At 26, 'old guy' Tevez wants to quit football forever

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 12:27 PM

London, Oct 10(ANI): Argentina and Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has admitted that he is seriously thinking about quitting football forever.

"I have been playing many games this season, and my body is feeling it. I am tired. I started to play when I was really young and I have always fought so much, but now I'm feeling the effort," News of the World quoted Tevez, as saying.

"I'm an old guy now, and I started to think about some stuff. For example, I am less tolerant as a person today than I was a few years ago. Then I think - what happens if I quit football as long as I am okay in my life?" he added.

When asked about when he would eventually retire from the sport, Tevez said: "At the moment I still don't know if this is going to be in one month, one year, three or five years."

"I have the idea of quitting in my mind. Maybe one of these days, I will just wake up and say no more football," he added.

The Argentine footballer is currently the captain of Manchester City.

He has previously played for Boca Juniors, Corinthians, West Ham United and Manchester United.

He transferred to Manchester City in 2009 summer transfer window, becoming the first player to move between the two clubs since Terry Cooke in 1999.

The 26-year-old has made over 50 appearances for the Argentina national team, scoring 12 goals. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Liverpool's US buyers may walk away over 'nine-point deduction' fears

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 12:21 PM

London, Oct 10(ANI): Liverpool's 300 million pound takeover by US-based New England Sports Ventures (NESV) is reportedly on the brink of collapse because of fears that the club would be placed in administration and docked nine points by the Premier League.

According to the Daily Mail, NESV remains committed to buying the club in their current position, but they are not prepared to take the added risk of paying a fortune for a team that would be in genuine danger of being relegated to the Championship.

"It (going into administration) has always been an issue. We have tried to deliver a sale to the owners before the loan comes up for repayment, which is on October 15," the newspaper quoted Liverpool Chairman Martin Broughton, as saying.

"We don't have the capacity to repay the loan so that leaves RBS with the options of rolling over the loan or putting the club into administration or finding some other exit," he added.

The Premier League has already approved the takeover by NESV, but also made it clear that the American company must prove that it has the funds available.

"The Premier League is satisfied, with the information provided, that the individuals NESV intend to put in place in the event they complete their takeover of Liverpool FC meet the criteria set out in our owners' and directors' test," a Premier League statement said.

"The board of the Premier League will continue working with Liverpool FC in regard to this process. However, we are aware that the formal completion of this takeover is yet to be resolved and it is therefore inappropriate for us to offer any further comment at this time," it added.

Liverpool could be given a nine-point deduction by the Premier League due to the row over the club's ownership.

On current points tallies, the nine-point deduction would leave Liverpool at the bottom of the table on minus-three points.

Current bosses Tom Hicks and George Gillett have opposed the sale by taking action in the High Court.

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) would be able to put parent company Kop Holdings into administration if Hicks and Gillett fail to pay off their 280 million pound debt before October 15. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Ashes coup: Australia signs England's batting coach

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 12:17 PM

Sydney, Oct 10 (ANI): Australia has signed England's batting coach Dene Hills ahead of the Ashes series, which is being considered as a major coup.

The Sunday Age understands Hills has been signed by Cricket Australia as the team's analyst, replacing Michael Marshall who has vacated the position due to family commitments.

The new Australian batting coach has had great success mentoring England's newcomers at its National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough University, but it is his intimate knowledge of the habits of England's established top-order batsmen that will be invaluable as Australia looks to wrest back the urn.

He will have information on how English batsmen plan to adjust to Australian conditions, how they will attack certain bowlers, and how they respond to different pressures. He can provide feedback on their temperaments, and the best fields to set.

England is known to be furious with Hills' defection but is unable to stop him because he has a get-out clause in his contract.

Hills, the former Tasmanian opener who has a long association with Test skipper Ricky Ponting, will be able to divulge the batting weaknesses of England's top order.

He will not be able to join the set-up until the Ashes are under way because England has forced him to serve his full three months' notice, denying Australian the chance to use him during its preparations.

Hills is expected to arrive days before the third Test in Perth, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Cricket Australia asks Oz players to stop compalaning about playing in T20

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 12:07 PM

Sydney, Oct 10 (ANI): Cricket Australia has asked its players to stop complaining about tight schedule between Twenty20 tournaments and Test matches, as it was clearly mentioned in their lucrative Indian Premier League contracts in writing.

Australian batsman Mike Hussey has said that he had requested Cricket Australia to excuse him from the Champions League in order to prepare for the Test series against India, but his request was refused, and he was ordered to play for Chennai Super Kings.

CA holds a 25 per cent stake in the Twenty20 Champions League, therefore it has a vested interest in making its players available for the six million dollar tournament.

But CA said on Saturday that the clause for participation in the Champions League was written into IPL contracts. The organisation was essentially powerless to prevent the franchises from forcing internationals to play.

"The players who choose to sign IPL contracts do so presumably on the basis of eyes wide open. Those contracts are nothing to do with us. It is a condition of those contracts that players stay until the end," CA spokesman Peter Young told The Sun-Herald.

Hussey and teammate Doug Bollinger were part of Champions League winner Chennai team in South Africa and the pair would have preferred to train with teammates in India.

Hussey struggled in the first innings after two days of preparation, while Bollinger sustained an injury. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

CWG: 35 gold medals at stake, all eyes upon Indian shooters

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 11:07 AM

New Delhi, Oct 10 (ANI): The action will hot up on seventh day of the XIXth Commonwealth Games as a total of 35 gold medals will be up for grabs in various disciplines.

Hopes will be high when Olympic bronze winning wrestler Sushil Kumar gets on the floor on Sunday to compete in the Men's freestyle 66 kg category.

Ace shooters Vijay Kumar and Harpreet Singh will participate in the Men's Singles 25 m Centrefire Pistol Final.

Mansher Singh, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, who won Silver in Pairs Trap event on Friday, will take part in the Men's Singles Trap Stage 2 final.

Weightlifter Geeta Rani will be leading India's campaign in 75kg category and will hope to make a podium finish.

The gold medals at stake today include: Swimming (3), Archery (4), Athletics (8), Cycling (2), Lawn Bowls (4), Shooting (6), Tennis (2), Weightlifting (2) Wrestling (4)

Following is Sunday's schedule of Indian participation:

Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 66 kg: Sushil Kumar

Athletics: Women's 100m Hurdles: Anuradha Biswal, M M Anchu, ayathry Govindaraj

Women's High Jump Final: Kavya Chottekalapanda, S Sahana

Women's Long Jump Final: Prajusha Maliakkal, Resmi Bose, Mayookha ohny Mathalikunnel

Women's 800m: Tintu Lukka, Sinimole Paulose

Women's Discus: Krishna Poonia, Harwant Kaur, Seema Antil

Women's 200m Final: Geetha Satti

Men's Discus Final: Vikas Shive Gowda

Cycling: Women's 112 km Road Race: India

Men's 168 km Road Race: India

Diving: Men's 1M Springboard: Rabikumar Singh Senjam, Hari Prasad himmarayappa

Hockey: Men's Group A: India vs Pakistan

Lawn Bowls: Women's Singles Group A: Farzana Khan

Men's Singles Group A: Mohammad Raja

Netball: Women's India vs Jamaica

Shooting: Women's Singles 10 m Air Rifle Qualification: Suma S hirur, Kavitha Yadav

Men's Singles 25 m Centrefire Pistol Final: Vijay Kumar, Harpreet ingh

Men's Singles Trap Stage 2: Mansher Singh, Manavjit Singh Sandhuquash: Men's Doubles: India vs Malaysia

Women's Doubles: India vs Kenya

Table Tennis: Women's Singles: Poulomi Ghatak, Shamini Kumaresan, rabhu Mamta

Tennis: Men's Singles Final: Somdev Devvarman

Weightlifting: Women's 75+ kg: Geeta Rani

Archery: Women's Recurve Individual Quarters: Deepika Kumari, ola Banerjee

Men's Recurve Individual Quarters: Rahul Banerjee, Jayanta Talukdar. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

F1 legend James Hunt 'slept with 5,000 women'

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 10:51 AM

London, Oct 10 (ANI): F1 legend James Hunt was a sex addict who bedded 5,000 women as he lived life in the fast lane on and off the track, reveals a new book.

The irresistibly good-looking Formula One champ, who was Britain's favourite sportsman when he won the F1 world title in 1976, would go at full throttle anytime and anywhere, according to the book.

"He must have slept with at least 5,000 women during his 30-year career as an accomplished and prolific swordsman," News of the World quoted a pal as saying.

Hunt - who died of a heart attack in 1993 aged 45 - liked to have sex minutes before races - fitting in a quick pit stop just before the Japanese Grand Prix, which crowned him world champ.

In fact, his unconventional title bid preparation involved a two-week booze and drug bender with his pal, world motorcycling champ Barry Sheene.

In the expose, racing expert Tom Rubython reveals Hunt was more interested in romping with 36 BA hostesses on stopovers at his Tokyo hotel, bedding up to four a night.

He wrote: "It wasn't unusual for Hunt and Sheene to have sex with all the BA women, often together."

Even on race day Hunt, who'd wear a T-shirt under his kit boasting "Sex - Breakfast of Champions", found time for women. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Cameroon held by Congo in Nations Cup qualifier

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 09:17 AM

An own goal saved Cameroon from the prospect of a rare home defeat but a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Garoua on Saturday dented their 2012 African Nations Cup qualifying hopes.

Two dropped points leave Cameroon vulnerable in a tough group where their major rivals Senegal went to the top of the Group E standings after hammering Mauritius 7-0 at home.

Cameroon's failure to win in new coach Javier Clemente's home debut was the only surprise result among the 11 Nations Cup qualifiers played on Saturday.

They fell behind to a 37th minute goal from defender Herita Ilunga, who then missed a similar chance to double the lead just one minute later.

Congo gifted Cameroon an equaliser in the 54th minute when Eric Nkulukuta sliced an attempted clearance into his own net.

The home side started the game without midfielder Stephane Mbia and striker Eric Choupo Moting, who were both suffering from heat stroke after wilting in the sweltering temperatures in the days leading up to the match.

Papiss Demba Cisse grabbed a hat-trick and Mamadou Niang scored twice in Senegal's rout, which takes to 11 the number of goals they have scored in two qualifying matches to date.

Malawi were also among the goals in a 6-2 home win over Chad that put them second in Group K while Benin, Morocco, Mozambique and Ivory Coast all won away from home.

The Ivorians, without the Chelsea pairing of Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, battled out a narrow 1-0 in Burundi with Christian Koffi Ndri, otherwise known as Romaric, netting a first-half winner.

Morocco bounced back from a draw in last month's opening qualifying game in Group D to beat Tanzania 1-0 with Mounir El Hamdaoui, set up by a header from Marouane Chamakh, scoring two minutes before halftime.

Benin beat Rwanda 3-0 in Kigali while Mozambique won with the only goal of the game in the Comoros Islands.

Burkina Faso made a belated start to their qualifying campaign with a 3-1 home win over the Gambia while 2010 Nations Cup hosts Angola got their first points with a 1-0 victory over Guinea Bissau.

Saturday's win in Luanda was secured with a 22nd minute penalty converted by Gilberto.

A further 10 qualifying matches are being played on Sunday.

The 11 group winners, plus the top three runners-up qualify for the finals, which are being co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Source: Web Search

Vettel pips Webber for Japan GP pole

Sun, Oct 10 10 08:37 AM

Sebastian Vettel seized pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix on an all-Red Bull front row in a rain-delayed qualifying session on Sunday.

Formula One championship leader Mark Webber will line up alongside his German team mate.

The pole, on a sunny morning at Suzuka after heavy rain had made conditions too treacherous on Saturday, was Vettel's eighth of the season and Red Bull's 13th in 16 races.

They have now locked out the front row seven times this year.

Australian Webber leads Ferrari's double world champion Fernando Alonso, who qualified fifth but will start fourth, by 11 points with three races remaining after Japan.

McLaren's title contender Lewis Hamilton, who was third fastest, will have a five place grid penalty applied after a gearbox change on Saturday. The 2008 world champion is third overall and 20 points adrift of Webber.

World champion Jenson Button, the fifth driver chasing the crown and 25 points off the pace, will start fifth for McLaren after finishing the session with the sixth best time.

Source: Published>

Aussies blink on Day One

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 08:07 AM

Adorned in extensive gear and armed with high-tech bomb-detecting sensors, the security men patrolled the ground for the entire duration of the day; each taking one ginger step at a time along the boundary ropes while pausing only briefly at the end of their respective designated zones. Meanwhile, the bunch of frosty kites, who forever seem to hover above the Chinnaswamy Stadium, too hardly took a break while relentlessly scouring for potential prey. Neither group ever seemed to lose focus and pursued their respective tasks with inexorable vigour.

Unfortunately, the Australian batsmen didn't quite manage to get inspired and display similar powers of application for a comprehensive period of time. Almost all of them, who came to the crease on Saturday, got off to decent starts only to fritter away the advantage and get dismissed mainly as a result of momentary lapses in concentration. Even skipper Ricky Ponting, who showed the most gumption among the lot on a flat wicket, eventually fell victim to an innocuous delivery from part-timer Suresh Raina.

And after a bright start and a number of their batsmen looking good for many more runs, Australia finished the opening day of the second Test at Bangalore with their score reading 285 for five.

The Indian bowlers on the other hand toiled hard throughout the day on a wicket, which is unlikely to assist reverse-swing?one of the major weapons in the home team's arsenal and would be pleased with their returns.

After Ponting won the toss and elected to bat, the visitors commenced their innings in now customary fashion with Shane Watson playing the role of the free-flowing aggressor to perfection and Simon Katich content at being the stodgy and ungainly accumulator. And by lunch, the opening pair looked to have put Australia well on their way to a big total. Katich then was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh in the first over after the break but not before he had put on 99 for the first wicket.

Though he was welcomed to the crease with loud jeers from a near-capacity crowd, a reception which was meted out to every Australian batsman and a few words from Harbhajan, the Australian captain seemed to be in his elements from the very beginning. And he looked in complete control while executing almost every stroke in the Ponting-repertoire in a delectable manner.

The short balls from both the seamers and the spinners were cut with consummate ease while the full-pitched deliveries were either cover-driven or flicked in his inimitable style as Ponting looked set for his second century at this venue.

Ponting looked unruffled even as wickets fell at the other end, Watson and Michael Clarke to good deliveries from Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan respectively and Michael Hussey to a loose shot. And not surprisingly it was an extremely dejected Ponting who dragged himself off the field after being adjudged LBW in Raina's first delivery, a decision which could have gone either way for 77 off 147 balls.

While Ponting did add a 66-run stand with Hussey, his half-century stand with Marcus North proved to be crucial not only for the team's sake but also for the left-hander, who has struggled against the Indian spinners so far. And North, who remained unbeaten on 43, will be the key when the Australians look for a repeat from Mohali, where their last five wickets added more than 200 runs in the first innings.

Just like on the opening day, the patrolling booth in the air and on the ground will resume bright on Sunday. Ponting can only hope that his lower-order emulates the sentinels better than what the top-half could manage.

Source: Web Search

Chess meet from Oct 12

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 06:07 AM

The Chandigarh Chess Association (CCA) will organise the XIX National Under-25 Chess Championship on behalf of All India Chess Federation in Chandigarh from the October 12 to 18 at St Xavier's School, Sector 44, Chandigarh. This is for the first time that the mega chess event would be held in this region. FIDE-rated players like International Master (IM) Rahul Sangma (Delhi) and Woman International Master (WIM) Kiran Monisha Mohanty (Orissa), along with Himal Gusain, the highest rated player in Chandigarh, will take part in the event.

Source: Web Search

CWG Medals Tally, Day Six

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 12:37 AM

New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS) Medals tally at the Commonwealth Games Saturday. Australia continued to be atop the leaderboard while England overtook India to claim the second position.

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 Australia 55 30 31 116

2 England 24 43 29 96

3 India 24 17 17 58

4 Canada 17 11 22 50

5 South Africa 9 9 9 27

6 Nigeria 7 5 9 21

7 Malaysia 6 5 6 17

8 Kenya 5 3 3 11

9 Singapore 4 5 5 14

10 New Zealand 2 14 5 21

11 Scotland 2 7 5 14

12 Jamaica 2 1 0 3

13 Bahamas 1 1 1 3

14 Samoa 1 0 1 2

15 Botswana 1 0 1 2

16 Cyprus 1 0 1 2

17 Uganda 1 0 0 1

18 Nauru 1 0 0 1

19 Wales 0 5 4 9

20 Trinidad and Tobago 0 2 2 4

21 Sri Lanka 0 1 1 2

22 Northern Ireland 0 1 1 2

23 Cameroon 0 1 1 2

24 Papua New Guinea 0 1 0 1

25 Pakistan 0 1 0 1

26 Saint Vincent 0 1 0 1

27 Seychelles 0 1 0 1

28 Namibia 0 0 2 2

29 Isle of Man 0 0 2 2

30 Ghana 0 0 2 1

31 Guyana 0 0 1 1

32 Bangladesh 0 0 1 1

Total 163 165 162 490

Source: Web Search

Pakistani fast bowler Umar Gul weds Dubai-based doctor

Sun, Oct 10 10 12:22 AM

A Muhammad Peshawar, Oct 9 (PTI) Pakistani pacer Umar Gul has tied the knot with a Dubai-based doctor during a ceremony attended by close friends and family in this northwestern city, family sources said today. Gul led the ''barat'' to the Peshawar Garrison Club, where the wedding ceremony was held. Following a colourful musical programme at the club, he took his bride home. Sources close to Gul''s family said the ''nikah'' was held two days ago. The cricketer said he hoped the new phase in his life would bring him a lot of happiness. He said an upcoming tour would also be his honeymoon. Asked by reporters to disclose the name of his bride, Gul said: "Don''t ask about her name. It is not considered good in Pashtun". Though Gul remained cagey about his bride, sources said her family hails from the militancy-hit Swat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Sports Minister Syed Aaqil Shah and local cricketers attended the ceremony. The ''walima'' or reception by the bridegroom''s family will be held at Green Garden in the Army Garrison Park tomorrow night. Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi, Younus Khan, Yasir Hameed, Fazle Akbar, Kabir Khan and Wajahatullah Wasti and national selector Farrukh Zaman are expected to attend the function. The provincial Governor and Chief Minister too have been invited to the event.

Source: Published>

India has psychological edge against Pakistan: coach

Sun, Oct 10 10 12:12 AM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) After India humbled Scotland by a 4-0 margin, the hockey team''s chief coach Jose Brasa said today that his team has a psychological advantage over arch-rivals Pakistan for tomorrow''s do-or-die encounter in the Commonwealth Games event. "Our win against them (Pakistan) last time during World Cup on the same ground definitely gives us some confidence," Brasa said after the match at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium here. The hosts had outplayed the Pakistanis 4-1 in a thrilling match in February in a World Cup tie at the same venue. The coach, however, said he was not very happy with his team''s performance today as his players could not convert all their chances. "I am not happy because we needed to score seven goals. But, we created opportunities to score those seven goals," the Spanaird said referring to the number of goals India needed to score in this match to better the greenshirts'' overall goal difference. Pakistan and India, both have outclassed Scotland and Malaysia in Pool A, and their defeat at the hands of World Champions Australia has left them with identical points in the group table. However, Pakistan now has the advantage of superior goal difference and in this high-voltage Indo-Pak encounter, the Rajpal-led side would have to emerge victorious if they are to play the semi-finals. "Of course we have to win tomorrow. Everything is in our hand," he added. On Pakistan goal-keeper Imran Shah''s brilliant display in the match against the Aussies, the coach said he just hoped the goalie does not have such a good day tomorrow. "May be he (Imran) isn''t in good form tomorrow," he said. The coach also acknowledged the change in the game plan of their opponents from across the border under their new foreign coach Michel van den Heuvel and said they will try their best to win. "They are taking up the European style of hockey and try to control the speed of the game. We will try to encounter that as best as we can," he added. Meanwhile, team captain Rajpal Singh said his team would try to improve its short-corner conversion in the next match. "We will try to improve on that," he said. The virtual quarter-final tomorrow between the two South-Asian giants is set to be a high-profile clash with the game already sold out.

Source: Published>

Kiwi Adams bemoans poor shot put field after winning gold

Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 12:07 AM

World and Olympic champion Valerie Adams gave a frank assessment of the feeble field in the Commonwealth Games shot put after requiring just one throw to retain her title.

New Zealander Adams, one of the few world class competitors in the athletics field, recorded 20.47 metres with her first attempt, throwing her arms in the air in delight before going on to beat the 20 metres mark with each of her five remaining throws.

"Job done. That is what I wanted, to rip it up and throw big and win gold," the 25-year-old told reporters at the Jawaharla Nehru Stadium. "The standard in the Commonwealth (Games) is not that high so I didn't want just to win, I wanted to set a good mark."

Trinidad and Tobago's Cleopatra Brown finished a distant second to Adams, almost 1.5 of a metre behind.

"I'm used to it. In New Zealand there is no competition. Tonight there was more competition from Cleopatra Brown than at home," Adams added.

The victory provided some joy for the Kiwi after a difficult year where she split with her long-term coach Kirsten Hellier and suffered marital problems.

"It's been the longest season of my career. It's hard on the body to throw well at the end of the season. I am happy," she said.

Source: Web Search

CWG results: Day Six

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 11:47 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) The following are results on the sixth day of the Commonwealth Games here Saturday.

Athletics:

20km walk men:

Gold: Jared Tallent (Australia) 1:22.18 seconds

Silver: Luke Adams (Australia) 1:22.31 seconds

Bronze: Hariminder Singh (India) 1:23.28 seconds

20km walk women:

Gold: Jo Jackson (England) 1:34.22 seconds (Games Record)

Silver: Claire Tallent (Australia) 1:36.55 seconds

Bronze: Wanjru Grace Njue (Kenya) 1:37.49 seconds

Women's shot put:

Gold: Valerie Adams (New Zealand) 20.47 metres (Games Record)

Silver: Cleopatra Brown (Trinidad & Tobago) 19.03 metres

Samoa: Margaret Iva Tasele Satupai (Samoa) 16.43 metres

Men's high jump:

Gold: Donald Thomas (Bahamas) 2.32 metre

Silver: Trevor Barry (Bahamas) 2.29 metres

Bronze: Kabelo Kgosiemang (Botsoana) 2.26 metres

Men's long jump:

Gold: Fabrice Lapierre (Australia) 8.30 metres

Silver: Greg Rutherford (England) 8.22 metres

Bronze: Ignisious Gaisah (Ghana) 81.12 metres

Women's 3000m steeplechase

Gold: Chemos Milcah Cheywa (Kenya) 9:40.96 seconds

Silver: Wanjiru Mercy Njoroge (Kenya) 9:41.54 seconds

Bronze: Jerotich Gladys Kipkemoi (Kenya) 9:52.51 seconds

Men's 400m:

Kenya: Kiprotich Mark Muttai (Kenya) 45.44 seconds

Silver: Sean Wroe (Australia) 45.46 seconds

Bronze: Ramon Miller (Bahamas) 45.55 seconds

Women's javelin:

Gold: Stella Sunette Viljoen (South Africa) 62.34 metre (Games Record)

Silver: Kim Mickle (Australia) 60.90 metre

Bronze: Justine Gail Robbeson (South Africa) 60.03 metre

Heptathlon:

Gold: Louise Victoria Hazel (England) 6156 points

Silver: Jessica Zelinka (Canada) 6100 points

Bronze: Grace Clements (England) bronze 5819 points

Shooting:

Men's 50m rifle three position:

Gold: Gagan Narang (India) Games Record

Silver: Jonathan Hammond (Scotland)

Bronze: James Huckle (Bronze)

Men's 25-metre centre fire pistol pairs:

Gold: Vijay Kumar and Harpreet Singh (India)

Silver: Greg Yelavich and Alan Earle (New Zealand)

Silver: Bin Gai and Lip Meng Poh (Singapore)

Women's 10-metre air rifle pairs

Gold: Nur Suryani Mohammed Taibi and Nur Ayuni Halim (Malaysia)

Silver: Xiang Wei Jasmine Ser and Jian Huan Cheng (Silver)

Bronze: Shuma Siddharth Shirur and Kavitha Yadav

Women's trap individual:

Gold: Anita North (England)

Silver: Shona Marshall (Scotland)

Bronze: Gaby Arhens (Namibia)

Tennis:

Women's singles:

Gold: Anastasia Rodionova (Russia)

Silver: Sania Mirza (India)

Bronze: Sally Peers (Australia)

Men's doubles:

Gold: Peter Luczak and Paul Hanley (Australia)

Silver: Ross Hutchins and Ken Skupski (England)

Bronze: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi (India)

Weightlifting:

94kg men:

Gold: Faavae Faauliuli (Samoa)

Silver: Peter Kirkbride (Scotland)

Bronze: Benedict Uloko (Nigeria)

75kg women:

Gold: Hadiza Zakari (Nigeria) Games Record

Silver: Marie-Eve Beauchemin-Nadeau (Canada)

Bronze: Monika Devi (India)

Wrestling:

Men's freestyle 60kg:

Gold: Yogeshwar Dutt (India)

Silver: James Mancini (Canada)

Bronze: Sasha Madyarchyk (England)

Men's freestyle 74 kg:

Gold: Narsingh Yadav (India)

Silver: Brian Addinall (South Africa)

Bronze: Evan Macdonald (Canada)

96 kg category:

Gold: Sinvie Boltic (Nigeria)

Silver: Korey Jarvis (Canada)

Bronze: Leon Gregory Rattigan (England)

Source: Web Search

Sania gets silver, Lee-Hesh bronze

Sat, Oct 09 10 11:22 PM

Amanpreet Singh New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) A gritty Sania Mirza saved four match points before going down 3-6 6-2 6-7 (3) to top seed Anastasia Rodionova in a heart-stopping women''s singles final to settle for a silver in the tennis competition of the 19th Commonwealth Games here today. Sania''s defeat means that India''s hopes of getting a gold medal would rest on Somdev Devvarman, who will play in the men''s singles against Australia''s Greg Jones tomorrow. Top seeds Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won the bronze defeating second seed Rohan Bopanna and Somdev 6-3 7-6(4). Before the tournament started, the Indian pairs were expected to play in the finals thereby getting atleast a couple of medals for the country. Meanwhile, Rodionova became the first player to win a gold medal in the debut year of the sport in the Games. The 137th ranked, Sania, almost pulled it off, rising from dead, but ended up losing when she double-faulted in the decisive tie-break. She made a spirited comeback after surrendering the opening set, as she drew level and then stretched the match to a decisive third set, where she saved three match points in the 12th game to force a tie-breaker. The second seed Indian served poorly but hit two of her four aces in the 12th game to keep her hopes alive. Down 1-3 in the tie break with a mini break of serve, and then 3-6 with three match points to save, Sania could not catch up as she double-faulted for one last time to concede the gold to world no 62 Rodionova. Sania had broken Rodionova in the first game of the third set to go 2-0 up but could not build on the mini lead and allowed Rodionova to come back by dropping her serve thrice. "I think it was important to give my best, but I fell a bit short. It''s an honour to play for my country," Sania said after the match. Rodionova, a Russian who converted to Australian, said it was really a proud moment to earn the gold for her country. "I have been trying really hard... Now I feel to be a real Australian," Rodionova said. At the start, there was hardly any change in script for Sania as she continued to struggle with her serve. Like yesterday, she could not hold her serve in the error-prone first set. Rodionova was equally erratic as she hardly had control over her shots. After trading breaks in the first five games, the Australian finally held one to go ahead 4-2. Two more double faults coupled with a forehand error by Sania put Rodionova within a game from taking the first set. The top seed dropped her serve when she fired a backhand to net, but she sealed the first set with a backhand past winner in the next game. The sixth game was the only one which was not broken in the entire opening set that lasted 29 minutes. The second unfolded differently as Sania saved two breakpoints -- second and fourth games -- and broke in the third game to take a 3-1 lead. Sania''s fierce forehand fetched her points at crucial moments as the two players were locked in an intense baseline-battle. The Indian saved another breakpoint in the sixth game for a 4-2 cushion, got another break in the next game and drew level when Rodionova hit a forehand long. Sania curbed her errors in the second set as she committed just one double fault, comparing to six in the opening set. The capacity crowd also backed the home favourite, much to the annoyance of Rodionova, who lost her cool due to distraction caused by noise but went on to seal the match. PTI AT TAP KHS

Source: Published>

CWG women's hockey: League matches points table

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 11:17 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) Following is the final league table on conclusion of the preliminary round matches in the women's hockey competition at the Commonwealth Games here on Saturday (Read under: Matches Played, Won, Drawn, Lost, Goals For, Goals Against, Goal-Difference, Points):

Pool A

Australia 4 3 1 0 19 4 +15 10

South Africa 4 2 1 1 16 5 +11 7

India 4 2 1 1 12 4 +8 7

Scotland 4 1 1 2 10 9 +1 4

Trinidad/Tobago 4 0 0 4 01 36 -35 0

Pool B

New Zealand 4 4 0 0 17 3 +14 12

England 4 3 0 1 12 6 +6 9

Canada 4 1 0 3 6 11 -5 3

Wales 4 1 0 3 5 12 -7 3

Malaysia 4 1 0 3 4 12 -8 3

Source: Web Search

(Repeating after correcting medal figures in 7th and 8th

Sat, Oct 09 10 11:07 PM

paras) Four-gold strike by India fails to keep hosts in second spot New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) India''s top drawer marksmen were bang on target while freestyle grapplers Yogeshwar Dutt and Narsingh Pancham Yadav came up with a power-packed display to help India bag four gold medals but England nosed ahead of the hosts in the medals table at the Commonwealth Games today. England caught up late with India''s overall haul of 24 gold medals, but a much superior silverware heist helped them in standing one rung below front runners Australia and one above the hosts on the sixth day of competitions. Rifle ace Gagan Narang won his fourth gold medal, just one short of compartriot Samaresh Jung''s haul at Melbourne four years ago, winning the men''s 50m 3-position event with a Games record aggregate 1262.2. He will now aim to overhaul Jung''s record haul on October 12 and 13 in the 50m prone (pairs and individual) event and become the new "Gold Finger". Centre fire pistol shooting pair, Vijay Kumar and Harpreet Singh, and wrestlers Dutt (men''s 60kg) and Yadav (men''s 74kg) also snapped up their gold medals in imressive fashion to take the host country''s gold tally to 24. It was also the country''s second-highest gold medal tally in Games history and six short of the record 30 at Manchester in 2002. But England -- with 43 silver to India''s 17 -- edged them out in the bitter struggle to take the no.2 place on a day of fluctuating fortunes. India''s tally stood at 24-17-17 while England''s read 24-43-29. Australia were way ahead with 55-30-31. Sania Mirza, India''s best bet in women''s singles, won the day''s only silver medal when she lost to Australia''s Anastasia Rodionova in three sets in the final. "Indian Express" duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, pre-Games favourites, ended up third in men''s doubles while the country won four other bronze medals, including a first-ever in men''s 20km road walk through Patiala''s based Harminder Singh (1 hour, 23 minutes, 28 seconds). Harminder was only the fifth man to win an athletics medal in Games history after Milkha Singh (gold in men''s 440yard race in 1958), Praveen Kumar (silver in men''s hammer throw in 1966), Mohinder Singh Gill (bronze in men''s triple jump in 1970; silver in men''s triple jump in 1974) and Suresh Babu (bronze in men''s long jump in 1978). The other bronze medals were claimed by women shooters Suma Shirur and Kavita Yadav, in women''s 10m air rifle pairs event, men''s table tennis outfit which blanked Nigeria 3-0 in the bronze medal tie and weightlifter Monica Devi (women''s 75kg). More PTI Team SSR MRM

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East Bengal beat Eastern Railways 6-0

Sat, Oct 09 10 10:57 PM

Kolkata, October 9 (PTI) Fresh from their Federation Cup victory, East Bengal continued their ruthless form, routing Eastern Railway 6-0 for their seventh consecutive win in the Calcutta Football League Premier Division here today. East Bengal''s Nigerian duo of Ekene Ikenwa and Orji Penn made a mockery of Railways defence in their thumping win at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan. While Ikenwa scored four goals (fourth, 36th, 46th, 79th minutes) and Penn scored a brace in the dying minutes to complete the rout. With this victory the red-and-gold brigade held the pole position with 21 points from seven games and moving towards the league crown for first time in four years. Last three years winners Mohun Bagan, who lost to East Bengal in Federation Cup final in Cuttack recently, have seven from four games. At his aggressive best, Ikenwa opened his account utilising a Robin Singh pass. In his second, the Nigerian duo combined beautifully with Ikenwa making it 2-0. Just after the break, Ikenwa netted the third as Penn helped his partner with the hattrick. In the 79th, Dipankar Ghosh of Eastern Railway fouled Penn inside the box, resulting in a penalty as Ikenwa made no mistake to fire in his fourth. Penn scored two back to back goals in the injury-time to hand East Bengal a splendid win.

Source: Published>

India maintains slender edge from England for second place in CWG

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 10:51 PM

New Delhi, Oct.9 (ANI): India maintained a slender edge for the second position in the ongoing XIX Commonwealth Games with 58 medals; 24 Gold, 17 Silver, 17 Silver medals on the sixth day.

England's medal tally read 92 medals; 23 Gold, 41 Silver, and 28 Bronze medals .

Australia remained at the top position with 115 medals; 54 Gold, 30 Silver, and 31 Bronze medals.

In the evening, Indian woman weightlifter Monika Devi won a Bronze medal in the 75 kg category in the evening while pugilist Akhil Kumar advanced into quarter final round in the 56 kg category.

However, India were eliminated from the semi-final racein women's hockey, despite winning 3-1 against South Africa .

Indians, silver medalists in the 2006 Melbourne Games, finished with seven points from their four Pool A matches, the same as South Africa, but lost out on goal difference.

On the sixth day of competitions at the C'wealth Games, the highlight of India's show, however, was Gagan Narang's fourth Gold of the Games. The shooter emerged victorious in the 50 metre rifle 3 position shooting event on Saturday afternoon. Gagan also created a new Games record scoring 1262.2 points. The Silver in the event went to Jonathan Hemund of Scotland and Bronze to James Heckle of England.

The first medal of the day for India came in Athletics with Harminder Singh securing bronze in 20 Kilometer Men's walk race on Saturday morning. Australia won the Gold and Silver in this event. A jubilant Harminder expressed happiness on his achievement.

Vijay Kumar and Harpreet Singh won Gold in 25 metres Centre fire pistol pairs in shooting. It was the third Gold for Vijay Kumar in the current Games. It is the second Golden hat-trick by an Indian shooter, after Gagan Narang's feat.

In Wrestling, India's Yogeshwar Dutt won the Gold in the 60 Kilogram freestyle event, beating Canada's James Mancini.

The fourth Gold for the country came through Narsingh Pancham Yadav in the 74 kg category wrestling event. Yadav defeated South Africa's Richard Brain Addinall.

In Women's 20 Kilometres walk category on Saturday morning, England's Jo Jackson won the Gold. Australia's C. Tallent won the Silver while Kenya won the Bronze.

India also won a Bronze on Saturday in shooting when Suma Shirur and Kavita Yadav finished third in 10 meter Air rifle pairs.

Another Bronze medal came from Table-Tennis as Indian men's team defeated Nigeria 3-0 in the contest for the third place.

In Squash, India's Harvinder Paul Sandhu and Sandeep Jhangda defeated Uganda 8-11,11-4,11-3 to advance to the sixth round.

In Tennis, however, the biggest disappointment for Indian tennis lovers was Sania Mirza missing her Gold Medal, as she failed to win in the women's singles final match against Australia's Anastasia Rodionova.

In a spirited match, Anastasia defeated Sania by 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 and won the Gold medal for Australia.

Sania won the Silver medal.

Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, while playing against their Indian compatriots Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devverman, won Bronze medal 6-3, 7-6.

The day had started, with 32 gold medals up for grabs in Archery, shooting, Wrestling, weightlifting and Tennis events. India's quest for more medals is being watched with keen anticipation.

Hosts India are hoping for Gold medals in Weightlifting events.

Two Golds will be decided in 94 kilogram men's and 75 kilogram women's categories. India are looking for a good show from lifters Gita Rani, Monika Laishram Devi and Srishti Singh in women's category. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Muralitharan to quit international cricket after World Cup 2011

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 10:48 PM

Chennai, Oct.9 (ANI): Sri Lankan spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan said on Saturday he would retire from the international cricket after the World Cup 2011.

The Velammal Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai felicitated Muralitharan for completing 800-wickets in Test cricket.

Muralitharan said that he would like to end his cricketing career after appearing for his country in the World Cup.

"I have decided to play in the Australia tour and the World Cup and after the World Cup I will retire totally from international cricket," said Muralitharan.

India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, will host the World Cup, which will start from February 19, 2011.

Muralitharan had retired from Tests during the home series against India in July but showed keen interest in playing the mega-cricketing tournament.

He also played a significant role for his team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in winning the Champions League Twenty20 trophy in South Africa last month.

Muralitharan said he hoped to retain his spot in CSK.

"We have been a great side for last three years and last year was a phenomenal year for CSK because we won the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Champions Trophy. But unfortunately as retention you can hold only four players and you have to auction some players," said Muralitharan.

"Depending on how the owners want to buy the team. It's sad for the players but rules have been written, so, you can't change. So, I hope that they might buy me back otherwise I will play for which ever team pick me and I will be loyal to them," he added. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

India maintains slender edge from England for second place in CWG

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 10:37 PM

New Delhi, Oct.9 (ANI): India maintained a slender edge for the second position in the ongoing XIX Commonwealth Games with 58 medals; 24 Gold, 17 Silver, 17 Silver medals on the sixth day.

England's medal tally read 92 medals; 23 Gold, 41 Silver, and 28 Bronze medals .

Australia remained at the top position with 115 medals; 54 Gold, 30 Silver, and 31 Bronze medals.

In the evening, Indian woman weightlifter Monika Devi won a Bronze medal in the 75 kg category in the evening while pugilist Akhil Kumar advanced into quarter final round in the 56 kg category.

However, India were eliminated from the semi-final racein women's hockey, despite winning 3-1 against South Africa .

Indians, silver medalists in the 2006 Melbourne Games, finished with seven points from their four Pool A matches, the same as South Africa, but lost out on goal difference.

On the sixth day of competitions at the C'wealth Games, the highlight of India's show, however, was Gagan Narang's fourth Gold of the Games. The shooter emerged victorious in the 50 metre rifle 3 position shooting event on Saturday afternoon. Gagan also created a new Games record scoring 1262.2 points. The Silver in the event went to Jonathan Hemund of Scotland and Bronze to James Heckle of England.

The first medal of the day for India came in Athletics with Harminder Singh securing bronze in 20 Kilometer Men's walk race on Saturday morning. Australia won the Gold and Silver in this event. A jubilant Harminder expressed happiness on his achievement.

Vijay Kumar and Harpreet Singh won Gold in 25 metres Centre fire pistol pairs in shooting. It was the third Gold for Vijay Kumar in the current Games. It is the second Golden hat-trick by an Indian shooter, after Gagan Narang's feat.

In Wrestling, India's Yogeshwar Dutt won the Gold in the 60 Kilogram freestyle event, beating Canada's James Mancini.

The fourth Gold for the country came through Narsingh Pancham Yadav in the 74 kg category wrestling event. Yadav defeated South Africa's Richard Brain Addinall.

In Women's 20 Kilometres walk category on Saturday morning, England's Jo Jackson won the Gold. Australia's C. Tallent won the Silver while Kenya won the Bronze.

India also won a Bronze on Saturday in shooting when Suma Shirur and Kavita Yadav finished third in 10 meter Air rifle pairs.

Another Bronze medal came from Table-Tennis as Indian men's team defeated Nigeria 3-0 in the contest for the third place.

In Squash, India's Harvinder Paul Sandhu and Sandeep Jhangda defeated Uganda 8-11,11-4,11-3 to advance to the sixth round.

In Tennis, however, the biggest disappointment for Indian tennis lovers was Sania Mirza missing her Gold Medal, as she failed to win in the women's singles final match against Australia's Anastasia Rodionova.

In a spirited match, Anastasia defeated Sania by 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 and won the Gold medal for Australia.

Sania won the Silver medal.

Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, while playing against their Indian compatriots Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devverman, won Bronze medal 6-3, 7-6.

The day had started, with 32 gold medals up for grabs in Archery, shooting, Wrestling, weightlifting and Tennis events. India's quest for more medals is being watched with keen anticipation.

Hosts India are hoping for Gold medals in Weightlifting events.

Two Golds will be decided in 94 kilogram men's and 75 kilogram women's categories. India are looking for a good show from lifters Gita Rani, Monika Laishram Devi and Srishti Singh in women's category. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

India beat SA 3-1 but still crash out of medal contention

Sat, Oct 09 10 10:07 PM

Saumojyoti S Choudhury New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) India put up a lion-hearted performance to beat South Africa 3-1 in their final Pool A match here today but it was not enough to guarantee the home team a place in the semifinals as the reigning silver medalist crashed out of the womens hockey event of the Commonwealth Games on goal difference. South Africa joined Australia in the last four stage from Pool A on better goal difference. Against South Africa, India needed to win by a four goal margin to progress to the semis but in the end they could only manage a 3-1 win. With both teams tied at seven points each after their pool fixtures, South Africa edged past India into the semifinals by a lone goal difference. India will now play the third place holder from Pool B for the fifth-sixth position. Deepika Thakur (11th, 21st minute) and captain Surinder Kaur (35th) scored for India while Pietie Coetzee (45th) was the lone goal-getter for South Africa. But inspite of the result, the Indian displayed a valiant performance before a capacity crowd at the Major Dhyan Chanda Stadium. Knowing that only a four goal difference can save them from elimination, the Indian eves came out all out attacking against South Africa and pumped in as many three goals in the opening half. Interestingly, India scored the first two goals from penalty corners, which has always been a thorn in the flesh for the home team. Thakur opened the scoring for India in the 11th minute converting their first short corner from a variation. Thakurs strike seemed to have pumped the Indians as they mounted attack after attack on the South African goal. Their persistent efforts turned into results in the 21st minute when Thakur doubled the lead from Indias second penalty corner, once again with a fierce ground hit after she was served by the stopper. With a packed vociferous crowd backing them, the Indian eves raised their performance to a different level and took a 3-0 lead at the stroke of the opening half through Surinder and went into breather knowing that they need only one more goal to make it to the semis. More PTI SSC MRM

Source: Published>

Harminder gives India 2nd athletics medal, others disappoint

Sat, Oct 09 10 09:51 PM

Philem Dipak Singh New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) Harminder Singh today became the first Indian to win a medal in a walk race in Commonwealth Games history a day afte Kavita Raut won the first-ever women''s track medal, but their compatriots disappointed in other athletics events. The 26-yer-old Pujabi walker from Patiala won a surprise bronze in the mens 20km road event to give the country their second athletics medal in these Games, while also clocking his personal best of 1 hour, 23 minutes and 27 seconds. Australians Jared Talent (1:22.18) and Luke Adams (1:22.31) won the gold and silver respectively. Talent had won a bronze in 2008 Beijing Olympics while Adams was a silver medallist in 2006 the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Harminder was narrowly off Babu Bhai Panuchas national mark of 1:23.06. Panucha, incidentally, did not finished the walk race while another Indian Baljinder Singh was ninth in 1:29.18. With Harminder''s medal, India have won two bronze from athletics with Kavita Raut having finished third in the womens 10,000m race yesterday. Harminder was only the fifth man to win an athletics medal in Games history after Milkha Singh (gold in men''s 440yard race in 1958), Praveen Kumar (silver in men''s hammer throw in 1966), Mohinder Singh Gill (bronze in men''s triple jump in 1970; silver in men''s triple jump in 1974) and Suresh Babu (bronze in men''s long jump in 1978). In women''s 20km race walk, however, Rani Yadav finished sixth in 1:42.54 while K J Sandhya was eighth in 1:51.44. L Deepmala Devi did not finish the race. England''s Jo Jackson won gold in 1:34.22 in Games record time of 1:34.22 to win her country''s first yellow metal in this event in CWG. Claire Tallent of Australia won the silver in 1:36.55 while Kenyan Grace Njue bagged the bronze in 1:37.49. In the evening, other Indians could not emulate Harminder''s feat on the fourth day of the track and field events even though the showpiece venue Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was thronged by nearly 40,000 spectators, the biggest so far. In women''s shot put final, Manpreet Kaur and Patwant Kaur finished a distant ninth and 11th in the 12-athlete field. Manpreet threw 14.50m while Patwant cleared 12.63m. Valerie Adams of New Zealand won gold in Games record distance of 20.47m which erased compatriot Valerie Vili''s 19.66m effort in 2006 Melbourne Games. Clepatra Brown (19.03m) of Trinidad and Tobagoa and Tasele Satupai (16,63m) of Samoa won silver and bronze respectively. (More) PDS SSR

Source: Published>

Racist e-mail scandal disappointing: Gilchrist

Sat, Oct 09 10 09:41 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) Former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist today termed the racist e-mail scandal involving his country''s police officers "very disappointing", but claimed that Indian students Down Under are "positive" about their stay. "If it (racist e-mail) is a recent news, as we will try to find it out, and if it is proven to be correct then it is very disappointing," Gilchrist said. The cricketer said the Australian government has taken up the recent racial incidents against Indians "seriously". "It needs to be taken seriously. Our government and the education sector have certainly addressed it. Indian students there have been very positive about being in Australia and on (university) campuses. They feel safe," Gilchrist told Times Now. Ministry of External Affairs today summoned Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese and sought an explanation on the issue in which top Victorian police officers have been caught in a racist e-mail scandal joking about the electrocution of an Indian train passenger. Gilchrist said Australia is trying to ensure that no racial incident occur. "We have to work together to try and ensure that these incidents do not re-occur. I think we are trying to do that." PTI KAB DB

Source: Published>

New Zealand's rugby coach wants team to knit together

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 09:22 PM

New Delhi, Oct.9 (ANI): New Zealand rugby coach Gordon Tietjens said on Saturday that the players are need to knit together as a team in the XIX Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

The New Zealand rugby team is playing its first friendly match against Papa New Guinea later in the day.

Tietjens also stated that the first few games would give him a fair indication of where the team is actually standing in the international circuit.

"So, these games against Welsh and Arabian Gulf and even today against Papua New Guinea are games that are very valuable for us and particularly for them," said Tietjens.

"The first couple of games in the tournament would certainly give me a good indication of where we are at and hopefully I have got a very talented side but is it about knitting together as a team," he added.

Tietjens also said that now they need to adjust and familiarise with the weather conditions in Delhi before gearing up for the pool action.

New Zealand have tough pool contenders like Canada, Guyana and Scotland, as they begin their campaign at the Delhi University Ground from Monday. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

CWG women's hockey: India fail to reach medal round

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 09:17 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) Indian women failed to make it to the medal round of the Commonwealth Games hockey competition as they lost out to South Africa on goal difference, though they beat them 3-1 here Saturday.

The two were tied with seven points each, but the latter advanced to the semifinals on superior goal-difference to set up a meeting with Pool B leaders New Zealand who earlier chalked up their fourth win beating Canada 3-1.

Source: Web Search

Sohail appeals to govt to save Pakistan cricket

Sat, Oct 09 10 09:07 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) Former Test captain Aamir Sohail has made a fervent appeal to the Pakistan government to step in and check the deteriorating state of affairs in cricket in the country. In a candid criticism of the government for its failure to check the decline in Pakistan cricket, Sohail said on Geo TV that the chief patron, President Asif Zardari need to seriously take steps to resolve the cricket crisis. An emotionally charged Sohail said that he was surprised that the government had so far not realized the significance and important of cricket as a tool to unify the Pakistani nation. "The government must realise it is not just a sport in Pakistan a country where they are so many religious, political and other divisions. A country where people are facing so many crises and problems. The government must realise cricket has always served as a unifying factor in this country," he said. The former chief selector who has been a vocal critic of the present board set-up and its Chairman, Ijaz Butt for their failure to run cricket affairs properly said that cricket was being damaged beyond repair in the country. "The chief patron must wake up to the reality and the seriousness of the crisis. Good governance is all about recognising the potential of cricket to unify the people and give them so happiness and joy in their lives," he said. "I am really surprised that a seasoned political party like the Pakistan Peoples Party has still not realised that things are not moving forward with this present set up and Chairman," he said. He pointed out that the PCB Chairman was causing untold damage to Pakistan cricket by continuing to be involved in an ego tussle with former captain Younus Khan. "For no rhyme or reason Ijaz Butt refuses to give clearance for Younus to be in the Pakistan team. If Younus has committed a major crime or indiscipline then it is the duty of the board to let the people know so that this Younus Khan chapter is closed once for all," he said. Sohail said that the chief patron needed to take time out of his busy schedule and give importance to cricket affairs. "I think enough is enough I don''t think any former chairman of the board has faced so many criticism and opposition for his manner of running cricket affairs and yet the government appears to be blind to the popular public opinion even though preaches democracy," he said.

Source: Published>

Games Village live up to ''Bolo Ta Ra Ra''

Sat, Oct 09 10 08:58 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi today mesmerised the residents of Commonwealth Games Village here by his energetic performance. The programme was a part of cultural events being organised by Delhi Government at the Games Village since the start of Games on October 3, here to rejuvenate and entertain athletes and international delegates living here. The concert at the jam-packed amphitheatre was attended by a number of athletes, who were seen dancing on the tunes of pop star. The concert was started with ''Ek Onkar'' a spiritual song. Later, Daler enthralled the audiences with songs like "Bolo ta Ra Ra, Dardi Rab Rab Kardi, Ho jayegi balle Balle" and Rang De Basanti besides singing other popular numbers. "It is really good to perform here," he said during his rocking performance. Mehndi has given number of performances across the globe and given his voices for different songs in Indian movies. "I really enjoyed the performance. Though I had difficulty in following the lyrics but I could not stop myself from dancing to this beautiful beats," said Muzamiq, Nigerian athlete. The Commonwealth Games Village, spread in over 63.5 hectares area, is home to over 7,000 athletes from 71 nations during the maiden sporting event being hosted by the country. The 12-day-long event will culminate on October 14. PTI AKV SJY

Source: Published>

Harminder Singh wins Commonwealth Games bronze in men's 20-kilometres walk

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 08:37 PM

New Delhi, Oct.9 (ANI): Indian athlete Harminder Singh won a bronze medal in men's 20-kilometres walk event in the ongoing XIX Commonwealth Games here on Saturday.

The Australian athletes Jarred Tallent and Luke Adams clinched the gold and silver medals respectively.

"I am very happy that my brother has made the country, our state Punjab and our district Patiala proud. He was working hard for it. Earlier he won in the Russian championship and made us happy," said Makhan Singh, cousin of Harminder Singh.

"We reached here yesterday and are watching the race since morning and are very happy that he has won the bronze medal," he added.

Harminder completed the race in 1:23:27, while Australian Jared Tallent clocked 1:22:18 and Luke Adams' finished the race in 1:22:31.

Harminder has become the first Indian to win a medal in this event in the Commonwealth Games.

In the women's event of 20km walk, England's Jo Jackson grabbed the gold medal with Australian Claire Tallent settling for the silver and Kenya's Wanjiru Grace getting the bronze. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

CWG shooting: Men get two more gold, women bronze

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 08:28 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) Indian shooters continued to add to the medal haul on the sixth day of the Commonwealth Games competitions with the men winning two more gold and women picking up a bronze Saturday.

World No.3 Gagan Narang won the gold in the men's 50-metre rifle three position individual event while Vijay Kumar and Harpreet Singh bagged the gold in the men's 25-metre centre fire pistol pairs event at the Karni Singh Stadium

The women's team of Shuma Siddharth Shirur and Kavitha Yadav added a bronze from the 10-metre air rifle pairs' event.

Narang broke his own Games record, set at the 2006 Melbourne Games, both in the qualifying and the final to win his fourth gold medal in the meet.

Narang shot a total of 1166 points in the qualifying and 96.2 in the final for a total of 1262.2 points. In the 2006 Games, Narang had shot 1163 in the qualifying and a final score of 98.4 for a total of 1261.4.

In the final round, Narang started with 9.3, but then shot two excellent shots of 10.1 and 10.6. The only time he faltered in the final was when he shot 7.9 in the seventh shot. In the last three shots, Narang had 10, 9 and 9.6 to seal the gold.

Scotland's Jonathan Hammond shot a total of 1255.3 (1164 qualifying, 91.3 final) for the silver and England's James Huckle got the bronze with a total of 1254.9 (1157, qualifying, 97.9 final).

Imran Hasan Khan, another Indian in the fray, finished fourth with a total of 1252 (1157 qualifying, 95.4 final). Narang and Khan had won the gold medal in the pairs event.

In the men's 25-metre centre fire pistol, Vijay (586) and Harpreet (573) shot a total of 1159 to win the 11th gold from shooting for India ahead of New Zealand and Singapore.

Kiwi shooters Greg Yelavich (574) and Alan Earle (566) won the silver with a total of 1140. Singapore's Bin Gai (576) and Lip Meng Poh (563) got the bronze with a tally of 1139 points.

In the women's 10-metre air rifle event, Malaysian girls Nur Suryani Mohammed Taibi (398) and Nur Ayuni Halim (395) won the gold with a total score of 793.

Singapore bagged the silver with Xiang Wei Jasmine Ser (396) and Jian Huan Cheng (394) shooting a total of 790.

Shirur (397) and Kavitha Yadav (388) settled for the bronze with a total score of 785. Shuma and Anjali Bhagwat are the Games record holders with a score of 795 that was set at the 2002 Games in Manchester.

Source: Web Search

Wrestlers clinch two more Gold medals for India at C'wealth Games

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 08:07 PM

New Delhi, Oct.9 (ANI): Indian wrestlers continued their dominance even on the sixth day of the ongoing XIX Commonwealth Games, as Narsingh Yadav and Yogeshwar Dutt won two more Gold medals in the free style wrestling competition held here on Saturday evening.

As Yogeshwar Dutt won a Gold medal in the 60-kilogram category, fellow Narsingh Yadav followed him winning another Gold in the 74-kilogram category.

Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt won gold in 60kg Freestyle Wrestling event, defeating Canadian wrestler James Mancini.

The two Gold medals pushed India's medal tally to 55 medals in total with 24 Gold, 16 Silver, and 15 Bronze medals till Saturday evening.

Earlier, ace shooter Gagan Narang bagged gold in the Singles 50 m Rifle 3 Positions (Men) event at the Karni Singh Shooting Range.

Shooters Harpreet Singh and Vijay Kumar had earlier today won gold in the men's 25-metre Centre Fire Pistol Pairs Event.

The Indian duo scored 1159 in the final to clinch gold. (ANI)

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Sunday's Indo-Pak hockey tie a sellout

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 07:47 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) India take on traditional rivals Pakistan in a men's hockey match of the Commonwealth Games here Sunday and a sellout crowd is expected at the 12,000-seat Major Dhyan Chand Stadium.

There is palpable sense of excitement and expectation ahead of another clash between the sub-continental neighbours who always send the heartbeat galloping with their vintage brand of hockey marked by individual skills.

For the fans, it is a treat never to be missed going by the unprecedented demand for tickets and, of course, 'passes'. With a capacity crowd expected, the security has been considerably beefed up.

Historically, the context or the occasion was never a consideration or a factor when the two met on a sports field, nor the track record in terms of number of wins and losses.

For each meeting, the slate was wiped clean for a fresh chapter in the sub-continental sporting ethos and it will be no different on Sunday.

The last time the two teams met at this venue was in March this year during the World Cup when India won 4-1 and the home fans are hoping for a similar result.

Pakistan team coach Michel van den Heuvel wouldn't risk a comment but merely said it would be an 'interesting' match while making an obvious admission that the crowd would be fully behind India.

Likewise, Jose Brasa, the Indian coach, said he would not look beyond the late Saturday game against Scotland that the hosts need to win to remain in contention for a semi-final spot.

Either way, everything points to a close encounter that would put to test the character of both teams who would be under pressure of high expectations from both sides of the border.

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Athletes, officials heap praise on Kadarpur shooting range

Sat, Oct 09 10 07:37 PM

Gurgaon, Oct 9 (PTI) The Commonwealth Games participants and foreign officials were all praise for the state-of-the-art Kadarpur Range, which is hosting the full bore shooting events of the multi-discipline sporting extravaganza. "The facilities here are wonderful and a range like this doesn''t exist (anywhere else). It has left most ranges in the world behind, it is really fantastic," Tony Waymouth, manager of the New Zealand full bore shooting team, said. Forty two shooters from 21 countries are taking part in the full bore shooting competitions. "This range is fantastic and a world leader to other countries," New Zealander Graeme Hudson, President of Commonwealth Shooting Federation, said. David Daniel of England went a step further and said the facility is the best full bore range in the world while Wales Manager Martin Watkins termed it as "excellent." India is participating for the first time in full bore shooting competitions in the Commonwealth Games. The Sports Manager of Kadarpur Shooting Range, T S Dhillon IG (retd) said, "It (Kadarpur) is the first range of its kind in the world where electronic targets are being used and the shooter is not required to move -- instead, the targets move." Dhillon also said it has computerised auto-scoring facility which "brings complete transparency to the game." PTI CORR ARP

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Gagan Narang: A world champ in the making

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 07:28 PM

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) Gagan Narang had taken to shooting as a pastime, not in pursuit of excellence. Now, after winning four golds at the Commonwealth Games and with at least two more expected, he is well on his way to be the world's best.

With four gold medals, all with Games records, and two events to go, the genial 27-year-old Hyderabadi, who is an MBA graduate, is the new shooting sensation.

The handsome Air-India executive's successful journey to a world of fame can largely be attributed to his strong mental make-up which helps him keep his cool and high levels of concentration whenever the going gets tough, say those who know him well.

The eligible bachelor from Begumpet in Hyderabad is not a revelation here at the Games - although he hit the headlines here - he had been around for quite some years.

He has been there and there about at the top, his guns blazing and he was as well known in shooting circles as Abhinav Bindra, the country's lone individual Olympic gold medallist. A gold at the World Cup finals (2008), two World Cup golds (2009, 2006), three World Cup bronze (2008, 09, 10), and bronze in the World Championship (2010), are a testimony to his immense talent and determination to excel.

In fact, more than the medals and the records, it was Narang's victory over Bindra in the 10m air rifle event, where he equalled his own world record, that stands out. Unfortunately, his record will not be ratified as Commonwealth Games are not part of the elite sporting events whose records are recognised.

Call it destiny or what you will, the MBA graduate failed to come good where it mattered. He missed the qualification mark by a whisker at the Beijing Olympics, where he was favourite. Bindra made the final and the rest is history.

Narang had another heartbreak when he was not chosen for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for the third successive year and the distraught shooter nearly pulled out of the Commonwealth Games in disgust. But the fighter in Narang persuaded him to let his guns talk and how well they roared at the ranges.

'I don't talk about my inner feelings and my satisfaction. I have, and will always let my gun do the talking,' he said.

And in the Games, Narang is a strong contender for finishing as the best athlete and win the coveted David Dixon award.

Narang, who is currently ranked World No. 3, is expected to win gold in both the remaining categories. And once he wins the award, it would be the second straight time that an Indian shooter will bag it.

In Melbourne four years ago, pistol shooter Samresh Jung won the award, introduced in 2002, by winning five gold to earn the nick name Goldfinger.

Right from the day one of the shooting competition at the Karni Singh Shooting Range, Narang looked determined to come out of the shadow of Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra.

Though he is yet to win a World Championship gold or an Olympic medal, Bindra firmly feels that Narang has it in him to get them all.

'He is outstanding, one of the best in the world. I am sure he will win many more international tournaments, the World Championship and an Olympic gold medal,' said Bindra.

Gagan, a double world record holder, remains modest and says that he still has a lot to learn from Bindra.

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India restrict Australia to 285/5 in Bangalore Test

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 07:17 PM

Bangalore, Oct 9 (IANS) India did well to restrict a defiant Australia to 285 for five wickets at the end of day one in the second and final cricket Test at the M. Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium here Saturday.

When stumps were drawn prior to the schedule time due to bad light and cloudy sky by the two umpires, Australian middle order batsman Marcus North (34) and wicket-keeper Tim Paine (8) were at the crease, having put up a 29-run partnership.

Though Indian bowlers could not breach the defence of openers Shane Watson (57) and Simon Katich (34) in the first session when the pair scored a breezy 95 in 27 overs, spinners Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha succeed in the post-lunch session to snap them and Michael Clarke (14) with 132 runs on the board.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting (77) and southpaw Mike Hussey (34), however, steadied the first innings till tea session with a fourth-wicket partnership of 58 runs to post 189 runs for the loss of three wickets.

Speedster Zaheer Khan then had Hussey caught by Virender Sehwag in the first over of the post-tea session with the score at 198.

With the help of North, Ponting tried to accelerate the score before he was caught plumb by Suresh Raina's spin, hitting 12 fours after putting up a 66-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Paine, who joined North at the fall of Ponting, played safe till the end of the day.

The visitors scored 95 runs in 27 overs in the first session, 94 in 30 overs during the post-lunch session and 96 in 28.5 overs in the final session.

Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to bat under an overcast sky and in windy conditions.

Zaheer started the bowling attack with the new ball, followed by Kerala speedstar S.Sreesanth, who came in place of injured pacer Ishant Sharma.

Gujarat youngster Cheteshwar Pujara made his Test debut when he was included in the 11-member India team. He reaplced Mohali hero V.V.S. Laxman, who missed the second Test with a back spasm.

In the Australian line-up, Peter George took the place of seamer Doug Bollinger.

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Hauritz hits back at critics, vows to deliver

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 12:41 PM

Sydney, Oct 9 (ANI): Spinner Nathan Hauritz, who struggled in the first Test at Mohali and was overlooked by skipper Ricky Ponting, has vowed to hit back at his critics.

Ponting had said that he sidelined Hauritz during the nail biting final stages of the Mohali Test against India, and gave chances to part timers Marcus North and Shane Watson instead, in a bid to do something different in his quest for victory.

"I just want them to know that I'm the spinner, I'm the guy that's here to win the Ashes, the guy to win the next Test against India," Nathan told his critics.

"Ever since I've played my first Test I don't think anybody has wanted me in the side - fans and that," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Hauritz, as saying.

"I could take 10 wickets in a match, and there'll still be someone saying they don't want me to be a part of it. They want someone else, whether it's [Jason] Krezja, Bryce McGain, now it's Steve Smith.

"There's always another spinner that can take my spot. I think you have to evolve with it, just accept it's a part of your life. There's always someone out there that thinks there's someone better. I've got great backing from teammates, the captain, selectors," he said.

"I'm the spinner, I'm here to do a job, and here to do a job in the Ashes. I've had a bad few overs, it didn't go well, but I'm going to front up again on Saturday," Hauritz added.

Hauritz hopes that skipper Ponting will show confidence and allow him to bowl in Bangalore.

"That last session I desperately wanted the ball, but my bowling in the morning, a couple of overs there probably didn't give me the right to get the ball. We had a Test match to win, and Ponting goes to what he thinks. We were just all trying to swing the momentum back in our favour," Hauritz said.

"I have no doubts that I'm the person to do the job. Just for that period of the game, rhythm wasn't good, I couldn't land the ball where I wanted to, and it cost me a chance to bowl in the afternoon," he added. (ANI)

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Ponting wants Hauritz to bowl like Harbhajan

Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 12:37 PM

Sydney, Oct 9 (ANI): Australia's skipper Ricky Ponting wants his ace off spinner Nathan Hauritz to bowl more like Indian rival Harbhajan Singh.

Ponting had sidelined Hauritz during the nail biting final stages of the Mohali Test against India, and gave chances to part timers Marcus North and Shane Watson instead, in a bid to do something different in his quest for victory.

Hauritz revealed that he was directed to bowl with angles mirroring Harbhajan in the first Test in Mohali, and that because it didn't work, he wanted to revert to his traditional style today in Bangalore.

Ponting said he had asked Hauritz to change because his traditional plans weren't working.

"I'm the one who asked him to try some different things, and they're things I asked him to work on about 18 months ago," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

"When he first came back into the side in South Africa, I worked with him long and hard, trying to get him to create different angles for a batter, and that's talking through a batsman's eyes and what I've always found hard about facing off-spinners," he said.

"If you look at angles Nathan creates and the shape of the ball compared to what Harbhajan does, it's chalk and cheese. What I was trying to get him to do by bowling wider at the crease was to get the ball into the rough areas a bit more," Ponting said.

"From where he was bowling from, it was almost impossible for him to land the ball in the footmarks. I think it's important we keep trying to work with him on those things. You have to have more than one string in your bow now in international cricket, particularly if you're an off-spinner," he added.

Hauritz is not entirely convinced with his skipper. "Cricket is supposed to be a very simple game and I tried to make it more complicated," he said. (ANI)

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PCB lifts ban on Rana

Sat, Oct 09 10 12:35 PM

Lahore, Oct 9 (PTI) Pakistan Cricket Board today lifted a one-year ban imposed on all-rounder Rana Naved ul Hasan, paving the way for his return to the national team. The cricket board also reduced the fine to rupees 10 lakh from 20 lakh. Hasan was one of the seven Pakistani cricketers, who were banned by the PCB after their disastrous Australian tour early this year. Except for Hasan, PCB had lifted bans imposed on all other players. Hasan had appealed against the ban appeared before an appellate tribunal, to hear his appeal. "I take everything positively and I consider myself very lucky. I will make every effort to return to the Pakistani side," Hasan said. He met with the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt last month in which he apologised for his conduct and behaviour on the Australian tour that eventually led to his ban and fine of two million Pakistani rupees. The all-rounder, who has not played cricket in the last six months sue to ban, said he played in domestic cricket to get back to the national side. "There is a crisis in the Pakistani team and I will make every effort when the selectors choose players again. I hope they will select me. The board accepted my plea. and I hope to play in a domestic T20 tournament coming up," he said.

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