Ravi Kumar bags gold, creates new record

Wed, Oct 06 10 09:22 PM

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) India''s K Ravi Kumar created a new Commonwealth Games record with a total lift of 321kgs as he grabbed gold in the 69-kg category in the weightlifting competition here today. The Orissa lad proved too good for his opponents as the second best finish was of 308 kgs. Sri Lanka''s Chinthana Vidanage took the silver medal, while Mohd Hafifi Mansor of Malaysia bagged bronze with a total lift of 306 kgs. From the very beginning, Ravi Kumar looked set to dominate the competition as he topped the snatch event with a lift of 146 kgs, which was also a Games record. Hafifi Mansor ended with 137 kgs and the Chinthana Vidanage lifted 134 kgs in snatch. Thereafter, at the clean and jerk event also, the 22-year-old Indian lifted 167 kgs in his very first attempt to put on a total of 313 on board, while his closest two competitors were hovering around 306 to 308 mark, aiming a maximum of 310 kgs. Sri Lanka''s Vidanage created rewrote clean and jerk record when he lifted 174 kgs. But his record could not stand long as Ravi lifted 175 kgs in his third and final attempt. Ravu is now a record holder in all three categories snatch, clean & jerk and total of the two.

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Action to be taken against Fkiri, says Australian Sports Minister

Published>Wed, Oct 06 10 09:18 PM

New Delhi, Oct 6 (ANI): The Australian Sports Minister, Mark Arbib has said the Australian Commonwealth Games Association would take strict disciplinary action against wrestler Hassene Fkiri for making a rude gesture to wrestling officials after losing a fight to Indian wrestler at the Commonwealth Games.

Inaugurating a grassroots-level Australian Sports Outreach Programme in the national capital on Wednesday, Arbib termed Australian wrestler Fkiri's conduct as unfortunate and said that such behaviour is unacceptable.

"The Australian Games Association today decided to take some disciplinary action against that wrestler. For that was an unfortunate action by the wrestler. We, as a country, Australia and India are fierce competitors, there is no doubt that on either the cricket pitch but also at the Commonwealth Games," said Arbib.

"But that sort of behaviour is unacceptable from an Australian point of view, and I support the Commonwealth Games and the Australian Commonwealth Games Association's action," he added.

Hassene Fkiri was disqualified for making obscene gestures and unsporting behaviour during the gold-medal bout, which he lost to Anil Kumar.

The Australian was cautioned twice, once for head butting and then for slapping Kumar.

Later, the Australian wrestler was denied the silver medal, which he would have picked up after losing to Anil Kumar in the final match.

Arbib also said that the Australian contingent is happy with the preparations for the Games.

"Globally, about the preparations of the games, there were some issues and the Indian authority, particularly the Chief Minister, the New Delhi government and the New Delhi Police have worked very hard over the past fortnight to ensure that they were fixed and that has allowed the games to ahead and so far they are going well. In terms of some of the media coverage and comments prior, this is not unusual before any big event," said Arbib. (ANI)

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Indian cyclists blame the starting machine behind defeat

Wed, Oct 06 10 08:52 PM

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) India lost the best chance of earning a bronze medal in the team sprint category in women''s event by a second and Indian cyclists are blaming the starting machine for their defeat. The fight for the bronze medal was between India and Canada and Indian cyclists faced trouble at the beginning of the race which cost them the second they needed to win. Indian cyclists and spearhead Rameshwori Devi minced no words when she insisted had they been practising with the starting machine, bronze could have belonged to them. "We have never trained on a starting machine. We have may be once practised on it in Sydney in March this year. It has been seven months since that one practise," said the cyclist. Rejni Kumari was the cyclist who faced difficulties with the machine and she said they are not used to the machine and wasted the precious second getting free of the machine. "We''re not used to the machines. In Patiala where we were practising we did not have the machine. Someone would hold the rear wheel and release it at the end of the countdown," said Rejni. "If we were used to the machine maybe then... If we get set on it then it would be good," said Rameshwori. "There wasn''t much difference in the timings. Before we could get out of that machine, they (Canadians) left. That was the difference," said Rejni. A disappointed Romeshwori said they were hoping for atleast one medal but it could not be. "I had the finals (Team Sprint), so I left it in between. I did not concentrate on 25 km point race," said Rejni when asked her reason for not finishing the race. In the evening session, Indian cyclist Mahita Mohan remained sole woman cyclist to qualify for the Round 1 of the Sprint while men face defeat in Sprint race.

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Sania Mirza enters CWG tennis quarter finals

Published>Wed, Oct 06 10 08:38 PM

New Delhi, Oct 6 (ANI): India's ace tennis star Sania Mirza entered the women's singles quarter finals of the of the XIXth Commonwealth Games today with a comfortable 6-0, 6-2 win over Brittany Teei from the Cook Islands.

Earlier today, Indian tennis star Somdev Devvarman entered the men's singles quarterfinals with a thumping 6-0 6-1 win over unseeded Sri Lankan Amresh Jayawickreme.

Somdev will next clash with the winner of the match between Scotland's Colin Fleming and Rubin Statham of New Zealand.

Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna is also scheduled to play their singles second round matches today. (ANI)

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Sale of tickets for ODI to start from tomorrow

Wed, Oct 06 10 08:22 PM

Kochi, Oct 6 (PTI) Malayalam actor Mammootty today released the tickets for the October 17 ODI between India and Australia to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here. The actor handed the tickets to Federal Bank Managing Director and CEO Shyam Srinivasan, who sold the first ticket to M A Mohammed, Chairman of Oberon Mall. The tickets have been priced at Rs 300, Rs 1000, Rs 2000, Rs 3000 and Rs 5000 and would be sold through various designated branches of Federal Bank. Ticket sales would be open to the public from tomorrow to October 14. On Oct 15 and 16, special sales would be held. On the day of the match, the tickets would be available at the Bank''s Palarivattom branch, a Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) release said. Students and women would get a discount and a maximum of five tickets would be given to an individual, it added. KCA Secretary, T C Mathew were among those present on the occasion.

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Liverpool agree sale but legal battle ahead

Published>Wed, Oct 06 10 08:16 PM

Liverpool's board has agreed to sell the club to the owners of baseball's Boston Red Sox although the fate of England's most successful soccer team could yet be decided in court as an ownership dispute rages on.

The Premier League club said on Wednesday it had accepted a 300 million pounds ($477.6 million) offer from New England Sports Ventures (NESV) but the deal is being complicated by the club facing a legal challenge from its current owners.

On Tuesday, Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett sought to replace two members of the five-man board with their own people in a final bid to retain control with the BBC quoting the pair as saying they would resist any sale that undervalued the club.

Local media reports had suggested Hicks and Gillett were looking for about 600 million pounds.

The proposed deal's price tag of 300 million includes 200 million in writing down all acquisition debt and taking on some additional working capital debts and other liabilities.

The club's American owners would also not have been happy to hear that a sale to NESV has the support of Liverpool's major creditors Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), according to a source familiar with the situation.

Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton said he was disappointed the current owners had "tried everything to prevent the deal from happening" but added the potential new owners were the best people for the job and would provide funds for new players.

The legal dispute over board membership will be a key part of whether the sale goes ahead, though with an Oct. 15 deadline looming for the RBS debt to be refinanced the advantage seems to be with the prospective owners rather than the incumbents.

The five-times European champions owe 237 million pounds, mainly to RBS who could decide to take effective control of the club if the date passes without payment.

On Tuesday, Hicks and Gillett attempted to remove managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre from the board and replace them with Mack Hicks and Lori Kay McCutcheon.

"It was the last chance for them to leave Liverpool with their heads high," Broughton, speaking on Sky Sports News, said of the current owners. "It's a pity they've chosen to go this route."

Hicks and Gillett instructed Barclays Capital in April to find a buyer and appointed British Airways chairman Broughton to oversee the sale. He said the American owners had broken written agreements in the boardroom battle.

"Part of the terms of me taking on the role was that they gave a written undertaking that only I could change the board... and they also gave a written undertaking that they would not interfere and frustrate any reasonable sale," he said.

"This is frankly a flagrant abuse of those two written undertakings."

UNPOPULAR OWNERS

Hicks and Gillett bought the Merseyside club in February 2007 for 218.9 million pounds and have been unpopular with fans for burdening it with debt, leaving little money for transfers.

Fans have held many protests calling for their departure, blaming the club's worst start to a season for more than half a century on a lack of new players, and struck a note of caution despite being pleased that they could be getting new owners.

"We've heard all these promises before and it amounted to very little," James McKenna, a representative of the Spirit of Shankly supporters group, told Reuters.

"Supporters will be looking at how they (NESV) are going to finance it and how they are going to pay for the new stadium."

Broughton sought to allay such fears, saying NESV wanted to create a 60,000-seater stadium in a "short timetable" -- be it a new ground or an expansion of Anfield -- and also pointed to their track record with the Red Sox.

"NESV's philosophy is all about winning and they have fully demonstrated that at Red Sox," he said, referring to the two World Series the team won in 2004 and 2007 after an 86-year wait. The first title came two years after the takeover by NESV, headed by multi-millionaire John W Henry.

The Liverpool deal will require Premier League approval although the legal dispute is the main issue.

"The legal battle is critical," said Wyn Grant, professor of football economics at Warwick University. "If the NESV deal doesn't go through RBS may ultimately intervene.

"I think RBS would be prepared to extend the loans for a short while to allow the sale to go through without putting the club into administration, but if it's all held up too much they might just pull the plug on Hicks and Gillett, meaning the club would be available for purchase anyway."

The Merseyside team would face a nine-point penalty if the club went into administration -- which would take their Premier League tally into negative territory as they have just six points from seven games and are in the relegation zone.

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Team spirit key to success: Dhoni

Wed, Oct 06 10 07:52 PM

Bangalore, Oct 6 (PTI) A day after leading India to a narrow one-wicket victory over Australia in the first Test at Mohali, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today credited the success of the past one and a half years to the collective effort of the entire team. "It is a real pleasure to captain the best Test team in the world. We have played consistent cricket for the last one-and-half-years, during which we have also battled through injuries," said Dhoni after being named captain of the ICC''s World Test XI during the governing body''s annual awards ceremony here. However, Dhoni admitted that injuries to key players is a cause of concern. "Most of the players even in the current side have got major or minor niggles and yet, we are playing good cricket. I feel, I have got a tremendous side that has the grit and determination to do well for the country. That makes me feel proud," Dhoni said. Recollecting the mood in the dressing room during the tense run-chase in the Mohali Test, Dhoni said, "The dressing room was filled with superstitions. We there were contributing our best through superstitions." The Indian skipper said he was proud to be a part of a historic match and lauded tailender Ishant Sharma''s gritty partnership with VVS Laxman, which proved to be match-winning in the end. "I think the way Ishant contributed with the bat was good. I am glad that I was part of a Test Match that will go into the history as one of the great Test matches that has ever been played," he said.

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