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Kings of the ring
Mumbai raj in Delhi
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Injured Dhoni out for 10 days
Oz club cricketers under fire for racial abuse of Indian opponents
Govt. fixes new selection criteria for sports awards
Why Tiger chose the Masters?
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Kings of the ring
New Delhi, March 17 With Asian champion Suranjoy Singh (52kg), South Asian Games gold medallist Amandeep Singh (49kg), Asian silver medallist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) also triumphing in the finals, it turned out to be an all-win day for the hosts in front of a houseful crowd. The gold rush started early for the Indians when Olympian Dinesh Kumar (81kg) got a walkover against Scot Callum Johnson, who was declared medically unfit due to a right wrist injury this morning.
In the last bout of the day, Olympic and World Championship bronze medallist Vijender thrashed England's Frank Buglioni 13-3 despite a bloodied nose. "I was scared that the bout may be stopped and I would be declared medically unfit. Bleeding was just not stopping. I was constantly looking at the judges to see what they might do," said the 24-year-old Haryana boxer, who was adjudged the best boxer of the tournament. "A gold medal after two years (the last being at the Chemistry Cup in Germany in 2008) is obviously very satisfying," added the strapping six-footer, who started the year with a silver in an invitational tourney in China in January. Sharp and swift with his movement, Vijender out-witted his rival, who repeatedly tried to hit him on the injured nose. Scoring mostly through straight right punches and left hooks, the Indian was 3-1 up in the opening round and despite being tentative after injuring his nose, Vijender remained ruthless enough to land some telling jabs on his opponent. Buglioni ran out of steam in the final three minutes and Vijender even dared him with an open guard after taking complete control of the bout. "Vijender is very quick on his feet and that helped him remain in control. As far as the bleeding goes, I would say, god protected him today because the blood was just not stopping despite applying ice," said national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu. Earlier, the day started perfectly for the Indians when Samota eked out a hard-fought 7-3 triumph over New Zealand's Joseph Parker. Samota trailed 0-1 in the opening round but came back strongly with a flurry of straight punches to unsettle his rival. The two boxers were tied 3-3 in the second round but the Indian nosed ahead in the final round as Parker began to tire out. "I tried to settle down in the first round and though I was trailing, I was confident of coming back and the massive crowd support also helped me. He began to look tired after the second round and that's when I attacked him the most," said Samota, for whom it was a career-best performance. — PTI |
Mumbai raj in Delhi
New Delhi, March 17 Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir, who left the field with a hamstring injury after seven balls were bowled in the morning, did not bat. Delhi perhaps bungled in putting Mumbai to bat first after winning the toss and then suffered a blow when Gambhir had to leave the field with an injury when the innings was into the second over of the day. Though Yogesh Nagar, who substituted Gambhir, took two brilliant catches to dismiss the important wickets of Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar, the Daredevils batsmen failed to rise to the occasion after the early exits of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Virender Sehwag. Dilshan was bowled by Malinga with a shooter which knocked back his stumps, while Sehwag was caught by Rayudu off Bravo. When Bravo dismissed Sehwag and AB de Villiers in the same over, Daredevils suffered an irreparable damage. Perhaps, Delhi would not have been in such dire straights had not Sachin Tendulkar played a sheet-anchor knock to propel the visitors to a handsome total. Sachin, who survived a run-out chance when Dinesh Karthik reacted late and then Amit Mishra dropped him off Sarabjit, when on 34, went on to make a well-crafted 63 off 32 balls with nine fours to blunt the Delhi attack. It was poetic justice that Sachin fell to Amit Mishra, but when he left, Sachin had taken Mumbai to a safe distance. Saurab Tiwary also proved to be an able foil for his skipper, as the duo hoisted 48 runs in 4.2 overs. After the exit of Sachin Tendulkar, Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu indulged in some power hitting to take the Mumbai total to a formidable 218 for 7 in 20 overs. Scoreboard Delhi Daredevils: |
Kolkata, March 17 Dhoni was hit by a rising Shane Bond delivery in yesterday's match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, after which he looked in pain and needed medical attention. "Dhoni has been diagnosed with an elbow injury and advised 10 days' rest," CSK team manager Russell Radhakrishnan said. Later, team owner Gurunath Meyappan and director (cricket operation) V B Chandrasekhar said in a statement that Dhoni would return home and in his absence, Parthiv Patel would keep the wickets. "Dhoni is going back to Ranchi today and will join the squad in Chennai on March 21 (ahead of their home match against Kings XI Punjab). Thankfully there is no fracture it's just a bad bruise," they said. RCB have edge over Royals
Bangalore: Born-again Royal Challengers Bangalore will have a clear edge over an injury-ravaged Rajasthan Royals when they locks horns in the third Indian Premier League here tomorrow. The home side had a rather poor start to their IPL III campaign with a comprehensive seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders but Anil Kumble and his men showed tremendous resilience and batting prowess to tame Kings XI Punjab in yesterday's high-scoring humdinger to be back on track. In contrast, the 2008 champion Royals have lost both their matches so far and losing Graeme Smith and Dmitri Mascarenhas has further depleted the Shane Warne-led outfit. The hosts are on a high after chasing down a 200-plus total against Kings XI Punjab that not only boosted their confidence but also spoke volumes of their batting might. Kumble a throrough gentleman: Warne They might have been rivals during their international career but Australian legendary spinner Shane Warne today revealed his admiration for Anil Kumble, describing him as a throrough gentleman. Sharing the dias at the launch of Kumble's Coffee table book "Wide Angle", Warne spoke at length about the lanky leg-spinner's dedication and determination. "What Anil has achieved and what he has delivered to his fans has been fantastic. Playing against Anil, fortunately or unfortunately, I have found him to be a thorough gentleman, a humble guy," said Warne. "He was told that he cannot spin the ball. They said he cannot bowl leg spin. But he has shown over 20 years what he can do by doing it. The one stand out thing about Anil for me is that he has a big heart. He is a giver, a hundred per cent team man, a man with a real big heart. Committed hundred per cent, he has always held his head high with his performances," said the Rajasthan Royals skipper.
— PTI |
Oz club cricketers under fire for racial abuse of
Sydney, March 17 Welsh was the only Thomson fourth-grade player exempt from the racial-vilification complaint. Thomson, however, has denied the allegations and said it would support the GCA investigation. GCA vice president Garry McPherson, who will chair the investigation, confirmed Waurn Ponds had lodged a complaint, with the investigation set to be heard tomorrow night.
— ANI |
Govt. fixes new selection criteria for sports awards
New Delhi, March 17 However, the norms will be relaxed in exceptional cases, like an Olympic medallist etc. The principle of one award per discipline in respect of Arjuna Award has been done away with regarding team sports and across gender. Arjuna Awards exceeding 15 in number may be allowed with proper justification and approval of the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. And the three-year limitation for conferment of Arjuna Award posthumously has been removed. In the case of Dronacharya Awards, out of the five awards, two have been earmarked for life-time contribution in coaching. Further, the present restrictive clause that the coach should have trained the athlete in question during the immediate two years preceding the performance has been removed. Now, the overall view of the value addition by the coach in the outstanding achievements of his/her trainee/trainees will be taken. |
Why Tiger chose the Masters?
Of all the staggering Tiger Woods victories, none would compare to the fifth Green Jacket he plans to don on 11 April. The time he won his first major a record 15 shots? Pah. How about the time he won a major on one leg? Nothing but a walk n well, hobble, in the park. Believe it, the Masters of 2010 would eclipse all of the above n and do so totally. When the 34-year-old tees it up at Augusta in 22 days, he will not have played competitively in almost five months. No Masters champion has ever prevailed when making the tournament his curtain-raiser for the year. Yet if only the hurdles facing Woods were that straight-forward. He will not only have to shake off the rust and make history, but also withstand the scrutiny of the world. Not even the controlled environs of Augusta will protect him from that intense pressure.
To say this will be the most watched golf event in the sport's history is less a prediction and more a statement of fact. The president of CBS, the US network which has just landed the televisual equivalent of the lottery, declared it would be "the biggest media event other than the Obama inauguration in the past 10 or 15 years". Maybe Sean McManus went over the top, but his hyperbole was perhaps forgivable. After all, it is hard to imagine any other sporting superstar being able to stop the globe by reading out a mea culpa statement like Woods did last month. Since that crash into a fire hydrant last November, the revelations of his extra-marital affairs have transported Woods from the Jock mags to the scandal sheets, from the locker rooms to the kitchens, from the sports stations to the comic halls. From being the most revered sportsman on the planet, he became the most ridiculed of men. How will he handle that new vulnerability when he returns to the arena in which he is supposed to be impervious? That is the question which should command the attention as much as the shape of his game itself. If only. — By arrangement with The Independent |
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