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Roddick digs in to win, Rafa cruises
FIH unhappy at change of Hockey India election date
WADA to ICC: Time for final push on ‘whereabouts’ clause
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Jittery England see off Mexico
Karnal to host pro golf tour event
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Roddick digs in to win, Rafa cruises
Paris, May 25 Henin finds feet
A break in game eight of the opener gave her the impetus to take the first set in 47 minutes and though Pironkova kept the Henin serve under pressure throughout the second set the 22nd seed sealed victory after an hour and 29 minutes when the Bulgarian sprayed a backhand return wide. Krumm stuns Safina
Date Krumm, 39, made her Roland Garros debut in 1989, when Safina was three, and with the victory became the second oldest player behind Britain’s Virginia Wade to win a main draw women’s singles match in Paris since the game turned professional.
The Japanese player struggled with a calf problem during the match and lost the first set in 36 minutes but Safina lost focus and Date Krumm prevailed after two hours and 34 minutes Verdasco beats Kunitsyn
Spaniard Fernando Verdasco peppered the court with his trademark forehand winners in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over Russian Igor Kunitsyn to book his place in the second round. The seventh seed received an indifferent reception from the locals after waving ironically at the crowd in the Nice final he lost to home favourite Richard Gasquet last Saturday. Verdasco, who reached the final in the Monte Carlo Masters and won the Barcelona Open last month, was simply too strong for the world number 103. — Reuters Men’s singles results A Roddick bt J Nieminen 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3; F Serra bt M Russell 6-4, 6-0, 6-1; P Starace bt I Marchenko 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 6-3; N Mahut bt M Zverev 6-1, 6-2, 6-4; J Melzer bt D Sela 7-5, 6-2, 6-4; R Ginepri bt S Querrey 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-2; G Zemlja bt J Monaco 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, F Verdasco bt I Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-2, 6-2; T Gabashvili bt D Koellerer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Women’s singles results KD Krumm bt D Safina 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, J Groth bt C Yung-jan 6-2, 6-3; O Govortsova bt CS Navarro 7-6(9), 6-1; B Mattek-Sands bt V King 6-2, 6-2; K Zakopalova bt K Srebotnik 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2; J Craybas bt K O'Brien 6-0, 4-6, 6-2; J Henin bt T Pironkova 6-4, 6-3; V Zvonareva bt A Brianti 6-3, 6-1; A Pavlyuchenkova bt A Cornet 6-4, 6-2; A Rodionova bt E Makarova 6-3, 6-2; S Peer bt NL Vives 6-1, 6-4; K Flipkens bt A Morita 6-1, 6-4, D Hantuchova beat T Tanasugarn 6-1, 6-1. |
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FIH unhappy at change of Hockey India election date
New Delhi, May 25 Batra, in a telephone conversation earlier today, had requested Cohen to extend the May 31 deadline but Cohen said "this the FIH cannot do. However, I can advise that, provided that the elections are held on or before 5 July, 2010, thereafter Hockey India is and remains the sole governing body for hockey, men and women, in India; and thereafter Hockey India is administered in accordance with its statutes as approved by the FIH. FIH will not take any further action in the meantime". This was sweet music for Hockey India, as FIH had made it clear that despite the Delhi High Court restoring the suspended Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), the international body will not deal with it. Cohen asserted that the FIH's sole interest was a duly eleted HI in place for the proper running of the game in the country. "The interests of the FIH are to see Hockey India fully constituted and operating in accordance with its statutes so that the sports in India will develop and flourish. FIH has no desire to penalise anyone, least of all the players", Cohen wrote. Cohen reiterated the FIH stand that "the HI elections are held on or before 5 July, 2010 and ensure that the FIH (and its observer Ondarza) is provided with a copy of the notice convening the meeting at which the elections will be held, and after the meeting, a copy of the minutes". Meanwhile, Hockey India said it had an electoral roll of 30 State/Union Territories and four institutional/Boards as its members. These members comprise both men and women units in their respective States. Hockey India claimed that these 34 members were verified and approved by the State Olympic bodies, the Indian Olympic Association, observers of Government of India and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the FIH observer. Hockey India said prominent hockey officials and players like Amrit Bose, Gurbux Singh, Dr Raj Kumar, Jaipal, K Krishna Murthy and Pargat Singh were "the other people part of approval of meetings". The election guidelines have been framed by the Government and the Sports Ministry has nominated an observer who is also the legal adviser to the Election Commission of India. The returning officer will be a retired judge of the High Court and voting will be done through secret ballot, and there will also be IOA and FIH observers. "All this is being done to have free, fair and transparent elections of Hockey India and to see and ensure that the interest of hockey in India is best served", HI stated. Hockey India was also not perturbed at the High Court ruling in favour of the IHF, as the court order "is not revival of the IHF, but how interest of hockey can be best served," which is evident from para 76 on page 42 of the court ruling: "Instead of again panicking about the revival of IHF, it requires to be seen how the interest of hockey in India can be best served".
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WADA to ICC: Time for final push on ‘whereabouts’ clause
New Delhi, May 25 The ICC has done a lot in the last three years, now they just need to give the final push," Howman told reporters. "The ICC is responsible for its member boards. ICC's job is to ensure that member boards comply with the WADA Code. We are going to have our next review in November 2011 and by that time if ICC fails to convince its member boards to comply with the Code, we will declare them non-compliant in our report to the International Olympic Committee. We don't have the purview to take actions against any non-complaint member, it is IOC and respective Olympic Council's prerogative," he said.
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Jittery England see off Mexico
Lippi determined to prove sceptics wrong
For one, this Italy team does not have the talent of the 1958 and 1962 Brazil teams and secondly it is not led by a talisman of Pele proportions. But it is not just the fact that Italy are missing the finishing gloss needed to be great, their engine and chassis hardly strike fear or envy into their opponents either. And even Lippi acknowledges that this is not the most talented bunch of players he has ever worked with. —
AFP |
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Karnal to host pro golf tour event
Chandigarh, May 25 The tournamet, to be played from May 26 to 28 will feature 75 players and will be played over three rounds of 18 holes each with the cut being applied after 36 holes. The top 60 Order of Merit players on the PGTI do not qualify to play in this event. Some of the prominent names in the field include Karnal's very own Maniram Sharma, who won the second leg of the Feeder Tour last month and budding youngsters such as Abhishek Jha and Arshdeep Tiwana, to name a few. PGTI director Padamjit Sandhu said: “The staging of the Feeder Tour event at Karnal is part of our larger vision of promoting professional golf at the grassroots level. We aim to expand our presence to many other smaller centers across the country in the years to come. I would like to thank the Madhuban Golf Course, Karnal, in partnering with us in staging this event". |
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American Andy Roddick gritted his teeth and battled to a five-set victory over Jarkko Nieminen on Tuesday just when it looked as though his French Open campaign would be a shortlived affair.
England enjoyed a triumphant home send-off to the World Cup when an unfamiliar team packed with reserves outmuscled a skilful Mexico side 3-1 in their last home friendly at Wembley on Monday.
Former champion Justine Henin made a rusty start on her return to Roland Garros, before finally easing through her first-round match 6-4, 6-3 against Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova. Henin, who last graced Court Philippe Chatrier three years ago when she won her fourth women's singles crown, struggled to match Pironkova's power in the early stages and her mesmeric backhand was far from firing on all cylinders.
Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm stunned former world number one and last year’s finalist Dinara Safina 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday.
The World Anti-Doping Agency today said it's time for the ICC to give the "final push" and convince its member boards, including BCCI, to accept the vexed 'whereabouts' clause by November 2011, failing which it would be declared non-compliant to the WADA code. WADA director general David Howman, who is here to attend the seventh Asia/Oceanic Region Intergovernmental meeting on anti-doping in sports, said even though ICC has done a great job to keep away doping from the game, it is time for cricket's governing body to give the final push. "We don't set deadlines. Being a signatory, we expect the the ICC and cricket to remain committed to the WADA Code.
Even though ICC is a signatory to WADA Code, it has not implemented the "whereabouts" clause, which came into force from January 1 last year, because of stiff opposition from Indian cricketers, backed by their cricket board (BCCI). The contentious clause requires cricketers in the common testing pool to furnish details of their whereabouts three months in advance to the anti-doping authorities. But the Indian players have rejected the clause, saying it's a violation of their fundamental right to privacy and poses a security threat. Subsequently, the ICC had decided to "suspend" the "whereabouts" clause until the concerns of the Indian players were sorted out. But Howman said the clause never infringes on an athlete's privacy. —
PTI
London, May 25
Rome: Marcello Lippi will lead champions Italy in South Africa in their bid to become the first team since the great Brazil of Pele to retain the World Cup trophy. But even the most ardent of Italy fans count themselves amongst the sceptics.
Born October 30, 1960 in Lanús, (Buenos Aires) Maradona is an Argentine former football player and the current manager of the Argentine national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best football players of all time. He finished first in an internet vote for the FIFA Player of the Century award, and he shared the award with Pelé.
Dhoni misses exam
Afridi to captain Pakistan in all three formats