TN CM Vijay announces plans for motorsports city

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday revealed plans to develop a dedicated motorsport city in the state.

This will include a new racetrack, capable of hosting F1, F2, F3, F4 and other international races. amunra-opinie.pl

“An Olympic city will be set up in Chennai. A Motor Sports City will also be set up in Chennai to host Formula 1 races. The talents of youth in motorsport will be identified, and training and racing opportunities will be provided to create national and international level champions," he said during the state Assembly.

He added, “Establishing world-class motor vehicle car racing arenas will provide opportunities for tourism, special vehicle manufacturing industries, employment and economic development."

For the Motor Sports City, Vijay cited Tamil Nadu’s leadership in two- and four-wheeler production and said vehicle manufacturers considered the state their first choice for new factories. He also described it as a leader in motor vehicle racing. Motorsports manufacturing units operate in Coimbatore, he said.

The Madras International Circuit at Irungattukottai, near Chennai, and KARI Motor Speedway in Coimbatore are the key racing facilities and host national F3 and F4 car races.

Vijay stated that the venue will also include training facilities to identify and nurture local racing talent in a bid to give them opportunities on the national and international stage.

The Buddh International Circuit hosted the F1 Indian GP from 2011 to 2013. But the race was then dropped, mainly due to the Uttar Pradesh government’s taxation policy at the time, which classified F1 as entertainment rather than sport.

In June, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports created a task force to monitor motorsports with a vision to bring back F1 racing to the country by the end of 2028.

The Indian team is going to play their next T20I series against Afghanistan, which will began from September 13 to 17th. This clash will be important for the hosts as they played their last T20I series against Zimbabwe in July.

Ahead of the T20I series against Afghanistan, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI’s) chief selector of the senior men’s cricket selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, was missing from the BCCI’s all-important review meeting, which was held on September 3 in Mumbai.

Ajit Agarkar’s contract extension remains unclear after absence from key meeting

His absence from the important meetings created more buzz and speculation around his tenure. There were many reports escalated in past days regarding whether his tenure will extend or not.

Still, there is no confirmation about the extension of his contract as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI’s) chief selector. However, the one piece of information about his contract is clear that it ends in September.

Ajit Agarkar was handed his duties in July 2023. During his tenure, he handled and took some important steps as he was a selector of the Team India’s ODI World Cup 2023 squad. Not only this, he played a major part in making Team India winner of the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cups and the 2025 Champions Trophy as well.

Many top decision-makers were present at the meetings, like team head coach Gautam Gambhir, Centre of Excellence chief VVS Laxman and both captains Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer.

BCCI explains Ajit Agarkar’s absence, contract extension not discussed

Well, if we discuss why Ajit Agarkar was not in the meeting. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia opened up about his absence from the important meeting and claimed that he was not in Mumbai and the meeting was called on short notice.

“He was out of station. He could not be part of the meeting. This meeting was called on short notice. He was not in town. He was in such an area, where he could not join online despite his best efforts.”

Saikia also said that there was no discussion about extending Ajit Agarkar’s contract during the meeting.

He added that the main focus was on the team’s poor results in the England and Sri Lanka series. The meeting also discussed plans for the team’s future and preparations for the 2027 World Cup.

Anshuman Hooda was a national-level roller skater, a graduate of Delhi Technological University (DTU), an employee at a multinational company and someone who had never played age-group cricket. After two failed Under-23 trials, he contemplated quitting the game. Then came the Delhi Premier League (DPL), and a 140 kmph fast bowler emerged who, according to his coach Harish Dagar, can touch 150 kmph. Suddenly, the road from corporate life to professional cricket did not look so improbable.

Women’s Asia Cup 2026 IND-W vs HK-W Highlights: Harmanpreet Kaur-led India secured a 137-run victory against Natasha Miles-led Hong Kong in the 7th match played at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai.

Tournament	Women’s Asia Cup 2026
Team	India Women vs Hong Kong Women, 07th Match
Date	Thursday, September 03, 2026
Toss	Hong Kong Women won the toss and opted to bowl
Venue	Dubai International Stadium, Dubai
Result	India Women won by 137 Runs
Points Table	Women’s Asia Cup 2026 Points Table, Team Standings, NRR and Points

Women’s Asia Cup 2026 IND-W vs HK-W Playing 11

India Women

Hong Kong Women

Natasha Miles(c), Maryam Bibi, Mariko Hill, Joyleen Kaur, Marina Lamplough, Yasmin Daswani(w), Shanzeen Shahzad, Kary Chan, Ruchitha Venkatesh, Iqra Sahar, Alison Siu

Women’s Asia Cup 2026 IND-W vs HK-W Scoreboard

Team	Score
India Women	193-5 (20 ov)
Hong Kong Women	56-10 (16.2 ov)

Women’s Asia Cup 2026 IND-W vs HK-W Scorecard

India Women Batting

Batting		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Smriti Mandhana	run out (Iqra Sahar/†Daswani)	124	64	87	14	7	193.75
Shafali Verma	c Lamplough b Ruchitha Venkatesh	28	17	33	3	2	164.7
Pratika Rawal	c Bibi b Joyleen Kaur	10	12	20	0	0	83.33
Richa Ghosh †	c & b Lamplough	11	13	17	1	0	84.61
Harmanpreet Kaur (c)	c Joyleen Kaur b Lamplough	10	9	10	1	0	111.11
Bharti Fulmali	not out	2	4	6	0	0	50
Deepti Sharma	not out	1	1	2	0	0	100

Hong Kong Women Bowling

Bowling	O	M	R	W	ECON	0s	WD	NB
Iqra Sahar	4	0	28	0	7	8	2	0
Kary Chan	3	0	28	0	9.33	5	4	0
Marina Lamplough	4	0	46	2	11.5	9	0	0
Maryam Bibi	2	0	29	0	14.5	3	0	0
Alison Siu	3	0	19	0	6.33	9	0	0
Ruchitha Venkatesh	2	0	30	1	15	3	0	0
Joyleen Kaur	2	0	12	1	6	6	0	0

Hong Kong Women Batting

Batting		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Natasha Miles (c)	c †Ghosh b Rawat	15	27	39	1	0	55.55
Mariko Hill	b NSS Sharma	0	4	6	0	0	0
Yasmin Daswani †	c Fulmali b DB Sharma	11	23	26	1	0	47.82
Kary Chan	c Shafali Verma b Rawat	1	6	13	0	0	16.66
Marina Lamplough	c Pratika Rawal b Shree Charani	14	15	24	3	0	93.33
Maryam Bibi	c Shafali Verma b NSS Sharma	7	10	9	1	0	70
Shanzeen Shahzad	st †Ghosh b Shree Charani	2	6	18	0	0	33.33
Alison Siu	b DB Sharma	1	3	2	0	0	33.33
Iqra Sahar	c †Ghosh b DB Sharma	0	3	1	0	0	0
Joyleen Kaur	run out (Mandhana/†Ghosh)	1	1	1	0	0	100
Ruchitha Venkatesh	not out	0	0	1	0	0	–

India Women Bowling

Bowling	O	M	R	W	ECON	0s	WD	NB
Kranti Gaud	3	1	5	0	1.66	16	0	0
Nandani Sharma	3	0	6	2	2	13	0	0
Shafali Verma	1	0	4	0	4	2	0	0
Shree Charani	3.2	0	16	2	4.8	13	0	0
Deepti Sharma	3	0	9	3	3	13	0	0
Prema Rawat	3	0	12	2	4	9	0	0

Women’s Asia Cup 2026 IND-W vs HK-W Highlights

To watch Women’s Asia Cup 2026 IND-W vs HK-W Highlights, click >> HERE

Player of the Match

Smriti Mandhana | India Women

I don’t have anyone in mind who I would like to dedicate, but definitely, my family. We’re not really aware of (the opposition). We had seen a few videos, but not really aware. We’re playing them for the first time, so when you come against a bowler who you don’t know a lot, you have to just forget that you’ve played whatever cricket.

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