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IBL set for exciting launch
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Sodhi getting Khel Ratna kicks up a storm of protest
ICC suspends seven in Bangla league fixing scandal
Lashmanova takes walk title despite last-lap lapse
Isinbayeva wins fairytale third world pole vault gold
Aussie media slams ‘shameful’ batting collapse in last Ashes Test
Could have scored triple ton: Dhawan
Asia Cup results my responsibility, says Oltmans
Pak team may not be allowed for CLT20 BCCI may move court in NCA land deal
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IBL set for exciting launch
New Delhi, August 13 The players have been practicing hard here for the past three days, and all the top players have arrived, barring Mumbai Masters icon Leo Chong Wei, the World No 1 and the World Championship silver medallist, who will be joining the team later, as Masters will not be playing on the first two days. Krish Delhi Smashers will take on Pune Pistons in the opening match, followed by a clash between Hyderabad Hotshorts and Awadhe Warriors, on the first two days. That it will be a total team game, and the fortune of a team may not necessarily rest on any single player, make the contests exciting. If the singles players do not deliver, the teams can bank on their doubles and mixed doubles pairs to restore the balance, though in the league round, even if a team take a 3-0 lead, they will have to play all the five matches. And if a team make a clean 5-0 sweep, they will earn six bonus points. If the results are 4-1 or 3-2, the winning team will get five and four bonus points, respectively. And the first player reaching 21 points will win a set, as there is no need to take a two-point winning lead. If a match stretches to the third game, the first one to score 11 points will pocket the game and the match. Explosive action
Over the next 18 days, 66 players, representing six franchisee teams, will be playing 90 matches across six cities, with some explosive action expected from the Indian stars. World Championship women’s singles bronze medallist P.V.Sindhu, who joined her team late today, had gone on record that she was ready to take on shuttle queen Saina Nehwal, who also trains in the Gopichand Acaemy in Hyderabad, like her. And Saina has accepted the challenge. On paper, the Hyderabad Hotshots, consisting of Saina Nehwal and former World Champion and No 1 Taufik Hidayat, look formidable, though other franchises like Delhi Samshers, Mumbai Masters, Banga Beats and Awadhe Warriors have assemble combinations who are strong too. “It’s a very exciting league, a fantastic concept. And the launch of the league shows the growing popularity of badminton in the country”, said Saina. She said she was surprised to know that assured full house will be watching the matches on the first two days of the league in Delhi. Good for the game
“I am really happy to play alongside and against some of the best players in the world. But if we have to sustain the league, our players should do well consistently at the international level”, she noted. Saina said if the Badminton Association of India, in association with Sporty Solutionz, decided to launch the IBL to set a trend, it was because of the good performance of the Indian players, rather consistently, over the past few years. “It augurs well for the game”, she added. And the newest World championship bronze medallist P.V.Sindhu, and former winners Jwala Gutta and Ashwani Ponnappa, echoed Saina’s views. They all felt that the IBL was the best thing to happen for Indian badminton, as not only the league offers big money, but the tournament will be spread across six major cities — Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad — which will enable a large number of spectators enjoy the game, though the matches will be beamed live across the world. BAI and Solutionz have done a wonderful job of mounting the league, after overcoming initial hiccups, as there was a time when it was felt that some of the top players will give the league the miss. But some of them having already arrived, the BAI is having the last laugh, after all. |
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Sodhi getting Khel Ratna kicks up a storm of protest
New Delhi, August 13 It is learnt that Sodhi`s name was not there when the majority of members decided to vote for the Khel Ratna awardee but brought back later for consideration. A selection panel member told PTI that Commonwealth Games gold-medallist discus thrower Krishna Poonia and London Paralympics silver medallist H N Girisha were shortlisted for voting by 11 out of 12 selection panel members and Sodhi`s name was not considered initially. He said the scenario changed after one member, a former shooter, came in late for the meeting and Girisha`s name was removed and there was voting between Sodhi and Poonia. “Out of the 12 members of selection panel, excluding two SAI officials, 10 were present when the meeting started. Two members came late for the meeting, the selection panel member said on condition of anonymity. “10 of us decided that there would be voting between Poonia and Girisha for Khel Ratna. After that we started discussions on Arjuna Awards. But after one member came in , Sodhi was brought back in the fray,” he added. It is learnt that Poonia was initially tipped for the recommendation as she had more support among the members till Sodhi`s name was brought back. In the voting -- by raise of hands by members -- between her and Sondhi, there was a tie and the support he got from SAI officials led to his recommendation, according to the selection panel members. Another member said that the two SAI representatives, were earlier rooting for Girisha but later supported Sodhi. The SAI officials, however, have no voting rights. “It was very shameful politics being played in the recommendation of Khel Ratna and I had not imagined this. Earlier, the SAI officials were supporting Girisha when there was to be a voting between him and Poonia,” the selection panel member said.”But later after Sodhi was brought back, the SAI people supported him. In fact, there was a tie between Poonia and Sodhi, the SAI officials` support tilted the balance in his favour,” he said.”Some members even suggested that both Poonia and Sondhi be recommended together as there was earlier instances also but it did not happen,” he added. Another member of the panel claimed that it was an unanimous decision to recommend Sodhi for the award and there were no differences among members.When contacted, the chairman of the committee Ferreira, did not comment on what transpired in the meeting. A dejected Poonia said that she would make her representation to the Sports Minister Jitendra Singh tomorrow for the “injustice” meted out to her. “We will write to the Sports Minister tomorrow and meet him also if required. Injustice has been done to me. I am really disappointed with had happened in the selection panel meeting,” she said. — PTI Award list
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ICC suspends seven in Bangla league fixing scandal
New Delhi, August 13 Refusing to divulge the names of the nine individuals, the ICC said disciplinary proceedings have been instituted against them and their identities would be revealed only after the conclusion of the entire process. “The International Cricket Council and the Bangladesh Cricket Board today announced that following a comprehensive investigation carried out by the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, nine individuals have been charged with various offences that are alleged to have been committed under the BCB's Anti-Corruption Code during the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League,” the ICC said in a statement. “The charges relate to an alleged conspiracy within the Dhaka Gladiators franchise to engage in match-fixing and spot-fixing activity during matches in the BPL 2013, as well as failures by individuals to report approaches made to them to be involved in the conspiracy.” Charge letters detailing the allegations have been issued to the relevant individuals. But the ICC and BCB emphasised the importance of recognising that all those charged remain innocent until proved guilty. “Those facing the more serious fixing-related charges have been provisionally suspended and are immediately barred from participating in all cricket activities organised or recognised by the BCB, the ICC or of the ICC's Member associations, pending resolution of the disciplinary proceedings against them,” the ICC said. All those charged have 14 days to indicate whether they would plead guilty or defend themselves from the charges in a full hearing, which would take place before an Anti-Corruption Tribunal. Those who plead guilty, or who deny the charges but are later found guilty by an Anti-Corruption Tribunal, would be subject to the sanctions mandated in Article 6 of the BCB's Anti-Corruption Code, which include the impositions of a suspension of upto a lifetime for the fixing offences and between one to five years for any failure to report a corrupt approach. The corruption scandal was unearthed by the ICC's ACSU, which was engaged by the BCB to provide anti-corruption cover during the BPL 2013. ICC Chief Executive David Richardson, lauded the work of the ACSU. “During its investigation, the ACSU interviewed a large number of people who were involved in BPL 2013 and collected significant evidence from a number of sources.” — PTI The charges relate to an alleged conspiracy within the Dhaka Gladiators franchise to engage in match-fixing and spot-fixing activity during matches in the BPL 2013, as well as failures by individuals to report approaches made to them to be involved in the conspiracy. — ICC
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Lashmanova takes walk title despite last-lap lapse
Moscow, August 13 World record holder Lashmanova, 21, secured a first world title but had only three seconds to spare at the line over team mate Anisya Kirdyapkina after twice almost breaking stride on her final lap because she did not know where the race ended. “The judges didn’t really explain to us that we should do one lap before the home straight and finish,” she said. “That’s why I stopped for a second in the stadium, but I quickly understood I should keep going.” Lashmanova clocked 1:27:08 on a hot morning in the capital, getting a rousing reception as she entered the Luzhniki stadium. A fast-closing Kirdyapkina could not quite close the gap despite her younger rival’s slip-up, while China’s Liu Hong took bronze in 1:28:10. Race walking superpower Russia were denied a podium sweep after Vera Sokolova, who was in third place, was shown a third yellow card and disqualified soon after entering the arena with just over one lap of the track to complete. Russia also won men’s 20km walk gold on Sunday when Aleksandr Ivanov triumphed. Aside from the hosts, the two blocks of yellow and blue clad Ukrainians in the stands had plenty to cheer about and added some much-needed atmosphere to yet another poorly attended qualifying session. Ukraine’s Ganna Melnichenko held on to her overnight heptathlon lead after season’s bests in the long jump (6.49 metres) and the javelin (41.87) gave her a total of 5,619 points. But she has only a 68-point cushion heading into a what should be a thrilling final event, the 800 metres later in the day. Canada’s Brianne Theisen Eaton, wife of world decathlon champion Ashton Eaton, moved up into second on 5,551 and former world junior champion Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands is third on 5,492. Other Ukraine medal favourites Olha Saladuha, defending triple jump champion, and high jumper Bohdan Bondarenko both topped their respective qualifying rounds. Five other medals will be decided in the evening session with Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva likely to pull the crowds in as she goes for a third, and possibly final, world title. Sleepy Farah wakes up to reach 5,000 final
New world 10,000 metres champion Mo Farah brushed the sleep from his eyes and forced his tired legs around 15 laps of the track to qualify for the 5,000 final. Luckily Farah, favourite to retain his 5,000 crown and match his distance double from the 2012 London Olympics, was not required to use the blistering finishing speed that won him 10,000 gold on Sunday. “Today it was pretty hard to get up in the morning as I am not a morning person, though I had to wake up at 6 a.m.,” he said. “But we’ve just got to deal with it and get ready for the final.” “I just wanted to do as little work as possible, freshen my legs up and get through to the final. I’ve just got to recover now and get ready for Friday,” the 30-year-old said. With the first five finishers in each heat guaranteed a place in the final, the Briton was happy to take his foot off the pedal, crossing the line in fifth behind Ethiopian Muktar Edris with the fastest man in the world this year, Edwin Soi of Kenya in second. Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet won the first heat despite almost taking the wrong bus from the hotel and arriving just in time for the race. — Reuters Nat’l record
Khushbir Kaur finished a distant 39th but still improved on her own national record in the women’s 20km Race Walk event. The 20-year-old Khushbir clocked 1 hour 34 minutes and 28 seconds to finish 39th in the 62-athlete field, cutting down three minutes from her earlier national mark of 1:37:28 which she created in Patiala last year. — PTI |
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Isinbayeva wins fairytale third world pole vault gold Moscow, August 13 The Russian, twice Olympic champion and world outdoor record holder, was the only vaulter to clear 4.89 metres.
It was a season’s best leap for the 31-year-old, the first woman to clear the revered five metres barrier, who said before the championships that she would retire. American Olympic champion Jenn Surh took silver and Cuban Yarisley Silva bronze. Both failed at 4.89 after clearing 4.82. After a nervous start when she failed with her first attempt after entering the competition at 4.65, a measure of her confidence with her rivals already up and running, Isinbayeva grew in stature. With a chorus of “Yelena Yelena” reverberating around the Luzhniki stadium, the biggest crowd of a poorly attended championships so far, each clearance was greeted by a cacophony of approval. Milking the moment and urging the crowd to raise the decibel level further, she asked for the bar to be raised to 5.07, one centimetre above the world record she set in 2009. Three unsuccessful attempts followed but it could not spoil the former gymnast’s celebrations as she set off for a lap of the track which featured a cartwheel and back-flip. Merritt powers to 400 metres gold LaShawn Merritt returned the United States to the top of the 400 metres podium with a commanding performance as defending champion Kirani James faded badly to finish a surprise seventh.
Compatriot Tony McQuay was second in 44.40 and fast-finishing Luguelin Santos of Dominican Republic took bronze in 44.52. Below par Gowda finishes seventh Vikas Gowda finished seventh with a best throw of 64.03 metres — well below his personal best of 66.28m — as Germany’s Robert Harting won his third successive world discus title in impressive style. Harting’s 69.11 metre throw, the fourth-longest of the season, was too good for perennial runner-up Piotr Malachowski of Poland who took another silver. Former world and Olympic champion Gerd Kanter of Estonia took the bronze with 65.19. Aman wins Ethiopia’s first 800m world title A grimacing Mohammed Aman hurtled to the front in the final 10 metres to become the first Ethiopian to win an 800 metres world title — Ethiopia’s first world gold at a distance below 5,000 metres. Aman, the only man to beat world record holder David Rudisha since 2009 and pre-race favourite in the absence of the injured Kenyan, pipped American Nick Symmonds for victory in 1:43.31. Djibouti’s Ayanleh Souleiman was third. Melnichenko hangs on to win heptathlon gold Ukrainian heptathlete Ganna Melnichenko won her first major title and Canadian Brianne Theisen Eaton earned a silver medal to hang next to husband Ashton Eaton’s gold. Melnichenko finished the seven events with a personal best total of 6,586 points, 56 more than Eaton. World junior champion Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands won the bronze medal with a national record of 6,477. — Reuters Nat’l record Khushbir Kaur finished a distant 39th but still improved on her own national record in the women’s 20km Race Walk event. The 20-year-old clocked 1 hour 34 minutes and 28 seconds, cutting down three minutes from her earlier mark of 1:37:28 set last year. 2012 London Olympics champion and world record holder Elena Lashmanova of Russia won the gold in 1:27:08. Her compatriot Anisya Kirdyapkina took the silver in 1:27:11 while China’s Hong Liu, who had won silver in the last edition, came third in 1:28:10. — PTI
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Aussie media slams ‘shameful’ batting collapse in last Ashes Test
New Delhi, August 13 England win 4th test, clinch 3rd straight Ashes series but crashed to 224 all out, with paceman Stuart Broad ripping through the middle order on his way to taking six wickets for 50. "No-one does shameful collapses quite like Australia and Michael Clarke's side conjured up one to remember, or rather to forget, at Durham to hand the Ashes series to England," said The Australian's cricket writer Wayne Smith. "Not since it was beaten in 1953, 1955 and 1956 has Australia lost three Ashes series in succession but rarely, with so much on the line and with victory so clearly in sight, has a team succumbed so meekly." Australia were scenting victory after a solid century opening stand between David Warner and fellow left-hander Chris Rogers but Rogers was out for 49 and his partner (71) was the third batsmen dismissed as eight wickets fell for just 56 runs. "Australia had already conceded the Ashes but a humiliating batting collapse at Durham has rubbed salt into their wounds," said the Sydney Morning Herald's Chris Barrett. "Without a Test win since January, Australia will drop to fifth in the world rankings behind Pakistan unless they prevail at the Oval," he added, referring to the final Test from August 21. Under the headline: "Choking: It's Australian for cricket," the Sydney Daily Telegraph said the defeat was hard to stomach after a sterling effort from the Australian bowlers, led by Ryan Harris. — Agencies
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Pugilist Kavita gets her due
Bhiwani, August 13 Hailing from the Bhiwani district, Kavita, the only boxer in the list, will become the first female boxer from Haryana to get the Arjuna award. Kavita, ranked fourth in the world in the heavyweight (+81kg) category, will become the third female boxer after Mary Kom and L Sarita Devi – both hailing from Manipur — to receive the award.Kavita’s husband Sudhir Kumar, said that the family was happy that the government had recognized her achievements at the national and international level. Kavita won bronze medal in the 2010 World Championships, held in Bridgetown, Barbados, and another bronze in the 2012World Championships, held in Qinhuangdao, China. She also won the bronze medal in the 2012 Asian Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Kavita has an unparalleled record at the national level. She has won seven national boxing championship and national games gold medals, five Federation Cup gold medals and three gold medals in super cup inter-zonal national championships. Kavita, a head constable with the Haryana police, won the gold medal in recently concluded World Police and Fire Games held in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Apart from her, Preeti Beniwal from Hisar won the gold medal in the 60kg category, while another Bhiwani boxer Suman won silver medal in the 63 kg category.
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Could have scored triple ton: Dhawan
New Delhi, August 13 Dhawan fell 20 runs short of the world record List A (limited overs) score — England batsman Alistair Brown's 268 for Surrey vs Glamorgan at The Oval in 2002. But Dhawan's 150-ball 248 was the highest by an Indian after Virender Sehwag (219 n.o) and Sachin Tendulkar (200 n.o). Earlier this year, Dhawan also struck the fastest century by a Test debutant. “I was aware of the record and it felt really special to score these runs,” Dhawan told bcci.tv. “When I got out in the 44th over it occurred to me that had I batted till the end I had a chance to score a triple hundred. I am happy with what I scored though. It did cross my mind that I joined Sachin 'paaji' and Viru 'paaji' in scoring a double century in a one-day game," he said. Dhawan enjoyed his innings against South Africa in their own backyard in a series that is a warm-up for India's tour later this year. “I especially enjoyed it as it came against a South African side in their own backyard. They are very tough to play at home and they play good quality cricket,” Dhawan said. The southpaw admitted that Sachin and Sehwag's double centuries were more important in the context. “Those were two of the greatest innings in cricket history and they came at the international level. So, they are much bigger than my innings,” Dhawan said. “I've always loved watching them bat. But I love my batting as well. So, it's difficult for me to pick a favourite knock out of the three,” he added. This year, Dhawan has been in fine form scoring four international centuries - one in Tests and three in ODIs. He was also the Man of the Series in the Champions Trophy that was won by India. “This will remain one of my favourite matches because I scored 200 for the first time in a 50-over game. Unfortunately it wasn't broadcast live on television but that's fine because I loved batting,” said Dhawan. Shikhar has raised the bar: Gambhir Gautam Gambhir has openly admitted that his statemate Shikhar Dhawan has “raised the bar” for him and all others with his stupendous performance at the international level. Gambhir, who is fighting to make a comeback into the India side, showered accolades on his statemate Dhawan. “Shikhar proud of u, brilliant knock. Keep going, keep the tricolour fluttering. And yes Shikhar, thanks for raising the bar for all of us. Good luck for future too,” Gambhir was effusive in his praise for the fellow left-hander. — PTI
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Asia Cup results my responsibility, says Oltmans
New Delhi, August 13 India face a must-win situation in the Asia Cup, to be held from August 24 to September 1, as they need to win the tournament to qualify for next year's World Cup in Hague, The Netherlands. “I'll be responsible for the team's performance but at the same time I'm confident also,” Oltmans told the media persons on the sidelines of the national camp at the National Stadium. “We have prepared ourselves in the best possible manner in the short period of time we had. We can assure all that we will give our 100%,” the Dutchman added. Injuries to 4 players — Askashdeep Singh, S V Sunil, Gurwinder Singh Chandi and Danish Mujatab — had forced India to field a young and inexperienced forwardline. — PTI
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Pak team may not be allowed for CLT20 New Delhi, August 13 The rising tension at the Line of Control (LOC) has left the Pakistan Cricket Board worried about the participation of its team, Faisalabad Wolves, in the in the cash-rich event to be held at various venues in India. “We have been approached by a cricket team from Pakistan to participate in the Champions League Twenty20 event”, spokesperson in the MEA said on Tuesday. “It does not start for a month. We will carefully examine before we take a decision in this regard”, the spokesperson said. A senior PCB official had earlier said they would start the procedure for obtaining visas for the Faisalabad team after the Eid holidays. The official said PCB will keep in touch with the Indian Cricket Board and was hopeful that there would be no problems in the team getting visas. The Faisalabad team is led by Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq who is expected to directly fly to India from Zimbabwe to join the team.
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BCCI may move court in NCA land deal Kolkata, August 13 The BCCI is embroiled in a land deal controversy for the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy as the Karnataka High Court had ruled the deal, allegedly running to the tune of Rs 50 crore, illegal.— PTI
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Olympic champion Elena Lashmanova overcame confusion over where the finish line was to lead home a Russian one-two in the women’s 20-km race walk at the world championships on Tuesday.
Merritt took the race on from the gun and went out hard over the first 200 but, unlike James, the American had plenty left in the tank coming into the home straight to seal victory in a world-leading 43.74 seconds. 
