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Reddy: we will not spare the guilty
Gagan Narang takes a dig at Khel Ratna selection criteria
Bhullar finishes fourth in Brunei Open
Forlan leaves 40,000 spectators spellbound
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time to
rise...
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Pandya downs Javakhishvil
Webber takes a big bite in Hungary
Anderson routs Pakistan
F1 can do without new team: Brawn
Athletics meet in Patiala from August 5
Somdev makes confident start
Soon India will have a Slam winner: Bopanna
BCCI want my lawyers’ recusal from hearing: Modi
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Reddy: we will not spare the guilty
New Delhi, August 1 He said the Commission has just initiated the process and this is preliminary remarks. “We will seriously look into the matter. We would not spare anyone involved in the matter. I promise that action would be taken against if anyone found accused,” said Reddy. The Commission is looking into the alleged irregularities in the construction of the commonwealth games. It has come out with a report highlighting extensive corruption in the construction of Games stadiums. The CVC report says that almost all organisations executing construction work for the Games have disobeyed the rules while floating tenders of the projects, which had led to increase in their prices. The commission has also alleged that contractors have been paid more what they were supposed to be. The minister blamed media for the exaggerating facts and thereby creating a problem for the organizers. “I am open to criticism. It gives a chance to correct the problem. But the media should not only highlight the negative. It is exaggerating the problems, which is not the real case. Identify the shortcomings and tell us where we are wrong so that we can rectify them on time but please let’s not misrepresent the bigger picture,” said Reddy. “Media should instead help in building festive in the country for the games,” said the minister. He said that the games can be held only if there is a positive environment, and a celebratory mood. People of the country should feel excited, Reddy said. However, the preparations for the games have been shockingly lax with little over two months left before athletes from 71 nations come to India. On this, Reddy reiterated the fact that we are all ready to host successful games. “We would host wonderful games that would be remembered by all. They are going to be better than the Melbourne games,” said the minister. Kalmadi refutes High Commission’s denial
In a move to defend the clean image of the Organising Committee (OC), it’s Chairman Suresh Kalmadi today came out with letters of communication that the OC had with the Indian High Commission in London as evidence. He has denied the allegation of the Commission that it had not recommended the London based firm to the OC. The OC had transferred 247,000 pounds to AM Films for its services given during the Queen’s Baton Relay in October 2009. The British authorities are suspecting financial irregularities in the payments made by the OC and are investigating the matter. Kalmadi said that the Indian High Commission had itself recommended AM Films and its sister company for hiring cars and putting up mobile screens and toilets in London for the event. He has produced the letters written to the Indian High Commission and the replies sent to him by Raju Sebastian from the Commission. “The OC would like to clarify that we had written to Vikrant Ratan, the first secretary (Protocol) of the Indian High Commission to provide us the list of agencies of the Transport, accommodation and other services and their approved rates,” said Kalmadi. “In response, Raju Sebastian of the Protocol Division of the High Commission, giving reference to our mail to the First Secretary, Vikrant Rattan, informed that the approved vendors for the transport are AM cars and van and the chauffer company,” he said. “This clearly indicates that the Indian High Commission had recommended M/S AM Car and Vans to the Organising Committee for the Queen's Baton Rally function in London,” he added. No fault in stadiums: Gill
PTI adds: Rejecting media criticism of the Commonwealth Games' preparations, Union Sports Minister M S Gill today asserted that there are no faults in the newly-built stadiums for the October 3-14 event. Gill said media has been wrongly criticising the preparations of the Games despite the fact that CPWD engineers and concerned officials are working round the clock to complete the work. “There are no serious flaws in the design of any of the stadiums. No faults in any of the roofs. The fact remains these stadiums have no faults and leakages anywhere. Don't underplay the magnitude of the big occasion. This is a legacy, live it,” Gill said inaugurating the Weightlifting auditorium inside the Jawahar Lal Nehru Complex for the October 3-14 Games here. “All responsible officers of the Public Works Department would be present at the venues all the time till the start of the Games. For next two months they will recheck deficiencies. So there is no question of unpreparedness,” Gill said. |
Gagan Narang takes a dig at Khel Ratna selection criteria
New Delhi, August 1 The world number two Narang yesterday became the first Indian to qualify for 2012 London Olympics after shooting a bronze in the 10 metre air rifle event in the 50th World Championship in Munich. “I am very very disappointed over what happened to me. It was third time in a row. I think, Khel Ratna is just inclusion of the public perception and media perception. It was disheartening to know that I was in run for my achievement in 2009, I was in with a chance in 2008 also. But I would rather like my guns to talk and hope that the bronze medal opens up a few blind folds,” Narang told NDTV. In the final round in Munich, Narang held his nerves to shoot a score of 102 which helped him bag bronze in a strong field of 128 shooters. The Indian lamented that even the world record could not fetch him the country's top sports award. “I thought that I would get when I shot the world record and I am still the world record holder,” said Narang. National sports awards selection committee headed by P T Usha met here on July 30 and decided to bestow the Khel Ratna award to ace shuttler Saina Nehwal. — PTI |
Bhullar finishes fourth in Brunei Open
Brunei, August 1 Overnight tied 11th, Bhullar sank in as many as seven birdies, which included a birdie hat-trick on his back nine, against a lone bogey to finish with an aggregate of 14-under 270. The Kapurthala-lad picked up a stroke on the second hole but a bogey on the fifth pulled him back before he made amends with a birdie on the sixth to make the turn one-under. On resumption, Bhullar went on a birdie spree as he picked up a shot on the 12th and then hit back-to-back birdies from the 14th to 16th holes before ending the day with another birdie on the last hole. On the other hand, a double bogey on the last hole cooked Lahiri's goose. The Kolkata golfer started off well with a couple of birdies but bogeys on the fourth and seventh holes brought him back to square one. He then picked up a shot to make the turn one-under. However, his back nine proved to be a disappointing experience as he dropped bogeys on the 10th, 16th and a double bogey on the 18th hole against two birdies on the 12th and 13th holes to tumble down the leaderboard with a total of nine-under 275. Among other Indians in fray, Gurki Shergill (74) and Himmat Rai (69) finished tied 41st, while C Muniyappa (67) ended the tournament at tied 58th at the Empire Hotel and Country Club here. Siddikur of Bangladesh clinched the title, winning in the play-off after being tied with Jbe Kruger (66) of South Africa with a total of 16-under 268. One stroke behind, Juvic Pagunsan (64) of Philippines finished third. — PTI |
Forlan leaves 40,000 spectators spellbound
Kolkata, August 1 After arriving in the stadium around 5.30pm, Forlan kicked off the match between Mohun Bagan XI and Challengers XI, a team groomed and coached by Branco in his 20-odd days stay here. Challengers lost the 70-minute match 0-2 but they stole the hearts of the thousands of football lovers gathered to see Forlan who sat in the dug-out giving tips, sharing his experiences with the Challengers led by Dipyendu Biswas. To their utmost surprise, Forlan made an appearance in the lemon break and uttered few Bengali words. Waving to the crowd, Forlan said "Jamiyedin-Saradin (Live up, everyday)." He also thanked the crowd for their huge jubiliation.
— PTI |
Pandya downs Javakhishvil
Kavala (Greece), August 1 Javakhishvili went for a tactical inaccuracy in the late stages of middle game and had to pay heavy dividends after Pandya sacrificed a rook for knight. The Georgian could find temporary solace in giving a piece but the endgame was just lost after sometime. Pandya, however, could not keep up the momentum ticking in his favour and lost to American Grandmaster Joshua Friedel later in the day.
— PTI |
Webber takes a big bite in Hungary
Budapest, August 1 Vettel, starting on pole position for the seventh time in 12 races but again failing to convert the advantage, fell foul of the safety car rules and finished third behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Webber now has 161 points to Hamilton's 157, with Vettel on 151 and McLaren's world champion Jenson Button on 147. In one of the closest battles in years, Alonso has 141. Hamilton pulled over on lap 24, saying there was something wrong with the car. McLaren had expressed concern about his car's brakes before the start but his retirement appeared to be unrelated to that. “I went through turn one and basically lost drive,” he told BBC television. “I think the gearbox went. That’s motorsport. When you push cars to the limit these things can happen. We’ve lost a lot of points today.” Webber, celebrating his fourth win of the campaign, did everything right after going against the flow and staying out when the other frontrunners pitted for fresh tyres when the safety car was deployed on the 15th of 70 laps. His hopes were handed a massive boost when the stewards then slapped a drive-through penalty on Vettel for a safety car infringement, which dropped him behind double world champion Alonso. While Vettel cruised through the pitlane shaking his fists in the air with obvious rage at the officials, the Australian streaked away to build up a sufficient advantage to pit and retain the lead. Button had a miserable start and languished in 14th place until the safety car deployment, due to debris on the track, triggered chaos in the pitlane and allowed him to get into the points. The Briton, who had pitted before the safety car, finished eighth - and lapped. Mercedes's Nico Rosberg was released from his stop with a loose wheel that then bounced high among the mechanics as cars were coming in. In the mayhem, with a Sauber mechanic luckily catching the wheel, Renault's Robert Kubica drove into Force India's Adrian Sutil - fortunately without injuring any of the pit crew. Kubica, in what amounts to a home race for the Pole, was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty with a further investigation to be held after the race. —
Reuters |
Nottingham, August 1 They had been set a fourth innings target of 435 for victory that would have been a new world record had they acheived it. But they got nowhere near, with swing specialist Anderson taking six wickets for 17 runs in 15 overs, including five wickets for 10 runs in 45 balls today, to add to his first innings five for 54. That gave Anderson, who turned 28 on Friday, his best match haul of 11 for 71 in his 49-Test career, beating the nine for 98 he took against New Zealand on this ground two years ago. Danish Kaneria (16 not out) and opener Imran Farhat (15) were the only Pakistan batsmen to make double-figure scores in the innings. Pakistan resumed on 15 for three after their latest collapse in the face of accurate swing bowling in helpful, overcast conditions. It wasn't long before they were 37 for five. Farhat edged Anderson to England captain Andrew Strauss at first slip before Umar Akmal was lbw after missing an inswinger. — AFP
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F1 can do without new team: Brawn
Budapest, August 1 Those putting themselves forward include a partnership between Canada's former world champion Jacques Villeneuve and Italy’s Durango. Brawn, who won multiple championships with Ferrari as technical director before taking both crowns with Mercedes' predecessors Brawn GP last year, said any new team would struggle to get a car together in time. “I’d suggest it's getting pretty tight now,” he told reporters at the Hungarian Grand Prix. “We’ve started our car for next year. Obviously the amount of effort and resource we put in is front line. I think teams can get cars together in shorter periods, some of the teams have demonstrated that, but it's very difficult. So it looks pretty marginal to me to get a team together in time for next year,” the Briton added. “I think we've also got a pretty healthy grid now. Twenty four cars is a pretty good size and I don't think it's a disaster if a 13th team didn't come in. What we need to do is keep the teams we've got.” — Reuters |
Athletics meet in Patiala from August 5
Patiala, August 1 The players are delighted and beaming with energy with just few days left to prove their mettle and most of them have reached the city to get familiar with the environment so that they could keep their best foot forward. Krishna Punia, who was recently chosen for the Arjuna Award, said she was delighted that her effort was being acknowledged. “The Games are my top priority and the preparations are going good. Things seem to be falling in place. The players are fit and seem to be on a high. We are hoping to perform much better than previous Games and make a mark,” she added. Giving information about this championship, senior athletics coach Sanjay Garnayak informed that all preparations were complete. New synthetic tracks had been put at NIS to provide perfect conditions for the athletes. About players he said, “They are in good shape and we are hoping to see some remarkable performances during both - this championship and Commonwealth Games.” |
Somdev makes confident start
Washington (USA), August 1 Somdev would fancy his chances entering the main draw as he has beaten his next opponent - American 10th seed Kevin Kim - twice in the past. Somdev had defeated Kim at Newport event this year and at Chennai Open last year. — PTI |
Soon India will have a Slam winner: Bopanna
New Delhi, August 1 “To have so many players from India competing at the highest level is a real boost for the sport. It shows how we have grown over the past decade and that there is no dearth of talent in the country. Hopefully sooner rather than later we will win a Slam title,” Bopanna said. — PTI
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BCCI want my lawyers’ recusal from hearing: Modi
New Delhi, August 1 “People party to all decisions don’t want to recuse themselves. But want my team who are presenting my case too. Is this how an enquiry is done?” he questioned. —
PTI |
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