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Pietersen puts England in command
Alonso wins European Grand Prix
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Korea, Saudi Arabia enter semis
Sania loses in singles, advances in doubles
Galaxy debut
Punjab ‘A’ in netball q-finals
Athletics squad leaves for Asian meet
Camp for world judo meet from today
Patiala cricketers to play in UK
Football
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Pietersen puts England in command
London, July 22 At stumps on the 4th day, India, although boosted by a cultured unbeaten 56 from Dinesh Karthik and an elegant undefeated 36 from Sourav Ganguly — who added 53 for the 4th wicket — were an uncomfortable 137 for three. India’s inconvenience was largely instigated by a dubious lbw decision against skipper Rahul Dravid and another directed at Sachin Tendulkar, where he ought to have received the benefit. In the latter instance, Monty Panesar, a British Sikh whose grand-parents still reside in Punjab, was delirious with delight and celebrated as if he had won the jackpot! The assignment for India could have been more daunting but for Rudra Pratap Singh, who finished with career best figures of five for 59. Zaheer Khan, too, bowled intelligently to return four for 79. History is, of course, against India. The highest 4th innings score to win a test match at Lord’s in well over 100 years is 344 for one by the then mighty West Indies in 1984. Since the square was last relaid – lending it its present character - England rattled up 282 for three against New Zealand in 2004. The fickleness of weather forecasts was laid threadbare as what was predicted to be a dodgy day produced uninterrupted cricket under a comparatively clear sky. This was a boon for a virtually brimful of spectators. The revised view about the final day is more optimistic. It will be interesting to see if this proves to be correct. Panesar is doubtless seeking to exploit the rough. India had to win every session from start of play on Sunday to pull off victory. They, arguably, pocketed the first two hours, as Singh skimmed a large part of the cream of the English middle order in a space of 15 balls, which reduced England to 144 for five. The Uttar Pradesh lad has come a long way since his test debut 18 months ago. He is faster, bouncier and instilled with greater variety, including being able to bowl around the wicket quite effectively. With precisely such tactics he brought one in to captain Michael Vaughan to uproot his stumps off an inside edge. He, then, surprised Paul Collingwood with a bouncer, which this batsman awkwardly fended with his gloves, before cleaning up Ian Bell as he attempted an ill-advised cross-batted stroke. But Pietersen, one of the best contemporary batsmen, now took control. With a dismissiveness that’s a hallmark of his batting, he brushed aside the Indian bowling, including forcefully turning deliveries from outside the off-stump to leg — a Pietersen patent. Indeed, as Kumble was savaged for 15 in an over, the tall right-hander smote him for six to the sightscreen and whipped him away to midwicket for four, which brought up his first hundred against India. His association with Prior, also South African born, dash any ideas India might have entertained of an England collapse. With the ball roughed up by Pietersen’s pounding, Khan began reverse swinging it. He induced a snick from Prior, which landed in the gloves of a diving Mahendra Dhoni. With the very next ball, he inflicted the ignominy of a pair on Chris Tremlett. After this, Pietersen shielded Monty Panesar by repeatedly refusing singles. But with the runs drying up, he played on, venturing a wild slog. This was another feather in Singh’s cap, whose first fiver in tests was thoroughly well deserved. Scoreboard England (1st Innings): 298 India (1st Innings): 201 England (2nd innings) Strauss c Tendulkar b Zaheer 18 Cook lbw Zaheer 17 Vaughan b R. P. Singh 30 Pietersen b R. P. Singh 134 Collingwood c Laxman b R. P. Singh 4 Bell b R. P. Singh 9 Prior c Dhoni b Zaheer 42 Tremlett b Zaheer 0 Sidebottom c Dravid b Kumble 9 Panesar lbw R. P. Singh 3 Anderson not out 4 Extras (b-9, lb-1, w-2) 12 Total (all out; 78.3 overs) 282 Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-43, 3-102, 4-114, 5-132, 6-251, 7-251, 8-266, 9-275. Bowling: Zaheer 28-6-79-4, Sreesanth 16-3-62-0, R. P. Singh 16.3-3-59-5, Kumble 17-3-70-1, Tendulkar 1-0-2-0. India (2nd innings) Jaffer c Pietersen b Anderson 8 Karthik not out 56 Dravid lbw Tremlett 9 Tendulkar lbw Panesar 16 Ganguly not out 36 Extras (b-8, lb-3, nb-1) 12 Total (3 wkts; 41 overs) 137 Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-55, 3-84. Bowling: Sidebottom 6-1-20-0, Anderson 12-3-36-1, Tremlett 10-1-29-1, Panesar 13-2-41-1.
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Alonso wins European Grand Prix
Nuerburgring (Germany), July 22 The double world champion's victory, after a wheel-banging thrust past Ferrari's Felipe Massa just four laps from the finish, left the Spaniard two points adrift of the British rookie in the standings. Massa finished second with Mark Webber of Australia third for Red Bull. Hamilton finished ninth, off the podium and out of the points for the first time in the 22-year-old's extraordinary debut season. He has 70 points, Alonso 68 and Massa 59. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who started on pole position, failed to finish and has 52 points. In a race halted in a downpour after four laps and then re-started behind the safety car, with Germany's Markus Winkelhock leading astonishingly on his debut for struggling Spyker, Alonso showed all his fighting spirit. He took the chequered flag 8.1 seconds ahead of Massa, who left the Spaniard in no doubt about his feelings in a heated exchange before the two stepped on the podium. To rub further salt in the scowling Brazilian's wounds, the winning team's trophy was presented to McLaren boss Ron Dennis by Ferrari's retired seven times champion Michael Schumacher. Hamilton, who crashed heavily in qualifying on Saturday, skidded off on the third lap but kept the engine running and was able to continue for the re-start -- albeit a lap down on the leaders. In the circumstances, his final position was still a magnificent result for the rookie, who set a series of fastest laps in fighting back from last place. "It's a new experience for me, not having to find my way to the podium," he said. Austrian Alexander Wurz was fourth for Williams, ahead of Briton David Coulthard for Red Bull and Germany's Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber. Poland's Robert Kubica was seventh for BMW Sauber and Finland's Heikki Kovalainen took the final point for champions Renault. — Reuters
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Korea, Saudi Arabia enter semis
Kuala Lumpur, July 22
Kim Jung-woo scored the winning penalty to send the inexperienced Koreans through to a last-four clash against Iraq on Wednesday at the Bukit Jalil Stadium. Iran captain Mehdi Mahdavikia and Rassoul Khatibi Ferydoon Zandi and Reza Eneyati converted for Iran Iran, who practised penalty kicks in training, used substitute goalkeeper Vahid Taliblou for the shootout, replacing Hassan Roudbarian in the 119th-minute. However, Pim Verbeek's players had the cooler heads in the shootout, sending their more than 4,000 vocal Korean supporters into ecstasy. Jakarta: The woodwork and a linesman's flag helped Saudi Arabia beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in the Asian Cup here today and sneak into the semifinals. The unlucky former Soviet Republic clattered the frame of the goal five times and had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside as they crashed out to the oil-rich kingdom in a thrilling contest. It was a flying start as Saudi Arabia took the lead after only three minutes with Uzbekistan hitting the post two minutes later. Abdulrahman Al Qahtani outpaced Anvar Gafurov down the Saudi left and sent a teasing cross into the box. Uzbek goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov got a hand to it but could only divert the ball to Yasser Al Qahtani, who finished with aplomb. But two minutes later Server Djeparov finished off a brilliant Uzbek move by hitting the upright with Yasser Al Mosailem beaten in the Saudi goal. Uzbekistan almost paid a high price as Yasser Al Qahtani skipped clear but fired narrowly wide when one-on-one with Nesterov. The second half began in much the same vein as the majority of the first with Uzbekistan again clattering the woodwork. — Agencies
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Sania loses in singles, advances in doubles
Cincinnati (USA), July 22 The Indian star, seeded third, pushed her more fancied Russian opponent to the limit but lost the three setter 2-6, 7-5, 3-6 in the WTA tier III event yesterday. Sania Mirza, who played her fourth three-setter in as many matches, tried hard to keep herself in contention by pulling off the second set but Chakvetadze came back stronger to race out to a 4-0 lead in the decider and eventually sealing the matter. Making her first semi-final appearance here after quarter-final exits at each of the last two editions of the tournament, Sania confessed that she ran out of steam towards the end. “She played a great match; she’s a tricky player to play. After the second set, I was mentally drained after playing so many close points. I think my level dropped a bit and hers raised and when you are playing the Top 10 you can’t afford to do that,” she said. Chakvetadze, who fought back from 4-1 down in the second set only to get pushed to a third, said Sania did not play well. “It was really up and down on both sides. In the first set she didn’t play very well, making a lot of mistakes. In the third, she was more relaxed because she was down 5-0. But overall it was a good match.” Chakvetadze has already won titles this year in Hobart, Australia, and at S’Hertogenbosch. In the final, she will play seventh-seeded Akiko Morigami of Japan, who advanced with a 6-7 (8/10), 6-4, 6-3 victory over Uzbekistan’s Akgul Amanmuradova. A 2005 finalist here, Morigami upsets second-seeded Patty Schnyder in the quarters on Friday. Sania and her American partner Betahnie Mattek, top seeded, advanced to the doubles final after pulling off 2-6, 6-3, 10-3 win against Liga Dekmeijere of Latvian and Ipek Senoglu of Turkey in the semifinals. In the title clash, the Indo-US team will meet Russia’s Alina Jidkova and Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus, who thrashed third seeded Japanese pair of Morigami and Aiko Nakamura 6-2, 6-1. — PTI
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Dalmiya trains guns at detractors
Kolkata, July 22 Bubbling with confidence after getting a stay from the Calcutta High Court on his expulsion from the BCCI, the former board chief said that he would carry on his battle if the Board continued to harass him and tried to establish a rule of the jungle. "I will continue my battle against them. They can come again and again, but I will take them on," Dalmiya said. Cocking a snoop at the BCCI that expelled him last December, Dalmiya said that the way they went about it, it was as if they were trying to ban me not only in this life, but in the next birth as well. "Is this democracy? It is the rule of the jungle. My battle has been based on truth. Now it has been proved." Within minutes of getting the relief from the Calcutta High Court, Dalmiya filed a perjury case against the BCCI President Sharad Pawar, Secretary Niranjan Shah, and Vice-Presidents Shashank Manohar and Chirayu Amin for allegedly placing forged document before the court. "I will go all the way to see that those who consider BCCI as their personal property and bend rules for their vested interest are taken to the docks," Dalmiya averred. Since taking control of the board in September, 2005, when Pawar defeated Dalmiya's nominee Ranbir Singh Mahendra in the presidential race, the ruling group had gone on the offensive against the former board chief. The board filed an FIR against Dalmiya, slapped court cases against him for alleged misappropriation of funds of PILCOM (Pakistan India Lanka Committee, the organising body of the 1996 World Cup of which Dalmiya was the convener), barred him from attending BCCI meetings and finally expelled him from the board. Following his expulsion, Dalmiya put in his papers as Cricket Association of Bengal president, ending his decade-long stewardship of the CAB. "Those were difficult days for me staying away from the sport I love so much. But I was not going to compromise on my self-dignity," he said. Dalmiya said that he had spent most of the troubled times concentrating on his business and spending time with his family. "At the back of my mind, however, there was the shadow of the allegations, but I kept waiting silently," said the former chief of the International Cricket Council. The Calcutta High Court judgement on Friday allowing Dalmiya to contest board elections and staying the expulsion order, has prompted Dalmiya to break his silence and launch a counter-offensive against the board. — PTI
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Beckham plays a late cameo
Carson (California), July 22
The England midfielder, who has been struggling to recover from an injury to his left ankle, was cheered loudly by the 27,000 fans at the Home Depot Center as he ran on to the pitch in place of striker Alan Gordon. Although his new team were beaten 1-0 by the FA Cup holders, Beckham was delighted to launch his much-trumpeted American adventure by playing a late cameo role in front of a packed stadium that included several Hollywood stars. ''It was very emotional,'' the former England captain told reporters after 12 minutes of action that featured a few deft touches, a tumble as he tried to evade a tackle by Chelsea's Steve Sidwell and a late corner kick. ''The reaction to me if I even take off my top or kick the ball has been incredible, it made me feel a bit embarrassed at times. I really wanted to be out there tonight with all the attention. It is a great day for the club.'' His problem ankle was another matter, though. ''I'm not fit and I haven't trained since I have been out here,'' Beckham said. Galaxy president and general manager Alexi Lalas told ESPN television: ''It is a long-term process and we want to make sure David is 100 per cent. ''We have games next week, next month and over the next five years. Everyone will get their chance to see David Beckham here and across the country.'' Signed by the Galaxy from Real Madrid on a $ 32.5 million five-year deal, Beckham had been one of seven substitutes named for the match by Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop. His pop star wife Victoria watched the action from a corporate suite accompanied by her actress friend Katie Holmes, wife of Tom Cruise. Other celebrities in the crowd included Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, US actresses Eva Longoria and Jennifer Love Hewitt and English actors John Hurt and Ray Winstone. — Reuters
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Bopanna, Amritraj crash out in semis
New Delhi, July 22 Seventh seed Bopanna’s fine run was cut short by unseeded Harel Levy of Isreal, who pulled off 7-5, 6-4 victory to enter the final of the $25,000 ATP Challenger in Manchester, England, today. Bopanna had yesterday shocked second seed Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi to reach the semifinals of the tournament being played on grass courts. The 27-year-old, partnering Qureshi, will now fight for the doubles title for which they will take on the Dutch-Swedish duo of Jesse Huta Galung and Michael Ryderstedt. Wild card Amritraj lost to Donald Young of America 5-7, 1-6 on the hardcourt at the $75,000 Comerica Challenger in Aptos, California, late on Saturday. Amritraj had shocked fifth seed Brunc Echagaray of Mexico in his previous round match of the tournament. — PTI
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Punjab ‘A’ in netball q-finals
Sangrur, July 22 Punjab ‘A’ trounced Karnataka 28-1 goals in the inaugural match. Half-time score was 12-1 in favour of Punjab ‘A’. Sudha Rani and Jagroop scored 23 and 5 goals, respectively, for the winners. Haryana defeated Uttrakhand 24-1, leading 12-1 at the interval. Anu was top scorer for the winners with 18 goals. Chandigarh beat Punjab ‘B’ 22-11 after leading 10-8 at the interval. Mandeep scored 18 goals for Chandigarh. In another one-sided match Delhi defeated MP 24-1. Aarti scored 14 goals for Delhi.
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Athletics squad leaves for Asian meet
Patiala, July 22 The 41 athletes selected by the AFI, including 17 women athletes, left the NIS yesterday morning for New Delhi from where the squad caught an early morning flight to Amman today. The most prominent surprise, according to experts, is the inclusion of shot putter Navpreet Singh, who ironically despite missing all the domestic meets held this season, has been picked by the selectors for the meet. Navpreet was, secretly, forced to undergo trials under the supervision of chief coach Bahadur Singh a few days ago at the NIS here subsequent to which he was give the green signal for the Asian meet. According to coaches present at the trials, Navpreet’s past performance was taken into consideration while strengthening his claims for the Amman meet. The short putter had stood a creditable fourth in the 2006 Doha Asian Games and had also won a silver medal in the last edition of the Asian meet held at Incheon (South Korea) in 2005. Preferring anonymity, a senior coach disclosed that the decision to hold trails specially for Navpreet Singh was taken at the last minute by the AFI think tank, including its coaches present at the Patiala camp. The AFI selectors also confused many by excluding ace discus thrower Seema Antil from the squad. Since there were only two slots available in the women's discus, the selectors opted for Krishna Poonia, a bronze medal winner at the Doha Asiad, and Harwant Kaur. Coaches at the national camp here, a majority of whom prefer to remain tightlipped on issued pertaining to selection of athletes, said Seema Antil, for most part of the camp here, was having fever. However, a senior coach disclosed that Seema, for some inexplicable reason, was not doing that well in the training here which forced the selectors to drop her from the squad. Interestingly, she is the present national record holder in the women's discus throw event. While chief coach Bahadur Singh was not available for comments, other coaches attached with the camp maintain that going by the performance level of the athletes at the camp, the athletes are sure to improve upon their performance they gave in Incheon where the Indian squad returned with a rich haul of four gold, five silver and four bronze medals. Athletes like long jumper Anju B George, who trained at the Bangalore SAI centre for the Asian meet, 400m exponents like Manjeet Kaur and Chitra Soman, discus thrower Vikas Gowda and long distance runner Surendera Singh (5000m) are expected to do well, going by their performance charts at the both SAI, Bangalore and the NIS camps. Team: (men): B.G. Nagraj, Ajay Kumar, Sameer Mon, Ritesh Anand and Vilas Neelgund (4x100m). K. M. Binu, Joseph Abraham, Vinay Chowdhury, S.K Mortaza, Satish Paul and Kuldev Singh (4x400m). R. Rajeev and Francis Sagayaraj (both 800m). Chathol Hamza and Sajeesh Joseph (both 1500m), Surendera Singh and Sunil Kumar (both 5000m). Santosh Kumar (10,000m), Hari Shankar Roy (high jump). Ranjith Mahaswamy and Bibu Mathew (triple jump), Saurabh Vij and Navpreet Singh (both shot put). Vikas Gowda (discus throw), Nirbhay Singh (hammer throw). Jora Singh and P. J. Vinod (both decathlon). Women: Manjeet Kaur, Chitra Soman, I. Samantha, Mandeep Kaur, Anu Mariam Jose and Sini Jose ( 4x400m), Sinimole Paulose and Sushma (800m, 1500m), P. Sreedharan (5000m, 10,000m), Anju Bobby George (long jump), Krishna Poonia and Harwant Kaur (discus), J. J. Shobha and Susmita Singha Roy (heptathlon).
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Camp for world judo meet from today
Patiala, July 22 The secretary-general of Judo Federation of India (JFI) Mukesh Kumar announced the names of the campers. Men: Navjot Chana, Jitendra Handa, P.Hooda, Rakesh Kumar, Satender, Santosh Mane, Kuljinder, Pradeep Tokas, Anil, Sanjoy Singh, Y.Singh, Yashpal Solanki, Jatinderpal Singh, Vikender and Navdeep Chana. Women: Rajni, Aruna, Divya, Thombi Devi, Bem Bem Devi, Anita Chanu, Nidhi, Brojeshwari Devi, Nirupma Devi, Arti Sharma, Garima Chowdhary, Ibethombi, Rajeshwari, Jina Devi, Rajwinder Kaur, Kavita Sawant. The camp which starts at the NIS tomorrow will continue till September 3.
— UNI
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Patiala cricketers to play in UK
Patiala, July 22 According to the schedule received, NICS academy, which will be managed by former India cricketer Reetinder Singh Sodhi, will be playing matches against Norton Cricket Club, Darlington Cricket Club, Durham County Cricket Club, Newcastle Cricket Club, Ashington Club and NYSD League XI.
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Football
Patiala, July 22 The tournament, which is being organised by the newly formed Dalbir Football Academy, has attracted six top school teams from Punjab and Chandigarh. The teams, which will take part in the five-day meet, are New Public Football Academy (Chandigarh), Sanjay Football Academy (Chandigarh), Dalbir Football Academy (Punjabi University), and three teams of the Punjab sports department - the Malerkotla sports wing, the Chabewal sports wing and the Khair Accharwal sports wing. The tournament will be inaugurated by MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur.
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Sethi fails to defend title Gunfire kills 3 after Iraq’s win Blake books berth in final
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