52k pound bid on eBay for World Cup final Jabulani ball

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 12:22 PM

London, July 16(ANI): The Adidas Jabulani ball used in the FIFA World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands has sparked a bidding frenzy on eBay.

The bidding price has soared from 99 pounds to 52,100 pounds, with the auction ending at 5pm on Friday.

All proceeds from the auction will go to former South African President Nelson Mandela's 46664 charity promoting education, training and research in Africa to relieve child poverty and Aids.

The Jabulani was developed at UK's Loughborough University, and was the official match ball for the tournament in South Africa.

The ball is made from eight spherically molded panels and has a textured surface intended to improve aerodynamics.

However, the ball received extensive criticism from players and coaches before and during the World Cup, who said that the path of the ball through the air is unpredictable.

"Interest seems heightened by the controversy - and also because it is for a great cause," The Sun quoted an eBay spokesman, as saying. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Tendulkar deserve World Cup win: Morrison

Fri, Jul 16 10 12:08 PM

Auckland, July 16 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar deserves a World Cup victory under his belt but to realise this dream the batting icon needs players like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni to fire in 2011 home event, says former Kiwi fast bowler Danny Morrison. "Sachin Tendulkar, the master, deserves to have some sort of winners'' medal hanging round his neck but it''s not all about him. Cricket is a tough game and it''s also about whether Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni can deliver for India. Can they do it for Sachin?," Morrison said at an ICC audio-cricket show. The cricketer-turned-commentator also feels that India will be strong contenders to lift the World Cup. "I think India has the best opportunity to lift the World Cup this time round. It has to be good for them playing on home turf. It adds pressure but that''s part of hosting. "You feel that India want something special to happen and this year I think you''ve got to go with the India team to emulate the 1983 side led by Kapil Dev," said Morrison, who claimed 126 ODI wickets and 160 in Tests. India will co-host the 2011 edition along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in February-March.

Source: Published>

No relief from court, Modi to face BCCI panel

Fri, Jul 16 10 11:52 AM

Mumbai, July 16 -- The stand-off between Lalit Modi, the suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took a major turn on Thursday when the Bombay High Court refused to grant Modi the relief he sought. The court, after hearing arguments from both sides, dismissed Modi's petition asking it to quash the BCCI's proceedings against him and appoint an independent panel to hear his case. This means Modi will have to appear before the BCCI's three-member disciplinary committee on Friday. However, there was no confirmation that Modi would appear. A source close to him said that he was currently holidaying in Sardinia, off the coast of Italy, and might be represented by his lawyer. A division bench of Justices B.H. Marlapalle and Roshan Dalvi considered the fact that the disciplinary committee had offered Modi a chance to raise his preliminary objections. The judges relied on a July 7 mail from the committee to Modi in which he was assured a proper hearing. They therefore dismissed the petition as premature. Mahmood Abdi, member of Modi's legal team indicated that Modi would continue to press for changes in the composition of the disciplinary committee. "The BCCI will consider the demand for recusal at the disciplinary committee meeting," said Abdi. The BCCI sought to downplay the court's decision. "We don't look at this verdict in terms of victory or defeat," BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said. "We followed a procedure and it was challenged by Modi in the court. The court has given its directive." Modi has been accused of financial irregularities relating to the bidding process for IPL teams, the mid-over ad sales and the sale of theatrical rights, among other things.

Modi has contended that Amin should not be part of the committee as he was part of a failed bid to buy an IPL team. He also wants Jaitley to recuse himself as he was one of the BCCI members who voted to ratify the charges against Modi.

Source: Published>

Fight to finish in lower weight bouts

Fri, Jul 16 10 11:26 AM

New Delhi, July 15 -- The 57th Senior Men's National Boxing Championship is witnessing a keen contest in the lower-weight categories. The semifinals of the light fly and flyweight categories on Thursday turned out to be a closely contested affair, with all bouts going down to the wire. In the first semifinal of the light flyweight category, Vipin Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) sneaked into the final with a thrilling 7-6 win over M.Murgan (Tamil Nadu). The second semi-final in this category between Amandeep Singh (RSPB) and Sunil (Haryana) turned out to be even more exciting. Both the boxers were neck and neck right through the bout, with Sunil managing one point more than his opponent in the last round to eke out a thrilling win. Both of them were tied at one point each in the first round, and the deadlock continued even in the second round with both of them again managing a point each. In the final round, Sunil managed to pick four points as against three by Amandeep to enter the final. Sunil also works with the Railways but entered the competition from Haryana as he was not selected to represent his department. "I knew it would be a good bout as Amandeep is a fine boxer but I knew I could beat him," said Sunil. Sunil has earlier won a gold medal in 2006 Asian and World Cadet Championship. The following year he won gold in the Junior Asian Championship and the Senior Commonwealth Games championship.

"I am confident of winning the gold," said Sanjay.

Source: Published>

Can't judge by rankings alone, it's the titles that really count

Fri, Jul 16 10 11:22 AM

India, July 15 -- When Saina Nehwal breached the top-five barrier in the rankings back in March 2010, the 20-year-old elatedly messaged a few well-wishers and journalists informing them about the achievement. Now, she climbs on and it's journalists who are trying hard to get through to her. There is a sense of jubilation at the record breaking Hyderabadi girl reaching a high that no other Indian woman shuttler had come anywhere near. On Thursday, Saina climbed one more peak by reaching the second spot in the world rankings but this time the euphoria has given way to an understanding that these are just numbers and that the standing does not really count unless you show big results. The fickle nature of the ranking system is evident from the fact that Saina hasn't played a tournament in the last three weeks and still managed to leapfrog Xin Wang to the second spot. That's because the Chinese dropped points by opting not to play last week. The ranking system is based on the best 10 performances of the players in the last 52 weeks and if some other player registers good results in the next few weeks there could be considerable change in the standings. However, the race for the top may stay in suspended animation till the World Championship in August since Saina, world number one Yihan Wang and Xin are not scheduled to play any tournament before the flagship event. Even if Saina creates history by becoming the first Indian to lift the world crown, it is no guarantee that she will become the world number one then. Yihan is still about 10,000 points ahead of the Indian and will not be defending considerable points in the championship since she was knocked out at the pre-quarterfinal stage last year.

A lot of credit for Saina's rise in the world ranking this year should go to national coach and her mentor Pullela Gopi Chand for making the 20-year-old realise that its the number of titles that stay with a player for life, rankings are just a whimsical spread of points based also on what other players are doing in a particular week.

Source: Published>

Now, I'm obsessed to beat World No.1: Saina

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 11:18 AM

Headlines may begin to grow weary of her mention, such has been Saina Nehwal's grip over bold proclamations of success on sports pages in the last one month. On a day when she found herself hiking to World No 2 in badminton's latest rankings, she also declared her intentions of eyeing the No 1 spot, albeit on her own inimitably strict terms.

"World No. 1 is important, but I'll truly deserve to be number one only when I've beaten all the top players, or when I'm a World Champion," the 20-year-old shuttler said, reiterating her priorities: title conquests come first, rankings will reflect later.

"No. 2 is great, but I can't keep thinking of rankings. I'll focus on winning tournaments, because when I win, I'm everywhere - in the limelight, in the top rankings, in people's minds," she said of her simplified goal-setting, while happy at the latest achievement. Nehwal's promotion to No. 2 came at the expense of Chinese Xin Wang who dropped almost 3000 ranking-points in this last tournament week to slip down to No 3 pushing the triple-crown winner of last month to her highest ranking, and puts the Indian just below reigning No 1 Yihan Wang.

Nehwal greeted the No. 2 news with a mix of caution, elation and some laidback banter. "Something or the other keeps happening everyday and there's some good news always these days! The last one month, I've woken up to success on many days and it feels nice. It's been dream-like. I'd just get up, play a match and then win day after day for 3 weeks. After that it's been lots of interviews and felicitation - talking lots day after day," she said.

Nehwal's idolising of Roger Federer is well-known, but she similarly looks up to India's champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar, whose unsatiable hunger for runs makes him a global icon. "He's an inspiration - to keep aiming higher," she says.

The two people most privy to her ambitions then, were her parents. "Mom and Dad - they always stood behind me, but stayed in the backdrop all these years. It's only now that they've come into the limelight. They joke that they're more famous than me on TV! But I owe to them the confidence even in tough times," Nehwal says.

But there's no two ways about who's the one player she's gunning to conquer. "I like winning all my matches, but there's just one player I'm obsessed with beating. The World No 1. Right now it's Yihan Wang and I still feel bad that I lost to her at the Uber Cup in Malaysia...lost 21-18 in the third set. That was very close and it hurts," she says. She's World No 2, but when the glee's set aside, Nehwal's strongest emotion on this day is her restless resolve to beat the World No 1.

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Manchester United make low-key arrival for America tour

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 10:58 AM

Manchester United's first North American Tour in six years got off to a subdued start on Thursday when the world's richest club was left grounded in Chicago by bad weather and forced to delay its arrival in Toronto.

An already short stay in Canada was trimmed to a little more than 24 hours for the Red Devils, who will open their four city tour against Scottish Premier League runners-up Celtic on Friday before leaving for the second leg of the trip the next morning.

The stormy conditions denied organisers an opportunity to promote the match and make one final push to boost ticket sales for an event that is going head-to-head with the Toronto Indy being raced on city streets this weekend.

While the Indy is offering free action, promoters of the Manchester/Celtic friendly are asking fans to fork out between $90-165 for a contest that will be missing the players who represented their countries at the World Cup in South Africa.

Certainly the Red Devils did not receive the type of fanfare normally reserved for the world's most famous soccer club when they arrive for a match.

Only a handful of reporters, two photographers and two television cameras attended the delayed media briefing that featured just one player, Darren Fletcher.

The Scotland captain appeared to draw the short straw but was not forced to give up much of his time, fielding just five questions before a team media officer abruptly ended the news conference.

"It's great to be here in Toronto and all the players are looking forward to it," Fletcher said. "We're excited to get our first game of the pre-season after 10 days of training all the lads are itching for their first game."

Arriving in Toronto just four days after the World Cup final, Manchester will wrap up their visit in Houston on July 28 by providing the opposition for the Major League Soccer All-Star Game.

In-between, United will take on the Philadelphia Union (July 21) and Kansas City Wizards (July 25) before a trip to Mexico, where they will help Guadalajara open their new stadium (July 30) as part of a deal to sign Mexican striker Javier Hernandez.

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Bhajji eyes swift return from illness

Fri, Jul 16 10 10:36 AM

Colombo, July 16 -- Despite being clobbered by the Sri Lanka President's XI batsmen for the second time in three days, the Indian bowling unit heaved a sigh of relief before leaving for Galle on Thursday. Minutes after the practice match was called off at the Colts Cricket Club, Sachin Tendulkar walked on to the centre wicket with coach Gary Kirsten for a brief session. As Kirsten was trying to make Tendulkar awkward with his throw-ins, out came Harbhajan Singh, the torch bearer of the Indian attack, and joined them in the middle.

But it was later learnt that the offie wasn't at all in discomfort and is on course to be available for selection for the Galle Test, which starts on Sunday. Even a 70 per cent fit Harbhajan can breathe some life into the Indian bowling attack, which is already feeling the absence of injured Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth.

Source: Published>

ICSE sports stars happy with extra marks

Fri, Jul 16 10 10:08 AM

Mumbai, July 16 -- ICSE students who have participated in state or national level sports welcomed the state government's decision to award 25 extra marks to those who have represented their institutions. Some ICSE parents had moved the high court because the benefit of giving grace marks was only available to state board students. "It's good that ICSE sportspersons will also get 25 extra marks that will put them on par with SSC sportspersons," said Harshit Dua, a student of Bhakti Vedanta School at Juhu. Those who have played sports at the state, national or international level will be eligible for the extra marks. "We will have to call the children back to school tomorrow since they have already filled their forms today," said Dr C Pathak, principal of HVB Academy at Marine Lines. But not everyone is convinced. "While it's fair to give the same leeway to students from both boards, it's uncalled for on the whole," said Dr Kirti Narain, principal of Jai Hind College at Churchgate.

Source: Published>

Contador on familiar terrain in Mende

Fri, Jul 16 10 09:38 AM

Defending champion Alberto Contador will be on familiar ground in the 210.5-km 12th stage of the Tour de France between Bourg de Peage and Mende on Friday.

The stage ends at the top of the Causse de Mende following a short but steep three-kilometre climb named after Frenchman Laurent Jalabert, who won a Tour stage on top of it in 1995.

Contador too has tasted victory on the climb, also known as La Croix Neuve, winning two Paris-Nice stages on the spot in 2007 and 2010.

"The stage has an interesting profile", said Contador's Astana team manager Yvon Sanquer of the bumpy ride, which includes five tricky little hills.

Yet yellow jersey holder Andy Schleck of Luxembourg doubted the Spaniard would attack him on the last ascent.

"I can't say I love this climb. I lost a lot of time on Contador in Mende on Paris-Nice in 2007. But it was in March, it was cold and I was not in my best shape," he said.

"My forecast is that a group of a dozen favourites will finish together at the top, including me" Schleck added.

Source: Published>

Henry given the royal treatment in New York

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 04:36 AM

Following in the footsteps of Pele and David Beckham, Thierry Henry has arrived in the United States as a soccer missionary and scoffed at the notion Major League Soccer is a retirement fund for players in the twilight of their careers.

Like his famous predecessors, the Frenchman has become an instant poster boy for the sport after joining the New York Red Bulls on a four-and-a-half season deal.

The 32-year-old French striker said this would be his final contract as a player, but the former World Cup winner said his motives were clear.

"I can assure you that I came here to try to win," he told a news conference on Thursday. "That is the most important thing. I'm a competitor, and I'm sure the boss will put a team out there to be sure that we can do it."

Henry was taken on a whirlwind trip around New York's major television networks before receiving his number 14 Red Bulls soccer jersey at his new home ground in Harrison, New Jersey.

Flanked by club officials and MLS commissioner Don Garber, Henry arrived at a packed news conference to the backing vocals of The Beatles and the endorsement of his new organization.

The Red Bulls' Swedish coach Hans Backe said he expected great things from Henry, who spent the past decade plying his trade with Arsenal and Barcelona.

"I would rate him ... in the top 10 ever in the (English) premiership as a striker," Backe said. "He's very hungry to give Red Bulls their first premiership."

While Henry has achieved almost every imaginable honour in the game, winning a World Cup and European championship with France as well medals and plaudits with his clubs, he arrives in the United States after a lean past 12 months.

Injuries restricted his appearances for Barcelona and he was also relegated to the substitutes' bench during France's ill-fated World Cup in South Africa where they failed to make it past the group phase.

"I actually would like to know myself what went wrong," he said of France's World Cup display. "We didn't perform. As simple as that ... it was a sad one for the fans and for the country, but I think we should move on now."

Henry, who also announced his retirement from international soccer on Thursday, said his decision to move to New York was unrelated to France's World Cup showing and that he had been in talks about the transfer for months.

The Red Bulls are hoping Henry will not only help lead the team to a first MLS title but also attract new fans, something that could be tough given New York's large Irish community and Henry's double-handball that allowed France to qualify ahead of Ireland for this year's World Cup in South Africa.

"I've already talked about that," he said. "There's nothing else I can say."

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Hollywood producer, VC exec win Warriors NBA team

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 03:36 AM

A group led by one of Silicon Valley's top venture capitalists and a Hollywood movie producer said it would buy the Golden State Warriors basketball team for a record $450 million.

Joe Lacob and Mandalay Entertainment Group Chairman and Chief Executive Peter Guber, the former chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said their group would buy the long-suffering team from Chris Cohan, beating out other bidders including Oracle Corp Chairman Larry Ellison.

"This is my dream come true," Lacob, managing partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, said in a statement. "It is our passion to return the Warriors to greatness and build nothing short of a championship organization that will make all of us in the Bay Area proud."

A Warriors' season ticket holder for the past decade, Lacob is not a stranger to sports as he owns a minority stake in the Boston Celtics basketball team, which he will have to sell.

He was a primary investor in the women's American Basketball League and also led Kleiner Perkins' investment in sports web site Sportsline.

Lacob, whose group must get approval from three-quarters of National Basketball Association owners to close the deal, has been a partner at Kleiner Perkins since 1987. Founded in 1972, the firm has invested in companies such as Amazon.com Inc , Google Inc , Genentech and Sun Microsystems.

Lacob has been closely involved in the firm's investments in more than 50 life science companies, and led Kleiner Perkins' investment in AutoTrader. He also has been involved in the firm's energy investments.

Lacob won't be the first pro sports team owner at Kleiner Perkins. Affiliated partner Kevin Compton is part of the group that owns the National Hockey League team in San Jose, California.

Several media outlets said late on Wednesday that Ellison would be the likely winner. Another bidder was Mark Mastrov, founder of 24-Hour Fitness.

"Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan decided to sell to someone else," Ellison said in a statement. "In my experience, this is a bit unusual. Nonetheless, I wish the Warriors and their fans nothing but success under their new ownership."

Sal Galatioto, president of Galatioto Sports Partners, which was hired in March to sell the team, said the Lacob group had the highest bid at a deadline everyone knew about.

Guber's Mandalay Entertainment owns six minor league baseball teams. He is known for producing such well-known Hollywood films as "Rain Man," "Batman," "The Color Purple" and "Flashdance."

After leaving Sony in 1995, Guber founded Mandalay, which has produced such movies as "Donnie Brasco" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer," as well as numerous TV shows.

Cohan bought the Oakland, California-based Warriors in 1995 for $119 million, and in 2004 sold a 20 percent stake for an undisclosed amount to a group of four investors.

The Warriors made the playoffs only once in Cohan's 16 years of ownership and finished with a combined record of 477-803 during his tenure. Cohan thanked "the best fans in all of sports" on Thursday.

Bankers and analysts who follow the sports industry previously said the Warriors could top the $401 million paid by Robert Sarver in 2004 for the Phoenix Suns.

Last December, Forbes magazine valued the Warriors at $315 million, down 6 percent from the prior year's list and ranking 18th out of 30 teams.

While Commissioner David Stern earlier this year said the NBA could lose around $400 million this year due because of the weak economy and its labor agreement with its players, analysts said the Warriors' Bay area location made it irresistible.

The NBA's current labor deal runs through the 2010-2011 season, and the owners want to reduce the players' share of basketball-related income, pointing to a possible lockout by the owners or a strike by the players.

Earlier this year, former NBA all-star Michael Jordan bought the Charlotte Bobcats for a reported $275 million in a deal also brokered by Galatioto. Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov bought the New Jersey Nets and other related assets for more than $200 million.

Lacob and Guber's group was advised by Game Plan LLC.

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Henry announces international retirement

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 02:56 AM

France striker Thierry Henry announced his retirement from international soccer Thursday, bringing an end to a dazzling career that saw him win almost every major trophy and honour in the game.

A World Cup and European championship winner, Henry confirmed his expected retirement from international duty after deciding to quit European club soccer for a fresh start in the United States with Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls.

The 32-year-old made 123 appearances for Les Bleus, scoring a record 51 goals. His final match was as a substitute at the World Cup in South Africa last month.

"I had decided to retire, in my head, before the World Cup," he told a news conference at the Red Bulls' complex in suburban New York.

"I just didn't want to announce it before the World Cup.

"This is just another thing for me to do. I am 100 percent committed to the cause here and that's what I wanted to do."

Despite agreeing to continue playing at club level for another four and a half seasons, Henry said he never gave any thought to shuttling across the Atlantic Ocean to continue his international career.

"I wanted to be able to come here and be available for the boss," he said.

"When he wants me to train, I will train. When he wants me to have a day off, I'll have a day off.

"I couldn't see myself going back and forth."

Although his career ended in anti-climax with the French team bundled out of last month's World Cup amid rumours of disharmony between the players and team officials, Henry will be remembered as one of France's most accomplished strikers who enjoyed success at both club and international level.

A naturally gifted player, Henry was signed by French first division club Monaco as a 13-year-old in 1991 and made his first team debut at the beginning of the 1994/95 season under then-manager Arsene Wenger.

Henry helped Monaco win the French championship in 1997 and was rewarded with his first international cap at the start of the following season.

He played in six of France's seven games in their 1998 World Cup victory on home soil, scoring three first-round goals, but stayed on the bench for the 3-0 final victory over Brazil.

ARSENAL SCORER

Henry spent eight seasons with Arsenal, winning two Premier League titles and three FA Cups while scoring more goals than any other player who wore the celebrated Gunners shirt.

Henry also landed a swag of personal awards, having been named the Football Writers' Player of the Year on three occasions, before leaving Britain in 2007 to join Barcelona, where he enjoyed even more prosperity as he won Spanish, European and World Club titles.

After winning the World Cup in 1998, he added a European championship two years later but endured a lot of disappointment throughout the rest of his international career.

At the 2002 World Cup, France, as defending champions, failed to score a single goal and were eliminated in the opening round. Four years later, in Germany, they lost the final to Italy on penalties.

Henry was at the centre of a bitter controversy when a double-handball was not called for the goal that saw France qualify ahead of Ireland for this year's World Cup in South Africa.

He almost quit internationals in the wake of the furore but agreed to make himself available for the World Cup, only to be relegated to the bench in what proved to be his final outing for France.

"South Africa did not play a part in my decision," he said.

"I could have announced it before the World Cup but I didn't want it (to affect) the team. It was time for me (to retire)."

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Australia press for 13th win in a row

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 02:38 AM

Pakistan face a 13th consecutive defeat against Australia in the first test at Lord's after they were set a world record 440 to win on the third day on Thursday.

At the close of a day in which the sun shone consistently for the first time in the match, Pakistan were 114 for one in their second innings with vice-captain Salman Butt on 58.

An Australian victory during the remaining two days would break the record they share with Sri Lanka, who have defeated Bangladesh 12 times in a row.

Pakistan needed quick wickets to have any chance of a win when play resumed with Australia 100 for four in their second innings, an overall lead of 205.

Instead nightwatchman Mitchell Johnson stroked a handsome 30 and Ben Hilfenhaus recorded his highest first class score of 56 not out. Last man Doug Bollinger, whose previous best test score was nine, made 21 in a lively 10th-wicket partnership of 52 with Hilfenhaus.

Debutant wicketkeeper Tim Paine, playing in place of the injured Brad Haddin, weighed in with an enterprising 47 after another feat of monumental concentration from opener Simon Katich.

Katich followed his first innings 80, scored when the Pakistan pace attack were at their most threatening with overcast conditions and moisture in the air, with 83 in exactly four hours.

SMITH STRIKES

He played scarcely a memorable shot, apart from a late dab through the slips which may have been premeditated, but his concentration, patience and application have held the Australian batting together and he has now scored half-centuries in each of his last nine tests.

Two wickets in three balls immediately after lunch briefly raised Pakistan's hopes but as the sun began to shine and the ball stopped swinging they were unable to stem the flow of runs.

Hilfenhaus, with a previous highest first class score of 50, even slashed Mohammad Asif over point for six, and Bollinger was similarly untroubled.

Butt, the only Pakistan batsman to come to terms with conditions in the first innings with a well-crafted 63, relished the sun and an increasingly benign pitch when Pakistan began their second innings. He drove deftly and ran swiftly to reach his 10th test half-century with nine fours.

Leg-spinner Steven Smith was finally thrown the ball in his debut test and was gifted his first wicket when Imran Farhat (24) pulled a long hop straight to Shane Watson at mid-wicket.

Smith may have an important part to play on Friday as it was clear how much easier batting became when the sun came out with only seven wickets falling compared to 15 on the previous day.

"I think he looked really good, I think he started very well," Paine told a news conference. "When he went around the wicket he started to spin a few quite a long way so I think he will definitely play a role at some stage tomorrow.

"It's probably a decent batting wicket now. If the sun's out and the ball's not swinging it's definitely a lot easier but I think we will create enough chances to definitely be in the game and give ourselves a good chance of winning."

A Pakistan victory would rank among the biggest upsets in test history although debutant Umar Amin, the next batsman in the order, said his team had been immensely heartened by the performances of Butt and the team's other newcomer Azhar Ali (28 not out).

"If they carry on tomorrow, we have a very good chance of winning the game. It always happens in England whenever the sun is out then the conditions become very easy, whenever it is overcast it does offer a bit to the bowlers," he said.

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Jin and Yang combine to fly Korean flag

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 01:36 AM

The old and the new were represented in equal measure as U.S. PGA champion Yang Yong-eun and amateur Jin Jeong flew the South Korean flag high in the first round of the 150th anniversary British Open.

Jin, 20, led the way with an early 68 on Thursday that included a birdie hat-trick from the fourth before 38-year-old Yang went one better with a bogey-free, five-under effort.

Heading into the year's third major, Yang was low on confidence after missing his last three cuts but he found a missing link on the eve of the tournament.

"I had a breakthrough in practice on Wednesday when I regained the form I had lost for a couple of months," he said after finishing four strokes behind leader Rory McIlroy.

"Basically it's the same kind of swing I used when I had my success last year. I think I have found it again," added Asia's first male major winner.

Knowing the St Andrews greens would be a lot slower than the ones he is used to on the U.S. PGA Tour, Yang also dug out an old putter.

"I went back to my two-ball putter," he said. "I changed it as I knew it would play better on the slower greens."

Jin continued the fledgling love affair with Scotland that began at Muirfield last month when he became the first Asian to win the British amateur championship.

"I am happy with the way I played my round today," said the youngster. "Yes, I was a bit nervous but I feel as though I handled the nerves really well and hopefully I can do that the next few days."

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World champion Semenya wins comeback race

Fri, Jul 16 10 12:58 AM

South Africa's world 800 metres champion Caster Semenya won her comeback race on Thursday after an enforced break of almost a year following controversial gender tests.

Semenya won in four minutes 4.22 seconds in the southeastern Finnish town of Lappeenranta in her first competitive outing since taking gold in 1:55.45 at the Berlin world championships last August.

"It is not easy to come and run 2:04 while you stayed for 11 months at home, so yeah, I am pretty happy with the performance," Semenya said in an interview with the Finnish broadcaster YLE.

The 19-year-old is scheduled to compete in Lapinlahti, central Finland, on Sunday before returning to South Africa to build up her fitness.

"The more we race the better we will get," Semenya said when asked what she needed to do to reach a good fitness level.

Her coach has targeted the Commonwealth Games in October for Semenya and Athletics South Africa spokesman Richard Stander was confident she would be competing in New Delhi.

"She definitely looks good for the Commonwealth Games," Stander told Reuters.

"She has three months before the event and she probably only needs about six weeks to get into top form so she has plenty of time to prepare," he added.

Semenya was cleared to compete as a woman by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on July 6 and because of her lack of race fitness ASA opted not to include her in the teams for this month's world junior championships and the African championships.

Stander believed his organisation had made the right choice in not rushing Semenya back into top-flight competition.

"I think it was the right decision by the ASA board not to include her in the teams.

"She looked relaxed on the track and now she has time to build up properly for the season and I expect bigger things from her this year," he explained.

Source: Published>

Australia press for 13th win in a row

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 12:38 AM

Pakistan face a 13th consecutive defeat against Australia in the first test at Lord's after they were set a world record 440 to win on the third day on Thursday.

At the close of a day in which the sun shone consistently for the first time in the match, Pakistan were 114 for one in their second innings with vice-captain Salman Butt on 58.

An Australian victory during the remaining two days would break the record they share with Sri Lanka, who have defeated Bangladesh 12 times in a row.

Pakistan needed quick wickets to have any chance of a win when play resumed with Australia 100 for four in their second innings, an overall lead of 205.

Instead nightwatchman Mitchell Johnson stroked a handsome 30 and Ben Hilfenhaus recorded his highest first class score of 56 not out. Last man Doug Bollinger, whose previous best test score was nine, made 21 in a lively 10th-wicket partnership of 52 with Hilfenhaus.

Debutant wicketkeeper Tim Paine, playing in place of the injured Brad Haddin, weighed in with an enterprising 47 after another feat of monumental concentration from opener Simon Katich.

Katich followed his first innings 80, scored when the Pakistan pace attack were at their most threatening with overcast conditions and moisture in the air, with 83 in exactly four hours.

SMITH STRIKES

He played scarcely a memorable shot, apart from a late dab through the slips which may have been premeditated, but his concentration, patience and application have held the Australian batting together and he has now scored half-centuries in each of his last nine tests.

Two wickets in three balls immediately after lunch briefly raised Pakistan's hopes but as the sun began to shine and the ball stopped swinging they were unable to stem the flow of runs.

Hilfenhaus, with a previous highest first class score of 50, even slashed Mohammad Asif over point for six, and Bollinger was similarly untroubled.

Butt, the only Pakistan batsman to come to terms with conditions in the first innings with a well-crafted 63, relished the sun and an increasingly benign pitch when Pakistan began their second innings. He drove deftly and ran swiftly to reach his 10th test half-century with nine fours.

Leg-spinner Steven Smith was finally thrown the ball in his debut test and was gifted his first wicket when Imran Farhat (24) pulled a long hop straight to Shane Watson at mid-wicket.

Source: Web Search

Santosh Trophy: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra earn full points

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 12:18 AM

Kolkata, July 15 (IANS) Three time champions Maharashtra began with a bang breezing past Chandigarh 4-0 in a cluster II match of the 64th Santosh Trophy inter-state soccer competition at Howrah near here Thursday.

In the other cluster face-offs on the opening day, Andhra Pradesh prevailed over Tripura 2-1 while Karnataka scraped past Meghalaya 1-0. Chandigharh put up a stiff fight for the first half an hour of the game at the Howrah Municipal Corporation Stadium, matching their fancied opponents move for move.

However, Reuben D'Souza put the Maharashtrians ahead in the 35th minute by putting home a Paresh Shivalkar centre from the right. Leading 1-0 at the breather, Maharashtra pressed for increasing the margin in the second session, but the Chandigarh rearguard foiled the moves.

But the floodgates were suddenly opened in the later stages of the game as Maharashtra upped the ante during a nine-minute blitz during which they struck thrice to put the issue beyond the union territory players.

Surojit Bose struck off a Jatin Singh Bisht cross in the 80th minute to make the scoreline 2-0. Bose put his name in the scorer's list again a shortwhile later, before Alex Ambrose netted one more.

The other cluster II game at the Vidyasagar stadium in Barasat saw Faisal and Vijay Kumar find the target for Andhra, while Litton Majumder scored the only goal for Tripura.

At Khardah, Karnataka logged full points, courtesy a A. Don Bosco winner in a cluster I match.

Source: Web Search

Heat is on as head-butt spoils Cavendish party

Published>Fri, Jul 16 10 12:16 AM

The heatwave went to the riders' heads on the Tour de France as Mark Renshaw was kicked out of the race over a head-butting incident that spoiled stage winner Mark Cavendish's party on Thursday.

It was Cavendish's 13th Tour victory of his career but not his luckiest.

His HTC-Columbia team mate Renshaw led in the final stretch when New Zealand's Julian Dean, working for sprinter Tyler Farrar, tried to block his way.

Australian Renshaw head-butted the Garmin Transitions rider twice to keep him out of the way of Cavendish, who surged to his third stage win of this Tour.

The Briton won ahead of Italy's Alessandro Petacchi, who took the green points jersey, while American Farrar was third. Luxembourg's Andy Schleck retained the overall lead with a 41-second advantage over defending champion Alberto Contador.

"Renshaw's out. We saw the film once and it's blatant. He head-butted Dean twice like in a keirin race," said Tour technical director Jean-Francois Pescheux.

"This is cycling, not fighting. Everybody could have ended up on their backs."

Minutes after crossing the line Renshaw told reporters: Either he (Dean) keeps turning left puts me in the barrier and I crash, or I try to lean against him, I didn't have another option. It's all about sprinting straight."

However, the 27-year-old later said the race jury's decision had not come as a surprise.

"I was expecting it," he told Reuters by telephone.

Renshaw's team believed his actions in the run up to the finish of the 184.5-km 11th stage were justified.

'NOT KINDERGARTEN'

"There was no other solution because Renshaw had both hands on the handlebars, there was no other solution than get him away with the head otherwise everybody would have ended up in the fence," HTC-Columbia sports director Rolf Aldag told reporters.

"Sprinting is not kindergarten, if they come by each other, shoulder against shoulder, elbow against elbow and if you can't do that you'd better do time trialling."

Cavendish added: "It's against what we as a team believe happened. I'm very sad."

New Zealand's Dean had another point of view and thought the incident had cost his team mate Farrar the win..

"I jumped my front wheel in Cav`s wheel. I went past Renshaw and tried to keep the speed high and while I was coming out of Renshaw he didn't seem to like it too much," Dean told reporters.

"He shouldn't have done that. It's not appropriate. I didn't make any movement at all. Next thing I felt like him leaning on me and hitting me with his head.

"Then he carried on afterwards and came across on Tyler's line and stopped Tyler from possibly winning the stage."

Renshaw's disqualification did not affect the race result and Farrar conceded defeat.

"Cav did a neat sprint. He's not to blame. But they don't need to race like that. I want to win but I don't want to crash," he told reporters.

It was not the first incident on a race that has been hit by a heatwave with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius.

Last Friday, Spain's Carlos Barredo and Portugal's Rui Costa traded punches after the sixth stage. Both riders were fined but continued in the race.

Cavendish's 13th career victory in the race is a performance unequalled by any sprinter in the last two decades.

The 25-year-old has eclipsed sprinting greats such as his mentor Erik Zabel of Germany, Italian Mario Cipollini and Australia's Robbie McEwen.

Source: Web Search

Aust 253 & 334 v Pakistan 148 & 114-1 3rd day 1st test

Thu, Jul 15 10 11:56 PM

REUTERS - Pakistan, chasing 440 for victory, were 114 for one in their second innings at the close of the third day of the first test against Australia at Lord's in London on Thursday.

Scores: Australia 253 and 334 v Pakistan 148 and 114 for one.

Source: Published>

Sharath says his twin titles will ensure him in top 50

Thu, Jul 15 10 11:08 PM

Chennai, Jul 15 (PTI) After winning two back-to-back international titles in two weeks, Olympian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal is sure that he would break into the top 50 in world rankings. "From 76, I should be in the 40-50 bracket when the new rankings are released in the first week of August," Sharath told reporters here today. "Except for not performing up to the expectations in the World Championship, 2010 has been a great year and I want to cap it with a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games before preparing for Asian Games in November," he said. "The twin victories have come at the right time. I want to sign off 2010 by finishing among top 50," he added. Asked about the pressure of playing before the home crowd at the CWG, Sharath said, "Everyone will be looking at me to win. With the backing of the home crowd, I am confident of defending the title." Sharath picked Gao Ning of Singapore, ranked 22nd in the world, as main threat to his hopes in the CWG. "He has a better ratio of wins against me but I am earnest in my approach. I had lost to him about seven to eight times in the past. I last played him about two years back. I am preparing to beat him at the Commonwealth Games," he said. "I am training hard for the last four years, especially on fine-tuning the techniques for swift movements on court. After the China Open I would come to India in the middle of September for two to three week training at the Commonwealth Games venue," he said.

Source: Published>

Renshaw out of Tour after sprint incident

Thu, Jul 15 10 10:58 PM

Australian Mark Renshaw, the lead-out man for sprinter Mark Cavendish, has been kicked out of the Tour de France for head-butting New Zealand's Julian Dean in the finale of Thursday's 11th stage.

"Renshaw is out. We watched the film once and it was blatant. He head-butted Dean like in a keirin race," said Tour technical director Jean-Francois Pescheux.

"This is cycling, not fighting. Everybody could have ended up on their backs."

Renshaw helped Columbia team mate Cavendish snatch his 13th career Tour stage victory and third of this year's race in Bourg les Valence.

Source: Published>

Cavendish notches third win in controversial finish

Thu, Jul 15 10 10:18 PM

Britain's Mark Cavendish strengthened his status as the best sprinter of his generation thanks to his third victory in this year's Tour de France in a finish marred by controversy.

Cavendish won the 184.5-km 11th stage ahead of Italy's Alessandro Petacchi and American Tyler Farrar but only after his lead-out man Mark Renshaw repeatedly head-butted Farrar's team mate Julian Dean.

It was unclear why the incident took place but Renshaw, the man who usually launches the Cavendish rocket, faces being disqualified.

"Normally, he's out of the race," said Tour technical director Jean-Francosi Pescheux although the race jury's decision had not been announced.

Luxembourg's Andy Schleck retained the overall lead with a 41-second advantage over defending champion Alberto Contador.

It was Cavendish's 13th stage victory in the Tour, a performance unequalled by any sprinter in the last two decades.

The 25-year-old has eclipsed sprinting greats such as mentor Erik Zabel of Germany, Italian Mario Cipollini and Australia's Robbie McEwen.

The stage, ridden in scorching heat, was unexpectedly slow at an average of 39.8kph.

Source: Published>

France striker Henry announces international retirement

Thu, Jul 15 10 09:56 PM

France striker Thierry Henry has announced his retirement from international soccer, the BBC reported on Thursday.

The 32-year-old former Arsenal and Barcelona player, who signed for Major League Soccer (MLS) team the New York Redbulls on Wednesday, played only a bit part in France's dismal World Cup campaign in South Africa which ended at the group stage.

Source: Published>

McIlroy's 'pleasant' round sees records tumble

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 09:38 PM

'A very pleasant round of golf' clearly means something a bit different to Rory McIlroy than the rest of us, for his 18-hole links masterclass put him in a league of his own at the British Open.

That is how the young Northern Irishman described his 63 at the Old Course on Thursday, a nine-under record at the home of golf and a score which has never been bettered at any of the game's majors over generations.

A few pundits scoffed when McIlroy was placed second in the list of odds before the tournament but it should be remembered that you rarely see a poor bookie and the sight of a 21-year-old mercilessly carving up St Andrews is even rarer.

"You're just trying to go lower and lower, no sort of negative thoughts come into your head at all," the man from Holywood told a packed news conference after his landmark round.

"That's the only way I can describe it, just trying to make birdies, I suppose, and nothing else really comes into your mind."

Simple really, just like his explanation for the eagle at the 352-yard par-four ninth where his round exploded into life.

"I hit a driver off the tee to 15 feet and just holed a putt straight up the hill."

Five birdies in the next six holes followed and he was kicking himself after the thought of a major record of 62 entered his mind as he fluffed a short putt at the 17th for another birdie.

From the moment McIlroy had the members at Royal Portrush choking on their Guinness in disbelief after a course record 61 at the age of 16, he has had to carry the burden of being European golf's next big thing.

BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP

He turned pro in 2007 and what could be a beautiful friendship with St Andrews started that year when he finished third in the Dunhill Links aged just 18.

McIlroy climbed the rankings after his Dubai Desert Classic win last year but it was at Quail Hollow, North Carolina in May that he truly surged into the limelight.

After scraping through to make the cut on the Friday, he fired a 66 on the Saturday and then a course record 62 to leave the likes of world number two Phil Mickelson trailing in his wake.

"It was a fantastic score," he said of his bogey-free 63.

"I didn't get off to a flying start. I was one under through eight holes and then the eagle on nine really sort of turned things around for me."

The only black mark was that putt on 17. A 63 has been carded many times in the majors but just for a moment McIlroy let the thought of an elusive 62 disrupt his concentration.

"I started thinking to myself, if I can birdie this hole I've got a chance of birdie at the last. It sort of went through my mind on 17 that 62 would have been the lowest round in a major. That's probably why I missed the putt."

Source: Web Search

A dip into the Valley of Sin for Tiger

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 09:36 PM

St. Andrews (Scotland), July 15 (IANS) Tiger Woods shot a 67. Not a bad start for a man who is desperately searching for his 15th Major title and also hoping for redemption after all the off-course activity in his life over the past eight months or so.

He began with a par and then turned in three-under and was six-under through 16. Then came the Road Hole, where he bogeyed, but the quip of the day in the stands came on the 18th.

A wag commented, 'That's quite appropriate that he goes into the Valley of Sin,' when Tiger drove into the deep depression in the course before the 18th green. His approach from there was somewhat weak and he was about seven to eight feet for a birdie, which he missed.

Interestingly, it was from within the Valley of Sin that John Daly shot his famous 65-foot putt to force a tie-breaker in which he beat Constantino Rocca in the 1995 British Open.

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Scoring at St. Andrews and Four Seasons in a day

You can see and experience all four seasons in a single day, maybe less, in Scotland, they say. And for that reason alone, the weather is always a major factor at the Open. Rain, heat, cold, wind and whatever else you can think of. More so, because all the courses which stage the Open either run along the sea or are close to it.

Then the fact that the first tee off on the first day is as early as 6.30 am - the 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie had that time this morning and said he would jump over the fence from his hotel next door and get ready - and the last at 4.21 pm means the weather could change along the day.

But so far Thursday, the first day, the weather has been perfect for golf. Grey, it has been, but with no wind, the scourge of all golfers. The net result: the morning has seen more reds than blacks - under par as compared to over par -

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Purple Paisley Pants and Hooters girl for John Daly

Anna Cladakis. By the time the week is over, that name could well become even more famous than it is now. Daly, who has shot a bogey in four marriages, has had a new girlfriend, Cladakis for more than a year now. The former Hooters girl, who has been promoting Daly, is always seen a skirt in a design similar to the pants Daly wears. On Thursday, she wore a skirt in Purple Paisley design, just as it was on Daly's trousers.

Interestingly, last week, Anna was asked not to sell memorabilia, while following her boyfriend at Loch Lomond. She was selling caps and golf balls and she claimed it was for a charity.

Daly has to pay the IRS a million dollars in past taxes.

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A Claret Jug has many uses

Stewart Cink was a bit emotional when he returned the Claret Jug, which he snatched from Tom Watson at Turnberry last year. That Jug, Cink revealed has seen a lot of use.

Cink, a master tweeter, has had Guinness from it; his kids have had cola from it and he used it during his American Independence Day celebrations and the trophy was covered in barbecue taste. He thought it had been cleaned but then found it had some sticking on it and cleaned it in Dublin while on way to St. Andrews. Finally, when he handed it over to R&A, it was in perfect condition.

Source: Web Search

Australia set Pakistan record victory target

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 09:18 PM

Australia set Pakistan a world record 440 to win the first test at Lord's after they were dismissed for 334 in their second innings on the third day on Thursday.

West Indies' 418 for seven against Australia in 2003 is the record while Pakistan's highest winning total against any test nation was 315 for nine against Australia in Karachi in 1994. They have lost their last 12 tests against the Australians.

Simon Katich added 83 to the 80 he scored in the first innings, batting for more than seven hours in total, before he fell to the fifth ball after lunch from Umar Gul.

The dogged left-hander edged Gul to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who took a similar catch two balls later off Mohammad Asif to account for Marcus North (20)

Debutant wicketkeeper Tim Paine, who took four catches in Pakistan's first innings, kept the scoreboard moving with an enterprising 47 after taking a painful blow to the groin from a delivery by Gul.

Paine became Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi's first victim of the match when he was bowled after adding 74 in 79 minutes for the ninth wicket with Ben Hilfenhaus.

Afridi took the second new ball without any effect as Hilfenhaus, whose previous highest test score was 20, slashed Asif over point for six and went on to reach his highest first- class score of 56 not out.

He added 52 for the last wicket with Doug Bollinger, who also recorded his highest test score of 21 before he was bowled by Danish Kaneria.

Nightwatchman Mitchell Johnson was the only batsman dismissed in the morning session, shortened by 20 minutes because of light rain after Australia resumed on 100 for four.

Johnson played some handsome drives before he was comprehensively bowled off-stump by Gul for 30.

Source: Web Search

Paddler Kamal set to break into top 50

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 08:58 PM

Chennai, July 15 (IANS) Having won two back-to-back tournaments, the US Open and Egyp Pro Tour, India's top table tennis player Achanta Sharat Kamal is hopeful of breaking into the top 50 in the World rankings.

The Chennai-based Kamal, speaking on the sidelines of a felicitation function here Thursday, said: 'The two victories have come at the right time. It's a nice time to peak and is an excellent preparation for the Commonwealth Games.

The 76th ranked Kamal will be defending his title at the Delhi Games in October.

It is in New Delhi last month that Kamal's brilliant run began when he won the bronze medal at the Indian Pro-tour tournament and the two wins in the US and Egypt have obviously boosted his confidence.

'From 76, I should be in the 40-50 bracket when the new rankings are released in the first week of August,' he said.

Kamal did concede that the expectations would be sky-high during the Commonwealth Games in the wake of his recent triumphs, besides the presence of Singapore's Gao Ning, who is ranked 22nd.

'Everyone will be looking at me to defend the title (at the Commonwealth Games). With the backing of the home crowd, I am confident of winning it again,' he asserted.

Regarding the challenge posed by Gao, Kamal said: 'I had lost to him about seven to eight times in the past. I last played him about two years back. But I am also preparing for the Commonwealth Games. I am training hard for the last four years, fine tuning the techniques and movements.'

Kamal is scheduled to participate in the China Open next month besides attending a 15-day training programme to basically work on his speed at the table. Thereafter, he would be back in India to train at the Commonwealth Games venue in Delhi.

Reviewing his recent performances, Kamal said his 4-0 win against Li Ching, a former top 10 player from Hong Kong and presently ranked 25th in Cairo, was one of the highlights.

'Except for not performing up to the expectations in the World Championship, 2010 has been a great year and I want to cap it with a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, before preparing for Asian Games in November, and sign off the year by finishing among the top 50,' he said.

Source: Web Search

Jasser to lead Kerala in Santosh Trophy

Thu, Jul 15 10 08:22 PM

Kochi, Jul 15 (PTI) Jaseer Karnath will lead Kerala in the 64th Senior National Football championship for Santosh Trophy which began at Kolkatta today. Announcing the team, Kerala Football Association President K M I Mather told reporters that they have included new faces in Sarath K, Anus, Surjith VV, Sarath B T, Johnson N, Prince Poulose, Sumesh N and Rakesh K in the team. "Since it was off season, not much practice matches could be held. However the association is optimistic about the team''s good performance," he said. Kerala, in Group VII, will open their campaign against Uttrakhand on July 22. Assam and Himachal Pradesh are the other two teams in the group. The team will leave for Kolkatta on Sunday. Team: Jaseer Karnath (capt), Bijesh Ben A (vice-captain), Joby Joseph, Sarath K, Jinesh Thomas, Anus, Justine Stephen, Surjith V V, Sarath B T, Johnson N, Prince Poulose, Sakeer M P, Rinil C J, Martin John, Sumesh N, Mohammed Aslam A G, Rakesh K, Javed O K, Jacken Sebastian, Subair K P. Coach: M M Jacob.

Source: Published>

BPCL fight back to force draw

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 08:16 PM

Chennai, July 15 (IANS) Bharat Petroleum rode on their vast, collective experience to force a 1-1 draw with Hockey India Juniors in their opening pool B game of the 86th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament here Thursday.

Skipper Lalit Upadhyay put the juniors ahead in the 11th minute, putting home a pass from Naveen Sangwan, but BPCL, who were kept at bay by goalkeeper Naveen Kumar, caught up in the 65th through veteran and 1994 World Cupper Sabu Varkey who drove in from the top of the circle.

The HI Juniors, though woefully short on experience, played with greater enthusiasm against BPCL who, for all the wealth of talent and experience, were a step slower that neutralized their domination that was fairly obvious.

Goalkeeper Naveen Kumar did the star turn of the night with some fine stops, especially from penalty corners to deny BPCL who, however, maintained pressure on the juniors to clinch the equaliser.

The juniors showed plenty of pluck and potential, but a bit more muscle at the finish would have fetched them better dividends. They had very few openings, but could convert only one of these for the only goal.

Earlier, a sloppy first-half cost Karnataka XI the game as ONGC scrambled to a 4-2 win in a pool A match that could have gone the other way had the former displayed a bit more fortitude.

ONGC struck twice in the first-half to seize the initiative. Although Karnataka made a match of it on resumption by scoring two goals, the experienced ONGC hung on to their advantage to pick up full points.

Goals by Pramod Kumar (17th) and Sandeep Antil (22nd) gave ONGC a 2-0 lead at the break while Jagwant Singh (45th) and penalty corner specialist Diwakar Ram (70th) added to the tally.

For Karnataka, Ravikumar (44th) and Nikken Thimmaiah (65th) found the boards.

Source: Web Search

Carvalho accuses HI of targeting Tirkey, Ballal

Thu, Jul 15 10 07:52 PM

Mumbai, Jul 15 (PTI) Olympian Joaquim Carvalho today hit out at Hockey India for stopping fellow-Olympians Dilip Tirkey and Ashish Ballal from performing their roles as selectors of the rival Indian Hockey Federation in the ongoing 63rd men''s nationals at Bhopal. In a letter to the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Carvalho also accused an official of the Air India Sports Control Board of preventing former India skipper Tirkey and custodian Ballal from doing their job as IHF selectors. The former international half back, who did duty for the country at the Los Angeles Games in 1984, alleged that HI had directed Air India and Railways Sports Promotion Board to warn their employees from being part of the Bhopal nationals for the Rangaswamy Cup. "As I am writing this letter I just received a call from former captain, Olympian, Padmashree Shri Dilip Tirkey who has been stopped by the Air India Sports Control Board from performing his duties as a national selector at the ongoing 63rd National Hockey Championship at Bhopal," Carvalho wrote in his letter to the ministry''s joint secretary Injeti Srinivas. "Mr Ashish Ballal, Olympian and Arjuna Awardee, who was also named as a selector was also not granted the necessary permission to attend the championship as per the instructions of Mr Ramesh Nambiar, Air India Sports Office bearer," Carvalho alleged. (More) PTI SSR VKV SSC

Source: Published>

Khedira about to sign for Real Madrid

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 07:26 PM

Madrid, July 15 (DPA) Sami Khedira is about to sign for Real Madrid, sports daily Marca said Thursday.

The paper claimed that Vfb Stuttgart, Khedira's Bundesliga club, have agreed to accept 10 million euros ($12.72 million) for the 23 year-old defensive midfielder who was outstanding for Germany at the World Cup.

Marca also claimed that Khedira visited Real's Valdebebas training ground on Wednesday to talk to coach Jose Mourinho.

Rival daily AS, however, did not mention Wednesday's visit and quotes Joerg Neubauer, Khedira's agent, as saying that 'nothing will really happen for two or three weeks.'

AS also claimed Thursday that Stuttgart will demand 'at least' 15 million euros for Khedira.

Real's summer signings so far have been Spanish forward Sergio Canales from Racing Santander and Argentine winger Angel Di Maria from Benfica. They are also close to signing midfielder Pedro Leon from Getafe.

Source: Web Search

Morrison declares India as team to beat at World Cup 2011

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 07:06 PM

Dubai, July 15 (ANI): New Zealand bowler-turned-commentator Danny Morrison predicts that India will be the side to beat at next year's ICC Cricket World Cup.

"I think India has the best opportunity to lift the World Cup this time round," says the 44-year-old from Auckland. "It has to be good for them playing on home turf. It adds pressure but that's part of hosting.

"Sachin Tendulkar, the master, deserves to have some sort of winners' medal hanging round his neck but it's not all about him. Cricket is a tough game and it's also about whether Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni can deliver for India. Can they do it for Sachin?

"You feel that India want something special to happen and this year I think you've got to go with the India team to emulate the 1983 side led by Kapil Dev ," says the former fast bowler who claimed 126 ODI wickets and 160 at Test level.

Also on this week's show, Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons talks about his side's progress, including its recent first-ever ODI win over England.

"It was a long time before we got our first victory, the boys have played fantastic cricket and when we were in Bristol we were confident of our abilities and our bowling and fielding worked well. The bowling changes reaped rewards for us for that match at Bristol against England," says Siddons.

"I talk to the side about improving their skills and working from day to day, the side need to keep going and getting better and better. We can beat teams we just need to keep backing up the skills we have and improving on all aspects," continues Siddons.

The show can be used in whole or part by radio stations that want cricket content, while the public can also download it straight from the ICC website at http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/media_interactive_zone/podcast.php.

Also on this week's show there is a full preview of the upcoming Test series between Kumar Sangakkara's Sri Lanka and MS Dhoni's India that gets underway on Sunday 18 July.

Apart from the above interviews, the show has the usual round up of cricketing news and an update of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test and ODI cricket.

The weekly ICC Cricket World audio show runs for 15 minutes and has been put together by the ICC's global broadcast partner ESPN STAR Sports.(ANI)

Source: Web Search

Britain bars Iroquois lacrosse team in passport dispute

Thu, Jul 15 10 06:56 PM

A Native American team forfeited their opening match of the men's lacrosse world championship on Thursday after being denied entry to Britain on tribal passports.

The Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) said in a statement that the 23 Iroquois players had been told they needed U.S. or Canadian documents to attend the two-week tournament in Manchester.

The Iroquois, whose tribal ancestors are credited with inventing the game, say accepting such passports would be a blow against their national identity.

"We are sorry that the Iroquois are still having problems getting their visas," said FIL spokesman Ron Balls. "Given the delays, we had to make a decision on the opening date."

FIL said the U.S. government had given the team a one-off waiver to travel to Britain. It added the Iroquois had not withdrawn from the competition and could still compete if granted access.

The Iroquois had been due to play their opener against hosts England, who will now play Germany instead in an exhibition match.

Lacrosse, played with a hard rubber ball and long-handled racket with loose netting, is one of the oldest team sports and traces its origins to Native Americans.

It was included in the 1904 St Louis and 1908 London Olympics, with Canada winning the gold medal on both occasions.

Source: Published>

SLC drops Jayasuriya, retains Murali in central contract list

Thu, Jul 15 10 05:52 PM

Colombo, Jul 15 (PTI) Veteran all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya has been denied central contract by the Sri Lanka Cricket while retiring spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan finds his name in the 20 players list issued for the current year by SLC. Jayasuriya, a veteran of 110 Tests and 444 ODIs, has been witnessing a slump in his performance for quite some time and possesses an average of less than three runs in the last six Twenty20 matches he played for his country. If that was not enough, in his last six ODIs Jayasuriya''s highest score was 31. "We had discussions over the last few weeks with senior players, Sri Lanka Cricket, selectors and team management to try and put a value on the national contracts. In that regard we decided we will try and reduce the number of national contracted players to 20 from 30. We felt that having that number of players will give us the cream to be signed up on a contract for the national squad," Sri Lanka''s chairman of selectors Aravinda de Silva said. "The contracts were worked out on the previous year''s performances and in Sanath''s (Jayasuriya) case, since he had not performed up to expectations, we decided to leave him out. We also allowed him to go to England and play some county cricket to see how he performs. As I''ve said before we haven''t let either Chaminda Vaas or (Muttiah) Muralitharan out of our minds for the World Cup," de Silva added. However, the 41-year-old prolific left-hander had recently stated that he would like to play next year''s World Cup in the sub-continent before finally calling it quits. The selectors, meanwhile, retained Muralitharan in the contract even though the champion spinner had already announced that he will drew curtains to his five-day career after the first Test against India starting Sunday at Galle. "To be fair by Murali, he mentioned to us that we could leave him out of the contract and consider him only for the one-dayers if we require him, which I have basically from our side told him that we definitely require him for the World Cup," de Silva said. The SLC, however, included two newcomers -- off-spinner Suraj Randiv and batsman Dinesh Chandimal in the contract list and have placed the duo in Category Six. Altogether, there are six categories under which players have been offered contracts. Captain Kumar Sangakkara, Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera occupy the top category.

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Ballack hits back at Lahm's Germany captaincy claims

Thu, Jul 15 10 05:46 PM

Michael Ballack has hit back at Philipp Lahm's wish to stay as German captain after his stint in charge during the World Cup when regular skipper Ballack was ruled out with injury.

Lahm said in an interview during the World Cup that he would not give up the captain's armband of his own free will, a comment which has annoyed Ballack.

"I am still captain of the national team," Ballack was quoted by German newspapers as saying at a news conference on Wednesday following his return to Bayer Leverkusen. "I have absolute trust in the German coach (Joachim Loew)."

He was also critical of Lahm's timing.

"These comments irritated me. It is unlucky when you are injured and you are spoken about. You cannot go on the pitch and show the critics what you can do. You are powerless," he said.

Lahm took over the German captaincy after Ballack injured his ankle during former club Chelsea's FA Cup final victory over Portsmouth in May.

Germany performed strongly during the tournament in South Africa. They finishing third, scoring four goals in three separate matches before falling to eventual winners Spain in the semi-final.

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Hockenheim will be better for us, says Liuzzi

Thu, Jul 15 10 05:38 PM

New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) After finishing 11th in British Grand Prix, Force India driver Vitantonio Liuzzi is desperate to get back among points and the Italian hopes to cash in on a familiar track in German GP at Hockenheim on July 25. Liuzzi, who had qualified 15th but started 20th after copping a five-place penalty for deliberate obstruction in the qualifying session, gave it everything but finished 11th in the last race at Silverstone. "I think, Hockenheim will be better for us, but we still have to work hard and bring some developments. It has a very flat surface, or it did when we were last there two years ago! So you can use a much stiffer set-up, a much lower car. "I grew up in Germany in F3, so I really like it, and I drove quite a bit there. So I''m looking forward to it. I think we could be in a strong position," Liuzzi said. "It''s not as linked to downforce as Silverstone, so maybe we should be more competitive and with a better pace. We have to try to score points with both cars to be back in the fight. In Silverstone I was close, but we knew it was not a track for our car''s best characteristics," he added. The Italian regretted the way things had turned up for him in Silverstone and feels that a through analysis should be carried out before he sits behind the wheels in Germany. "It was pretty upsetting because we don''t know what happened with the first set of tyres. With the hard tyres at the beginning we had a huge amount of understeer, and I couldn''t drive to the apex every time, it was really washing out. "And suddenly once we changed to the soft tyres it was another world. We were able to push, we had a really good pace, and we were able to catch our competitors. I caught the group of Adrian, Nico Hulkenberg and Michael Schumacher without any problem, and I was also keeping Fernando Alonso behind," he said. .

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Ojha scalps three, Indian bowlers put up better show

Thu, Jul 15 10 05:22 PM

T V Sriram Colombo, July 15 (PTI) Indian bowlers put up an improved performance to restrict Sri Lanka Board President''s XI to 260 for six in their second innings in the three-day warm up game which ended in a tame draw here today. After disappointing with both ball and bat for the last two days, the Indian bowlers gave a better account of themselves with left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha being the notable performer with three for 85 in his 22 overs. The Hyderabad spinner was assisted by leg-spinner Amit Mishra, Virender Sehwag and pacer Ishant Sharma -- all taking one wicket each. For the hosts, opener Lahiru Thirimanne scored 102 and top order batsman Dinesh Chandimal (69) chipped in with an useful contribution but the rest of the batting line-up failed to impress. Thilina Kandamby (9) and Sachithra Senanayake (6) were at the crease when both captains decided to call off play early at the Colts Cricket Club Ground here. After bundling out India for 291 yesterday, Sri Lanka Board President''s XI could have enforced the follow-on but the hosts decided to bat and straightaway suffered a jolt, losing inform opener Upul Tharanga to Ishant in the fifth over. However, Thirimanne and Chandimal ensured there were no more hiccups and started scoring at a fast-pace, with the latter dealing in boundaries. The duo kept the scoreboard ticking and forged a 113-run second wicket partnership in quick time. Ojha then put the brakes on the scoring when he cleaned up the dangerous-looking Chandimal in the 21st over. Nine overs later, Sehwag had Mehela Jayawardene caught by Laxman as the hosts succumbed to 172 for three. In the 33rd over, Ojha struck again dismissing Kaushal Silva with skipper and wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni taking the catch. Thilan Samaraweera (25) then gave company to Thirimanne as they tried to stem the rot with a 63-run partnership but the opener could not stay longer after completing his century and was caught by Sharma off Ojha''s bowling in the 51st over. Samaraweera was also back in the pavillion in the next over when he was stumped by Dhoni off Mishra''s bowling as the match headed for a draw.

Source: Published>

Lord's dismal outing raises doubts over North being 'weak link' of Oz Test team

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 05:08 PM

London, July 15(ANI): Australian left-handed batsman Marcus North's third-ball duck in the first innings of the Lord's Test against Pakistan has again raised questions if he is the weak link of the team.

North scored an unbeaten 112 and 90 his previous two Tests, but other than that he has been an abject failure at the No. 6 spot.

The left-hander's dismissal on the first day of the match also continued his record of failing to pass 10 in more than half of his innings at Test level.

North's 25 innings since his promotion to the Australian team in 2008 have produced a total of 945 runs, although 797 of those runs - 84.3 per cent - have come from eight innings. In the remaining 17 innings he has scored 148 runs at an average of 8.7, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

His rate of failure - not passing 10 when batting - of 52.3 per cent of innings at Test level is significantly above any of his batting teammates, with the next worst being Shane Watson with 31.3 per cent.

However, irrespective of how North performs in the rest of the match he seems a certainty to hold his position for next week's second Test at Headingley, mainly because reserve batsman Usman Khawaja has never played at international level. (ANI)

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Saina climbs one spot to become World No.2

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 04:56 PM

New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) India's Saina Nehwal has jumped one spot to World No.2 in the badminton rankings released Thursday.

Saina, who pipped Xin Wang of China, is now behind top-ranked Chinese Yihan Wang.

The Indian recently won three back-to-back tournaments, including two Super Series titles.

She won the Indian Open Grand Prix, Singapore Open and Indonesian Open.

China's Shixian Wang and Denmark's Tine Baun are number World No. 4 and 5 respectively.

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High Court refuses relief to Modi against BCCI

Published Thu, Jul 15 10 04:52 PM

Mumbai, Jul 15 (PTI) The Bombay High Court today refused to grant any relief to suspended IPL Chairman Lalit Modi ahead of the Cricket Board''s Disciplinary Committee meeting and left the issue of reconstituting the panel on the members. The division bench of Justices B H Marlapalle and Roshan Dalvi dismissed Modi''s plea seeking reconstitution of the three-member disciplinary panel and cleared the decks for the disciplinary proceedings against him to commence. The committee, comprising interim IPL Chairman Chirayu Amin, Arun Jaitley and Jyotiraditya Scindia - has summoned Modi to appear before it here tomorrow. However, the court also indicated that the final finding can be challenged by Modi and he can even raise the issue of constitution of the committee at that point. Modi''s objection to the committee was that it would be biased against him and he had sought that the panel be made up of independent persons, preferably retired supreme court judges. But the division bench said that as per the BCCI rules, "Disciplinary committee has limited powers....it is only required to inquire into charges and submit the final report to the board. The board is the final decision-making body." Modi had objected to Amin and Jaitley, two members of the committee, to remain on the panel. (More) PTI KRK SSR DK MRM

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Aston Villa's Agbonlahor wants to play alongside Rooney for England

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 04:46 PM

London, July 15(ANI): Aston Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor has said that he wants to become Wayne Rooney's England strike partner.

Agbonlahor was left out of the squad for the World Cup in South Africa, but manager Fabio Capello has since singled him out as one of his stars of the future.

"It's given me a boost ahead of the new season. I would relish the opportunity to play alongside Wayne Rooney in future squads. Anyone would, look how good a player he is," The Sun quoted Agbonlahor, as saying.

"What I want to do now is show the manager I deserve it. I'm determined to get back in, but I know there's going to be some tough competition - there'll be young players trying to get in among it now."

"It was disappointing to miss out on the World Cup, but me and some of the other lads have to look at ourselves and question whether we did enough to make it in. That's why I want to do more this season," he added.

The 23-year-old's call for changes in the set-up of the England game was backed by Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce.

"Like Spain or Germany we must protect the future of the national team by developing the players better. Our current players can take us to the European Championships, no doubt about that," Allardyce said.

"From there on we have to make sure we build a foundation to try to make us a nation stronger than we are in international tournaments. We've got the greatest domestic competition in the world but the downside is we've got fewer and fewer English players playing in that league," he added. (ANI)

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Webber backs down over British Grand Prix comments

Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 04:38 PM

London, July 15(ANI): Red Bull Formula One racing driver Mark Webber has cleared the air and apologized over his claims that team-mate Sebastian Vettel was getting preferential treatment at last weekend's British Grand Prix.

Webber was furious when Vettel was given a new front wing from his car ahead of qualifying at Silverstone.

He was heard saying "not bad for a number two" after he won the race, and admitted that he would not have signed a new contract if he had thought he would be treated as such.

Webber now regrets his remarks, and has issued a statement following talks with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner to clear the air.

"My disappointment on Saturday after qualifying spilled over into Sunday, but it was simply due to the fact that I, along with every other driver on the grid, wanted the best possible chance of success," The Fox Sports quoted Webber, as saying.

"Sebastian received the newer front wing for reasons which were not clearly explained to me until Saturday late afternoon. Obviously I can see why a team may at certain points have to favour a driver with more points in the championship, if there are only enough resources to fully support one of us."

"We've already debriefed the race weekend at the factory and have cleared the air. It's now understood that, should we face this unlikely dilemma again, preference will go to the championship points leader," he added.

The 34-year-old further said that there was no dispute between him and Horner.

"Christian Horner and I have known each other for many years. We're friends and have a strong mutual respect which continues and extends to other activities, such as our GP3 team and interest in finding and nurturing young racing talent." Webber said.

"The respect within the team extends to the drivers. I know I have a very good driver as a team-mate and I wouldn't want it any other way. We share information freely in team meetings and contribute to the development and improvement of our cars," he added.

Vettel was ahead in the drivers' championship going into Silverstone, but Webber's win there lifted him in front of the German. (ANI)

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