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Serena again
SA tour of India
Shooting range set for opening
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Serena again
Williams took a tight first set then had to hold off a charging Henin to deny the Belgian a fairytale ending to her tennis comeback in a thrilling two hours seven minutes final on Rod Laver Arena. "Justine's had such a fabulous tournament and she gave me such a run today," Williams said. "It could have gone either way." The American claimed her 12th Grand Slam with the win, putting her alongside fellow American Billie Jean King on the list of all time major winners. It was fitting that the final was played in front of King and Australian great Margaret Smith Court, who won a record 24 Grand Slams, along with a host of other former champions. Williams was made to work hard by the tenacious Henin, playing only her second tournament since coming out of an 18-month retirement and needing a wildcard to enter. In the end it was Williams' sheer power that won out as her huge serves and booming groundstrokes eventually wore Henin down and forced costly errors. Williams served better throughout, making 64 percent of her first serves as opposed to Henin's 55 percent, with many of those unplayable. Henin showed, however, that she is still a real force and capable of adding to her seven Grand Slam titles. "It's been a very emotional two weeks for me," said the Belgian. "I thought it would never happen again. But I can say this, I will see you again next year." Williams opened the match with a swinging ace but struggled after that, her first two service games lasting eight minutes each. Henin had her chances to break but it was the Belgian who cracked first, losing her next service game to love to give Williams the advantage. Henin had another opportunity in the next game, which Williams saved but the American couldn't save yet another when serving at 4-2 and the set was back on serve. Games went with serve until 4-5 when Henin sent down two double faults to give Williams set point, which she took when a backhand from Henin clipped net cord and landed just wide. Williams came out attacking at the start of the second and had her chance to break Henin and take a 2-0 lead when she had 15-40, but Henin fought back to save her serve and then broke Williams to love in the next game.
— AFP
Bryan brothers win doubles
Mike and Bob Bryan defended their Australian Open doubles title on Saturday with a 6-3 6-7 6-3 win over Canada's Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.
The win gave the top-seeded American brothers their eighth grand slam title and fourth at Melbourne Park, where they also won in 2006 and 2007. The Bryan brothers, who defeated India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas for the title last year, also ended a five-match losing streak against Wimbledon doubles champions Nestor and Zimonjic. The Bryan brothers are now the second highest grand slam-winning pair in the open era, behind Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, who won 12.
— Reuters |
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SA tour of India
“It’s been an emotional week and not many teams go to India and win," Smith told a news conference on Saturday. "But our record in the subcontinent is solid and the players who have been part of the set-up for a while have dealt with a few difficult things in recent years and handled them very well. “I expect them to be as professional as normal, and I'm looking to them for responsibility and guidance for the youth," Smith said. Former fast bowler Corrie van Zyl, an assistant coach for the national team between 1998 and 2003, has replaced Arthur on an interim basis. “My experience of things like the last week is that it builds a team rather than tears it apart," Van Zyl said. "I was part of the management team when the Hansie Cronje issue came about and sometimes those things just pull a team together." Former South African captain Cronje admitted in 2000 to receiving about $130,000 from bookmakers to influence the course of matches. He was banned for life. "Obviously the players have to deal with their emotions, but it's a very important series and we need to focus on our preparations," Van Zyl said. South Africa will play a two-day warm-up match against an Indian Board President's XI in Nagpur starting on Tuesday before the first test in the same city, which begins on February 6. — Reuters
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Shooting range set for opening
New Delhi, January 30 Upgradation and renovation work on the shooting range, which was originally constructed for the ninth Asian Games in 1982, began on October 25, 2008 after much dithering. But the work picked up momentum quickly thanks to the initiative taken by Sports Minister Dr M.S. Gill and the Sports Authority of India, and the shooting range was completed in a record time of 13 months. All existing structures were demolished, and brand new ranges, with state-of-the-art technology, have been constructed. The earlier separate ranges for trap and skeet have been converted into new composite ranges for T and S with state-of-the-art scoring equipment. The brand new range meets the requirement of the Commonwealth Games Federation and the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF). Before the Commonwealth Games, the facilities at the range would be put to real test at the Commonwealth Shooting Championship, to be held here from February 17 to 28. In fact, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) would be the first federation to have a full-fledged testing of the facilities in actual competition setting, ahead of the Commonwealth Games. The sprawling complex has been provided 10m centrally air-conditioned indoor shooting ranges with 80 shooting points; seating capacity of 500 for pistol and small bore rifle; 25m range with 50 shooting points for pistol and 50m range, which is the largest, with 80 shooting points. There is also six composite shotgun ranges for trap and skeet with a seating capacity of 2000. The range has been provided with all the conceivable modern gadgets, befitting a top-end international shooting range. All the shooting ranges, set in the backdrop of the Adilabad fort, are equipped with lighting facility to provide 2200 Lux of light for high definition television coverage. The facility is also equipped with automatic electronic scoring target systems recognised by ISSF for Olympics, World Cup and World Championship competitions.
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Jeev all set for Dubai Classic
Chandigarh, January 30 "The new arrival will surely give me some added motivation when I tee off in the Dubai Desert Classic. I am sure this is going to have a huge impact on my game and I am sure it will be for the better", said Jeev Jeev said he would have pulled out of any other tournament in the world, "but I have got a very special relationship with the Dubai Desert Classic. I am a brand ambassador for 'Golf in Dubai' , the organisers and promoters of the tournament, and Mohammad Juma Buamaim has been a very good friend and a constant support over the years. I only way I would have missed the tournament was if we had the baby during the Classic week. Anirban Lahiri from Bangalore will be among the five Indians, besides Jeev, who will compete in the Dubai Desert Classic. Named the Player of the year 2009 by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) after winning the Order of Merit, Lahiri has got a special invitation from the Classic organisers. Jeev has hailed Lahiri as one of the most exciting talents in the country. Lahiri topped the Aircel-PGTI Order of Merit with total earnings of Rs3,657,853 in the 2009 season. Lahiri, part of the Indian team which won the silver medal in the 2006 Doha Asian Games, won two titles and had seven other top-10s in 11 starts, apart from several top-10 finishes in Asia, quite an impressive achievement for a golfer who will be hoping for a strong finish when he joins a star-studded field.
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Shooting Star
Jaipur, January 30 Like previous years, Shagun created waves in the international circuit in 2009 as well, winning three international medals and a trophy. She was a part of women’s trap team, which clinched third position at San Marino Grand Prix, besides winning silver in another grand prix, which was open to all the countries. She also won bronze at the Asian Clay Championship, apart from winning the Bangkok Open. Currently ranked 9th in Asia and 40th in world, Shagun is aiming to be among the top 25 women shooters in the world in coming days. In an exclusive interview to The Tribune, Shagun said her preparations for the Commonwealth Games were in full swing. “I have been a part of the Indian team’s core group, participating in a lot of tournaments over the last few months. Apart from that we have been having training camps between these events. Therefore it has been non-stop shooting for the last 10-11 months.” When asked whether the fact that New Delhi was hosting the prestigious event has added to the expectations, she said, “It has certainly added to the expectations as also the pressure, but I hope we are training well and we will be in top form in the event.” Her performances in the previous international events held in India also give her a reason to be optimistic. “I gave India its first bronze at Asian Clay Shooting Championship in 2003 and won silver in the same event in 2008. Both the times the championship was held in India. So I hope to continue with my winning streak,” she averred. About the competition in the Commonwealth Games, she felt that it would mainly come from countries like England, Australia, Canada and South Africa. “It is not going to be easy. That’s why we are putting in so much effort so that we can identify technical flaws, if any, analyze them and get rid of them at the earliest,” she added. On training facilities in India, Shagun said, “I don’t think we lack anywhere in training facilities. Infrastructure is definitely there, how much we use it is an issue. However, we don’t have any coaches in India and we have to get them from abroad. Right now we have an Italian coach who, I think, has contract with the Indian team till the Commonwealth Games.” On risks of burn out in view of her hectic schedule, she said, “At times it gets tiring like at this point of the year I’m totally exhausted. But I start afresh in January. I think the curiosity factor - we get to see new countries - keeps me going. I don’t think I will ever get tired.” On representing India in the international arena, Shagun said, “I can’t explain the feeling, when the flag goes up you are literally moved to tears.” Recalling her early days in shooting, Shagun said she was introduced to the sport at very young age by her father Sushil Chowdhary, who himself is an accomplished shooter. Though she won her first major medal - bronze in Asian Clay Shooting Championship in 2003 - in double trap event, she soon shifted to trap as double trap ceased to be an Olympic event.
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Melbourne, January 30
Melbourne, January 30
Jhannesburg, January 30
India thrash Nepal 21-0 in South Asian Games opener