Sat, Oct 09 10 12:21 PM
Bangalore, Oct 9 (PTI) Electing to bat, Australia were 95 for no loss in their first innings at lunch on day one of the second and final cricket Test against India at M Chinnaswamy Stadium here today. Shane Watson (54) and Simon Katich (39) were at crease for the visitors at the break. Brief Score: Australia 95 for no loss in 27 overs. ( S Watson 54 batting, S Katich 39 batting).
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Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 12:17 PM
Bangalore, Oct 9 (IANS) Gujarat youngster Cheteshwar Pujara made his Test debut Saturday when he was included in the India team for the second cricket Test against Australia in place of the injured batsman V.V.S.Laxman.
Chennai batsman Murali Vijay and Kerala pacer S. Sreesanth replace opener Gautam Gambir and speedster Ishant Sharma who were dropped for the match because of their injuries.
Winning the toss, Australia chose to bat under cloudy and windy conditions at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here.
In the Australian line-up, Peter George was taken in place of seamer Doug Bollinger.
Teams:
India: M.S. Dhoni (captain and wicket-keeper), Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha and S. Sreesanth.
Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Tim Paine (wicket-keeper), Mitchell Johnson , Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter George.
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Sat, Oct 09 10 12:07 PM
Bangalore, Oct 9 (PTI) Electing to bat, Australia were 95 for no loss in their first innings at lunch on day one of the second and final cricket Test against India at M Chinnaswamy Stadium here today. Shane Watson (54) and Simon Katich (39) were at crease for the visitors at the break. Brief Score: Australia 95 for no loss in 27 overs. ( S Watson 54 batting, S Katich 39 batting).
Source: Published>
Posted by Deepak Jain at 11:37 PM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 11:57 AM
Melbourne, Oct 9 (IANS) A swimmer participating in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi has accused Indian spectators of acting like 'monkeys'.
South African swimmer Roland Schoeman Friday night also called the Games a 'joke'.
'Its an absolute disgrace. There's a guy in the stands just shouting, shouting, shouting. Somebody like that needs to be ejected,' Daily Telegraph quoted Schoeman as saying.
'It's unacceptable to be at a professional event like this and have people going on like monkeys. Someone like that doesn't deserve to be here,' Schoeman said.
'It's a joke. It's an absolute joke this event.'
Schoeman spoke out after narrowly avoiding being disqualified when he and England's Simon Burnett had a false start when they heard a noise in the stand at the second semi-finals for the men's 50m freestyle.
Officials, however, did not disqualify them.
Schoeman later said: 'I'm experienced enough not to make a stupid blunder like that.'
The term 'monkey' has taken on new meaning in recent years, with Indian cricketers sledging Australia's Andrew Symonds with taunts during Australia's 2007 tour of India.
'Monkey-gate' then returned when India toured Australia the following summer, with Symonds alleging that spin bowler Harbhajan Singh had called him a 'monkey' in Sydney.
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Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 11:43 AM
New Delhi, Oct 9(ANI): Former Indian off-spinner Bishen Singh Bedi has questioned Ricky Ponting's captaincy for the way he used off-spinner Nathan Hauritz during Australia's one-wicket first Test loss in Mohali.
"I think Ricky Ponting is a very good captain, but I'm not sure he's a very good spinner's captain. It didn't matter when Shane Warne was his spinner. Shane Warne didn't need a captain, he was his own," Fox Sports quoted Bedi, as saying.
"The way Nathan Hauritz is handled is wrong. People have to have more faith in him. I think he is a brilliant off-spinner. He's used as a stock bowler, but I think he is better than that if they let him attack." The Australian team has to give Nathan the confidence and support he deserves. He is your best spinner, but he's not treated like that," he added.
Bedi further said that Hauritz would do better than England's Graeme Swann if Ponting is able manage his spinner.
"There is only one reason why Graeme Swann is more successful. The captain of England (Andrew Strauss) uses Graeme Swann better than the captain of Australia uses Nathan Hauritz. Ponting doesn't know how to use him," Bedi said.
"Nathan is not in India to be a tourist. He's not supposed to be watching Marcus North bowl. Nathan is a very pure spinner. The ball comes out so cleanly, I think he's outstanding as long as he has the right backing," he added. (ANI)
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Sat, Oct 09 10 10:37 AM
Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat first in the second and final test against India on Saturday.
Vangipurappu Laxman, architect of India's thrilling one-wicket victory in the first test at Mohali, was not considered because of a back injury, with Cheteshwar Pujara brought in to make his test debut.
India also brought in Murali Vijay and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth to replace the injured Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma.
Peter George replaced Doug Bollinger who sustained an abdominal strain in Mohali.
India: Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (captain), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.
Australia: Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Marcus North, Tim Paine, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter George.
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Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 08:47 AM
An elated Mahabir Singh, the proud father of Geeta who created history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games (CWG), feels his task is not yet over. "My aim is to help my five daughters win an Olympic gold medal for the country and then do me proud," announced Mahabir after Geeta won the nation's first-ever gold medal in the 55-kg wrestling category at the Commonwealth Games.
Yearning to meet her gold medallist daughter, who would only be allowed to leave the Games village after a few days, Mahabir said that there is a long way to go. He is, however, upset that his second daughter Babita could not win the gold, as she won the silver medal in the 51-kg category today and lost to Nigerian Ifeoma Christiana Nwoye 4-7.
Mahabir, who had trained 21-year-old Geeta along with his four other daughters Babita, Ritu, Priyanka and Vinesh, had first set up an Akhara in his native village Nehlali in Bhiwani district of Haryana. He had shifted to NIS at Patiala early this year, to provide good training to her daughters ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Often chided in his village and state for making his daughters take on wrestling, a sport which was considered a male bastion in the male-dominated society in Haryana, he feels his stand has been vindicated. Today he walks proudly among his community, with all his daughters doing him proud.
"I have proved wrong all the detractors who once termed me crazy after I put all I had on the future of my daughters in wrestling. When I started off by opening the Akhara for women in my native village Behlali in 2000, people laughed at me and made fun of me and my daughters and often made unbecomming remarks. Today, they are all humbled and talk high of me and my daughters"
He said that he has proved that with strong determination and set goals, one can achieve anything if one has the will do achieve.
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Sat, Oct 09 10 08:21 AM
Late-season specialist David Toms had a one-shot lead over fellow American Joe Durant after the second round of the McGladrey Classic at St. Simon's Island in Georgia on Friday.
Two other Americans, Rich Barcelo and Heath Slocum, are tied for third at eight-under-par 132, while the highest placed foreign player is Sweden's Mathias Gronberg who is tied for fifth at seven-under with Brian Gay.
Louisiana native Toms, looking for his first top 10 finish of the season and his first win since 2006, is something of a specialist in winning in the South towards the end of the season.
"I've always played pretty well in the South, whether it has been on Bermuda grass or whatever. If you look back at my career that is the way that it has gone. Here we are again and it is going pretty well," said the 12-time Tour winner.
Toms followed up a first round 64 with his four-under round on Friday - he produced two birdies on the front and then four on the back but he bogeyed the 10th and the 14th - and put that down to being too adventurous.
"The two times when I got too aggressive I paid the price and made two bogeys - it was similar on Thursday, that is the type of course it is - you have to pick and choose where to attack," he said.
A number of international players failed to make the cut, including 2008 U.S. Masters winner Trevor Immelman of South Africa, Britain's Brian Davis and Greg Owen, German Alex Cejka, Japan's Ryuji Imadaand and Australian Nathan Green.
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Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 07:37 AM
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque expects to have Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos available for the world champions' Euro 2012 qualifier away to Scotland on Tuesday.
Midfielder Alonso is suffering from flu and missed Friday's 3-1 win over Lithuania, while defender Ramos was taken off in the second half of the Group I match in Salamanca with an ankle problem.
"We hope that Sergio Ramos does not have any difficulties," Del Bosque said at a news conference after a double strike from forward Fernando Llorente and one goal from David Silva gave Spain two wins out of two and put them top of the group.
"I hope Xabi Alonso is also with us," he added. "At the moment we are not planning to call up anyone else."
Llorente, making a rare start in place of the injured Fernando Torres, is also suffering from an ankle problem but the Athletic Bilbao forward said it was not serious and he should be fine to play in Glasgow.
"It's a knock I got in the last La Liga match that I have been carrying since then," he told reporters.
"But I ended the match tonight feeling fine, if a little tired after all the effort."
Del Bosque said he was pleased his players had adapted their game to see off an ultra-defensive Lithuania by carving out three headed goals from crosses.
"They closed down the spaces and we were finding it hard to play the ball around," he said.
"We tried to play one-twos but in the end the goals came from crosses and that's another option we have."
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Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 06:23 AM
Slowly lifting his right arm to a perpendicular position from his body, the subedar took mock aim in front of the mirror. Although his left hand was tucked inside the comfort of his pocket, the fingers jittered from left to right, causing a wave like movement on the fabric.
He dropped the lid of his right eye to a tight squeeze, before the army man pointed his index finger at the five imaginary targets, which stood 25m away in his mental image. Clicking the pointed finger to his thumb, he imitated the sound of bullets whizzing from a nuzzle, furiously rotating the cuff of his shoulder to follow the sound.
Although it looked like a watered down version of a scene from a Martin Scorsese classic, Vijay Kumar was doing more than just an imitation of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver. He was mentally mapping out his hand-eye co-ordination for the 25m Rapid Fire event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. While De Niro saw not statues of significance for the role, Vijay's efforts paid instant and golden dividends. For a few minutes after looking into his own reflection, Vijay stared hard at the medal clasped around his left hand. And this time, the fingers didn't shiver.
The nerves had come to a rest the moment he stepped into the wooden floors of the indoor range, as Vijay lined up against his competitors at Karni Singh Shooting Range on Friday. Although Vijay's body posture was no different to that of his opponents, mentally, he had already been there. Having conquered the virtual targets, Vijay picked up the pistol to demolish the real ones.
While his score of 583 in the first stage of the two part event left most of his competitors behind, Malaysia's Amir Hasan Izwan (576) and compatriot Gurpreet Singh (569) clung on like a leech. Despite going into the final round as one angle of a 3-way stand-off, he raced away with near-perfect scores due to his flawless start.
To put things into perspective, Vijay fired a score of 51.88 in the customary practice round before the real event, while the best total achieved by either Gurpreet or Izwan during the actual segment was 50.55. Vijay never dropped below a score of 50 even once in the four rounds to score a total of 787.5, breaking the previous Games record by a mile. The Malaysian (760.3) narrowly pipped out Gurpreet (758.7) for second spot.
Dressed in varying shades of green in the stands, several higher ranked officers from the army watched their junior from Himachal saluting the Indian flag, while wearing his medal proudly around his neck. This was Vijay's third CWG gold (he had won two in Melbourne), his sporting version of the military insignia.
"I am very pleased with this gold, but I still have three more medals to fight for. I cannot rest on my laurels or relax just yet," Vijay said, as screens around the stadium displayed a still image of him in trigger-clasping position. An image thoroughly practiced by the subedar in front of the mirror.
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Sat, Oct 09 10 05:57 AM
South Africa brushed aside a spirited challenge from Zimbabwe to win the inaugural Twenty20 international between the two neighbours by seven wickets with 25 balls to spare.
Hamilton Masakadza (72) and Chamu Chibhabha (52) led the tourists to a competitive total of 168 for four before an opening stand of 90 in just seven overs between Graeme Smith and Loots Boman effectively ended the contest.
Chibhabha's half-century from 29 balls was the fastest by a Zimbabwean in T20 cricket. Zimbabwe batting coach Grant Flower, who is making a comeback to international cricket at the age of 39, was marooned in Harare because of visa problems.
Smith, who has relinquished the T20 captaincy to Johan Botha, revelled in his newfound freedom by smashing 58 from 29 deliveries with nine fours and two sixes while Bosman blasted 33 from 15 balls with two fours and three sixes.
The Proteas suffered the briefest of wobbles when experienced off-spinner Prosper Utseya claimed two quick wickets, including that of debutant Colin Ingram for three.
JP Duminy (35 not out) and David Miller (36 not out) calmly finished the job with an unbroken fourth wicket partnership of 70.
The second T20 international is scheduled for Kimberley on Sunday followed by three one-day internationals.
Scores:
Zimbabwe 168 for four off 20 overs (Hamilton Masakadza 72, Chamu Chibhabha 52; Wayne Parnell 2-29). South Africa 169-3 off 15.5 overs (Graeme Smith 58; Prosper Utseya 2-41)
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Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 05:55 AM
Tiny Montenegro maintained their unexpectedly excellent start when they beat Switzerland 1-0 on Friday to preserve their 100 per cent record in Group G in a busy night of Euro 2012 qualifying on Friday.
Norway, like Montenegro another surprisingly successful package, maintained their place at the head of Group H, taking their tally to nine points with a 2-1 win in Cyprus with goals from John Arne Riise and John Carew.
Group leaders Germany and Netherlands also made it three wins out of three but there were shock defeats for Slovakia, who lost 3-1 to Armenia in Group B, and Serbia, who were beaten 3-1 at home by Estonia in Group C.
Former World champions Italy dropped their first points when they were held to a goallless draw by Northern Ireland in their Group C match in Belfast, while Russia held on to beat Ireland 3-2 in Dublin after the Irish hit back with two goals late in the second half of their Group B match.
Hungary were the highest scorers with most of Friday's 21 matches completed, crushing minnows San Marino 8-0 in Budapest in their Group E game.
BIZARRE CELEBRATION
Montenegro's Mirko Vucinic scored what proved to be the winner after 68 minutes against Switzerland when he chipped the ball home from a narrow angle, and then celebrated in bizarre style by taking his shorts off and putting them on his head, earning a yellow card.
Montenegro, who have a population numbering well under a million, will face their toughest test so far when they meet similarly unbeaten England at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
The Swiss were the only team to beat new champions Spain in the World Cup in South Africa.
There was no surprise that Germany also made it three out of three with a 3-0 win over Turkey in Berlin where Miroslav Klose scored twice and Mesut Ozil netted the other to keep the Germans top of Group A with maximum points.
Klose's goals took his tally to 57 for Germany making him their second highest scorer behind Gerd Mueller who holds the all-time record of 68. Ozil's goal came against the country where his parents were born.
The Netherlands also won their third straight game in Group E with a 1-0 win in Moldova where Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the only goal in the 37th minute.
The night began with Armenia scoring a surprise 3-1 win over Slovakia 3-1, while in other early matches, Hungary crushed San Marino 8-0 in a typically one-sided international against Europe's whipping boys, while Belgium got their first points after three matches with debutant Marvin Ogunjimi netting both in a 2-0 win in Kazakhstan.
One of the biggest upsets came in Belgrade where Estonia won a rare, but well deserved away 3-1 victory against a sluggish Serbia in Group C with superb second half goals from Tarmo Kink and Konstantin Vassiljev to give new coach Vladimir Petrovic a miserable start in his new job.
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Sat, Oct 09 10 05:41 AM
Tour de France winner Alberto Contador wants a quick decision from the International Cycling Union (UCI) on his failed doping test to put a stop to what he called "the publication of false and defamatory news".
Three-times Tour champion Contador, who was provisionally suspended by the UCI last week after testing positive for a small quantity of the anabolic agent clenbuterol during the July race, said he would take legal action against "various media and websites" for publishing "defamatory information".
The 27-year-old has denied doping and put the positive test down to contaminated meat.
"The rider asks the sport authorities and especially (the UCI) to provide a quick resolution of this case, as this is the best way to end the speculation and the publication of false and defamatory news about him," a statement released by his press officer, Jacinto Vidarte, said on Friday.
"The legal team of Alberto Contador will take legal actions against defamatory information published so far by various media and websites, due to their absolute lack of veracity," the statement added.
"Additionally, they will proceed in the same way with any defamatory information that will be published in the future."
Contador was one of four Spanish riders suspended in three days last week, and joined a list of recent positive doping cases that have tarnished the country's image in the sport.
He repeated in Friday's statement that he was innocent of doping.
"Alberto Contador reiterates that the clenbuterol found in the analysis of the last Tour de France was solely caused by food contamination and in no case has he resorted to an autologous or any other method of doping," the statement said.
Clenbuterol can be used by athletes to strip fat and enhance muscle size and can have short-term stimulant effects including increasing aerobic capacity, blood pressure and alertness. It has led to bans for cyclists in the past.
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Sat, Oct 09 10 05:17 AM
Austria's decision to gamble on controversial striker Marko Arnautovic paid off handsomely on Friday when he scored his first two international goals to help his team beat Azerbaijan 3-0 in a Euro 2012 qualifier.
Arnautovic's Werder Bremen team mate Sebastian Proedl scored the other to leave Austria with six points from their opening, and arguably easiest, two games in Group A.
Former Germany and Scotland coach Berti Vogts' Azerbaijan have lost both their games so far.
The Austrians had struggled to a 2-0 home win against Kazakhstan last month, scoring boths goals in stoppage time.
This time the did it the easy way with Proedl heading them in front from a corner in the third minute.
Stefan Maierhofer was twice denied by Kamran Agayev before halftime as the Austrians dominated the game.
Arnautovic, whose allegedly lax attitude was criticised during an unhappy year with Inter Milan last season, opened his account eight minutes after the restart, neatly controlling Maierhofer's pass before scoring with a low shot from 15 metres.
The lanky 21-year-old added another in stoppage time with a cheeky chip over Agayev.
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Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 04:17 AM
Bags of unused tickets had to be carted off to the dump on Friday, while organisers owned up to a major communications blunder as the Commonwealth Games remained beset by problems at the halfway stage.
Tales of organisational woe again overshadowed the sporting action, despite the excellence of Australian woman swimmer Leisel Jones.
Crowds in many venues remained sparse on Friday while several athletes complained of sickness and media continued to voice concerns about transport and communication.
Despite those problems, organisers took time out to say they were "fully competent" to run the 71-nation jamboree, which had a great sporting story on its hands as it reached its halfway point.
If these Games are not remembered for a string of organisational foul-ups, they may be recalled for the brilliance of Jones, who claimed her ninth title in three editions of the event.
Jones claimed her ninth Commonwealth Games title in three editions of the event on Friday with a commanding victory in the 100m breaststroke.
That leaves Jones, 25, who hails from Katherine in the Northern Territory, a town of under 6,000 citizens, one more gold away from a share of the all-time record.
Jones's commanding victory in the 100m breaststroke put her one win short of joining fellow Australian swimmers Ian Thorpe and Susie O'Neill as the most successful athletes in the 80-year history of the Games.
"It would be nice to be up there with those sorts of names ... a real honour," said Jones, who will swim in the 4x100 medley on Saturday.
SERIES OF SNAGS
Now that the 12-day event has reached its halfway point, it is hard to argue that the much publicised snags are just teething problems for a $6 billion event which was supposed to showcase India's growing political and economic muscle and efficiency.
"(We are) definitely fully competent," Lalit Bhanot, secretary-general of the local organising committee nevertheless told a news conference.
"There are issues, as in every Games. Everything has been resolved so far. Things are going well ... it's all okay."
While their organisers have looked increasingly beleaguered, Indian sportsmen and women have largely excelled in competitive action, albeit in front of often sparsely populated arenas.
On Friday, they picked up more gold medals on the shooting and archery ranges as well as on the wrestling mat to take their tally to 20, enough for second place behind Australia (47) on the medal table.
"What will history remember? The medal winners. What will matter for us in the next Olympics? How many medals we win. So overall we have reasons to be happy," said N. Bhaskara Rao of the Centre for Media Studies, a Delhi-based think tank.
AUSTRALIAN SUCCESS
Cameron Meyer won his third gold medal of the Games in the men's scratch race to bring to a close a track cycling meeting dominated by Australians, who won 12 of the 14 titles on offer.
Elsewhere, though, several Games competitors were again in no condition to show their stomach for the fray as "Delhi Belly" complaints continued to confirm that stayaways had good reason to be concerned about their health.
Australia's Andrew Lauterstein, the favourite for the 100m butterfly, was one of two swimmers forced to pull out of the morning heats through illness.
That left the way clear for Geoff Huegill, who has shed 45kgs since coming out of retirement, to cap his comeback by reclaiming the title he first won 12 years ago in Kuala Lumpur.
"It just goes to show that there is still hope for all the old buggers out there," said the 31-year-old Australian. "It's awesome to be back."
Kenyan middle and long distance runners are among the few top athletes in a competition seriously weakened by the absence of leading names such as Jamaica's double Olympic men's sprint champion Usain Bolt.
Olympic champion Nancy Langat duly delivered in the women's 1,500m and Grace Momanyi led Doris Changeywo to a one-two in the 10,000 metres in front of 30,000 fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday night.
Jamaica's Tricia Smith battled with the local insects before winning the long jump.
"I had one legal jump and that's all it takes," she said. "A lot of flies and bugs got into my eyes and I had to stop to take them out."
Where there were fans some of the behaviour caused problems, England's archery team complaining that unsportsmanlike behaviour from the crowd had contributed to their defeat to the hosts.
Games officials conceded a "major communication blunder" was to blame for Thursday's athletics farce, when Australian Sally Pearson was on her way to collect her 100m gold medal only to be called back and disqualified for a false start.
"Treatment of the athletes was unsatisfactory and we have alerted all the other sports as well to ensure that a similar incident does not occur," said Games Federation chief Mike Fennell.
There was some good news for organisers after a late dash to get special permission to allow helicopters with television cameras to fly over some of the city's restricted areas to cover cycling road race and marathon events was granted on Friday.
The last night of the swimming competition is the highlight of the seventh day of the Games, which close on Oct. 14.
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Sat, Oct 09 10 02:57 AM
John Arne Riise and John Carew notched first-half goals to guide Norway to a 2-1 win over Cyprus on Friday to make it three victories from three Euro 2012 qualifying matches.
The unmarked Riise took the wind out of the home team's sails when he struck in the second minute.
Carew effectively ended the game as a contest when he netted from close range three minutes before halftime.
Yiannis Okkas, playing his 100th international for Cyprus, pulled a goal back in the 58th minute.
The hosts then went close to an equaliser when Norway goalkeeper Jon Knudsen made two saves in quick succession from midfielder Efstathios Aloneftis in the 68th minute.
Norway lead Group H with nine points while Cyprus have one point.
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Sat, Oct 09 10 01:28 AM
Indore, Oct 8 (PTI) Stormy knocks by Yusuf Pathan and Monish Mishra helped India Red upstage India Blue by three wickets in the inaugural match of the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy tournament here today. India Blue scored 251 with the loss of 9 wickets in 50 overs courtesy Ajinkya Rahane (84) and Ravindra Jadeja (58). Fluent innings by Pathan (63) and Mishra (42) swayed the match in favour of India Red which reached the target with the loss of seven wickets and eight balls to spare.
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Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 01:17 AM
In-form Briton John Parry sprinted four shots clear of the field after the Dunhill Links Championship second round on Friday.
Swede Martin Erlandsson was second on 136 after a four-under 68 at Carnoustie. Briton Ross Fisher (68) and Martin Kaymer (69) of Germany, members of Europe's triumphant Ryder Cup team last week, tied for third on 137 with Spaniard Alvaro Quiros (69).
Graeme McDowell (68) of Britain, who claimed the winning point for Europe against United States, was alone in sixth spot on 138.
World number two Lee Westwood, struggling with a troublesome ankle injury, was back on 142 after a 72 while European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie carded a second successive 72.
The 23-year-old Parry, who won last month's Vivendi Cup in France, shot a seven-under 65 in misty conditions on the Old Course at St Andrews to finish on 12-under 132 in the $5 million pro-am event.
DUBAI BID
The Englishman, in his first full season on the European Tour, is lying 66th on the money list and needs to break into the top-60 to be certain of playing in the lucrative Dubai World Championship next month.
Parry started his round at the 10th and made early inroads on par at the 11th and 16th. He then reeled off five birdies in a dazzling six-hole burst from the first.
"I have pretty much holed every putt for two days," he told reporters. "It's going to be a big help when you're doing that, especially in the wind because you're always going to be struggling to get up and down from different positions.
"I've played the Old Course many times before as an amateur but never like this. I've always played it in pretty calm conditions so some of the lines off the tees I'm not used to.
"It was all a bit bizarre," added Parry.
Hennie Otto recorded a rare albatross when he holed his second shot from 189 yards on the par-five third hole at Kingsbarns, one of three courses being used this week. The South Africa went round in 70 for a total of 142.
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Sat, Oct 09 10 12:57 AM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) Twenty policemen deployed for various Commonwealth Games duties have been suspended for alleged indiscipline and dereliction of duty. Among those suspended were eight police personnel who were deployed at the Games Village, three who were at various venues, seven policemen who were being used for transport and security duties and two others, a senior police official said today. The action was taken against them for alleged indiscipline, laxity and dereliction of duty, he said.
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Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 12:51 AM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) The Indian women's table tennis team won its maiden silver in the Commonwealth Games after losing to Singapore 0-3 in the final, while the defending champion men's team suffered a shock 1-3 defeat at the hands of England in the semi-finals here Friday.
The women lost to reigning world champions Singapore in three straight games but played well throughout the tournament to produce their best ever show in the Games. The team defeated stronger teams like Australia and England enroute the final.
India bagged the bronze in the 2006 Melbourne Games in the women's team event and came sixth in Manchester.
The Indian men, who won the gold four years ago, were outplayed by a young English team.
The day belonged to the women paddlers. The Indian women did not go down without a fight in the final against a team which boasted of three top 25 players in the world.
Mouma Das lost the first match against Tianwei Feng 5-11, 3-11, 11-9, 7-11 but managed to win a game against the world no. 3 player.
Shamini Kumaresan played exceedingly well in the tournament but could not do much in the match against world no. 5 Yuegu Wang and lost 7-11, 7-11, 5-11.
Poulomi Ghatak raised hopes by taking a 1-0 lead in the third match but could not sustain the high quality play and lost to Jiawei Li 12-10, 7-11, 9-11, 5-11.
India's head coach Massimo Constantini expressed satisfaction at the performance of the women's team.
'The girls played attacking table tennis and beat higher-ranked teams in the tournament. It is a good sign for the future,' Constantini told IANS.
The Indian men and second seed disappointed later in the day by losing against underdogs England.
The match was turned in the favour of the visitors when Anthony Amalraj lost to England number one Paul Drinkhall after having four match points in the decider and lost 8-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7, 10-12.
Sharath Kamal won the first match against Liam Pitchford 11-8, 11-4, 11-8.
Subhajit Saha coming out of an injury could not make an impact and lost 4-11, 10-12, 8-11.
India was down 1-2 in the match after that and Sharath needed to win his reverse tie against Drinkhall to the keep the title hopes alive. But he failed to deliver and lost 8-11, 5-11, 12-10, 4-11 to give England a place in the finals.
The team now plays Nigeria for the bronze medal Saturday.
--Indo--Asian News Service
bs/pt/av/rn
Source: Web Search
Posted by Deepak Jain at 12:21 PM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 12:41 AM
New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) The following are results on the fifth day of the Commonwealth Games here Friday.
Archery: Yamuna Sports Complex
Men Recurve Team:
Gold: Australia
Silver: Malaysia
Bronze: India
Women Recurve Team:
Gold: India
Silver: England
Bronze: Canada
Athletics: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
400m women final:
Gold: Amantle Montsho (Botswana) 50.10 secs
Silver: Folashade Abugan (Nigeria) 51.39 secs
Bronze: Tabitha Pompey (Guyana) 51.65 secs
Decathlon:
Gold: Jamie Adjetey (Canada) 8070 points
Silver: Brent Newdick (New Zealand) 7899 points
Bronze: Martin Brockman (England) 7712 points
10,000 metres women:
Gold: Kwamboka Momanyi (Kenya) 32:34.11 min
Silver: Chepkwemo Changeywo (Kenya) 32:36..97 min
Bronze: Kavita Raut (India) 33:05.28 min
1,500 metres women
Gold: Jebet Lan'gat (Kenya) 4:05.26 min
Silver: Nikki Hamblin (New Zealand) 4:06.15 min
Bronze: Stephanie Twell (Scotland) bronze 4:06.15 min
Women triple jump:
Gold: Kaye Smith (Jamaica) 14.19 metres
Silver: Ayanna Alexander (Trinidad and Tobago) 13.91 metres
Bronze: Tabia Charles (Canada) 13.84 metres
Men hammer throw
Gold: Johannes Harmse (South Africa) 73.15 metres
England: Alex Smith (England) 72.95 metres
Bronze: Mike Floyd (England) 69.34 metres
Men 110m hurdles
Gold: Andy Turner (England) 13.38 seconds
Silver: William Sharman (England) 13.50 seconds
Bronze: Lawrence Clarke (England) 13.70 seconds
Badminton: Siri Fort Sports Complex
Mixed Team event:
Gold: Malaysia
Silver: India
Bronze: England
Gymnastics: Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium
Vault (men)
Gold: Luke Folwell (Aus)
Silver: Ashish Kumar (Ind)
Bronze: Ian Galvin (Can)
Shooting: Karni Singh Shooting Range
Trap (Women Pairs):
Gold: Laetisha Scanlan and Stacy Roiall (Australia)
Silver: Abbey Burton and Anita North (England)
Bronze: Sue Nattrass and Cynthia Meyer (Canada)
Trap (Men pairs):
Gold: Michael Diamond and Adam Vella (Aus)
Silver: Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Mansher Singh (Ind)
Bronze: Aaron Heading and Dave Kirk (Eng)
50m Rifle 3 positions (Men pairs)
Gold: Gagan Narang and Imran Hasan Khan (Ind)
Silver: James Huckle and Kenny Parr (Eng)
Bronze: Jonathan Hammond and Neil Stirton (Scot)
25m Rapid Fire Pistol (Men individual):
Gold: Vijay Kumar (Ind)
Silver: Hasli Izwan Hasan Amir (Mas)
Bronze: Gurpreet Singh (Ind)
10m Air Pistol Gold:
Gold: Omkar Singh (Ind)
Silver: Bin Gai (Sin)
Bronze: Daniel Repacholi (Aus)
Wrestling: Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium
59kg:
Gold: Alka Tomar - India
Silver: Tonya Verbeek - Canada
Bronze: Tega Tosin Richard - Nigeria
67kg:
Gold: Anita - India
Silver: Megan Buydens - Canada
Bronze: I Iheanacho - Nigeria
51kg:
Gold: Ifeoma Christiana Nwoye - Nigeria
Silver: Babita Kumari - India
Bronze: Jessica Macdonald - Canada
Source: Web Search
Posted by Deepak Jain at 12:11 PM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 12:17 AM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) Following is the schedule of Commonwealth Games events Saturday.
Thirty two gold medals, including two in para sports, will be decided Friday on the fifth day of the competition - Athletics (10), Archery (2), Swimming (9), Shooting (4), Tennis (2), Weightlifting (2), Wrestling (3).
Archery: Yamuna Sports Complex
Men:
Compound Individual Bronze medal,
Compound Individual Finals
Women:
Compound Individual Bronze medal,
Compound Individual Finals
Athletics: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Men:
20 km Race Walk (India: Panucha Babu Bhai, Bajinder Singh, Harminder Singh
High Jump (India: Nikhil Chittarasu, Hari Sankar Roy)
Long Jump, 400m (India: Harikrishnan, Ankit Sharma, Mahan Singh)
Women:
20 km Race Walk (Sandhya Kakkuziyil Jolly, Deepamala Devi Lemapokpam, Rani Yadav)
Shot Put (India: Manpreet Kaur, Patwant Kaur)
3000m Steeplechase (India: Jaisha Orchatteri Veetil, Priyanka Singh Patel, Sudha Singh)
Javelin Throw (India: Suman Devi, Saraswathi Sundaram)
Long Jump (India: Reshmi Bose, Prajusha Maliakkal, Mayookha Johny Mathalikunnel)
800m (India: Tintu Lukka, Sinimole Paulose)
Badminton: Siri Fort Sports Complex
Men: Preliminary Rounds
Singles: (India: Chetan Anand Buradagunta, Kashyap Parupalli)
Doubles: (Indian Team: Sanave Thomas Arattukulam, Rupesh Kumar Kallyad Thazhathevetil)
Women: Preliminary Rounds
Singles: (India: Aditi Ajay Mutatkar, Saina Nehwal)
Doubles: (India: Aparna Balan, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa Machimanda)
Mixed Preliminary Rounds: (India Men : Sanave Thomas Arattukulam, Chetan Anand Buradagunta, Kumar Kallyad Thazhathevetil, Kashyap Parupalli, Diju Valiya Veetil)
Boxing: Talkatora Indoor Stadium
Quarter Finals
Men:
Light Flyweight (49 kg) (India: Amandeep Singh)
Bantamweight (56 kg) (India: Amandeep Singh)
Light Welterweight (64 kg) (India: Manoj Kumar)
Middleweight (75 kg) (India: Vijender Singh)
Heavyweight (91 kg) (India: Manpreet Singh)
Hockey: Maj. Dhyan Chand National Stadium
Men: New Zealand v England, Pakistan v Australia, Trinidad & Tobago v Canada, Scotland v India
Women: England v Malaysia, Australia v Scotland, New Zealand v Canada, South Africa v India
Lawn Bowls: Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex
Men: Singles Heats, Pairs Heats, Triples Quarter Finals, Triples Semi Finals
Women: Pairs Singles Heats, Pairs Heats, Triples Quarter Finals, Triples Semi Finals
Netball: Thyagaraj Sports Complex
Women: Barbados v South Africa, Trinidad v Malawi, Cook Island v PNG, India v Samoa
Shooting: Karni Singh Shooting Range
Individual:
Men: Qualifier Trap (Singles) (India: Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Mansher Singh)
Women: Trap (Singles) Finals (India: Shreyasi Slingh, Seema Tomar)
Pairs:
Men: 25m Centrefire Pistol (Pairs), 50m Rifle 3 Position Final (India: Vijay Kumar, Harpreet Singh)
Women: 10m Air Rifle (Pairs) Final (India: Suma Siddarth Shirur, Kavitha Yadav)
Squash: Siri Fort Sports Complex
Men: Singles Finals (India: Saurav Ghosal, Sandeep Jangra, Harinder Pal Sandhu, Siddarth Suchde)
Women: Singles Finals (India: Anaka Alankamony, Joshna Chinappa, Surbhi Mishra, Dipika Pallikal, Anwesha Reddy)
Swimming: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Complex
Men:
50m Freestyle, (India: Aaron Agnel D'Souza, Arjun Jayaprakash, Virdhawal Vikram Khade, Anshul Kothari)
200m Breaststroke, (India: Puneet Rana, Sandeep Sejwal)
Para-Sport 100m Freestyle S10, (India: Chetan Giridhar Raut, Rimo Saha)
1500m Freestyle, (India: Mandar Anandrao Divase, Ullalmath Adaveeshaiah Pu Gagan)
4x100m Medley, (India: Aaron Agnel D'Souza, Virdhawal Vikram Khade, Balakrishnan Melkote Badrinath, Rehan Jahangir Poncha, Puneet Rana, Sandeep Sejwal)
Women:
200m Butterfly, (India: Pooja Raghava Alva, Aditi Dhumatkar)
Para-Sport 100m Butterfly S9, (India: Kiran Tak)
400m Individual Medley, (India: Kanch Desai)
4x100m Medley. (India: Pooja Raghava Alva, Talasha Satish Prabhu, Priyanka Priyadarshini, Poorva Kiran Shetye, Fariha Zaman)
Weightlifting: Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex
Men: 94 Kg Finals
Women: 75 kg Finals (India: Laishram Monika Devi, Srishti Singh)
Wrestling: Indira Gandhi Sports Complex
Men:
Freestyle 60kg, Finals (India: Yogeshwar Dutt)
Freestyle 74kg, Finals (India: Narsingh Pancham Yadav)
Freestyle 96kg Finals (India: Anil Mann)
Source: Web Search
Posted by Deepak Jain at 11:47 AM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 12:13 AM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) All keyed up after her historic bronze-winning feat at the Commonwealth Games here, India's Kavita Raut Friday said she would now aim for the gold in next month's Asian Games at Guangzhou in China.
'I will now aim for the gold in the Asian Games. I will also try to cut down on my timing,' Kavita told mediapersons at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, soon after finishing third in the gruelling women's 10,000 metres.
Kavita, a tribal girl from Harsul near Nashik in Maharashtra, became the first Indian woman to win an individual medal from the track event in the Commonwealth Games.
In the last edition in Melbourne, the women's 4X400 metres relay team had won a silver while long jumper Anju Bobby George and discus thrower Seema Antil had won the silver and bronze.
Kavita said she had expected a medal here after the rigorous training in the lead-up to the Games.
'I was 90 percent hopeful of a medal. So I am not surprised. We trained for six months at Ooty and also had a camp in Bangalore,' she said.
Kavita thanked her family and personal coach Vijender Singh for her success.
Source: Web Search
Posted by Deepak Jain at 11:43 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 11:57 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) India went down gallantly 1-3 to badminton powerhouse and top seeds Malaysia and settled for a silver in the mixed team event at the Commonwealth Games here Friday, Saina Nehwal winning the lone match.
India began the tie, losing their mixed doubles, their top pair Jwala Gutta and V.Diju, world no. 11, to Kien Kit Koo and Ei Hui Chin 14-21, 21-10, 10-21 at a packed Siri Fort Complex.
In the men's singles, Parupalli Kashyap gave a fright to World No.1 Lee Chong Wei in the first game, before losing 18-21, 7-21.
World No.3 Saina pulled one back against Wong Mew Choo, though not before making a heavy weather of it. She prevailed 24-26, 21-17 21-14, over the World No.16 Malaysian, much to the joy of large crowd that included high profile guests, badminton legend Prakash Padukone and his daughter, film actress Deepika.
Up against World No.1 men's doubles pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong, India's Rupesh Kumar and Thomas Sanave gave their best shot in the second game but were beaten 12-21, 19-21.
The defeat notwithstanding, it was an inspiring performance by the Indians which fetched them a silver in the mixed team event for the first time. Four years ago in Melbourne they came back with a bronze. India's 3-0 victory against England here in the semi-final Thursday was the high point of the event.
It was Kashyap who shone Friday. Preferred over more experienced and higher ranked Chetan Anand, and pitted against the class of Chong Wei, the World No. 32 Indian played his heart out and gave the Beijing Olympic silver medallist a run for his money in the first game.
In fact, Kashyap suddenly held out hope. The excitement in the stands was palpable when he led 13-9 in the first game. The Indian mixed his attacking flair with fine deceptive shots to unnerve Chong Wei.
Kashyap would engage Chong Wei in rallies, set up the points beautifully and finish it off with devastating smashes. The Malaysian fought back reeling four points to draw level and then it was a neck-and-neck battle. Eventually, Chong Wei prevailed.
The second game was one-sided. Having read Kashyap's game, Chong Wei gave no space to the Indian to play his shots. The Malaysian was unerring at the net, using his supple wrists to unnerve the Indian with deceptive shots.
Kashyap in trying to be over aggressive, made a stream of errors at the net.
'I should have continued the way I played in the first game. I made some errors at the start and he took a huge lead. He broke my rhythm and then it was difficult for me to comeback. Nevertheless, the fact that I ran him close in the first game will give me confidence. After all, he is the World No.1,' he said.
Chong Wei acknowledged Kashyap was a top-10 player in the making.
'I was playing him for the first time and I was not prepared for his attack. I soon figured him out and played my natural game. He is a talented player and has a long way to go,' he said.
The bronze went to England who beat Singapore 3-1 in the morning.
Source: Web Search
Posted by Deepak Jain at 11:27 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 11:47 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) All keyed up after her historic bronze-winning feat at the Commonwealth Games here, India's Kavita Raut Friday said she would now aim for the gold in next month's Asian Games at Guangzhou in China.
'I will now aim for the gold in the Asian Games. I will also try to cut down on my timing,' Kavita told mediapersons at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, soon after finishing third in the gruelling women's 10,000 metres.
Kavita, a tribal girl from Harsul near Nashik in Maharashtra, became the first Indian woman to win an individual medal from the track event in the Commonwealth Games.
In the last edition in Melbourne, the women's 4X400 metres relay team had won a silver while long jumper Anju Bobby George and discus thrower Seema Antil had won the silver and bronze.
Kavita said she had expected a medal here after the rigorous training in the lead-up to the Games.
'I was 90 percent hopeful of a medal. So I am not surprised. We trained for six months at Ooty and also had a camp in Bangalore,' she said.
Kavita thanked her family and personal coach Vijender Singh for her success.
Source: Web Search
Posted by Deepak Jain at 11:17 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 11:37 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) With nothing to lose, Trinidad and Tobago threatened to pull off a miracle but eventually went down 3-5 to South Africa in a Pool B game of the men's hockey competition at the Commonwealth Games here Friday.
In the only other men's match, Malaysia recorded their first win from three matches in Pool A when they beat Scotland 2-0 on goals by Azlan Misron (31st) and Hafiz Hanafi (52nd).
The Scots, having lost their previous two games, put on a brave show, but their best was not enough to stop the Malaysians who capitalised on the two good openings that came their way.
Meanwhile, it was an astonishingly strong performance from Trinidad and Tobago who all but rattled South Africa after sharing four goals in the first-half. The Proteas' experience eventually made the difference in the second-half.
Gareth Carr starred for the South Africans with a double strike while Justin Reid-Ross, Lance Louw and Paton Taine scored one apiece. On the other hand, the Caribbean champions replied through Wayne Legerton (2) and Kwandwane Browne.
The victory took South Africa's tally to six points and to second place behind New Zealand in pool B while the Caribbean champions slid to their third defeat, but certainly made their presence felt Friday night.
'We put in some goals but they didn't get us the results. We hardly get to play any of the top 15 teams and here, we obviously focused on our defense. But today, we attacked much more,' coach Eric Verboom said.
'But let me tell you that for us, the Commonwealth Games competition is a development tournament as our focus is on the Pan-American Games next year and we want to qualify for the (2012 London) Olympics.'
South African coach Gregg Clark said he was not surprised that the Trinidadians came out hard at them, but his team was organized enough to survive the onslaughts.
'We were expecting a tough fight. They have been improving and we knew they would be coming at us strongly. But we were efficient enough to hold them,' Clark said.
Source: Web Search
Posted by Deepak Jain at 11:07 AM 0 comments
Fri, Oct 08 10 11:21 PM
Melbourne, Oct 8 (PTI) Australian athlete Sally Pearson, who was stripped of her 100m gold medal for a false start last night after a protest by the England team, has assured the British officials that she had no hard feelings towards them. During her bus journey back to the athletes'' village in Delhi, Pearson committed the ultimate act of sportsmanship, when upon seeing the Team England leader John Brierley, the man who had her disqualified and stripped of gold for false starting, made her way to him and said: "I have no hard feelings." Pearson also passed on her well-wishes to new English bronze medallist Katherine Endacott. "I understand you made the protest," Pearson said to Brierley. "I''d just like say I have no hard feelings. Good luck to your girl who has got the bronze medal," she was quoted as saying by ''The Australian''. Pearson had won the women''s 100m dash with a timing of 11.28s. Pearson crossed the finish line ahead of Oludamola in 11.28 seconds but was subsequently disqualified following a protest by the decision of the referee. English runner Laura Turner was shown the red card by the race referee for a false start, but Australian Sally Pearson also appeared to jump the gun and was seen putting her hands over her face in despair fearing an ouster for jumping the gun. Subsequent to Pearson''s disqualification the silver medallist, Osayomi Oludamola of Nigeria, was elevated to the gold standard while the third and fourth place finishers in the race - Natasha Mayers (St. Vincent and Grenadines) and England''s Catherine Endacott were awarded the silver and bronze respectively. The 24-year-old Pearson, after being stripped of her medal, said she was floored by the way the issue was handled. "To do the victory lap everything, ok, and then be told ''Oh no you can''t have your medal now'' it''s horrible. But I have to deal with it because that''s just the way sport is," she said. Pearson said she left in the dark throughout the protest process. "I didn''t know anything was going on. I was told that I was in there. I was walking out to do my medal ceremony and they called us back and said there were still protests going on. No one could tell me what it was about. (Or) who it was against. That''s probably been the most disappointing thing because I still thought I was alright. "I was getting told all these different stories and I was not ever once told the truth. Never once told what was going on and I don''t think that is fair. I am in this sport as a competitor and as an athlete just like anyone else. This is our career, this is our job. This is what we train for. To run the race," Pearson said. (More) PTI SHN
Source: Published>
Posted by Deepak Jain at 10:51 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 11:07 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is unhappy with the Games Organising Committee for ignoring her suggestion to issue free tickets to school and college students, an official said Friday amid reports that tickets of several events were sold to scrap dealers as waste paper.
The chief minister, according to the official, has not got a response from the Games Organising Committee on her request.
'We have not got the response so far on the suggestion for free tickets to school and college students,' the official added.
He said the report of Games tickets found with a scrap dealer has left the chief minister 'concerned' over the issue.
Meanwhile, the BJP's Delhi unit chief Vijendra Gupta asked the OC to provide free tickets to children, women and also to handicapped and poor.
'The objective of the Games is that the youth of India should get inspiration from the Games. They should learn. Most of the Games venues are empty because of gross irregularity in the distribution of tickets and passes,' Gupta added.
Media reports Friday pointed out irregularities in CWG ticket sales.
Source: Web Search
Posted by Deepak Jain at 10:37 AM 0 comments
Fri, Oct 08 10 10:57 PM
Chandraboli Mitra New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) Having lost the bronze medal just by a whisker in the men''s 85-kg weightlifting category, Chandrakant Mali just could not control his emotions as he broke down after finishing fourth. Going into the competition, India always had an outside chance of winning a medal as Chandrakant was placed in a group consisting of at least three Commonwealth lifters who had done better than him. The Indian, who had lifted 146 kg in snatch and 173 kg in clean and jerk for a total effort of 319 kg in the men''s 85-kg category during the selection trials of the Commonwealth Games last month, was virtually no match to the likes of Simplice Ribouem, who already had lifted 341 kg, Richard Patterson (334 kg) and Paul Dumais (320 kg). However, Mali did not perform too badly. At the end of the competition, both him and the bronze medallist Marineau had a combined lift of 325 kg, but the Indian lost out on the basis of more body weight than his opponent. The 23-year-old, who also managed to better his trial performance with a total of 325 kg, has a body weight of 84.87, while Marineaus body weight is 84.46. Though the lad from Kolapur said that he felt much more confident after his good show at the competition today but he just could not speak much, breaking down again and again. Yes, I do feel more confident after this performance, Mali told PTI in a timid voice. But when asked if he would now be looking ahead and will be focussing on Asian Games and other events, he just nodded his head in approval but choose to remain silent while tears kept rolling down his cheeks. His father Dadu Mali, who is a farmer by profession, was also in tears but said that he is proud of his sons achievements. I am feeling bad that he missed out on a medal just because of more body weight, but I am glad that he made such a good effort," said Dadu Mali. And while everyone from journalists to the commentators to the audience came to shook his hands for his great efforts, he was simply inconsolable. His teammates in gold medallist in 69 kg Ravi Kumar and Omkar Otari (62 kg), besides his coach from Kolapur, stayed by his side , trying to cheer him up. Otari, who also train under the same coach Pradeep Patil at Kolapur spoke highly about their mentor. He has a gymnasium of his own where we all train and this is a big thing that three lifters from his gymnasium have been representing India, said Otari. Apart from Chandrakant and Otari, another weightlifter Kailash Pujari, who is now retired, who has also represented India, trained under Pradeep Patil. And though Pradeep Patil did not want to comment on his wards failure but he made sure that Chandrakant do not lose hope as he kept on uttering encouraging words to him as he along with his well wishers left the venue.
Source: Published>
Posted by Deepak Jain at 10:27 AM 0 comments
Fri, Oct 08 10 10:37 PM
Ronaldinho would welcome Kaka back to AC Milan with open arms, the Brazilian said on Friday following a raft of speculation linking the Real Madrid man with the club he graced for six years.
Kaka's father and agent was spotted at Milan's headquarters on Thursday but the club said he was there for "bureaucratic reasons".
"If he did return to Milan I would welcome him. He is a great champion and made history with this club," Ronaldinho told reporters after committing his future to Milan for at least the rest of the season.
Media in both Italy and Spain have said Kaka, who has struggled with form and fitness at the Bernabeu, could leave Madrid in January along with potential Inter Milan and Juventus target Karim Benzema.
Inter president Massimo Moratti denied reports earlier in the week that he had held negotiations to bring Kaka to the European champions.
Source: Published>
Posted by Deepak Jain at 10:07 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 10:17 PM
Uncertainty over Liverpool's takeover is no excuse for the club's on-field troubles and they can still aim for a top-four finish despite lying in the relegation zone, all-time top scorer Ian Rush said on Friday.
While the Premier League club's board does legal battle with owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the proposed sale of the five-times European champions to New England Sports Ventures (NESV) hangs in the balance.
Fans have protested for months, saying the owners' lack of investment in new players -- because they are spending the money on debt interest payments instead -- has made the team unable to compete with the best.
"You can't keep on blaming the takeover for not getting results," Rush told Reuters in an interview at the Grassroots Football Summit in the grounds of Belfast's Stormont estate.
The 48-year-old, who scored 346 times for Liverpool in two spells at the club in 1980-87 and 1988-96 in their dominant era, said players should not be distracted by boardroom issues.
"You are paid to do your job on the pitch," he said, while outside the pavilion window teams of enthusiastic youngsters showed off their soccer skills.
Liverpool's chairman Martin Broughton said on Wednesday the board had accepted a 300-million-pound ($476.5-million) bid from NESV, owners of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox.
Rush said he did not mind who the new owners were as long as they shared supporters' values.
"It has been dragging on... The most important thing is to get the club back to where it belongs," the Welshman, who is still involved in Liverpool's academy, said.
"As long as they are on the right lines with what the supporters think, with what they feel about the club, we are quite prepared to listen to anything that's right."
CONFIDENCE LACKING
With six points from seven games, fans have questioned whether manager Roy Hodgson is up to the job he took on in July following the departure of Rafa Benitez.
After Sunday's embarrassing 2-1 home defeat by promoted Blackpool some sections of the crowd chanted for the return of ex-manager and player Kenny Dalglish.
Rush said it was too early to talk about changing managers, even if his former boss -- who won eight league title at Anfield as a player and manager -- was "a fantastic manager".
"You've got to get behind the manager. He's only just started. Roy Hodgson is a great coach and a great person, Kenny would be the first to get behind him," he said.
"I don't think you can talk about Kenny taking over when people are in the job."
Dalglish himself, who was also at the conference, declined to discuss any Liverpool-related matters.
Rush said a lack of confidence was the root of Liverpool's poor league position, 18th in the 20-team table, and victory over local rivals Everton in their next match on Oct. 17 would be the tonic they needed.
"It's not where they want to be and I'm pretty certain they won't stay there for long," said Rush.
"They are only five points from the Champions League playoff (place), the season has only just started. I think a realistic target is qualifying for the Champions League."
For that to happen, the club could do with Spain striker Fernando Torres rediscovering his scoring touch after a miserable start to the season where he has looked sluggish and been hit by a groin injury.
"He just needs a goal. He's working hard and things are just not going for him," said Rush.
"He's got an injury which it looks like he's been playing with and that's the reason why. He's just got to get himself 100 percent fit. We'll see him scoring many goals, he's too much of a world-class player not to do that."
Source: Web Search
Posted by Deepak Jain at 9:47 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 09:51 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (ANI): Indian shooters continued their splendid performance on the fifth day of the XIXth Commonwealth Games here, thereby taking India's gold medal tally to twenty.
Ace shooter Omkar Singh won gold in 10m air pistol event here today. He had earlier on Wednesday won gold in 50metre Pistol event.
Earlier today, shooter Vijay Kumar won a gold for India in singles 25m rapid-fire pistol event.
Kumar shot 787.5, while India's Gurpreet Singh claimed bronze in the same event shooting 758.7.
Shooting ace Gagan Narang also picked up his third gold medal, and the second individual one, in the competition early in the afternoon.
Gagan Narang and Imram Hasan Khan won the gold in the 50 m rifle 3-position pair event.
After wrestler Alka Tomar bagged a gold medal in the 59-kg freestyle event, wrestler Anita won a gold for India in women's 67kg freestyle event here today.
Anita defeated Canadian M. Buydens 4-1.
Wrestler Alka Tomar had earlier won a gold medal in the 59-kg freestyle event defeating Canadian wrestler Tonya Verbeek 3-2.
India women's archery team also won gold today beating in the final of the Recurve Team event.
The team comprising of Dola Banerjee, Dipika Kumri and Bombayala Devi won by a point to give India its 15th gold. (ANI)
Source: Web Search
Posted by Deepak Jain at 9:21 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 09:48 PM
World number one Vijender Singh (75kg) enthralled with a convincing win in just about five minutes to enter the quarterfinals along with Asian silver-medallist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and Dilbag Singh (69kg) on yet another superb day for the Indians in the boxing competition of the Commonwealth Games here today.
The Olympic and World Championship bronze medallist didn't just bring in commoners to Talkatora, he also pulled in celebrity guests in Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Olympic silver-medallist shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore as he pummelled Kenya's Dick Ombaka in less than two rounds to make the last-eight stage where he will take on Namibia's Elias Nashivela.
The 24-year-old Haryana-boxer, who won a gold medal at this year's Commonwealth Championships, was his usual cautious self to start with but once he got a measure of his opponent's game, Vijender was simply unstoppable launching a flurry of straight punches and body blows to unsettle Ombaka.
"I knew it would be a sell-out turnout for me and when I walked in, it was quite intimidating to see so many people. Mr Rahul Gandhi was there in the audience, so it was obviously very special," Vijender, who was also watched by CGF CEO Mike Hooper, Organising Committee Secretary General Lalit Bhanot among others, said after the bout.
"When so many people have so many expectations from you, you are obviously scared of disappointing them and that feeling does creep in on such big occasions but I am glad that I gave a good account of myself," he added.
Vijender's imposing frame tilted the bout in his favour against Ombaka, who seemed confused about whether to go on the offensive or wait for the Indian to make the first attack.
The crowd-favourite took full advantage of the Kenyan's lack of strategy and landed some telling straight blows, one of which even downed Ombaka prompting a countout.
Barely a minute into the second round and the beating became just too much to take for the African, leaving the referee with no choice but to award the bout to Vijender, bringing the full-to-capacity Talkatora to its feet.
"My height was a major advantage. I gauged him in the opening round because it is important to know what your opponent has in mind. I have a tougher bout next up and this win has given me a lot of confidence for that," he said.
Earlier today, Asian silver-medallist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) became the fourth Indian boxer to book a berth in the Commonwealth Games quarterfinals after defeating Tanzania's Nasser Mafuru 11-2 here today.
Jai joined Amandeep Singh (49kg), Suranjoy Singh (52kg) and Manoj Kumar, who won their pre-quarterfinal bouts yesterday, in the last-eight stage.
The lanky 24-year-old from Haryana found it hard to deal with an energetic Mafuru's offence in the opening round but gradually sneaked ahead as the bout progressed.
Leading 3-1 in the opening round, Jai, a gold-medallist at this year's Commonwealth Championships, defended stoutly and relied mostly on counter-punching to fetch the points.
With the home crowd egging him on, Jai gained in confidence even as Mafuru began to lose his cool.
In fact, the Tanzanian was cautioned for using his fist in the final round which only widened the margin of his defeat.
"My height worked to my advantage. His energy was remarkable and I had to be on my guard all the time to avoid getting hit," said Jai.
Dilbag's was the last bout of the afternoon session and the unorthodox nine-time national champion made his often wild swings count by notching up an 11--3 triumph over Trinidad's Aaron Prince.
The 29-year-old, considered a veteran in the national boxing circles, is just one win away from bagging perhaps the biggest medal of his career.
"From the way Dilbag fights, he comes across slightly naive but he has the power in his punches," said national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu.
Dilbag will now face Botswana's Moabi Mothiba who defeated Godfrey Mumba of Zambia 7-1.
Indian boxers are so far unbeaten in the competition and tomorrow, Manpreet Singh (91kg), Dinesh Kumar (81kg) and defending champion Akhil Kumar (56kg) will fight their pre-quarterfinal bouts, while Amandeep (49kg) and Suranjoy Singh (52kg) will fight for a semifinal berth, which would assure them of at least a bronze in the competition.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 9:17 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 09:17 PM
He has himself learnt boxing from a Dronacharya awardee and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday showed his love for the sport by turning up to watch the opening Commonwealth Games bout of Olympic bronze medallist and world number one Vijender Singh here at the Talkatora Stadium.
The Gandhi scion came with his brother-in-law Robert Vadera to witness the evening session of the pre-quarterfinals held today and stayed for more than an hour.
As Vijender walked in to the arena in front of a sell-out crowd, he acknowledged the Congress General Secretary by waving at him.
"It was very special to have Rahul ji here. Somebody of his stature coming to support boxing is a big thing for us. I am glad to have won in front of him," said the World Championship bronze-medallist.
During the bout, one of Vijender's powerful straight blows downed his Kenyan rival Dick Ombaka and the Haryana-lad once again turned and waved to the stands where Gandhi was sitting.
Gandhi clapped occassionally to appreciate a good punch.
The Congress General Secretary has learnt boxing from none other than former national coach O P Bhardwaj, who was also present at the stadium.
Apart from Gandhi, Olympic silver-medallist shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore, Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Mike Hooper, Organising Committee Secretary General lalit Bhanot and International Boxing Association President Ching-Kuo Wu were among the high-profile spectators who turned up at the packed Talkatora on Friday.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 8:47 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 09:07 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) Adding to India's glory in the Commonwealth Games, women wrestlers Alka Tomer and Anita won gold medals in freestyle wrestling amidst cries of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' in the jam-packed KD Yadav wrestling stadium in the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here Friday.
Tomar won the gold in the 59kg category defeating Canadian Tonya Verbeek 3-2. Anita made it two in a row winning the 67kg category 4-1. Her opponent was also a Canadian, Megan Buydens.
In all, India have three golds, two silvers and one bronze in freestyle women wrestling, an event that debuted at the Delhi Games.
Tomar said she was nervous performing in front of her relatives and friends.
'I have no words to express my happiness. Today I have accomplished my goal for which I have been working very hard for the last two years. The environment in the stadium was thrilling and it's good to see that we have so many fans,' said Tomar.
'I was under pressure during the final match. My family members and relatives were sitting before me and I did not want to disappoint them.'
Tomar had earlier won a bronze medal at 2006 World Championships and gold at 2005 Commonwealth Championships.
The bronze medal in the 59kg category was won by Nigerian wrestler Tega Tosin Richard who defeated Louisa Bernadette Salmon of England, 5-0.
Anita, who had also won bronze medal at the 2005 Commonwealth Championships, called it the best performance till date.
'I am very happy, this is the best performance of my wrestling career. Earlier, I had won bronze medal in the Asian Championship. Today, I only followed the basics that my coach has taught me and attacked the Canadian wrestler whenever she went on the back-foot.
'Wrestling is one of the most popular sport in India and I am confident that it will be included in Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014,' said Anita, who hails from Dhanimahu village in Bhiwani district and is posted as head constable in Haryana police.
Nigerian grappler I. Iheanacho, who had beaten MC Manus of Scotland 7-0, won the bronze in the 67kg category.
In the 51kg category, Indian wrestler Babita Kumari, who was a strong contender for gold, had to rest content with a silver. Her sister Geeta had won gold in the 55kg freestyle Thursday.
Babita was outclassed by Nigerian wrestler Ifeoma Christiana Nwoye 7-4.
'I lost because of my own mistake. I would work hard in future,' said Babita struggling to hold back her tears.
Canadian wrestler Jessica Macdonald won bronze.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 8:37 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 08:57 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) Gagan Narang and Imran Hasan Khan won the eighth shooting gold for India, in the 50 metres rifle three position pairs event, while Armyman Vijay Kumar added another winning the men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol event at the Commonwealth Games here Friday.
Another Armyman Gurpreet Singh won the bronze in the 25 metre rapid fire pistol at the Karni Singh Shooting Range. Vijay and Gurpreet had won the gold medal in the pairs event here Thursday.
Gagan, world No.3, shot a total of 1,167 (prone 397, standing 385, kneeling 385) while Imran had a total of 1,158 (prone 395, standing 381, kneeling 382) as India won the gold with a total of 2,325. The earlier Games record of 2,300 was held by Canadian duo Michael Dion and Wayne Sorensen at the Victoria Games in 1994.
England and Scotland were tied for the second place with 2,308 points but the former won the silver on the basis of 105 perfect 10s while Scotland had to settle for the bronze with 104 perfect 10s.
England duo James Huckle and Kenny Parr shot a total of 2,308. Huckle shot 1,158 (prone 391, standing 383, kneeling 384) while Parr had a total of 1,150 (prone 391, standing 375, kneeling 384). Scotland's Jonathan Hammond totalled 1,160 (prone 398, standing 371, kneeling 391) while Neil Stirton shot 1148 (prone 395, standing 372, kneeling 381).
In the men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol, Vijay broke his own Games record set in Melbourne to win the ninth gold medal, the country's ninth. Vijay shot a total of 787.5 (583 in qualifying, 204.5 in final) and bettered the Games record of 778.2 that he set four years ago in Melbourne.
The silver went to Malaysia's Hasli Izwan Hasan Amir with a score of 760.3 (576 in qualifying, 184.3 in final) and Gurpreet settled for the bronze with a score of 758.7 (569 qualifying, 189.7 final).
Vijay said he was happy to win the gold by breaking his own Games record.
'It always feels special, because this is the second time I have broken the Games record and that too by winning the gold medal. I am grateful to the Army, who have provided me all the help,' he said.
Asked which medal was special, individual or pairs, Vijay said: 'The individual, obviously.'
Despite winning the bronze, Gurpreet was unhappy with his performance.
'I am extremely unhappy with my scores. I expected to put up a better showing. Now I am looking forward to my next events,' he said.
In the women's trap pairs, India's Shreyasi Singh (45) and Seema Tomar (44) finished fifth with a total of 89 while Australian duo Laetisha Scanlan (48) and Stacy Roiall (45) bagged the gold with a Games record of 93. The previous Games record of 90 was also held by Australian pair Nessa Jenkins and Diane Reeves.
England's pair Abbey Burton (46) and Anita North (45) took the silver with a total of 91 while Canada got the bronze with Sue Nattrass (46) and Cynthia Meyer (44) shooting a total of 90.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 8:27 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 08:52 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (ANI): Ace shooter Omkar Singh won a 20th gold for India on the fifth day of the XIXth Commonwealth Games in 10m air pistol event here today.
Omkar Singh had earlier on Wednesday won gold in 50metre Pistol event.
Earlier today, shooter Vijay Kumar won the 17th gold for India in singles 25m rapid-fire pistol event.
Kumar's compatriot Gurpreet Singh won bronze in the same event.
Shooting ace Gagan Narang also picked up his third gold medal, and the second individual one, in the competition early in the afternoon. (ANI)
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 8:21 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 08:47 PM
New Delhi, October 08 (ANI): Indian shooter Vijay Kumar gave India its 17th CWG gold when he won gold medal in the 125m rapid fire pistol event on Friday. Gold rush continued for India on the fifth day of the Games as shooters Gagan Narang and Imram Hasan Khan bagged yet another gold medal for India, at the Dr Karni Singh shooting range. Narang and Khan won the gold in 50 m rifle 3-position pair event, thus, raising India's medal tally to a total of 16 gold.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 8:17 AM 0 comments
Fri, Oct 08 10 08:37 PM
Tapan Mohanta New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) Daughter of an autorickshaw driver in Ranchi, ''baby'' Deepika Kumari took a giant leap when she guided the women''s recurve team to bag the first Commonwealth Games gold in archery. The 17-year-old shot 70, one point higher than double Olympian Dola Banerjee (69) and Bombayala Devi Laishram (68) as the trio pipped English opponents by one point for the top finish in a pressure-filled match. Women''s coach Poornima Mahato looks after Deepika as she is treated like a ''baby''. For instance, she is not allowed to use a mobile phone and shares a room in the Games Vilage with the team''s senior most member Dola. "But I am growing, I don''t need a mobile now, maybe I will get it after getting a job," Deepika told PTI, showing off her nails painted in the colours of the Indian Tri-colour. Currently world-ranked fifth, Deepika shot into limelight winning the Cadet Youth Championships in Kundu-Antalya, Turkey in October 2008 while recently she made the cut for the coveted World Finals in Edinburgh. "Playing in the World Finals was really huge for me. All the top archers were there. I could not get a podium finish but the experience is helping me. I am learning day by day," said Deepika. Studying in class 11th in Jamshedpur, Deepika targets making a cut for the London Olympics 2012. "Next year will be a huge for me. I hope to continue with this form and qualify for Olympics. That will be really a proud moment for my parents and coaches who are behind my success," she said. In-form Deepika is only one among the women''s team to have won an individual medal at the World Cup this year when she got a silver at the World Cup stage 4 in Shanghai recently. Eldest among three children, Deepika''s father Shiv Narayan Mahato drives an autorickshaw, while mother Geeta Mahato works as a nurse in Ranchi Government Hospital. "I got my first recurve bow when I made the academy. All my expenses of food and boarding was taken care of since then," Deepika, who got into the Tata Archery Academy in 2008, said. It was her cousin who noticed the talent in Deepika. "She was an archer and it was through her I got into archery. Then I trained at Saraikela before being picked by TAA," Deepika recalled. The teenage Deepika considers senior pro Dola as her archery inspiration. "I really look up to her. Dola didi always helps me out when I go wrong. I am really thankful to her," she says. Incidentally, both Dola and Deepika will play recurve individual quarterfinals in the Commonwealth Games archery competition on October 10.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 8:07 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 08:27 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (ANI): Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced special 'Minister's Awards' for Railway players winning medals at the XIXth Commonwealth Games.
"The Railway family and the nation is very proud of them," said Banerjee sending her congratulations for the outstanding performance of Railway players in the Indian contingent in the 2010 Games.
The awards will be Rs ten lakh for a gold medal winner, Rs six lakh for a silver medal winner and Rs four lakh for those winning the bronze.
The Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) announced Rs. five lakh for gold medal winner, Rs three lakh for silver, Rs. two lakh for bronze and a promotion/increment in the railway service.
Railway players have so far won nine medals for India, which include seven gold medals and two bronze medals.
Dola Banerjee (Eastern Railway) and L. Bombayla Devi (Eastern Railway) won gold in Recurve Women Team Event on Friday.
Ashish Kumar (North Central Railway) won the bronze medal for India in Gymnastics (Floor Exercise) event on Thursday.
Dharmendra Dalal (Northern Railway) won bronze medal in 120 Kg. of Greco Roman Style wrestling category on Wednesday.
Over 90 sportspersons from Indian Railways are participating in the 2010 Games, which is the biggest contingent from a single organization in the country. (ANI)
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 7:57 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 08:07 PM
London, Oct 8(ANI): England defender Rio Ferdinand may start the Three Lions' Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro on Tuesday on the bench.
According to the Sun, England manager Fabio Capello may continue with Phil Jagielka following his impressive performance against Bulgaria and Switzerland.
Jagielka was the only defender to play both the 90 minutes in the 4-0 win over Bulgaria and the 3-1 success against Switzerland.
Ferdinand has already lost captaincy of the team after Capello handed it to midfielder Steven Gerrard in his absence.
The 31-year-old had traveled to the World Cup in South Africa as skipper, but saw his tournament ended by a knee injury sustained in the very first training session.
After his return to Manchester United last month, he has played two Premier League games without conceding a goal. (ANI)
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 7:37 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 07:57 PM
Bangalore, Oct.8 (ANI): Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Friday that he would take a call on injured VVS Laxman later this evening or before the second Test match commences against Australia from October 9.
"Laxman is much better right now, but we will take a call in the evening or tomorrow before the game, how he shapes up in the morning," said Dhoni.
Dhoni also said that there were many areas the team needed to improve like not dropping catches or ensuring better running between the wickets.
"We need to improve in quite a few areas, because you can't give too many runs with the new ball. Once you are close to the opposition target, we should not lose too many wickets, try to get as much lead as possible, not dropping catches, it's an old mantra and still going strong, and you trying to stop the singles that the Aussie team takes," said Dhoni.
"It is important not to let them rotate the strike easily, So, apart from that, running between the wickets, we have seen that run outs can change the course of a game," he added.
When asked about the verbal duel between Zaheer Khan and Ricky Ponting, Dhoni said that the players would only focus on the game and not on controversy.
"We always try to play cricket in the best possible manner but you know, heat of the moment, when you are putting a lot of effort, at time bowlers or batsmen, they tend to respond to the opposition's wordings and all, but we try to not get it too personal, because it does happen, a bit of chit chat is fine till it doesn't get too personal to the bowler and the batsman at the same time," said Dhoni.
"So, I think you know the last Test went off quite well apart from that one incident that happened, and we are hoping that, you know, we will close the series without any further controversy, if you are thinking the last one was part of it," he added.
India won the first Test in Mohali, to take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.
VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma, are likely to miss the second Test because of injury.
After the two Test series, the two teams will face off in a One-Day International (ODI) series starting from October 17. By Sweta (ANI)
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 7:27 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 07:51 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (ANI): Wrestler Alka Tomar bagged a gold medal in the 59-kg freestyle event on the fifth day of the XIXth Commonwealth Games here today, thereby taking India's gold medal tally to 18.
Alka Tomar defeated Canadian wrestler Tonya Verbeek 3-2.
Nigerian Tega Tosin Richard won the bronze in the same event, defeating England's Louisa Bernadette Salmon 5-0.
Earlier today, ace shooter Vijay Kumar won gold in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol shooting.
Kumar shot 787.5, while India's Gurpreet Singh claimed bronze in the same event shooting 758.7. (ANI)
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 7:21 AM 0 comments
Published>Fri, Oct 08 10 07:27 PM
New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) The centre court at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium reverberated with the cries of 'Go Sania!' and 'C'mon Sania' as the Indian struggled to find her rhythm in her semi-final match against the sixth-seeded Olivia Rogowska of Australia before hurtling to a win which ensured India at least a silver in the women's singles.
Even second-seeded Sania was surprised by the vociferous support from the nearly-packed stands.
'I have played a lot in Delhi and I know how the crowd here is like. But today the turnout was very unlike the usual. I was trailing in the match and for the first time I heard someone saying, 'Let's cheer her up!' This is the first time I have heard anyone saying that. It was exceptional,' Sania said after making a place in the final.
'Maybe it is because of Commonwealth Game, everyone is patriotic and excited. It was not a complete tennis crowd, they were not aware that they are not supposed to cheer when the points are being played. But they were behind me and that's what matters.'
The 23-year-old Indian felt for her Australian opponent, who put up a brave face against a heavily partisan crowd.
'I am it sure was tough for her. It is hard not to be distracted. But she never showed that she was affected. I don't know whether she was just pretending to be calm but she actually came fighting whenever she was down.'
It was a forgettable outing for Sania, who struggled with her game. But she hoped to get her act together for the final.
'I definitely did not play my best tennis. But there are days when you struggle and it is important to come through such matches. She (Rogowska) also played very well. She was seeing everything which I was not. If she plays like this consistently, she could be in top-50. But taking no credit from her, even I allowed her to play like this,' Sania said.
Sania, watched by husband, former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, parents Imran and Nasima and sister Anam, feels she has matured as a player and the manner in which she clawed her way back into the match reflects that.
'Earlier, I would be stubborn and insist on attacking with my forehand even when I am trailing in the match. But today I was thinking to shift gears and first putting the ball in court. Today I knew I have to get the ball into court whatever the speed may be. This is where the experience counts,' she said.
Sania was elated that India's No.1 men's singles player Somdev Devvarman has also made it to the final of the competition and hoped they will win gold for India.
'It is an exciting time for Indian tennis and a great achievement. A few years ago, no one would have expected India to be in the final of men's and women's singles. Somdev is in great form, he loves wearing down his opponents. He is the top seed and expected to win. Hope we can win the gold for India,' she said.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 6:57 AM 0 comments