New York, August 30
A drizzly Flushing Meadows proved an inhospitable place for former champions Svetlana Kuznetsova and Lindsay Davenport on Friday, with both skidding out of the US Open in the third round.

Less than 24 hours after world number one Ana Ivanovic's shock exit, third seed and 2004 champion Kuznetsova joined the scrapheap following a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 humbling by tenacious Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik.

American Davenport's defeat was less surprising as she came up against French 12th seed Marion Bartoli and went down 6-1, 7-6 in a blaze of double faults.

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick and Jelena Jankovic did not have it all their way either but lived to fight another day, unlike Kuznetsova who cut a sorry figure as she trudged out after suffering her worst showing in New York for three years.

After squandering two match points, Srebotnik fired down an unreturnable serve on the third and sank to her knees in her moment of triumph. It was the first time the Slovenian 28th seed reached the fourth round at the Open in 10 attempts.

Federer, still getting used to his place at the bottom of a draw after being deposed as world number one by Rafael Nadal last week, should have strolled into the third round. Instead, Thiago Alves ignored his status as the 137th best player in the world and gave the four-times champion the run around before Federer eventually prevailed 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Roddick withstood the onslaught from Gulbis to win the second-round match 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 in a late night session during which both players celebrated birthdays as the clock struck midnight. Roddick turned 26 and 40th-ranked Gulbis left his teen-age years behind to turn 20.

Djokovic too ran into a spot of bother in his opening set when he had to save two set points but took it in his stride to subdue American qualifier Robert Kendrick 7-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Men's singles third round result on Saturday

Sam Querrey (U.S.) beat Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-2

Women's singles third round results on Saturday

Venus Williams (U.S.) beat Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1

Colombo, August 30
The report card on India’s tour of Sri Lanka is at best a mixed, at worst worrying. Even after three Test matches and five one-day internationals, Indian batsmen failed to fully decipher the mystery of the new freak spinner, Ajantha Mendis, who after stunning the Indians in the Asia Cup final at Karachi in early July with figures of six for 13, gave the visitors an unsavoury send off by capturing four for 10 in the final ODI on Friday.

The British leader, Winston Churchill once famously remarked of the Soviet Union that: “It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” This rather aptly describes the wispy 23-year-old second lieutenant in the Sri Lankan army.

India’s voluminously seasoned middle order of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, with time in hand in Test match circumstances, were unforgivably impatient. Indeed, even after beginning to read Mendis, they, like novices, sacrificed their wickets to indiscreet shots against other bowlers.

In contrast, Suresh Raina, stylishly, and Mahendra Dhoni, unorthodoxly, overcame the threat. With the medium-paced trio of Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel complementing this performance, Indian fittingly clinched the ODI series 3-2 after losing the Tests 2-1.

Sri Lanka as a country is all about a one-day cricket culture, with limited refinement when it comes to tests. Yet, ironically, India succumbed in the longer format and prevailed in the shorter version, albeit thanks to crucially winning the toss in the 3rd and 4th encounters. But despite their win, India have dropped to 5th position in the ODI ratings as a result of England’s concurrent 3-0 surge against South Africa.

Dhoni’s consistency as a batsman has catapulted him to top place in the ODI rankings. The demands of leading a young side have admirably transformed him from a marauder to a silent assassin. Simultaneously, his wicket-keeping has improved beyond recognition; and his calmness in a crisis is a hallmark of a suitable skipper. Indeed, he’s just tamed the Sri Lankan lion in its den with one of the most lightweight batting line-ups ever to serve a senior Indian side.

The 19-year-old Virat Kohli was thrown into the deep end, asked to fulfil a challenging and unfamiliar role of an opener. His technique needs tightening up; but this young man is clearly one for the future.

Subramaniam Badrinath, too, deserves attention after his skillful contribution in the 2nd ODI. But Rohit Sharma somewhat under-performed.

Raina has matured and looks ready to make the transition to the highest level.

Munaf, refreshingly, recovered his accuracy, depicted an extra ability to deviate the ball and, most importantly, demonstrated a hunger to impress. He will be even more incisive if he can revert to bowling at over 140 kph.

India are stagnant at 3rd place in the Test rankings, having lost five of their last 10 engagements. The selection committee, therefore, need to decide whether to persist with 37-year-old Anil Kumble, whose nip off the wicket appears to be gradually deserting him, or opt for another spinner to partner Harbhajan Singh. There is no obvious replacement. But a talented unexposed spinner can often cause problems.

India not only lost a game that reduced their victory margin in the series but also went down in the ICC rankings by doing so. If they had continued their winning streak then they would have been number three in the rankings but now England after their 3-0 win over the South Africans are at that spot.

Of course, at the end of the day, it is the number one spot that matters most but for that to be attained a level of consistent performance has to be there and it is in this aspect that the Indians let themselves down by losing the last one-dayer to Sri Lanka.

It gave the Lankans the chance to claim that the series was closer than it was for the reality is that India dominated two out of the three matches they won. The Sri Lankans would be more than pleased with the win for they did it with a few new players and these did well in the game and thereby has given the Lankan team more options for the future.

The Indians somehow did not seem to be in the game at all. Sure, the inclement weather never lets a team to settle down but good teams never allows that to cloud their attitude and approach to the game.

The Indians having already pocketed the series looked in a relaxed mood and seemingly without a care in the world. That was evident from the manner in which they fielded and later on when they batted it was even more clear that all that they wanted was to get away and be home.

Now if there was a flight taking off early that evening that approach is still understandable if not pardonable but the flights were next day so there was no need for the hurry shown by the batsmen.

Even when the Duckworth-Lewis method came into play after rain interrupted the Indian reply to the Lankans, the overs reduced were not many nor was the score unattainable. At that point the team was not in a bad position though of course they could have been better served by the D/L method if they hadn't lost the extra wickets.

After the resumption of play the batsmen collapsed and for a team to be dismissed in the 27th over with 17 more left shows that they could have applied themselves far better than they did.

Only Virat Kohli gave it a try and remember he is playing in his first series and is trying to establish himself in the team but what sort of an example was set for him by the others as they threw away their wickets merrily.

The other exception was the skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who got a good one from Dilhara Fernando but the others just didn't apply themselves as much as they should have.

There is no point claiming that batsmen had scored runs in the previous games so they are allowed to fail. Yes, sure, they are allowed to fail where the bowler has bowled an extraordinarily good ball as in Dhoni's case but not when batsmen are trying to hit ball after ball without a care in the world.

In their defence it can be said that it has been a fairly long season for them and so maybe they relaxed a bit but champion teams are those that rise above these issues and keep giving it their best in every game that they play for their country.

In that respect perhaps it is fitting that India are where they are in the rankings. — PMG

Sydney, August 30
Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds' fishing trip at the cost of his team's meeting has put his place in the squad and his international career in jeopardy.

Symonds was expelled for the remainder of the series and has been sent home after he missed the team meeting yesterday, ahead of today's opening match of a three-game one-day series against Bangladesh.

Australia's acting captain Michael Clarke said Symonds could make a return to the team only if he was willing to conform to the team rules.

''It's so hard to play for this team. In my opinion, we are the greatest sporting team in the world, and we have standards,'' Clarke said.

''They may be higher than other teams, but if you don't fulfill those standards, unfortunately, you're not going to be a part of our squad,'' Clarke remarked. — UNI

Bhiwani, August 30
The Haryana government honoured various sportspersons who had won laurels at the Beijing Olympics at a glittering ceremony here today.

They included pugilists Vijender Kumar, Akhil Kumar, Jitender Kumar and Dinesh Kumar, badminton player Saina Nehwal and wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar. Shooter Abhinav Bindra did not attend the function but sent his representative.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda gave away cash awards and mementos to the sportspersons. Bronze medallist Vijender Kumar was given a cheque of Rs 50 lakh.

Wrestling bronze winner Sushil Kumar, Beijing Olympics quarter finalist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, boxers Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar and badminton player Saina Nehwal were given cheques for Rs 25 lakh each. Boxing coach Jagdish Singh also received Rs 25 lakh.

Hooda offered Vijender Kumar the choice of becoming a DSP in Haryana Police or a Deputy Director in the Sports department. He said the Olympic medallist would also be given a residential plot at a place of his choice.

The Chief Minister said all Haryana sportspersons who had qualified for the Beijing Olympics would get Rs 11 lakh each. This will benefit discus thrower Krishna Poonia and boxer Dinesh Kumar.

He announced that all Arjuna and Dronacharya awardees would be given a pension of Rs 5000 per month.

Cricketer Virender Sehwag was also present at the function. Hooda said the state government had decided to set up a cricket academy in Jhajjar district in collaboration with Sehwag.

He said while the boxing academy would be set up here in memory of Capt Hawa Singh an Asian gold medallist in boxing. Likewise, a football academy would be located in Gurgaon. The government would set up kabaddi and wrestling academies also but the place would be announced later.

Hooda said Haryana would soon become a "sports superpower" in the country in the next few years. These proposed academies were a step in this direction only.

Zurich, August 30
Usain Bolt continued his unstoppable streak of form with a comprehensive win in the 100 metres at the Zurich Golden League meeting here on Friday, while Pamela Jelimo of Kenya went close to beating the oldest world record in the books.

The Jamaican treble Olympic sprint gold medallist beat a field that included six of the Olympic finalists plus 200m silver medallist Shawn Crawford.

The 22-year-old timed 9.83sec, the 14th fastest time ever, and a time beaten only by three other sprinters - the now-retired Maurice Greene, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay.

Double Olympic bronze medallist Walter Dix of the USA came second in 9.99sec, with Trinidad and Tobago's silver medallist from Beijing, Richard Thompson, in third at 10.09sec.

Olympic 800m champion Jelimo broke her own world junior record when she ran the third fastest time ever in the event.

Led magnificently through 600 metres by Russian pacemaker Svetlana Klyuka, who was fourth in the Olympic final, Jelimo clocked 1:54.01. — AFP

New Delhi, August 30
JCT became the first team to move into the semifinals of the Osian's 121st Durand Cup with a 3-1 win over Tata Football Academy (TFA) at the Ambedkar Stadium here today.

This was the millmen's second victory in as many matches following their 3-1 win over Sporting Clube de Goa in their first match of the Group B quarterfinal league stage.

The Goan club also kept their semifinal hopes alive with a 1-0 victory over Air India in another match today with Anthony D'Souza finding the net in the 85th minute.

Goals from Balwant Singh (21st minute), Eduardo Escobar (50th) and Baldeep Singh (66th) neutralised TFA's early domination, which resulted in a goal from Niroshon Mani in the 19th.

JCT goalkeeper Karanjit Singh missed the line of the ball following P Deepak's throw-in and Mani stabbed home from close to give TFA the lead.

JCT's reply came soon after. Escobar played the ball to an overlapping Jaspal Singh down the right and his cross to the far post was headed in by Balwant.

Balwant returned the compliment when he flicked in Daljit Singh's throw-in and Escobar did the rest at the far post. The Brazilian saw one of his efforts rebound off the vertical but JCT did not have to wait long for the insurance goal. Anwar's flick from Escobar's corner found Baldeep, who buried his left-footer to the back of the net.

TFA showed some spark in the initial minutes with Jagannath Sana testing Karanjit with a long-ranger. But they were no match for the physically superior JCT players.

In the second match of the day, a clash of heads between Air India defender Chukwuma Udofia and Micky Fernandes of Sporting Clube de Goa saw the former sustain injuries. — PTI

BRIEFLY

BCCI okays guest players
Mumbai: Ricky Ponting or Kevin Pietersen playing in the Ranji Trophy is now quite a possibility with the BCCI Technical Committee on Saturday allowing state associations to add a foreigner in their squads. The Sunil Gavaskar-led committee, which met at the Cricket Centre, decided to allow associations four ‘guest’ players - from outside the state - in their side. “One of the four players could be a cricketer from overseas, who has played at least 10 Tests and/or 20 ODIs,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement. “However, a maximum of three ‘guest’ players will be permitted to figure in the playing XI at a given point of time. — PTI

Katich promises exciting tri-series
Bangalore: Simon Katich, captain of the touring Australia ‘A’ team now in India to play tri-series, on Saturday said the series will provide enough excitement that goes with any clash between the two countries. The ‘A’ teams from Australia, India and New Zealand will clash in an ODI tri-series to be played in Chennai and Hyderabad. Before the ODIs, the Australia and India will play two three-day matches in Bangalore and Hyderabad, respectively, with the first match beginning here on September 3. — UNI

Haryana, Jharkhand in final
Rourkela: Defending champion Haryana will lock horns with last year’s runners-up Jharkhand in the final of the ongoing 21st Sub-junior Girls National Hockey Championship at Biju Patnaik hockey stadium here on Sunday. Haryana defeated hosts Orissa 3-1 in a closely contested match in the first semifinal, while Jharkhand trounced Uttar Pradesh 4-0 in the second. Orissa was leading 1-0 in the first half with the conversion of a penalty corner by Punam Barla in 13th minute. In the second half, Orissa girls failed to keep pace and conceded three goals. Rani scored two goals, while Rajani netted the third in 55th minutes. — PTI

Buchanan on talent hunt in Kolkata
Kolkata: John Buchanan, coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL), will conduct a two-day talent hunt camp in the city from September 4. The two-day search for new faces by the veteran Aussie may, however, be reduced to a courtesy trip with incessant rains threatening to play spoilsport. The former Australian coach Buchanan has already assessed over 100 players in his first stop at the Goregaon Sports Club in Mumbai from August 27-28. Buchanan is currently camping in New Delhi, his second talent hunt spot. — PTI

Afridi wants Gilly to lead Chargers
Karachi: Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi feels Adam Gilchrist would make a better skipper for the Deccan Chargers team in the next IPL season as VVS Laxman, who led the team in the inaugural edition, lack the leadership qualities required for the cricket’s latest version. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers was the last placed team in the highly successful inaugural Indian Premier League tournament. Asked about the performance of Laxman as captain, Afridi pointed out that the Indian batsman was not a regular Twenty20 player neither for his country nor at domestic level. — PTI

Rajiv Marathon
NEW DELHI: Over 15,000 schoolchildren will take to the road to run in the 15th NSCI-Rajiv Gandhi Marathon Run for school children to be held on Sunday morning. The races will be flagged off from the Ambedkar Stadium by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at 9 am. The races will be held in two age groups in the boys and girls section from the Ambedkar Stadium to the NSCI gate on Mathura Road. — TNS