Published>Sun, Nov 14 10 01:17 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 14 (IANS) Pankaj Advani won the first gold for India as he beat Myanmar's OO Nay Thway Oo 3-2 in the English billiards singles final at the Asian Games here Sunday.
Advani successfully defended his title that he won in Doha four years ago, edging Thway 33-100, 100-61, 12-101, 101-4, 100-45.
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Published>Sun, Nov 14 10 01:07 PM
London, Nov.14 (ANI): England batsman Kevin Pietersen's poor form since his last Test hundred in March 2009 has been unfathomable to connoisseurs of the sport. From being regarded as the team's most talented batsman, KP has stuttered and stalled, lost panache at the crease, and has been painful to watch, but now he is relishing the prospect of making a change against the old enemy-Australia.
Pietersen has accepted this and is remarkably candid about his lack in confidence.
Towards the end of a long English season, Pietersen was kicking his heels as his team-mates edged a dramatic one-day series victory over Pakistan. He raged about the situation on Twitter only to be disciplined and fined.
"I was mortified, absolutely mortified. It was one of the things that hurt me most about anything." The message was, he maintains, supposed to be sent privately to a friend, but he posted it publicly by accident, a plausible error.
The first sign of trouble, he says, was a slew of quizzical responses from friends.
Mistake or not, that accidental tweet did offer a heartening glimpse at KP's pride and motivation.
Pietersen says unfazed by the negative coverage of his Hampshire departure.
Pietersen told the Guardian that a spell away from the England dressing room, analysing his own playing, has been beneficial and "very refreshing".
He says that he has found things he needs to fix?
"Technically no, mentally yes. It's the standards that I've set that probably haven't helped me, unfortunately." Then, with unexpected humility: "But I'll get back there, hopefully."
The hope of English cricket fans is that this will happen in time for the first Ashes Test, which starts in Brisbane in 10 days' time.
"I think we're more of a team and we all want each other to do well," he says, decisively. (ANI)
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Sun, Nov 14 10 12:57 PM
The early loss of Sachin Tendulkar on day three compelled India to take a cautious approach as the hosts made slow progress in their first innings in the second test against New Zealand on Sunday.
Rahul Dravid (33) and Vangipurappu Laxman (31) took India to 237 for three wickets at lunch, as the hosts trailed by 113 runs in reply to the visitors' first innings total of 350.
India managed only 59 runs from 30 overs in the opening session at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium against some disciplined bowling and inspired fielding from New Zealand.
Dravid and Laxman added 53 runs in an unbroken fourth wicket partnership after Tendulkar fell in the fifth over of the day to New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori. Tendulkar tried to break the shackles, imposed on him by some fine swing bowling by paceman Chris Martin, by dancing down the wicket to Vettori but only managed to get a thick edge. Ross Taylor at slip took a smart one-handed catch.
The three-match series is tied at 0-0 after the opening test was drawn in Ahmedabad. The third and final test will be played in Nagpur from Nov. 20-24.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 11:26 PM 0 comments
Sun, Nov 14 10 09:07 AM
Karachi, Nov 14 (PTI) International Cricket Council CEO Haroon Lorgat has advised the three suspended Pakistani players and their lawyers not to mix the hearings of the ICC tribunals held last month and one scheduled in January. Asked about the reservations shown by the lawyers of Salman Butt and Muhammad Aamir over the fact that the Chairman of the ICC code of conduct commission, Michael Beloff would supervise the tribunal hearing in January being held to look into charges against the suspended trio, Lorgat said they were separate things. The lawyers have raised concerns over the presence of Beloff pointing out that he has already supervised the hearing of the appellate tribunal held in October and dismissed the appeals of the players. Lorgat told Geo News in Dubai that the outcome of the appeal hearing would have no bearing on the hearing scheduled in January. "The appeals hearing was held to see whether the provisional suspensions on the players were justified. It had no relevance to the charges against them," he said. "In the tribunal hearing in January the tribunal will determine whether the charges brought against the players have substance or not. It will decide if the players are guilty or not of violating the ACU code of conduct," Lorgat explained. He insisted there should be no concern from anyone as under the ICC code of conduct commission rules, its Chairman had to sit in tribunal hearings. The ICC tribunal comprises of Michael Beloff (England), Justice Albie Sachs (SouthAfrica) and Sharad Rao (Kenya) and it will meet in Doha between January 6-11 to decide on charges of alleged breaches of the ICC anti-corruption code by the three cricketers. Tafazzul Rizvi the legal advisor of the Pakistan Cricket Board also advised the players and their lawyers not to spoil their own cases with their statements against the ICC. One of the lawyer''s for Salman Butt, Aftab Gul who played six tests said yesterday he saw no purpose of representing Salman in the ICC tribunal hearing because the ICC had already decided what to do. But Tafazzul said the objection over Beloff was not justified. "The ICC is acting strictly under its given code of conduct rules and Beloff''s appointment on the tribunal is in line with the rules of the house," Rizvi said. "If the lawyers had any objection to the ICC proceedings why didn''t they object during the appeals hearing why raise objections now," he questioned.
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Published>Sun, Nov 14 10 08:57 AM
Former Brazil striker Ronaldo proved his worth by winning and converting a penalty three minutes from time to give Corinthians a 1-0 win over title rivals Cruzeiro on Saturday.
Corinthians' home victory in Sao Paulo put them top of the Brazilian championship standings on 63 points with three matches to go.
They are two points ahead of Fluminense, who face lowly Goias on Sunday, and three in front of Cruzeiro.
Ronaldo, 34, chased a lofted ball into the box and was brought down by defender Gil three minutes from time. Cruzeiro players protested in vain and Gil was sent off for a second yellow card.
Cruzeiro striker Thiago Ribeiro told reporters the penalty decision smacked of favouritism for the big name clubs.
"You can already give our players their holidays. You may as well give the title to Corinthians or Fluminense," he said tongue in cheek. "It's the Rio-Sao Paulo axis."
Ronaldo, who began his career at Cruzeiro, said there was nothing wrong with the decision.
"I was hit hard from behind right after controlling the ball with my chest. I don't think there was any doubt it was a penalty," he said.
"Cruzeiro have an excellent, attacking team with fast players. I think we got this win with guts and stature."
Struggling champions Flamengo were thumped 4-1 away by Atletico Mineiro and were sucked back into the battle to avoid relegation.
Former Flamengo strikers Obina and Diego Tardelli and midfielder Diego Renan, twice, scored the goals that lifted Mineiro out of the relegation zone for the first time in months.
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Published>Sun, Nov 14 10 08:37 AM
Indian fury at China's refusal to clear their horses for competition threatened to sour the hosts' celebrations as they hoarded 19 out of 28 golds on day one of competition at the Guangzhou Asian Games on Saturday.
The Indian equestrian federation had planned to bring eight horses to the events starting in the southern Chinese city on Sunday, but accused China's quarantine authority of discrimination and personal agendas after the horses were rejected for failing a veterinary test.
"Indian horses are fit and healthy for participation at 16th Asian Games," India's equestrian federation said in a statement.
"It is because of reasons other than the veterinary ... and deliberate misinterpretation of lab reports, biased and malicious approach on the part of (quarantine authority) AQSIQ China that all of the eight horses have not been given permits for entry in Guangzhou."
Guangzhou's quarantine authority was unavailable for comment, while two organising officials for the equestrian tournament said they were unaware of the decision.
The sport's world governing body, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), said it had urged the Chinese authorities to clear the horses but said the issue was now a "government to government" matter.
"We regret that any country would not be able to compete in an international equestrian event ... It's absolutely not ideal that it's come at the 11th hour," Graeme Cooke, the director of the FEI's veterinary department, told Reuters.
DANCE PANACHE
The feud overshadowed a stellar day for the hosts.
China swept all five golds in the first of two days of dance sports, displaying a panache for the cha cha cha, waltz and foxtrot at odds with stereotypes of intense Chinese athletes.
The hosts kicked off their gold rush early, notching the day's first title in Wushu, the gymnastic native martial art, as Bruce Lee fan and two-time world champion Yuan Xiaochao defended his Doha gold in the Changquan or "long fist" routine.
"There is a saying that lessons you learn stay with you for ever," Yuan, reportedly born to a famous martial art family in eastern China, told reporters.
China has set itself the task of surpassing the 165 gold medals it won at the previous Asian Games in Doha four years ago. Yi Siling, nicknamed the "Shooting Beauty", did her bit for the cause, leading the women to team gold in the 10-metre air rifle and taking the individual title herself.
Under a hot sun at Aoti Stadium, the pressure got to South Korea's 50m pistol Olympic champion, Jin Jong-ho. He sprayed his second-last shot for a score of 7.7 to open the door for unheralded Chinese Pu Qifeng to mount one of the day's biggest upsets.
Jin had to settle for a team gold medal in the 50m pistol instead, as South Korea became one of only three nations to prise a title from the hosts, who won five out of six in the shooting, four out of six in the pool and both weightlifting golds on a sweltering autumn day.
DETERIORATING TIES
Japan finished the day with only five fewer medals overall, taking four golds, including two in the pool and one apiece in triathlon and judo.
Korea secured four golds to draw level with rivals Japan, including three in Japan's native martial art of judo.
China capped their excellent day with gold in the men's team gymnastics, thrashing Japan and sending fans delirious.
Fears that Japanese fans would come in for rough treatment from the home crowd amid deteriorating ties between the countries proved largely unfounded.
"On the sports pitch this tension is natural, they fought hard," said office worker Lin Qianghong after a tense bout between a Japanese judoka and a Chinese opponent. "But politics shouldn't come into it."
Cricket made its debut at the Asian Games, with the hosts romping home in their Twenty20 match against Malaysia's women.
Thirty-five medals will be contested on Sunday, with multiple Olympic breastroke champion Kosuke Kitajima hoping to head Japan's fightback against China in the pool.
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Published>Sun, Nov 14 10 06:39 AM
The Mumbai team's decision to not enforce follow-on against Bengal in the Ranji Trophy Group A match at the Eden Gardens hasn't gone down well with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) as they have asked for an explanation from the team management. Mumbai (621) had a 325-run first innings lead after they bowled out Bengal for 296 on Friday but didn't ask the hosts to bat again.
"It's difficult for me to comment on the issue. After the team's return, we will go through the manager's report and will take a call. We will also have a talk with the team management," MCA joint-secretary Lalchand Rajput told The Sunday Express from Mumbai.
Skipper Wasim Jaffer, however, defended the team's decision to not enforce follow-on. "It was a team decision. The bowlers were very tired and there was nothing in the wicket. Victory with a bonus point would have given us six points, but there was no guarantee that it would happen. So we decided not to go for an outright win," Jaffer said.
The visitors' refusal to take the initiative killed the contest and they were 286 for one in their second innings when curtains were drawn to end the boredom, after Omkar Gurav (127) and Jaffer (104 not out) scored centuries.
Bengal were happy to be gifted a point which they didn't deserve. "I can't comment on their decision. But even if they did enforce follow-on, I'm sure our lads could have saved the game. Our players have the ability to bat a lot better than what they did in the first innings," Bengal coach WV Raman said.
Brief scores: Mumbai 621/8 decl and 286/1 (O Gurav 127, W Jaffer 104 not out) vs Bengal 296 all out.
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Published>Sun, Nov 14 10 12:37 AM
Fourth seed Robin Soderling ended Michael Llodra's brilliant run at the Paris Masters on Saturday when he saved three match points to beat the unseeded Frenchman 6-7 7-5 7-6 and book his place in the final.
The Swede, twice a French Open runner-up, will face either top seed Roger Federer or French 12th seed Gael Monfils in Sunday's final (1400 GMT).
Llodra, who knocked out holder Novak Djokovic and Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the previous rounds, went on the attack, unsettling Soderling with impressive volleys to bag the opening set by winning the tiebreak 7-0.
Soderling, who had lost both his previous encounters with Llodra, turned around the situation, keeping his opponent behind his baseline to level the tie.
Soderling saved three match points on his serve in the decider, forcing a tiebreak which he won 8-6.
"It is my third final in Paris, I hope I'll win this one," Soderling, who lost the last two French Open finals to Federer and Rafael Nadal, told a courtside interviewer.
"He serves unbelievable, and he has the best volley on tour, I think," he added in a press conference. "So it's very difficult to play against him."
Neither player got a break chance in the first set but Soderling collapsed in the tiebreak as he struggled to find his range with his usually devastating forehand and Llodra went ahead with a thumping ace.
BLISTERED FOOT
The Swede, however, stepped up a gear in the second set and a couple of fantastic service returns earned him a decisive break in the 11th game.
Llodra served a double fault in the second game as Soderling opened a 2-0 lead in the decider and the Frenchman, backed by a 14,500 partisan Bercy crowd, received treatment for a blister on his left foot after the third game.
Llodra broke back for 4-4 and, at 5-4, set up three match points on his opponent's serve but Soderling saved them, going on to win the resulting tiebreak with a forehand winner after two hours 49 minutes.
"I gave everything today, I was close," Llodra told a courtside interviewer.
"Obviously I am disappointed but I still have a great goal: the Davis Cup final and we will need you," the world number 34 told the crowd.
France travel to Serbia for the Davis Cup final from Dec. 3-5.
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Published>Sun, Nov 14 10 12:17 AM
Mark Webber hoped fate and 'The Fat Lady' would favour his Formula One title hopes after he qualified fifth, behind the men he must beat in the race of his life on Sunday.
The Australian's Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel took pole position for the Abu Dhabi season-ender with Ferrari's championship leader Fernando Alonso, who is eight points ahead of Webber, third on the starting grid.
Vettel is 15 points behind Alonso while McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, the other contender who is 24 points off the Spaniard's lead in an unprecedented four-way title showdown, qualified on the front row alongside the 23-year-old German.
"For sure I'm disappointed but it's happened and that's where I start the race," said Webber.
"We are still in the hunt, that's the main thing. It is disappointing but there is still a long way to go. The Fat Lady has not sung yet."
That may be true but Webber will either have to drive better than ever or get lucky with retirements ahead of him if even an imaginary opera diva is to consider singing the Australian national anthem on Sunday night.
"I need to finish ahead of him (Alonso) but also if I don't finish, I don't win the championship either," he told reporters at the Yas Marina circuit.
"The script is impossible to predict tomorrow. Let's have a look at the end."
NOT SO BAD
"If I'm sitting here and I'm third on the grid it would probably be pretty similar wouldn't it," added Webber when asked why he did not seem more downcast.
"If I finish one position ahead of Fernando or one position behind it's not enough. I need to win or him to have problems.
"It's not handed out yet," said Webber. "If it was a one lap race maybe not so good. But it's a two-hour race, things can change."
Webber has won four races this season but none since Hungary in August.
He has complained of being a 'number two' at Red Bull and an 'inconvenient' title challenger for the team but he was not pointing the finger at anyone other than himself on Saturday.
"We live by the sword. It's not like he's 25 seconds down the road and I've forgotten how to drive," said Webber.
"Yes I would love to have had some victories of late, I've done everything I can to get those and in the end I haven't got them because I haven't deserved them. Simple as that.
"I could be sitting here with no victories like (Ferrari's) Felipe (Massa) but I have a few so it's not so bad," added Webber.
"I could have crashed in Spa when it was sprinkling in Q3 (the final phase of qualifying) but I didn't. I put it on pole.
"It's over 12 months of hard work, you cannot just pin one point," he said when asked whether the final qualifying of the season might have cost him his dream.
"For me to sit there tomorrow night and say 'Oh, I didn't win the championship because I didn't qualify second on the grid or whatever....'," he added, tailing off without completing the sentence but leaving it clear there would be no recriminations.
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Sat, Nov 13 10 10:51 PM
Karachi, Nov 13 (PTI) Pakistan ODI captain Shahid Afridi has said that the national team is capable of delivering in the 2011 World Cup despite the spate of controversies and problems surrounding it since last year. Afridi told a press conference at his residence in Karachi that he had not given up hope that Pakistan could be one of the top contenders in the World Cup despite the fact that it had not won an ODI series since the middle of 2008. "I back my players and I back this team to come good. We have some very talented players but yes these players have to seize the opportunity that is given to them. The captain and coach can only give them that much confidence the rest is up to them," he said. Afridi, who recently captained Pakistan against South Africa in the UAE, said it was a fact that Pakistan cricket had been badly rattled by the spate of problems it has faced since last year. "Obviously there is pressure on the players and these new things that keep cropping up at crucial times also affect the players." He called on the media and former players to back the team in the run-up to the World Cup that will be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. "I know everyone wants us to do well whether it is the Cricket Board (PCB) or fans but the team needs support," Afridi said. Pakistan has one full series with New Zealand before the mega-event and Afridi said he was completely focusing on it. "I had got an offer to play for South Australia in their big bash T20 event before the New Zealand tour but I declined because I am training hard and I want to be ready for the World Cup," he said. The dashing all-rounder said Pakistan had its best chance of going all the way in this World Cup as it was being held in familiar conditions. "The conditions in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are similar so we should do well." The seasoned campaigner admitted that another problem facing the team was its inability to finish off matches. "I don''t know the reason but it is a fact that we have been playing well in recent times. We were in strong positions in Australia, England and now against South Africa but for some reason we are letting the opportunities slip by. We are not displaying good finish abilities which is an area of concern for us," Afridi said.
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Sat, Nov 13 10 10:23 PM
Mumbai, Nov 13 (PTI) The second season of the Mahindra NBA Challenge was today commenced in Delhi in the presence of NBA Director of Basketball Operations in India, Troy Justice. Also present on the occasion were Deputy General Manager of Corporate Strategy for Mahindra, Mufaddal Choonia and Secretary General of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) Harish Sharma. It is for the first time the league is being held in Delhi. The 2010-11 program will reach five cities in India. In addition to the Delhi and Mumbai leagues, the program will also be launched for the first time in Chennai later this season and will return to Bangalore and Ludhiana. In an effort to provide more players an opportunity to participate this season, the Mahindra NBA Challenge will expand the youth category to include three divisions: sub-junior for ages 12 to 13, youth for ages 14 to16, and junior for ages 16 to 18, a press release said. The adult division, for players aged 19 and over, will tip off in early January. "The NBA is committed to growing basketball in India and the Mahindra NBA Challenge is a comprehensive program designed to increase participation and excitement for the game," said Justice. .
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Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 10:07 PM
Hyderabad, Nov 13 (IANS) Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh can be a deadly combo in a Test match. The two have won quite a few games for India and they appear to have done the spade work for another win here.
When New Zealand resumed at the overnight 258 for four, they had fond hopes of crossing the 500-mark, but Zaheer and Harbhajan, sharing four wickets each, dashed their hopes by dismissing them for 350.
'Zak (Zaheer) has been in tremendous form and was obviously bowling at his best,' said Harbhajan talking of the medium-pacer's four-for-69 effort.
'He has bowled exceptionally well in the last two years and that in Indian conditions where not many bowlers succeed. He is a smart bowler, he knows his strengths and backs himself,' Harbhajan said.
Zaheer had got rid of century-maker Tim McIntosh and Ross Taylor overnight and Harbhajan said he did it to a plan. 'He knows exactly what he has to do. If those two wickets were crucial, then the first two wickets were equally important today. That brought us back in a big way.'
After the first hour saw two wickets fall, Harbhajan went to bowl from the northern end and got rid of Daniel Vettori, leg before. The in-form Jesse Ryder was hard done by the bounce and turn, Tim Southee jumped out and was stumped.
'This is a good wicket for Test cricket. There is bounce for both fast bowlers and spinners. I hope it will play better for the bowlers as the match goes on,' said the off-spinner who ended the inning claiming Chris Martin.
Harbhajan said India can now drive home the advantage.
'We are in a position where if we bat well, we can force a result we are looking for.'
'We are in such a good position thanks to Virender Sehwag, though he missed out what would have been his 23rd Test century.
New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder looked good for his fourth Test century, having scored 103 in the Ahmedabad Test. He was going great guns at 70 (199m, 120b, 10x4) before Harbhajan brought him down.
'I respect my game, just stick to my processes. Luckily for me, it paid off. I am seeing the ball pretty well at the moment,' said the 26-year-old New Zealander.
He reckoned the visitors fell short of their estimation. 'We fell some 100 runs short after the start we had yesterday. They bowled pretty well to start with and we lost a few crucial wickets early, and that put us on the back foot,' Ryder said.
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Sat, Nov 13 10 09:53 PM
Karachi, Nov 13 (PTI) Runaway Zulqarnain Haider has come in for sharp criticism from his ODI captain Shahid Afridi, who termed the wicket-keeper''s step to desert his team midway through a series against South Africa in Dubai citing death threats from match-fixers as "childish". Afridi today said that he was appalled by Haider''s decision to leave the team hotel in Dubai and flee to London and seek asylum there. "I just don''t understand what he (Haider) is trying to do. He has behaved very childishly. He has behaved just like Yasir Hameed had done in England. What is he trying to achieve? In the end he will gain nothing and will lose out as a player," he told reporters here. Pakistan''s ODI captain said that if Haider had got any threats from anyone to fix matches or was feeling the pressure, he should have spoken to his teammates about the matter instead of running away. "Even if he didn''t want to come to me or the team management he should have spoken to Abdul Razzaq, who is close to him. They play for the same club in Lahore. He has taken the decision of an unstable person," Afridi said. Haider left the team hotel to reach London last week, claiming he was facing death threats from fixers. His application for temporary asylum in UK is now under review by the British authorities. Earlier former captains, Imran Khan and Wasim Akram also felt that the 24-year-old wicket-keeper had taken a wrong step and brought a bad name to Pakistan cricket. But Haider said from London that everyone had a right to opinion but he had no regrets about his decision to leave the team. "Anyone in Pakistan cricket who tries to speak the truth or fight for truth is labeled a mental case or unstable. It is nothing new in Pakistan cricket," Haider said. "I don''t know what is being said in the media but yes it is disappointing for me that although I have taken such a big step for the betterment of Pakistan cricket in future, I am not getting the required support from the present or past players," he said. Haider pointed out that some people were promoting misleading stories that he ran away because he knew he would have been dropped for the fifth ODI against South Africa. "I don''t think that is true. I had performed well in the fourth ODI so on what grounds could they drop me? he asked. "And even if I was dropped for the final ODI, the team would have required me for the Test matches. I was not told by anyone that I was going to be dropped nor did I take my decision because of it," he stated. Haider also defended his decision not to talk to the team management and players about the threats. "Given the circumstances Pakistan cricket has faced I thought if this issue came out in open during the series in Dubai, it could even lead to cancellation of remaining matches," he added.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 8:22 AM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 09:47 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (IANS) Indian weightlifters competing in the women's 48kg and men's 56kg category failed to win a medal on the opening day of the competition at the Asian Games here Thursday.
Soniya Chanu lifted a total weight 170 kg while Devi Atom managed 158kg to finish 5th and 6th, respectively, in the 48kg category event.
The gold medal went to Chinese Mingjuan Wang, who lifted 210 kg. Pensiri Laosirikul
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 8:16 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 09:37 PM
S S Ramaswamy Guangzhou, Nov 13 (PTI) India''s campaign in the Asian Games chess, in which they are expected to secure some medals, commenced on a heartening note with K Sasikiran, Suraya Sekhar Ganguly, D Harika and Tanya Sachdev winning their respective opening games of the league. Second seed Sasikiran, with an ELO rating of 2688, defeated Malaysian rival Mok Tze-Meng, while fourth seed Ganguly (2644) got the better of Iraqi rival Al-Saffar Araz Basim Mohammed in the men''s competition. Top seed Le Quang Liem of Vietnam, with a rating of 2689, also began his bid with a victory over UAE''s Hassan Abdullah. Harika and Tanya got past Sultana Shamin Shirin of Bangladesh and Chnar Mohammed Qane of Iraq, respectively. Top seed Harika has a much superior rating of 2525 than most of the other competitors in the women''s event. Tania said things would get tougher after a relatively easy first round match. "It was comparatively easy, but it will get tougher," she said. Tanya also added that with very little time to know the opponents, it would be a question of taking it one game at a time. "There was really no time to prepare. The pairings were not announced until about five minutes before (the match). Now, it is just a question of playing game after game, but it''s not a problem," she said.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 8:06 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 09:07 PM
S S Ramaswamy Guangzhou, Nov 13 (PTI) Indian women''s hockey team outclassed Malaysia 4-0 in their opening Group A match to start their Asian Games campaign on a rousing note at the Aoti Hockey Field here today. The feature of coach Sandeep Somesh''s girls victory was that all the strikes came from were field efforts. The 2006 bronze medalists and 1982 gold medal winners led 1-0 at half time before pumping in three more goals in the second period to complete the rout. Thokchom Chanchan Devi (26th minute), Deepika (43rd), Rani Rampal (53rd) and captain Surinder Kaur were the goal-scorers. India will next play Japan in their next group match on November 16. Against Malaysia today, India were by far the better side on display under lights at the Aoti Hockey Field here this evening as they controlled the game for the entire 70 minutes. After having the better of the share of play, India took the lead in the 26th minute when Chanchan Devi slotted home the ball after receiving a pass from her strike partner Rampal, who dribbled her way past two defenders to set it up for Chanchan. After the breather, the Indians were right on the attack and kept the pressure on the rival goal through Rani and Deepika to reap rich rewards. It was Deepika who doubled the lead in the 43rd minute after receiving a Jasjeet Kaur Handa pass from the baseline. Rampal then made it 3-0 10 minutes later after cleverly wrong-footing Malaysia goalkeeper Yahya Farah Ayuni. The scoreline could have been 4-1 but the woodwork came to India''s rescue in the 57th minute off a penalty corner before Surinder sealed the victory for her side three minutes from the hooter. Assistant coach Khalid Modi expressed happiness over the positive start but added that the team management was taking it match by match. "It is a very good start as the Malaysians are very tough opponents. We have crossed our first hurdle, but cannot remain complacent," he said. In the day''s other matches, South Korea drubbed Thailand 5-0 while Japan overwhelmed Kazakhstan 4-1.
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Sat, Nov 13 10 08:53 PM
Perinthalmanna (Kerala), Nov 13 (PTI) Resolute batting by Jammu and Kashmir captain Abid Nabi (30 not out) and Khajuria (30 not out), who defied Kerala bowlers for 49.4 overs, helped the visitors eke out a draw in the final day of their Ranji Trophy Plate League Group B match here today. Resuming at the overnight score of 59 for three, J&K were reeling at 152 for seven at one stage before Nabi and Khajuria joined hands and saved the day for the visitors with a valuable unbeaten 63-run eighth-wicket stand to ultimately finish at 215 for seven. The duo thwarted all Kerala captain Robert Fernandez''s every trick. Though Fernandez used eight bowlers, the duo rose to the occasion and played cautiously to pocket a point from the match. While Kerala earned three points by virtue of their first innings lead, J&K collected one point. Brief scores: J&K 173 and 215/7 (Jeelani 46, A Nabi 30 not out, Khajuria 30 not out, Sreejith 2/41, S K Nair 2/15) Kerala: 393/9 (decl).
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 7:22 AM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 08:47 PM
New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS) Railways off-spinner Kulamani Shankar Parida, 33, Saturday announced his retirement from first-class cricket.
Parida left the Karnail Singh Stadium a disappointed man as his bowling action has come in for question at the fag end of his career.
His teammates, however, are all praise for his contribution to the team. In an emotional farewell, they presented him a memento with a touching inscription: 'We all are proud of you; with fond memories!'
Parida with his pleasant disposition soldiered on for 13 years winning matches and respect of his teammates and opponents.
His long-time teammate Murali Kartik spoke for everyone when he said: 'You can't come across a more honest human being and perfect team man. More importantly, he was a bowler who could bowl a team to victory on his own.'
Any bowler who has 320 first-class wickets from 108 matches expects to play for his country, but Parida was distinctly unlucky not to have got the Test cap. He was always spoken as a potential but remained a fringe player.
'I have no regrets,' said the soft-spoken Parida, who had made up his mind to retire on Friday when he was 'called' in the last over of the day.
'How could I have changed my action at this age and stage of my career,' a perplexed Parida asked ruefully.
Kartik's logic is simple. 'If Parida's action was illegal, he would have been bowling 'doosra' and he never bowled that.'
'I tried to make some adjustment in my action, that apparently was not enough. It was tough. All the same, it was great playing for Railways, they are such a wonderful bunch. I will miss them and the dressing room atmosphere,' said an emotional Parida.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 7:16 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 08:37 PM
Title contender Sebastian Vettel will start Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix on pole position for Red Bull with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton alongside him.
Ferrari's championship leader Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard who is eight points ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber and 15 clear of Vettel, qualified third. Australian Webber will start fifth.
Source: Published>
Posted by Deepak Jain at 7:06 AM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 08:27 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (IANS) Indian guns blazed on the opening day of the shooting competition of the Asian Games as Gagan Narang won the individual silver in the men's 10 metre air rifle and combined with Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra and Sanjeev Rajput to clinch another silver in the team event here Saturday.
However, there was disappointment in store as Bindra and Rajput failed to make the cut for the finals of the individual event. The duo were tied with three other shooters at 593, but lost in the shoot-off for the final round.
After Narang (597), Bindra (593), and Rajput (593) shot silver as a team with a total of 1,783 points, Narang was left alone to shoulder India's challenge in the individual event at the Aaoti Shooting Ranges.
Narang, who won four gold medals in the Delhi Commonwealth Games, had a close fight with China's 2004 Olympic champion Zhu Qinan (104+598) for the gold. The Indian totalled 700.7 (103.7+597) to finish behind Zhu.
South Korea's Kiwon Kim got the bronze with a total of 700 (596 qualifying, 104 final).
Bindra claimed that problems in electronic scoring cost him a place in the final of the 10-metre air rifle event in the Asian Games here Saturday.
Bindra, who won the Olympic gold two years back in Beijing, said that he shot a nine in the 42nd shot but it was counted as seven.
'I was 100 percent sure that my 42nd shot was a nine, but it was counted as seven. I did not want to lodge an appeal because if I had lost it, the team would have lost two points and also the medal,' said Bindra.
Despite missing the gold medals by a whisker, Narang is happy to have won two silver medals in a tough field that included two Olympic champions.
Narang admitted that it was tough for him to make up for the deficit after the qualifying stage despite the fact that he was leading Zhu after the sixth shot in the final round.
'I am not disappointed at all. Today we won two silver medals and I feel this is a creditable performance in a tough field,' said Narang.
The Chinese team comprising Zhu, Yu Jikang and Cao Yifei won the gold with 1,784 points while South Korea's Kiwon Kim, Jonghyun Kim and Sungsoon Choi got the bronze with 1,780 points.
In badminton, India lost 1-4 in the men's competition and their only win came through a gutsy Parupalli Kashyap, who defeated Hsuan Yi Hsueh 18-21, 21-13, 23-21 after saving two match points.
The women's team lost 2-3 after winning their first two matches courtesy Commonwealth Games gold medallists Saina Nehwal and the doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa.
Saina gave India a rousing start beating Adriyant Firdasari 21-16, 21-17 while Gutta and Ponnapa, ranked 31, pulled off a remarkable victory against world no.9 Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari 21-17, 17-21, 23-21.
In billiards, defending champion Pankaj Advani stayed on course for his title defence as he edged past Praput Chaithanasakun of Thailand 3-2 to enter the semi-finals in men's english billiards competition at the Asian Games here Saturday. Veteran Geet Sethi suffered a shock defeat in the pre-quarterfinals of the same event.
Indian women's team -- Vidya Vishwanathan Pillai, Chitra Magimarajan and doubles pair of Anuja Chandra and Magimarajan -- also made it to the quarter-final of the 6-red snooker team event, beating Singapore 3-0.
The Indian women's hockey had a flawless start as they outclassed Malaysia 4-0 in their first Group A match. Thokchom Chanchan Devi (26th minute), Deepika Thakur (43rd), Rani Rampal (53rd) and Surinder Kaur (67th) scored for India -- all of them field goals. India next play Japan Tuesday. The Indian women had won bronze in the previous edition at Doha.
The Indian men's team advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-0 drubbing of Qatar while the women were outclassed 0-3 by Indonesia in Asian Games tennis here Saturday.
In tennis, Indian men's team advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-0 drubbing of Qatar but the women were outclassed 0-3 by Indonesia.
In table tennis, India's women beat Laos but lost to world champions Singapore while the men put up a valiant fight before going down to fourth-seeded Chinese-Taipei.
Despite the early setbacks, India are expected to reach the quarter-finals in the men's and women's team events.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 6:56 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 07:57 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (PTI) Indian eves started their campaign in style in the hockey event of the 16th Asian Games, thrashing lowly Malaysia 4-0 in their opening Group A match here today. India were by far the better side on display under lights at the Aoti hockey field here this evening as they controlled the game during the entire 70 minutes and pumped in four field goals to start their campaign on a winning note. Thokchom Chanchan Devi opened the scoring for India in the 26th minute from a field strike but that was all that coach Sandeep Somesh''s girls could manage in the opening period. However, after the change of ends it was a different story as Deepika doubled India''s lead in the 43rd minute and then after 10 minutes Rani Rampal made it 3-0. Captain Surinder Kaur too registered her name in the scoresheet, scoring India''s fourth goal just three minutes from the hooter in the one-sided affair. India will face Japan in their next group match on November 16.
Source: Published>
Posted by Deepak Jain at 6:26 AM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 07:47 PM
Gurgaon, Nov 13 (IANS) Laura Davies of England capped a dramatic week that began with a lost golf bag but ended with a trophy and a handsome cheque at the Hero Honda Women's Indian Open 2010 at the DLF Golf and Country Club here Saturday.
Laura, the most decorated among active players on European Tour and one of the all-time legends of women golf, edged ahead in a four-woman play-off. The other three were South African Tandi Cunningham (73), the overnight leader, Thai Nontaya Srisawang (71) and Louise Friberg (70).
Sharmila Nicollet shot a brilliant 69, which was the day's best round and moved up to tied 23rd, up from overnight tied 54th to emerge as the best Indian.
Sharmila was on a dream run with five birdies, two on front nine and three on the backstretch. She also dropped two bogeys. 'It is my best finish as a pro and I am so happy with it,' said Sharmila, who has also won three titles on domestic women's Professional Golf Tour.
The top amateur was Vaishnavi Sinha of India (73-75-78) at 226 with Tanya Wadhwa second (75-76-82) at 233.
Nearing the end, any of the top half dozen players were in with a chance to win the title. But it was 47-year-old Davies, who emerged the winner, to grab the newly-crafted trophy and receive a cheque of $45,000 (euros 33,750).
Davies, who after beginning the week without her clubs, found the eagle on the last hole in regulation play to get into a four-way play-off, which was held once again on the 18th. In the play-off, Davies found another birdie, while Nontaya parred and the other two went into the water and ended with bogeys.
The four who tied at three-under 213 and went into the play-off had at least a birdie, but Davies forced herself into the party with an eagle for a round 70, that made up for a disappointing second round 78.
'I love the 18th. It gave me life, it gave me money and it gave me the title. I'll remember this hole for a long, long time. It was my third win in 15 playoffs,' said Davies, who is now about Eur30,000 short of Pace's earning on the Money List. 'This means I have to win in Dubai to surpass Lee-Anne's earnings,' said Davies.
The win kept alive Davies' hopes of an eighth Order of Merit as she now takes the fight for the Henderson Money into the last stop at next month's Euros 500,000 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters in Dubai from Dec 8-11 at the Emirates Golf Club.
At the 'Desert Storm' as she calls the clash, Davies, who won her 79th title, will be involved in a duel with South Africa's Lee-Anne Pace to decide on the winner of the Henderson's Money List. Lee-Anne still leading the race finished in a tie for 15th.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 6:16 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 07:27 PM
Kolkata, Nov 13 (PTI) Captain Wasim Jaffer and wicketkeeper Omkar Gurav struck a century each as Mumbai opted for some batting practice by piling up 286 for one in their second innings as their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match against Bengal ended in a tame draw here today. Mumbai had the opportunity to enforce follow on over Bengal on the penultimate day yesterday, having bowled the hosts out for 296 in reply to their mammoth first innings total of 621 for eight, but the visitors opted against it as they came out to bat in their second essay. Already assured of three points by virtue of a first innings lead of 325 runs, Mumbai did not go for a result and instead opted for batting practice. Mumbai batsmen made full use of the conditions this morning as Gurav (127) and Sushant Marathe (45) put on 106 runs for the opening wicket before the later was caught by Ranadeb Bose off left-arm orthodox bowler Shibsagar Singh (1/86). But that was the only success the home team bowlers tasted on the final day as Mumbai skipper Jaffer (104) joined hands with Gurav to stitch an unbeaten 180-run stand to justify his decision of getting some valuable batting practice before their next match against Railways starting November 17. Gurav faced 222 balls en route his 127-run knock during which he struck 17 boundaries. In contrast Jaffer''s innings was a fast paced one as he took only 112 deliveries to notch up his ton. The Mumbai skipper hit 12 fours and a six during his unbeaten knock. PTI SSC PDS
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 5:56 AM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 07:17 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (IANS) Despite missing the gold medals by a whisker, ace Indian shooter Gagan Narang is happy to have won two silver medals in the Asian Games from a tough field that included two Olympic champions.
Narang, winner of four golds at last month's New Delhi Commonwealth Games, won the silver medals in the individual and team events of the 10 metre air rifle competition. The gold went to China's 2004 Olympic champion Zhu Qinan, who avenged his 2008 loss to Abhinav Bindra in the Beijing Olympics.
In the team event, Narang (597), 2008 Olympic champion Bindra (593), and Sanjeev Rajput (593) missed the gold by a point after they shot a total of 1,783 in the team event at the Aoti Shooting Range.
Narang, a world No.4, was just 0.6 points behind the Chinese going into the final round. The Indian managed just 9.7 with his final shot while Zhu shot 10.4.
Narang admitted that it was tough for him to make up for the deficit after the qualifying stage despite the fact that he was leading the Chinese after the sixth shot in the final round.
'I am not disappointed at all. Today we won two silver medals and I feel this is a creditable performance in a tough field,' said Narang.
For China's 26-year-old Zhu, the two gold medals, in the individual and team events, were sweet revenge for the heartbreak that he suffered in the Beijing Games two years back when he had to settle for silver behind Bindra.
'Revenge was not on my mind, I was just trying to concentrate on my own shooting. It is nice to please my home fans again,' said Zhu, who had broken into tears during the press conference two years back in Beijing.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 5:46 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 06:53 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (PTI) Following is the Medal Tally at the 16th Asian Games at 1830 hrs today. China 18 7 2 27 Japan 4 9 9 22 South Korea 4 3 7 14 Hong Kong, China 1 0 1 2 India 0 2 0 2 Iran 0 1 2 3 Uzbekistan 0 1 2 3 Indonesia 0 1 1 2 North Korea 0 1 0 1 Singapore 0 1 0 1 Thailand 0 1 0 1 Kazakhstan 0 0 3 3 Malaysia 0 0 2 2 Chinese Taipei 0 0 2 2.
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 5:22 AM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 06:47 PM
Hyderabad, Nov 13(ANI): Indian opening batsman Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir toyed with the New Zealand bowling attack to dominate day two of the second Test match being played at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Saturday.
Sehwag smashed 96 off 120 balls while Gambhir scored 54 off 129 balls to share an opening-wicket partnership of 160, and set a solid platform for India's reply to New Zealand's first innings score of 350.
Sehwag, who had scored 173 in the drawn first Test in Ahmedabad, was unlucky to miss another century when he was bowled by New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori.
Gambhir, who had been struggling to score runs in recent months, looked comfortable today and played with a straighter bat than what he had been doing recently.
However, the 29-year-old followed his partner back to the pavilion after he was caught behind the wicket off fast bowler Tim Southee.
At stumps India were 178 for two with Sachin Tendulkar unbeaten on 11 and Rahul Dravid on seven not out.
Team India still trails New Zealand by 172 runs with eight wickets remaining.
Earlier in the day, the visitors managed to add just 83 runs to their overnight score of 258 for four.
New Zealand's resistance failed in the face of quality bowling from off-spinner Harbhajan Singh (four for 76) and left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan (four for 69), as India wrapped up the innings shortly after the second session for 350.
Only Jesse Ryder among the Black Caps prospered today, kicking on from his overnight 22 to score a stylish 70.
Ryder's half-century extended his golden run against India, which includes his 103 in the first Test. (ANI)
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 5:16 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 06:37 PM
Karachi, Nov 13 (PTI) After senior batsman Muhammad Yousuf, the Pakistan cricket team has also lost the services of left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz due to injury in the ongoing Test series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam today confirmed that Riaz would be taking no further part in the two-match series. "He complained of a side strain this morning and we went him for a MRI scan. The reports show he has a genuine problem and has been advised one month''s rest," Alam said from Dubai. "Riaz will take no further in the first test and is also ruled out of the second Test," he added. Riaz, who made his Test debut in England this year, bowled 18 overs and took two wickets on the opening day of the first Test on Friday in Dubai and was Pakistan''s most impressive bowler. Riaz''s injury will come as a big blow to the Pakistan team as they have already lost the services of Yousuf who was ruled out of the series without playing any Test with a groin injury. Yousuf and Riaz are expected to return home this week. Alam said the team would seek no replacement as they were two other pacers in the team in Mohammad Sami and Tanvir Ahmed.
Source: Published>
Posted by Deepak Jain at 5:06 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 06:27 PM
S S Ramaswamy Guangzhou, Nov 13 (PTI) Ace shooter Gagan Narang fetched the first individual medal for the country by bagging silver medal as India launched their campaign in the Asian Games with two silvers on the opening day of competitions which was marked by the controversial elimination of Olympic hero Abhinav Bindra. Narang, the hero of the recent Commonwealth Games in Delhi with four gold medals, claimed the silver in the 10m air rifle individual event and then teamed up with Bindra and Sanjeev Rajput to add another silver in the team event. Barring Narang''s effort, none of the other shooters could make much impression at the Aoti shooting range where Bindra was controversially eliminated in the qualifying stage due to a "technical error" over a particular shot. The Indian camp cried foul over Bindra''s 42nd shot in the 60-shot preliminaries as they felt the Olympic gold medallist had shot nine but seven points were awarded. "The score given was a 7 but we were quite sure it was a 9. I went to Abhinav who also thought it was closer to 9 but was not sure about it. Had we protested and we would have lost two points as penalty. It was Abhinav''s call who had the team''s chances also in his mind," said Indian coach Stanislaus Lapidus. Narang, the lone Indian to qualify for the individual finals, matched China''s 2004 Athens Olympic champion Zhu Qinan shot for shot before the latter captured the gold by shooting past his Indian Rival in the last three shots. The 27-year-old Narang settled for the silver after giving Qinan a run for his money in the ten-shot finals. He tallied of 700.7 points behind Qinan''s gold-winning effort of 702. Korean Kim Kwon won the bronze with 700.0. "I am extremely happy to have carried the Indian flag in the Opening Ceremony yesterday and I am very happy that we have won two silver medals. There are two more events left for me and I am hoping for the best," said Narang who was initially reluctant to be the country''s flag-bearer as his event was scheduled early this morning. Away from the shooting ranges, there was little to cheer for the large Indian contingent with the shuttlers and women tennis players being knocked out in the first round of the team events. All the Indian cylists also fell by the wayside in the track events In the team event, Narang, Bindra and Rajput combined for a score of 1783, a point adrift of gold medal winning Chinese team comprising Jikang Yu, Qinan Zhu and Yifei Cao. Korea settled for the bronze in this event. While Narang shot a score 597, Bindra and Rajput managed identical tallies of 593. More PTI SSR MRM
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 4:56 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 06:17 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (PTI) Led by Somdev Devvarman, India''s men''s tennis team breezed into the quarter-finals but Sania Mirza''s absence cost the women''s team dearly as it crashed out of the Asian Games here today. Somdev led a 3-0 rout of Qatar in the second round as he and Karan Rastogi recorded singles wins to clinch the tie. Rastogi put fourth seed India ahead with a crushing 6-1 6-1 win over Jabor Mohammed Al Mutawa in just 46 minutes and then Somdev clinched the tie by routing Mousa Shanan Zayed 6-0 6-1 in 38 minutes in the second singles rubber. Somdev later combined with Sanam Singh to make it an all win day by clinching the inconsequential doubles rubber 6-0 6-1 against Mubarak Shan Zayid and Abdulrah Al Hareth in just 35 minutes. India, who have come without doubles stars Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, will next take on seventh seed Thailand, which registered a 3-0 win over Sri Lanka. However, it was heart-break for the Indian eves as Sania opted out of the opening tie against Indonesia owing to an ear problem and the team suffered a 0-3 mauling. In the absence of the Commonwealth Games silver medallist, it was left to Nirupama Sanjeev and Poojashree Venkatesh to pull off singles wins but they failed terribly. "I was sick for four days and a lot of things changed because of that. We didn''t underestimate our opponents. If we could play this match again and I was able to play, the result would be different," Sania said after India lost the tie. Nirupama, who came out of retirement recently to play for India in the CWG, straight away got a thrashing as she was outplayed 1-6 1-6 by Ayu Kade Dwi Fani Damayanti in 56 minutes in the first rubber. The onus to bring India back in the tie was on young Poojashree but she frittered away a flying start to suffer a 6-2 5-7 2-6 defeat against 337-ranked Lavinia Tananta. Later, Nirupama and Rushmi Chakravarthi lost the doubles rubber 3-6 1-6 to Nany Suharyadi and Jesse Rompies. After a comfortable opening set win, Poojashree, ranked 521 on the WTA charts, was leading 3-1 in the second set in her singles and could have gone for the kill but the script changed dramatically after that. Poojashree dropped her serve in the fifth game and allowed her opponent a comeback as she failed to curb her unforced errors. After getting a bye in the opening round, India''s men''s team, seeded fourth, will play its second round against unseeded Qatar later today.
Source: Published>
Posted by Deepak Jain at 4:46 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 06:07 PM
Abhishek Hore Hyderabad, Nov 13 (PTI) Virender Sehwag narrowly missed out on a century but laid the foundation of a strong Indian reply after the host bowlers bundled out New Zealand for 350 on day two of the second cricket Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here today. At stumps, the hosts were comfortably placed at 178 for the loss of two wickets with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid batting on 11 and seven, respectively. Sehwag smashed a typically aggressive 96 that came off 120 deliveries and included 15 fours and a six, while Gautam Gambhir, too, brought to an end his poor run of scores with a much-needed fifty. Both the openers, however, got out in quick succession. Sehwag was bowled while trying to hoick Daniel Vettori over midwicket while Gambhir (54) was caught down the leg side by Gareth Hopkins off a Tim Southee delivery. The flamboyant Sehwag drove, pulled and employed the cut with real authority during his stay at the wicket, while Gambhir relied on the occasional nudges, flicks and drives to collect his runs during their crucial 160-run partnership that gave India the platform to dominate proceedings tomorrow. In the last session, the two openers looked at ease as they collected 98 runs before getting out. Sehwag leaned on his backfoot and smashed a Brent Arnel delivery through backward point to begin the proceedings after tea. In the same over, he flicked one that was going down the leg, through deep square leg region for a boundary. As he was approaching his fifty, Sehwag upped the ante whacking Vettori over midwicket for a boundary and then took a single to get to his half-century. Such was Sehwag''s dominance during the final session that Vettori, after being at the receiving end of his onslaught, took himself out of the attack. Replacement Kane Williamson, too, met with a similar fate. The belligerent opener smashed the part-timer for 14 runs, which included two fours and a lofted shot straight down the ground for maximum, moments after completing his half-century. The story went on similar line for Tim Southee as Sehwag hit the pacer for a flurry of boundaries in the following overs. More PTI AH PM MRM
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Posted by Deepak Jain at 4:36 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 05:53 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (PTI) Led by Somdev Devvarman, India''s men''s tennis team breezed into the quarter-finals but Sania Mirza''s absence cost the women''s team dearly as it crashed out of the Asian Games here today. Somdev led a 3-0 rout of Qatar in the second round as he and Karan Rastogi recorded singles wins to clinch the tie. Rastogi put fourth seed India ahead with a crushing 6-1 6-1 win over Jabor Mohammed Al Mutawa in just 46 minutes and then Somdev clinched the tie by routing Mousa Shanan Zayed 6-0 6-1 in 38 minutes in the second singles rubber. Somdev later combined with Sanam Singh to make it an all win day by clinching the inconsequential doubles rubber 6-0 6-1 against Mubarak Shan Zayid and Abdulrah Al Hareth in just 35 minutes. India, who have come without doubles stars Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, will next take on seventh seed Thailand, which registered a 3-0 win over Sri Lanka. However, it was heart-break for the Indian eves as Sania opted out of the opening tie against Indonesia owing to an ear problem and the team suffered a 0-3 mauling. In the absence of the Commonwealth Games silver medallist, it was left to Nirupama Sanjeev and Poojashree Venkatesh to pull off singles wins but they failed terribly. "I was sick for four days and a lot of things changed because of that. We didn''t underestimate our opponents. If we could play this match again and I was able to play, the result would be different," Sania said after India lost the tie. Nirupama, who came out of retirement recently to play for India in the CWG, straight away got a thrashing as she was outplayed 1-6 1-6 by Ayu Kade Dwi Fani Damayanti in 56 minutes in the first rubber. The onus to bring India back in the tie was on young Poojashree but she frittered away a flying start to suffer a 6-2 5-7 2-6 defeat against 337-ranked Lavinia Tananta. Later, Nirupama and Rushmi Chakravarthi lost the doubles rubber 3-6 1-6 to Nany Suharyadi and Jesse Rompies. After a comfortable opening set win, Poojashree, ranked 521 on the WTA charts, was leading 3-1 in the second set in her singles and could have gone for the kill but the script changed dramatically after that. Poojashree dropped her serve in the fifth game and allowed her opponent a comeback as she failed to curb her unforced errors. After getting a bye in the opening round, India''s men''s team, seeded fourth, will play its second round against unseeded Qatar later today.
Source: Published>
Posted by Deepak Jain at 4:22 AM 0 comments
Sat, Nov 13 10 05:23 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (PTI) India''s women paddlers had a mixed day at the team event of the Asian Games as they beat Laos 3-0 but lost to Singapore by the same margin in Group B at Guangzhou Gymnasium here today. With one win and a defeat, India are placed second with three points, one less than group leaders Singapore. India now must beat Maldives tomorrow to make it to the next stage. Meanwhile, chances of Indian men''s team progressing to the next stage suffered a setback as they lost 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in Group D. They will have to beat Vietnam in tomorrow''s tie to make it to the next stage. Indian eves were off to a strong start as Kumaresan Shamini, Madhurika S Patkar and Mouma Das scored easy wins over their rivals. Shamini thrashed Thiphakone Southamavong 11-5 11-7 11-4 in just 12 minutes. Madhurika then made it 2-0 in India''s favour with a 11-7 11-3 9-11 11-6 win over Sengdavieng Douangpanya in the rubber number two. Mouma Das needed just 11 minutes to clinch the tie in India''s favour as she drubbed Sengdavy Phiathep 11-5 11-6 11-2 in match three. However, fortunes changed in the next tie as Madhukar, Shamini and Poulmi Ghatak failed to win any rubber against Singapore. Madhurika made a spirited fight before losing 6-11 3-11 11-7 12-10 4-11 to Tian Wei Feng in rubber one. Shamini made it worse for India by losing 11-7 5-11 9-11 5-11 to Yuegu Wang. Poulomi was trailing 2-11, 1-11 against Jiawei Li when she opted out of contest. In the men''s competition, none of the players could win a singles match. A Amalraj lost 9-11 3-11 6-11 to Chih Yuan Chuang while Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Achanta Sharath Kamal went down fighting 11-7 9-11 12-14 11-13 to Chih Chi Wu. A win was imperative for India to stay alive after double the blow but Soumyadeep Roy could not bail out the side as he also went down fighting 11-5 8-11 13-15 11-9 9-11 to Chien-An Chen.
Source: Published>
Posted by Deepak Jain at 3:52 AM 0 comments
Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 05:17 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (IANS) India's women beat Laos but lost to world champions Singapore while men put up a valiant fight before going down to fourth-seeded Chinese-Taipei in the table tennis competition at the Asian Games here Saturday.
Despite the early setbacks, India are expected to reach the quarter-finals in the men and women's team event.
India's highest ranked player at 192, Mouma Das, Madhurika Patkar and Shamini Kumaresan did not have much difficulty in getting past their opening group match against Laos.
Shamini, who played a vital role in India winning a surprsing silver in the Delhi Commonwealth Games, breezed past Southamavong Thiphakone 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 in the first singles.
Madhurika had a minor hiccup when she dropped the third game before recovering to beat Sengdavieng Douangpanya 11-7, 11-3, 9-11, 11-6.
Mouma registered a straight sets 11-5, 11-6, 11-2 win over Sengdavy Phiathep and closed the match for India.
The India women, however, suffered a contrasting defeat later in the day to Commonwealth gold medal winners Singapore.
The first singles between between Madhurika Patkar and world no 3 Feng Tianwei was the lone postive for India in the whole match.
World no 235 Madhurika proved more than a match for her formidable opponent and took the intense battle into the deciding fifth game. But then Feng showed why she is part of the world cup winning team as the Singaporean came back strongly to win the fifth game and the match 11-6, 11-3, 7-11, 10-12, 11-4.
Shamini too managed to stretch world no 7 yuegu Wang but eventuelly lost 11-7, 5-11, 9-11, 5-11.
Poloumi could not do much in her first match of the day and was handed over a humiliating 2-11, 1-11, 0-11 defeat by world no 29 Jiawei Li.
Indian women play Maldives in next group game Sunday.
Earlier, the men's team, comprising Sharath Kamal, Amalraj Anthony and Soumyadeep Roy, team lost to the stronger Chinese Taipei in their first group tie.
Chih Yuan Chuang beat Amalraj 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 in the first singles.
Chih Chi Wu got the better of India's ace paddler Sharath 7-11, 11-9, 14-12, 13-11.
Chien-An Chen won a tough 5-11, 11-8, 15-13, 9-11, 11-9 battle against Soumyadeeep and won the match for Chinese Taipei.
India now play their last group match against Vietnam Sunday.
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Sat, Nov 13 10 05:07 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (PTI) Lavishing praise on the Asian Games opening ceremony here, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge today described it as "absolutely fantastic". "I think it was an absolutely fantastic opening ceremony. It was technically very sound. There were a lot of emotions, a lot of startling beauties," said Rogge, who attended the ceremony yesterday on Haixinsha Island along the Pearl River. It was for the first time in the history of sports that the ceremony was not held inside a stadium. "I very much liked the activities using the water and using the river and also the backdrop of the city behind the scene. It was very nice," added the IOC chief. However, when Rogge was asked to compare the the opening ceremony of the Asian Games to that of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he said, "It''s like you ask a father to compare his children. "You cannot compare different opening ceremonies. You cannot compare Guangzhou with Beijing, you cannot compare Guangzhou with other cities. Let me just say, this is a unique and good opening ceremony." Guangzhou is the second Chinese city to host the Asian Games after Beijing that hosted it in 1990 and there are talks about its readiness to conduct Olympics as well in the near future. "Guangzhou definitely has the skill to do that," said Rogge. "Guangzhou would have the expertise and experience from these Games. Whether it will become an Olympic city, it''s something that will depend on my Chinese friends, not on me," he added. Rogge also expressed his confidence about hosting a successful Asian Games. "I think it''s going to be a very good. Like always, you can only judge the organisation after the last day of the event but I am very confident of a good show because I know my Chinese friends are masters of organising major events, and definitely, sports events," he said.
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Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 04:57 PM
London, Nov 13 (ANI): Star defender Rio Ferdinand has said that the time has come for Manchester United to hit top form before Premier League leaders Chelsea inrease the points gap between the two teams.
United is the only team unbeaten in the Premier League this season, but Sir Alex Ferguson's side still trails reigning champions Chelsea by four points.
Ferdinand said United must now embark on a sustained winning run starting at Aston Villa today to keep pace with Chelsea and ensure they remain in the title hunt, the Mirror reports.
"The fact we're only four points behind Chelsea gives us hope that, once we do hit top gear, we'll have a real chance of winning the title," said Ferdinand.
"But it's alright saying we're going to hit top gear, we have to do it right now. We know we're capable of going on a long winning run and we've just got to make it happen.
"We're unbeaten his season, which says a lot for us. It shows we're tough to beat, but we've got to turn those draws we've been getting into wins," Ferdinand said.
"The most important thing for us at the moment is to win games. Going on a long unbeaten run is great, but we could draw our next 20 games and still not win the league.
"I'd rather win 15 games, lose a couple and draw a couple. Unbeaten runs are great if you achieve something, but if you don't win anything then it's no good," he said.
Ferdinand admitted United must rediscover their defensive solidity if they are to stay in the mix for the title this season, The Mirror reports. (ANI)
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Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 04:53 PM
New York, Nov 13 (ANI): Footballer Christiano Ronaldo and his girlfriend Irina Shyak recently spent some time together in Madrid.
The duo spent family time with Ronaldo's mom, Dolores, and his young son, Cristiano Jr., who was born this summer via surrogate.
A source said that the long-distance couple "seemed closer than ever," reports the New York Post.
New York-based Shayk was in Madrid to be honored as international model of the year by a Spanish magazine and attend the awards ceremony with her Real Madrid soccer-star boyfriend.
However, Ronaldo could not make it to the event, as he was busy in preparation for Real Madrid's Sunday's match but the couple met after the function. (ANI)
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Sat, Nov 13 10 04:23 PM
Singapore, Nov 13 (PTI) Rahil Gangjee was the lone Indian golfer to break par with a two-under 69 and rise 12 rungs to tied 14th after the third and penultimate round of the Barclays Singapore Open here today. Gangjee sent down three birdies against just one bogey today to total seven-under 206 after three rounds. All of Gangjee''s birdies and the bogey came in the front-nine. A couple of strokes behind Gangjee was Jeev Milkha Singh, who carded a three-over 74. The seasoned Chandigarh-pro, who was tied seventh overnight, slipped to be tied 25th after stumbling to six bogeys against three birdies. Further down was Shiv Kapur at tied 46th after returning a 72 in the third round. Kapur''s overall total stood at two-under 211. A shot adrift of Kapur were Gaganjeet Bhullar and Digvijay Singh, both of whom shot 74s. At the top, Australian Adam Scott (69) led the pack with a total of 14-under 199. Korean Kyung-nam Kang (67) and England''s Ian Poulter (68) shared the second spot with totals of 13-under 200.
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Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 04:17 PM
Karachi, Nov 13 (ANI): It was 'sheer stupidity' that forced Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider to abandon the team in Dubai, a senior teammate of the young player has said.
Speaking to The News on the condition of anonymity, the Pakistan team player compared Zulqarnain with Yasir Hameed- another national cricketer who was involved in a major controversy last summer- saying that both of them lacked the 'brains required to play international cricket'.
"By the time this issue is resolved, people would be saying that Zulqarnain has committed an act of stupidity similar to what Yasir Hameed did a few months back," said the player.
"Both Zulqarnain and Yasir are similar characters. They lack the brains required to play international cricket," he added.
In September, Yasir Hameed had allegedly told a British tabloid that many of his teammates were involved in match-fixing. The Test batsman later denied making any such claim, but only after his interview had added fire to the spot-fixing scandal involving three leading Pakistan cricketers- Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
On the other hand, 24-year-old Zulqarnain fled to London on Monday morning just hours before Pakistan were scheduled to play their ODI series decider against South Africa in Dubai. The wicketkeeper later revealed that he had taken this extreme step after receiving death threats from match-fixers.
"If I or anybody else in the team will receive any threats, we will just go to the team management and tell them about it," said his teammate. "That's what any reasonable person would do. But Zulqarnain acted in an insane manner by running away from the team."
There have been several conspiracy theories since Zulqarnain escaped from the team hotel and later surfaced in London, with some suggesting that the player did talk about the threats with some of his colleagues but decided to flee after failing to get any support from them.
"It's ridiculous to suggest anything like it," said the senior player, adding, "I can say for sure that he didn't tell anybody in the team about it. He didn't even go to Abdul Razzaq with whom he has played at the club level in Lahore. Zulqarnain is quite close to Razzaq could have confided in him but he didn't."
Recent reports have claimed that the team management had decided to drop Zulqarnain before the fifth One-day International, suggesting that the move could have prompted the player to flee from Dubai.
"It doesn't make any sense," said the senior player. "I mean you cannot drop a player who has just won you a close match," he added, referring to Zulqarnain's match-winning cameo- an unbeaten 19- in the fourth ODI against South Africa, that helped Pakistan to level the series 2-2.
"According to my information, Zulqarnain was very much a part of the playing eleven for the final match and was later replaced by Umar Akmal as the team's wicketkeeper because of his own decision to run away," he added. (ANI)
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Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 03:53 PM
London, Nov 13 (ANI): Love-rat Wayne Rooney's infamous "Auld Slapper" hooker has sent a sensational letter to his wife Coleen from her deathbed, which says that she never had sex with the soccer ace.
Patricia Tierney apologised for ever setting eyes on the Manchester United striker in the 45-pound-a-time brothel.
But she has assured Coleen she only worked there as a receptionist and never had sex with her fella.
She begs her to urge Wayne, 25, to clear her name by publicly stating their alleged 2002 romp in the Liverpool vice den never happened.
Tierney, 56, who has been warned she may not survive a 17-hour op next month after a two-year battle with breast cancer, was so desperate to clear her name that she got her daughter Patricia Jnr, 34, to pen the letter to Coleen, 24.
"Dear Coleen, my mum never was, and never has been, a prostitute. The mistake she made was to accept a job in a brothel as a receptionist for cash in hand, which she now regrets," the Daily Star quoted the note as stating.
"She has never slept with Wayne. She knows it and Wayne knows it.
"We have nothing left but hope that you or Wayne come forward to tell the truth that my mum hasn't slept with Wayne. Thank you once again for taking the time to read this letter. Hope to hear from you," the note added.
Tierney Snr added: "I have never had sex with Wayne Rooney, I swear on my life. All I am asking for is for Wayne to clear my name."
But the plea has fallen on deaf ears.
Tierney got a call from Rooney's advisors last week to say: "My client cannot help." (ANI)
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Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 03:37 PM
Tiger Woods' chances of retaining his Australian Masters title all but evaporated in the gloomy rain at Victoria Golf Club after a third round of even par 71 on Saturday left him 10 shots behind leader Adam Bland.
Woods, who has not won a title since claiming the gold jacket at nearby Kingston Heath on Melbourne's sandbelt a year ago, mixed three birdies and three bogeys to leave him on one-under par 212 but missed several putts that could have put him back into contention.
"I hit so many putts that looked like they were going to go in but they finished... about a foot short or hanging on the lip," Woods told reporters.
"I knew they (the greens) were slower than they were yesterday but I'm having a hard time making that adjustment."
Australian Bland, who has held at least a share of the lead since the first round, was involved in a tense battle with playing partner Andre Stolz (72) through the constant rain, and shot a one under 70 for an 11-under 202 to take a three-shot lead over Daniel Gaunt (68). Stolz was third on seven-under 206.
Short of a miraculous recovery combined with a spectacular collapse by those above him on Sunday, Woods will end the year without a title for the first time since he turned professional in 1996.
"I'm so far back that I have to play a great round and I need help, the only thing I can control is going out there and putting a low one on the board," the 34-year-old American added.
"I really haven't putted well this week, if I putted normally and made a couple more shots I'd be right in there."
GARCIA SLUMPS
Spain's Sergio Garcia, who vaulted up the leaderboard in humid, windy conditions on Friday with a six-under 65, found the constant rain and cold on Saturday less conducive and shot a six-over 77 to be tied for 26th on two-over 215.
The large galleries who turned up to follow Woods had little to initially cheer as he made bogeys on the par-four second and par-four sixth holes until his tee shot on the par-three seventh landed within 12 feet of the pin.
The world number two duly sank the birdie putt to an almighty roar, which reverberated around the course southeast of central Melbourne, from the several hundred fans huddled under umbrellas around the green.
The 14-time major winner bogeyed the par-four eighth, then birdied the par-five ninth but gave the gallery little else to cheer until he almost chipped in from the fairway with his third shot to set up a birdie finish on the par-five 18th.
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Sat, Nov 13 10 03:23 PM
Hyderabad, Nov 13 (PTI) Openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir put on a half-century stand after India bundled out New Zealand for 350 on the second day of the second Test here today. Spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan shared six wickets between them to help India restrict the Kiwis to a manageable total after the visitors resumed at 258 for four. Harbhajan accounted for four Kiwi batsmen today after going wicket-less on the opening day while Zaheer added two more to his two wickets on the first day. India were comfortably placed at 62 for no loss at tea, with Sehwag and Gambhir unbeaten on 29 and 28 respectively at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. After reading the pitch in the first few overs, Sehwag started dominating the New Zealand bowlers with his attacking game. Tim Southee strayed one down the leg and Sehwag whipped it off his pads and then drove the bowler through the cover region for a boundary. The Delhi dasher, in the next over, steered one down the thirdman region for a boundary, and then flicked another Martin delivery through the midwicket region. Gambhir meanwhile, after getting a life at the start of the innings, got into the act and collected some useful runs through drives and pulls. There was a chance for New Zealand when Gambhir nicked Tim Southee but the edge flew over Ross Taylor at first slip. Harbhajan earlier gave the hosts an important breakthrough when he had Jesse Ryder he threatened to take the game away from India with a valiant half-century -- caught at first slip by VVS Laxman. The off spinner then accounted for skipper Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee and last man Chris Martin, after Zaheer removed Gareth Hopkins and Kane Williamson. More PTI AH AT
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Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 03:17 PM
Guangzhou, Nov 13 (IANS) The cost of the opening and closing ceremonies put together here in the Guangzhou Asian Games will be much less than what the Games organisers spent in Doha four years ago, a senior official of the organising committee said.
'Some 380 million yuan ($57.2 million) has been spent for the opening and closing ceremony and the fireworks,' said He Jiqing, the head of celebration and activity sector of the organising committee, after the dazzling opening ceremony on a Pearl river island Friday.
Though the official did not reveal the exact amount on the two ceremonies, as the closing is on Nov 27, he was sure that Guangzhou's total expenses would be less than Doha's $180 million for only the opening ceremony.
The Guangzhou opening ceremony moved out of the traditional stadium to Haixinsha island, surrounded by residential buildings and skyscrapers.
'Creativity plays an important role in our preparation. As the mother river of Guangzhou, Pearl River, inspired us a lot,' said Che Weiya, director of the opening ceremony.
'At Doha, the theme of the opening ceremony was desert and here it was a water,' said Chen, who was an assistant director for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
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Sat, Nov 13 10 03:07 PM
S S Ramaswamy Guangzhou, Nov 13 (PTI) Gagan Narang stole the show from star shooter Abhinav Bindra by clinching the silver in the 10m air rifle individual event after the Olympic champion was controversially eliminated in the qualifying stage due to a "technical error" over a particular shot. Narang, the hero of India''s campaign at last month''s Commonwealth Games with a four-gold feat, combined with Bindra and Sanjeev Rajput to provide the country with their first medal, a silver, in the team event behind champions China. Narang, Bindra and Rajput combined to tally 1783, only a point behind China''s gold-capturing 1784. Narang, the lone Indian to qualify for the individual finals, matched China''s 2004 Athens Olympic champion Zhu Qinan shot for shot before the latter captured the gold by shooting past his Indian Rival in the last three shots. The 27-year-old settled for the silver after giving Qinan a run for his money in the ten-shot finals. He tallied of 700.7 points behind Qinan''s gold-winning effort of 702. Korean Kim Kwon won the bronze with 700.0. "I am extremely happy to have carried the Indian flag in the Opening Ceremony yesterday and I am very happy that we have won two silver medals. There are two more events left for me and I am hoping for the best," said Narang who was initially reluctant to be the country''s flag-bearer as his event was scheduled early this morning. Narang also said that the range was a bit difficult as the back-lighting was a hindrance. "I have won a gold here in 2006 but that was a long time ago. The back lighting took time to get adjusted to and I had to use a blinder on my right eye to shoot which I had never done before," he said. Narang also said that a one point lead going into the finals was difficult to bridge against a top shooter like Qinan. "Even if I had a 10.9 I would not have won it," he said. But his feat was also overshadowed by a controversy involving Bindra. Indian coaches Sunny Thomas and Stanislaus Lapidus cried foul over Bindra''s 42nd shot in the 60-shot preliminaries. "The score given was a 7 but we were quite sure it was a 9. I went to Abhinav who also thought it was closer to 9 but was not sure about it. Had we protested and we would have lost two points as penalty. It was Abhinav''s call who had the team''s chances also in his mind," said Lapidus. Thomas also said the score should have been a 9 and not 7. Bindra also thought that he shot a ''9'' but was given only a 7. .
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Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 02:57 PM
Hyderabad, Nov 13 (IANS) India were 62/0 at tea in their first innings against New Zealand in the second cricket Test here Saturday.
Gautam Gambir (28) and Virender Sehwag (29) were at the crease at break.
The Black Caps were bowled out for 350 shortly after the lunch session.
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Published>Sat, Nov 13 10 02:47 PM
Sydney, Nov 13 (ANI): Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson's slinging action is off by "just a matter of degrees" and it will not require major changes to again become a match-winner during the Ashes series, according to Queensland bowling coach Joe Dawes.
Dawes, a former Bulls teammate of Johnson, said the left-arm pacer needed to work on his wrist placement in order to have the right seam position to find the swing that made him such a devastating bowler in South Africa early last year.
"It's just his release and his wrist position is slightly off where he would want it to be and the ball is not coming out well, which happens to everyone some stage or another," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Dawes, as saying.
"It'll come out and he'll remember one of his little cues, or execute well and all of a sudden the ball will come out sailing nicely for him. He's still bowling with pretty good pace, the timing of it all seems pretty good," he said.
"He's probably just not quite nailing that release and that seam position to get that swing which he had for a period of time in that South African series," Dawes said.
Dawes, who was a senior Queensland bowler when Johnson resumed his first-class career in 2004-05 after a back injury, said the 29-year-old had enjoyed too much success with his unorthodox action to make drastic changes.
"You don't want to mess too much with something that works. He's [had] a long time now where he's been injury-free, a long time where he's built himself quite a successful international career with his action. It'll just be that, like everyone, you'll have a period of time when you're slightly off the boil," Dawes said.
"It is only a matter of degrees and that comes with spending time in the nets and in the game to do his cues and flags to get it back to where he wants to be," he added. (ANI)
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