Massimo wants to remain India coach till 2012 Olympics

Tue, Oct 12 10 12:23 PM

Diganta Biswas New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Satisfied with Indian paddlers'' show in the team events in the Commonwealth Games, country''s foreign coach for table tennis, Massimo Constantini wants to continue with the job to help them do well in the 2012 London Olympics. India''s hope for gold in the team event went up in smoke after defending champions men''s team lost the semifinal to England, and even their women counterparts went down to world champions Singapore in the summit stage. "I am happy with the improvement the paddlers have showed in the recent times. I took up the responsibility as the coach in February, 2009 and now want to finish my job in 2012 London Olympics," said Constantini, who succeeded Belorussian Aleksey Yefremov last year. "It is up to the government whether I could continue with this job. But yes, I wish to stay with the paddlers to finish my job. We have improved a lot and I think, the government now should not stop supporting the players once the Commonwealth Games is over. "It takes time to improve the performance of the players and bring about consistency. We don''t have any magic wand. The process is on and we should not disrupt the rhythm at this point of time," the Italian added. Asked about their preparation for the next month''s Asian Games in China, Constatini said that the strategy would be set only after the paddlers, who have been busy with their CWG training schedule since two years, get some rest. "Asian Games will be a tough event. But before we think about it, the players must be given some rest. They have been working very hard since a long time now," he said. "And also, before the Asian Games, we have to see who else can play in the event. The other players, if they are performing well, could also be considered. But there will be tough competition because countries like China and Korea will be playing. "Now the individual events are on, let it get over. Then we will think about the next event. It will be a different format there in Asian Games, so the strategy will also not be the same," he added. Asian Games will be held in Guangzhou from November 12-27. The former world number 39 was also all praise for Sharath Kamal, but did not forget to remind it was also important for the country to nurture more talents to create a quality pool of paddlers. "It is not easy to perform in pressure. Sharath is OK, he is playing well. But it is also important to find many more talents and nurture them, by giving exposure," he said. "We have to take the lessons and I think, India should think about the future. However, many young players are coming up now-a-days and that is a positive sign for the country," Constantini added.

Source: Published>

Spotlight on PCB boss Butt at ICC meeting focusing on 'spot-fixing'

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 12:07 PM

Lahore, Oct 12 (ANI): The International Cricket Council (ICC) Executive Board meeting in Dubai will be focussing on the 'spot-fixing' controversy, and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt will be at its center stage, facing a number of crucial questions.

The ICC meeting, due on October 12 (today) and 13, will be updated over the developments in the spot-fixing allegations during the recent Pakistan tour of England, The Nation reported.

It will also be discussing other issues, including the ICC Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) proposals for a new context and content for international cricket within the Future Tours Programme (FTP) 2012-2020, and its recommendations on future ICC events.

Though the spot-fixing scandal will be high on the agenda of the ICC executives, on the sidelines of the meeting, the PCB chief and the ICC chief executive are likely to work towards mending their relations.

The FTP is also expected to cover a major part of the discussions. Specifically, the ICC Board will consider that the programme should consist of a Test league to provide context for all Test matches. The league would determine the top four teams to qualify for an ICC Test play-off, which should be held once every four years to determine the Test champion team.

The FTP should also consist of a One-Day International league, the first to run from April 2011 until April 2014, culminating in the crowning of an ODI league champion. This would run separately from the ICC Cricket World Cup.

The ICC World Twenty20 should consist of a 16-team format from 2012, with the women's event continuing to run alongside. The introduction of Twenty20 International rankings table as soon as this is justifiable, the paper said.

The Board will also receive updates from the Pakistan Task Team, the Zimbabwe Task Team, the Governance Review Committee and the ongoing preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

It will also discuss the content and direction of the ICC Strategic Plan 2011-15 in the meeting. (ANI)

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'Sachin's small margin separates magic from method': Roebuck

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 11:53 AM

Sydney, Oct 12(ANI): As Indian centurions Sachin Tendulkar and Murali Vijay dominated day three of the Bangalore Test against Australia there was only a minute distinction between the two batsmen, "a small margin that somehow separates magic and method", noted cricket columnist Peter Roebuck has said.

"Murali Vijay had the best seat in the house. His quiet accumulation counterpointed his partner's sublime strokeplay. As far as technique was concerned, there was not much between them," Roebuck wrote in a syndicated column for the Sydney Morning Herald.

"He is an accomplished batsman likely to make the grade. Yet there was an almost imperceptible difference between them, a small margin that somehow separates magic and method."

"Tendulkar is exceptional. Every shot he plays is compelling. Vijay is admirable. He was not rattled, and played his part in the partnership that turned the match around. Naturally, he was as proud of his first hundred as Tendulkar had been of his 49th," he added.

Carrying forward from Sunday's score of 128/2, both Tendulkar and Vijay looked in sublime form to take their third-wicket partnership to 308, as Team India marched to 435-5 at the end of the day's play, only 43 runs shy of Australia's first innings 478.

Vijay scored 139 off 310 balls, which included 14 fours and two sixes, before being caught by wicket keeper Tim Paine off the bowling off fast bowler Mitchell Johnson.

Tendulkar, who scored his sixth century of the year, was bowled by debutant Peter George for 214.

He now has two centuries in Bangalore, sharing the record for most centuries with Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin.

During the innings, Tendulkar had also achieved the milestone of becoming the first batsman to score 14,000 runs in Test cricket. (ANI)

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KKR all set to receive blessings of Goddess Durga

Tue, Oct 12 10 11:45 AM

Kolkata, Oct 12 (PTI) This Durga Puja, the Goddess will be seen adorned in a sari resembling the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) jersey, a unique idea which the team believes would help them receive her blessings in the next IPL tournament. The SRK Fan Club of Kolkata has come up with a six-foot- tall idol of Durga, attired in a purple and golden-coloured sari inspired by the jersey of the Shahrukh Khan-owned team. One hand of the ten-armed Goddess is seen clutching the team''s flag. KKR is owned by Khan''s Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with actress Juhi Chawla Mehta and her husband Jay Mehta. On all four days of Durga Puja, around 400 members of the fan club would worship the deity, installed at the club''s premises at Rajarhat on the north-eastern outskirts of the city, praying for their team''s success. "The last three IPLs were a disaster for KKR, so we will worship Ma Durga for the super success of our hero Shahrukh Khan and his team KKR," Arnab Roy, secretary of the 13-year-old fan club, told PTI. The fans believe that the idol will bring luck and success to the cricket team and their hero SRK. "But it is also for the entire city and supporters of KKR as we believe that the puja will give them a reason to smile and celebrate the team''s victory in IPL 4," he said. MORE PTI NIK MD KK

Source: Published>

Australia can still win Bangalore Test against India: Johnson

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 11:23 AM

Bangalore, Oct 12(ANI): Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson insists that his team can still win the second Test being played at Bangalore despite being dominated by Indian centurions Sachin Tendulkar and Murali Vijay on day three.

Team India marched to 435-5 at the end of the day's play, only 43 runs shy of Australia's first innings 478.

Johnson, who was the most successful bowler for the visitors with three wickets for 89, however remained optimistic that Australia can pull the match back.

"We'll be pushing as hard as we can, and like I said in Mohali we're looking to win Test matches," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Johnson, as saying.

"We saw there were a few that stayed low, and a couple that jumped off the wicket as well, and there was talk of this wicket about how it jumps up as well."

"I'm confident we can go there and push really hard to knock them over, then obviously we've got to bat really well and then just really fight hard on that last day to win this Test match," he added.

Carrying forward from Sunday's score of 128/2, both Tendulkar (191 not out) and Vijay (139) looked in sublime form to take their third-wicket partnership to 308.

Johnson then claimed two wickets in an over to swing the momentum to Australia's favour.

Vijay was caught by wicket keeper Tim Paine, while debutant Cheteshwar Pujara had a very short life as he was caught plumb in front of the wicket for a mere four runs.

Suresh Raina (32) then shared a 61-run partnership with Tendulkar before being dismissed by part-time spinner Michael Clarke.

At the end of third day's play, Tendulkar was batting on 191 along with skipper M.S. Dhoni on 11.

Brief Scores:

Australia- 1st innings: 478 (Marcus North 128, Ricky Ponting 77, Paine 59, Shane Watson 57; Harbhajan Singh 4/148, Pragyan Ojha 3/120)

India- 1st innings: 435/5 (Tendulkar 191 not out, Dhoni 11 not out; Johnson 3/89, Clarke 1/ 27) (ANI)

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Tendulkar hits sixth double century in Tests

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 11:07 AM

Bangalore, Oct 12 (IANS) India's master batsman Sachin Tendulkar scored his sixth double century in Tests on the fourth day of the second cricket Test against Australia here Wednesday.

Tendulkar reached the milestone within half an hour of the commencement of play Wednesday morning. Soon, India overtook Australia's first-innings total of 478 for the loss of five wickets. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was batting with him.

This is Tendulkar's second double century against Australia.

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CWG shooting: Jung and Chaudhary win silver

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 10:57 AM

New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) India's Samresh Jung and C. K. Chaudhary won a silver medal in the 25 metres standard pistol pairs in the shooting competition at the Commonwealth Games here Wednesday.

Singapore's Bin Gai and Lip Meng Poh took the gold while Iqbal Ubhi and Michael Gault of England bagged the bronze.

--Indfo-Asian News Service

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Narang all set to become new "Gold Finger"

Tue, Oct 12 10 10:21 AM

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) India are bang on target to achieve their aim of finishing second in the Commonwealth Games with 30 gold in the bag, equalling their best-ever haul in the process, going into the ninth day of competitions today. At close of competitions yesterday, the host nation were ahead of England by three gold medals after the latter picked up a late title. More medals of the yellow hue are awaited by the hosts at the shooting range, where four-gold hero Gagan Narang would be striving to draw level with 2006 Games hero Samaresh Jung and become the new "Gold Finger". Narang, who had a two-day break after clinching his fourth title at the Dr Karni Singh range, will be gunning for the men''s 50m rifle prone pairs event with Hariom Singh. World champion Tejaswini Sawant is also competing in the women''s 50m rifle prone individual event. Indian shuttlers, led by Saina Nehwal, and paddlers, spearheaded by Achanta Sharath Kamal, too would be in the thick of action along with squash players Spirav Ghosal and Joshna Chinnappa in the mixed doubles quarters. The men''s and women''s relay squad are to run in the finals of the athletics event. Also in action would be triple jumpers Renjith Maheswary and Amarjeet Singh, along with javelin throwing men''s trio of Kashinath Naik, Samarjeet Singh and Rajender Singh. Lalita Babar and Jhuma Khatun would be running in the energy-sapping women''s 5000m.

Source: Published>

Montenegro pose threat to injury-hit England

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 09:37 AM

England face what has become an unlikely table-topper against surprise package Montenegro at Wembley as the qualifying campaign for Euro 2012 rumbles on with some tricky matches for Europe's big guns on Tuesday.

World Cup finalists the Netherlands host Sweden hoping to take a stranglehold in Group E, Group C leaders Italy welcome Serbia while Portugal travel to Iceland hoping to close the five-point gap on Group H leaders Norway.

France should continue their revival at home to Luxembourg in Group D while world champions Spain will test Scotland's 4-6-0 formation in a Group I clash in Glasgow.

England coach Fabio Capello has enjoyed an upsurge in support since his side's World Cup debacle thanks to a lively start to the qualifying campaign with wins over Bulgaria and Switzerland, the teams expected to be their main challengers.

However, with a rapidly-expanding injury list to furrow his brow, the Italian will be wary of Montenegro, little-known opponents who have enjoyed three consecutive 1-0 victories against Wales, Bulgaria and Switzerland to top the table.

In-form Sunderland striker Darren Bent became the latest drop-out from Capello's squad on Monday when he strained his groin in training, joining defenders John Terry and Phil Jagielka and winger Aaron Lennon on the "unavailable" list.

With the likes of Jermain Defoe and Frank Lampard also out injured, England will be far from full strength on Tuesday when injury-prone Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand returns as skipper and Peter Crouch partners Wayne Rooney in attack.

"They are one of the stand-out teams in this group and we're in for a hard game against them," Ferdinand said of Montenegro's first visit to Wembley. "We've got to make sure we bring our 'A' game to make sure we put the game to bed as they have started well in the group."

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Liverpool chairman confident as club go to court

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 08:47 AM

Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton is confident that a deal with New England Sports Ventures (NESV) for the Premier League club will remain intact after a court hearing on Tuesday.

The beleaguered Merseyside club, whose protracted sale has dominated headlines since they were put on the market in April, will attend the High Court in London when Broughton's power to agree to the sale of the club will be examined.

Much-criticised American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who stand to lose some 140 million pounds ($223.1 million) if the deal goes through, will argue that Broughton does not have such power, potentially leaving the club without a buyer and reigniting the danger of administration and a nine-point penalty in the league.

Sources close to the deal said that British Airways chairman Broughton, who joined Liverpool in April to work alongside Barclays Capital in finding a buyer, believes he does hold the right to sell and that the deal will be ratified.

The hearing will start after 0930 GMT, a spokesperson for the court said on Monday.

The board's handling of previous refinancing proposals by the owners is also likely to come up, as Liverpool face an imminent deadline for a refinancing which could have a greater impact on the future than the court case.

Liverpool's board agreed to sell England's most successful soccer team to the owners of baseball's Boston Red Sox for 300 million pounds last week -- a deal which has the support of the club's major creditor Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) but, according to Hicks and Gillett, vastly undervalues the club.

The proposed deal includes 200 million pounds in cash to repay all acquisition debt and taking on additional working capital debts and other liabilities.

COULD APPEAL

If Broughton's legal advice is correct Liverpool fans can expect the sale to go through quickly, though Hicks and Gillett could appeal, and the Oct. 15 loan repayment deadline RBS put in place would be met.

If the court decides in favour of the American duo, the club would again find themselves in a race to find suitable owners but this time with just days to spare before RBS could call in their debts and administration proceedings began.

According to media reports in Britain on Monday, Peter Lim, the Singapore billionaire who lost out to NESV in bidding for Liverpool, would make a renewed attempt to buy the club in such circumstances.

NESV, headed by Red Sox owner John W. Henry, have already indicated that they would look to renegotiate a deal or walk away from the Anfield club if administration happened.

Either way, Hicks and Gillett stand to lose out financially on a club they bought in February 2007 for 218.9 million pounds and have since burdened with debt.

RBS is unlikely to want Liverpool to enter into administration as the process would jeopardise it recouping the money owed and a new deadline could be agreed.

A nine-point penalty, for a club already struggling in 18th place in the 20-strong league, would also harm its value.

The bank, majority owned by the UK taxpayer, said in a statement on Monday that it had "sought and obtained" an injunction against Hicks and Gillett in light of a purported breach of contract which saw the owners try to remove two board members and scupper the bid last week.

"Among other things, that interim injunction prevents Mr. Hicks or Mr. Gillett taking any steps to remove or replace Mr. Broughton from his position as chairman of the board of the Kop companies or from taking any other steps to appoint or remove any directors from the board of the Kop companies," the statement said.

RBS added that Tuesday's court case relates to a breach of contract only and does "not represent steps by RBS to enforce its security or to appoint an administrator".

Source: Web Search

Family search for tickets as Paramjeet makes final

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 08:37 AM

For two days now, Paramjeet Samota's relatives and cousins have been waiting outside the Talkatora Stadium, trying to get tickets to watch any of the boxer's bouts. As the 21-year-old native of Danaud, a village near Bhiwani, kept on advancing further in the super heavyweight category, his cousins efforts to somehow get a ticket becomes more frantic. Indian boxers in the heavyweight category generally find it tougher than those in the lighter categories, and as one of his younger cousins explained on Sunday night ? "semi-finals to aur mushkil hota hai. Agar haar gaya toh, hum kabh dekhenge uska fight. Monday ko uska fight dekhna hai. (Semifinals are even tougher. If he looses on Monday, then when will we watch him fight. We have to see his fight on Monday.)". On Monday, even as most of the Indian boxers bowed out of the semi-finals, Samota put the doubts of his cousins at rest and gave them another day to arrange for a ticket with a 6-2 final win over Tonga's Junior Fa and stayed on course to better heavy-weight boxer Harpreet Singh's silver medal in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

"After every bout, my family has called me and told me to win one more match. They still have not got the tickets to watch me but I hope they will get the tickets to watch me in the final on Wednesday. We all were disappointed after Vijender's loss and I was eager to overcome the disappointment," said Samota, who will now face Tariq Haqq Abdul of Trinidad in the Super Heavy-weight final on Wednesday. The final will once again be a tough fight considering Abdul is coming of a victory over the highly rated Joseph Parker of New Zealand.

Earlier this year in March, Samota became the first Indian in the heavier weight categories to win a gold medal in the CW Boxing Championship and if the boxer wins the gold on Wednesday, he will become the first Indian boxer to win a gold medal in the Super Heavyweight category for India in CWG. "A lot of people had said the medal in Commonwealth Boxing came as most of the top boxers did not make an appearance. But I guess my performance has silenced those critics. There's still one more bout to go for me and I am expecting nothing less than a gold."

Source: Web Search

All Jats Night: Discus trio make history

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 06:37 AM

Krishna Poonia hasn't seen her eight-year-old son Lakshya Raj in nearly six months. The sacrifice ? the price of a gruelling training schedule ? paid off on Monday. Poonia, 28, threw the iron disc to a distance of 61.51 metres to lead an Indian 1-2-3 in the women's discus final at the Commonwealth Games.

Krishna's gold was the first for India at the Commonwealth Games since Milkha Singh won the 440 yards race in 1958. After Australian world champion Dani Samuels cried off due to health and security fears, the Indian trio of Poonia, Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil were tipped to win at least two of the three medals.

As it happened, defending Commonwealth champion Elizna Naude of South Africa could throw only 57.61 m, and Poonia threw 61.51 in her first attempt. Harwant threw 60.16 in her third attempt, which won her the silver; Antil achieved 58.46 in her second attempt to take bronze ? her second Commonwealth Games medal after a silver at Melbourne 2006.

The three women are fierce rivals on the national circuit. Antil and Poonia aren't the best of friends, especially after the former returned a positive test just after the 2006 Games. Poonia had then taken potshots at Antil, but today, no bad blood showed.

As the packed house brought the roof down, Poonia shouted over the din to tell a reporter that that she was happy that all winners were from India. "And all from Jat families," she added. And when Poonia couldn't come up with a great answer when asked if she would have won the gold had Samuels been around, it was Antil who jumped to her defence. "Even if Dani Samuels had participated today, Krishna would have won," she said.

Krishna's husband-cum-coach Vijendar Singh was over the moon. "Her family has 200 buffaloes. I am sure all the milk she drank as a kid has made her strong," he joked.

Yet, there was a time when Poonia almost gave up the sport after getting married and having a baby. It was then that Vijendar, an athlete himself, and his grandfather, a Leftist with strong views on women's equality, who encouraged her not to give up.

And Poonia returned to the field, training in a tracksuit in Gagarwas village in Churu, Rajasthan, where a women is hardly ever seen without her ghungat. Standing on the victory podium tonight, the girl who first hurled the discus when she was 19 showed the world just how far she had come.

For Antil, it was a night of redemption. She had to miss the 2006 Doha Asian Games after she tested positve. The result was reversed, but she stayed home. Tonight, she became only the second Indian athlete to win a medal at successive Games since triple-jumper Mohinder Singh Gill in the 70s. "I know that Milkha Singh said that no Indian athlete will win a medal at these Commonwealth Games. But it was nice that he got to watch us winning all three medals. Hopefully, he will now give us words of encouragement," Antil said.

For everyone at the stadium, it did not matter in which order the three women reached the podium. To hear the national anthem playing with Indians occupying all three places was a truly special privilege.

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Kochi IPL franchise grapples with stakeholding tug-of-war

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 03:17 AM

With irregularities in the shareholding patterns of leading teams Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab forcing their ouster from the Indian Premier League (IPL), it's an uphill task for the Kochi franchise to replace them and become one of the eight teams for the next IPL season. The Kochi franchise needs to resolve the fight among its six promoters over shareholding, key to which is conversion of sweat equity into direct stake, and incorporation of the team under the Companies Act. All this needs to be done within 10 days as demanded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Though promoters claim to have incorporated their team under the Companies Act, the rift is still wide open between the six with no clear compromise emerging. One of the six, who holds sweat equity of 26% wants his stake to be converted into direct stake as is the case with the other five. However, this is not acceptable to the majority as they have pumped in the funds.

"All issues will be resolved within this week. We will inform the BCCI and IPL governing council shortly," a source in the Kochi consortium said on condition of anonymity.

On Sunday, the BCCI terminated the franchise agreements of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab citing breach of their franchise agreements with the BCCI.

BCCI feels the problems for Kochi IPL team persist. According to BCCI insiders, the five-company consortium is split into two groups, one comprising Rendezvous Sports World (owned by Satyajit Gaikwad & Co) which owns around 26% stake in the consortium (as sweat equity) and other group including Anchor Earth Movers (27%), Parinee Developers (26%), Anand Shyam (8%), and Film Wave (12%), which together hold 74% stake with Vivek Venugopal holding 1%.

According to this group, the effective stake of all promoters who have invested 'real money' is 74% while the balance lies with Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) as sweat equity. Sweat equity is defined as equity created in a company as a direct result of hard work by the promoters.

"RSW has taken the initiative of bringing in the various sponsorships for the Kochi team as part of the sweat equity they hold. However, they want this to be converted to direct equity which is not acceptable to a few promoters who are putting in the cash. However, both groups are in talks and the matter should be resolved soon," an IPL insider familiar with the developments said.

While the Kochi consortium won the franchise for Rs 1,500 crore for a 10-year period in March, it participated as a consortium of five or six individuals. BCCI is concerned that there is no clear legal entity for the franchise and therefore, dealing with it is a problem area.

On Sunday, BCCI president Shashank Manohar said that both groups had sent letters to the board asking for its recognition. "...In such a scenario, the Board cannot work with groups within a franchise... They will have to resolve their issues in next 10 days or the franchise will be cancelled," Manohar had said.

However, sources told FE that Anchor Earth Movers, which owns 27% in the Kochi IPL franchise, is keen to move forward and is talking to all parties within the group for an early resolution of their differences.

However, for Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, the road to IPL-4 is virtually over after the BCCI terminated their franchise agreements. KPH Dreams, the promoting firm of Kings XI and Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd (JIPLC) have both been issued notices in this regard.

The charges on JIPLC include irregularities in the shareholding of the promoting firm. According to BCCI, JIPLC had claimed that the Emerging Media (IPL) Ltd, UK would be the entity controlling the Indian holding company operating the franchise through its wholly-owned Mauritian subsidiary. But in April 2008, JIPLC stepped into the shoes of the original bidder without being a group company or entity controlled by the bidder. This meant that while the bid for Rajasthan Royals was presented by one company, the agreement was signed by another. There were changes in the shareholding pattern of JIPLC in the last three years and its shares were sold or transferred without any permission from the IPL governing council.

Therefore, for Rajasthan Royals, the original promoting firm was Emerging Media Group with investors like Manoj Badale, Lachlan Murdoch, Aditya Chellaram, Suresh Chellaram and others. However, the shareholding pattern changed in 2009 with Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty buying 11.7% stake. Similar charges of violations in the shareholding of KPH Dreams have been leveled by the BCCI. KPH Dreams is promoted by Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Mohit Burman. It is also alleged that former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi is one of the promoters with investments routed through shell companies and individuals.

However, rival IPL franchises see an opportunity in the expulsion of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI teams as it would free several players ahead of the player auctions in November. These players include Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Brett Lee, Kumar Sangakkara, Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Sreesanth, Yusuf Pathan and others.

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Alves and Pato on target as Brazil down Ukraine

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 02:57 AM

Brazil continued their renaissance under new coach Mano Menezes when they beat Ukraine 2-0 in the unlikely setting of Derby County's Pride Park on a chilly Monday night in the English midlands.

A superb volley by Dani Alves after 25 minutes and a shot on the turn from Alexandre Pato in the 64th gave the 2014 World Cup hosts a deserved victory over the co-hosts of Euro 2012.

Brazil, rediscovering the flowing, expansive game the world loves to watch, showed flashes of magic against a resilient Ukraine side who gave a better account of themselves than they did in Friday's 2-2 draw against Canada.

Brazil's victory, following their 3-0 win over Iran in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, was no classic but with Robinho, Ramires and Pato combining well it was another pleasing performance for Menezes after the unpopular counter-attacking game favoured by previous coach Dunga.

The five-times world champions began to turn on the style when Alves fired over the bar after 10 minutes following a slick build-up and David Luiz went close when his shot on the turn went just over 13 minutes later.

Brazil's dominance finally paid dividends after 25 minutes when Robinho's perfectly measured cross-field pass found Alves, whose angled volley took a slight deflection before rebounding off the far post and into the net.

They should have doubled their lead after 35 minutes when Pato seized on a poor back pass from Anatoliy Tymoschuk but shot against the post.

Ukraine thought they had equalised when Olexandr Aliev's shot whistled past Brazilian goalkeeper Victor and into the net but the goal was ruled out for an earlier infringement.

Ukraine went close again just after the break when Ruslan Rotan hit the same post at the same place as Pato in the first half, before Brazil sealed the victory.

Eduardo set up the goal with a perfect pass for Pato who turned defender Vitaliy Mandzyuk and fired into the corner giving goalkeeper Andriy Dykan no chance.

The match was originally due to be played in the Middle East but was switched to England when the plans failed to materialise.

It was not played in London because of England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley on Tuesday.

Source: Web Search

De Rossi injury forces Italy to make changes

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 01:57 AM

Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi has been ruled out of Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier against Serbia with a minor leg muscle injury, forcing Cesare Prandelli to make changes to his team.

Without the insurance of the combative De Rossi, the Italy coach has brought Claudio Marchisio and Angelo Palombo into midfield.

"I thought seriously about playing two strikers with Antonio Cassano behind. Then without De Rossi I had to alter my idea. He doesn't have a clone," Prandelli told a news conference on Monday, saying other changes followed watching DVDs of Serbia.

Striker Giampaolo Pazzini will replace Marco Borriello, who lacked conviction in front of goal in Friday's 0-0 draw in Northern Ireland which kept Italy top of Group C.

Right back Gianluca Zambrotta, who thought his Azzurri career was over after the World Cup, will pick up 98th cap in place of Mattia Cassani and winger Simone Pepe has been dropped.

Stefano Mauri, who impressed in his all-action display on Friday in his first Italy appearance since 2007, is likely to move into Pepe's role out wide with forward Cassano teaming up with Pazzini on their Sampdoria home ground.

TRICKY MATCH

Centre back Leonardo Bonucci has a slight foot problem but is expected to play.

Prandelli, who took over from Marcello Lippi after the then holders crashed out early in the World Cup, has been revealing his team a day before games but his Serbian counterpart said the game was too important to give away secrets.

Vladimir Petrovic, whose side were embarrassed 3-1 at home by Estonia on Friday in his first game in charge, said: "I can't tell you much about the formation, it's a fundamental game. I can say that Neven Subotic will be on the field, he is a valid alternative to the suspended Nemanja Vidic."

Serbia, who have four points from three games in fourth, expect a tricky match in Genoa.

"A draw would be a good result," the coach added. "It will be a difficult game for both sides, both of us played badly in the last match."

Italy team: Emiliano Viviano; Gianluca Zambrotta, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Domenico Criscito; Angelo Palombo, Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio; Stefano Mauri, Antonio Cassano, Giampaolo Pazzini

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Troubled Togo threatened with suspension

Tue, Oct 12 10 01:37 AM

Togo were threatened with an international ban on Monday unless their soccer federation holds elections by early next month.

The announcement by soccer's governing body FIFA came less than a month after it was discovered that a "fake" Togo side took part in an international friendly against Bahrain.

FIFA said on Monday that it had accepted a request from the Togolese federation (FTF) to extend the deadline for elections until Nov. 6, but said no further extensions would be granted.

"The (FIFA) emergency committee has made it clear that if elections are not held by Nov. 6 for whatever reason, the FTF will be automatically suspended," FIFA said in a statement.

"In addition, the FTF has been requested to send FIFA a new schedule for the elections as soon as possible."

Togo's year began tragically when an assistant coach and a media officer were killed in an ambush on the team bus by separatists in the Angolan enclave of Cabinda before the start of the African Nations Cup finals.

The West Africans pulled out of the tournament amid worldwide sympathy, only to be banned from the next editions of the competition by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The ban was later overturned following mediation by FIFA.

Togo, who took part in the 2006 World Cup when players threatened to withdraw from the match against Switzerland over a pay row, suffered another blow in May when captain Emmanuel Adebayor said he was quitting international football.

The Manchester City forward said he was still haunted by events in Angola.

In early September, Togo lost 3-0 to Bahrain in a friendly but their poor performance immediately raised suspicions.

Two weeks later, the FTF said the team were a group of imposters and suspended assistant coach Tchanile Bana for three years, blaming him for organising, preparing and supervising the match.

Source: Published>

CWG Schedule, Day Nine

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 01:27 AM

New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) Following is the schedule on the ninth day of competitions at the Commonwealth Games Tuesday.

Twenty medals are at stake Tuesday including Aquatics Diving (3), Athletics (9), Gymnastics Rhythmic (1), Rugby Sevens (1), Shooting (4) and Weightlifting (2).

Source: Web Search

CWG medals tally, eighth day

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 12:57 AM

New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) Medals tally Monday on the eighth day of competitions at the Commonwealth Games. Australia continued to top the leaderboard while India is at second position.

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 Australia 64 40 39 143

2 India 30 23 28 81

3 England 27 49 35 111

4 Canada 23 15 28 66

5 South Africa 12 11 9 32

6 Nigeria 8 7 11 26

7 Kenya 8 6 7 21

8 Malaysia 7 8 8 23

9 Singapore 5 5 6 16

10Scotland 4 8 7 19

11 Samoa 3 0 1 4

12 New Zealand 2 17 6 25

13 Jamaica 2 3 1 6

14 Pakistan 2 1 2 5

15 Cyprus 2 0 1 3

16 Uganda 2 0 0 2

17 Wales 1 5 9 15

18 Bahamas 1 1 3 5

19 Nauru 1 1 0 2

20 Botswana 1 0 3 4

21 Cayman Islands 1001

21 Trinidad and Tobago 0 2 2 4

22 Cameroon 0 1 3 4

23 Northern Ireland 0 1 1 2

24 Sri Lanka 0 1 1 2

25 St. Vincent and The Grenadines 0 1 0 1

26 Seychelles 0 1 0 1

27 Papua New Guinea 0 1 0 1

28 Ghana 0 0 3 3

29 Namibia 0 0 2 2

30 Tonga 0 0 2 2

31 Isle of Man 0 0 2 2

32 Mauritius 0 0 2 2

33 Guyana 0 0 1 1

34 Saint Lucia 0 0 1 1

35 Bangladesh 0 0 1 1

Total 206 208 225 639

Source: Web Search

CWG Athletics: Krishna ends 52-year wait for gold, India sweeps women's discus

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 12:21 AM

New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) A long 52-year wait came to an end as India's national anthem was once again played in the Commonwealth Games athletics arena with woman discus thrower Krishna Poonia winning the gold. The hosts made a clean sweep of medals in the event - their first such feat in any sport at the Games.

Celebrations erupted at the majestic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here as Poonia ensured a top podium finish by hurling the discus to a distance of 61.51 metres. Her team-mate Harwant Kaur took the silver with a 60.16 m throw and Seema Antil completed a 1-2-3 by grabbing the bronze, courtesy a 58.46 metre effort.

The last time such a feat was achieved in track and field was 37 years ago by the Indian men's trio of shot putters Jugraj Singh, Gurdeep Singh and Bahadur Singh Chouhan at the Asian Championships at Manila.

It was a memorable evening for around 35,000 spectators at the stadium, as the air reverberated with the notes of 'Jana Gana Mana' played at the Games athletics event for the first time since 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh's golden run in the 400 metres at Cardiff in 1958.

The entire stadium, security personnel and Indian journalists included, lent their voice to the anthem, a short while after the trio took a victory lap wrapped in the tricolour to deafening all-round applause.

After having brought the country only its second gold in Commonwealth Games athletics and etching her name in Games history as the first Indian woman yellow metal winner from the discipline, an ecstatic Krishna said: 'I can't express my happiness at the support I see all around. I enjoyed it and I thank all the people who came to support me.'

The 28-year-old, who hails from Gagarwas village in Churu district of Rajasthan, ensured her victory with the first throw. Though, thereafter, she had three foul throws, and covered lesser distances with the other two attempts, Poonia's first effort enabled her to stay clear of the field.

Punjab girl Harwant, about two years senior to Krishna, got the silver medal winning throw in her third attempt.

'I didn't do my best but I am happy to win a silver,' she told media persons soon after her success.

It was also a historic day for Antil, who became the first Indian athlete to win medals in back-to-back Commonwealth Games after her silver winning effort at Melbourne four years ago.

The 27-year-old girl from Haryana's Sonepat said she was extremely happy, though her performance was below par. 'It was the crowd which won the medal for us.'

However, there was heartbreak in the women's 800 m race, as medal prospect Tintu Luka finished sixth with a poor timing of 2:01.25 seconds

Luka, a prodigy of legendary Indian athlete P.T. Usha, was ahead of the field till the 600m, when she was overtaken by eventual gold winner Nancy Jebet Langat of Kenya.

Luka tried hard, but near the home stretch she dropped first to the third place and then fell further behind.

Langat took the gold in 2:00.01 seconds, while the silver and bronze went to Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand (2:00.05 ) and Diane Cummins of Canada (2:00.13) respectively.

Luka could have won the gold had she even repeated her personal best timing of 1:59.17, which she has achieved several times this year.

The race over, poignant scenes were witnessed as Usha burst into tears, and was uncontrollable.

Later, the Payoli Express told IANS: 'She started off so well. She has had even faster starts earlier and completed the race with better timing. But it was her inexperience that made her nervous as she approached the home stretch. And she literally seemed to have given up from then onward.'

'But mark my words, she will do well in future big events,' said Usha.

In men's 4X100 m relay, the quartet of Rahamatulla Mollah, Suresh Sathya, Shameer Mon Naseema and Md Abdul Qureshi won their heat to advance to the final with a national record timing of 39 seconds.

Source: Web Search

CWG Badminton: Saina, Kashyap storm into semifinals

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 12:15 AM

New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) India's Saina Nehwal produced a dominating performance while Parupalli Kashyap pulled off a stunning upset to advance to the women's and men's singles semifinals in the badminton event at the Commonwealth Games here Monday.

In contrasting wins, Kashyap fought back from a game down for a 19-21, 21-19, 21-16 upset win over fourth-seeded Malaysian Muhammad Hafiz Hashim while Saina outclassed Canada's Anna Rice during her 21-7, 21-10 victory.

'I am happy with the way I have performed so far. I was moving well and I hope to keep playing the same way. I have trained and practised hard and I am looking forward to my semi-final,' said Saina, who next plays Scotland's Susan Egelstaff. Saina had beaten Egelstaff in the mixed team event.

In the men's singles, the 24-year-old Kashyap, ranked 32, thrilled a capacity crowd as he got the better of his famed Malaysian rival, world ranked 19, in an hour-long duel. Kashyap, seeded sixth, now plays England's second-seeded Rajiv Ouseph, whom the Indian beat in the semi-final of the mixed team event, for a place in the singles final.

Also moving into the semi-finals was third-seeded Indian Chetan Anand, who defeated England's Carl Baxter 21-17, 21-9.

In the women's doubles, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa made the semi-finals with a 21-9, 21-14 victory over England's Mariana Agathangelou and Heather Olver. The Indian pair had pulled off a fine victory against Malaysian Eei Hui Chin and Woon Khe Wei 15-21, 21-10, 21-16 in the pre-quarters in the morning session.

But there was some disappointment in store as Aditi Mutatkar went down to second seeded Malaysian Mew Choo Wong 8-21, 12-21 in the women's singles quarter-final.

Indian mixed doubles pair of Gutta and V.Diju went down to Malaysian combination Kien Kit Koo and Ei Hui Chin, 13-21, 19-21 while in the men's doubles quarterfinals, India's Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas lost to Singapore's Liang Derek and Chayut Triyachart 16-21, 16-21.

The day belonged to Kashyap, who produced a sensational performance against the 2003 All England Champion.

That Kashyap would create an upset was on the cards going by the way he played in the mixed team event where coach Pullela Gopichand showed faith in the youngster and put him for the decisive singles match in the semi-final and final, in place of experienced Chetan Anand. Kashyap upset Ouseph in the mixed team event semifinal and then put up a spirited fight against World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei.

Monday night, Kashyap played patiently and attacked with vengeance. He engaged Hafiz in long rallies and then unnerved him with stinging smashes. The crowd got behind Kashyap, who after rallying from a game down, was confidence personified and did not concede the lead in the decider. His dribbling at the net was equally impressive.

'If you have to reach at the top bracket of world badminton, you should know how to beat players like Hashim. I am happy that I am slowly learning the ropes. It is one of my finest victories,' Kashyap said.

'I want to win a medal for the country.'

'Hafiz is a tall player and has sharp strokes. I kept on retrieving and waited for an opportunity to attack. He was playing freely so I had to be patient and back myself,' said Kashyap, whose asthma has often been a hindrance in his career.

Kashyap said the vociferous backing of the crowd helped him grow in confidence.

'That is how we feel (pressure) when the Malaysians play at home. The crowd gets behind the home player. You cannot imagine how difficult it is to play Malaysian players in their backyard. I am happy that for once I am getting such crowd support at home. It has been a big help.'

Source: Web Search

Discus Thrower Krishna Poonia wins Gold for India at Commonwealth Games

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 12:09 AM

New Delhi, Oct.11 (ANI): India's hopes to maintain its second position in the medal tally of Commonwealth Games were boosted when Discus Thrower Krishna Poonia won a historic Gold Medal on Monday evening.

Poonia became the first Indian woman to win an athletics Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games by winning women's discus throw event of athletics.

India's other two Discus Throwers went on to make a clean sweep, bagging Silver and Bronze medals.

Poonia's throw was 61.51metres, Harwant Kaur claimed Siliver with a throw of 60.16m, while Seema Antil took Bronze with a best of 58.46.

Philippa Rose of Wales was fourth with 57.99 and England's Jade Nicholls was sixth with 57.62.

The closing stages of the discus coincided with India winning the opening heat of the women's 4x400m to advance to the final. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

CWG 2010: India equals its best ever performance with 30 Gold medals on Day-8

Published>Tue, Oct 12 10 12:07 AM

New Delhi, Oct.11 (ANI): India equalled its best ever performance in the Commonwealth Games with 30 Gold medals, as Discus Thrower Krishna Poonia bagging a historic Gold medal for the country in athletics after 58 years here today.

India had achieved this feat of 30 Gold medals in the 2002 Manchester games for the first time.

India's other two Discus Throwers went on to make a clean sweep,of the event , bagging Silver and Bronze medals.

Poonia's throw was 61.51metres, Harwant Kaur claimed Siliver with a throw of 60.16m, while Seema Antil took Bronze with a best of 58.46.

In boxing, Olympic Bronze medalist Vijendra Singh suffered a shock defeat in 75 kg category. Suronjoy Singh, Manoj Kumar and Paramjeet Somata have entered the finals in their respective weight categories.

Jai Bhagwan, Amandeep Singh and Dilbagh Singh lost their bouts and had to settle for Bronze medals apiece today.

The first medal of the day for the hosts came in shooting as Tejaswini Sawant and Meena Kumari won bronze in women's 50 meter Rifle Prone pairs.

Sawant, later said, that she had hoped to win more than a Bronze in the competition.

In Skeet pairs shooting, Mairaj Ahmad Khan and P Allan Danials finished fifth, as the Gold medal in this event was won by Cyprus.

In Badminton, a host of Indian players moved into the quarter-finals of the individual badminton event on Monday, raising hopes of multiple medals from the badminton courts .

India's Saina Nehwal and Aditi Mutatkar advanced to the quarter-finals of the Women's Singles event. World No.3 Saina defeated Caroline Black of Nigeria, 21-0,21-2 while Aditi defeated Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland 21-11, 21-17 in their respective matches.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa pulled off a fine victory against Malaysian Eei Hui Chin and Woon Khe Wei 15-21, 21-10, 21-16 to advance into the last eight in women's doubles.

Aditi Mutatkar also moved into the women's singles quarter-final with a 21-11, 21-17 victory over Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour. The Indian now faces second seeded Malaysian Mew Choo Wong.

In men's singles, Parupalli Kashyap got the better of Kieran Merrilees of Scotland 21-12, 21-5. Kashyap, too, will have a difficult opponent in fourth seeded Mohammad Hafiz Hashim in the quarter-final.

Top ranked Indian and third seed Chetan Anand defeated Jamie Van Hooijdonk of Wales 21-8, 21-2 in another third round match. He will take on England's Carl Baxter in the evening session for a place in the semis.

Mixed doubles second seeds Jwala Gutta and V. Diju defeated compatriots Rupesh Kumar and Ashwini Ponnappa 15-21, 21-18, 21-16.

In Rugby, the Indian team, however, disappointed its fans as it lost the match against Wales by an embarrassing 7-53 score.

In Weightlifting, one gold was to be decided on Monday night, in men's 105 plus Kilogram weight category. Sarabjit carries the Indian medal hopes in this event.

In Women's Hockey, India defeated Canada 3-0 in a final classification match.

In Table-Tennis, Indian duo, Sharad Kamal and Shubhjeet Saha ,have entered the Men's Doubles quarter-finals by defeating Australia's Justin Henn and Shimon Gerreda.

With five more Bronze won on Monday India continued to hold on to its second position with 30 Gold, 23 Silver and 28 Bronze. England has 26 gold, 47 Silver and 34 bronze. However, Australia continues to head the table with a total haul of 62 Gold, 40 Silver and 39 Bronze medals.

Meanwhile, the New Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games were hit by a doping controversy today in the same 100 meter Women's event that earlier saw the disqualification of Australia's Sally Pearson who was stripped off her medal for a false start.

Oludamola Osayomi, a Nigerian Gold Medalist of women's 100 meters, was tested positive in dope examination. In the dope test methyle hexalimine stimulate was found.

Addressing the customary press conference at Main Press Center, the President of the Games Federation Mr Michael Fennel said the athlete tested positive has requested for 'B' sample test and the hearing will be held later today.

Meanwhile, the Organizing Committee Chairman, Suresh Kalmadi said today that big video screens will be put up during road events including Marathon and Cycling events along the route.

He said cycling events will be held at Noida- Greater Noida Expressway and all arrangements have been completed.

Indian players will also be seen in action in Table-tennis and Squash tonight. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

CWG Badminton: Saina, Kashyap storm into semifinals

Published>Mon, Oct 11 10 11:47 PM

New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) India's Saina Nehwal produced a dominating performance while Parupalli Kashyap pulled off a stunning upset to advance to the women's and men's singles semifinals in the badminton event at the Commonwealth Games here Monday.

In contrasting wins, Kashyap fought back from a game down for a 19-21, 21-19, 21-16 upset win over fourth-seeded Malaysian Muhammad Hafiz Hashim while Saina outclassed Canada's Anna Rice during her 21-7, 21-10 victory.

'I am happy with the way I have performed so far. I was moving well and I hope to keep playing the same way. I have trained and practised hard and I am looking forward to my semi-final,' said Saina, who next plays Scotland's Susan Egelstaff. Saina had beaten Egelstaff in the mixed team event.

In the men's singles, the 24-year-old Kashyap, ranked 32, thrilled a capacity crowd as he got the better of his famed Malaysian rival, world ranked 19, in an hour-long duel. Kashyap, seeded sixth, now plays England's second-seeded Rajiv Ouseph, whom the Indian beat in the semi-final of the mixed team event, for a place in the singles final.

Also moving into the semi-finals was third-seeded Indian Chetan Anand, who defeated England's Carl Baxter 21-17, 21-9.

In the women's doubles, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa made the semi-finals with a 21-9, 21-14 victory over England's Mariana Agathangelou and Heather Olver. The Indian pair had pulled off a fine victory against Malaysian Eei Hui Chin and Woon Khe Wei 15-21, 21-10, 21-16 in the pre-quarters in the morning session.

But there was some disappointment in store as Aditi Mutatkar went down to second seeded Malaysian Mew Choo Wong 8-21, 12-21 in the women's singles quarter-final.

Indian mixed doubles pair of Gutta and V.Diju went down to Malaysian combination Kien Kit Koo and Ei Hui Chin, 13-21, 19-21 while in the men's doubles quarterfinals, India's Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas lost to Singapore's Liang Derek and Chayut Triyachart 16-21, 16-21.

The day belonged to Kashyap, who produced a sensational performance against the 2003 All England Champion.

That Kashyap would create an upset was on the cards going by the way he played in the mixed team event where coach Pullela Gopichand showed faith in the youngster and put him for the decisive singles match in the semi-final and final, in place of experienced Chetan Anand. Kashyap upset Ouseph in the mixed team event semifinal and then put up a spirited fight against World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei.

Monday night, Kashyap played patiently and attacked with vengeance. He engaged Hafiz in long rallies and then unnerved him with stinging smashes. The crowd got behind Kashyap, who after rallying from a game down, was confidence personified and did not concede the lead in the decider. His dribbling at the net was equally impressive.

'If you have to reach at the top bracket of world badminton, you should know how to beat players like Hashim. I am happy that I am slowly learning the ropes. It is one of my finest victories,' Kashyap said.

'I want to win a medal for the country.'

'Hafiz is a tall player and has sharp strokes. I kept on retrieving and waited for an opportunity to attack. He was playing freely so I had to be patient and back myself,' said Kashyap, whose asthma has often been a hindrance in his career.

Kashyap said the vociferous backing of the crowd helped him grow in confidence.

'That is how we feel (pressure) when the Malaysians play at home. The crowd gets behind the home player. You cannot imagine how difficult it is to play Malaysian players in their backyard. I am happy that for once I am getting such crowd support at home. It has been a big help.'

Source: Web Search

Discus Thrower Krishna Poonia wins Gold for India at Commonwealth Games

Published>Mon, Oct 11 10 11:37 PM

New Delhi, Oct.11 (ANI): India's hopes to maintain its second position in the medal tally of Commonwealth Games were boosted when Discus Thrower Krishna Poonia won a historic Gold Medal on Monday evening.

Poonia became the first Indian woman to win an athletics Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games by winning women's discus throw event of athletics.

India's other two Discus Throwers went on to make a clean sweep, bagging Silver and Bronze medals.

Poonia's throw was 61.51metres, Harwant Kaur claimed Siliver with a throw of 60.16m, while Seema Antil took Bronze with a best of 58.46.

Philippa Rose of Wales was fourth with 57.99 and England's Jade Nicholls was sixth with 57.62.

The closing stages of the discus coincided with India winning the opening heat of the women's 4x400m to advance to the final. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

CWG schedule: Day nine of competitions

Published>Mon, Oct 11 10 11:27 PM

New Delhi, 11 Oct (IANS) Following is the schedule on the ninth day of competitions at the Commonwealth Games Tuesday.

Twenty medals are at stake on Tuesday including Aquatics Diving (3), Athletics (9), Gymnastics Rhythmic (1), Rugby Sevens (1), Shooting (4) and Weightlifting (2).

Aquatics: S.P.Mukherkee Aquatics Complex

Men's: 10 M Platform Synchronised, 3m Springboard Syncronised (Pushkar Chingshubam, Manesh Kumar, Hariprasad Thimmarayappa)

Women's: 1m Springboard (Karishma Mohite, Hrutika Shriram)

Athletics: JN Stadium

Men's: Javelin Throw (Kashinath Naik, Rajender Singh, Samarjeet Singh)

Triple Jump (Renjith Maheswary, Amarjeet Singh)

4x100m Relay (Ritesh Anand, Hemant Kirulkar, Rahamatulla, Manikanda Murugiah, Shameer Naseema, Suresh Sathya)

1500m (Hamza Chatholi, Karan Sandeep)

4x400m Relay (Premanand Jayakumar, Bibin Mathew, Jithin Paul, Kunhu Puthanpurakkal)

Women's:

Pole Vault

4x100m Relay

5000m (Lalita Babar, Jhuma Khatun, Preeja Sreedharan)

4x400m Relay (Sini Jose, Mrudula, Chitra Soman, Poovamma Machettira, Tiana Thomas, Priyanka Panwar)

Badminton: Siri Fort Sports Complex

Semi-Finals:

Men's:

Singles: Chetan Anand, Parupalli Kashyap

Doubles: Thomas Sanave, Rupesh Kumar

Women's:

Singles: Aditi Mutatkar, Saina Nehwal

Doubles: Aparna Balan, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Machimanda, Aditi Mutatkar

Mixed doubles: Thomas Sanave, Rupesh Kumar, Diju Valiya, Jwala Gutta, Aparna

Balan, Ashwini Machimanda

Gymnastics (Rhythmic): IG Stadium

Women's: Team Competition

Hockey: Maj Dhyan Chand National Stadium

Men's: Team Competition

Lawn Bowls: Jawharlal Nehru Stadium Sports Complex

Men's singles: Mohammad Raja

Women's singles: Farzana Khan

Netball: Thyagaraj Sports Complex

Women's: Semi-Finals Team Competition

Rugby 7's: Delhi University

Men's: Bowl-Winner Match 33 v Winner Match 34, Plate-Winner Match 35 v Winner Match 36, Bronze Medal Match Loser Match 37 v Loser Match 38, Gold Medal Match 37 v Winner Match 38

Shooting: Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges

Men's:

Skeet Singles, 25m Standard Pistol Pairs (Chandrashekar Chaudhary, Samaresh Jung), 50m Rifle Prone Pairs (Gagan Narang, Hariom Singh)

Women's:

10m Air Pistol Pairs (Heena Sidhu, Annu Singh), 50m Rifle Prone Singles (Meena Kumari, Tejaswini Sawant)

Fullbore: CRPF Campus, Kadapur

Stage 3 - 900 yards Pairs & Individual

Squash: Siri Fort Sports Complex

Semi-Finals:

Men's: Doubles (Sandeep Jandra, Gaurav Nandrajog, Harinder Sandhu, Siddharth Suchde)

Women's: Doubles (Anaka Alankamony, Joshna Chinappa, Surbhi Misra, Dipika Pallikal)

Mixed: Doubles [(Joshna Chinappa (W), Dipika Pallikal (W), Saurav Ghosal (M), Harinder Sandhu (M)]

Table Tennis: Yamuna Sports Complex

Mixed: Doubles Bronze Medal and Gold Match [(Mouma Das (W), Poulomi Ghatak (W), Shamini Kumaresan (W), Madhurika Patkar (W), Subhajit Saha (M), Sharath Achanta (M), Amalraj Anthony (M), Soumyadeep Roy (M)]

Weightlifting: JN Sports Complex

Men's: Bench Press Open (Farman Basha, Sachin Chaudhary, Rajinder Rahelu)

Women's: Bench Press Open (Rajdeep Kaur, Roshani Rinke, Bharti Somkuwar)

Source: Web Search

Storm in ring as English TV celebrity beats Indian Beckham

Published>Mon, Oct 11 10 11:17 PM

Angry home fans labelled English boxer Anthony Ogogo a cheat after he claimed a controversial victory in the battle of television celebrities with India's Vijender Singh at the Commonwealth Games on Monday.

Ogogo, who appeared in reality television show Big Brother, beat Singh, who is set to act in a Bollywood film and has appeared on various Indian television programmes, 4-3 without landing a scoring punch in their middleweight semi-final.

Home fans at the nearly full 2,500-seat Talkatora Indoor Stadium were on their feet chanting and dancing, waving Indian flags as their most loved boxer cruised into a 3-0 lead and looked assured of booking his place in the gold medal match.

But Singh was then twice penalised in the final round, first for punching the back of his opponent's head and then for holding, the last two-point punishment coming 15 seconds before the end of the contest.

The Indian team lodged a protest with event officials after the result.

"He is like the Indian (David) Beckham but I've been his Achilles heel," Ogogo told reporters.

"I've beaten him, I've toppled him and I can't believe it. I'm so happy."

Singh, the world amateur number one and bronze medallist at the Beijing Olympics two years ago, was heavily favoured to lift the gold in Delhi and had been in good form stopping his two previous opponents.

The decision drew a number of boos from the home crowd who chanted "cheater, cheater" as Ogogo celebrated his victory by walking around the ring and flexing his arm muscles.

'FOUL PLAY'

Ogogo then further enraged the crowd by blowing kisses at them as he walked past on his way to the dressing room.

"What he was doing was foul play and he got penalised for it. If this had been a neutral country then I would have won outright, without the added points," Ogogo said.

"I thrive on fighting under pressure. But all respect to the Indian crowd because they've shown me and the England team nothing but hospitality."

Indian media were angry when they were told Singh would not be speaking immediately after the bout. Journalists were seen shouting at volunteers to bring out Canadian referee Michael Summers to explain his decisions.

The loss was one of four suffered by Indians in the semi-finals of various weights at the hands of British boxers on Monday.

However, Indian lightweight Suranjoy Mayengbam was able to book a place in a final after he easily beat English-born Pakistani Haroon Khan, the younger brother of light-welterweight world champion Amir.

Other Indians to claim berths in Wednesday's finals were light-welterweight Manoj Kumar and super-heavyweight Paramjeet Samota.

Source: Web Search

CWG boxing: Vijender knocked out; Suranjoy, Manoj, Paramjit in finals

Published>Mon, Oct 11 10 10:57 PM

New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) India's Olympic bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh Monday suffered a shocking loss in the semifinals while his compatriots Suranjoy Singh, Manoj Kumar and Paramjit Samota made the finals without any hiccups at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium here.

Vijender, a prominent gold medal hope, lost 3-4 to English boxer Anthony Ogogo in the semifinal of the 75kg and won the bronze medal. All losing semifinalists get a bronze.

The Indian team management had lodged a protest saying that Vijender's warning points given to Ogogo were not fair, but the jury turned down the appeal.

In the 52 kg category, Suranjoy outclassed Pakistani boxer Haroon Iqbal 9-3 and Manoj won 3-1 against the Bahamas' Valentine Knowles in the 64kg bout. Paramjit Samota won 6-2 against the well-built Tongan F.A. Junior in the super heavyweight category (+91 kg).

Much was expected of Vijender, and despite starting on a defensive note he took a 1-0 lead till the end of second round. But in the final round, the English boxer was awarded four points, dashing all hopes of an Indian victory. A dejected Vijender refused to talk to the media.

Suranjoy, however, was satisfied with his performance and was optimistic about Wednesday's final.

'I had tried my level best to dominate the bout right from the start. I want to win gold for India in the Wednesday's finals,' said Suranjoy.

Iqbal, who is the younger brother of famous British boxer of Pakistani origin Amir Khan, praised Suranjoy.

'He is a great fighter and it was a tough match. I enjoyed fighting against him,' said Iqbal, who decided to represent Pakistan after he was snubbed by his country of birth, England.

Manoj thanked the crowd for the support.

'I was not worried about increasing the margin of winning. The only thing that matters is whether you win or not and I always play according to my opponent. I am very excited after the win and I also like to thank the crowd for their support,' said Manoj.

Samota said he was not afraid of his taller opponent.

'It does not matter that how tall or well built is your opponent. Th only thing that plays crucial role in winning a bout is your will power,' he said.

Other Indians Amandeep Singh (46-49 kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and Dilbagh Singh (69kg) also lost their semifinal matches and had to settle for the bronze.

Amandeep was beaten by Northern Ireland boxer Paddy Barnes in a tough match 5-6 and Jai Bhagwan was thrashed by Thomas Stalker of England 5-10. Dilbagh was edged out by Northern Ireland's Patrick Gallagher 5-4.

A distraught Amandeep said: 'I had done a lot of hard work but today I did not fight as I planned. I knew that Barnes boxes with a tight guard and I also tried to do the same, but it didn't work. I deliberately waited for him to attack first but it did not work either.'

'I am a bit happy to win a medal for my country. Now my next aim is Asian Games and I will try my best to win gold there,' said Amandeep.

Jai Bhagwan said: 'I tried my level best. I think both of us were equal and evenly matched. He won on the basis of warnings and not on punches. But I wish him luck for the upcoming bout.'

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Antil lashes out at Milkha Singh for "no medal" comment

Mon, Oct 11 10 10:51 PM

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) After India created history by sweeping all the medals in the women''s discus throw at the Commonwealth Games here today, bronze medallist Seema Antil lashed out at legendary athlete Milkha Singh for saying that the country''s athletes will not win a single medal in the quadrennial event. "He (Milkha Singh) is a legend and should not have said that India would not win a single medal in athletics at the Delhi Games," Antil said at the post-competition press conference. Milkha Singh, who was the only Indian to have won a gold at the Commonwealth Games the Delhi Games, had predicted that the hosts would not bag even a single medal in athletics. Krishna Poonia, who became the first Indian woman gold medallist in athletics, said that the competition was tough despite pull-outs by some athletes, including world champion Dani Samuels of Australia. "Competition was tough, there was a world champion (Beatrice Faumuina of New Zealand) as well as defending champion (Elizna Naude of South Africa)," Haryana-born Poonia said. "The crowd support motivated us to give our best and thus we won all the three medals," the gold medallist added. About their preparations for the Asian Games, national coach Bahadur Singh said they would soon start preparing for next month''s event. "We have one month left for the Asian Games and we will get to training soon," he said.

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Tanmay, Manoj guide India Blues to Challenger triumph

Mon, Oct 11 10 10:37 PM

Indore, Oct 11 (PTI) Opener Tanmay Srivastava scored a run-a-ball 103 while talented Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary smashed a quick-fire 84 to help India Blue win the NKP Salve Challenger Series with a thumping 140-run victory over India Green here today. In reply to Blue''s challenging score of 287 for seven, the Greens were all-out for 147 in 36.4 overs. India discard Rudra Pratap Singh took three for 20 for the winners. For the second day in a row, India Blue captain Yuvraj Singh opted to bat after winning the toss. Srivastava and in-form Shikhar Dhawan (44, 51 balls, 4x6, 1x6) added 67 runs before the Delhi batsman was caught by Ravichandran Ashwin at deep square leg off Abhimanyu Mithun''s bowling. Ajinkya Rahane (7) and Yuvraj Singh (12) were both dismissed off leggie Sarabjit Ladda. While Rahane mistimed a pull-shot, Yuvraj was done in by a googly. At 118 for three, Srivastava was joined by Tiwary who was fluent from the onset, giving Srivastava a chance to score freely. The centurion hit nine boundaries, while Tiwary hit seven fours and a six, adding 97 runs for the fourth wicket. After Srivastava departed in the 41st over, it was Tiwary who single-handedly took the score close to 300 with some delightful strokes. The Bengal batsman hit Mithun for a four and a six off successive deliveries before falling in deep. When the Green team batted, they looked completely out of sorts as pacers Rudra Pratap, V Yomahesh and spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla bowled well. Robin Uthappa was the top scorer with 30, while S Badrinath, Kedar Jadhav, Aniruddha Srikkanth and Rohit Sharma fell cheaply.

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$300 mn sports complex opened in Dubai

Published>Mon, Oct 11 10 10:27 PM

Dubai, Oct 11 (IANS/WAM) A multipurpose sports complex constructed at an estimated cost of 1.1 billion dirhams (around $300 million) has opened in Dubai, which is preparing to host the World Swimming Championships in December.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council Sunday launched the Dubai Sports Complex built over a sprawling 61 acre plot.

An aquatic centre within the complex will host the 10th FINA World Swimming Championships Dec 15-19, which is being held for the first time in an Arab country.

With the seating capacity of 15,000, the facility will herald a golden era in sporting events in the region once it successfully hosts the championships, in which 130 countries are expected to participate.

The project also includes changing rooms for 400 athletes, rooms for umpires, multipurpose halls, a health club, a gymnasium, training pools and other facilities.

--IANS/WAM

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Hooda praise Poonia, Harwant, Seema for medal in athletics

Mon, Oct 11 10 10:21 PM

Chandigarh, Oct 11 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has congratulated the Krishna Poonia, Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil on winning all the three medals for India in Discus Throw event in the Commonwealth Games today. While complementing Krishna Poonia, Hooda said that she has created history by breaking India''s 52-year-old Commonwealth Games gold medal jinx in athletics. She has become the first woman athlete from the country to win at Commonwealth Games. It is the first gold after ''Flying Sikh'' Milkha Singh''s 440 yard race gold in the 1958 edition of the Games in Cardiff, Wales. Hooda said that the achievements by our women athletes have made the country proud. Krishna Poonia won the gold by throwing the discus to 61.51m, Harwant came up with an effort of 60.61m, while Seema Antil threw the discus to a distance of 58.46m.

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Dope scandal hits Games, case to be decided on Wednesday

Mon, Oct 11 10 10:17 PM

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The Commonwealth Games was today hit by a dope scandal with Nigerian women''s 100m gold medallist Osayomi Oludamolo testing posive for a banned stimulant, prompting authorities to suspended her until the results from a second sample are known. The results from the athlete''s B sample would be known only on Wednesday, said the Commonwealth Games Federation in a media statement. The athlete tested positive for the substance methylhexaneamine, a stimulant under category S6 of the World Anti Doping Agency list of prohibited substances and methods, the CGF said. The 24-year-old runner attended a provisional hearing by the CGF''s Court after her positive dope test. After being notified of the result for the A sample, she has asked for the B sanmple to be tested. The provisional hearing here of the CGF Court was chaired by president Michael Fennell and consisted of five senior office bearers - VP Tinku Imran (Malaysia), Bruce Robertson (Canada), secretary Louise Martin (Scotland), legal advisor Sharad Rao (Kenya) and tresurer Austin Sealy (Barbados). "The provisional hearing ruled that the provisional suspension of the athlete will continue until the result of the B sample is received," said the CGF statement. "That B sample result is expected within 48 hours from the time of request: so further details are not expected until Wednesday morning (Delhi time). "The Federation Court will give its final deliberation on the matter of Ms Oludamola (Osayomi) upon receipt of the B sample test result," it added. The Nigerian sprinter won the controversial 100m race on October 7 after Australia''s Sally Pearson, the first runner across the finish line, was disqualified for a false start following a protest and an official inquiry. If Osayomi is disqualified Natasha Mayers (St. Vincent and the Granedines), who finished second in the controversial race held on October 7, would be awarded the gold. Third-placed Katherine Endacott of England and fourth-placed Bertile Delphin Atangana of Cameroon would collect the bronze after having crossed the finish line only in fifth position.

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Warnings knock Vijender out of CWG, three Indians in finals

Mon, Oct 11 10 10:07 PM

Poonam Mehra New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender Singh fell victim to some harsh refereeing and settled for a bronze medal after the India''s protest was rejected even as three others made their way into the finals on a dramatic day for the country''s boxers in the Commonwealth Games here today. Vijender (75kg), the reigning world number one, lost 3-4 to England''s Anthony Ogogo after being handed two warnings -- first for hitting his opponent on the back of his head and the second for holding the Englishman -- in the drama-filled final round of the bout. But Suranjoy Singh (52kg), Manoj Kumar (60kg) and Paramajeet Samota (+91kg) assured India of at least three silver medals by beating Pakistan''s Haroon Iqbal, Bahamas'' Valentino Knowles and Tonga''s F A Junior respectively. However, the talking point of the day was Vijender''s shock loss. The Indian team filed a protest but the jury which reviewed the bout upheld Canadian referee Michael Summers'' decisions. "The jury reviewed the bout and came to the conclusion that Vijender was holding his opponent and the referee was right in warning him. When the Indian team pointed out that even Ogogo was holding Vijender, the jury felt it was not the case," Indian Boxing Federation Secretary General P K Muralidharan Raja said, adding that he was "satisfied with the final verdict". An enraged Vijender lambasted the twin warnings, saying the four-point penalty was "harsh and unfair." Speaking to PTI after his shocking loss in front of a capacity crowd at the Talkatora Stadium, the 24-year-old World Championship bronze-medallist said the warnings were totally uncalled for. "The warnings were unfair and harsh. If the referee thought I was holding Ogogo then he should have penalised this guy as well. He was also holding me," the disappointed boxer said. "It''s a joke that somebody has won by scoring points just out of warnings," he said. Although India is set for its best-ever medal haul of seven, it was a thoroughly disappointing day for the nation''s boxers as they found themselves at the receiving end of some harsh refereeing. All of Ogogo''s four points came through warnings handed to Vijender in the third round. The loss became all the more shocking as Vijender had won his previous two bouts in less than the regulatory three rounds. The world number one Indian was leading 3-2 with barely 20 seconds left on the clock when he was handed a warning for holding his rival after an engrossing fight. The capacity crowd at Talkatora Stadium booed Ogogo and chanted ''cheater, cheater'' even as a visibly upset Vijender made his way out of the arena. .

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India, Kenya set records

Mon, Oct 11 10 09:37 PM

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) India and Kenya today set records in the Commonwealth Games athletics competition for different reasons. The host country made an unprecedented clean sweep of the women''s discus throw with Krishna Pooniya becoming the first gold medallist from the distaff side for India. India swept the event with Harwant Kaur and national record holder Seema Antil winning the silver and bronze, respectively, behind Pooniya who won with her best effort of 61.51m. It was the country''s second athletics gold in Games history after ''Flying Sikh'' Milkha Singh''s 440 yard race title in the 1958 edition of the Games in Cardiff, Wales. Harwant came up with an effort of 60.61m, a tad below her season''s best of 60.66m, while national record holder Seema Antil threw the discus to a distance of 58.46m. The trio''s sweep gave India their seventh medal in track and field events, far above their previous best of two medals, each won in the last two Games. Kenya also set a record, but in the number of gold medals won in athletics when Nancy Langat won the women''s 800m. This was Kenya''s eighth gold medal in Delhi, breaking the African nation''s previous best haul of of seven gold medals in 1974, 1978, 1994 and 1998. Langat also became the first Kenyan woman to win two golds in the same Games, having captured the 1500m title earlier, making her the second woman to claim the middle distance double at the same Games after Kirsty Wade of Wales in 1986.

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India creates history in athletics, gold after 52 yrs

Published>Mon, Oct 11 10 09:07 PM

India today created history by breaking the 52-year-old Commonwealth Games gold medal jinx with Krishna Poonia winning the yellow metal in women's discus throw to become the first woman from the country to win a Commowealth Games gold here today.

India swept the event with Harwant Kaur and national record holder Seema Antil also winning the silver and bronze respectively.

Poonia's gold, which she won by throwing the discus to 61.51m, was the first gold after 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh's 440 yard race gold in the 1958 edition of the Games in Cardiff, Wales.

Harwant came up with an effort of 60.61m, a tad below her season's best of 60.66m, while national record holder Seema Antil threw the discus to a distance of 58.46m.

India missed out on the gold in boxing and shooting but Saina Nehwal led a host of shuttlers into the quarter-finals of the badminton event at the Commonwealth Games Monday, on a day when the first dope case hit the event.

India's hopes of a slew of gold medals in boxing were dashed as Commonwealth Championships gold medallist Amandeep Singh (49kg), Asian Championships silver medallist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and nine-time national champion Dilbag Singh (69kg) lost their semifinal bouts. The trio will get a bronze each as both semifinalists are given a bronze in boxing.

In shooting too, India lost a gold narrowly in the women's 50 metres rifle prone event.

Tejaswini Sawant, a world champion in the event, shot 583 and Meena Kumari 585 for a total of 1,168 points, one less than Scotland's Jen McIntosh (591) and Kay Copland (578) and English girls Michelle Smith (590) and Sharon Lee (579) who tied on points.

Jen and Gay took the gold on the basis of 60 perfect 10s to the 52 of Michelle and Shaon.

It was good news from the badminton courts.

Led by world No.3 Saina Nehwal, a host of Indian players moved into the quarterfinals of the individual event, raising hopes of multiple medals.

Top seeded Saina spanked Caroline Black of Northern Ireland 21-0, 21-2 to set up a clash with sixth seeded Canadian Anna Rice, whom the Indian beat in the quarterfinals of the mixed team event.

Aditi Mutatkar also moved into the women's singles quarterfinal with a 21-11, 21-17 victory over Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour. But the Indian now faces second seeded Malaysian Mew Choo Wong.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa pulled off a fine victory against Malaysian Eei Hui Chin and Woon Khe Wei 15-21, 21-10, 21-16 to advance to the last eight of the women's doubles.

In the men's singles, Parupalli Kashyap got the better of Kieran Merrilees of Scotland 21-12, 21-5. Kashyap, too, will have a difficult opponent in fourth seeded Mohammad Hafiz Hashim in the quarterfinals.

Top ranked Indian and third seed Chetan Anand defeated Jamie Van Hooijdonk of Wales 21-8, 21-2 in another third round match.

In the mixed doubles, second seeds Jwala Gutta and V. Diju defeated compatriots Rupesh Kumar and Ashwini Ponnappa 15-21, 21-18, 21-16. (Agencies)

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Pooniya leads clean sweep of discus medals, Vijender shocked

Mon, Oct 11 10 08:53 PM

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The much-hyped Indian boxing squad, led by Olympic medal winner Vijender Singh, flopped but the unheralded athletics contingent exceeded expectations when Krishna Pooniya led an unprecedented clean sweep of all the women''s discus medals in the Commonwealth Games today. Pooniya led a historic Indian 1-2-3 by hurling the disc to 61.51m and became the country''s first woman in 52 years to win the gold on a day the Games was rocked by its first doping scandal when woman''s 100m champion gold medallist Osayemi Oludamola of Nigeria returned a positive test for a banned stimulant. Pooniya is the second Indian athlete after Milkha Singh (1958, Cardiff) to garner a gold in track and field events and her title enabled the country to equal its previous-best gold medal haul in Games history. The country had won 30 gold at Manchester eight years ago. She swept the discus event with Harwant Kaur (60.66m) and national record holder Seema Antil (58.46m) bagging the silver and bronze to lift the host country''s tally in athletics to a record seven. However, the story that emerged from the boxing ring was disappointing with Vijender and three others biting the dust in the semis and settling for the bronze. The consolation was the entry of southpaw Suranjoy Singh (52kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Paramjit Samota (+91kg) into the finals after winning their semi final bouts. Suranjoy reached the gold medal round defeating Haroon Iqbal of Pakistan, Manoj Kumar made the title round edging out Valentino Knowles of Bahamas and Samota outpunched F A Junior of Tonga. The shock defeat of hot title favourite Vijender led the Indians to lodge a protest with the event''s officialdom after the referee penalised the Indian star towards the fag end of the bout when he led narrowly. Amandeep Singh (49kg), Asian champion Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and Dilbag Singh (69kg) also lost their semi final bouts and had to be content with bronze medals. Women rifle shooters Tejaswini Sawant and Meena Kumari also grabbed the bronze in the women''s 50 metres rifle prone event after logging one point less than the gold and silver medalists. More PTI Team SSR MRM

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Nigeria's 100m gold medallist fails dope test at CWG

Published>Mon, Oct 11 10 08:37 PM

New Delhi,October 11 (ANI): The Commonwealth Games was today hit by a dope scandal when Nigerian women's 100m gold medallist Osayemi Oludamola tested positive for a banned stimulant and was placed under provisional suspension pending a test of her 'B' sample. After the absence of any doping cases in the first seven days, competitions on the eighth day of the Games started with reports coming out that the first positive result had come in which were later confirmed by CGF President Mike Fennell.

Source: Web Search

CWG: India adds four Bronze medals; as pugilists disappoint

Published>Mon, Oct 11 10 08:07 PM

New Delhi, Oct.11 (ANI): India could add just four Bronze medals here till Monday evening, as shooters duo Tejaswani and Meena Kumari and three pugilists contributed apiece to the total medal tally of 73 as recorded here on yesterday.

Indian medal tally reads 77 medals; 29 Gold, 22 Silver, and 26 Bronze medals with England closely following it with 26 Gold, 46 Silver, and 34 Bronze in its total medal tally of 106 medals in the ongoing Games on the 8th day of the competition.

Australia leads the medal tally with 61 Gold, 39 Silver, and 37 Bronze medals in its total medal tally of 137 medals till Monday evening.

Meanwhile, Indian boxer Manoj Kumar brought cheers to his fans, as he convincingly defeated Pakistan's Haroon Iqbal with a score of 9-3, to enter the Finals of 64 kg category.

Playing earlier in the day, Commonwealth Championship gold medallist Amandeep Singh (49kg), Asian silver-medallist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and nine-time national champion Dilbag Singh (69kg) had to be content with bronze medals after losing their semifinal bouts.

Amandeep lost 0-5 to Olympic bronze medallist and European champion Paddy Barnes of Northern Ireland, Jai went down 5-10 to European Championship silver winner Thomas Stalker of England and Dilbag was beaten 4-5 in a thrilling contest against Northern Ireland's Patrick Gallagher.

Commonwealth Championships gold medallist Amandeep Singh (49kg), Asian silver-medallist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and nine-time national champion Dilbag Singh (69kg) had to be content with bronze medals after losing their semifinal bouts.

Amandeep lost 0-5 to Olympic Bronze medallist and European champion Paddy Barnes of Northern Ireland, Jai went down 5-10 to European Championship silver winner Thomas Stalker of England and Dilbag was beaten 4-5 in a thrilling contest against Northern Ireland's Patrick Gallagher.

Amandeep was the first to take the ring for India today and he just could not break Barnes' shell guard despite his best efforts.

Meanwhie, till afternoon, an Indian duo beat Malaysia 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 to progress to the pre-quarterfinals in Table Tennis.

India beat Canada 3-0 to finish fifth in Women's Hockey.

Patrick beat Dilbag 5-4 in the semifinals of the welter weight category to hand India their boxing defeat in the last hour. (ANI)

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Vijender is like family to me: Sushil

Mon, Oct 11 10 07:51 PM

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) It''s a camaraderie that grew during the Beijing Olympics when both won bronze medal in their respective events. And champion wrestler Sushil Kumar savours every moment of his friendship with maverick pugilist Vijender Singh. World Champion Sushil feels that it''s privilege to have a friend like Vijender and he is like "family" to him. "It''s always a great feeling to talk to Vijender. We keep a track of each other''s performances. Like when I was coming for this media conference, I wished him luck for his semi-final bout. Also when I won the World Championship, Vijender was one of the first to congratulate me," Sushil told the reporters during an interaction today. Sushil also informed that Vijender''s father has been very supportive. "Vijender''s dad loves me a lot. He was present during my final bout yesterday. It was great to see him in the stands. It''s like myself and Vijender belong to one family," a beaming Sushil said. However the wrestler denied rumours of his plans of marrying guru Satpal''s daughter. "I don''t know from where these rumours were floated. All of you will get to know when I get married. You don''t hide such things," Sushil said.

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