Somdev bows out of Tashkent Challenger after tough fight

Fri, Oct 15 10 01:21 PM

Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Oct 15 (PTI) Second seed Somdev Devvarman crashed out of the Tashkent ATP Challenger after a straight-set defeat against Milos Raonic, placed 60 places below him. The 95th ranked Indian, who came into the tournament after winning singles gold in the Commonwealth Games, lost 4-6 6-7(5) to Canadian in the second round. Somdev earned 10 ranking points and USD 2150 as prize money. Another Indian bowing out was Purav Raja, who lost the doubles quarterfinal along with Australia''s Sadik Kadir. They lost 6-3 1-6 8-10 to fourth seeds Treat Conrad Huey of Philippines and British Dominic Inglot. Raja and Sadik got 25 points each and split USD 1600. PTI AT

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Manmohan Singh to meet CWG medallist today

Published>Fri, Oct 15 10 01:17 PM

New Delhi, Oct 15 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will meet Commonwealth Games 2010 medal winners here today.

According to sources, the Prime Minister will meet the medalists at his residence - 7 Race Course Road - at 5 p.m.

Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, Sports Minister M.S. Gill and other sports officials are also likely to accompany the athletes, sources added.

India made a record haul of 101 medals, including 38 Gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze. India stood second in the medal tally behind Australia, which bagged 74 gold, 55 silver and 48 bronze medals. (ANI)

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Paes, Bopanna to clash in Shanghai Masters quarters

Fri, Oct 15 10 01:07 PM

Shanghai, Oct 15 (PTI) India''s Davis Cup mates Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna set up a quarter-final clash against each other in the Shanghai Masters after registering wins with their respective partners here. Third seeds Paes and Jurgen Melzer of Austria beat Brazil''s Thomaz Belluci and Serbia''s Janko Tipsaveric 6-3 6-3 in the second round of the USD 3,240,000 hard court event. Melzer had also shocked top seed and world number one Rafael Nadal 6-1 3-6 6-3 in the singles pre-quarter-finals. Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi scored a 6-3 7-5 win over eighth seeds Dick Norman of Belgiam and South African Wesley Moodie. Mahesh Bhupathi and his Belarusian partner Max Mirnyi, seeded fifth, also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3 6-1 win over Marc Lopez and Tommy Robredo. They will next take on fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach.

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Jharkhand to felicitate CWG medalists

Published>Fri, Oct 15 10 12:57 PM

Ranchi, Oct 15 (IANS) Commonwealth Games medalists from Jharkhand will be felicitated and rewarded by the state government, it was announced here Friday.

'We will felicitate the players of the state who won the medals in the 19th Commonwealth Games. The players will be rewarded,' Jharkhand Deputy Chief Minister Sudesh Mahto, who also heads the state sports ministry, told reporters.

A player who wins gold, silver or bronze medal is entitled to a cash award of Rs.10 lakh, Rs.5 lakh and Rs.3 lakh respectively, an official in the sports ministry said.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda Sunday announced a reward of Rs.10 lakh for Deepika Kumari, a member of the Indian women's archery team who won two gold medals in the Games. Deepika's father is an auto-rickshaw driver and her mother is a nurse.

Besides Deepika, other players who managed a podium finish were Rahul Banerjee who won gold in individual archery recurve, Jhanu Hansda who won bronze in female archery compound, and Jayanta Talukdar who won bronze in javelin throw event.

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand tourism department is planning to appoint Deepika as its brand ambassador.

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Secret behind Kirsten's success with Team India where other foreigners failed

Published>Fri, Oct 15 10 12:51 PM

Bangalore, Oct 15(ANI): Indian cricket team's coach Gary Kirsten has revealed how he has turned the team from being perpetual underachievers to a dominant Test team in the world within two years.

When asked about his successful stint with Team India when many foreign coaches have failed in the subcontinent, Kirsten said: "It was very different, I probably made a few errors up front, coming in with a South African mentality."

"I spent a lot of time learning and understanding the environment, being very respectful of the Indian way: this is a very good cricket country, this is how they do things. And I buy into that, and I said what ways can I influence them to make an even better team?," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Kirsten, as saying.

"'I think once you come from a platform of really buying into the way they play cricket, then you only look at it from a positive point of view," he added.

He further said that the one thing that has been great is seeing how cricket is played in another country and culture.

"They're very different to an Australian mindset, very different to a South African mindset," Kirsten said.

Kirsten's comment came after India's 2-0 Test series win against Australia, which has seen the team maintain its top spot in the ICC Test rankings ahead of South Africa.

Apart from clinching the Border-Gavaskar trophy, he also coached India to its first bilateral series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, and India's first ODI series victory against New Zealand in New Zealand after 40 years.

The 42-year-old has also been praised by all players, including Sachin Tendulkar, for enhancing their playing techniques, motivating them and discussing tactics that can be deployed on the field. (ANI)

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Watson says Aussies will have 'no excuses' against England in Ashes

Published>Fri, Oct 15 10 12:47 PM

Bangalore, Oct 15(ANI): Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has said that his team would have no excuses during next month's Ashes.

The Australian team is currently ranked fifth in the world following their 2-0 Test series defeat against India, and is dealing with their longest Test-match losing streak for 22 years.

"Every Test we play, everyone is improving. I know that every time I go out to play I am learning different things and different lessons," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Watson, as saying.

"We are trying not to make the same mistakes over again and a year down the track we've got a bit more experience and unfortunately learnt from our mistakes, hopefully we can bring it all together in the Ashes."

"We've got no excuses once we get home. We are going to have to make the most of lessons we have learnt the hard way over there last year," he added.

The first of the five Ashes Tests will be held at The Gabba in Brisbane from November 25 to 29.

It will be followed by Tests in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

The tour also has two Twenty20 clashes and a seven-match ODI series. (ANI)

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Secret behind Kirsten's success with Team India where other foreigners failed

Published>Fri, Oct 15 10 12:37 PM

Bangalore, Oct 15(ANI): Indian cricket team's coach Gary Kirsten has revealed how he has turned the team from being perpetual underachievers to a dominant Test team in the world within two years.

When asked about his successful stint with Team India when many foreign coaches have failed in the subcontinent, Kirsten said: "It was very different, I probably made a few errors up front, coming in with a South African mentality."

"I spent a lot of time learning and understanding the environment, being very respectful of the Indian way: this is a very good cricket country, this is how they do things. And I buy into that, and I said what ways can I influence them to make an even better team?," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Kirsten, as saying.

"'I think once you come from a platform of really buying into the way they play cricket, then you only look at it from a positive point of view," he added.

He further said that the one thing that has been great is seeing how cricket is played in another country and culture.

"They're very different to an Australian mindset, very different to a South African mindset," Kirsten said.

Kirsten's comment came after India's 2-0 Test series win against Australia, which has seen the team maintain its top spot in the ICC Test rankings ahead of South Africa.

Apart from clinching the Border-Gavaskar trophy, he also coached India to its first bilateral series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, and India's first ODI series victory against New Zealand in New Zealand after 40 years.

The 42-year-old has also been praised by all players, including Sachin Tendulkar, for enhancing their playing techniques, motivating them and discussing tactics that can be deployed on the field. (ANI)

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