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Two good
World Boxing Championship |
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working Committee Meeting
‘Didn’t want to let Bob sir down’
BCCI Corporate Cup
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Two good
New York, September 1 The 162nd-ranked Somdev will take on German 23rd seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who defeated Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. The 74th-ranked Sania also has a tough match at hand against old nemesis Italian 10th seed Flavia Pennetta. “I’m really happy we have two players in the second round of a Grand Slam. Things are looking up,” Sania said after her win. Somdev, meanwhile, said the scoreline might show a straight-set win but he had to toil hard on the court. “I really dug in there, didn’t get tight. I competed well. That’s what gets you through those tough ones - the way you compete,” he said. Somdev played a solid service game in the contest which lasted more than two hours, breaking his rival seven times. “I don’t want to jinx myself but I feel good about where I am. I’ve had a couple of quality wins. It gives me a lot of confidence and belief that I can come out and compete with anyone. My game is up there with the rest,” he said. Sania, on the other hand, had to fight it out harder but was helped by her opponent’s weak serve and unforced errors. The Indian ace broke her rival seven times and served marginally better to come through in the match that lasted close to two hours. “The toughest thing is to get that first win under your belt. Under the circumstances I’m just happy I can come through that match and get off to a good start. To me it has already been successful,” she said. On her nagging wrist problem, Sania said the injury that threatened her career at one point is finally healing. “I’m happy with the way I’m playing. Physically I’ve never been fitter in terms of the way I’m moving on the court and playing in matches. I came up with the big shot that I needed to have. I have that big weapon when I need to use it,” the 24-year-old said. The recently-engaged star said she was ready for a grand comeback after spending a lot of time on the sidelines due to injuries. “I’m at that stage where I’m ready to go up again and go into the new year with confidence. The major wrist problem is finally gone. It's about trying to stay as injury-free as possible,” she said. In another match of the day, Venus Williams overcame a bad knee and seven foot faults to beat 47th-ranked Vera Dushevina 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3 and avoid a first-round exit. The No. 3-seeded Williams, a two-time U.S. Open champion, had her left knee bandaged by a trainer after the third game. Williams’ match served as the most intriguing encounter of a day that included victories for defending champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams, Venus’ younger sister, and for 2003 champion Andy Roddick. Roddick easily advanced with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over 84th-ranked Bjorn Phau of Germany. Roddick pounded serves at up to 145 mph (233 kph), put 81 percent of his first serves in and collected 13 aces in a match. “The later, the better,” Roddick said on court afterward. “These are the hard-core fans.” — Agencies
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World Boxing Championship
New Delhi, September 1 The Indian, who is also the reigning national champion in his category, was leading by four points in the opening round before Tugstsogt staged a comeback in the second to take a one-point lead in the see-saw bout. Tugstsogt extended his lead to three points going into the final round but Suranjoy managed to draw level with a late offensive. However, luck deserted him in countback as he fell short by a point. With close to 750 boxers from 143 countries in fray in the 15th edition of the event, the odds are stacked against the Indians but they have sprung quite a few surprises in the past one year to be counted among the contenders in Milan. “It’s such a huge field but we are not intimidated. If we allow ourselves to get overwhelmed by this, we would end up spoiling our own chances,” Akhil said. Among other Indians, Asian champion Suranjoy Singh (51 kg ) will start against a Mongolian opponent, while Olympian Jitender Kumar (54kg) will be up against a Kazakh rival. Asian championships silver medallist Jai Bhagwan has a relatively easy opener against a Venezuelan, while Manoj Kumar takes on a Brazilian in his first-round bout. The nine-strong team, described by Sandhu as one of the strongest ever, would be aiming to do better than just making the quarter-final, which has been India’s best show in the past editions. The presence of World Series of Boxing’s franchisees, who are there to pick boxers for their respective teams, is an added motivation as Indians chase another first. The Team: T Nanao Singh (48 kg), Suranjoy Singh (51 kg), Jitender Kumar (54 kg), Akhil Kumar (57 kg), Jai Bhagwan (60 kg), Manoj Kumar (64 kg), Vijender Singh (75 kg), Dinesh Kumar (81 kg), Manpreet Singh (91 kg). — PTI
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working Committee Meeting
Mumbai, September 1 In its working committee meeting, the BCCI had ended its ties with the IMG, which handled the organisation of the cash-awash Twenty20 league. The BCCI said IMG was overcharging for the services rendered by it. Tomorrow’s meeting would be attended by, among others, Chairman Lalit Modi and all the office bearers of the Cricket Board that owns the League. The ongoing feud has also resulted in protest from a number of IPL franchise owner, including Shah Rukh Khan of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani of Mumbai Indians. Meanwhile, in some quarters, it has been billed as a war between Lalit Modi, the man behind the formation of the league in 2007, and Srinivasan who heads the India Cements Group that owns the Chennai Super Kings franchise outfit. Modi is one of the five vice-Presidents of the Board but lost his clout a bit after his defeat in the Rajasthan Cricket Association election, while Srinivasan has been touted as the likely candidate to take over the BCCI reins when South Zone gets its turn. The pitch has been queered further with speculations that former BCCI president and 2011 World Cup Central Organising Committee Chairman Sharad Pawar was unhappy with the latest developments after being approached to intervene by the franchises. Pawar, who was instrumental in streamlining the Board’s functioning, will be present in Mumbai to chair the COC meeting of the World Cup at a hotel near the Mumbai airport’s domestic terminal which is also the venue of the IPL meeting. Pawar, the Union Agriculture Minister, is expected to meet BCCI Chief Shashank Manohar and secretary Srinivasan at the COC sitting and have a discussion on the row between the Board and the IMG. — PTI
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Bob fumes at IFA Shield
New Delhi, September 1 “I was told this morning that some players are taking early morning flight for Kolkata to play in the IFA Shield. They had just played in a tough international tournament and they would be playing in a domestic tournament next day. I could not understand and asked (Alberto Colaco) is that serious,” Houghton said. When told such things have been happening, he said, “It seems so. Professional people don’t do like this.” The Englishman, under whom India have won two Nehru Cups and an AFC Challenge Cup last year, wondered why state associations were in the decision-making process of running a professional league in the country. “I don’t know any other country where state associations are involved in running professional league. The professional league in India should be run by the AIFF only and the states should work on the youth and grassroot developments,” said the coach at the announcement of softdrinks giants Coca Cola’s sponsorship of national sub-junior (U-16) championships. —
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‘Didn’t want to let Bob sir down’
New Delhi, September 1 Apart from having to live down that tragic incident, Paul had to face a lot of hurdles in his career. The two well-known Kolkata clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal would not look at him. Paul was charged by Mohun Bagan coach Amal Dutta for allegedly taking bribe in 2006 while he was thrown out of East Bengal this season allegedly for unbelievably poor performance. But the one man who noticed immense potential in Paul is India’s chief coach Bob Houghton who thought he is the right man to tend the India goal. “I have no grudge against East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. I had nothing to prove tonight. I always felt that we could win against Syria. But for me I didn’t want to let down Bob sir. He had a lot of faith in me and I am happy that I made my contribution in the win,” said the 23-year-old, after making three stupendous saves in the penalty shoot-out. Paul also remembered his coach and former India goalkeeper Debashish Mukherjee. The former goalie played a crucial role in bringing a change in his behaviour after the Cristiano episode. “Had it not been for Debashish da, I wouldn’t have been playing at the Ambedkar Stadium today. I shall always be grateful to him,” said Paul, who has been signed for newly promoted I-League team, Pune FC. India skipper Bhaichung Bhutia and Houghton were all praise for Paul and felt that his best was yet to come. “Subrata has been in an outstanding form and I have always maintained that he is the No.1 goalkeeper in the country.” — IANS
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BCCI Corporate Cup
Dharamsala, September 1 Sloppy fielding and brilliant 93 of 86 balls by Rohan Gavaskar propelled Tata Sport club to commanding total of 241 for six wickets. AIPSSPB could only manage 170 for the loss of nine wickets in their stipulated 36 overs. At one time, AIPSSPB was reeling at 120/7 in 27 overs. The team faced a daunting task of scoring 121 runs in just 9 overs at an average of over 13 runs with just 3 wickets in hand. As the match began late at about 5 pm due to rain, it was reduced to 36 overs. Gavaskar’s innings was studded with two sixes and six fours. Besides, Gavaskar, the other star performer Ajit Agarkar scored 43 (34) and Nitin Shetty, 35 (31) also clicked for Tata sports club. The match was stopped for a few moments in the first innings as one of the flood lights developed a snag. Tata Sports club was also helped by AIPSSPB’s sloppy fielding. For AIPSSPB, Debashish Mohanty took one wicket giving away 31 runs in six overs. The other successful bowlers for the team were Ashish Jaethi who took 2 for 40 and Rajinder Bisht who took 2 for 37 runs. Brief
Scores: TSC 241 for 6 (36 overs), R Gavaskar 93, Agarkar 43. AIPSSPB 170 for 9 (36 overs). Rajinder Bisht 2 for 37. Air India Blue’s
match postponed
Chandigarh: The inaugural match between Air India Blue and ITC for the BCCI Sahara Corporate Cricket Tournament was postponed due to an extremely wet ground at the PCA stadium, Mohali, on Tuesday. The match, which was supposed to begin at 2.30 pm was shifted to 7 pm, but after an inspectionat around 6.15 pm, the authorities decided to postpone it to the 4th, which was originally supposed to be a rest day. —
TNS |
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Sania, Somdev win first round matches
Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza notched up a rare double for India at the US Open by advancing to the second round of the season’s last Grand Slam with contrasting opening wins at the Flushing Meadows hardcourts here. While Sania opened with a roller-coaster 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Olga Govortsova in women’s singles, qualifier Somdev got the better of Frederico Gil 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in the men’s competition.
New Delhi, September 1
AIFF ropes in Salman