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Thailand Open
World Military Games
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Ivanovic, Venus set up semis date
London, July 5 Facing defeat in the ninth game of the third set, Ivanovic saved three match points on her serve to get herself back into the match and then broke to turn the tables on her opponent. A double fault by 18-year-old Vaidisova handed a delighted Ivanovic the match after two hours on the court. The 19-year-old Serb, runner-up at the French Open last month, will face Venus Williams for a place in the final who defeated Russian fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4. Novak Djokovic shrugged off a sore back to squeeze past former champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 and reach the quarterfinals and will face Cypriot 10th seed Marcos Baghdatis for a place in the semifinal. Baghdatis conducted a band of raucous fans out on court 13 with some swashbuckling tennis to beat durable Russian sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko 7-6, 7-6, 6-3. The Spanish second seed’s third-round match against Robin Soderling spanned five tough sets over three rain-infested days. It looked like all that mental and physical energy had been for nothing as he fell two sets behind against Russian Mikhail Youzhny but he hit back to win 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The irrepressible Nadal will be back in action on Friday against big-serving Berdych after he downed veteran Swede Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-0, 6-7, 6-0. Seventh seed Berdych, the man who famously beat Roger Federer in the 2004 Athens Olympics, will be competing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Venus is threatening to repeat her last title here in 2005 when she also came in under the radar seeded 14th. This time she is down at 23rd but after thrashing Maria Sharapova on Wednesday she looks mean and moody. She powered through the first set against the 2004 U.S. Open champion and then broke in the third game of the second. Kuznetsova did mount some spirited resistance but there was no stopping Venus who wrapped up victory on her fourth match point. Sania-Bhupathi crash out Sania Mirza’s Wimbledon sojourn ended today as she and Mahesh Bhupathi lost 4-6, 4-6 in the mixed doubles second round to ninth seeded Polish-Zimbabwe duo of Marcin Matkowski and Cara Black here. The Indian combination was to blame them for the loss as they committed 19 unforced errors to eight by their opponents in the whole game. They also sent down seven double faults to their opponents’ mere two. Their defeat after one hour and 16 minutes means both of them did not have much to show from the prestigious Grand Slam event. Bhupathi did not compete in the men’s doubles while Sania had lost her doubles, partnering Israeli Sahar Peer, in pre-quarterfinals and singles in the second round. Meanwhile, unseeded Indian Rupesh Roy lost to eighth seed Kellen Damico of USA 3-6, 6-3, 6-10 in the boys’ singles second round. — Agencies
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You win some, you lose some
Wednesday turned out to be a mixed bag for me. Shahar Peer and I went down in three sets against the top seeds in women's doubles, and then Mahesh Bhupathi and I won our mixed doubles match against Skoch and Huzorova. The latter was my doubles partner in the French Open in 2006 and we had a couple of good wins together while reaching the pre-quarterfinals. A veteran in her thirties, Huzorova has amazing hands at the net, and I had a fair idea of what to expect from her, now that she was on the other side of the net!
Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur are the undisputed world champions in women's doubles, and having played them in the French Open, I knew we had our hands full. We were outplayed in the first set, and it took us a while to find our bearings against the level of play that the top seeds conjured up. However, Shahar and I came back strongly in the second set and evened the match out in the tie-breaker. The decider started well for us, but the world champions came up with a couple of amazing shots when we had two break-points on Stosur's serve in the very first game. In tennis, you lose some and you win some. Mahesh and I cruised to a comfortable victory against the Czech duo in the mixed doubles. This was probably the first time in more than a quarter of a century that an all-Indian combination was playing together in the mixed doubles event at a Grand Slam, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing with Mahesh. The rains relented partially on Wednesday and the organisers managed to play out quite a few matches to clear off a portion of the backlog. Nadal came through in five sets and in the women's event, while Henin overcame a resurgent Serena and Venus annihilated Maria Sharapova. I think that Maria's biggest strength over the years has been her serve and that is what separated her from the rest when it really mattered. Coming back from a shoulder injury, she is not yet serving at her best, and it may be a while before she gets back to the level that she was at. I'm coming back from an injury too, so I know how tough things can be and I feel for Maria! But the story of the day for me was Marion Bartoli's fine run into the semifinals with a three-set victory over Michaella Krajicek. This is Marion's first Grand Slam semifinal and I know exactly how hard this girl has worked to overcome major shortcomings in her game. She has a very unorthodox style of play and looks an unlikely Grand Slam semifinalist, but here she is, living out her dream!
— PMG
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Sri Lanka down valiant B’desh to clinch series
Colombo, July 5 Mohammad Ashraful led a brave fight-back with an unbeaten 129 but could not prevent Bangladesh losing. The tourists produced a much-improved display on the third day with Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim (80) sharing a record 191-run stand for the sixth wicket, the highest partnership in Bangladesh's Test history. However, Sri Lanka soon wrapped up the game after Muttiah Muralitharan broke through after tea, taking the last five wickets for 30 to bowl out Bangladesh for 299 and claim an unassailable 2-0 lead. Veteran left-armer Chaminda Vaas finished with four for 55 after claiming the wickets of Mohammad Sharif (two) and Mashrafe Mortaza (nought), both trapped lbw after Sri Lanka took the second new ball. Fast bowler Dilhara Fernando also chipped in with three for 60 from 17 overs. Ashraful bounced back after a duck in the first innings with a responsible knock, curbing his natural inclination to attack. The 22-year-old mixed patient defence with some delightful strokes during a fourth Test century that spanned 236 deliveries and included 18 boundaries. Rahim, selected ahead of the more experienced Khaled Mashud, provided solid support with a determined 80 from 183 balls, a personal best and his first half century in Test cricket. Scoreboard
Bangladesh (1st innings) 62 Sri Lanka (1st innings) 451/6 dec Bangladesh (2nd innings) Omar lbw Vaas 28 Nafees c P.Jayawardene b Vaas 20 Saleh c M.Jayawardene b Fernando 0 Hossain jnr b Fernando 8 Bashar b Fernando 12 Ashraful not out 129 Rahim c & b Muralitharan 80 Sharif lbw Vaas 2 Mortaza lbw Vaas 0 Rafique run out 3 Hossain run out 2 Extras (b-2, lb-2, w-2, nb-9) 15 Total
(all out; 86.2) 299 Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-51, 3-55 4-59, 5-78, 6-269, 7-276, 8-276, 9-286. Bowling: Vaas 20.2-8-55-4, Malinga 15-1-86-0, Fernando 17-2-60-3, Muralitharan 28-6-84-1 Dilshan 6-1-10-0.
— Reuters
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Gayle ready to give Shiv final push
Birmingham, July 5 Chanderpaul’s ideally paced 116 not out here at Edgbaston was the centrepiece of West Indies’ 278 for five. In reply, England were bowled out for 217, fast bowler Ravi Rampaul taking four for 41, as the West Indies won by 61 runs to level the three-match series at 1-1 yesterday. During his innings, 32-year-old Guyanese left-hander Chanderpaul strained a right ankle ligament and didn’t field. A West Indies team spokesman said his fitness would be re-assessed on the morning of Saturday’s match at Trent Bridge. “I will push him out there, even if on one leg,” Gayle jokingly told reporters after yesterday’s victory, achieved with four overs to spare. West Indies decided to move Chanderpaul up the order from No 5, where he top scored for his team with 53 not out in their 79-run series-opening defeat at Lord’s on Sunday, to No 3. It was a move he vindicated in style during a 122-ball knock featuring three sixes and 10 fours. He was also well supported by Marlon Samuels (77) during a third-wicket stand of 175.
— AFP
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Million-dollar boost for Windies cricket
Melbourne, July 5 "This won't be just cricket, this will be a life-changing experience," Stanford said. "We can't wait two decades to regain the golden era of West Indies cricket. We are stuck in the 1950s and 60s. We can't allow ourselves to stay stuck forever. We have to come into the 21st century," he was quoted as saying by the 'Daily Telegraph'. The money would be spent on developing cricket at the grassroots level and grooming youngsters for the second edition of Stanford twenty20 tournament early next year in which 21 teams will compete for $1 million. Stanford had reportedly spent over $35 million on the first edition last year. "I'm investing a lot of money in this thing and at some point I expect to make a profit - something that needs to happen for the longevity of the programme and will provide essential funding for West Indies cricket," Stanford said. "I have committed my resources and I believe that within those five years we'll have a world-beating West Indies team again," he
added. — PTI
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Russia to host 2014 Winter Olympics
Guatemala City, July 5 Sochi, where the Russian president has an official residence, beat the South Korean resort of Pyeongchang by four votes in a ballot Wednesday, bringing new agony to the Asian contender which was also second in the race for the 2010 Games. Putin spoke in English for what is believed to be the first time in public to state Sochi's case to the International Olympic Committee's executive board. Pumped up by eight hours of music and pyrotechnics, a crowd of 10,000 on a central square in Sochi erupted when a screen showed IOC president Jacques Rogge announcing their victory. In Pyeongchang, many shed tears as South Korea's leading alpine resort lost its second bid to host the Winter Olympics. Parents consoled weeping children who were watching a giant screen set up in the town centre. Sochi won by 51 votes to 47 - with one abstention - in the deciding round. Pyeongchang had led after the first round with 36 votes to Sochi's 34 and 25 for the Austrian city of Salzburg, which was eliminated. Putin, President Roh Moo-Hyun of South Korea and Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer had all travelled to Guatemala City to make presentations to the IOC meeting. IOC President Jacques Rogge paid tribute to the candidates. "I would like to congratulate three excellent bids. I had predicted a close call. Sochi won deservedly," Rogge said. But some saw the result as a blow for Rogge, who sources have told AFP, had lobbied within the IOC executive to favour Pyeongchang. Putin had been named 'captain of the team' by the Russian delegation and he also spoke French during his presentation.
— AFP
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Thailand Open
New Delhi, July 5 Sridhar, ranked 48, played out of his skin to come through 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 in the second round and set up a clash with Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam. The Banglaore boy, however, was the lone Indian shuttler in fray with rest of the players bowing out of the championship. National champion Chetan Anand went down to Ireland's Scott Evans 21-15, 21-16 in the second round. In the women's singles, India's only hope Trupti Murgunde lost to Juliana Schenk of Germany 21-9, 21-8. Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurian won their first round women's doubles match against Nina Vislora and Valeri Sorokina of Russia 21-14, 21-23, 21-13. But the duo lost to Tu Mi Hwang and Min Jung Kim of Korea 21-19, 21-5 in the next round. In men's doubles', Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas went down fighting to Phattapol Ngensrisuk and Nitipong Saengsila of Thailand 18-21, 21-18, 25-23.
— PTI
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It’s time to deliver: Bhutia
Gurgaon, July 5 "It is high time the players pulled up their socks and delivered for the sake of Indian football. We haven't performed well in recent times, especially when it mattered," Bhutia told IANS on the sidelines of the national camp here. "It is a new season that looks very promising. We have lot of international matches lined up that will give us a chance to improve our rankings considerably." The national camp concludes on July 12, when the squad will leave for Portugal for a two-week training stint. India will play a friendly match with a Portuguese first division club side and also face two Division II teams during the tour. "The experience of playing in Portugal will really benefit us. The Portuguese have top class teams and their training standards are also very high," he
said. Bhutia also had some words of praise for the current team. "This team is developing and as we play more the boys will mature. Some of the players have a very bright future and will surely shoulder the responsibility of carrying the team to greater heights," he maintained. India, currently 161 in FIFA rankings, will play the seven-nation ONGC Cup at the Ambedkar Stadium here in mid-August and defend the title in the South Asian Football Federation
(SAFF) Cup, to be jointly hosted by Sri Lanka and the Maldives in December. In March 2008, India will take part in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Trophy, where teams outside the top 15 in Asia participate.
— IANS
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World Military Games
New Delhi, July 5 China and the United States are sending strong contingents of more than 200 athletes each for the multi-disciplinary event starting October 14 which will see participation of around 5,000 competitors from more than 80 countries. India is targeting a major chunk of medals on offer in shooting, sailing and boxing among the 15 disciplines. "The Games are being hosted in India and it is very important that our athletes do well. The Services Sports Control Board has been preparing the athletes for the event. We have sent our teams abroad for training and exposure trips," Vice Chief of Army Staff and the chairperson of the Games Lt Gen Deepak Kapoor said here today. In the last edition of the Games, India had sent only 20 athletes and won only a bronze, but this time India is fielding a strong contingent and hoping for more medals. "This is the first occasion when the Games are being held outside Europe. Last time we had sent a small number but we are fielding a large contingent and likely to do much better this time. We have done extensive preparation and have set a target. We keeping our fingers crossed," Kapoor said. India had sent nine teams abroad for special training and exposure for this event. Volleyball, shooting, boxing, triathalon, military pentathlon and football were among the disciplines in which athletes got an opportunity to hone their skills. A major chunk of the medallists in Commonwealth Games and Asian Games last year were from the Indian Army and with some of them competing in the event, the country can realistically hope for a rich haul. With the Games just over three months away, Kapoor exuded confidence that the preparations will be completed on time. "The preparation of the Games is going as per schedule. Seventyeight countries have already confirmed their participation. The last date for entries is August 15 and we are hoping that around 100 countries will take part in the event," he said.
— PTI
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