Button eyeing another podium finish in London triathlon

Published>Fri, Aug 06 10 11:45 AM

London, Aug 6(ANI): Reigning Formula One champion Jenson Button is looking forward to get back on the podium at this weekend's Challenger World London Triathlon.

Button is participating in the event in which he had finished second in his age group last year.

"I've been competing in triathlon for a few years now to keep me in shape for driving," The Sun quoted Button, as saying.

"I enjoy the pain, the training. It's very peaceful - like it is in the car," he added.

The 30-year-old will join Olympic Gold medallist Rebecca Romero and star athlete Cassie Patton in the race.he Olympic distance is a 1500metre swim, 40kilometre bike ride and 10kilometre run.

Button had finished the race last year in an incredible 2hours and seven minutes, with pro athletes coming in just under two hours.

"I was very happy with the second place last year in my category, but I guess that means I will have to win this time," Button said.Nothing like putting pressure on yourself is there?" he added. (ANI)

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Noria wins gold, equals record

Fri, Aug 06 10 11:21 AM

Chandigarh, Aug. 6 -- After Gagan Narang became the first Indian athlete to grab an Olympic quota for the 2012 London Olympics, his bronze in the ongoing 50th World Championship at Munich, fellow shooter Asher Noria equalled the junior world record to clinch the junior double trap title at the Championship on Thursday. The 17-year-old from Hyderabad equalled the six-year-old record of Maltese William Chetcuti (146/150) to finish atop the podium. Noria shot rounds of 49, 49 and 48. Alessandro Chianese (141) of Italy and American Ian Rupert (138) won silver and bronze, respectively.

Sodhi finished 17th in the overall standings after shooting a score of 139 (42, 48, 49).

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Top contenders get zilch

Fri, Aug 06 10 11:17 AM

New Delhi, Aug. 6 -- Three years ago, the Union Cabinet sanctioned an amount of Rs 21 crore to help prepare India's tennis challenge in the Commonwealth Games. Out of this amount, India's leading Grand Slam winner Leander Paes has got zilch, the other veteran player Mahesh Bhupathi has got all of Rs 27,000 and Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman - our main singles players - have got nothing. A total of 5.21 crore has been paid out by the Sports Ministry so far and this money has largely gone towards salaries of some coaches and other personnel far removed from the top players. "I have been submitting my plane tickets, hotel bills and other expense details to the AITA (All India Tennis Association for years). There is just no money flowing back," says Bhupathi. "I have now got a mail to submit last year's Wimbledon bills again. I am ignoring it for I already sent them before." Bhupathi has actually got one of his employees looking after all the correspondence required to claim his money. "I have got no money at all from this scheme and I am not wasting my time thinking about it anymore," says Paes. Meanwhile the AITA and the Sports Ministry are busy playing ping-pong. The federation's secretary, Anil Khanna, says, "We are concerned that our elite players have not got the support money they deserve. The ones who will get us medals are the ones who need to benefit from this scheme." Rahul Bhatnagar of the Sports Ministry has his own take: "We have not got a single bill pending with us. We have been telling AITA again and again that they have to submit the basic documents before government money can be released, while they want us to give lump sums without any papers." The Ministry prefers that tickets be booked through Balmer Lawrie and Co - the government travel agency. Tennis players hop around the globe and their precise itinerary depends upon how long they last in a tournament. They can't book tickets in advance. The bureaucrats want hotel and food bills before sanctioning the allotted $100 to 125 allowance for a total of 75 days of international competition that rules allow for. Our tennis players are abroad competing for over 200 days and wonder why they can't be reimbursed even for their coaching bills which are the easiest to process. "If the top four men players and Sania Mirza do not benefit under present rules, it's only correct that the Ministry should adjust its rules keeping in mind the needs of tennis," asserts Khanna. "There are fundamental financial rules in dealing with government money. They can't be changed. AITA has to be more active in this and help its players," rebuts Bhatnagar. "For years I have been hearing the Ministry say that tennis players are rich and don't need money. They can't be expected to accommodate our needs. Of course, when they need medals, they always come looking for us," says Bhupathi.

Everybody is busy playing file-file and somewhere the rightful money of the players is draining down that hole.

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With no cash to pay fine, lifters may not take part

Fri, Aug 06 10 11:07 AM

Chandigarh, Aug. 6 -- Under normal circumstances, India would be looking at weightlifting, one of only five sports that have produced individual Olympic medalists for the country, as a happy hunting ground for medals in the first ever Commonwealth Games on home soil. But it's entirely possible the October mega-event will feature no Indian lifters at all. The Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) was banned from entering international competition in 2009, after five lifters tested positive for banned substances. The IWF was later informed they could reenter international competition by paying a fine of $500,000 (R 2.3 crores) to the International Weightlifting Federation. But the IWF only had enough in its coffers to pay 125,000 US dollars (R58 lakhs).

If the fine doesn't get paid on time, the lifters will not compete at the Delhi Games.

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In-form Goa ready for Bengal

Fri, Aug 06 10 10:47 AM

Kolkata, Aug. 6 -- Blame Bengal for prematurely bumping into defending champions Goa but coach Shabbir Ali is not assuming anything. "We didn't play consistently, so we have to face them. Bengal have to play like Bengal to get out of this," said the former Santosh Trophy winner. Winning Wednesday's match despite trailing 0-1 meant Tamil Nadu got away with what looks like an easier match, against Punjab in the second of Friday's semi-final double-header. Punjab, notwithstanding the 0-3 trouncing from Goa in their quarter-final league match, are in flowing form and would fancy their chances against the previous edition semi-finalists. "Barring the loss against Goa, our boys have gradually improved and performed and delivered under pressure, so that's not a worry," said Punjab coach Jagir Singh, under whom they had won the title twice, in 2006 and 2008. With strikers Balwant Singh and ex-Chirag player Parveen Kumar hitting the right notes, Tamil Nadu's defence will be tested. Tamil Nadu, however, will be relying heavily on impressive striker P. Riju. Mariano Gomes' Goa have been in ruthless form here. On a high after packing off Services 4-0 in their last quarter-final league match, the defending champions have hardly put a foot wrong. But what's troubling Gomes most is the experience in the Bengal midfield. "Jayanta Sen and Snehasish Chakraborty are the players to watch out for," Gomes said. While Sen and Denson Devdas have been key to Bengal's midfield dominance, the skipper has had a good tournament, firing well-directed crosses from the left-flank. Gomes' taking note of that means Bengal would surely want a back up in case Chakraborty is negated. Goa will, however, miss left-back Fulganco Cardozo, who received a second booking against Services. "We have enough options on the reserve bench," Gomes said. Ali, on the other hand, is facing a crisis upfront after Shankar Oraon was stretchered out of Wednesday's match. Scans have revealed a muscle injury and hence Ali will have to fall back on the first-match pair of Tarif Ahmed and TFA recruit Robin Singh. Nilendra Dewan hasn't played enough to merit a start but considering the lack of chemistry between Ahmed and Singh against Delhi, Ali may have second thoughts.

Watching Snehasish and Co. take turns at goalies Abhra Mondal and Sandip Nandy from the penalty spot showed that last year's runners-up are at least trying not to repeat their mistakes.

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A celebration of women's cricket

Fri, Aug 06 10 10:37 AM

New Delhi, Aug. 5 -- The 'Viceregal Room' of a five-star hotel played host to a unique function on Thursday evening. A docu-drama, by director Sunil Yash Kalra's titled Poor Cousins of Million Dollar Babies celebrating the triumphs of, and problems facing, women's cricket in India, was previewed by an eclectic gathering. While producer Bava Mahdoom missed the launch, his brother K. Mahdoom welcomed the chief guests which included Minister of State Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rani Mukherjee and writer Jaideep Sahni of Chak De India fame. Famed Indian women's cricketer Anjum Chopra, one of the two protagonists of the film (the other being team-captain Jhulan Goswami, who was unable to make it to the event), was also present The seven-minute preview of the documentary brought locker-room footage of the Indian women's team from Lord's, Eden Gardens and Melbourne Cricket Ground in addition to clips of their top performances in various tournaments. "This is a self-financed project which I have been working on for four years with Anjum and the girls. It is not a commercial venture but a goodwill gesture to bring to light the achievements and hardships faced by the women's team," Kalra told HT. Chopra was enthusiastic about the documentary as well. "What we lack most in comparison to the men's team, even more than the monetary aspect, is the appreciation," she said. Chopra also said that their scenario was different from women cricketers abroad. "A lot of us are absored into corporates. However, in England and Australia they are provided definite employment. I would not say we're badly placed, but the situation wavers." Questions from the audience were entertained. These ranged from corporate social responsibility to commercial viability of similar movies. Six-time Olympian Raja Randhir Singh made an appearance as well and lamented India's decision not to field a women's cricket team at this year's Asian Games in China.

The evening came to an end with the launch of the film's poster. Much had been scrutinised, but as Kalra had stated at the start of the show, "much more needs to be done, but tonight is a celebration." It definitely was.

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Kaka has knee surgery, out for up to four months

Fri, Aug 06 10 08:57 AM

Real Madrid midfielder Kaka has undergone an operation on his left knee and could be ruled out for four months, his surgeon said on Thursday.

The Spanish club said earlier on their website that Kaka had suspected meniscus damage and might need surgery.

He was examined in Belgium by knee and sports injury specialist Marc Martens, who carried out a half-hour arthroscopic operation on Thursday morning.

"He needs around four months to come back to play," Martens told Reuters Television. "But I am optimistic, normally he should play a hundred percent.

"He was pretty nervous because for him it was a difficult moment in his career to decide to go for surgery or not.

"Finally he came to realise himself that it was the only way to help him ... there was no alternative ... (In) the last months he felt that the pain was increasing and he felt that finally he couldn't perform anymore on the field."

Brazilian Kaka, who has been plagued by injuries over the past year but recovered to play in the World Cup in South Africa, had left Real's pre-season training camp in California to fly to Belgium.

"He's a very popular player among his team mates and also a very good player but we want him at 100 percent so that he is happy," coach Jose Mourinho told a news conference in San Francisco after Real beat Club America 3-2 in a friendly.

"If we have to lose him for a while it won't be a drama," the Portuguese added. "We have other players and that's that."

Kaka, 28, joined Real from AC Milan in 2009 for a fee of around 65 million euros ($85.3 million). He made 25 league appearances last season, scoring eight goals.

Real play a friendly against Major League Soccer (MLS) club LA Galaxy on Saturday in Los Angeles.

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