00:00India won the Women's Asia Cup title but the trophy presentation has once again turned into a political standoff
00:05again involving the women in blue and ACC Chief Pakistan Minister Mawseem Nakwe with India
00:12boycotting the ceremony once again. Asian Cricket Council and Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Mawseem Nakwe
00:18was once again at the center of a standoff. The presentation was delayed by nearly 90 minutes.
00:25The Indian team had made it clear they would not accept the trophy from Nakwe.
00:30The BCCI offered alternatives. Asian Cricket Council Deputy Chief Khaled Alzaruni could present the trophy
00:37or a representative of the winning board could also hand it over.
00:42We made a request to all the concerned persons that keeping the tradition of Asia Cup when
00:49in earlier times when Bangladesh won, when Sri Lanka won, our former ACC chairperson who is the ICC chair now
00:58Jaisa
00:59there was a norm that the winning team will get the trophy from their country's board's head.
01:07Tradition is to be maintained. That is what our request was today also, but it was not heeded.
01:14But Nakwe refused to budge and Team India refused to budge either. So Sri Lanka collected the runners-up prize
01:21and
01:21medals and Nakwe left the stadium and the trophy nowhere to be seen.
01:27India coach Amol Mazumdar backed the BCCI decision saying that the team stands by the call made by the board
01:34in view of the
01:35Pahalgam Terror attack and Operation Sindhuul. He added that his team are the champions and that is good enough at
01:41the end of the day.
01:43But this standoff comes with a backstory.
01:46Nakwe has previously taken positions seen as hostile to India.
01:52Last year, he had posted a video that appeared to indirectly back Pakistan-baser Haris Rauf's controversial jet-downing gesture.
02:05His messaging was seen as lending support to Pakistan's claims about shooting down Indian fighter jets, claims India has disputed.
02:15So when the same man stood at the centre of another India trophy presentation, there was already plenty of baggage.
02:22But this isn't the first time we've seen this play out.
02:28Last year, after India beat Pakistan in the men's final, the exact same standoff unfolded.
02:34The presentation was delayed for more than an hour.
02:37India refused to take the trophy from Nakwe and the silverware was removed from the podium.
02:43The Indian team eventually returned to the stage but without the trophy or medals.
02:48Surya Kumar Yadav and his teammates then celebrated anyway, pretending to lift an imaginary trophy.
02:58So one year later, the champions changed. The controversy did not.
03:03Once again, India walks away with the title and Nakwe walks away without handing over the trophy.
03:11Bureau Report, India Today.
03:14The Indian women's team snubbing Mohsin Nakwe and refusing to accept the Asia Cup trophy from him
03:20has predictably sparked mixed reactions on both sides of the border.
03:24Let's take a look at this.
03:27As soon as ACC chairman Mohsin Nakwe left the Dubai International Stadium
03:31after handing over their runners-up medals to Sri Lanka,
03:36fans knew that the match and tournament would once again be overshadowed by the gesture.
03:44India capped off a flawless Asia Cup campaign to win a record-extending eighth title but were unable to celebrate
03:52with the trophy.
03:55And Indian fans made their displeasure at Nakwe known, serenading him with chants of trophy chore.
04:02However, anyone thinking that Nakwe's brazen show of prioritising politics over the tournament wouldn't work well with his own public
04:10were mistaken as he was being praised outside of the stadium by a Pakistani fan.
04:17Sporting relations and political tensions have always existed side by side
04:22and sometimes even enhanced the sporting spectacle.
04:26But India have now been denied two trophies they rightfully won due to petty politics
04:31and there is no indication of either trophy being handed over to their rightful owners.
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