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TOPS set for overhaul as Sports Minister seeks more focus on high-yielding disciplines The government’s flagship Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) is set for a major revamp, with Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday saying that quarterly evaluation of selected athletes is being considered, along with a greater focus on high-medal-yielding events like aquatics and cycling.Currently, the assessment of athletes is carried out half-yearly, and the TOPS core and developmental groups do not feature any cyclist and has just one swimmer in the latter list.The Minister noted that the TOPS strength, which stands at 399 right now (core 51, core para 62, development 166, target asian games group – 57, hockey – 63), has increased significantly from 245 in the previous year.“The next target is to expand the TOPS pool to 3000 athletes by 2032, maintaining a core-to-development ratio of 1:5. This will be further scaled up to 5000 athletes by 2036,” he told reporters here.“The criteria for athletes is also in the works and the committee could be meeting quarterly to decide on the selections,” he added.Driving the expansion plan would be aquatics, cycling, rowing and gymnastics. PTI reported in January that the government planned to shift the focus to these disciplines due to the high number of medals they offer at the Olympic Games.Aquatics, which includes swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming, and open water swimming, will offer 55 of the more than 350 overall medals that will be up for grabs across 36 disciplines in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.But India is not expected to get any of these.Rowing, too, has 45 medals at stake in Los Angeles across 15 events, and cycling, where 22 events will throw up 66 medals.“In medal-heavy disciplines such as Aquatics, Cycling, and Gymnastics (offered 18 medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics), the number of athletes in the development group will be increased, with a structured progression plan to transition them into the core group within the next five years,” the minister asserted.“A comprehensive roadmap is being developed to integrate identified talent from Khelo India and ASMITA into the TOPS development group, with a clear pathway for their eventual inclusion in the TOPS core group,” he added.The government is banking on the past success achieved by targeted funding and support to wrestling, badminton and shooting that led to medals at the Olympics.ALSO READ | Two indigenous Indian sports and cricket, hockey definitely at 2030 CWG: MandaviyaTOPS is currently headed by former rower Col. N S Johal and features former athletes and administrators. It assesses training proposals of elite athletes and streamlines the support system for them.TOPS core athletes get an allowance of Rs 50,000. They are also paid USD 25 per day during the period of training and competition overseas.Athletes in the developmental group are given 25,000 as allowance and an additional USD 25 while training and competing abroad.Both the core and developmental athletes are evaluated for their performance and fitness levels and the list is pruned or strengthened based on this assessment.Published on Apr 13, 2026 #TOPS #set #overhaul #Sports #Minister #seeks #focus #highyielding #disciplines

TOPS set for overhaul as Sports Minister seeks more focus on high-yielding disciplines

The government’s flagship Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) is set for a major revamp, with Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday saying that quarterly evaluation of selected athletes is being considered, along with a greater focus on high-medal-yielding events like aquatics and cycling.

Currently, the assessment of athletes is carried out half-yearly, and the TOPS core and developmental groups do not feature any cyclist and has just one swimmer in the latter list.

The Minister noted that the TOPS strength, which stands at 399 right now (core 51, core para 62, development 166, target asian games group – 57, hockey – 63), has increased significantly from 245 in the previous year.

“The next target is to expand the TOPS pool to 3000 athletes by 2032, maintaining a core-to-development ratio of 1:5. This will be further scaled up to 5000 athletes by 2036,” he told reporters here.

“The criteria for athletes is also in the works and the committee could be meeting quarterly to decide on the selections,” he added.

Driving the expansion plan would be aquatics, cycling, rowing and gymnastics. PTI reported in January that the government planned to shift the focus to these disciplines due to the high number of medals they offer at the Olympic Games.

Aquatics, which includes swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming, and open water swimming, will offer 55 of the more than 350 overall medals that will be up for grabs across 36 disciplines in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

But India is not expected to get any of these.

Rowing, too, has 45 medals at stake in Los Angeles across 15 events, and cycling, where 22 events will throw up 66 medals.

“In medal-heavy disciplines such as Aquatics, Cycling, and Gymnastics (offered 18 medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics), the number of athletes in the development group will be increased, with a structured progression plan to transition them into the core group within the next five years,” the minister asserted.

“A comprehensive roadmap is being developed to integrate identified talent from Khelo India and ASMITA into the TOPS development group, with a clear pathway for their eventual inclusion in the TOPS core group,” he added.

The government is banking on the past success achieved by targeted funding and support to wrestling, badminton and shooting that led to medals at the Olympics.

ALSO READ | Two indigenous Indian sports and cricket, hockey definitely at 2030 CWG: Mandaviya

TOPS is currently headed by former rower Col. N S Johal and features former athletes and administrators. It assesses training proposals of elite athletes and streamlines the support system for them.

TOPS core athletes get an allowance of Rs 50,000. They are also paid USD 25 per day during the period of training and competition overseas.

Athletes in the developmental group are given 25,000 as allowance and an additional USD 25 while training and competing abroad.

Both the core and developmental athletes are evaluated for their performance and fitness levels and the list is pruned or strengthened based on this assessment.

Published on Apr 13, 2026

#TOPS #set #overhaul #Sports #Minister #seeks #focus #highyielding #disciplines

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The government’s flagship Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) is set for a major revamp, with Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday saying that quarterly evaluation of selected athletes is being considered, along with a greater focus on high-medal-yielding events like aquatics and cycling.

Currently, the assessment of athletes is carried out half-yearly, and the TOPS core and developmental groups do not feature any cyclist and has just one swimmer in the latter list.

The Minister noted that the TOPS strength, which stands at 399 right now (core 51, core para 62, development 166, target asian games group – 57, hockey – 63), has increased significantly from 245 in the previous year.

“The next target is to expand the TOPS pool to 3000 athletes by 2032, maintaining a core-to-development ratio of 1:5. This will be further scaled up to 5000 athletes by 2036,” he told reporters here.

“The criteria for athletes is also in the works and the committee could be meeting quarterly to decide on the selections,” he added.

Driving the expansion plan would be aquatics, cycling, rowing and gymnastics. PTI reported in January that the government planned to shift the focus to these disciplines due to the high number of medals they offer at the Olympic Games.

Aquatics, which includes swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming, and open water swimming, will offer 55 of the more than 350 overall medals that will be up for grabs across 36 disciplines in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

But India is not expected to get any of these.

Rowing, too, has 45 medals at stake in Los Angeles across 15 events, and cycling, where 22 events will throw up 66 medals.

“In medal-heavy disciplines such as Aquatics, Cycling, and Gymnastics (offered 18 medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics), the number of athletes in the development group will be increased, with a structured progression plan to transition them into the core group within the next five years,” the minister asserted.

“A comprehensive roadmap is being developed to integrate identified talent from Khelo India and ASMITA into the TOPS development group, with a clear pathway for their eventual inclusion in the TOPS core group,” he added.

The government is banking on the past success achieved by targeted funding and support to wrestling, badminton and shooting that led to medals at the Olympics.

ALSO READ | Two indigenous Indian sports and cricket, hockey definitely at 2030 CWG: Mandaviya

TOPS is currently headed by former rower Col. N S Johal and features former athletes and administrators. It assesses training proposals of elite athletes and streamlines the support system for them.

TOPS core athletes get an allowance of Rs 50,000. They are also paid USD 25 per day during the period of training and competition overseas.

Athletes in the developmental group are given 25,000 as allowance and an additional USD 25 while training and competing abroad.

Both the core and developmental athletes are evaluated for their performance and fitness levels and the list is pruned or strengthened based on this assessment.

Published on Apr 13, 2026

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Deadspin | 76ers close regular season with 126-106 win over Bucks <div id=""><section id="0" class=" w-full"><div class="xl:container mx-0 !px-4 py-0 pb-4 !mx-0 !px-0"><img src="https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/28716527.jpg" srcset="https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/28716527.jpg" alt="NBA: Milwaukee Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers" class="w-full" fetchpriority="high" loading="eager"/><span class="text-0.8 leading-tight">Apr 12, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Quentin Grimes (5) reaches in against Milwaukee Bucks forward Ousmane Dieng (21) in the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images<!-- --> <!-- --> </span></div></section><section id="section-1"> <p>Tyrese Maxey scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the third quarter as the host Philadelphia 76ers pulled away from the Milwaukee Bucks in the second half to win 126-106 on Sunday.</p> </section><section id="section-2"> <p>Quentin Grimes had four 3-pointers and scored 20 points for Philadelphia (45-37), which won its second straight and is locked into the play-in tournament. Justin Edwards made 5 3-pointers and scored 17 points for the 76ers, while Andre Drummond added 12 points and 13 rebounds.</p> </section><section id="section-3"> <p>VJ Edgecombe tallied nine points, a game-high 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. each had 11 points and five rebounds. Joel Embiid was out again while recovering from an appendectomy.</p> </section><section id="section-4"> <p>Philadelphia’s bench outscored Milwaukee’s, 70-25. The 76ers held a 54-48 advantage in points in the paint, a 21-15 advantage in fastbreak points and a 30-24 edge in points off turnovers.</p> </section><section id="section-5"> <p>AJ Green made five 3-pointers for Milwaukee (32-50) to finish the season with 231 treys, breaking Ray Allen’s single-season franchise record of 229 in 2001-02. Green was 7 of 10 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3 in the first half for 19 points; he failed to score after halftime.</p> </section><br/><section id="section-6"> <p>Milwaukee’s Cormac Ryan finished with a game-high 22 points, to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds. The Bucks signed Ryan to a two-way contract near the end of February after he averaged 20.4 points and 4.6 rebounds with the Wisconsin Herd in the NBA G League.</p> </section> <section id="section-7"> <p>Ryan came in averaging 13.5 points in the first 10 games of his NBA career. He closed the season scoring in double digits eight straight times while going for 21 or more four times.</p> </section><section id="section-8"> <p>Jericho Sims had 15 points and seven rebounds, while Ousmane Dieng had 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Taurean Prince chipped in with 14 points.</p> </section><section id="section-9"> <p>The Bucks closed the season losing 19 of 25 overall and 10 of 11 on the road and will miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade.</p> </section><section id="section-10"> <p>Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo missed the final 15 games with a hyperextended left knee, although he has repeatedly proclaimed himself fit to play.</p> </section><section id="section-11"> <p>–Field Level Media</p> </section></div> #Deadspin #76ers #close #regular #season #win #Bucks

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Sixteen-year-old Lisha Das, India’s lone para cyclist for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, is fearing the possibility of missing the multi-sport event after her coach was not accredited while a Cycling Federation of India (CFI) official was instead designated to accompany her in Glasgow.

Lisha, who qualified for the Glasgow CWG through continental rankings in the women’s C5 category, has written multiple e-mails to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), CFI, the Sports Secretary and the Union Sports Ministry seeking accreditation for her personal coach, Aditya Mehta.

The teenager, who has a deformity in her right hand, alleged that she was repeatedly asked to obtain a parental consent letter with CFI Executive Member K Dattatraya as her coach for the Games.

“Neither my parents, my coach nor I were ever informed that Mr K Dattatraya had been appointed as my accompanying official,” she wrote in an e-mail in possession of PTI.

“I am a minor female para athlete. Mr K Dattatraya should not be designated as my accompanying official. I require a female escort and a medical support professional.

“Initially, I was repeatedly asked to sign a consent letter stating that Mr K Dattatraya would accompany me as my coach for the Commonwealth Games.” She said she declined to do so as Dattatraya was never his coach.

“The coach who has trained me throughout my journey and guided me to qualify for the Commonwealth Games is Mr. Aditya Mehta.

ALSO READ | Initially named in Indian CWG contingent, para swimmer Nandakumar now declared ineligible by organisers

“However, without my knowledge or consent, his name was never recommended,” Lisha wrote in one of her e-mails.

She said that, being a minor athlete, she should be allowed to travel with the coach who understands both her sporting and medical requirements.

“Being a minor athlete, I have repeatedly requested to be accompanied by the coach who has trained me, understands my sporting and medical requirements, and has prepared me throughout this journey.

“Unfortunately, despite several representations, my genuine concerns have not been addressed,” she wrote.

However, personal coaches have not been included by the Sports Ministry in the Indian contingent for the Glasgow CWG.

As reported by PTI in March this year, the ministry had made it clear that “demonstrable contribution” and “regular association” to an athlete’s growth would be assessed in case of request for personal coaches but they would not be allowed over an above the sanctioned contingent even at no cost to government.

Lisha said Mehta was willing to bear his own expenses and was seeking only the accreditation required to accompany her in an official capacity.

“My coach is ready to travel entirely at his own expense. I am only requesting that he be granted accreditation so that he can accompany me in an official capacity,” she said.

ALSO READ | India’s 126-strong squad for Glasgow-2026 CWG

She alleged that the CFI recommended Dattatraya’s name.

“The Cycling Federation of India recommended the name of Mr. Dattatraya to the Paralympic Committee of India as my coach, despite the fact that he was not the coach who trained me or prepared me for qualification.

“This decision caused me immense distress and left me feeling unheard as an athlete,” she wrote.

“If I am unable to participate with the coach who has prepared me, it will be extremely difficult for me and my family to proceed with confidence.” CFI Secretary General Maninder Singh denied that the federation had recommended any coach’s name.

“We have not given any name. The long list for the Commonwealth Games was sent by PCI and CFI doesn’t have a role in that,” he told PTI.

However, in an e-mail on Monday, CFI wrote that it had recommended a panel of three support staff members, including Mehta and Dattatraya.

“This is with reference to the trailing mail and our communication dated July 10, 2026, wherein it was submitted that Mr K Dattatraya was not recommended by the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) as the personal coach for Ms Lisha Das, a para-cyclist,” the CFI wrote in an e-mail on Monday evening.

“However, we wish to clarify that in the long list of team support staff submitted by your esteemed office to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the following officials were recommended as team support staff: Mr Ramesh Pandi, Mr Aditya Jitendra Kumar Mehta and Mr Katkam Dattatraya,” the CFI said in its response to the PCI in the e-mail which was also marked to the IOA.

The PCI, meanwhile, maintained that it merely forwarded the names received from the concerned National Sports Federation.

“CFI governs para cycling and IOA is leading the Commonwealth Games, so it’s between them and the federation,” PCI Secretary General Jayawant Gundu Hamanawar told PTI.

Published on Jul 14, 2026

#Indias #para #cyclist #CWG #seeks #coachs #accreditation #fears #missing #Games">India’s only para cyclist at CWG 2026 seeks coach’s accreditation, fears missing Games Sixteen-year-old Lisha Das, India’s lone para cyclist for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, is fearing the possibility of missing the multi-sport event after her coach was not accredited while a Cycling Federation of India (CFI) official was instead designated to accompany her in Glasgow.Lisha, who qualified for the Glasgow CWG through continental rankings in the women’s C5 category, has written multiple e-mails to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), CFI, the Sports Secretary and the Union Sports Ministry seeking accreditation for her personal coach, Aditya Mehta.The teenager, who has a deformity in her right hand, alleged that she was repeatedly asked to obtain a parental consent letter with CFI Executive Member K Dattatraya as her coach for the Games.“Neither my parents, my coach nor I were ever informed that Mr K Dattatraya had been appointed as my accompanying official,” she wrote in an e-mail in possession of PTI.“I am a minor female para athlete. Mr K Dattatraya should not be designated as my accompanying official. I require a female escort and a medical support professional.“Initially, I was repeatedly asked to sign a consent letter stating that Mr K Dattatraya would accompany me as my coach for the Commonwealth Games.” She said she declined to do so as Dattatraya was never his coach.“The coach who has trained me throughout my journey and guided me to qualify for the Commonwealth Games is Mr. Aditya Mehta.ALSO READ | Initially named in Indian CWG contingent, para swimmer Nandakumar now declared ineligible by organisers“However, without my knowledge or consent, his name was never recommended,” Lisha wrote in one of her e-mails.She said that, being a minor athlete, she should be allowed to travel with the coach who understands both her sporting and medical requirements.“Being a minor athlete, I have repeatedly requested to be accompanied by the coach who has trained me, understands my sporting and medical requirements, and has prepared me throughout this journey.“Unfortunately, despite several representations, my genuine concerns have not been addressed,” she wrote.However, personal coaches have not been included by the Sports Ministry in the Indian contingent for the Glasgow CWG.As reported by PTI in March this year, the ministry had made it clear that “demonstrable contribution” and “regular association” to an athlete’s growth would be assessed in case of request for personal coaches but they would not be allowed over an above the sanctioned contingent even at no cost to government.Lisha said Mehta was willing to bear his own expenses and was seeking only the accreditation required to accompany her in an official capacity.“My coach is ready to travel entirely at his own expense. I am only requesting that he be granted accreditation so that he can accompany me in an official capacity,” she said.ALSO READ | India’s 126-strong squad for Glasgow-2026 CWGShe alleged that the CFI recommended Dattatraya’s name.“The Cycling Federation of India recommended the name of Mr. Dattatraya to the Paralympic Committee of India as my coach, despite the fact that he was not the coach who trained me or prepared me for qualification.“This decision caused me immense distress and left me feeling unheard as an athlete,” she wrote.“If I am unable to participate with the coach who has prepared me, it will be extremely difficult for me and my family to proceed with confidence.” CFI Secretary General Maninder Singh denied that the federation had recommended any coach’s name.“We have not given any name. The long list for the Commonwealth Games was sent by PCI and CFI doesn’t have a role in that,” he told PTI.However, in an e-mail on Monday, CFI wrote that it had recommended a panel of three support staff members, including Mehta and Dattatraya.“This is with reference to the trailing mail and our communication dated July 10, 2026, wherein it was submitted that Mr K Dattatraya was not recommended by the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) as the personal coach for Ms Lisha Das, a para-cyclist,” the CFI wrote in an e-mail on Monday evening.“However, we wish to clarify that in the long list of team support staff submitted by your esteemed office to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the following officials were recommended as team support staff: Mr Ramesh Pandi, Mr Aditya Jitendra Kumar Mehta and Mr Katkam Dattatraya,” the CFI said in its response to the PCI in the e-mail which was also marked to the IOA.The PCI, meanwhile, maintained that it merely forwarded the names received from the concerned National Sports Federation.“CFI governs para cycling and IOA is leading the Commonwealth Games, so it’s between them and the federation,” PCI Secretary General Jayawant Gundu Hamanawar told PTI.Published on Jul 14, 2026 #Indias #para #cyclist #CWG #seeks #coachs #accreditation #fears #missing #Games

Initially named in Indian CWG contingent, para swimmer Nandakumar now declared ineligible by organisers

“However, without my knowledge or consent, his name was never recommended,” Lisha wrote in one of her e-mails.

She said that, being a minor athlete, she should be allowed to travel with the coach who understands both her sporting and medical requirements.

“Being a minor athlete, I have repeatedly requested to be accompanied by the coach who has trained me, understands my sporting and medical requirements, and has prepared me throughout this journey.

“Unfortunately, despite several representations, my genuine concerns have not been addressed,” she wrote.

However, personal coaches have not been included by the Sports Ministry in the Indian contingent for the Glasgow CWG.

As reported by PTI in March this year, the ministry had made it clear that “demonstrable contribution” and “regular association” to an athlete’s growth would be assessed in case of request for personal coaches but they would not be allowed over an above the sanctioned contingent even at no cost to government.

Lisha said Mehta was willing to bear his own expenses and was seeking only the accreditation required to accompany her in an official capacity.

“My coach is ready to travel entirely at his own expense. I am only requesting that he be granted accreditation so that he can accompany me in an official capacity,” she said.

ALSO READ | India’s 126-strong squad for Glasgow-2026 CWG

She alleged that the CFI recommended Dattatraya’s name.

“The Cycling Federation of India recommended the name of Mr. Dattatraya to the Paralympic Committee of India as my coach, despite the fact that he was not the coach who trained me or prepared me for qualification.

“This decision caused me immense distress and left me feeling unheard as an athlete,” she wrote.

“If I am unable to participate with the coach who has prepared me, it will be extremely difficult for me and my family to proceed with confidence.” CFI Secretary General Maninder Singh denied that the federation had recommended any coach’s name.

“We have not given any name. The long list for the Commonwealth Games was sent by PCI and CFI doesn’t have a role in that,” he told PTI.

However, in an e-mail on Monday, CFI wrote that it had recommended a panel of three support staff members, including Mehta and Dattatraya.

“This is with reference to the trailing mail and our communication dated July 10, 2026, wherein it was submitted that Mr K Dattatraya was not recommended by the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) as the personal coach for Ms Lisha Das, a para-cyclist,” the CFI wrote in an e-mail on Monday evening.

“However, we wish to clarify that in the long list of team support staff submitted by your esteemed office to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the following officials were recommended as team support staff: Mr Ramesh Pandi, Mr Aditya Jitendra Kumar Mehta and Mr Katkam Dattatraya,” the CFI said in its response to the PCI in the e-mail which was also marked to the IOA.

The PCI, meanwhile, maintained that it merely forwarded the names received from the concerned National Sports Federation.

“CFI governs para cycling and IOA is leading the Commonwealth Games, so it’s between them and the federation,” PCI Secretary General Jayawant Gundu Hamanawar told PTI.

Published on Jul 14, 2026

#Indias #para #cyclist #CWG #seeks #coachs #accreditation #fears #missing #Games">India’s only para cyclist at CWG 2026 seeks coach’s accreditation, fears missing Games

Sixteen-year-old Lisha Das, India’s lone para cyclist for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, is fearing the possibility of missing the multi-sport event after her coach was not accredited while a Cycling Federation of India (CFI) official was instead designated to accompany her in Glasgow.

Lisha, who qualified for the Glasgow CWG through continental rankings in the women’s C5 category, has written multiple e-mails to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), CFI, the Sports Secretary and the Union Sports Ministry seeking accreditation for her personal coach, Aditya Mehta.

The teenager, who has a deformity in her right hand, alleged that she was repeatedly asked to obtain a parental consent letter with CFI Executive Member K Dattatraya as her coach for the Games.

“Neither my parents, my coach nor I were ever informed that Mr K Dattatraya had been appointed as my accompanying official,” she wrote in an e-mail in possession of PTI.

“I am a minor female para athlete. Mr K Dattatraya should not be designated as my accompanying official. I require a female escort and a medical support professional.

“Initially, I was repeatedly asked to sign a consent letter stating that Mr K Dattatraya would accompany me as my coach for the Commonwealth Games.” She said she declined to do so as Dattatraya was never his coach.

“The coach who has trained me throughout my journey and guided me to qualify for the Commonwealth Games is Mr. Aditya Mehta.

ALSO READ | Initially named in Indian CWG contingent, para swimmer Nandakumar now declared ineligible by organisers

“However, without my knowledge or consent, his name was never recommended,” Lisha wrote in one of her e-mails.

She said that, being a minor athlete, she should be allowed to travel with the coach who understands both her sporting and medical requirements.

“Being a minor athlete, I have repeatedly requested to be accompanied by the coach who has trained me, understands my sporting and medical requirements, and has prepared me throughout this journey.

“Unfortunately, despite several representations, my genuine concerns have not been addressed,” she wrote.

However, personal coaches have not been included by the Sports Ministry in the Indian contingent for the Glasgow CWG.

As reported by PTI in March this year, the ministry had made it clear that “demonstrable contribution” and “regular association” to an athlete’s growth would be assessed in case of request for personal coaches but they would not be allowed over an above the sanctioned contingent even at no cost to government.

Lisha said Mehta was willing to bear his own expenses and was seeking only the accreditation required to accompany her in an official capacity.

“My coach is ready to travel entirely at his own expense. I am only requesting that he be granted accreditation so that he can accompany me in an official capacity,” she said.

ALSO READ | India’s 126-strong squad for Glasgow-2026 CWG

She alleged that the CFI recommended Dattatraya’s name.

“The Cycling Federation of India recommended the name of Mr. Dattatraya to the Paralympic Committee of India as my coach, despite the fact that he was not the coach who trained me or prepared me for qualification.

“This decision caused me immense distress and left me feeling unheard as an athlete,” she wrote.

“If I am unable to participate with the coach who has prepared me, it will be extremely difficult for me and my family to proceed with confidence.” CFI Secretary General Maninder Singh denied that the federation had recommended any coach’s name.

“We have not given any name. The long list for the Commonwealth Games was sent by PCI and CFI doesn’t have a role in that,” he told PTI.

However, in an e-mail on Monday, CFI wrote that it had recommended a panel of three support staff members, including Mehta and Dattatraya.

“This is with reference to the trailing mail and our communication dated July 10, 2026, wherein it was submitted that Mr K Dattatraya was not recommended by the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) as the personal coach for Ms Lisha Das, a para-cyclist,” the CFI wrote in an e-mail on Monday evening.

“However, we wish to clarify that in the long list of team support staff submitted by your esteemed office to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the following officials were recommended as team support staff: Mr Ramesh Pandi, Mr Aditya Jitendra Kumar Mehta and Mr Katkam Dattatraya,” the CFI said in its response to the PCI in the e-mail which was also marked to the IOA.

The PCI, meanwhile, maintained that it merely forwarded the names received from the concerned National Sports Federation.

“CFI governs para cycling and IOA is leading the Commonwealth Games, so it’s between them and the federation,” PCI Secretary General Jayawant Gundu Hamanawar told PTI.

Published on Jul 14, 2026

#Indias #para #cyclist #CWG #seeks #coachs #accreditation #fears #missing #Games
Deadspin | Open Championship tee times: Scheffler paired with LIV Golf’s DeChambeau, Hatton Sep 27, 2025; Bethpage, New York, USA; Team USA golfer Scottie Scheffler and golfer Bryson DeChambeau on the 11th hole on the penultimate day of competition for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is paired with LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton for the opening round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Thursday. Scheffler, playing the Open Championship for the sixth time, arrived after missing the cut at the Scottish Open. It was the first time he failed to reach the weekend since the 2022 St. Jude Championship. Scheffler has 11 sub-70 rounds in 20 total rounds in his Open Championship career. He won the Open last year at Royal Portrush at 17-under par to run away with the Claret Jug. He has two other top-10 finishes among his previous five starts (T7 at Royal Troon in 2024 and T8 in his debut at the 2021 Open at Royal St. George’s). Scheffler and DeChambeau have been partners for the United States in the Ryder Cup. This is the ninth Open Championship for DeChambeau. He overcame a first-round 78 at Portrush last year to finish tied for 10th, his best showing since St. Andrews in 2022, when he tied for eighth. DeChambeau’s first-round score of 69 in 2022 is the only time he shot better than 70 on his opening 18 in the event. Their group, which remains together for another 18 holes Friday, goes off for the first 18 ahead of a threesome of Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood. Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy are playing with two-time major winner Xander Schauffele. –Open Championship tee times First round, Thursday First tee (local time/ET) 6:35 a.m./1:35 a.m.: Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry, James Nicholas 6:46 a.m./1:46 a.m.: Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan 6:57 a.m./1:57 a.m.: Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan 7:08 a.m./2:08 a.m.: Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean 7:19 a.m./2:19 a.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick 7:30 a.m./2:30 a.m.: David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate 7:41 a.m./2:41 a.m.: Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee (a) 7:52 a.m./2:52 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith 8:03 a.m./3:03 a.m.: Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg (a) 8:14 a.m./3:14 a.m.: Hennie du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Bradbury 8:25 a.m./3:25 a.m.: Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini (a) 8:36 a.m./3:36 a.m.: Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren 8:47 a.m./3:47 a.m.: Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth 9:03 a.m./4:03 a.m.: Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune 9:14 a.m./4:14 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard 9:25 a.m./4:25 a.m.: Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee 9:36 a.m./4:36 a.m.: Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland 9:47 a.m./4:47 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day 9:58 a.m./4:58 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau 10:09 a.m./5:09 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm 10:20 a.m./5:20 a.m.: Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor 10:31 a.m./5:31 a.m.: Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig 10:42 a.m./5:42 a.m.: Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard (a) 10:53 a.m./5:53 a.m.: Antoine Rozner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt 11:04 a.m./6:04 a.m.: MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald 11:15 a.m./6:15 a.m.: Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro De Castro Piera (a) 11:41 a.m./6:41 a.m.: John Parry, Eric Cole, Tiger Christensen 11:52 a.m./6:52 a.m.: Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman 12:03 p.m./7:03 a.m.: Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter 12:14 p.m./7:14 a.m.: Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a) 12:25 p.m./7:25 a.m.: Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama 12:36 p.m./7:36 a.m.: Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber 12:47 p.m./7:47 a.m.: Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger 12:58 p.m./7:58 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis 1:09 p.m./8:09 a.m.: Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li 1:20 p.m./8:20 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick 1:31 p.m./8:31 a.m.: Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a) 1:42 p.m./8:42 a.m.: Johnny Kiefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima 1:53 p.m./8:53 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Jesper Svansson, Jack Buchanan (a) 2:09 p.m./9:09 a.m.: Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert 2:20 p.m./9:20 a.m.: Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, J.T. Poston 2:31 p.m./9:31 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott 2:42 p.m./9:42 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard 2:53 p.m./9:53 a.m.: Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka 3:04 p.m./10:04 a.m.: Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Luvig Aberg 3:15 p.m./10:15 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick 3:26 p.m./10:26 a.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer (a) 3:37 p.m./10:37 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria 3:48 p.m./10:48 a.m.: Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta 3:59 p.m./10:59 a.m.: Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow 4:10 p.m./11:10 a.m.: Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen 4:21 p.m./11:21 a.m.: Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter (a) Second round, Friday First Tee (local time/ET) 6:35 a.m./1:35 a.m.: John Parry, Eric Cole, Tiger Christensen 6:46 a.m./1:46 a.m.: Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman 6:57 a.m./1:57 a.m.: Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter 7:08 a.m./2:08 a.m.: Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a) 7:19 a.m./2:19 a.m.: Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama 7:30 a.m./2:30 a.m.: Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber 7:41 a.m./2:41 a.m.: Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger 7:52 a.m./2:52 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis 8:03 a.m./3:03 a.m.: Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li 8:14 a.m./3:14 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick 8:25 a.m./3:25 a.m.: Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a) 8:26 a.m./3:36 a.m.: Johnny Kiefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima 8:47 a.m./3:47 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Jesper Svansson, Jack Buchanan (a) 9:03 a.m./4:03 a.m.: Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert 9:14 a.m./4:14 a.m.: Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, J.T. Poston 9:25 a.m./4:25 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott 9:36 a.m./4:36 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard 9:47 a.m./4:47 a.m.: Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka 9:58 a.m./4:58 a.m.: Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Luvig Aberg 10:09 a.m./5:09 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick 10:20 a.m./5:20 a.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer (a) 10:31 a.m./5:31 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria 10:42 a.m./5:42 a.m.: Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta 10:53 a.m./5:53 a.m.: Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow 11:04 a.m./6:04 a.m.: Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen 11:15 a.m./6:15 a.m.: Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter (a) 11:41 a.m./6:41 a.m.: Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry, James Nicholas 11:52 a.m./6:52 a.m.: Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan 12:03 p.m./7:03 a.m.: Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan 12:14 p.m./7:14 a.m.: Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean 12:25 p.m./7:25 a.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick 12:36 p.m./7:36 a.m.: David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate 12:47 p.m./7:47 a.m.: Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee (a) 12:58 p.m./7:58 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith 1:09 p.m./8:09 a.m.: Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg (a) 1:20 p.m./8:20 a.m.: Hennie Du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Bradbury 1:31 p.m./8:31 a.m.: Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini (a) 1:42 p.m./8:42 a.m.: Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren 1:53 p.m./8:53 a.m.: Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth 2:09 p.m./9:09 a.m.: Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune 2:20 p.m./9:20 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard 2:31 p.m./9:31 a.m.: Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee 2:42 p.m./9:42 a.m.: Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland 2:53 p.m./9:53 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day 3:04 p.m./10:04 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau 3:15 p.m./10:15 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm 3:26 p.m./10:26 a.m.: Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor 3:37 p.m./10:37 a.m.: Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig 3:48 p.m./10:48 a.m.: Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard (a) 3:59 p.m./10:59 a.m.: Antoine Rozner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt 4:10 p.m./11:10 a.m.: MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald 4:21 p.m./11:21 a.m.: Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro De Castro Piera (a) #Deadspin #Open #Championship #tee #times #Scheffler #paired #LIV #Golfs #DeChambeau #HattonSep 27, 2025; Bethpage, New York, USA; Team USA golfer Scottie Scheffler and golfer Bryson DeChambeau on the 11th hole on the penultimate day of competition for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is paired with LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton for the opening round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Thursday.

Scheffler, playing the Open Championship for the sixth time, arrived after missing the cut at the Scottish Open. It was the first time he failed to reach the weekend since the 2022 St. Jude Championship.

Scheffler has 11 sub-70 rounds in 20 total rounds in his Open Championship career.

He won the Open last year at Royal Portrush at 17-under par to run away with the Claret Jug. He has two other top-10 finishes among his previous five starts (T7 at Royal Troon in 2024 and T8 in his debut at the 2021 Open at Royal St. George’s).

Scheffler and DeChambeau have been partners for the United States in the Ryder Cup.

This is the ninth Open Championship for DeChambeau. He overcame a first-round 78 at Portrush last year to finish tied for 10th, his best showing since St. Andrews in 2022, when he tied for eighth. DeChambeau’s first-round score of 69 in 2022 is the only time he shot better than 70 on his opening 18 in the event.

Their group, which remains together for another 18 holes Friday, goes off for the first 18 ahead of a threesome of Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood.

Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy are playing with two-time major winner Xander Schauffele.

–Open Championship tee times

First round, Thursday

First tee (local time/ET)

6:35 a.m./1:35 a.m.: Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry, James Nicholas

6:46 a.m./1:46 a.m.: Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan

6:57 a.m./1:57 a.m.: Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan

7:08 a.m./2:08 a.m.: Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean

7:19 a.m./2:19 a.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick

7:30 a.m./2:30 a.m.: David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate

7:41 a.m./2:41 a.m.: Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee (a)

7:52 a.m./2:52 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith

8:03 a.m./3:03 a.m.: Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg (a)

8:14 a.m./3:14 a.m.: Hennie du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Bradbury

8:25 a.m./3:25 a.m.: Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini (a)

8:36 a.m./3:36 a.m.: Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren

8:47 a.m./3:47 a.m.: Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth

9:03 a.m./4:03 a.m.: Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune

9:14 a.m./4:14 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard

9:25 a.m./4:25 a.m.: Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee

9:36 a.m./4:36 a.m.: Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland

9:47 a.m./4:47 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day

9:58 a.m./4:58 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau

10:09 a.m./5:09 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm

10:20 a.m./5:20 a.m.: Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor

10:31 a.m./5:31 a.m.: Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig

10:42 a.m./5:42 a.m.: Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard (a)

10:53 a.m./5:53 a.m.: Antoine Rozner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt

11:04 a.m./6:04 a.m.: MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald

11:15 a.m./6:15 a.m.: Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro De Castro Piera (a)

11:41 a.m./6:41 a.m.: John Parry, Eric Cole, Tiger Christensen

11:52 a.m./6:52 a.m.: Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman

12:03 p.m./7:03 a.m.: Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter

12:14 p.m./7:14 a.m.: Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a)

12:25 p.m./7:25 a.m.: Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama

12:36 p.m./7:36 a.m.: Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber

12:47 p.m./7:47 a.m.: Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger

12:58 p.m./7:58 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis

1:09 p.m./8:09 a.m.: Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li

1:20 p.m./8:20 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick

1:31 p.m./8:31 a.m.: Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a)

1:42 p.m./8:42 a.m.: Johnny Kiefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima

1:53 p.m./8:53 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Jesper Svansson, Jack Buchanan (a)

2:09 p.m./9:09 a.m.: Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert

2:20 p.m./9:20 a.m.: Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, J.T. Poston

2:31 p.m./9:31 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott

2:42 p.m./9:42 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard

2:53 p.m./9:53 a.m.: Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka

3:04 p.m./10:04 a.m.: Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Luvig Aberg

3:15 p.m./10:15 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick

3:26 p.m./10:26 a.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer (a)


3:37 p.m./10:37 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria

3:48 p.m./10:48 a.m.: Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta

3:59 p.m./10:59 a.m.: Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow

4:10 p.m./11:10 a.m.: Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen

4:21 p.m./11:21 a.m.: Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter (a)

Second round, Friday

First Tee (local time/ET)

6:35 a.m./1:35 a.m.: John Parry, Eric Cole, Tiger Christensen

6:46 a.m./1:46 a.m.: Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman

6:57 a.m./1:57 a.m.: Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter

7:08 a.m./2:08 a.m.: Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a)

7:19 a.m./2:19 a.m.: Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama

7:30 a.m./2:30 a.m.: Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber

7:41 a.m./2:41 a.m.: Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger

7:52 a.m./2:52 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis

8:03 a.m./3:03 a.m.: Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li

8:14 a.m./3:14 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick

8:25 a.m./3:25 a.m.: Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a)

8:26 a.m./3:36 a.m.: Johnny Kiefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima

8:47 a.m./3:47 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Jesper Svansson, Jack Buchanan (a)

9:03 a.m./4:03 a.m.: Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert

9:14 a.m./4:14 a.m.: Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, J.T. Poston

9:25 a.m./4:25 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott

9:36 a.m./4:36 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard

9:47 a.m./4:47 a.m.: Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka

9:58 a.m./4:58 a.m.: Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Luvig Aberg

10:09 a.m./5:09 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick

10:20 a.m./5:20 a.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer (a)

10:31 a.m./5:31 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria

10:42 a.m./5:42 a.m.: Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta

10:53 a.m./5:53 a.m.: Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow

11:04 a.m./6:04 a.m.: Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen

11:15 a.m./6:15 a.m.: Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter (a)

11:41 a.m./6:41 a.m.: Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry, James Nicholas

11:52 a.m./6:52 a.m.: Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan

12:03 p.m./7:03 a.m.: Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan

12:14 p.m./7:14 a.m.: Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean

12:25 p.m./7:25 a.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick

12:36 p.m./7:36 a.m.: David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate

12:47 p.m./7:47 a.m.: Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee (a)

12:58 p.m./7:58 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith

1:09 p.m./8:09 a.m.: Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg (a)

1:20 p.m./8:20 a.m.: Hennie Du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Bradbury

1:31 p.m./8:31 a.m.: Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini (a)

1:42 p.m./8:42 a.m.: Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren

1:53 p.m./8:53 a.m.: Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth

2:09 p.m./9:09 a.m.: Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune

2:20 p.m./9:20 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard

2:31 p.m./9:31 a.m.: Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee

2:42 p.m./9:42 a.m.: Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland

2:53 p.m./9:53 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day

3:04 p.m./10:04 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau

3:15 p.m./10:15 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm

3:26 p.m./10:26 a.m.: Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor

3:37 p.m./10:37 a.m.: Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig

3:48 p.m./10:48 a.m.: Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard (a)

3:59 p.m./10:59 a.m.: Antoine Rozner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt

4:10 p.m./11:10 a.m.: MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald

4:21 p.m./11:21 a.m.: Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro De Castro Piera (a)

#Deadspin #Open #Championship #tee #times #Scheffler #paired #LIV #Golfs #DeChambeau #Hatton">Deadspin | Open Championship tee times: Scheffler paired with LIV Golf’s DeChambeau, Hatton Sep 27, 2025; Bethpage, New York, USA; Team USA golfer Scottie Scheffler and golfer Bryson DeChambeau on the 11th hole on the penultimate day of competition for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is paired with LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton for the opening round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Thursday. Scheffler, playing the Open Championship for the sixth time, arrived after missing the cut at the Scottish Open. It was the first time he failed to reach the weekend since the 2022 St. Jude Championship. Scheffler has 11 sub-70 rounds in 20 total rounds in his Open Championship career. He won the Open last year at Royal Portrush at 17-under par to run away with the Claret Jug. He has two other top-10 finishes among his previous five starts (T7 at Royal Troon in 2024 and T8 in his debut at the 2021 Open at Royal St. George’s). Scheffler and DeChambeau have been partners for the United States in the Ryder Cup. This is the ninth Open Championship for DeChambeau. He overcame a first-round 78 at Portrush last year to finish tied for 10th, his best showing since St. Andrews in 2022, when he tied for eighth. DeChambeau’s first-round score of 69 in 2022 is the only time he shot better than 70 on his opening 18 in the event. Their group, which remains together for another 18 holes Friday, goes off for the first 18 ahead of a threesome of Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood. Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy are playing with two-time major winner Xander Schauffele. –Open Championship tee times First round, Thursday First tee (local time/ET) 6:35 a.m./1:35 a.m.: Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry, James Nicholas 6:46 a.m./1:46 a.m.: Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan 6:57 a.m./1:57 a.m.: Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan 7:08 a.m./2:08 a.m.: Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean 7:19 a.m./2:19 a.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick 7:30 a.m./2:30 a.m.: David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate 7:41 a.m./2:41 a.m.: Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee (a) 7:52 a.m./2:52 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith 8:03 a.m./3:03 a.m.: Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg (a) 8:14 a.m./3:14 a.m.: Hennie du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Bradbury 8:25 a.m./3:25 a.m.: Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini (a) 8:36 a.m./3:36 a.m.: Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren 8:47 a.m./3:47 a.m.: Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth 9:03 a.m./4:03 a.m.: Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune 9:14 a.m./4:14 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard 9:25 a.m./4:25 a.m.: Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee 9:36 a.m./4:36 a.m.: Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland 9:47 a.m./4:47 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day 9:58 a.m./4:58 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau 10:09 a.m./5:09 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm 10:20 a.m./5:20 a.m.: Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor 10:31 a.m./5:31 a.m.: Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig 10:42 a.m./5:42 a.m.: Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard (a) 10:53 a.m./5:53 a.m.: Antoine Rozner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt 11:04 a.m./6:04 a.m.: MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald 11:15 a.m./6:15 a.m.: Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro De Castro Piera (a) 11:41 a.m./6:41 a.m.: John Parry, Eric Cole, Tiger Christensen 11:52 a.m./6:52 a.m.: Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman 12:03 p.m./7:03 a.m.: Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter 12:14 p.m./7:14 a.m.: Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a) 12:25 p.m./7:25 a.m.: Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama 12:36 p.m./7:36 a.m.: Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber 12:47 p.m./7:47 a.m.: Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger 12:58 p.m./7:58 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis 1:09 p.m./8:09 a.m.: Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li 1:20 p.m./8:20 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick 1:31 p.m./8:31 a.m.: Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a) 1:42 p.m./8:42 a.m.: Johnny Kiefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima 1:53 p.m./8:53 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Jesper Svansson, Jack Buchanan (a) 2:09 p.m./9:09 a.m.: Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert 2:20 p.m./9:20 a.m.: Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, J.T. Poston 2:31 p.m./9:31 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott 2:42 p.m./9:42 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard 2:53 p.m./9:53 a.m.: Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka 3:04 p.m./10:04 a.m.: Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Luvig Aberg 3:15 p.m./10:15 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick 3:26 p.m./10:26 a.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer (a) 3:37 p.m./10:37 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria 3:48 p.m./10:48 a.m.: Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta 3:59 p.m./10:59 a.m.: Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow 4:10 p.m./11:10 a.m.: Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen 4:21 p.m./11:21 a.m.: Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter (a) Second round, Friday First Tee (local time/ET) 6:35 a.m./1:35 a.m.: John Parry, Eric Cole, Tiger Christensen 6:46 a.m./1:46 a.m.: Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman 6:57 a.m./1:57 a.m.: Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter 7:08 a.m./2:08 a.m.: Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a) 7:19 a.m./2:19 a.m.: Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama 7:30 a.m./2:30 a.m.: Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber 7:41 a.m./2:41 a.m.: Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger 7:52 a.m./2:52 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis 8:03 a.m./3:03 a.m.: Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li 8:14 a.m./3:14 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick 8:25 a.m./3:25 a.m.: Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a) 8:26 a.m./3:36 a.m.: Johnny Kiefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima 8:47 a.m./3:47 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Jesper Svansson, Jack Buchanan (a) 9:03 a.m./4:03 a.m.: Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert 9:14 a.m./4:14 a.m.: Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, J.T. Poston 9:25 a.m./4:25 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott 9:36 a.m./4:36 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard 9:47 a.m./4:47 a.m.: Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka 9:58 a.m./4:58 a.m.: Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Luvig Aberg 10:09 a.m./5:09 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick 10:20 a.m./5:20 a.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer (a) 10:31 a.m./5:31 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria 10:42 a.m./5:42 a.m.: Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta 10:53 a.m./5:53 a.m.: Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow 11:04 a.m./6:04 a.m.: Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen 11:15 a.m./6:15 a.m.: Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter (a) 11:41 a.m./6:41 a.m.: Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry, James Nicholas 11:52 a.m./6:52 a.m.: Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan 12:03 p.m./7:03 a.m.: Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan 12:14 p.m./7:14 a.m.: Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean 12:25 p.m./7:25 a.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick 12:36 p.m./7:36 a.m.: David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate 12:47 p.m./7:47 a.m.: Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee (a) 12:58 p.m./7:58 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith 1:09 p.m./8:09 a.m.: Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg (a) 1:20 p.m./8:20 a.m.: Hennie Du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Bradbury 1:31 p.m./8:31 a.m.: Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini (a) 1:42 p.m./8:42 a.m.: Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren 1:53 p.m./8:53 a.m.: Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth 2:09 p.m./9:09 a.m.: Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune 2:20 p.m./9:20 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard 2:31 p.m./9:31 a.m.: Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee 2:42 p.m./9:42 a.m.: Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland 2:53 p.m./9:53 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day 3:04 p.m./10:04 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau 3:15 p.m./10:15 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm 3:26 p.m./10:26 a.m.: Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor 3:37 p.m./10:37 a.m.: Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig 3:48 p.m./10:48 a.m.: Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard (a) 3:59 p.m./10:59 a.m.: Antoine Rozner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt 4:10 p.m./11:10 a.m.: MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald 4:21 p.m./11:21 a.m.: Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro De Castro Piera (a) #Deadspin #Open #Championship #tee #times #Scheffler #paired #LIV #Golfs #DeChambeau #Hatton

Expanding technology and resale options were supposed to make obtaining tickets to sporting events easier than ever, but instead it’s become a hellscape. Scalpers dominate online platforms, ensuring that desirable events sell out immediately, causing local sports fans to miss out unless they’re willing to pay exorbitant prices for fear of missing out.

It’s now been revealed that one of the biggest stakeholders in online ticket sales is helping fund the very people ruining ticket sales for sports fans. An investigative report by the CBC uncovered information inside StubHub’s IPO filing from last November, which revealed that CEO Eric Baker also runs a hedge fund which scalps tickets, and provides funding to scalpers.

When asked for comment, StubHub reiterated its public-facing comment that the company doesn’t own or hold any tickets itself.

“StubHub does not own, possess, or sell tickets. We are a technology platform that connects independent buyers and sellers. (Think: eBay).”

This comment conveniently ignores that some of these “independent buyers” are being directly aided by the CEO of the company. Of course, the devil is in the details. Nobody is accusing StubHub of owning the tickets for their own sale, but it’s now clear that the top of the company is heavily invested in inflating its own marketplace. We discussed this fundamental issue late in the NBA and NHL playoffs, with how reselling sites like StubHub have a vested interest in scalpers, because their percentage-based resale fees are better for the company when event tickets soar — while also giving them multiple bites of the apple if the tickets are sold multiple times on the platform.

Baker, the StubHub CEO, reportedly is a large stakeholder in “Andro Capital,” a hedge fund based out of Los Angeles, which offers loan funding to large scale ticket purchasing operates which have the express purpose of buying tickets and reselling them for profit on platforms like StubHub.

Filing documents for Andro Capital show the hedge fund was formed in March of 2024, 18 months before StubHub announced it was going public in an IPO filing. In that filing to the SEC StubHub revealed its deep relationship with Andro, including this key detail from 2024:

On April 15, 2024, as part of our ongoing relationship with Andro, we entered into an agreement with the Andro Fund under which we agreed to cover certain costs incurred by Andro in connection with ticket management services.

StubHub was not required to divulge the totality of this agreement with Andro Fund, but having the company “cover certain costs incurred” raises mammoth red flags. That theoretically means that the hedge fund could have waived reselling feels on the seller side of the transaction, thereby incentivizing the fund to scalping operations. In short, the business flow could look like this:

  1. A scalping group has capital to buy massive amounts of tickets
  2. Rather than invest themselves, it’s better to invest their money in Andro to do the buying, because they have an agreement with StubHub to cover some of their expenses
  3. Andro profits off the inflated ticket sales
  4. StubHub benefits through massively inflated prices, which they profit off through buyer fees

That’s not all. The filing also lists “Colloquy LLC,” a subsidiary of Andro Capital, which serves as a loan servicing arm for tickets sellers — offering financing to mass buy tickets, which they resell on StubHub directly.

Under the terms of the Program Agreement, we refer certain of our sellers to Colloquy for the opportunity to enter into separate financing arrangements with Colloquy. Under such arrangements, it is anticipated that Colloquy may provide short-term financing to sellers based on those sellers’ existing and/or future expected proceeds generated through ticket sales on our platform.

Not only is Andro Capital its own ticket buyer, but it also runs an arm of the company that gives funding to sellers, based on referrals from StubHub itself. Essentially, the entire scalping business is fully intertwined with StubHub, from the CEO being involved in a large-scale seller AND offering funding to sellers.

The only person who loses out in this whole transaction are sports fans. The consumers who use the platform are being held hostage by ticket prices, which fundamentally wouldn’t be inflated to the same level without the input of StubHub. This is all legal from the SEC’s perspective due to a lack of oversight when it comes to hedge funds. There are few other industries in which a publicly traded company could be legally allowed to price fix to the level that is happening on StubHub, while trying to pretend with its public face that it’s just a platform for fans to sell to other fans.

There should be an immediate investigation into ticket pricing, as well as outlawing the kinds of predatory practices designed to inflate the wealth of StubHub and Andro Capital at the expense of consumers.

#StubHubs #CEO #helping #fund #biggest #ticket #scalpers">StubHub’s CEO is helping fund the biggest ticket scalpers Expanding technology and resale options were supposed to make obtaining tickets to sporting events easier than ever, but instead it’s become a hellscape. Scalpers dominate online platforms, ensuring that desirable events sell out immediately, causing local sports fans to miss out unless they’re willing to pay exorbitant prices for fear of missing out.It’s now been revealed that one of the biggest stakeholders in online ticket sales is helping fund the very people ruining ticket sales for sports fans. An investigative report by the CBC uncovered information inside StubHub’s IPO filing from last November, which revealed that CEO Eric Baker also runs a hedge fund which scalps tickets, and provides funding to scalpers.When asked for comment, StubHub reiterated its public-facing comment that the company doesn’t own or hold any tickets itself.“StubHub does not own, possess, or sell tickets. We are a technology platform that connects independent buyers and sellers. (Think: eBay).”This comment conveniently ignores that some of these “independent buyers” are being directly aided by the CEO of the company. Of course, the devil is in the details. Nobody is accusing StubHub of owning the tickets for their own sale, but it’s now clear that the top of the company is heavily invested in inflating its own marketplace. We discussed this fundamental issue late in the NBA and NHL playoffs, with how reselling sites like StubHub have a vested interest in scalpers, because their percentage-based resale fees are better for the company when event tickets soar — while also giving them multiple bites of the apple if the tickets are sold multiple times on the platform.Baker, the StubHub CEO, reportedly is a large stakeholder in “Andro Capital,” a hedge fund based out of Los Angeles, which offers loan funding to large scale ticket purchasing operates which have the express purpose of buying tickets and reselling them for profit on platforms like StubHub.Filing documents for Andro Capital show the hedge fund was formed in March of 2024, 18 months before StubHub announced it was going public in an IPO filing. In that filing to the SEC StubHub revealed its deep relationship with Andro, including this key detail from 2024:On April 15, 2024, as part of our ongoing relationship with Andro, we entered into an agreement with the Andro Fund under which we agreed to cover certain costs incurred by Andro in connection with ticket management services.StubHub was not required to divulge the totality of this agreement with Andro Fund, but having the company “cover certain costs incurred” raises mammoth red flags. That theoretically means that the hedge fund could have waived reselling feels on the seller side of the transaction, thereby incentivizing the fund to scalping operations. In short, the business flow could look like this:A scalping group has capital to buy massive amounts of ticketsRather than invest themselves, it’s better to invest their money in Andro to do the buying, because they have an agreement with StubHub to cover some of their expensesAndro profits off the inflated ticket salesStubHub benefits through massively inflated prices, which they profit off through buyer feesThat’s not all. The filing also lists “Colloquy LLC,” a subsidiary of Andro Capital, which serves as a loan servicing arm for tickets sellers — offering financing to mass buy tickets, which they resell on StubHub directly.Under the terms of the Program Agreement, we refer certain of our sellers to Colloquy for the opportunity to enter into separate financing arrangements with Colloquy. Under such arrangements, it is anticipated that Colloquy may provide short-term financing to sellers based on those sellers’ existing and/or future expected proceeds generated through ticket sales on our platform.Not only is Andro Capital its own ticket buyer, but it also runs an arm of the company that gives funding to sellers, based on referrals from StubHub itself. Essentially, the entire scalping business is fully intertwined with StubHub, from the CEO being involved in a large-scale seller AND offering funding to sellers.The only person who loses out in this whole transaction are sports fans. The consumers who use the platform are being held hostage by ticket prices, which fundamentally wouldn’t be inflated to the same level without the input of StubHub. This is all legal from the SEC’s perspective due to a lack of oversight when it comes to hedge funds. There are few other industries in which a publicly traded company could be legally allowed to price fix to the level that is happening on StubHub, while trying to pretend with its public face that it’s just a platform for fans to sell to other fans.There should be an immediate investigation into ticket pricing, as well as outlawing the kinds of predatory practices designed to inflate the wealth of StubHub and Andro Capital at the expense of consumers. #StubHubs #CEO #helping #fund #biggest #ticket #scalpers

instead it’s become a hellscape. Scalpers dominate online platforms, ensuring that desirable events sell out immediately, causing local sports fans to miss out unless they’re willing to pay exorbitant prices for fear of missing out.

It’s now been revealed that one of the biggest stakeholders in online ticket sales is helping fund the very people ruining ticket sales for sports fans. An investigative report by the CBC uncovered information inside StubHub’s IPO filing from last November, which revealed that CEO Eric Baker also runs a hedge fund which scalps tickets, and provides funding to scalpers.

When asked for comment, StubHub reiterated its public-facing comment that the company doesn’t own or hold any tickets itself.

“StubHub does not own, possess, or sell tickets. We are a technology platform that connects independent buyers and sellers. (Think: eBay).”

This comment conveniently ignores that some of these “independent buyers” are being directly aided by the CEO of the company. Of course, the devil is in the details. Nobody is accusing StubHub of owning the tickets for their own sale, but it’s now clear that the top of the company is heavily invested in inflating its own marketplace. We discussed this fundamental issue late in the NBA and NHL playoffs, with how reselling sites like StubHub have a vested interest in scalpers, because their percentage-based resale fees are better for the company when event tickets soar — while also giving them multiple bites of the apple if the tickets are sold multiple times on the platform.

Baker, the StubHub CEO, reportedly is a large stakeholder in “Andro Capital,” a hedge fund based out of Los Angeles, which offers loan funding to large scale ticket purchasing operates which have the express purpose of buying tickets and reselling them for profit on platforms like StubHub.

Filing documents for Andro Capital show the hedge fund was formed in March of 2024, 18 months before StubHub announced it was going public in an IPO filing. In that filing to the SEC StubHub revealed its deep relationship with Andro, including this key detail from 2024:

On April 15, 2024, as part of our ongoing relationship with Andro, we entered into an agreement with the Andro Fund under which we agreed to cover certain costs incurred by Andro in connection with ticket management services.

StubHub was not required to divulge the totality of this agreement with Andro Fund, but having the company “cover certain costs incurred” raises mammoth red flags. That theoretically means that the hedge fund could have waived reselling feels on the seller side of the transaction, thereby incentivizing the fund to scalping operations. In short, the business flow could look like this:

  1. A scalping group has capital to buy massive amounts of tickets
  2. Rather than invest themselves, it’s better to invest their money in Andro to do the buying, because they have an agreement with StubHub to cover some of their expenses
  3. Andro profits off the inflated ticket sales
  4. StubHub benefits through massively inflated prices, which they profit off through buyer fees

That’s not all. The filing also lists “Colloquy LLC,” a subsidiary of Andro Capital, which serves as a loan servicing arm for tickets sellers — offering financing to mass buy tickets, which they resell on StubHub directly.

Under the terms of the Program Agreement, we refer certain of our sellers to Colloquy for the opportunity to enter into separate financing arrangements with Colloquy. Under such arrangements, it is anticipated that Colloquy may provide short-term financing to sellers based on those sellers’ existing and/or future expected proceeds generated through ticket sales on our platform.

Not only is Andro Capital its own ticket buyer, but it also runs an arm of the company that gives funding to sellers, based on referrals from StubHub itself. Essentially, the entire scalping business is fully intertwined with StubHub, from the CEO being involved in a large-scale seller AND offering funding to sellers.

The only person who loses out in this whole transaction are sports fans. The consumers who use the platform are being held hostage by ticket prices, which fundamentally wouldn’t be inflated to the same level without the input of StubHub. This is all legal from the SEC’s perspective due to a lack of oversight when it comes to hedge funds. There are few other industries in which a publicly traded company could be legally allowed to price fix to the level that is happening on StubHub, while trying to pretend with its public face that it’s just a platform for fans to sell to other fans.

There should be an immediate investigation into ticket pricing, as well as outlawing the kinds of predatory practices designed to inflate the wealth of StubHub and Andro Capital at the expense of consumers.

#StubHubs #CEO #helping #fund #biggest #ticket #scalpers">StubHub’s CEO is helping fund the biggest ticket scalpers

Expanding technology and resale options were supposed to make obtaining tickets to sporting events easier than ever, but instead it’s become a hellscape. Scalpers dominate online platforms, ensuring that desirable events sell out immediately, causing local sports fans to miss out unless they’re willing to pay exorbitant prices for fear of missing out.

It’s now been revealed that one of the biggest stakeholders in online ticket sales is helping fund the very people ruining ticket sales for sports fans. An investigative report by the CBC uncovered information inside StubHub’s IPO filing from last November, which revealed that CEO Eric Baker also runs a hedge fund which scalps tickets, and provides funding to scalpers.

When asked for comment, StubHub reiterated its public-facing comment that the company doesn’t own or hold any tickets itself.

“StubHub does not own, possess, or sell tickets. We are a technology platform that connects independent buyers and sellers. (Think: eBay).”

This comment conveniently ignores that some of these “independent buyers” are being directly aided by the CEO of the company. Of course, the devil is in the details. Nobody is accusing StubHub of owning the tickets for their own sale, but it’s now clear that the top of the company is heavily invested in inflating its own marketplace. We discussed this fundamental issue late in the NBA and NHL playoffs, with how reselling sites like StubHub have a vested interest in scalpers, because their percentage-based resale fees are better for the company when event tickets soar — while also giving them multiple bites of the apple if the tickets are sold multiple times on the platform.

Baker, the StubHub CEO, reportedly is a large stakeholder in “Andro Capital,” a hedge fund based out of Los Angeles, which offers loan funding to large scale ticket purchasing operates which have the express purpose of buying tickets and reselling them for profit on platforms like StubHub.

Filing documents for Andro Capital show the hedge fund was formed in March of 2024, 18 months before StubHub announced it was going public in an IPO filing. In that filing to the SEC StubHub revealed its deep relationship with Andro, including this key detail from 2024:

On April 15, 2024, as part of our ongoing relationship with Andro, we entered into an agreement with the Andro Fund under which we agreed to cover certain costs incurred by Andro in connection with ticket management services.

StubHub was not required to divulge the totality of this agreement with Andro Fund, but having the company “cover certain costs incurred” raises mammoth red flags. That theoretically means that the hedge fund could have waived reselling feels on the seller side of the transaction, thereby incentivizing the fund to scalping operations. In short, the business flow could look like this:

  1. A scalping group has capital to buy massive amounts of tickets
  2. Rather than invest themselves, it’s better to invest their money in Andro to do the buying, because they have an agreement with StubHub to cover some of their expenses
  3. Andro profits off the inflated ticket sales
  4. StubHub benefits through massively inflated prices, which they profit off through buyer fees

That’s not all. The filing also lists “Colloquy LLC,” a subsidiary of Andro Capital, which serves as a loan servicing arm for tickets sellers — offering financing to mass buy tickets, which they resell on StubHub directly.

Under the terms of the Program Agreement, we refer certain of our sellers to Colloquy for the opportunity to enter into separate financing arrangements with Colloquy. Under such arrangements, it is anticipated that Colloquy may provide short-term financing to sellers based on those sellers’ existing and/or future expected proceeds generated through ticket sales on our platform.

Not only is Andro Capital its own ticket buyer, but it also runs an arm of the company that gives funding to sellers, based on referrals from StubHub itself. Essentially, the entire scalping business is fully intertwined with StubHub, from the CEO being involved in a large-scale seller AND offering funding to sellers.

The only person who loses out in this whole transaction are sports fans. The consumers who use the platform are being held hostage by ticket prices, which fundamentally wouldn’t be inflated to the same level without the input of StubHub. This is all legal from the SEC’s perspective due to a lack of oversight when it comes to hedge funds. There are few other industries in which a publicly traded company could be legally allowed to price fix to the level that is happening on StubHub, while trying to pretend with its public face that it’s just a platform for fans to sell to other fans.

There should be an immediate investigation into ticket pricing, as well as outlawing the kinds of predatory practices designed to inflate the wealth of StubHub and Andro Capital at the expense of consumers.

#StubHubs #CEO #helping #fund #biggest #ticket #scalpers

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