An amazing five-week stretch sees Indian golf rocking
By V. Krishnaswamy, IANS
Indian golf doubtless has come of age. In an amazing five-week stretch Indians have stunned the world into sitting up and take note of the rise and the depth it has.
Arjun Atwal has kept this incredible Indian streak going. With his win Sunday at the Malaysian Open, he ensured the Indian presence in the top-five for the fifth week running.
Pat Cash endorses sledging by Australian cricketers
By IANS
Melbourne : Former Australian tennis star Pat Cash says sledging only makes a contest an even tougher mental battle.
The 1987 Wimbledon champion endorsed sledging by lashing out at fellow Sport Australia Hall of Fame members John Bertrand, Herb Elliott and Robert de Castella over attempts to stop Australia's cricketers from sledging opponents.
Cash said he was appalled to receive a letter from Bertrand - endorsed by Elliott and de Castella - "assuming they could rely on my support in the campaign to banish sledging".
Beckham fails to pull crowd in New Zealand
By DPA,
Wellington : A year after David Beckham drew the biggest crowd ever to watch a football match in New Zealand, his star power attraction appears to be fading, according to news reports Friday.
Organisers of an exhibition match between Beckham's LA Galaxy side and Oceania All Stars XI Saturday in Auckland were advertising two tickets for the price of one to try to fill the 32,000-seat Mount Smart Stadium.
Only 14,000 tickets had been sold by Thursday night, the New Zealand Herald reported.
In football-mad Vienna, you can almost slice the excitement
By Mehru Jaffer, IANS,
Vienna : Yasemin Cetenkaya, 22 is a Viennese of Turkish origin. On the eve of the European Football Championship quarterfinals to be played between Turkey and Croatia Friday evening she feels she can almost slice the excitement here like one of those chocolate cakes the city is so famous for.
She looks forward to watching the match at home on television. But if Turkey wins she will drive from her home in Vienna's 10th district to the Ottakringerstasse in the 16th district, a predominantly Turkish neighbourhood, for a street celebration.
Harbhajan slapped with 11 match ban, Rajput also penalised
By IANS,
New Delhi : Harbhajan Singh has been slapped with an 11 match ban in the Indian Premier League for physically assaulting S. Sreesanth following a hearing here Monday.
The off-spinner has also been fined hundred percent of his match fee for the match against Kings XI after which the incident occurred.
India retain junior Asia Cup hockey title
By IANS,
Hyderabad : India retained the junior Asia Cup hockey title, beating South Korea 3-2 by a golden goal in extra time at the...
West Indies cricket needs media support
By Paras Ramoutar, IANS
Port of Spain : West Indies cricket needs everyone support, says the board's new CEO Dr Donald Peters.
He told the Caribbean Media Workers' at their annual general meeting Tuesday night that West Indies cricket was in danger. He added that that it was no longer possible for the burden of fixing or saving West Indies cricket to be the sole responsibility of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
"Each of us, every West Indian, should be involved in the quest to return West Indies cricket to cricketing supremacy."
NBA basketball league results
By Xinhua
Washington : Following are the results of National Basketball Association games played Wednesday:
Orlando Magic 102-83 Milwaukee Bucks
Toronto Raptors 106-97 Philadelphia 76ers
Indiana Pacers 119-110 Washington Wizards
New Jersey Nets 112-103 Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers 74-92 Dallas Mavericks
Memphis Grizzlies 101-104 San Antonio Spurs
New Orleans Hornets 104-90 Sacramento Kings
Denver Nuggets 120-103 Seattle SuperSonics
Beijing Olympics off to spectacular start
By IANS,
Beijing : The Beijing Olympic Games began Friday with a spectacular opening ceremony showcasing Chinese national pride as more than 80 world leaders watched at the National Stadium swathed in a soft blue light.
The atmosphere was electric with tens of thousands of Chinese chanting and shouting slogans, waving torches and singing on a hot humid evening.
Al Qaeda planning ‘Euro 2008’ attack: Swiss official
By DPA,
Fribourg (Switzerland) : Calls by Al Qaeda extremists to attack Switzerland and Austria during Euro 2008 are being taken seriously by authorities, a senior Swiss security official said.
Messages on "sos minbar" and "As-Sahab", two internet sites favoured by the terrorist group and calling for attacks on the two host nations, had multiplied in recent weeks, the official was quoted as saying by La Liberte daily published Thursday.
"We are taking these threats seriously," he said.
AC Milan held by Livorno in Serie A
By DPA
Milan : AC Milan were held 1-1 by Livorno at home in the Serie A football tournament, missing a chance to leapfrog Fiorentina in the race for one of four available Champions League berths.
Nico Pulzetti put Livorno in front Wednesday before Andrea Pirlo equalized from the penalty spot as Milan played the last of three games they had in hand to now sit fifth on 37 points, one behind Fiorentina, after 22 games.
Collated Euro 2008 results and standings
By Xinhua
London : Following are the collated results and standings of Euro 2008 football qualifying matches played Wednesday:
Group A:
Armenia 1-1 Portugal
Scorers: Arm: Robert Arzumanyan 10; Por: Cristiano Ronaldo 38
Finland 2-1 Kazakhstan
Scorers: Fin: Alexei Eremenko Jr. 13, Teemu Tainio 61; Kaz: Dmitriy Byakov 23
Belgium 3-2 Serbia
Scorers: Bel: Moussa Dembele 9, 87, Kevin Mirallas 29; Srb: Zdravko Kuzmanovic 73, 88
P W D L F A Pts
Poland 9 6 1 1 15 6 19
Finland 9 5 2 2 11 6 17
Portugal 8 4 3 1 16 6 15
Serbia 8 4 2 2 12 7 14
During intervals, 37 people besiege Eden pitch
By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
Kolkata : During every drinks interval at the second India-Pakistan Test here, as many as 37 people, including an unprecedented 16-man ground staff, converge around the Eden Gardens pitch making it perhaps the biggest "crowd" on any cricket ground.
Unlike in other countries, there are extended ground staffs at almost every international venue in India and Pakistan. The job of these men is to quickly apply a fresh coat of paint on the lines on the pitch while players and umpires have refreshments.
Pakistan will win, says Zaman
By IANS,
Amritsar : "Pakistan is going to win," Pakistan Interior Secretary Chaudhry Qamar Zaman said confidently Sunday, referring to the cricket World Cup semi-final clash against India.
Knight Riders win over Dardevils to stay in semis hunt
By IANS,
Kolkata : Sourav Ganguly led from the front with a majestic half century coupled with some brilliant fielding as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Delhi Daredevils by 15 runs in an Indian Premier League outing here Wednesday.
Replying to the Knight Riders’s 181/3, the Daredevils could only manage 166/8 before a 45,000-strong crowd at the Eden Gardens.
Akshay hopes to be lucky mascot for Delhi Daredevils
By IANS
New Delhi : Bollywood star Akshay Kumar was unveiled as the brand partner of Delhi Daredevils, the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owned by GMR Group, at a glittering ceremony here Monday.
Team captain Virender Sehwag along with Gautam Gambhir and Pakistani players Shoaib Mallik and Mohammed Asif were present at the occasion.
The team website - delhidaredevils.com - and the team jersey, a red and black T-shirt sponsored by Adidas, was also launched.
Energized Roddick thanks Fish for help in beating Federer
By DPA
Miami : Andy Roddick credits good friend Mardy Fish for softening up Roger Federer with an Indian Wells win less than two weeks ago which paved the way for another upset in the quarter-finals at Miami.
Roddick came out on top of the Swiss for only the second time in 17 matches, but could not have been happier after his Thursday night win.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't encouraged by Mardy's (semi-final) result last week," said the number six-ranked Roddick. "I had got home from a long kind of a day of practice, and I had just gotten off the phone with Mardy's fiance."
Vishesh Bhriguvanshi bags Most Valuable Player award
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's young talent Vishesh Bhriguvanshi was named the 'Most Valuable Player' of the Basketball without Borders Asia camp, which concluded here Sunday.
Dong Hanlin from China won the Frequent Flyer Award, recording the highest jump amongst all campers while the DHL Playmaker award went to Joseph Zaloum from Lebanon. Xu Tao from China was given the sportsmanship award.
The three-day camp of National Basketball Association (NBA), the first such event in India concluded with the All Star Game.
India vs New Zealand; First Test; Tea Scoreboard
By IANS,
Hyderabad : Scoreboard at tea on the first day of the first Test between India and New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, here Thursday.
India first innings:
Summer sun keeps crowd off Kotla
By IANS,
New Delhi : The serpentine queues were missing at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium here Thursday. The searing summer sun seems to have kept the cricket fans indoors and the cheering was muffled for the home team Delhi Daredevills playing against Chennai Super Kings.
It was an easy day for the usually harassed security personnel manning the gates, though they had no respite from the heat.
Being the day-night game, Kotla was half filled unlike the two previous night encounters when the revellers were in full strength.
Michael Ballack back to full training after ankle surgery
London, Sep 27 (Xinhua) Chelsea's German midfielder Michael Ballack is back to full training after ankle surgery, according to the English Premier League club's website.
Ballack, who turned 31 Wednesday, has been struggling after two ankle operations in recent months, but the midfielder is optimistic about his recovery.
"It's getting better," Ballack told Chelsea TV. "I keep going with my rehabilitation programme. I can train outside and I am quite happy now with the way we work."
Ballack has been training in a sandpit to increase his recovery time.
Barca catching up as Real Madrid suffers shock defeat
By DPA
Madrid : Real Madrid are now just two points ahead of Barcelona in a revitalized Spanish Liga after a shock 1-0 home defeat against Getafe late Sunday.
Troubled Real have lost three of their last four league games and have seen Barcelona whittle their lead from nine points to just two in the last month.
The whites - whose perfect home record has been ruined - now have 56 points from 25 games. Barca have 54 points after caning Levante 5- 1 earlier Sunday.
The Real-Getafe game was controversially decided in the 64th minute.
India edge out Pakistan in a thrilling tie-breaker
By IANS
Durban : India beat Pakistan 3-0 in an exciting tie-breaker after their crucial Group D match of the Twenty20 World Championship ended in a thrilling tie here Friday.
Both India (three points) and Pakistan (two points), however, advanced to the second round, Super Eights, from this group with minnows Scotland crashing out.
After both teams scored identical 141 in the allocated 20 overs, the 'bowl out' tie-breaker, in which five nominated bowlers from both sides aimed at the unguarded stumps, was employed.
Chelsea, Arsenal win, Tottenham lose to Wigan
By Jonathan Wilson,DPA,
London : Chelsea recorded their third victory in three games Saturday as they beat Stoke City 2-0, while Arsenal are two points behind in the Premier League after a 2-1 win at Blackburn Rovers.
Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, slipped to a shock home defeat to Wigan Athletic.
After two successive 6-0 wins, Chelsea had to settle for rather fewer, but they were comfortable winners over a Stoke side that has now lost three out of three this season.
Sri Lanka Cricket formally decides on Pakistan tour
Colombo, Dec 19 (IANS) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Friday formally accepted the invitation to undertake a full tour to Pakistan in January, a day after India cancelled the scheduled tour in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack.
"This tour has been formally confirmed today at the board meeting. This is basically Sri Lanka supporting Pakistan as a neighbour. Sri Lankan team, which is currently touring in Bangladesh, will be travelling to Pakistan on January 19," SLC media manager Shane Fernando told IANS Friday.
Tendulkar, Laxman guide India to 202/3
By IANS,
Nagpur : Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman steadied the hosts as India made 202 for three in the first innings at tea against Australia on the first day of the fourth and final Test at the newly constructed Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium here Thursday.
Tendulkar was batting on 66 and Laxman, playing his 100th Test, was on 34 when the umpires called for the tea break. Virender Sehwag gave a blistering start to the innings by scoring 66 off 69 balls. Debutant off-spinner Jason Krejza proved expensive for his two for 88.
Choi all praise for Indian golfers
By V. Krishnaswamy, IANS
Singapore : K.J. Choi is the latest to praise Indian golfers.
The South Korean who has won six titles on the PGA Tour said: "The level of play among Indian players has definitely improved as compared to ten years ago when I was still playing on the Asian Tour.
World Cup referee equipment comes from Germany
By DPA,
Trechtingshausen (Germany) : When a referee at the World Cup in South Africa shows a delinquent a disciplinary card on the pitch, Winfried Baaser will have reason to feel proud.
Baaser's company, B+d Allzweck Sportartikel, based in the town of Trechtingshausen in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is the supplier of referee equipment for the tournament.
Aside from the bright yellow and red cards, the equipment includes whistles and match notepads.
Security at Sawai Mansingh stadium to be tightened
By IANS,
Jaipur : The Indian Premier League (IPL) Wednesday stated that security would be tightened for the remaining IPL matches at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here in the wake of the serial blasts that rocked the city Tuesday.
The series of blasts ripped through the heart of Jaipur Tuesday evening, killing at least 63 people and injuring 90. The terror strikes have put a question mark over the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Bangalore Royals Challengers here Saturday.
However, IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said the match would be held as scheduled.
Cycling star Ricco jailed after testing positive for drug
By DPA,
Paris/Narbonne : Italian cycling star Riccardo Ricco was jailed Thursday after being kicked out of the Tour de France for testing positive for the blood-booster EPO, the online edition of the daily L'Equipe reported.
Police in the city of Pirepoix held the 24-year-old Saunier Duval rider for questioning after searching his hotel room. No information was provided about whether the search found any banned substances.
Australian PM calls for more civility in cricket
By IANS
Sydney : Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has called for more civility in cricket, responding to national captain Ricky Ponting's remarks related to the unsavoury events during the home series against India.
Rudd's views are in support of Governor-General Michael Jeffery who stirred a debate surrounding the recent Test series, lamenting the loss of grace and courtesy from the game.
Jeffery's comments drew a sharp response from Ponting Thursday, as he accused him of living in the 1950s and not understanding that cricket was now a fully professional sport.
Richie Benaud’s statue unveiled at Sydney Cricket Ground
By IANS
Sydney : Former Australia captain and world renowned cricket commentator Richie Benaud said he is honoured to have a sculpture of him erected at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here.
Benaud's statue was Thursday unveiled as the first of 10 life-size sculptures to be placed around the cricket ground and Sydney Football Stadium.
"To be given the honour of having the first sculpture here is deeply appreciated and a great honour," Benaud said as hundreds gathered behind the Ladies Stand for the unveiling of the statue.
ICL matches will be telecast on 25 channels
By IANS
Chandigarh : Terming it a landmark decision in cricket history, the Zee television network Tuesday announced the Twenty20 tournament matches of the newly formed rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) will be telecast live on 25 of its channels for some duration.
A Zee network spokesman said here that the decision had been taken to telecast the first 30 minutes of ICL matches live on 25 channels owned by the network. These will include national and regional channels. The matches will, however, not be telecast on the Zee Cinema and Zee Studio channels.
Twenty20 cricket is serious stuff, says Lillee
By IANS,
New Delhi : Twenty20 cricket has some critics, but it also has an unlikely supporter in legendry Australian fast bowler Dennis Lille.
The 58-year-old from Perth, mentor of Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL), feels players play the shortest version of the game for the pride of their team and doesn't see any reason why Twenty20 should be seen as only entertainment and showmanship.
Sreesanth hands free air tickets to jail inmates
By IANS
Dubai : Indian speedster Shanthakumaran Sreesanth might be a tough aggressive person on the field, but there is another side of the player and that got reflected when he distributed free air tickets to prisoners who have completed their jail terms.
The 25-year-old pacer, who is the brand ambassador of Dubai-based Snow-White Garments, handed over more than 50 free air tickets to the inmates of Al Aweer Jail in Dubai who had completed their jail terms but were unable to return home, as they could not afford the costly air tickets.
Scoreboard: Delhi Daredevils-Rajasthan Royals match
By IANS,
Jaipur : Following is the scoreboard of the Indian Premier League (IPL) match in which Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by three wickets here Sunday night:
Match No.33, Indian Premier League, Twenty20, Rajasthan Royals vs. Delhi Daredevils, Sawai Mansingh stadium, Jaipur, May 11.
Delhi Daredevils:
Gautam Gambhir b Trivedi 31
Virender Sehwag c Kaif b Watson 17
Shikhar Dhawan run out (Munaf Patel) 3
AB de Villiers c Warne b Mascrenhas 20
Dinesh Karthik c Rawat b Mascrenhas 13
T. Dilshan not out 18
Amit Mishra b Trivedi 4
Farvez Maharoof c NK Patel b Watson 39
Portugal’s Ronaldo is 2008 World Footballer of the Year
By DPA,
Zurich (Switzerland) : Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who last month won the European Footballer of the Year, was named FIFA World Footballer of the Year 2008.
Ronaldo, 23, who made history by becoming the first Premier League-based player to win the award Monday, convincingly beat Argentine striker Lionel Messi in second place.
Third place in the voting conducted by national team coaches and captains went to Liverpool's Spanish striker Fernando Torres.
Sri Lanka score 168/6 against England
By IANS,
Pallekele : Sri Lanka scored 168 for six in 20 overs against England in their Super Eights encounter of the World Twenty20 Championship here Monday.
Real Madrid interested in Germany’s Khedira, reports
By DPA,
Madrid : Spanish giants Real Madrid are interested in Germany midfielder Sami Khedira, according to sports daily AS Wednesday.
Khedira, 23, has had an outstanding World Cup football as a defensive midfielder and was due to play for Germany in Wednesday's semi-final against Spain.
According to AS, new Real coach Jose Mourinho has given his approval to the possible signing. VfB Stuttgart, Khedira's club, may accept around 13 million euros because his contract with them finishes in 2011.
Ignore average players to build strong Test side: Afridi
By IANS,
Karachi : Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi feels they need to ignore "average" cricketers to build a formidable Test side.
The all-rounder said while Pakistan is on track in one-day and Twenty20 formats, it will take a mammoth effort from them to form a good Test team.
"Our biggest challenge is to prepare a Test team that is capable of doing well in what I believe is by far the most difficult of all three formats," Afridi was quoted as saying in The News Wednesday.
World Cup: Bangladesh bowl out Netherlands for 160
By IANS,
Chittagong : Bangladesh bowled out the Netherlands for 160 in a cricket World Cup Group B match here Monday.
Karun fastest in Dubai GP2 test session
Dubai, Jan 22 (IANS) India's Karun Chandhok logged the quickest time of one minute, 21.894 seconds in the afternoon session of the official GP2 series test at the Autodrome circuit here Tuesday.
Driving for last year's champion team, iSport International, the 24-year old Karun, completed 33 laps in the afternoon as against 35 in the morning when he clocked 1:22.366 that placed him overall fourth. During both runs, Karun outpaced his team-mate Bruno Senna who had a time of 1:22.527 (19 laps) in the morning and 1:22.144 (49 laps) later in the day.
Nearly 150 Pakistan fans arrive for Mohali ODI
By IANS
Mohali (Punjab) : Nearly 150 cricket buffs from Pakistan have arrived here to watch the one-day international (ODI) match between India and Pakistan Thursday.
They crossed the Wagah-Attari border between the two countries near Amritsar, 300 km from here, and were brought here Wednesday night in special buses under heavy police protection.
India: Visa-on-arrival for five nations
By NNN-Bernama,
New Delhi : India has announced visa-on-arrival (VoA) for five countries as part of its campaign to promote the 2010 Commonwealth Games it is hosting.
India's Home Ministry has approved the VoA facility to citizens from Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore.
The Tourism Ministry said in a statement the VoA scheme was introduced for tourists coming from these countries which were "considered potential source markets and where there were no security concerns".
Sarah Taylor is ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year
By IANS,
Colombo: England's Sarah Taylor won the ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year at the LG ICC Awards here Saturday.
Footballers’ union in favour of winter World Cup in Qatar
By DPA,
Berlin : The world footballers' union FIFPro has come out in favour of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar being held in winter to avoid the summer heat in the Gulf state.
India cave in to Australia, Pakistan get past Spain
By Sirshendu Panth, IANS,
New Delhi : After an euphoric Sunday, India's World Cup campaign stuttered as Australia outclassed the hosts 5-2 in Pool B at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here Tuesday.
Barely 48 hours after the Indians handed Pakistan a 4-1 drubbing to begin their outing with a bang, there was a virtual reversal of script. While India disappointed, Pakistan bounced back with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Spain.
India must win if they have to stay No.1 Test team
By Sirshendu Panth, IANS,
Kolkata: With the world's top Test slot being the jackpot, a desperate India will be reinforced by the return from injuries of Venkata Sai Laxman and Shantakumaran Sreesanth for the must-win second cricket Test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens beginning Sunday.
South Africa, on their part, received a shot in the arm when their captain Graeme Smith was declared fit.
Ramiz initially dropped from commentary panel
By IANS,
Karachi : Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja was excluded from the commentary team for the ongoing one-day series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on the instructions of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), a newspaper report said Friday.
According to Urdu daily 'Jang', the PCB asked its broadcaster Ten Sports not to give the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series assignment to Ramiz. Apparently, it was because Ramiz has been critical of the PCB on various issues.
Anand draws seventh game, still leads by three points
By IANS,
Bonn : Viswanathan Anand was unable to make it a hat-trick of wins, but nevertheless moved closer to retaining his world title with a draw in the seventh game that gave him a 5-2 lead over Vladimir Kramnik in the 12-game World Chess championship final.
With the match moving into the second half, Anand had white for the second game in a row. This is because the games are played in pairs and the regulations switch the day that the players have white in this pair at the half way stage.
Manish Arora designs outfits for ICL teams
By Jaideep Sarin, IANS
Panchkula : The Indian Cricket League (ICL) has roped in dress designer Manish Arora top design the team uniform for all the six teams in the event.
Each of the team - Chandigarh Lions, Hyderabad Heroes, Mumbai Champs, Chennai Superstars, Kolkata Tigers and Delhi Jets - have a dress that reflects the ideology of that city, ICL officials claim.
They add that the colours and graphics are very vibrant, exude energy and positive attitude and work for team spirits.
Dhoni’s brand value raised his price: Chandrasekhar
By IANS
Chennai : Former India opener and chief selector of Chennai Super Kings V.B. Chandrasekhar Tuesday justified the $1.5 million spent on one-day skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Indian Premier League (IPL) players' auction saying that Dhoni's brand value forced them to raise the initial bid.
Morgan condemns IPL on proposed deal with SLC
By IANS,
London : International Cricket Council's (ICC) President David Morgan has condemned Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi's offer of $40 million to cash strapped Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) for the long term release of their players for IPL next year.
Morgan in an interview to The Daily Telegraph, said the deal Modi proposed to Sri Lanka last week was "quite unacceptable behaviour against the background of Sri Lanka's signed agreement with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)".
Indian challenge is over in Challenger singles
By IANS,
New Delhi : The remaining two Indians in the singles were knocked out of the $50,000 Challenger tennis tournament Wednesday as Ashutosh Singh and Vishu Vardhan lost their pre-quarter-final matches here at the DLTA Complex.
While Ashutosh went down fighting to fourth-seeded Japanese Go Soeda, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, Vardhan was shown the door by Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Quereshi who beat him 6-3,7-5.
Goa yet to give Abhinav Bindra promised prize
By IANS,
Panaji : The Goa government is yet to pay Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra an award of Rs.1 lakh that Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had announced after the ace shooter won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics last year, Sports Minister Manohar Azgaonkar said here Thursday.
Bindra tops the list of 743 sportspersons, most of whom hail from Goa, who are yet to be paid their cash awards announced by the state government over the last few years for their achievements.
Cumulatively, the cash award tallies up to about Rs.75 lakh in outstanding dues to sports achievers.
Lunch scoreboard: India vs. Sri Lanka, fourth day, first Test
By IANS,
Ahmedabad : The following is the scoreboard at lunch on the fourth day of the first cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka at Motera's Sardar Patel Stadium here Thursday.
India first innings:
Gautam Gambhir b Welegedara 1
Virender Sehwag lbw b Welegedara 16
Rahul Dravid b Welegedara 177
Sachin Tendulkar b Welegedara 4
V.V.S. Laxman b Prasad 0
Yuvraj Singh c Dilshan b Muralitharan 68
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Jayawardene b Prasad 110
Harbhajan Singh b Muralitharan 22
Zaheer Khan lbw Herath 12
Amit Mishra not out 7
Kerala to host 35th National Games
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala will host the 35th National Games in 2009 in three cities and the opening and closing ceremony will be held in the state capital, Kerala Sports Minister M. Vijayakumar said here Sunday.
"This was decided last evening and I am making this announcement for the first time in this meeting," said Vijayakumar while addressing a public meeting here.
Kerala Sports Council president T.P.Dasan said that the exact dates of the event were yet to be finalized.
Sri Lanka elect to field against India
By IANS,
Dambulla: Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to field against India in the Asia Cup cricket tournament here Tuesday.
Both teams have already made it to the June 24 final.
Teams:
India:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Ashok Dinda, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma
Sri Lanka:
Did lot of work on transitional game: Somdev
By Anand Philar, IANS,
Chennai: Some off-season work on his "transitional game", besides overall fitness, proved to be key factors in his resounding 7-5, 6-2 win against German veteran Rainer Schuettler, said Somdev Devvarman after he moved into the second round of the $400,000 ATP Aircel Chennai Open tennis tournament, here Tuesday night.
Reflecting on his success Tuesday night against the 33-year-old Schuettler, a former World No.6, Devvarman said his "new style" of play with more trips to the net than before, was a result of his off-season training.
Anand draws seventh game, still leads by three points
By IANS,
Bonn : Viswanathan Anand was unable to make it a hat-trick of wins, but nevertheless moved closer to retaining his world title with a draw in the seventh game that gave him a 5-2 lead over Vladimir Kramnik in the 12-game World Chess Championship final.
With the match moving into the second half, Anand had white for the second game in a row. This is because the games are played in pairs and the regulations switch the day that the players have white in this pair at the half way stage.
Knight Riders opt to bowl against Kings XI
By IANS,
Durban : Kolkata Knight Riders captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and opted to bowl against Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Kingsmead Stadium here Tuesday.
Teams:
Kings XI Punjab: Yuvraj Singh (captain), Ravi Bopara, Karan Goel, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Turuwar Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Vikramjeet Malik, Piyush Chawla, VRV Singh, Yusuf Abdulla.
Yusuf leades Rajasthan Royals to win inaugural IPL
By IANS,
Mumbai : Rajasthan Royals are the champions of the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL). In a tense, last-ball finish they beat Chennai Super Kings by three wickets at the D.Y. Patil Stadium at Nerul in Navi Mumbai Sunday night.
The Royals, dubbed as underdogs initially, steadily grew into the best team by the end of the Twenty20 tournament under Shane Warne's leadership. Fittingly, he was at the wicket to calm his team mates' nerves and pull off a game that was tremulously balanced on the knife's edge when Lakshmipathy Balaji bowled the last ball with the scores tied.
India to have comprehensive sports policy soon
By IANS
New Delhi : In an effort to provide each village in the country with basic sports facilities, the government will soon have a comprehensive sports policy, according to Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.
Sarfraz Nawaz slaps PCB chief Ijaz with defamation suit
By IANS,
Karachi : Former Pakistan Test fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz Tuesday filed a defamation suit against Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt.
Sarfraz, a vocal critic of the PCB, was miffed at Butt’s claim in a television interview that Sarfraz has demanded a huge fee from the PCB to give tips to young fast bowlers at a coaching camp.
Sania crashes out in Cincinnati tennis semis
By IANS
Cincinnati : India's Sania Mirza crashed out of the $175,000 Cincinnati Open tennis tournament when she lost to top seed Russian Anna Chakvetadze in a semi-final here.
Third seed Sania lost 2-6, 7-5, 3-6 world No.8 Chakvetadze Saturday.
This was the first semi-finals entry for Sania after two successive quarterfinals defeats in the previous editions.
Kumble first Indian to claim 100 wickets against one country
By IANS
New Delhi : Anil Kumble became the first Indian bowler to capture 100 wickets against one country - 102 at 27.38 runs apiece in 16 Tests against Australia - when he dismissed opener Phil Jaques in the second innings of the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground Saturday.
Kapil Dev had bagged 99 wickets at 30.12 runs apiece in 29 Tests against Pakistan, the most by any Indian bowler before Kumble achieved the feat.
Scoreboard: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, World Twenty20
By IANS,
Guyana : Scoreboard of the World Twenty20 Group B match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe here Monday.
Sri Lanka:
Mahela Jayawardene c Cremer b Price 100
Tillakaratne Dilshan c Mpofu b Chigumbura 2
Thissara Perera c Chigumbura b Lamb 23
Kumar Sangakkara c Price b Cremer 3
Dinesh Chandimal c Mpofu b Utseya 9
Angelo Mathews c Ervine b Lamb 4
Chamara Kapugedera c Masakadza b Price 13
Sanath Jayasuriya not out 3
Lasith Malinga not out 2
Extras: (lb-5, w-9) 14
Total: (for seven wickets in 20 overs) 173
Three Indians in top-10 of world shooting rankings
By IANS,
New Delhi : Three Indian shooters, including Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, are among the top-10 in latest world shooting rankings released by International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF).
Bindra, who won India's maiden individual gold medal at Beijing in August, retained his second spot while World Cup Final gold medallist Gagan Narang moved up three places to the sixth spot in the men's 10-metre air rifle event.
In the men's double trap event, Ronjan Singh Sodhi retained his 10th spot. Sodhi was world No.1 in June after he won gold in Belgrade World Cup.
Road show in Johannesburg promotes 2010 Commonwealth Games
By IANS,
New Delhi : In an effort to promote the 2010 Commonwealth Games which will take place in Delhi Oct 3-14, the ministry of tourism organised a road show in Johannesburg coinciding with the relay of the Queen's baton there.
The event which took place Tuesday saw 10 double-decker buses with images of the Incredible India campaign being flagged off by the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, M. Mashabane and the Consul General of India, Vikram Doraiswamy, along with T.S. Darbari, joint director general of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.
Pakistan humble lacklustre Bangladesh
By IANS,
Dhaka : Pakistan warmed up for bigger battles against India with a clinical 70-run routing of a lacklustre Bangladesh in the tri-nation one-day international (ODI) series opener here Sunday.
Pakistan were all out for 233 in 39.3 overs after the match was reduced to 40-overs-a-side due to rain. Salman Butt scored a strokeful 70 of 84 balls while Mohammad Yousuf (59) and Misbah-ul Haq (39) chipped in with useful contributions.
Tumultuous homecoming for Euro champions Spain
By IANS,
Madrid : The Spanish football team received a tumultuous reception here late Monday on their homecoming after winning the Euro 2008, EFE reports.
Surrounded by all his teammates and coach Luis Aragones, team captain Iker Casillas raised the trophy before the tens of thousands of delirious fans who filled Madrid's Colon Plaza.
Earlier, the authors of Spain's greatest football success in recent times appeared in an open-top bus amid the cheers of the fans who excitedly pressed in close to their idols.
Beautification work begins ahead of Commonwealth Games
By IANS,
New Delhi : With just a year to go for the Commonwealth Games, the Public Works Department (PWD) Monday said that they have started the beautification work in areas near the games venues.
The entire beautification process will include planting of saplings to make the place look greener and construction of foot paths and cycle tracks.
Ponting completes ton as Australia take control
By IANS
Adelaide : Australia were 425 for three at lunch on the fourth day of the fourth Test against India here Sunday, with captain Ricky Ponting scoring his 34th century and Michael Clarke nearing his sixth.
Ponting was batting on 124 (239 balls, 10x4s) and Clarke was on 91 (195 balls, 6x4s) and the two have now put on a record 184 for the fourth wicket, while the depleted Indian bowling attack toiled without any success in the morning session. Australia are still 101 runs behind India's total but they still have seven wickets in hand.
Italy’s Schiavone makes history to win French Open
By DPA,
Paris : Smiling Francesca Schiavone made history for Italy as she defeated Australian Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) to win the French Open Saturday.
The 29-year-old from Milan is the first Italian woman to lift a Grand Slam trophy and is the first Italian player overall to play a final at the majors since Adriano Panatta won Paris in 1976.
Schiavone dominated on the clay against the seventh-seeded Stosur, who reached the semi-finals a year ago.
Reports of rift in Indian team exaggerated: BCCI president
By IANS,
New Delhi : Indian Cricket Board president N. Srinivasan Wednesday dismissed as mere speculation growing reports of a rift in the Indian cricket team.
‘Most unfair’ to target Dhoni for T20 debacle, says Big B
By IANS,
New Delhi : Mahender Singh Dhoni, who stands to lose his captaincy after the Indian team's poor performance at the World Twenty20, has found a steadfast supporter in Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan who says he is "appalled" at the way the cricketer is being targeted.
After the Indian team's early exit from the tournament, the team, particularly Dhoni, has been facing flak from authorities, public and the media. But Amitabh feels it is not right to target a sportsperson like this.
Scoreboard: India vs New Zealand; Second Test, Day Three
By IANS,
Napier : Scoreboard on the third day of the second cricket Test between India and New Zealand here Saturday:
New Zealand: Ist innings 619/9 declared
India: 1st innings
Gautam Gambhir c Vettori b Patel 16
Virender Sehwag c McCullum b Vettori 34
Rahul Dravid c McCullum b Ryder 83
Ishant Sharma lbw b Vettori 0
Sachin Tendulkar c Taylor b Patel 49
V.V.S. Laxman c McIntosh b Martin 76
Yuvraj Singh c McIntosh b Martin 0
Dinesh Karthik c Ryder b Martin 6
Harbhajan Singh c Martin b O'Brien 18
Zaheer Khan c Ryder b O'Brien 8
Everton sign Russian midfielder
By DPA,
London : Everton confirmed Tuesday that they have signed Russia international Diniyar Bilyaletdinov from Lokomotiv Moscow for an undisclosed fee.
The 24-year-old creative midfielder met with Everton officials in Hamburg Monday and agreed terms.
He is not eligible for Everton's Europe League play-off second match against Sigma Olomouc Thursday, and it is unlikely he will be available for Sunday's Premier League game against Wigan Athletic.
Amritraj beats Soeda, India 2-0 up in Davis Cup
By IANS
New Delhi : Prakash Amritraj fought back to clinch a thrilling five-setter against Go Soeda of Japan in the second singles to give India a 2-0 lead in the Asia Oceania Davis Cup Group I tie here Friday.
Amritraj came back after losing the first two sets to win 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 8-6 against Soeda.
Earlier, Rohan Bopanna prevailed over Kei Nishikori 7-6 (2) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in the first singles match.
Saina, Sridhar move up on a dismal day
By V. Krishnaswamy, IANS,
Beijing : Shuttlers provided the only silver lining on an otherwise gloomy day for India at the Beijing Olympic Games Sunday.
The country's teenage badminton sensation Saina Nehwal raised prospects of a good finish by breezing into the women's pre-quarter final, before Anup Sridhar made it to the second round in the men's event on day two of the competition.
Varela’s last gasp goal keeps Portugal in hunt for place in last-16
Manaus (Brazil): A dramatic goal from Silvestre Varela with just 30 seconds to the end helped Portugal earn a 2-2 draw against the US...
Sunitha Rao-Jozami in second round of Colombia tourney
By IANS
Bogota (Colombia) : India's Sunitha Rao and Betina Jozami of Argentina had to battle hard to get past the Czech-Brazilian pair of Andrea Hlavackova and Fernanda Maria Alves in the doubles first round of the $185,000 Copa Colsanitas Santander tennis tournament here.
Rao and Jozami came back strongly after being whitewashed in the first set to beat Hlavackova and Maria Alves 0-6, 6-4, 10-8 Wednesday.
Cricket brings together BJP, Congress
By IANS,
Gurgaon : In these troubled political times, BJP and Congress leaders came together to play cricket here Saturday, the MPs XI defeating legislators from Haryana by five wickets.
Five birdies on back nine bring Atwal into top-10
By IANS,
Junction City, Oregon (US) : A stunning back nine with five birdies and no bogeys saw Arjun Atwal fight his way into the top-10 of the Oregon Classic golf on a cool, windy day at Shadow Hills Country Club.
Atwal (67), lying way back in 57th place after two rounds, is now tied eighth at nine-under 207 and seven shots behind the leader Matt Bettencourt (65) Saturday.
In the third round Atwal was even par after nine with nine pars, before he exploded into a birdie mode.
Will dig up Eden pitch: Anti-Terrorist Front of India
Kolkata: Anti-Terrorist Front of India (ATFI) , which has been stridently opposing the Pakistan cricket team playing in India, on Wednesday threatened to...
Cricket board announces Rs.2.5 mn cash award for shooter Bindra
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Monday announced a cash award of Rs. 2.5 million to the Beijing Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra.
Bindra became the first Indian ever to win an individual Olympic gold medal by claiming top honours Monday in the men's 10-metre air rifle.
"Hearty congratulations to Abhinav Bindra for winning India's first-ever individual gold medal at the Olympics. He has done the country proud. His achievement heralds a new era for Indian sport," BCCI President Sharad Pawar said in a statement.
CWG Results: Day nine
By IANS,
New Delhi: The following are the results on the ninth day of the competitions at the Commonwealth Games here Tuesday.
Aquatics: S.P.Mukherkee Aquatics Complex
Women's:
Sehwag and Gambhir nursing injuries; Dinesh Karthik in Mohali
By Abhishek Roy, IANS,
Mohali : Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were injured in Saturday's One-dayer in Delhi and their availability to play in the fourth match of the seven-match series here Monday will be known only in the morning of the day-night game.
The injuries could not have come at a more inopportune time as India were looking to take a firm grip over the series by winning here at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium and lead the series 3-1. Playing at their full strength they won at Nagpur and Delhi after losing the series opener at Vadodara.
Kumble confident of India’s comeback
By Avishek Roy, IANS
Ahmedabad : Indian cricket team captain Anil Kumble Saturday said he was confident of team's comeback in the final Test against South Africa to square the three-match series.
South Africa defeated India by an innings and 90 runs in what was hosts' biggest loss in eight years. With the win, South Africa has now taken a 1-0 lead in the series. The final will be played at Kanpur April 11.
After Harmison, Hoggard in doubt for Lord’s Test
By Ashis Ray, IANS
London : England are likely to be without fast bowler Matthew Hoggard for the Lord's Test against India starting Thursday
The Yorkshire fast bowler was expected to share the new ball with former county mate Ryan Sidebottom.
Hoggard was sent to hospital for a scan after suffering back spasms during practice Wednesday and is rated as "extremely doubtful" for Thursday's game.
Cricket is serious business for Agra traders
By IANS
Agra : It's not all work for merchants and shopkeepers of the Taj city. They also enjoy playing cricket, if the enthusiasm displayed at a recent tournament is anything to go by.
The Siya Ram Trophy, sponsored by the Agra Wholesale Cloth Merchants Association, was won by a team from the neighbourhood Roshan Mohalla, which defeated the Subhash Bazar team on Christmas day in the 20-20 cup tournament held for the first time in Agra.
Indians have their backs to the wall in Napier Test
By IANS,
Napier : New Zealand seized control of the second cricket Test against India, reducing the visitors to 79 for three, after Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum carried them to 619 for nine declared in their first innings on the second day at Mclean Park here.
Ryder's double century (201) and McCullum's 115 saw New Zealand amass an imposing first innings total to put pressure on Indian batsmen.
After being on the field for close to two days, the tired Indian team got off to a disastrous start on a good batting track that showed no sign of wear and tear.
Sania ranked 29th in the world, number one in Asia
By IANS
New Delhi : India's Sania Mirza Monday climbed three places to 29 on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour and now she is Asia Number One for the first time.
The WTA website shows Sania, ranked 32nd before the Australian Open, has 931 points. This is, however, not the 21-year-old player's career-best ranking as she was 27th in August.
Na Li of China at 32nd is the second best Asian on the WTA ranking list with 882 points.
IOA courts controversy over Olympic support staff
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) hardly had any problem in picking the competitors for the Beijing Olympic Games as most of them qualified on merit, but it is caught in a cleft stick while finalising the backup staff.
The super stars in the contingent want their personal coaches and physios to accompany them but the number of support staff cannot exceed 42 for 13 disciplines. The number is swelling to more than 42 for 57 competitors. The list is only of coaches, physios and masseurs, not managers and the so-called observers.
Serie A results
By IANS,
Rome : The following are the Serie A results of matches held Sunday (home teams listed first):
Catania 3 beat Lazio 1
Atalanta 0 lost...
Jeev jumps to four-shot lead in Austrian Open Golf
By IANS,
New Delhi : Closing a sensational second round with a brilliant eagle on the ninth after teeing off from the tenth India's Jeev Milkha Singh opened up a four-shot lead after second round of the Bank Austria Golf Open. He added a brilliant eight-under 63 to his first seven-under 64 to go a whopping 15-under for two rounds and he was four clear of the nearest rival Simon Wakefield (65) who is at 11-under.
Jeev, who shared the first round lead with five others has had two runner-up finishes this season and in his own words, has "been knocking on the doors of victory".
Sri Lanka set India 308-run target
By IANS,
Colombo : Sanath Jayasuriya and Thilina Kandamby propelled Sri Lanka to 307 for six against India in the Compaq Cup tri-series one-day international cricket here Saturday.
Jayasuriya scored 98 off 79 balls, smacking 13 fours while Thilina remained unbeaten on 91.
Both teams have already reached the final of the tournament.
Lunch scoreboard: India vs New Zealand, Second Test, Day three
By IANS,
Hyderabad : The following is the scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the second cricket Test between India and New Zealand here Sunday:
New Zealand first innings: 350
Herschelle Gibbs faces huge maintenance claim
By Fakir Hassen, IANS,
Cape Town : South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs may have to fork out a large part of his earnings from his Indian Professional League (IPL) debut if his wife Tenelle succeeds in her lawsuit here.
Tenelle Gibbs has accused her husband, who is currently playing in English county cricket until the end of July, of abusing alcohol, having become "verbally abusive, aggressive and erratic", according to the daily Mercury.
South Korean wins second ITF title in three weeks
By IANS,
New Delhi : Second seed South Korean Young-Jun Kim clinched his second $10,000 International Tennis Federation (ITF) in three weeks here at the DLTA stadium beating Japanese Kento Takeuchi 6-3, 6-1 Saturday.
The 29-year-old Kim was also the winner of the first of the three back-to-back ITF tournament here and has thus won 18 of his last 19 matches; his only loss came in the form a mid-match retirement when he had to concede his semi-final against Vishnu Vardhan due to a sore knee and exhaustion.
Scoreboard of Chennai Super Kings-Deccan Chargers
By IANS,
Hyderabad : Following is the scoreboard of the Indian Premier League match in which Chennai Super Kings beat Deccan Chargers by seven wickets here Tuesday night.
Match no 54, Indian Premier League, Twenty20 tournament, Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, May 27.
Deccan Chargers innings (20 overs maximum)
Adam Gilchrist c Mukund b Gony 5
Herschelle Gibbs c Balaji b Ntini 8
Scott Styris b Muralitharan 20
Venugopal Rao run out (Gony/Patel) 46
Ravi Teja c Mukund b Morkel 40
Shahid Afridi c Raina b Balaji 1
Change New Delhi to ‘Dilli’ before 2010 Games: minister
By IANS,
New Delhi : Does 'Dilli' more effectively describe the cosmopolitan character of the national capital than 'New Delhi'?
So feels Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister M.S. Gill, who wants the name of the Indian capital changed to Dilli, saying the word is more close to the people's heart.
Speaking at a conference 'Delhi - A World Class City in the Making' here Thursday, Gill appealed to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to change the name to Dilli before the Commonwealth Games 2010.
Chinese coach questions Ferguson over Dong injury
By Xinhua
Shenyang (China) : Chinese Olympic football team's head coach Ratomir Djukovic hinted here Wednesday that Manchester United striker Dong Fang-zhuo failed to join his team because of a "fake" injury.
Djukovic said: "I don't know whether Dong was injured himself or Sir Alex Ferguson did not let him go. Maybe you should ask the coach of Manchester United."
Shenyang (China) : Chinese Olympic football team's head coach Ratomir Djukovic hinted here Wednesday that Manchester United striker Dong Fang-zhuo failed to join his team because of a "fake" injury.
Djukovic said: "I don't know whether Dong was injured himself or Sir Alex Ferguson did not let him go. Maybe you should ask the coach of Manchester United."
Triple bogey sees Jeev slip to 45th in Japan
Gotemba (Japan), Nov 11 (IANS) India's Jeev Milkha Singh dropped four shots in just two holes and slipped to 45th place as action ended at the Taiheiyo Masters men's golf tournament Sunday.
Jeev carded a three-over 75 with two birdies, a bogey and a triple bogey for a total of one-over 289 for four days.
Overnight leader Brendan Jones of Australia landed an eagle on the final hole for a two-under-par 70 to claim the title. He finished one ahead of local favourite Toru Taniguchi of Japan, who birdied the final hole.
Australia need 375 runs to win Mohali Test
By IANS,
Mohali : Australia were 141 for five in the second innings at stumps at close of play on the fourth day of the second Test against India at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here Monday. Australia need another 375 runs to win the match.
Michael Clarke (42) and Brad Haddin (8) were at the crease when stumps were drawn. Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh picked up three wickets for 23 runs while fast bowler Ishant Sharma snared two for 29.
Sanchez shrugs off ‘cheating’ accusation by Serena Williams
By DPA,
Paris : Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez laughed off the charge of "cheating" levelled by Serena Williams after the American second seed bludgeoned out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory into the French Open fourth round Saturday in controversial fashion.
"I just put my racket up (in defence) and the ball hit it," said the 26-year-old ranked 43rd, who denied the ball hit her body - a breach of the rules and an automatic point for the opponent. "I don't want to talk about this.
Euro 2008 warm-up wins for co-hosts, Czech Republic, Italy
By DPA,
Hamburg : Czech Republic and co-hosts Switzerland, who play the opening game of the European Championships next week, have chalked up victories in friendly internationals.
World champions Italy meanwhile were impressive 3-1 winners over Belgium, while Switzerland's co-hosts Austria enjoyed their first victory of the year in a 5-1 run out against Malta Friday.
The Czechs downed Scotland 3-1 in Prague in their last match before the tournament thanks to two goals from Libor Sionko and a late third from defender Michal Kadlec.
Paes-Dlouhy enter Dubai Tennis Championships quarters
By IANS,
Dubai : India's Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy have joined Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The second-seeded Indo-Czech pair fought off a tough first set challenge from Polish pair Mariusz Frystenberg and Marcin Matkowski before winning 7-6(7), 6-3 here Monday.
Paes and Dlouhy now await the winners of the match between wildcard pair of India's Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Frenchman Arnaud Clement and Swede Robert Lindstedt.
Federer at odds with bookie pick of Murray
By DPA,
Melbourne : Roger Federer will begin his Australian Open tennis tune-up Wednesday at the AAMI Classic, ignoring bookmaker chatter that his Grand Slam title hopes are under siege from newcomer Andy Murray.
The Swiss takes on old foe Carlos Moya in the eight-man event which runs through Saturday, providing the field with top practise for the Open which begins Monday.
The fact that Murray and Federer are tipped at an equal $3.50 ($1 earns $3.50 back) to win the Open by Australian oddsmakers took the Swiss by surprise.
Scoreboard: India vs Australia, Day I
By IANS,
Bangalore : Scoreboard at stumps on Day One of the first cricket Test between India and Australia at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here Thursday.
Australia: 1st innings
Matthew Hayden c Dhoni b Khan 0
Simon Katich c Dhoni b Sharma 66
Ricky Ponting lbw b Harbhajan Singh 123
Michael Hussey batting 46
Michael Clarke lbw b Khan 11
Extras (lb 5, w 1, nb 2) 8
Total (4 wickets; 89.2 overs) 254
Fall of wickets 1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-166 (Katich, 54.4), 3-226 (Ponting, 78.4),
4-254 (Clarke, 89.2)
Bowling
Zaheer Khan 17.2 4 39 2 (1nb, 1w)
Ishant Sharma 16 3 49 1
21 world champions to attend Valencia 2008
By Xinhua
Valencia (Spain) : As many as 21 world champions are taking part in the 12th Indoor World Athletics Championships, which started here Friday.
Among them, 14 athletes have won the gold medals at the last Indoor World Championships in Moscow in 2006 and 11 collected the gold at the outdoor events in Osaka last summer, according to the organizers.
Deaflympics opens in Taiwan with drums and a firework display
By DPA,
Taipei : A spectacular fireworks display and the beating of drums by 80 deaf students heralded the opening of the 21st Summer Deaflympics here Saturday evening.
President Ma Ying-jeou, through sign language, announced the opening of the 10-day games, being attended by nearly 3,000 athletes from 80 countries and regions.
They will compete in some 100 events in 20 sports.
The Chinese team boycotted the opening because of Ma's presence, as China sees Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) as its breakaway province and does not recognize Ma as president.
Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals to battle it out at Chepauk
By IANS,
Chennai : Having gained a fresh lease of life with a stunning five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings will be looking to consolidate their position with another success when they host Rajasthan Royals at Chepauk Saturday in Indian Premier League cricket.
The win over Bangalore Wednesday came following four consecutive defeats and the Super Kings, until then tethering on the edge of a precipice, resurrected their campaign in splendid fashion, successfully chasing a target of 162.
China promises safe Olympics despite suspect terrorist plots
By DPA
Beijing : China is confident that its security system will ensure the safety of the August Olympic Games despite the discovery of two suspected terrorist plots, a spokesman for the organizers said Monday.
"We have always attached great importance to Olympic security," spokesman Sun Weide said in a statement.
"We have already adopted a number of measures and a comprehensive security system," Sun said, pointing out that the Chinese officials had also cooperated with international experts and organized security training for the Olympic staff.
Board strikes back at Kapil for heading rebel league
By IANS
Mumbai : Taking a tough stance, the Indian cricket board Tuesday sacked former India captain Kapil Dev as chairman of the National Cricket Academy for joining the rebel Indian Cricket League. The board, in a move to stem further exodus, also announced a hefty pay hike for domestic cricketers.
The decision to sack Kapil, who presently heads the Zee TV-promoted ICL's executive board, was taken at a special general body meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) here.
Pradhan topples Dixit in junior national squash
By IANS,
Chennai : Abhishek Pradhan seeded 3/4th, created the biggest upset of the junior national squash championship here Monday when he defeated top seed Ravi Dixt in an enthralling five games to enter the final of the boys under-17 category.
Ravi won the first game 13-11, hitting lengths to great effect but there on came the charge from Abhishek. Running down every ball that was thrown at him and hitting some delightful drops, Abhishek won the second game 13-11.
Terror-prone subcontinent may lose 2011 cricket World Cup: report
By IANS,
Melbourne : The terror attacks on Mumbai can snatch from India the rights to host the cricket World Cup in 2011 with western world raising the concern over the security of the players in the subcontinent.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are scheduled to stage cricket's marquee tournament in February and March of 2011. But if the decision to shift the venue is taken, then Australia and New Zealand who are to host the World Cup in 2015, become the possible choices, according to a media report.
India win fourth ODI by eight runs
By IANS
Chandigarh : India defeated Australia by eight runs in the fourth One-day International here Monday and reduced the margin to 1-2 in the seven-match series.
Sachin Tendulkar (79) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (50 not out) smashed half-centuries as India scored 291 for four wickets in 50 overs. Australia made 283 for seven wickets in 50 overs. Rudra Pratap Singh and Harbhajan Singh took two wickets apiece.
Australia’s ODI tour of India from Oct 10
By IANS,
Kolkata: Australia will tour India to play seven One-Day Internationals (ODI) and a Twenty20 International from Oct 10 to Nov 2 later this year.
Juniors to represent India in Commonwealth boxing
By IANS
New Delhi : Only juniors will represent the country in the July 22-29 Commonwealth boxing championships in England, the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation has said.
The 11 boxers and five officials leave for England Saturday night.
The IABF had been criticised for its decision to field a junior team in the competition as it makes it easier for seniors in the competition to win medals.
Amity United beat Indian National in second division I-League
By IANS,
New Delhi: Amity United defeated Indian National 1-0 in the Group B preliminary round league match of ONGC 2nd division I-League at the Ambedkar Stadium here Sunday.
Udhaya Surya scored the winner in the 77th minute of a nice through pass sent by Useni Joshuo from the right flank.
In the first half, both teams were playing listless soccer and failed to make any serious move.
After the break, Amity United came out with a better plan and made regular inroads by the trio of Monday Ugbuji, Parveen Arora and Useni Joshuao.
This year enjoy IPL matches live at cinema halls
By IANS,
New Delhi: Many cinema halls around the country have decided to create a stadium-like atmosphere by screening live the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.
The matches, from March 12 to April 25, will be played in India after being held in South Africa the last time. The matches will be screened in multiplexes as well as on single screens.
"It is a new and exciting offer. Usually the traditional method is to show films in theatres, so this is something innovative," UFO Moviez India CEO Rajesh Mishra told IANS.
Randhawa, Kapur for British Open qualifiers
By IANS
Singapore : Jyoti Randhawa will lead the six-member Indian contingent vying for the four berths on offer at the Asian qualifier for the British Open Championship at the Sentosa Golf Club.
The qualifier to be held March 25-26 will be a 36-hole affair with 67 players from 16 countries having already confirmed their participation.
There will be four berths available for the 137th Open Championship to be held at Royal Birkdale in Britain July 17-20.
BCCI offers amnesty to 102 ICL rebels
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian cricket board Tuesday offered amnesty to 79 current cricketers and 12 former Test players, who had joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).
Eleven support staff, who had also joined the ICL, were also welcomed back by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The decision to offer amnesty to the players was taken in the BCCI's working committee meeting here in April.
Among the 79 cricketers were Dinesh Mongia, Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Ambati Rayudu.
Pins sell the best in the Olympic Village
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Shiny lapel pins of various themes have emerged the most popular buys in the Olympic Village.
There is only one official licensed products store in the Olympic Village. And everyday hundreds of Olympic villagers pour in, choosing different kinds of souvenirs for their friends and relatives.
Wang Ze, salesman of the store, told Xinhua here Wednesday that there were over 3,000 kinds of commodities in the store but nearly one-third of the daily sale came from lapel pins.
Indian women’s hockey team edge past Canada
By IANS,
London : The Indian women's hockey team beat Canada 3-2 in the first Test at Tamanawis Park in Surrey Wednesday.
India opened the scoring through captain Surinder Kaur from a penalty corner in the 15th minute.
Thea Culley levelled it for Canada in the 41st minute before Ritu Rani gave back the lead to India, converting a penalty corner in the 53rd minute. Rani Rampal added to the tally in the 61st minute.
Robyn Pewdleton scored another goal for Canada eight minutes later.
The second Test in the four match series shall be played at the same venue Thursday.
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