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Revolt ends, players to play in Commonwealth Games
India-Lanka-NZ Tri-Series |
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Pak end England’s Test-winning spree
Yuki, Arjun bag silver in Youth Olympics
ICC gives clean chit to Sangakkara
No-ball incident has made us more aggressive: Dhoni
At last, OC finalises catering contracts
Force India slapped fine: Report
Bhupathi-Mirnyi in Cincinnati semis
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Revolt ends, players to play in Commonwealth Games
New Delhi, August 21
The players, however, lashed out at the All-India Tennis Association for leaking their private correspondence to the media and delaying the submission of the bills for clearance. “We would like to put all speculation to rest and confirm we will be present in full strength to represent India against Brazil in Chennai in September. We will continue to be committed to play for our country (in CWG),” the players said in a joint statement. “It is true that we wrote a letter to the AITA to voice some concerns we had about expenses that we were promised over the last year-and-a-half. We have all submitted bills to various people at the AITA over this period and now that the AITA has nominated us to represent India we requested them to make sure that the promises made are kept,” the statement said. The players said they had been assured by Rahul Bhatnagar, Joint Secretary (International sports division) of the Sports Ministry, that the dues would be settled soon. Keen to settle the issue, the Sports Ministry said it was willing to clear the dues even on receiving the minimum documentation from AITA. Bhatnagar said there was no delay on Sports Ministry's part and it was AITA which has failed to produce the necessary documentation on time. "We do not deal directly with the players. We get the bills from federations and pay to them. We have been telling AITA for the last two months that ministry has not received any bills from these players but AITA did not provide us anything," he said. — PTI
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India-Lanka-NZ Tri-Series
Dambulla, August 21 What was regarded as a low profile tournament has suddenly got a lot more attention by a series of controversies in the last few matches, Suraj Randiv's deliberate no-ball that deprived Indian opener Virender Sehwag of a century being the most serious one. But the unsavoury incidents of the past few days will be put behind when the two teams brace for the crucial game which the hosts have to win to remain in contention. Persistent rains since the last couple of days forced the Sri Lanka and New Zealand match to be abandoned and the met office forecast of inclement weather for the nexr four days could lead to more washouts. The Indians have been bolstered by the return of Yuvraj Singh, who according to captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was laid low by dengue. The return of Yuvraj, who was declared fit to play tomorrow, would lend solidity to the Indian middle order which looked shaky in their earlier two matches with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggling on the sporting Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium pitch. It will also ease some of the pressure on Dhoni who had to hold the innings together after quick exit of most of the top order batsmen in India's earlier matches. A win tomorrow will ensure a final berth for India as in that scenario Sri Lanka will be left with six points with no match left while India will have secured at least nine points with another game - against New Zealand - to be played. New Zealand are sitting pretty with seven points from three matches. It will not be a surprise if sparks fly in tomorrow's match that is virtually a semifinal for Sri Lanka after their game against New Zealand yesterday was abandoned due to rain. It would be interesting to see how Sehwag takes on Randiv, who is expected to return to the Sri Lankan playing XI after missing yesterday's match against New Zealand due to one-game ban, if the two players face each other. Sri Lanka though need a huge effort to focus on cricket after some on-field controversies, especially a loss tomorrow will knock them out of the tournament. After the demoralising no-ball controversy against India, captain Kumar Sangakkara was first charged with a level 2 offence of ICC Code of Conduct for colliding with Kiwi all-rounder Nathan McCullum before the Match Referee absolved him of any wrongdoings against the abandoned match against New Zealand yesterday. The good news for Sri Lanka was that their top order batsmen were in good nick and veteran batsman Mahela Jayawardene was again among the runs yesterday with an unbeaten 59 in their 203 for three in 43.4 overs. Sangakkara, openers Upul Tharanga and Dilshan have been in fine form while Chamara Silva also chipped in against New Zealand yesterday. Their bowlers were battered by Sehwag in their match against India on August 16 and they would need a huge lift in their performance tomorrow to keep their side in contention for a final berth. — PTI
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Pak end England’s Test-winning spree
London, August 21 Set 148 to win after Mohammad Amir claimed career-best figures of 5-52 to help dismiss England for 222, Pakistan reached 148-6 at The Oval. The winning runs came when Akmal glanced off-spinner Graeme Swann to fine leg. It followed the loss of four wickets for 29 runs. Captain Salman Butt earlier led from the front with 48 from 64 balls. Swann claimed 3-50. Victory for Pakistan ended England's six-Test winning streak and keeps the series alive ahead of the Lord's Test from Thursday. The hosts won at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston, both of which ended within four days. — AP
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Yuki, Arjun bag silver in Youth Olympics
Singapore, August 21 Yuki had to settle for a silver after retiring hurt due to cramp on his legs in the boys tennis final. The sixth-seeded Indian, who had stunned second seeded Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina en route to the final, was trailing 1-4 against Juan Sebastian Gomez of Colombia in the third and deciding set when he retired hurt and conceded the match 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 1-4 at Kallang Tennis Centre. Arjun wrapped up the day with a silver in discus throw with an effort of 62.52m at Bishan Stadium. Jaques Du Plessis of South Africa won gold with an effort of 63.94m. Boxer Vikas Krishan also reached the medal round after defeating Hrayr Matevosyan of Armenia 7-2 in boys 60kg. "Ended up on losing side. It is unfortunate to cramp in such a big match. I would have liked to try and go ahead but could not. I thank all of you, especially Indians, for cheering me. I will have to be happy with just a silver this time but hopefully gold next time," Yuki said after the match. With two silver today, India's medal tally now stands at five — four silver and a bronze. Wrestler Pooja Dhanda had bagged a silver in women's 60kg freestyle while Kadian Satyawart fetched a bronze in men's 100kg freestyle. Shuttler HS Prannoy also fetched a silver. In 60kg boys preliminary round boxing, youth world champion Vikas had a strong opponent in Matevosyan. At the end of round one the scoreline read 1-1. But in second round, Vikas made intelligent changes tactically and the Indian took a 6-1 lead. In the third round, Vikas scored one more point and maintained his lead to win 7-2. "It was an easy bout. I had stronger opponents at the Indian Elite Championships, and I want to win this Youth Olympics. My bigger goal is the London Olympic Games in 2012," said Vikas after his bout. Vikas now meets his Youth World Championship silver medalist opponent Petrauskas Evaldas of Lithuania in the semifinals tomorrow. — PTI
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ICC gives clean chit to Sangakkara
Dambulla, August 21 Match referee Alan Hurst gave Sangakkara the benefit of doubt after watching video recording of the incident in which he had collided with McCullum, trying to ground his bat while taking a run during the washed out match in Dambulla, yesterday. Sangakkara was charged with a Level 2 offence, contrary to clause 2.2.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players or Team Officials, which relates to "inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play," the game's world body said in a release. Meanwhile, Sangakkara today defended himself saying it was the all-rounder who first obstructed his way. “When I was finishing the first run, the bowler has to be behind the wicket or aside, especially a spinner. When I ran for the first run, I knew there were two runs. That's my duty. On my last two steps, for some reason, McCullum came out of the crease and was obstructing my way," Sangakkara said. —
PTI |
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No-ball incident has made us more aggressive: Dhoni
Dambulla, August 21 “That no-ball incident really push us up to be more aggressive. But there is a limit to be aggressive on the field. We don't really want to cross that boundary though we will be as aggressive as possible on the field,” Dhoni told reporters ahead of India's penultimate league match against Sri Lanka here tomorrow. “Of course, whatever happened was bad. It is better off to just ignore the incident. It is important to be focused and that is what we will do on the field. We will just forget what happened in the last game and hope we come out winners in the next game,” he said when asked whether the incident will change the course of India's rivalry with Sri Lanka. Dhoni said all the players are available for tomorrow's match. "Everyone is available. There is no issue about fitness as of now. Hopefully, the whole squad will be available for tomorrow's selection," he said clearing the air on Yuvraj's availability. Dhoni was happy about the schedule of the tournament and said the players got enough time to rest in between matches which they have not got for a long time. "In a way it is good for us. We have played throughout the year and hardly get opportunity to get some time off. This was one of those tournaments where we got time between our games and this is my fourth visit to Sri Lanka.”
— PTI |
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At last, OC finalises catering contracts
New Delhi, August 21 J.I.J.I. Thompson, special DG at the OC, made the announcement and said the Games Village kitchen would be ready by September 15. The village would have a main dining hall whose seating capacity would be 2,300-2,700 persons. In addition, there would be a dining hall, a bar, a workforce break area, police break area, street food and coffee carts, he said. The temperatures at the main dining hall would be kept below 25°C. The village bar is expected to function as an international zone and caters to about 110 persons and the dining hall would have the capacity to seat 400-450 persons, he added. Catering for the entire village has been awarded to an Australian firm — Delaware North — that has Taj SATS as its consortium partner. The kitchen at the village is currently under construction and is expected to be fully functional by the first week of September. The total cost for the village catering will be Rs 93.3 crore. There will be six lounges that will cater to the athletes, VIPs, press and technical officers at different venues. The catering for the lounges has been divided into eight clusters and the contract for two clusters has been awarded to Graviss Hospitality Pvt Ltd. for Rs. 5.94 crore, while IRCTC has got the contract for Rs. 1.70 crore for one cluster and the remaining five clusters have been awarded to Seven Seas Pvt. Ltd. for Rs. 6.29 crore. Food packets for the organising committee workforce, volunteers and security personnel will be taken care of by AFP Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd. at a cost of Rs. 8.75 crore. To ensure high quality and hygiene, the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games, Delhi has proactively engaged TQS Global Manufacturing Systems and TUVSUD, South Asia for food safety and audit, Thompson stated.
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Force India slapped fine: Report
New Delhi, August 21 “Such an order is the first firm result in the dispute between the two companies over unpaid fees for services rendered by Aerolab to Force India,” the website reported. The report said: “As a result of the retaliatory action already taken by Force India, it is expected that Aerolab's director will soon be charged pursuant to a criminal complaint filed in Bologna.”
— PTI |
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Bhupathi-Mirnyi in Cincinnati semis
Mason (USA), August 21 They will next take on fifth seeds Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Oliver Marach of Austria. Bhupathi remains lone Indian in the fray as Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman have already bowed out of the tournament. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were sent crashing out of the Cincinnati Masters, falling to a pair of unseeded players during a bruising day of tennis at the hardcourt tournament on Friday .American Mardy Fish and Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus played the role of giant killers, knocking out the first and fourth seeds by outlasting them in three set marathons. Unseeded Baghdatis posted the biggest surprise of the day, shocking world number one Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours, 32 minutes. Fish did likewise to Scot Murray in a match that lasted two hours, 56 minutes — the tournament's longest.
— PTI/AP
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India would look to secure a place in the final when they take on Sri Lanka here tomorrow in a what could be a highly-charged match in the cricket tri-series which has been hit by a spate of bizarre controversies and inclement weather.
What was regarded as a low profile tournament has suddenly got a lot more attention by a series of controversies in the last few matches, Suraj Randiv's deliberate no-ball that deprived Indian opener Virender Sehwag.
London, August 21
Singapore, August 21
The ICC today gave a clean chit to Kumar Sangakkara, who was involved in an unsavoury incident with New Zealand all-rounder Nathan McCullum during a tri-series match, saying the Sri Lanka captain was found not guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct.
Match referee Alan Hurst gave Sangakkara the benefit of doubt after watching video recording of the incident in which he had collided with
McCullum, trying to ground his bat while taking a run during the washed out match in
Dambulla, yesterday.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today conceded that the no-ball controversy in the last tri-series match against Sri Lanka has turned his players into a more aggressive lot but the team will take care not to cross the line.
“That no-ball incident really push us up to be more aggressive. But there is a limit to be aggressive on the field. We don't really want to cross that boundary though we will be as aggressive as possible on the field,” Dhoni told reporters ahead of India's penultimate league match against Sri Lanka here tomorrow.
New Delhi, August 21
On a day of swift developments, the revolting quartet of Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna made themselves available to play for the country while the Sports Ministry and the AITA also promised to resolve the dispute as early as possible. With all parties showing some urgency in dealing with the issue, the row seemed headed for a settlement paving the way for the star players in the Davis Cup tie against Brazil and next month and October 3-14 games.
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