Jeev cards 70 on day one of Omega European Masters

Thu, Sep 02 10 08:51 PM

Crans Montana (Switzerland), Sep 2 (PTI) Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh rued a cold putter as he brought home a card of one-under 70 in the opening round of the Omega European Masters here today. Singh, the Asian Tour''s number one in 2006 and 2008, failed to take advantage of perfect scoring conditions at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club, trading two birdies against a lone bogey on his last hole. C Muniyappa, making his debut in the co-sanctioned Asian Tour and European Tour event, enjoyed a flying start with an outward 32 but dropped three shots coming home to settle for a level par 71. "I was really disappointed with the way I played. I hit the ball really well but couldn''t hole anything. It was summed up at the last hole, making a bogey with sandwedge in the hand," said Singh. After battling with injuries in the past 18 months, a fit-again Singh has shown signs of regaining his best form but admitted it was a challenge to get all departments working in his game. "It''s tough. It''s been a tough year and half and I''m trying to get out of it. I just can''t get everything together in the game. You have to hole putts. I''m trying to get everything going in a day," said Singh. "I just need to work hard and get sharper. It''s there for the taking. There are a lot of birdies out there. You just have to go out and grind it out. "You''ve got to make a lot of up and downs. I''m going to work on my putting now," said Singh, who trails early leader Matteo Manassero of Italy by six shots. Muniyappa, the reigning Hero Honda Indian Open champion, charged to the top of the leaderboard with five birdies against two bogeys in his first nine holes but ran out of gas. "I putted badly on the back nine. I three putted the first and second holes (his 10th and 11th holes) and after that, my putting feel was gone. I couldn''t judge the pace. I hit the ball nicely, it was all down to the putting. It was disappointing," said Muniyappa. Compatriot Shiv Kapur carded a three-over 74 while Bangladesh''s Siddikur, winner of the Brunei Open, started strongly with a 70.

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Pak cricketers at centre of illegal betting allegations are innocent: Hasan

Published>Thu, Sep 02 10 08:37 PM

Islamabad, Sep 2 (ANI): Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan said on Thursday that the three Pakistani cricketers at the centre of illegal betting allegations are innocent.

The Pakistan cricket team is in the midst of a betting scam, where fast bowlers Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif are alleged to have bowled pre-arranged no-balls in the Lord's Test against England.

Pakistan today dropped Test skipper Salman Butt, fast bowlers Asif and Aamir from the Twenty20 and one-day series against England under pressure from the ICC and England Cricket Board.

Hasan said that Butt and bowlers Amir and Asif had declared their innocence and vowed to fight the allegations.

"The three players have said that they are extremely disturbed by what has happened in the past week, especially in regard of their alleged involvement in the crime," The Nation quoted Hasan, as saying.

"They mentioned that they are entirely innocent in the whole episode and shall defend their innocence as such," he said.

Hasan said the trio had requested to be withdrawn from Pakistan's remaining fixtures on their tour of England due to the "mental torture" they had suffered since the scandal broke. (ANI)

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Two athletes, four wrestlers suspended after testing positive

Published>Thu, Sep 02 10 08:27 PM

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Two athletes and four wrestlers have tested positive in random testing conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) during the trials in Patiala in the run-up to the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games and provisionally suspended by their respective federations.

The wrestlers -- Sumit (74kg), Mausam Khatri (96kg) and Rajiv Tomar (120kg) in men's freestyle and Gursharanpreet Kaur (72kg) in women's section -- were part of the Commonwealth Games squad and have been replaced, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president G.S. Mander said.

The two athletes, who returned positive in the dope test conducted by NADA during the trials at Patiala from Aug 5-8, are shot putter Saurav Vij and discus thrower Akash Antil.

Vij, who was part of the Commonwealth Games squad announced Tuesday, and Antil, have been provisionally suspended with immediate effect, the Athletics Federation of India said.

'As per the report received from National Anti Doping Agency (NADA), the athletes Saurav Vij and Akash Antil were found positive in the dope test conducted during National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships held at Patiala Aug 5-8.

'They are hereby provisionally suspended with immediate effect till the pending enquiry,' Ravinder Chaudhry, Officiating Secretary, AFI, said.

The incident comes barely a week after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) bailed out the weightlifters by giving an interest-free loan to the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) to pay off fines due to doping sanctions.

In wrestling, WFI named Narsingh Pancham Yadav (74kg), Anil Mann (96kg) and Praveen (120kg) in the freestyle section and Anshu Tomar (72kg) in the women's section as replacements in the 21-member squad which include seven women.

The wrestlers tested positive for a banned substance called Methylhexanamine. The tests were part of routine random testing by the NADA during the Aug 8-9 trials in the run-up to the Games.

The suspended wrestlers can appeal against the result, but the WFI had to name their replacements since Thursday was the last date for official entries of participants.

A dejected Mander said in an emergency meeting Thursday the WFI decided to provisionally suspend the four wrestlers.

'During the trials we tested all the probables and these four wrestlers tested positive. The Methylhexanamine is a stimulant and it is easily available at medical stores. Now we have sent them a notice and we will take necessary action against them,' Mander told IANS.

Mander said that in the last four years, since Sushil Kumar's bronze in Beijing Olympics, Indian wrestling has come a long way and WFI is trying its best to keep the sport dope-free.

'We have adopted a strict policy against doping. The WFI has conducted several out-of-competition testing this year and only these four have tested positive. We have come down hard on cheaters,' said Mander, after the emergency meeting of the selection committee at the K.D. Jadhav Wrestling Stadium.

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State Bank of Patiala beat Income Tax by 17 runs on day 2

Thu, Sep 02 10 08:17 PM

Bangalore, Sep 2 (PTI) State Bank of Patiala beat Income Tax by 17 runs on the second day of the Raj Singh Dungarpur Corporate Trophy at the RSI Ground here today. Batting first, State Bank of Patiala were all out for 218 in 48.5 overs but they came back strongly to bundle out the Income Tax for 201 in 46.5 to carve out a narrow 17-run win. Mukesh Sharma was adjudged the Player of the Match. At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, MRF scored 242 for six in their stipulated 50 overs but still succumbed to a five-wicket defeat against ONGC. For ONGC, Player of the match, Sumit Narwal shone as they overhauled the target, scoring 245 for five with more than 12 overs to spare. In Vishakhapatnam, State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) suffered a 42-run defeat via VJD method against AIEB. Batting first, SBH scored 171 all out in 43.2 overs, while AIEB were at 99 for two in 20.3 overs when rain stopped play but the latter was adjudged the winner by 42 runs via VJD Method. AIEB''s Vinay Dandekar was the Player of the Match. In another match in Hyderabad, Mohammed Kaif scripted a brilliant runchase to help Air India beat Chemplast by six wickets. Chemplast scored 278 for five in 50 overs but still lost the match as Air India achieve the target with 14 balls to spare, losing four wickets. Kaif was adjudged the Player of the Match, a BCCI release said. In Gymkhana Ground, BSNL put up a good show to inflict a narrow five-run win over State Bank Of Mysore (SBM). Batting first, BSNL could manage a modest 240 all out in 49.4 overs but their bowlers returned to bowl out State Bank Of Mysore for 235 in 48.4 overs. SBM''s Chetan William was adjudged the Player of the Match. In another thrilling match in Chennai, TATAS beat BPCL by just one-run in MA Chidambaram Stadium. The TATAS piled up 265 for eight in 50 overs but BPCL''s batsmen fall shot of the target by just one run as they could manage 264 for six in their stipulated 50 overs. Dhruv Singh of TATAS was the Player of the Match.

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We should be excited for Games: Sushil Kumar

Thu, Sep 02 10 08:07 PM

New Delhi, Sep 2 (PTI) Olympic bronze medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar today said it''s not time to create controversies and people should be "happy and excited" about the Commonwealth Games, scheduled for October 3-14. The build-up to the Games has been marred by construction delays and corruption allegations. "Let''s build a positive image and stop criticising each other. It''s a matter of great pride that India is hosting such a big event after 1982 Asian Games. We should be happy and excited," Sushil said on the sidelines of the launch of Games'' merchandise. A lot of corruption reports surfaced recently which led to Indian government intervening in the organisation of the mega event. A group of Empowered ministers and a team of bureaucrats was formed to oversee the preparations. The Haryana grappler is confident Indian team will put up a impressive show at home Games. "We are confident of rich medal haul. We have trained really hard for the big event and hope to win a maximum of 21 medals in both men''s and women''s event. I am sure of at least 15 medals. "It''s the biggest event happening in the country and we are prepared for that. We will bring laurels for the country," said Sushil, who will compete in the free style 66-kg event. Sushil said he was happy with the facilities being provided to wrestlers by the federation and the sports ministry. "The national camp at Sonepat is going well and wrestlers are training hard. The sports ministry and federation have provided us with all the facilities," he added.

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Dengue scare adds to CWG woes

Published>Thu, Sep 02 10 07:51 PM

New Delhi, Sep 2 (ANI): With over 1,000 suspected dengue cases being reported in New Delhi, the outbreak of the disease has added to the woes of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, which is already struggling against the backdrop of constructional delays and missed deadlines.

It has been reported that at lest participating nations have written to the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee inquiring about the measures being taken to control the outbreak of the disease in and around the 2010 Games venues.

A combination of heavy rains that has lashed the city this year and the debris created due to the ongoing construction for the upcoming mega event has become a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes and water-borne diseases.

Moreover, the media has highlighted the danger with pictures of stagnant water at the Games village, where the athletes and administrators would be staying, as well as around some of the main stadiums where work has still not been finished.

Earlier on August 23, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said large-scale construction for the upcoming Commonwealth Games was responsible the huge number of dengue cases in the national capital.

"Mosquitoes breeding at construction sites is one of the reasons behind the menace. The presence of dengue and water is strongly related," said Azad, while asking the people to remain alert and take preventive measures.

"Delhi is dug up because of the Games, and it is also raining very heavily in the city after a long time. Since water remains accumulated in many places, it becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes," he added.

Health officials have said that the number of dengue cases this year is highest in the last six years. The city had, on August 22, recorded the highest single-day incidence of dengue cases being reported this season, with 36 patients testing positive.

Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four-dengue viruses.

It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical regions, making India a perfect recipe for disaster and recently the country's health minister had blamed the unfinished work related to the games for the outbreak of the disease.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games, which kicks off on October 3, is India's biggest sporting event since the 1982 Asian Games.

India is expecting about two million tourists in New Delhi for the Games, as well as about 10,000 athletes from 71 teams representing 54 Commonwealth member states. (ANI)

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SPORT-RACES

Thu, Sep 02 10 07:47 PM

Mysore, Sep 2 (PTI) Following are the results of 5th day''s race held here today. 1st race : Shivakashi Plate -- 1200 M. Good Gift (L Rajeswari, Sureshkumar T Jain and Dr Vijay Chavan) 61.5 Khurshad Alam first Faction Leader 60 R Ravi second Ziggy Stardust 52.5 P S Chouhan third Gentle Legend 54.5 K Gopal Rao fourth All ran Won by: 3 Ls, 1-1/2 Ls and 1-1/2 Ls Time : One minute: 18.39 seconds Tote : Rs 58 for win, Rs 23, Rs 18 and Rs 27 for places Winner trained by : Dominic S Favourite : Gara Fluid Forecast : Rs 296 Quinella : Rs 173 SHP : Rs 60 Trin : 70 pct Rs 1936 : 30 pct Rs 1660 ..

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