with 118 runs. Fortune favoured him. He was reprieved on 22, 58 and 59, before being run out going for a risky second.Hong Kong’s spirited effort was undermined by sloppy fielding as they grassed five catches that might have turned the contest on its head. “It was a very good performance but we’re disappointed we dropped so many catches,” said skipper Yasim Murtaza.Earlier, after being sent in, Hong Kong charged to 31 for no loss in the first three overs. A 61-run stand from Anshuman Rath (48) and Nizakat Khan (52) anchored their innings, the latter posting his 12th half-century. Dushmantha Chameera’s pace proved too hot to handle, finishing with two wickets.”Very pleased with my form, but we have a long way to go,” said Nissanka, who continues to flourish at the top of the order.The win puts Sri Lanka top of Group B, all but ensuring a place in the second round with one match in hand.

Pakistan lodged a complaint on Monday with cricket’s governing body about the match referee in their Asia Cup clash with India after simmering tensions between the countries spilled over into sport.India beat their arch-rivals by seven wickets on Sunday in Dubai as the neighbours met for the first time in cricket since their military conflict in May.Tensions simmered after the match as India’s players left the field without shaking hands.Pakistan blamed the India side and also allege match referee Andy Pycroft of Zimbabwe told captain Salman Agha not to shake the hand of India skipper Suryakumar Yadav before the game. There was no handshake between the captains.”The PCB has lodged a complaint with the ICC regarding violations by the match referee of the ICC code of conduct and the MCC laws pertaining to the spirit of cricket,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi wrote on social media.The PCB demanded the immediate removal of Pycroft from the remainder of the regional T20 tournament.The International Cricket Council has been contacted for comment.In his post-match press conference, Suryakumar said his team acted on the advice of the Indian government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).”We are aligned with the Indian government and the BCCI,” said Suryakumar when asked why his team did not shake hands with the Pakistan players.As a protest, Pakistan did not send their captain Agha to post-match duties.The two teams are likely to meet again in a Super Four match in Dubai on Sunday, provided Pakistan win their last group game against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.They can also meet for a third time in the September 28 final in Dubai if results go their way.India and Pakistan were playing for the first time since cross-border hostilities in May left more than 70 people dead in missile, drone and artillery exchanges, before a ceasefire.The conflict was triggered by an April 22 attack on civilians in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing, a charge Islamabad denies.

Nepal’s new interim prime minister unveiled her first ministers Monday, as the Himalayan nation seeks to restore order after deadly youth-led anti-corruption protests that ousted the previous government.Under an outdoor awning and against the backdrop of the fire-damaged presidential office, President Ram Chandra Paudel gave the oath of office to three key ministers in a ceremony broadcast on television.Protests, sparked by a ban on social media and feeding into long-standing economic woes, began on September 8 and quickly escalated, with parliament and key government buildings set ablaze.It was the worst unrest since the end of a decade-long civil war and the abolition of the monarchy in 2008. At least 72 people were killed in two days of protests, with 191 still recovering in hospital, according to government figures.Prime Minister Sushila Karki, the 73-year-old former chief justice, has been tasked with addressing protester demands for a corruption-free future ahead of elections in March.Om Prakash Aryal, an advocate known for his cases tackling corruption, governance and human rights, takes the critical home minister post, as well as law, justice and parliamentary affairs.- Reluctant leader -Kulman Ghising, the former director of the Nepal Electricity Authority — who is widely credited with ending the country’s long-standing load-shedding problem — has the energy, infrastructure, transport and urban development portfolios.Rameshwor Khanal, a former finance secretary and a respected economist, was handed the key finance post, a challenging task to tackle the unemployment woes that drove the uprising.A fifth of people in Nepal aged 15-24 are unemployed, according to the World Bank, with GDP per capita standing at just $1,447.The appointment of Karki, known for her independence, came after intense negotiations by army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel and Paudel, including with representatives of “Gen Z”, the loose umbrella title of the youth protest movement.Thousands of young activists used the Discord app to name Karki as their choice of leader.Karki said Sunday that she had “not wished” to take the post, but that her “name was brought from the streets”.She said her government would work “according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation”, saying that they were wanting “the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality”.

Myanmar’s junta acknowledged Monday its long-promised election would not be held in about one in seven national parliament constituencies, as it battles myriad rebel forces opposed to the poll.A civil war has consumed Myanmar since the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, jailing democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi and deposing her civilian government.The military has touted elections — due to start in phases on December 28 — as a path to reconciliation.However monitors are slating the poll as a ploy to legitimise continuing military rule, while it is set to be boycotted by many ousted lawmakers and blocked by armed opposition groups in enclaves they control.A notice by Myanmar’s Union Election Commission shared in state media said elections would not be held in 56 lower house constituencies and nine upper house constituencies.The notice did not provide a specific reason for the cancellation but said “these constituencies have been deemed not conducive to holding free and fair elections”.However, many of the territories are known battlegrounds or areas where the military has lost control to an array of pro-democracy guerrillas and powerful ethnic minority armed organisations defying its writ.There are a total of 440 constituencies for Myanmar’s upper and lower houses, with the 65 cancelled accounting for nearly 15 percent of the total.They include the rebel-held ruby mining hub of Mogok, a majority of constituencies in western Rakhine state where the military has lost ground, and numerous areas the junta has been hammering with air strikes.Myanmar’s junta lost swaths of territory when scattered opposition groups committed to a combined offensive starting in late 2023, but it has recently clawed back some ground with several victories.Nonetheless, there have been other signs the poll will be limited in scope.A census held last year in preparation for the election estimated it failed to collect data from 19 million of the country’s 51 million people, according to provisional findings.”Significant security constraints” were cited as one reason for the shortfall.

University student Aditya Rawal was outside Nepal’s parliament with hundreds of other anti-corruption protesters when gunfire crackled and 14 people slumped down in front of him.One was his university friend, and as he dashed forward to help — with his hands up — bullets smashed into him too.”I heard somewhere that if you raise both hands, they will not shoot you,” Rawal, a 22-year-old digital marketer, told AFP as he lay on a bed in the capital Kathmandu’s Civil Service Hospital.”But I was their target.”At least 72 people were killed during chaos beginning on September 8, as youth protests under a loose “Gen Z” label rallied against a government ban on social media.”There had been so many protests in Nepal by older people, but in our ‘Gen-Z’ protest, they used guns”, Rawal said.A day later, protests escalated, driven by economic woes and anger at government corruption.The veteran prime minister quit and parliament and key government buildings were set on fire, before the army seized back control.It was the country’s worst unrest since the end of a decade-long civil war and the abolition of the monarchy in 2008.On Friday, former chief justice Sushila Karki, 73, was sworn in as interim prime minister, tasked with steering Nepal to elections within six months.- ‘Blood’ -Nurse Usha Khanal, 36, said her gloves were “drenched with blood” as she treated the wounded, while tear gas fired nearby seeped into the hospital itself.The Civil Service Hospital admitted 458 injured protesters; six later died, four of them under 30 — a stark reminder of the youth-led nature of the movement.Rawal, his leg heavily bandaged and bullet fragments lodged in his arm and stomach, said he would do it again.”If there is no change, we still have time to fight… We want a transparent government, no corruption and no dictatorship.”One in five Nepalis aged 15–24 are jobless, World Bank data shows, with GDP per capita at just $1,447 in the Himalayan nation of 30 million.Rawal’s cousin, 20-year-old Puja Kunwar, has remained by his bedside.”His actions were for our nation,” she said. “It really gives me courage.”- ‘Changes’ -On the same ward, 19-year-old protester Subash Dhakal, shot in his knees, is likely to be largely bedridden for six months.The sacrifices of those who died and were injured “should not be in vain”, he said.”This has toppled the government and formed a new one… we don’t want the country to return to its earlier state”, he said.His mother, government school teacher Bhawani Dhakal, 45, gave him money to take a bus to join the protests from their hometown, 30 kilometres (19 miles) away.Dhakal said she had protested with other teachers against an education bill earlier this year, but that had resulted in nothing.”It’s amazing that they brought change in just 24 hours,” she said. “Our sons threw out all the corrupt leaders.”Subash Dhakal said he was proud of his role.”I have no regrets at all,” he said.”I have done it not only for me. It was for everyone, from my family to all brothers. This pain is ephemeral, but this will definitely bring about some changes.”

India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the Asia Cup on Sunday as the neighbours met for the first time since a military conflict between them in May, but tensions simmered after the match as India’s players left the field without shaking hands.India captain Suryakumar Yadav defended the snub in his post-match press conference, saying that the team were “aligned with the government and Board of Control for Cricket in India” in not shaking hands with the Pakistan team.India resisted calls to boycott the T20 match between the nations, who have not played in any bilateral Test series since deadly attacks in Mumbai in 2008 were blamed on Pakistan militants.The hostilities in May this year left more than 70 people dead in missile, drone and artillery exchanges, before a ceasefire.The conflict was triggered by an April 22 attack on civilians in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing — a charge Islamabad denies.Pakistan’s head coach Mike Hesson told reporters he was “disappointed” with the Indian team’s decision.”We were ready to shake hands at the end of the game,” the New Zealander said. “We are disappointed that the opposition did not do that. “We went over there and they were already gone to the changing room, so that was obviously a disappointing way to finish the match.”Suryakumar, in the post-match presentation, said India took the match against Pakistan as “just another game” and dedicated the win to the Indian army.”We stand with the victims of the families of the Pahalgam terror attack and we express our solidarity,” Suryakumar said. “We want to dedicate today’s win to the armed forces.”Pakistan’s team management issued a statement after the clash to say that they had “lodged a protest with match referee Andy Pycroft after the match”.”The behaviour of Indian players was against the spirit of sportsmanship,” the statement added. “That is why skipper (Salman) Agha was not sent to the post match ceremony.”- Indian spinners dominate -On the field in Dubai, Pakistan batted first but were constrained to 127-9 in their 20 overs.In reply, India lost two wickets after a fiery 31 off 13 balls from opener Abhishek Sharma, but Suryakumar hit an unbeaten 47 to achieve the target with 25 balls to spare.Abhishek had come out roaring as he hit Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi for a four and a six and, despite the fall of Shubman Gill in the next over, kept up the charge.Swashbuckling Abhishek cracked four boundaries and two sixes before he mistimed another attempt for a maximum to be caught at long-off, off spinner Saim Ayub.The captain, who turned 35 on Sunday, hit the winning six as Indian fans celebrated at a stadium dotted with empty seats, and the players from both teams went off without handshakes.Earlier, India’s bowlers set up the dominant win as Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav combined to rattle the opposition batting.Hardik Pandya struck in the first over to dismiss opener Ayub for a golden duck and fellow quick Jasprit Bumrah sent back wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris for three.Sahibzada Farhan, who top-scored with 40, attempted to rebuild the innings along with Fakhar Zaman, who made 17, in a partnership of 39.Axar broke the stand with his left-arm spin as he had Zaman caught out and in his next over had skipper Agha out for three.Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep came into the attack and struck twice on successive balls to pack off Hasan Nawaz (5) and Mohammad Nawaz (0) as Pakistan slipped to 64-6 inside 13 overs.Wickets kept tumbling, but number nine Afridi took on the opposition attack with four sixes in his unbeaten 33 off 16 balls to push the total past 120 and play out Pakistan’s full 20 overs.India, with two wins from two, are nearly through to the next Super Fours stage of the tournament with their final group match against Oman on Friday.Pakistan play UAE next on Wednesday and despite the defeat to India are expected to make the next stage.

Die-hard India and Pakistan cricket fans thronged the stadium in Dubai despite stifling heat on Sunday to watch the high-profile Asia Cup encounter, saying politics must take a back seat.The eagerly-awaited Group A clash in the T20 tournament comes four months after the two countries were engaged in a military conflict sparked after April 22 attacks in Pahalgam on the Indian side of Kashmir.The brief war, stopped after US President Donald Trump intervened, brought the two nations to their lowest point in their bitter relations.But fans said they were there to watch cricket and would leave politics to politicians.”I am here from Japan and I love both India and Pakistan,” said Pakistan-born Mohammad Javed, an engineer by profession.”We don’t get to see cricket in Japan but we tour a lot to see these matches irrespective of what’s going on between the two countries.”I live with Indians and travel with them, and I have no problem with that.”Arun Tripathi works in Dubai and mingles with Pakistani families.”It’s the politicians who destroy relations,” said the 50-year-old accountant.”Why boycott cricket? The politicians do their work and let us enjoy cricket.”- Hypocrisy -There were calls from hardliners, former cricketers and the public to boycott the match in the wake of the Pahalgam attacks which left 26 people dead.But New Delhi cleared the match in its sports policy, saying the national team will play Pakistan in multinational events and not in bilateral fixtures.Since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, blamed on militants based in Pakistan, the two countries have only played a bilateral series in 2012.Khan Nasir, a taxi driver, accused India of hypocrisy. “Look at Indians,” he said. “On one hand they want to boycott the match and on the other they have come in large numbers. Their former players wanted the Asia Cup to be called off but they are here as commentators.”The ring of fire, as Dubai Stadium is called for its floodlights, promises fire in the stands, with the blue colour of India dominating the green of Pakistan in the 25,000-capacity venue.”We will win on the field as well as in the stands,” said Puja Kulkarni, a student in Dubai’s college.”We are 40 students from the same college and in the same stand, so we will lift our spirits.”But Pakistan’s Ahmed Fayyaz said one Pakistani is more powerful than 50 Indians. “We will shout more and we will tell them our strength. We are here to win.”West Indian superstar Chris Gayle said he hoped for an electrifying atmosphere.”It’s the #IndvsPak game against & it always brings excitement for fans across the globe,” Gayle tweeted.”Both teams have moved from their superstars, and it’s the new era for the rivalry. “The atmosphere will be great & hope for a cracker of a game.”  India’s greats Virat Kolhi, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20Is last year while Pakistan left out star batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.