Ponte Vedra Beach, February 19
Superstar golfer Tiger Woods, who took an indefinite break from the game in December after admitting he cheated on his wife, said on Friday he intended to return to professional golf one day, but he did not yet know when. "I do plan to return to golf one day, I just don't know when that day will be. I don't rule out that it will be this year," said Woods.

In his first public appearance since revelations of marital infidelity caused his spectacular fall from grace, Woods apologized for what he called his selfish and irresponsible behavior.

Woods, one of the great golfers of all time and a huge draw for sponsors, said that he had undergone 45 days of therapy and had "a long way to go" in repairing his personal life.

He said he would be returning to the treatment center — which he did not identify — starting on Saturday. The 34-year-old American was speaking to reporters at the headquarters of the U.S. PGA Tour in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

His appearance was carried live on cable television and widely watched. There had been speculation he might be set to announce a date for returning to golf. Woods said he was "deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior."

"I was unfaithful, I had affairs, I cheated. What I did was not acceptable and I am the only person to blame," Woods said. "I brought this shame on myself." He defended his wife and denied media speculation that there had been physical violence between the couple. The speculation arose after a bizarre minor car accident in November outside woods' Florida home in the middle of the night. "Elin never hit me that night, or any other night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence (in our family)..." Woods said.

Woods did not take questions after his statement to a small and tightly controlled gathering of reporters. He gave no account of what actually happened to cause the accident when he crashed his car outside his home. It was that accident that snowballed into tawdry revelations about his personal life.

Numerous women claimed to have had affairs with Woods in the days that followed. Woods did not give any details of his treatment, but he has reportedly been treated for sex addiction in Mississippi. — Reuters

New Delhi, February 19
Indian hockey team captain Rajpal Singh said the preparation of the team for the Hero Honda FIH World Cup, to be held at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium here from February 28 to March 13, was shaping up on expected lines. He said the hosts will definitely have the advantage of adapting to the stadium and playing surface nearly four weeks ahead of the competition. He said the newly-laid synthetic surface at the main stadium was playing true and hard, giving the players a firm grip of the surface. “The practice sessions are good”, he said. “We came early, and the benefit is there”, added the captain.

Rajpal said the team were working out various strategies, adopting the good and weeding out the superfluous. “We have adopted the good parts of European hockey, yet maintaining our skill, which is our strong point. We are improving the plus points”. He said the team were working on attacks, counter-attacks and short corners to sharpen the game in these departments. He felt the team’s tendency of conceding last-minute goals was a thing of the past as they beat Argentina 3-2 recently by scoring the winning goal at the fag end. “So we have improved”, said Rajpal with a deceptive smile.

The captain said it was good that India would be playing Pakistan first, which would be a tough contest, but he was wagering on Australia to emerge as the best team. He also expected India to figure among the first four. “I put myself (the Indian team) up. I am not putting down any team”, he reacted when asked about his optimism about India reaching the semi-final stage.

Rajpal said there has been tremendous improvement in the team spirit, after the recent spat between the players and Hockey India on settlement of the players’ financial dues. “There is ekta (unity) in the team”, he summed up.

Meanwhile, the normally voluble chief coach Jose Brasa kept a studious silence, as he had been directed by the higher-ups to keep his mouth shut. “I will not speak to the press. If I do, they (the Sports Authority of India or the Sports Ministry) will send me out of India . And I will be jobless”, he said matter-of-factly.

The Indian senior team, junior team, who won the silver medal in the recent SAF Games in Dhaka and some of the women players were hosted to a reception by Sahara India chief Subroto Roy. The Indian team let their hair down to thoroughly enjoy the free evening, with Deepak Thakur giving a fine exposition of his bhangra dancing steps. Jose Brasa and some other players moved in step to the vibrant music to jive with Deepak.

Earlier, the changing dynamics to the race to the top post of Hockey India, whenever the elections are held, became clear when Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi disclosed that he was trying to “persuade” Sahara chief Subroto Roy to become the Hockey India president.

Ludhiana , February 19
Harpal Kaur of Sunam and national athlete Yeeshu Raj of Ludhiana stole the show as they became the fastest athletes in junior category on the second day of the ongoing 75th Kila Raipur Sports Festival being held at Grewal stadium.

Friday morning saw a thrilling hockey encounter in the (under19 boys) category between the Mohinder Munshi Academy , Jalandhar and Sangrur Academy, which was locked in 2-2 score till the stipulated time. In tie breaker, Sangrur academy prevailed upon their rivals 7-5 via tie-breaker In another match of in boys category, Akalgarh beat Karnal by 1-0. In senior men category, Dhudike defeated Khalsa college, Amritsar by 4-0.

The sports carnival led by Ravinder Sharma Programme officer NZCC, Davinder Singh Chhina of Punjab Cultural Promotion Council and comprising artists from different states of the country started from Kila Raipur village and ended at the sports stadium, here. Further the heat races of 100, 200 and 400 meters were held today.

The cultural sports extravaganza which was formally inaugurated by Hira Singh Gabria, Cabinet Minister Punjab while former Minster Jagdish Singh Garcha, Gurpinder Singh Grewal, President of GSA, and many other dignataries also graced the occasion.

The four-lane bullock cart race was a grand finale to the day's proceedings which included track events. Tent pegging and freak circus events besides a mingling of Punjabi bhangra and Rajasthani dance.

Results: Girls-100 metres1,Harpal Kaur(Sunam) 2, Harnam Kaur( Jalandhar) 3,Ranju(Hoshiarpur). 400 metres-Anupama Srivastava jyoti(UP)1, Harpal Kaur( Sunam)2, Harman Kaur( Jalandhar)3. Boys 100 metres-Yeeshu Raj(Ldh.)1, Ajay Tandon (Khanna) 2,Neeraj Kumar(Meerut)3. Kabaddi (70 kg)Dhurkot beat Kalakh by 29-14 Bullock Cart Races:Ist heat:1Mohinder singh(Mehma Singh wala) 2, Amar Singh (Sandhour) 2nd heat:1, Amarpreet Singh (Lohgarh)2, Nachatar Singh(Akalgark Chhanna). 3rd Heat:1,Jyoti Dhanoa 2, Harjinder Singh( Kanganwa) 4th heat: 1,Talwinder Singh Nathumajra 2,KewalSngh(Gujjarwal) 5th heat:1, Bela Singh (Dehlon) 2,Vickey (Saiyan).

New Delhi, February 19
Gagan Narang and PT Raghunath set a new meet record in the 10m air rifle team event as Indian shooters dominated the proceedings with two gold, a silver and a bronze on the opening day of the Commonwealth Championships here today. Narang was the star of the day as he shot 599 out of 600 to help Team India win its first gold of the championship.

Raghunath shot 594/600 to take the team score to an aggregate of 1193, breaking the previous championship record of 1183 set by Narang himself and Manoj Kumar in 2005. England's James Huckle and Ken Parr Junior won the silver with a score of 1185, while Asif Hossain Khan and Shovon Chowdhury of Bangladesh claimed the bronze medal with 1182 points.

India's second gold came in the 25m pistol team event when Anisa Sayyed and Annuraj Singh notched up the top spot with a score of 1147. Linda Ryan and Elena Galiabovtech of Australia bagged the silver medal with 1138 points. The bronze went to England's Georgina Geikie and Judia Lydall, who shot 1129 points.

In the 50m pistol team (men's) event, Bapu Vanzare and Viraj Singh had to settle for a silver medal with a score of 1059. The gold went to Michael Gault and Nick Baxter of England who scored 1082 points.

Australia's Alfio Casgrande and Janek Janski won the bronze medal with 1030 points.

India could have got another silver, in the 50m Rifle 3 Position (women) but Lajja Goswami and Tejaswini Sawant missed it by a whisker. Goswami and Sawant were tied with Jennifer Corish and Sian Corish of Wales at 1135 but the Indians fell behind in the best of 10's score to settle for a bronze. Scotland's Jennifer Mcintosh and Kay Copland bagged the gold medal in this event with 1136 points. — PTI

SAI officials ask all centre incharges to get in touch with local police and tighten security around venues

Gurdaspur, February 19
Following the Pune blasts which have sent shivers down the spine of the hockey World cup organisers and the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CGOC), the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has decided to upgrade the security paraphernalia around national camps being held at various places in the country in preparation for the Commonwealth games and the Guangzhou Asian games.

SAI officials have asked all centre incharges to get in touch with the local police and tighten security around venues where National camps are being presently held. Coaching camps for both the Commonwealth games and the Guangzhou Asiad are at present being held at the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala, Army Sports Institute, Pune and SAI centres at Guwahati, Bhopal, Gandhinagar, Bangalore and Gwalior.

A SAI official confirmed the upgradation of the security apparatus at the camps and added that, “ We are constantly in touch with various security agencies and officials of the Home Affairs ministry. We do not want to take any risk because all the international attention will be on India during the Hockey World cup and the Commonwealth games.

We simply can not afford to be lax as far as providing security to our athletes attending national camps is concerned. We are also formulating a code of conduct which will be applicable on each and ever player attending the camps. Till yet none of our sportsmen have complained about lack of security. However, that does not mean we don’t have to provide them with the best of security cover.”

SAI officials are also preparing a blue print to involve local police officials to beef up security for national camps. A top athlete attending a national camp at the NIS, Patiala disclosed, “We welcome the move of SAI to provide us with more security. However, that should not interfere in our training process.”

South Africa to host Champions League Twenty20
JOHANNESBURG: Ending speculation on the venue of the Champions League Twenty20, Cricket South Africa on Friday said the country will host the multi-million dollar event from September 10-26. The tournament, which was hosted in India last year, will feature 12 teams, including three from this year's IPL. — PTI

BAI unveils Rs 7.5 crore deal
New Delhi: Badminton Association of India today announced a three-year sponsorship deal worth Rs 7.5 crore with Premier Brands here and said the entire money would be used for the benefit of the shuttlers. BAI president VK Verma unveiled the deal and also introduced a new model of financial governance to ensure transparency so that the money is channelised in the right direction. — PTI

‘Always welcomed Pak cricketers’
Karachi: Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi has said that Pakistani players have always been welcomed in India and it is foolish to think there is some sort of conspiracy to keep them out of the IPL season three. "We have always welcomed Pakistani cricketers in India and they will be part of IPL season four," Modi told the Geo news channel. — PTI

Boxers want access to Talkatora
New Delhi: Olympic hero Vijender Singh and other Indian boxers gearing up for next month's Commonwealth Championships want to practice at the renovated Talkatora Stadium at least a week before the event although the IBF is expected to get access only two days before the tournament. — PTI

Di Resta 7th fastest
Jerez: Force India test driver Paul di Resta clocked the seventh fastest time as, for the second day in row, inclement weather marred the Silverstone-based outfit's testing at the Circuit de Jerez here. With heavy rain and high winds showing no signs of abating, Force India had to modify its testing schedule with di Resta getting another half day testing in the VJM03 before Vitantonio Liuzzi took over in the afternoon. — PTI

India beat England by 35 runs
Bangalore: Captain Jhulan Goswami and Gouhar Sultana grabbed three wickets each as Indian women thumped world champions England by 35 runs in the low-scoring first game of five-match ODI series here on Friday. Pacer Jhulan (3/16) and left-arm spinner Gouhar (3/36) shared most of the spoils as India defended a modest 199 for five by bundling out England for 164 in 45 overs. — PTI

Jeev continues dream run
Tucson: Indian pro Jeev Milkha Singh continued his dream run in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, ousting two-time PGA Tour winner Matt Kuchar to breeze into the third round of the $8.5 million elite golf tournament here. Jeev, who had upstaged three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington in his opening round, tamed Kuchar one-up in the Bobby Jones bracket to set up a third round showdown with Ian Poulter. — PTI