New Delhi turned into a fortress ahead of CWG closing ceremony

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 12:28 PM

New Delhi, Oct 14 (ANI): With reports that Pakistan based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba is planning to attack New Delhi during the build-up to the closing ceremony of the XIXth Commonwealth Games, the city has been turned into a fortress with more than thousand extra police personnel and soldiers deployed to keep a hawk-eye vigil.

The security personnel are patrolling each nook and corner of the city following the Indian intelligence report that Lashkar-e-Toiba would look to target Delhi during the closing ceremony.

The security around the main venue Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Connaught Place here has been tightened and traffic restrictions have been imposed.

Delhi Police personnel have described the security measures that were taken during the 2010 Games to be good so far and would look to sustain the momentum.

With a marathon race coming up later in the day, the commuters passing through the localities close to the stadium and the route of the marathon race will face some traffic restrictions.

It has been reported that Bhishma Pitamah Marg, Lodhi Road and Kotla Mubarakpur road in the city has been closed from 6 a.m. and would open only after midnight.

Moreover, Safdarjung Madrassa road, Lodhi Road flyover, JLN Stadium Marg (between Mehar Chand Market and Lala Lajpat Rai Marg), and MTNL Building Road (from Scope Complex Chowk to Kushak Nallah) would remain closed from 2 p.m. onwards.

NH-24 and the Ring Road from Bhairon Road crossing to Ashram will also remain closed from 2.30 p.m.

Scores of armed men will be deployed around the stadium and spectators will have to undergo checks at four security points.

The Indian Air Force choppers will survey the skies and snipers will be in position at rooftops during the closing ceremony. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

ICC headquarters to stay in Dubai

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 12:22 PM

The headquarters of International Cricket Council will not be shifted out of Dubai, the world cricket body has decided during a two-day meeting here, putting an end to speculations that it may relocate to London.

"The matter of relocation is now closed," an ICC statement, released after the council's two-day meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, said.

On the decision, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat expressed his happiness saying he is "personally delighted" after the matter was resolved.

"This provides welcome certainty for the staff and I am personally delighted that this matter has finally been resolved," Lorgat was quoted as saying by Gulf News.

The decision came on the day when the ICC Global Cricket Academy was opened adjacent to the ICC Headquarters. The academy is association with Dubai Sports City.

The ICC headquarters was shifted to Dubai from Lords, London, in 2005 after the UK government refused to grant the tax concessions that the cricket body had asked for.

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India aim to pip England on final day and finish second

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 12:18 PM

Will they do it, is the question uppermost in the minds of the country's sports loving public as India go into the last day of the Commonwealth Games on Thursday trailing second-placed England by a single gold medal.

Going into the concluding day, India have 96 medals in their kitty made up of 36 gold, 26 silver and 34 bronze while England have 138 (37-56-45). Australia have already ensured the top spot with a haul of 169 medals (72-50-47).

If India have to achieve their pre-Games target of ending up second, they would have to grab one gold more than England as a tie in gold tally will place the hosts in third place because of their inferior tally of silverware.

The hosts have realistic chances of bagging three gold before the curtains come down on the multi-discipline sports festival involving 71 nations here.

The best bet remains woman shuttler and top seed Saina Nehwal who is to battle it out against Mew Choo Wong of Malaysia for the singles gold some time this afternoon.

The women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will have a shot at the gold when it takes on Singapore duo Shinta Mulia Sari and Lei Yao.

The men's hockey team, which has never even won a medal let alone sail into the final at the Games, will have the nation's attention focused on it when it lines up against the world and defending champions Australia in the summit

The team has a golden chance to avenge their defeat to the all-powerful Aussies in the league stage of the competition.

India are set to receive one more bronze medal when Achanta Sharath Kamal crosses swords with compatriot Soumyadeep Roy in the play-off tie for third place in men's singles table tennis event.

Poulomi Ghatak and Mouma Das also have a chance to increase the bronze tally when they face their Australian rivals Zhenhua Vivian Tan and Peri Campbell Innes in women's doubles play-off tie.

Source: Web Search

Paes, Bhupathi, Bopanna in Shanghai Masters quarters

Thu, Oct 14 10 11:56 AM

Shanghai, Oct 14 (PTI) Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhuptahi have advanced to the second round of the Shanghai Masters with their respective partners after getting a first-round bye. Paes and his new partner Jurgen Melzer of Austria are seeded third. They will take on Brazil''s Thomaz Belluci and Serbia''s Janko Tipsaveric in the quarter-finals. Bhupathi and his Belarusian partner Max Mirnyi are seeded fifth. They will take on the winners of the first round match between the pairs of Florian Mayer/ Yen-Hsun Lu and Marc Lopez/Tommy Robredo. US Open finalists Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-haq- Qureshi have also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (7) 6-2 win over Mark Knowles of Bahamas and Philipp Kohlschreiber. The Indo-Pak pair will take on Dick Norman and Wsley Moodie.

Source: Published>

Australia rewards Delhi medallists with tour selection

Thu, Oct 14 10 11:46 AM

Australia coach Robbie Deans has rewarded four Delhi Commonwealth Games silver medallists with selection to his 36-man squad for the Wallabies season-ending northern hemisphere tour.

Sevens skipper Pat McCutcheon, scrumhalf Nick Phipps and winger Luke Morahan have a chance to win their first Wallabies' caps on tour in Hong Kong and Europe after helping Australia make the final in Delhi, where they fell to arch-rivals New Zealand.

They join team mate and winger Lachie Turner, who impressed on his return to the Wallabies side in their last test against New Zealand in Sydney after spending a year in the wilderness.

Four other uncapped players were named on Thursday, including winger Rod Davies, backrower Scott Higginbotham, Brumbies back Pat McCabe and 34-year-old Queensland Reds lock Van Humphries, who, if selected, would become the Wallabies' oldest debutant.

Although prop Ben Alexander and lock Mark Chisholm return from long injury layoffs, the Wallabies will be without a number of sidelined experienced players, including backs Rob Horne and Digby Ioane, and forwards Wycliff Palu and James Horwill.

Australia head to Hong Kong for their final Bledisloe Cup match against New Zealand on Oct. 30, before November tests in Europe against England, Wales, Italy and France.

Squad:

Forwards: Ben Alexander, Richard Brown, Mark Chisholm, Ben Daley, Huia Edmonds, Rocky Elsom (captain), Saia Faingaa, Scott Higginbotham, Matt Hodgson, Van Humphries, Salesi Ma'afu, Ben McCalman, Pat McCutcheon, Stephen Moore, Dean Mumm, Benn Robinson, Nathan Sharpe, Rob Simmons, James Slipper.

Backs: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes, Kurtley Beale, Luke Burgess, Quade Cooper, Rod Davies, Anthony Faingaa, Will Genia, Matt Giteau, Peter Hynes, Pat McCabe, Drew Mitchell, Luke Morahan, James O'Connor, Nick Phipps, David Pocock, Lachie Turner.

Source: Published>

Manmohan Singh to cheer Indian men's hockey team

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 11:06 AM

New Delhi, Oct 14 (ANI): The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, will cheer for the Indian men's hockey team here today as they lock horns with three-time gold medalists Australia in the final of the hockey event.

The clash between the hosts and world champion Australia is expected to be a real thriller with India already scripting history by ensuring themselves at least a silver medal since hockey's introduction in the Games in the 1998 Kuala Lampur edition.

Today's final will also give India an opportunity to take revenge of their 2-5 loss to Australia during the pool stages as well as during the World Cup held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium earlier this year. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Kenyans run away with both marathon gold

Thu, Oct 14 10 10:58 AM

New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) Kenyans ran away with two marathon gold medals on offer to bring down curtains on the athletics events on the last day of the Commonwealth Games here today. John Eriku Kelai won gold in the men''s marathon covering the 42.195km distance in two hours 14 minutes and 35 seconds. Australia''s Michael Shelly bagged the silver in 2:15:18 while another Kenyan Amos Tirop Matui pocketed the bronze in 2:15:58. The two Indians in the fray, Ram Singh Yadav and Bining Lyngkhoi finished eighth and ninth 2:21:24 and 2:23:01 respectively. In women''s marathon, Kenya bagged both the gold and silver with Irene Kosgei winning the race in two hours 34 minutes and 32 seconds while compatriot Irene Mogake clocked 2:34:43. Australia''s Lisa Weightman took the bronze in 2:35:25. World record holder Englishwoman Paula Radcliffe had pulled out of the Games.

Source: Published>

India aim to pip England on final day and finish second

Thu, Oct 14 10 10:52 AM

New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) Will they do it, is the question uppermost in the minds of the country''s sports loving public as India go into the last day of the Commonwealth Games today trailing second-placed England by a single gold medal. Going into the concluding day, India have 96 medals in their kitty made up of 36 gold, 26 silver and 34 bronze while England have 138 (37-56-45). Australia have already ensured the top spot with a haul of 169 medals (72-50-47). If India have to achieve their pre-Games target of ending up second, they would have to grab one gold more than England as a tie in gold tally will place the hosts in third place because of their inferior tally of silverware. The hosts have realistic chances of bagging three gold before the curtains come down on the multi-discipline sports festival involving 71 nations here. The best bet remains woman shuttler and top seed Saina Nehwal who is to battle it out against Mew Choo Wong of Malaysia for the singles gold some time this afternoon. The women''s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will have a shot at the gold when it takes on Singapore duo Shinta Mulia Sari and Lei Yao. The men''s hockey team, which has never even won a medal let alone sail into the final at the Games, will have the nation''s attention focused on it when it lines up against the world and defending champions Australia in the summit The team has a golden chance to avenge their defeat to the all-powerful Aussies in the league stage of the competition. India are set to receive one more bronze medal when Achanta Sharath Kamal crosses swords with compatriot Soumyadeep Roy in the play-off tie for third place in men''s singles table tennis event. Poulomi Ghatak and Mouma Das also have a chance to increase the bronze tally when they face their Australian rivals Zhenhua Vivian Tan and Peri Campbell Innes in women''s doubles play-off tie.

Source: Published>

All focus on men's hockey team, Saina as India eyes second place in CWG

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 10:38 AM

New Delhi, Oct 14 (ANI): As the curtains come down this evening with a grand finale of the XIXth Commonwealth Games, India, which is shining with its best ever medal haul with 36 Golds will make a last-ditch effort to finish second in the medal's tally with all eyes on men's hockey team and ace shuttler Saina Nehwal.

The men's hockey clash between the hosts and world champion Australia is expected to be a real thriller with India already scripting history by ensuring themselves at least a silver medal since hockey's introduction in the Games in the 1998 Kuala Lampur edition after beating England 5-4 via tie-breaker in a dramatic second semi-final on Tuesday.

Saina Nehwal, who has been in red-hot form this year, will play the final against Malaysian Mew Choo Wong.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa have kept Indian's hopes alive in women's doubles final. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

India aim to pip England on final day and finish second

Thu, Oct 14 10 10:26 AM

New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) Will they do it, is the question uppermost in the minds of the country''s sports loving public as India go into the last day of the Commonwealth Games today trailing second-placed England by a single gold medal. Going into the concluding day, India have 96 medals in their kitty made up of 36 gold, 26 silver and 34 bronze while England have 138 (37-56-45). Australia have already ensured the top spot with a haul of 169 medals (72-50-47). If India have to achieve their pre-Games target of ending up second, they would have to grab one gold more than England as a tie in gold tally will place the hosts in third place because of their inferior tally of silverware. The hosts have realistic chances of bagging three gold before the curtains come down on the multi-discipline sports festival involving 71 nations here. The best bet remains woman shuttler and top seed Saina Nehwal who is to battle it out against Mew Choo Wong of Malaysia for the singles gold some time this afternoon. The women''s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will have a shot at the gold when it takes on Singapore duo Shinta Mulia Sari and Lei Yao. The men''s hockey team, which has never even won a medal let alone sail into the final at the Games, will have the nation''s attention focused on it when it lines up against the world and defending champions Australia in the summit The team has a golden chance to avenge their defeat to the all-powerful Aussies in the league stage of the competition. India are set to receive one more bronze medal when Achanta Sharath Kamal crosses swords with compatriot Soumyadeep Roy in the play-off tie for third place in men''s singles table tennis event. Poulomi Ghatak and Mouma Das also have a chance to increase the bronze tally when they face their Australian rivals Zhenhua Vivian Tan and Peri Campbell Innes in women''s doubles play-off tie.

Source: Published>

WADA rejects Contador tainted meat excuse

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 10:16 AM

The World Anti-Doping Agency dismissed Tour de France champion Alberto Contador's claims his positive test was the result of tainted meat, saying on Wednesday they had heard the excuse before.

The Spanish cyclist was provisionally suspended by the International Cycling Union (UCI) after testing positive for a very small concentration of a banned anabolic agent during this year's Tour de France.

Contador claims the presence of clenbuterol in his system was due to contaminated meat containing minute traces of the substance.

"It's been raised before, it's been heard in a couple of cases and rejected," WADA director general David Howman told reporters during a meeting at the anti-doping agency's headquarters. "It's not unusual.

"The issue is, can you prove it? It's a pretty hard thing to prove that is where it (the banned substance) comes from.

"The tribunal will make a decision and I'm comfortable with that."

WADA said it was closely monitoring the Contador case and was prepared to step in if a hearing cannot be arranged in a timely manner.

"It took a year to set the Landis hearing up the first time around," said Howman, referring to disgraced American cyclist Floyd Landis.

"If we were concerned about the results management system and that there was procrastination we can take it straight to CAS and say: 'this is wrong'.

"The issue for us is when will they have a hearing?

"At some stage somebody is going to have to say, 'here is the hearing date'."

TWO FRONTS

When a hearing is set, Contador may have to defend himself on two fronts after reports that plastic residues were found in his blood along with the steroid, suggesting the cyclist might have also undergone transfusions - which are banned under WADA's anti-doping Code.

Olivier Rabin, WADA's science director, said while there are tests capable of detecting plastic residues in blood they have yet to develop a stand-alone test for plasticizers that can link them directly to doping.

"There are residues. We're sure about this at that level, that is a scientific fact," explained Rabin. "How you connect that to doping is the question.

"Today, we cannot make a 100 percent connection between high plastic residues to 'You are doped.'

"That is something we are working on."

Rabin conceded there were other explanations for the presence of plasticizers, which can enter a person's system through drinking out of plastic containers or eating meat that has been wrapped in plastic.

"When there are high plastic residues, we get some indications that this is very likely related to transfusions," said Rabin. "But we need to do a little more work to see whether this link is 100 percent.

"Because it's not fully validated, we can use this as an indication but don't use it as a standard of proof.

"We cannot be 100 percent sure it was a transfusion, other explanations are possible."

Source: Web Search

Liverpool refocus for squabble with neighbours

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 08:16 AM

Liverpool put their ongoing boardroom battles and courtroom capers to one side on Sunday with a city derby against neighbours Everton at Goodison Park.

The 18-times English champions have become a high-powered soap opera in recent weeks as American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks attempt to hold on to power at Anfield but on Sunday, for 90 minutes at least, the key players will be in red and blue rather than grey suits.

Liverpool and Everton have both had horrible starts to the new season, managing just six points each from seven games and while "relegation scrap" would be egging the script a little too much, the need for a win has never been greater.

Liverpool's last action before the international break was a home defeat by Blackpool, a result that left them in the relegation zone. Everton are only marginally better off, having climbed out of the bottom three with a win at Birmingham City.

Form books and logic go out of the window in Merseyside derbies and Sunday's looks almost impossible to call.

Liverpool will be without Dutchman Dirk Kuyt who was injured on international duty but manager Roy Hodgson is hoping striker Fernando Torres will be fit to kickstart his season.

The Spaniard has been subdued this so far this season and pulled out of the Spain squad with an adductor strain but he is winning his battle to be fit for Sunday.

"He has had intense treatment over the last 10 days and responded very well to that treatment," Liverpool's head of sports science and medicine Peter Brukner said on Wednesday.

"He's ready to resume training today and if we can build up his training and get through the next few days, then we are optimistic but not certain that he will be able to line up against Everton."

Everton have not beaten Liverpool in a league derby for four years although they did win an FA Cup replay last season against their arch rivals and will be confident after a morale-boosting victory over Birmingham.

Winger Leighton Baines said the Blues were buoyant.

"We've won our first game of the season and once that happens you want to get on a roll," Baines told Everton's website.

Before Sunday's business at Goodison Park, Chelsea will be aiming to consolidate first place in the Premier League when they visit Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

Third-placed Manchester United host sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion and Arsenal host Birmingham. Manchester City, riding high in second place, are at Blackpool on Sunday.

Chelsea could be without skipper John Terry who pulled out of the England squad with a back injury while they will definitely be without Yossi Benayoun who was ruled out for several months wih an Achilles problem.

Source: Web Search

Heady times for PGA Tour rookie Fowler

Thu, Oct 14 10 07:58 AM

The last 12 months have been a whirlwind for PGA Tour rookie Rickie Fowler who can hardly believe he is one of the drawcards at this week's Frys.com Open in San Martin.

A year ago, the long-haired American lost out in a playoff for the title when the event was held in Scottsdale, Arizona, and he was competing for only the second time on the U.S. circuit as a professional.

"It's pretty cool, and for it to happen this fast is amazing," the 21-year-old Fowler told reporters after Wednesday's pro-am competition at CordeValle Golf Club.

"I wanted to be in this position at some point ... but it's just small steps at a time, even though I've taken quite a big step in the past year."

Having turned professional late last year, Fowler made a significant impact in his first PGA Tour event in the paid ranks by tying for seventh at the Las Vegas Open where he birdied the 72nd hole.

That strong finish earned him a spot in the field for the Frys.com Open the following week where he came from four strokes behind going into the final round to reach a playoff with fellow Americans Troy Matteson and Jamie Lovemark.

Matteson ultimately triumphed with a birdie at the second extra hole.

'AWESOME' RETURN

"It's awesome to be able to get back to play this event," Fowler said of the Tour's Fall Series event. "I am ranked higher now and I'm just excited to be here playing again.

"I just want to put myself in contention to have a chance to win on Sunday. Obviously, the Fall Series (last year) was a big part of me getting started on the PGA Tour."

Just nine days ago, Fowler was part of a brilliant United States fightback in the closing singles at the Ryder Cup in Wales where torrential rain and muddy conditions forced the biennial team competition into an unprecedented Monday finish.

Although uplifted by the whole Cup experience, the young Californian was delighted to be back on home soil at CordeValle where the par-71 layout was running fast and firm.

"It's a good driving course ... and it was nice to see the ball actually take a hop," Fowler, ranked 33rd in the world, said. "The Ryder Cup was my last event and there wasn't much hopping or rolling going on there.

"It's nice to get it back on some firmer playing surfaces. I think there's a possibility of a lot of birdies out there, but you've got to drive it in the fairway."

Matteson will defend his title this week while former world number one David Duval and past major winners Trevor Immelman, Justin Leonard, John Daly and Steve Elkington are also in the field.

Source: Published>

Singapore's Lim still hopeful of buying Liverpool

Thu, Oct 14 10 07:16 AM

Singapore businessman Peter Lim believes the situation surrounding the sale of Liverpool Football club is unclear and he remains an interested bidder, a spokesman for him said on Thursday.

"The situation is in a flux, Peter is monitoring the latest developments. He remains interested in buying Liverpool Football Club," the spokesman said.

Liverpool's board has resolved to complete the sale of the Premier League club to rival bidder New England Sports Ventures, but owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett obtained a temporary restraining order from a Texas court to stop the deal.

Source: Published>

Ex-snipers miss theirs, find opponent's target instead

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 06:56 AM

It was a simple mistake that had cost rifle shooter Matt Emmons a gold medal at the Athens Olympics. Leading comfortably till the final shot, Emmons had shot at the Lane 3 target, instead of Lane 2, his slotted one, and finished eighth in the three-positions event.

Something similar happened at the Kadarpur range on Sunday. Only this time the men in question were Indian team mates at full bore event ? Major Praveen Dahiya and Subedar Sushil Ghale. The error, called crossfire, happened on the first day of the event, when the former army snipers missed their target and hit the adjacent one. They were docked five penalty points each.

But to their credit, they finished 12th overall in the pairs event, a big improvement from their last-place finish during the test event at the same venue in the run up to the Games.

"It was down to our inexperience. Both of us crossfired. We were snipers in the army. But this is a new event for us," Major Dahiya told The Indian Express on Wednesday. Had we not lost those 10 points we would have finished higher up on the table today," Dahiya added.

TS Dhillon, who had been guiding the team, said that the shooters got their rifles in the eleventh hour. India is fielding a team in the full bore event for the first time at the Commonwealth Games. Their one-month training schedule in England was scrapped because they did not get their visas. Their rifles, requisitioned much in advance, landed only on September 26. "It (crossfire) happens sometimes when the shooters reload. These targets are really close to each other," Dhillon said.

Dahiya preferred to forget the embarrassing episode. "We were lying 17th at one point. So to finish where we did was good considering that we got our rifles just a week before the Games started. We were competing against shooters who have been taking part in major international events for years now," Dahiya said.

Source: Web Search

BOY TURNS MAN

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 06:52 AM

Early in his innings on Tuesday, Cheteshwar Pujara faced a ball from Ben Hilfenhaus that was similar to the one that had dismissed him in the first innings. The ball nipped in and kept threateningly low. But this time around, Pujara was ready. He wasn't out, lbw. He ensured that his feet stayed out of the way, and in fact timed the ball so well that it sped to the cover boundary. ?

Apart from his short nervous vigil at the crease in his maiden innings, and a few impressive displays in the field, which included a run-out, the first four days of his Test career had largely been uneventful for Pujara personally.

But his captain had told him on the morning of the fifth day that he would be promoted to No. 3 when India commenced their run-chase. Though the shuffling in the order presented Pujara with a great opportunity to create a serious impact in his debut Test, it was certainly accompanied with risks. A failure could easily have made it a forgettable maiden outing for him in national colours.

But there hardly seemed to be a negative strain in his system from the time he walked out to bat following Virender Sehwag's dismissal early in India's second innings. By the end of the day, the 22-year-old debutant had top-scored and starred in one of India's most comprehensive Test victories against Australia.

And after the Indian fast bowlers had polished off the remainder of Australia's tail within the first hour of play on Wednesday, India cruised to a seven-wicket win?and a 2-0 series victory at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, thanks mainly to Pujara's 89-ball 72 and his half-century partnerships with Murali Vijay and Sachin Tendulkar.

Chasing 207 on an up-and-down fifth day wicket, Sehwag was expected to be India's danger-man. And when the dashing opener edged a bouncing Hilfenhaus delivery to the wicket-keeper, it was the sight of the hometown boy Rahul Dravid that the near-capacity crowd was expecting to see walk out of the dressing-room.

Explosive start

But though there were a few eyebrows raised, when Pujara instead joined Vijay at the crease, the right-hander soon provided relief to the anxious faces, by starting off with a powerful cover-drive off Johnson. Pujara then welcomed off-spinner Nathan Hauritz by stepping down the wicket and hitting him for two boundaries in his first over.

While he has amassed runs in bucketfuls over the years in domestic cricket in front of empty stands at various venues around the country, here, every single run of Pujara's bat was received with raucous applause and wild cheering. And he seemed to be relishing the atmosphere, scoring at almost run-a-ball as he reached his thirties.

Soon, Pujara seemed to be well at home, and began combating the Australian bowlers with the same comfort with which he has those at the Ranji Trophy level. ?

At the other end, Vijay continued from where he had left off in the first innings, though he did experience a little discomfort against the uneven bounce. As Vijay departed, in came Tendulkar and in the company of Pujara completely shut the door on the demoralized Australians.

Just when Pujara looked well set to become India's latest debutant centurion, the end of his innings came in rather ungainly fashion, being bowled to a ball from Hauritz which didn't have turn.

Sachin Tendulkar then took over, hit Hauritz for two big sixes, and with Rahul Dravid bringing calm to the proceedings at the other end, took India home less than half-an-hour after the tea-break.

It is unlikely that even this performance will assure him of a place in the side for the Test series against New Zealand later this year, with VVS Laxman expected to regain fitness. But on Wednesday, Pujara ensured that he left a special mark on his long-awaited Test debut.

Source: Web Search

Fake injury earns Wizards guard Arenas a team fine

Thu, Oct 14 10 06:18 AM

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas has been fined an undisclosed amount by his team after making himself unavailable for a preseason game because of a fake injury.

The three-times All-Star claimed to be hampered by a knee injury and was replaced by Nick Young for Tuesday's home game against the Atlanta Hawks, which the Wizards won 107-92.

However, Arenas later told reporters he had pretended to be injured so that Young would gain a spot in the starting lineup.

"I talked to him (Arenas) both in front of the team and individually so we will fine him and move on," Wizards coach Flip Saunders told reporters on Wednesday.

"I said to him: 'I am most disappointed personally because I believe in you and there has been a trust factor'. I told him: 'You have to be honest with me'.

"It's just like dealing with your kids. Your kids make mistakes. You deal with the mistake and you move on."

Asked if Arenas would be suspended, Sanders replied: "No."

A nine-year NBA veteran, Arenas had been expected to play his first home game on Tuesday since being suspended for most of the 2009-10 campaign for bringing guns into the team's locker room.

Source: Published>

Liverpool sale still hangs in the balance

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 05:16 AM

The Liverpool board's attempts to sell the club hit more obstacles on Wednesday when the American owners launched a last-ditch bid to stop a sale despite a High Court judge having ruled they could not block it.

The board remained determined to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures (NESV), owners of baseball's Boston Red Sox, but while it met to discuss the details a Texas court granted the owners a temporary injuction on the sale.

Months of uncertainty appeared to be drawing to a close earlier in the day when the ruling cleared the sale of the debt-laden Premier League club and red-clad fans celebrated outside the court that they would soon have new owners.

They will have to wait, though, after American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett filed a lawsuit, claiming damages of $1.6 billion for the "epic swindle" of trying to sell the club at a knockdown price.

"The independent directors consider the restraining order to be unwarranted and damaging and will move as swiftly as possible to seek to have it removed," Liverpool said in a statement on their website (www.liverpoolfc.tv).

Before the London hearing, the board was in the process of agreeing a 300 million-pound ($477.2 million) sale to NESV ahead of an Oct. 15 deadline to repay over 200 million pounds worth of debt.

It had also received an increased 320 million-pound offer from Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, who confirmed he was still interested in the deal.

"They conspired to devise and execute a scheme to sell LFC to NESV at a price they know to be hundreds of millions of dollars below true market value (and well below Forbes magazine's recent independent $822 million valuation of the club)," a statement issued by Hicks's spokesman Mark Semer said.

'JUSTICE DONE'

Earlier in the day, fans wearing the club's red shirts and scarves had pushed with journalists to get into the tiny oak-panelled court room to hear Justice Floyd deliver his almost hour-long verdict.

The stone corridors around Court 18 were also teeming with spectators straining to hear and make sense of the judgment.

"We're delighted with the result," chairman Martin Broughton said after emerging from court, shouting over the noise of singing fans. "Justice has been done. This will clear the way for the sale."

The ownership battle engulfing one of the world's most famous sporting institutions ended up in court after Hicks and Gillett tried to sack members of the board last week in a another late bid to keep control of the club.

The judge said the pair had been guilty of the "clearest possible breach" of corporate governance rules and did not grant the pair the right to appeal although they can still go to the Court of Appeal.

NESV maintained this week that they had a binding agreement to buy the club.

"We are ready to move quickly and help create the stability and certainty which the club needs at this time," NESV said. "It is time to return the focus to the club itself and performances on the pitch."

If the repayment date with major creditor the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) had been missed, the five-times European champions could have been put into administration and docked nine points.

"This morning's announcement means that the possibility of administration is now highly unlikely and the smart money is on the deal with NESV now going through," Gerald Krasner, a partner at insolvency and recovery specialist Begbies Traynor said.

On the field, the 18-times English champions are struggling as they sit in the relegation zone and players are looking forward to turning things around on the pitch.

"It seems things are nearly sorted off the pitch so we need to start getting them right on it by getting three points at Goodison (Park) on Sunday," Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said on the club's website (www.liverpoolfc.tv) referring to the derby at Everton.

"I know how frustrated the fans have been with what has been going on and I can understand their feelings. But we've all suffered in this, especially the supporters, and now it's time for us all to pull together and help move the club forward."

Source: Web Search

India, S Africa will be remembered for hosting sport events

Thu, Oct 14 10 04:56 AM

Cape Town, Oct 14 (PTI) The year 2010 will be remembered worldwide as the one in which India and South Africa have showed that developing nations are capable of successfully organise global sporting events. Praising the South African athletes'' performance in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, government spokesman Temba Maseko said, "South African athletes have made the country proud by bringing home so many medals." Maseko, who was addressing the reporters following a cabinet meeting, also congratulated India for overcoming the odds in hosting the games. Ahead of the end of the games, South Africa had 33 medals - 12 gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze medals. South Africa is lying fifth in the medals tally behind Canada and just ahead of Nigeria (also on 33 medals, but with 10 golds) and Kenya with 28 medals. "You (sportspersons) have inspired millions of our youth to also strive to become champions," said Maseko, adding the athletics authorities also deserved praise for doing everything possible to prepare the country''s athletes for the games.

Source: Published>

Liverpool owners say they have court order to stop sale

Thu, Oct 14 10 04:16 AM

Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have been granted a temporary restraining order by a Texas court prohibiting the sale of the club to New England Sports Ventures (NESV), Hicks's spokesman said on Wednesday.

A statement said the American pair had filed a lawsuit against the club's lender Royal Bank of Scotland, Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and other board members.

The statement added that they were also also seeking $1.6 billion in damages for the "epic swindle" of trying to sell the club at a knockdown price.

Earlier in the day, the High Court in London ruled that Hicks and Gillett could no longer block the sale of the Premier League club. It was not immediately clear how the Texan restraining order affected the London ruling.

The statement from Hicks's New York-based spokesman Mark Semer came as the Liverpool board was meeting in London to discuss the sale, with NESV owner John W. Henry in attendance.

Source: Published>

Potential Liverpool owner Henry at board meeting

Thu, Oct 14 10 03:16 AM

John W. Henry, the man whose company is hoping to buy Liverpool football club, arrived at a meeting with the board on Wednesday evening after a court ruling earlier in the day cleared the way for a sale.

The American's New England Sports Ventures (NESV) agreed to buy the Premier League club for 300 million pounds ($477.2 million) last week but a legal battle between the board and current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett stalled the deal.

A High Court judge ruled on Wednesday that the owners, who had tried to block the deal by attempting to sack members of the board, could no longer stop it.

Asked how confident he felt going into the meeting, Henry replied: "Pretty confident" as television pictures showed him clutching a briefcase in each hand as he rushed through the glass doors.

The 18-times English champions have also received a 320 million-pound offer from Singapore billionaire Peter Lim and Wednesday's meeting in London is likely to end with an announcement about who will buy the club.

Henry's NESV company owns Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox and if they take over the soccer club, Liverpool fans will be hoping for a similar turnaround in their fortunes as the baseball team enjoyed following their 2002 takeover.

In 2004 the Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918 and they secured the title again in 2007.

Liverpool are sitting in the Premier League relegation zone and players are looking forward to turning things around on the pitch.

"It seems things are nearly sorted off the pitch so we need to start getting them right on it by getting three points at Goodison (Park) on Sunday," Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said on the club's website (www.liverpoolfc.tv) referring to the derby at Everton.

"I know how frustrated the fans have been with what has been going on and I can understand their feelings. But we've all suffered in this, especially the supporters, and now it's time for us all to pull together and help move the club forward."

Source: Published>

BCCI secy files criminal case against Lalit Modi

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 02:48 AM

N Srinivasan, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday filed a criminal complaint with the Chennai City police commissioner, charging former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi with criminal misappropriation worth Rs 470 crore. The amount includes Rs 425 crore on media rights, Rs 15 crore on security and Rs 29 crore on free commercial air time. Srinivasan is believed to have named six others apart from Modi in his complaint. The details were not immediately available.

Police commissioner T Rajendran told media that the central Crime Branch would investigate the case. The commissioner said Modi may be summoned before investigating officials if required and assured proper investigation as BCCI is registered in Chennai.

The charges against Modi include criminal conspiracy (IPC 120B) criminal breach of trust (IPC 405), cheating (IPC 415, 420), forgery (IPC 463), making false documents (IPC 464) and falsification of accounts (IPC 477A).

The charges made by Srinivasan in his 25-page complaint filed Wednesday morning involve the period while Modi was IPL supremo. Following a slew of allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest, BCCI had suspended Lalit Modi from his IPL post in April.

Emerging from a meeting with the police commissioner, Srinivasan said the recent BCCI AGM had unanimously decided to file a comprehensive police complaint against Modi. IPL, he added, was incorporated in Chennai.

WSG had received a whopping Rs 425 crore ($80 million) as "facilitation fee" through its Mauritius-based subsidiary from the official broadcaster of the games, Sony Multi Screen Media (MSM), in a deal that was allegedly stitched together by Lalit Modi himself.

On Sunday, BCCI had expelled two IPL teams - Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, both said to be connected to Modi - from the next edition of the popular domestic league for alleged contravention of rules. Modi is currently facing 22 charges ranging from financial irregularities to rigging bids, proxy holdings and kickbacks in broadcast deals of IPL.

In a related case, Srinivasan also complained to the police that his e-mail account and mobile phone were hacked and misused by some persons who sent text messages and e-mails to franchise owners and other stakeholders, cautioning them against siding with Modi. Srinivasan, president-elect of BCCI, also owns IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.

Source: Web Search

Prospective Liverpool owner Henry attends board meeting

Thu, Oct 14 10 01:56 AM

John W. Henry, the man whose company is hoping to buy Liverpool football club, arrived in London on Wednesday for a meeting with the board after a court ruling earlier in the day cleared the way for a sale.

The American's New England Sports Ventures (NESV) agreed to buy the Premier League club for 300 million pounds ($477.2 million) last week but a legal battle between the board and current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett stalled the deal.

A High Court judge ruled on Wednesday that the owners, who had tried to block the deal by attempting to sack members of the board, could no longer stop it.

The 18-times English champions have also received a 320 million-pound offer from Singapore billionaire Peter Lim and Wednesday's meeting in London is likely to end with an announcement about who will buy the club.

Henry, whose NESV company owns Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox, wrote earlier on his Twitter feed: "Well done (board members) Martin, Christian & Ian. Well done RBS. Well done supporters."

Source: Published>

Two share lead in MGR chess

Thu, Oct 14 10 01:26 AM

Salem (TN), Oct 13 (PTI) Mallikeswara Rao of Andhra Pradesh and S.Harini of Tamil Nadu shared the lead with 6.5 points each at the end of the 7th round of 1st MGR FIDE Rated Chess League Tournament here today. Rao shocked top seed and statemate Ramakrishna Perumalla while Harini converted her pawn up in the rook ending successfully against Savetha C H of Tamil Nadu. With three more rounds to go, the event is interestingly poised. Important results of round 7: Ramakrishna Perumalla (AP) 5.5 lost to J Malleswara (AP) Rao 6.5; Harini S (TN) 6.5 beat Savetha C H (TN) 5.5; Manigandan S S (TN) 6 beat Linda Rangarajan (PUD) 4; Aravindh Chithambaram V R (TN) 5.5 drew with Rajib Dhar (ASM) 5.

Source: Published>

CWG: India close to 100 medals, battles England for second spot

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 01:06 AM

New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) Four gold medals, including a hat-trick by boxers, took India's gold count to 36 and the overall tally to 96 on the penultimate day of the Commonwealth Games here Wednesday.

Eyeing 100 medals, India is locked in a close race with England for the second spot in the overall medal count. England has 37 gold, one more than India at the end of Wednesday's events.

India is in the running for three more gold Thursday ahead of the closing ceremony in the evening - one each from Saina Nehwal and the women's doubles team in badminton and another from men's hockey, though the Indians will be taking on world champions Australia.

India also got a silver and a bronze in shooting and one more bronze from table tennis pushing the total to 96.

India's tally stood at 36 gold, 26 silver and 34 bronze. England had 37 gold, 56 silver and 45 bronze for a total of 138. Australia led the table with 72 gold, 50 silver and 47 bronze.

The three gold from boxing arena came from Paramjit Samota'(91+ kg category), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Suranjoy Mayengbam Singh (52kg) after his Kenyan opponent gave him a walkover.

The Indian table tennis pair of Sharath Kamal and Shubhajit Saha bagged the men's doubles gold beating Singaporeans Gao Ning and Yang Zi 3-2 in a nerve-wracking final.

With the doubles win, Sharath more than made up for his singles loss to Yang earlier in the day. The Indian pair beat the Singaporeans 9-11, 12-10, 11-4, 5-11, 11-8 in the summit clash.

There was also some bad news on the athletics front where Rani Yadav failed the dope test after the 20 km walk.

Rani tested positive for banned anabolic agent 19-Norandrosterone, the Commonwealth Games Federation said. The 20-year-old, who finished sixth in the competition Saturday, has provisionally been suspended pending a hearing.

This is the third positive test of the Games, Nigerian sprinter and women's 100m champion Oludamola Osayomi, and her team-mate, the 110m hurdler Samuel Okon, being the other two. Both tested positive for using the banned stimulant Methylexaneamine.

Osayomi has been stripped of her gold medal, and all her results in the Games nullified.

Though the shooters did not win a gold Wednesday, their medal tally of 30 surpassed their Melbourne Games count of 27. However, they won 14 gold in Delhi while they had got 16 in Melbourne four years ago.

Pistol shooter Heena Sidhu missed the gold by 0.3 points and Samresh Jung settled for the bronze while Gagan Narang failed to qualify for the final of the 50 metre rifle prone individual event. Narang, however, emerged as the best shooter with four golds.

In the men's 25 metre standard pistol, Samresh won the bronze with a score of 559 while the gold went to Singapore's Bin Gai, who shot a total of 570. Trinidad and Tobago's Daniel Peter Rogers got the silver with a score of 563.

Source: Web Search

CWG results, Day 10

Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 12:28 AM

New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS)The following are the results on the tenth day of the competitions at the Commonwealth Games here Wednesday.

Shooting: Karni Singh Shooting Range

25m standard pistol men

Gold-Gai Bin (Sin); Silver-Daniel Roger Peter (Tri); Bronze-Jung Samaresh(Ind)

Pairs full bore open 1000 yards

Gold-Nzl; Silver-Sco; Bronze-Eng;

SINGLES FULL BORE OPEN Men

Gold-Patel Parag(Eng); Silver-Corbett James(Aus); Bronze-Calvert David(Nir)

Singles 50 m Rifle Prone Men Final

Gold-Hammond Jonathan(Sco); Silver-Potent Warren(Aus); Bronze-Hall Matthew(Nir)

Single Skeet Men

Gold-Brickell Richard(Eng); Silver-Achilleos Georgios(Cyp); Bronze-Chaskios Andreas(Cyp)

SINGLES 10 M AIR PISTOL WOMEN

Gold-NG Pei Chin Bibiana(MAS); Silver-Sidhu Heena(Ind); Bronze-Aspandiyarova Dina(Aus)

Squash: Siri Fort Sports complex

Women's Doubles

Gold-Nzl; Silver-Eng; Bronze-Aus

Mixed Doubles

Gold-Aus; Silver-Nzl; Bronze-Mas

Men's Doubles

Gold-Eng; Silver-Aus; Bronze-Aus

Table Tennis: Yamuna Sports Complex

Men's Doubles

Gold-Ind; Silver-Sin; Bronze-Eng

Singles Women

Gold-Sin; Silver-Sin; Bronze-Sin

Aquatics: S. P. Mukherjee Swimming Complex

DIVING

WOMEN'S 3M SPRINGBOARD

Gold-Stratton Sharleen(Aus); Silver-Abel Jennifer(Can); Bronze-Patrick Jaele(Aus)

MEN'S 10M PLATFORM

Gold-Daley Tom (Eng); Silver-Mitcham Matthew(Aus); Bronze-Lomas Bryan Nickson (Mas)

Boxing: Talkatora Stadium

Light Fly 46-49 kg

Gold-Barnes Paddy(Nir); Silver-Uutoni Jafet(Nam); Bronze-Amandeep Singh(India)

Bantam 56 kg

Gold-Wanniarachchi Manju(Sri); Silver-McGoldrick Sean(Wal); Bronze-Seoko Tirafalo(Bot)

Light 60 kg

Gold-Stalker Thomas(Eng); Silver-Taylor Josh(Sco); Bronze-Bhagwan Jai(Ind)

Welter Weight (69 kg)

Gold-Gallagher Patrick(Nir); Silver-Smith Callum(Eng); Bronze-Dilbag Singh(Ind)

Light Heavy Weight (81kg)

Gold-Johnson Callum(Sco); Silver-McCarthy Thomas(Nir); Bronze-Asare Jermaine(Wal)

Fly Weight (52kg)

Gold-Mayengbam Suranjoy(Ind); Silver-Njangiru Benson(Ken); Bronze-Iqbal Haroon(Pak)

Light Welter Weight (64kg)

Gold-Kumar Manoj(Ind); Silver-Saunders Bradley(Eng); Bronze-Knowles Valentino(Bah)

Middle Weight (75kg)

Gold-O'Kane Eamonn(Nir); Silver-Ogogo Anthony(Eng); Bronze-Harding Keiran(Wal)

Heavy Weight (91kg)

Gold-Vallily Simon(Eng); Ward Steven (Nir); Bronze-Yekeni Awusone(Gha)

Super Heavy Weight (+91 kg)

Gold-Samota Paramjeet(Ind); Silver-Abdul Haqq Tariq(Tri); Bronze-Fa Junior(Ton)

Cycling: Indira Gandhi Sports Complex

29 km Individual Time Trial Women

Gold-Whitten Tara Alice(Can); Silver-Villumsen Linda(Nzl); Bronze-Shaw Julia(Eng)

40 km Individual Time Trial Men

Gold-David Miller(Sco); Silver-Alex Dowsett(Eng); Bronze-Luke Durbridge(Aus)

Gymnastics: Indira Gandhi Sports complex

Gold-Johnston Naazmi(Aus); Silver-Trikomiti C. (Cyp); Bronze-Koon Elaine(Mas)

Hockey: Major Dhyanchand National Stadium

Women

Gold-Aus; Silver-Nzl;Bronze-Eng

Lawn Bowls: Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium

Women's Singles

Gold-Eng; Silver-Nzl; Bronze-Aus

Men's Singles

Gold-Wal; Silver-Aus; Bronze-Nir

Source: Web Search

Van Gelder pulled from Dutch team for cocaine use

Wed, Oct 13 10 11:38 PM

Former world champion Yuri van Gelder was withdrawn from the Dutch world championship team this week for using cocaine, the country's gymnastics union (KNGU) said on Wednesday.

Van Gelder, who won the world title on the rings in 2005, had returned to the sport only last month after a suspension of more than a year for cocaine use.

The KNGU said on Tuesday it had withdrawn the 27-year-old for personal medical reasons, but a statement on Wednesday said it was in the interest of the team and the sport to reveal the exact reason.

"Our agreement with him called for, among other things, that he refrains from using cocaine. Unfortunately, we have to note that Yuri relapsed in preparation for the World Cup," Jos Geukers, chairman of the Netherland's gymnastics union, said in a statement on the KNGU website (www.kgnu.nl)

Van Gelder was considered to have a good chance of a medal at the world championships in Rotterdam, which start on Saturday.

Source: Published>

Indian boxers, table tennis players win four more Gold Medals on Day-10 of Commonwealth Games

Published>Wed, Oct 13 10 11:22 PM

New Delhi, Oct.13 (ANI): Indian players continued their winning streak with the pugilists winning three Gold medals and the Indian Table Tennis team winning a historic Gold medal for the first time in the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.

In the evening, India's Achanta Sharath Kamal and Subhajit Saha won men's doubles Gold in table tennis event to give India its 33rd yellow metal of the Games.

Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal and former national champion Subhajit Saha ensured that table tennis event contributed a gold to India's medal tally in Commonwealth Games, by overcoming Singaporeans Gao Ning and Yang Zi 3-2 in the men's doubles final.

Though Achanta Sharath Kamal's dreams of defending his singles title could not be fulfilled after a narrow 3-4 semi-final loss to Singapore's Yang Zi, he joined hands with compatriot Subhajit Saha to enter and win the men's doubles final .

By winning 33rd Gold in the Men's doubles event of Table Tennis, India has regained the second position in the medal tally at the ongoing Commonwealth Games and pushed England to the third position.

Later, it was the turn of Indian pugilists who contributed three Gold medals in different bouts in a short span of 30 minutes on Wednesday evening.

Boxer Paramjeet Samota bagged 36th Gold Medal for the country by defeating the Trinidad and Tobago's Abdul Haq Tariq in the Super Heavyweight category of the event.

Paramjeet registered a convincing win over his Republic of Trinidad and Tobago counterpart in the bout with 5-1 score in the 91-kg category.

The other two Gold medals in boxing came through Manoj Kumar and Suranjoy Singh.

While Indian pugilist Manoj Kumar registered a thumping win over England's Brandley Saunders with a score of 11-2 in the 64-kg category of the match, the other Indian boxer Suranjoy Singh was declared winner by walkover!

Manoj Kumar bagged 35th Gold that helped India firmly positioned on the second place in the medal tally of Games, ahead of England which had 32 Gold medals by that time of the evening.

Twenty four-year-old Suranjoy won the 34th Gold medal in the flyweight category after his opponent Kenyan player Benson Njangiru failed to show up in the ring.

He kept waiting in the ring for five minutes but with no sign of Kenya's Benson Njangiru, the referee declared the Suranjoy as the winner.

Suranjoy, who works for the Indian Navy, went into the fight as firm favourite.

However, India suffered a setback today due in doping case.

Women's 20km road race walker Rani Yadav became the first Indian to fail the dope test in the Commonwealth Games here to bring a pall of gloom into the home country's camp which was celebrating great show in track and field events and men's hockey.

Yadav, who finished sixth in 1 hour, 42 minutes, 54 seconds in the 20km walk held on October 9 on Central Delhi streets, tested positive for prohibited anabolic agent 19-Norandrosterone.

In Shooting, India's Heena Sidhu won Silver in Women's 10m air pistol, missing the Gold by a whisker.

India's Samaresh Jung won Bronze in the 25m men's standard pistol to take India's total medal count at Delhi CWG to 90.

Meanwhile, India table tennis team's win came in front of a VVIP visitor in the audience. The Commonwealth Games Federation chief Michael Fennell today took some time off to watch the semifinal table tennis match between Sharath Achanta Kamal and Singapore's Yang Zi .

Clad in a light blue half-sleeve shirt and a black trouser, Fennell took his seat amid the spectators as Sharath led 1-0 after the first game in the second semifinal of the men's single at the Yamuna Sport Complex here.

Everytime Sharath scored a point, the crowd burst into a cresendo with continuous clapping and whistling, while a missed point was followed by a slogans of "come on India" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".

By late evening on Wednesday, India's total medal tally read 96 medals; 36 Gold, 26 Silver, and 34 Bronze.

India is all set to take its total medal tally to 100 on Thursday. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Malaysia''s Hing in quarter-finals

Wed, Oct 13 10 10:58 PM

Mumbai, Oct 13 (PTI) Fourth seed Choong Kam Hing of Malaysia announced his arrival with an exciting 3-1 win to advance to the Men''s Open quarter-finals in the 35th Bombay Gymkhana-HSBC Maharashtra State Open Squash Championship here today. Adding foreign flavour to the competition, Hing warmed up in Mumbai''s humidity with a comfortable 2-0 lead and went on to overcome Gary Nitschke of Australia 11-1, 11-2, 7-11, 13-11. Nitschke came up with a late challenge and snatched a close third game to keep his hopes alive, before losing the crucial fourth and the match over extra points. Hing''s effort overshadowed Capt Arjun Agnihotri''s thrilling 3-2 win over former National champion Manish Chotrani who surprised the armyman with a 2-0 and a late challenge in another pre-quarter-final. Impressing among the juniors were Dev Vazirani of Otters Club and Vikas Mehra who registered exciting 3-2 wins to enter the boys under-13 quarter-finals, while Aditya Khatri beat Aryaman Adik 19-17, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6 in a quality contest to advance to the boys under-15 quarter-finals.

Source: Published>

Boxers, paddlers keep India in hunt for second spot

Wed, Oct 13 10 10:52 PM

New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Indian boxers redeemed some reputation by winning all three gold medals they fought for while a fourth gold came the hosts'' way in men''s table tennis doubles on the penultimate day as a dope scandal rocked their on-field achievements at the Commonwealth Games here today. Boxers Suranjoy Singh (52kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) garnered gold medals in the ring to make up some ground for the generally disappointing show of Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh, Akhil Kumar and Jai Bhagwan. Achanta Sharath Kamal and Subhajit Saha had earlier bagged the men''s doubles table tennis gold. These four gold medals kept India alive in the red-hot fight with England for number two spot and looked all set to go to the wire on the concluding day tomorrow. India, who also won a silver medal and two bronze medals, took their gold medal tally to 36 that put them one rung below England (37) who were occupying the second spot behind Australia (72). India''s overall medal tally read 36-26-34, England had 37-56-45, while Australia were way ahead with 72-49-47. The hosts are looking ahead to more gold medals from woman shuttler and top seed Saina Nehwal, no 2 doubles pair Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa and their men''s hockey team who are taking on mighty Australia, the world and defending champions, tomorrow. The day opened with the shocking revelation that 20km woman walker Rani Yadav had tested positive for prohibited anabolic agent 19-Norandrosterone to deflate the euphoria surrounding the contingent after yesterday''s stellar show in athletics and men''s hockey. Rani, who finished sixth in 1 hour, 42 minutes, 54 seconds in the 20km walk held on October 9 on Central Delhi streets, was provisionally suspended and a hearing was scheduled later in the day. Even as India were recovering from the dope scandal, England sneaked past them in the medals table to stand second behind Australia. The pall of gloom surrounding the Indian camp following this unsavoury development lifted a bit when Kamal and Saha clinched the men''s pairs table tennis gold. The duo shocked Singapore''s Gao Ning and Yang Zi 4-3 in the final. The victory was also sweet revenge for Kamal whose dreams of defending his singles title were shattered by Zi who had scored a 4-3 semi-final win over the Indian. The Indian duo had despatched Andrew Baggaley and L Pitchford of England 3-2 in the semi-finals. Kamal would fight it out with compatriot Soumyadeeep Roy for the men''s singles bronze medal tomorrow. The latter was beaten 4-0 by Ning in the other semi-final. .

Source: Published>

Tendulkar jumps to top spot in the ICC Test ranking

Wed, Oct 13 10 10:36 PM

Dubai, Oct 13 (PTI) Sachin Tendukar today reclaimed the number one position in the Test rankings, following his stupendous show with the bat in the just concluded Test series against Australia. Tendulkar was the highest run-getter with 403 runs in the two-match series, which India won 2-0. Tendulkar also scored his sixth double hundred and was adjudged Man-of-the-series. The Indian batting legend has now 891 points, according to the ICC ranking table on its website. Virender Sehwag is the next best Indian at number three with 819 points, behind Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara (874). PTI AT

Source: Published>

England win men''s doubles, gold for NZ women

Wed, Oct 13 10 10:26 PM

Sabi Hussain New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Top seeds Nick Matthew and Adrian Grant of England won the men''s doubles gold in squash beating Australia''s Stewart Boswell and David Palmer in the ongoing Commonwealth Games here today. Grant and world No. 2 Matthew, who had won his maiden singles gold last week, took a little more than two hours to complete a 11-9 6-11 11-5 win over the second-seeded Australians at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here. The English pair raced to a five-point lead in the first game, showing a certain level of class in their approach and execution of shots and dead drops for winners. But the Australians soon closed the gap and levelled the score at 9-9. Maintaining their level of concentration, the English duo displayed some of their famouse dead drop winners to take the first game in 50 minutes. The second game saw the Australian pair opening up a 7-2 lead and engage in some fiery exchange of rallies. Grant and Matthew pulled the scores back to 9-6, but Australia closed out the game in 43 minutes. The third game saw England opening up a 4-1 lead, this time before Palmer clashed with Matthew and hurt his right elbow. After some ice treatment, the Australian returned to court only to see the Matthew-Grant pair extending their lead to 6-2, and then to 9-4. Matthew then came up with one his famed dead drop winners to clinch the yellow metal for England. "It''s a special feeling for me. Winning a Commonwealth gold is something which can''t be described in words. We both played some great squash today and the result is in front of you," said an excited Matthew. "I am speechless," said the left-handed Grant after winning his maiden medal. "I wanted to give him the chance to get a second gold medal and I did just that," he added. Matthew, who was not well last month, and Grant were expected to retain the men''s doubles gold for England -- Peter Nicol and Lee Beachill had won the title for the second time in a row in 2006. "Winning a second gold is incredible. What Peter Nicol achieved last time was massive," said the 30-year-old Matthew. Australia''s Palmer said, "We put a lot of effort today but that did not prove sufficient. We both played pretty well in the first and second game, but lost momentum in the third. The English pair was pretty aggressive and they showed it. At last, I had expected something yellow (gold). Meanwhile, in the bronze medal play-off, Australia''s Ryan Cuskelly and Cameron Pilley defeated the Scottish pair of Alan Clyne and Harry Leitch 11-5 11-7 in 52 minutes. MORE SHN AH

Source: Published>

Boxers, paddlers keep India in hunt for second spot

Wed, Oct 13 10 10:22 PM

New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Indian boxers redeemed some reputation by winning all three gold medals they fought for while a fourth gold came the hosts'' way in men''s table tennis doubles on the penultimate day as a dope scandal rocked their on-field achievements at the Commonwealth Games here today. Boxers Suranjoy Singh (52kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) garnered gold medals in the ring to make up some ground for the generally disappointing show of Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh, Akhil Kumar and Jai Bhagwan. Achanta Sharath Kamal and Subhajit Saha had earlier bagged the men''s doubles table tennis gold. These four gold medals kept India alive in the red-hot fight with England for number two spot and looked all set to go to the wire on the concluding day tomorrow. India, who also won a silver medal and two bronze medals, took their gold medal tally to 36 that put them one rung below England (37) who were occupying the second spot behind Australia (72). India''s overall medal tally read 36-26-34, England had 37-56-45, while Australia were way ahead with 72-49-47. The hosts are looking ahead to more gold medals from woman shuttler and top seed Saina Nehwal, no 2 doubles pair Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa and their men''s hockey team who are taking on mighty Australia, the world and defending champions, tomorrow. The day opened with the shocking revelation that 20km woman walker Rani Yadav had tested positive for prohibited anabolic agent 19-Norandrosterone to deflate the euphoria surrounding the contingent after yesterday''s stellar show in athletics and men''s hockey. Rani, who finished sixth in 1 hour, 42 minutes, 54 seconds in the 20km walk held on October 9 on Central Delhi streets, was provisionally suspended and a hearing was scheduled later in the day. Even as India were recovering from the dope scandal, England sneaked past them in the medals table to stand second behind Australia. The pall of gloom surrounding the Indian camp following this unsavoury development lifted a bit when Kamal and Saha clinched the men''s pairs table tennis gold. The duo shocked Singapore''s Gao Ning and Yang Zi 4-3 in the final. The victory was also sweet revenge for Kamal whose dreams of defending his singles title were shattered by Zi who had scored a 4-3 semi-final win over the Indian. The Indian duo had despatched Andrew Baggaley and L Pitchford of England 3-2 in the semi-finals. Kamal would fight it out with compatriot Soumyadeeep Roy for the men''s singles bronze medal tomorrow. The latter was beaten 4-0 by Ning in the other semi-final. .

Source: Published>

Manmohan Singh to watch Commonwealth Games Hockey final

Published>Wed, Oct 13 10 10:08 PM

New Delhi, Oct.13 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is expected to visit Major Dhyanchand stadium to watch the final match of Men's Hockey event to be played between India and world champion Australia here on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Indian hockey team won millions of hearts with its game.

India turned the tables against England with a superb show, as the team rallied from two goals down to beat England 5-4 in the penalty shoot-out and booked a berth in the final of the men's hockey tournament of the Commmonwealth Games.

India and England teams leveled 3-3 at the end of 70 minutes full-time and 15 minutes extra time. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Bangalore trip to delay CWG medallist''s welcome in Nashik

Wed, Oct 13 10 09:56 PM

Nashik, Oct 13 (PTI) The grand welcome which awaits Kavita Raut, who won India''s first medal in athletics in the Commonwealth Games, in Nashik will have to wait as she will directly head to Bangalore from Delhi to prepare for the upcoming Asian Games in China. The bronze medal winner in women''s 10,000m race will join a national athletics camp in Bangalore to prepare for the Guangzhou Games, which is her next target after the Commonwealth Games glory, her coach Vijendra Singh told reporters here. Kavita''s stint in Bangalore is likely to delay her arrival in Nashik, where a grand welcome awaits her, he said. It was Singh, who spotted Raut, who was born to a poor family in a village in Nashik and faced a tough childhood before gaining stardom with her performance in the CWG games. He brought her to Nashik and ensured that she received proper training. Once she had shown glimpses of her talent, some medical practitioners came forward with financial help, which helped her to participate in various competitions, Singh said. Meanwhile, Kavita''s father Ramdaus Raut said his daughter is dreaming of buying a house in the city. City-based Bhujbal foundation has declared a cash prize of Rs five lakh to the Kavita Adivasi Development Corporation. Besides, the state government has also announced cash prizes to Kavita for her success in the Commonwealth Games.

Source: Published>

TIMELINE - Ownership battle at Liverpool nearing end

Wed, Oct 13 10 09:38 PM

REUTERS - Premier League side Liverpool inched closer to a sale on Wednesday after a High Court judge ruled against their unpopular American owners and backed the club's board and its right to negotiate a deal.

Here is a timeline on its ownership troubles:

Feb. 2007 - U.S. sports tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks pledge to keep Liverpool true to tradition after agreeing to pay 218.9 million pounds ($347.5 million) to takeover the Premier League football club.

-- Billionaire Hicks is the owner of the Texas Rangers major league baseball team and the Dallas Stars NHL franchise, while Gillett owns NHL's Montreal Canadiens.

March 2008 - Takeover talks involving Hicks and Dubai International Capital (DIC) are terminated amid disagreement over who should be running the club.

-- DIC, which made a 400 million pounds ($807.6 million) bid for Liverpool, say it is "in advanced discussions" with Liverpool's co-owners although no agreement was on price or shareholding percentage.

Sept. 2008 - DIC rules out a fresh bid for Liverpool.

April 16, 2010 - Liverpool goes up for sale. Hicks and Gillett appoint Barclays Capital to find a buyer.

-- Hicks and Gillett say in a joint statement that being owners of Liverpool for the past three years had been a "rewarding and exciting" experience.

Aug. 10 - Royal Bank of Scotland is supporting the club's sale by offering financing to potential buyers, banking sources say.

-- Creditors originally asked Liverpool's two owners to pay down 100 million pounds ($157.5 million) of its debt of around 250 million pounds. The two could not make the payment and the debt financing was amended and extended "at least six times" since 2008 before the club was put up for sale in April.

-- Several Middle Eastern buyers expressed interest but the owners could not agree a purchase price, the bankers say.

Oct. 5 - Hicks and Gillett seek to remove managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre from the Board, replacing them with Mack Hicks and Lori Kay McCutcheon.

-- A statement from Hicks and Gillett says offers "dramatically undervalue the Club" but they are committed to finding a buyer that would sustain the future of Liverpool.

Oct. 6 - Liverpool's board agrees to sell the club to the owners of baseball's Boston Red Sox. The Premier League club say they have accepted a 300 million pounds ($477.6 million) offer from New England Sports Ventures (NESV) ahead of an Oct. 15 deadline to repay over 200 million pounds worth of debt. However the deal is being complicated because they are facing a legal challenge from Hicks and Gillett.

Oct. 8 - NESV are cleared to continue their proposed takeover of Liverpool by the Premier League.

Oct. 12 - Lawyers for Hicks and Gillett admit they have breached their contracts with RBS when they tried to sack board members in a final bid to keep control of the club.

-- Singapore billionaire Peter Lim makes a cash bid for the club of 320 million pounds which tops NESV. Lim says he will also make a further 40 million pounds available for manager Roy Hodgson to purchase players.

Oct. 13 - British court backs RBS and rules against Hicks and Gillett, backing the club's board and its right to negotiate a deal.

-- NESV welcomes the High Court decision and says it had a binding agreement to buy the club. Peter Lim says he hopes the board will consider all the offers before them.

Source: Published>

Protest outside OC headquarters

Wed, Oct 13 10 09:26 PM

New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Hundreds of angry ticket seekers today chanted slogans against Organsing Committee, forcing authorities to strengthen security arrangements at the OC headquarters here today. As the crowd build up late in the evening, armed policemen surrounded the main gate and denied entry to even accredited personnel into the building. The crowd chanted slogans like ''OC Hai Hai'' and even threw away the food packets. The crowd which included a host of volunteers were angry that they were denied entry into the building to procure tickets for tomorrow''s closing ceremony. There were scenes of scuffles and OC officials, who were coming out were being abused by the irate mob. None of the top OC officials, including chairman Suresh Kalmadi, came to the office till late this evening. Most of the OC officials were not reachable on their mobile and many who had to collect tickets for closing ceremony could not do so because the person assigned with the task did not turn up at all. The demand for closing ceremony tickets have gone up very much after the spectacular opening ceremony on October 3. The opening ceremony came for high praise by both the Indian and international media. Those OC official inside the building left instructions to not let anyone enter the building in view of the situation which was threatening to go out of hands in the evening. PTI MRM AT

Source: Published>

Southern Railway to honour athletes

Wed, Oct 13 10 09:18 PM

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 13 (PTI) The Southern Railway would honour athletes Sini Jose and P K Priya, who won medals for the country in the ongoing Commonwealth Games. The 4X400 m relay team, comprising Sini Jose and others had clinched gold, while the 4X100 m relay team with P K Priya as member won the bronze at the Games yesterday. Sini is working as a Ticket Examiner in Ernakulam while Priya is with the operating department at Kollam. Resmi Bose, Joseph Abraham, Prince HS Hylin and Dayala Ram Saran, working with the Thiruvananthapuram Division, have also participated in the Games events. The team members belonging to the Division would be suitably honoured on their arrival, a Railway press release here said. The Railway Sports Promotion Board, New Delhi, has already announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh to the gold medallist, the release said.

Source: Published>

WB Govt to felicitate CWG medallists from the state

Wed, Oct 13 10 09:08 PM

Kolkata, Oct 13 (PTI) The West Bengal Government would felicitate the 10 Commonwealth Games medallists from the state and award them with Rs 5 lakh for Gold, Rs 3 lakh for Silver and Rs 2 lakh for Bronze, Sports Minister Kanti Ganguly said here today. "However, the date for the felicitation is yet to be finalised. Anyway, it will be arranged before November 14", Ganguly said. Para-swimmer Prasanta Karmakar, who won a bronze medal in the 50 m freestyle in the CWG, would also be felicitated. Karmakar, whose right hand is amputated below the wrist following a mishap, had shifted base from Bengal to Haryana after he was allegedly ignored and ill-treated by his home state.

Source: Published>

CWG: India bag two Gold medals in boxing; Suranjoy wins by walkover

Published>Wed, Oct 13 10 08:58 PM

New Delhi, Oct.13 (ANI): India won two Gold medals in the boxing competition of the ongoing 2010 Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday evening.

While Indian pugilist Manoj Kumar registered a thumping win over England's Brandley Saunders with a score of 11-2 in the 64-kg category of the match, the other Indian boxer Suranjoy Singh was declared winner by walkover!

Manoj Kumar bagged 35th Gold that helped India firmly positioned on the second place in the medal tally of Games, ahead of England which has 32 Gold medals.

Twenty four-year-old Suranjoy won the 34th Gold medal in the flyweight category after his opponent Kenyan player Benson Njangiru failed to show up in the ring.

He kept waiting in the ring for five minutes but with no sign of Kenya's Benson Njangiru, the referee declared the Suranjoy as the winner.

Suranjoy, who works for the Indian Navy, went into the fight as firm favourite.

Just a short while ago, by winning 33rd Gold in the Men's double event of Table Tennis, India had pulled itself back to second position in the medal tally at the ongoing C'wealth Games and pushed England to third position.

But two Gold medals won in quick succession, just after success in the Table Tennis, strengthened India position in the medal tally.

England had 32 Gold, 54 Silver, and 42 Bronze medals in its total medal tally of 128 medals on Wednesday evening.

While India's total medal tally risen to 94 medals; 35 Gold, 26 Silver, and 33 Bronze medals on Wednesday evening. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

2011 World Cup Trophy unveiled in Mumbai

Wed, Oct 13 10 08:52 PM

Mumbai, Oct 13 (PTI) Former Test cricketer Syed Kirmani unveiled the 2011 ODI World Cup Trophy here today and hoped Team India will end the 28-year-old wait and win it next year. Kirmani, a member of the 1983 World Cup winning Indian squad, recalled the triumph of the Kapil Dev-led side and said the country''s win taught the cricketing fraternity that any team could humble the world champions on its day. Wishing good luck to the Indian team for the event beginning in February, he said, "The performance this year is a good omen. We had been waiting for 28 years to win the World Cup. Hopefully, this will happen in 2011 and Sachin Tendulkar''s dream to win the World Cup in his career is fulfilled." The ex-stumper praised Team India for its emphatic win over Australia in Bangalore, and said the Test showed the five-day game still had the capacity to attract spectators. "It was an excellent performance. Everyone, in fact, you people (media) had said Test cricket should not be played. It will dim. Now see what sort of results are coming out. Two days ago, everyone felt it (Bangalore Test) was going to be a draw. But now you see what has happened." Terming the win as "historic", Kirmani said it was good to see youngsters contributing in the team''s victory. Singling out Tendulkar for praise, he described the batting maestro as a "legendary cricketer". "Whenever he bats, he makes history or crosses some milestones. Hopefully, he will make some unbreakable records." PTI VKV RSY

Source: Published>

CWG: India bag two Gold medals in boxing; Suranjoy wins by walkover

Published>Wed, Oct 13 10 08:38 PM

New Delhi, Oct.13 (ANI): India won two Gold medals in the boxing competition of the ongoing 2010 Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday evening.

While Indian pugilist Manoj Kumar registered a thumping win over England's Brandley Saunders with a score of 11-2 in the 64-kg category of the match, the other Indian boxer Suranjoy Singh was declared winner by walkover!

Manoj Kumar bagged 35th Gold that helped India firmly positioned on the second place in the medal tally of Games, ahead of England which has 32 Gold medals.

Twenty four-year-old Suranjoy won the 34th Gold medal in the flyweight category after his opponent Kenyan player Benson Njangiru failed to show up in the ring.

He kept waiting in the ring for five minutes but with no sign of Kenya's Benson Njangiru, the referee declared the Suranjoy as the winner.

Suranjoy, who works for the Indian Navy, went into the fight as firm favourite.

Just a short while ago, by winning 33rd Gold in the Men's double event of Table Tennis, India had pulled itself back to second position in the medal tally at the ongoing C'wealth Games and pushed England to third position.

But two Gold medals won in quick succession, just after success in the Table Tennis, strengthened India position in the medal tally.

England had 32 Gold, 54 Silver, and 42 Bronze medals in its total medal tally of 128 medals on Wednesday evening.

While India's total medal tally risen to 94 medals; 35 Gold, 26 Silver, and 33 Bronze medals on Wednesday evening. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Zardari happy at ICC clean chit to Oval ODI

Wed, Oct 13 10 08:28 PM

Karachi, Oct 13 (PTI) President Asif Zardari today said he is pleased that the International Cricket Council has cleared the England-Pakistan Oval ODI from fixing charges. The ICC today said after its executive board meeting in Dubai that there was no "compelling evidence" into allegations that the Oval ODI between England and Pakistan was fixed. "The President is pleased that that no evidence had been found to substantiate allegations of match fixing in the one day international cricket match," Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said. The match, that Pakistan won by 24 runs, was investigating after British tabloid ''The Sun'' provided some information to the world governing body. Zardari in his statement also congratulated the Chairman of the PCB and the national team players. Babar said the ICC finding had also vindicated the position taken by the President from the very beginning that no action can be taken until the inquiry was completed. "It is a reminder that one should neither rush to judgements nor yield to pressure for taking swift and thoughtless actions against anyone without due process and without fair and independent investigations," Babar said in the statement on behalf of the President. The ICC investigation into the match had led to a serious dispute between the Pakistan and English cricket boards after PCB chief Ijaz Butt had said that he heard reports from bookmakers that English players too were involved in fixing matches. The ECB shot a letter to the PCB on behalf of its players asking Butt to either submit an unconditional apology or he would be sued by them. Butt while visiting London recently in a dramatic U-turn withdrew his statement and also released a statement in which he reiterated that the PCB had no evidence of any English player being involved in fixing and said his statement had been misunderstood. Butt has been facing lot of criticism for his handling of cricket affairs but the President apparently still continues to back him.

Source: Published>

Liverpool move closer to a sale with court win

Published>Wed, Oct 13 10 08:16 PM

The board of Premier League side Liverpool will meet later on Wednesday to discuss a sale after a High Court judge told a crammed court full of fans, media and lawyers that the American owners could no longer block a deal.

The board has at least two offers to consider following the ruling which makes the alternative prospect of going into administration less likely.

The ruling, which paves the way for a sale of the highly indebted club, was greeted with relief by delighted fans who jostled with photographers outside court to thank the board and their barristers on the steps of the famous building.

Earlier fans wearing the club's red shirts and scarves had pushed with journalists to get into the tiny oak-panelled court room to hear Justice Floyd deliver his almost hour-long verdict.

The narrow stone corridors around Court 18 were also teeming with spectators straining to hear and make sense of the judgment.

"We're delighted with the result," chairman Martin Broughton said after emerging from court, shouting over the noise of singing fans. "Justice has been done. This will clear the way for the sale."

The ownership battle engulfing one of the world's most famous sporting institutions ended up in court after owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett tried to sack members of the board last week in a last ditch bid to keep control of the club.

The board were in the process of agreeing a 300 million pound ($477.2 million) sale to New England Sports Ventures (NESV), the owner of the Boston Red Sox, ahead of an Oct. 15 deadline to repay over 200 million pounds worth of debt.

It has since also received an increased 320 million pound offer from Singapore billionaire Peter Lim.

BRIGHTER FUTURE

The ruling means the future now looks much brighter for Liverpool, England's most successful soccer domestic team, as they look to negotiate a deal ahead of Friday's deadline.

Lim said he welcomed the court decision and urged the board to consider all sale options, while NESV pointed out that they had a binding agreement to buy the club.

"We are ready to move quickly and help create the stability and certainty which the club needs at this time," NESV said. "It is time to return the focus to the club itself and performances on the pitch."

Broughton said outside court that they would now take legal advice when asked if the club had a duty to consider other bids that may be higher.

If the repayment date with major creditor the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) had been missed, the five-time European champions could have been put into administration and docked 9 points.

"This morning's announcement means that the possibility of administration is now highly unlikely and the smart money is on the deal with NESV now going through," Gerald Krasner, a partner at insolvency and recovery specialist Begbies Traynor said.

The judge did not grant the pair the right to appeal although they can still go to the Court of Appeal.

Lawyers for Hicks and Gillett admitted on Tuesday that they had breached their contract with RBS by trying to sack board members but said they had been forced into such drastic action because the board had excluded them and would not consider alternative offers.

The judge said he rejected this argument and said the owners did not have an absolute right to veto a sale. He said the pair had been guilty of the "clearest possible breach" of corporate governance rules.

He also rejected their bid to halt the sale negotiations because he said the club's current situation was "highly unsatisfactory" and needed to be resolved urgently.

"I am not prepared to grant any relief," he said. "If I did it would risk stopping the sale."

Hicks and Gillett will now be invited to attend a board meeting later on Wednesday to discuss a sale. Lawyers for the two men had told the court they accepted a sale was likely but said they had been looking for more time to get a better offer.

John Henry of the NESV consortium, celebrated the result and said through his Twitter account: "Well done (board members) Martin, Christian & Ian. Well done RBS. Well done supporters!"

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