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Nadal tames his final frontier
India has great potential for basketball: Justice
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Bigger, better shooting range ready, almost
JP Atray tourney gets
underway today
Chanu’s ‘B’ sample returns positive
MI lose again, semis chances badly hit Saurabh Tiwary
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Nadal tames his final frontier
New York, September 14 The Spaniard is now just one of seven men to have won the career Grand Slam. He had previously won the French Open five times, Wimbledon twice, and the Australian Open once. He also won Olympic gold in Beijing. Nadal joins Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Don Budge and Fred Perry in having swept the board. He also becomes the first man since Laver in 1969 to win the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in the same year. "More than what I dreamed," is how Nadal described it on court. "I worked a lot all my life, (through) difficult moments, to be here. I never imagined have (all) four Grand Slams," The Washington Post quoted Nadal, as saying. Meanwhile, Djokovic admitted that at the moment Nadal is the best player in the world, and said that he absolutely deserves the title. — ANI Factbox on the Spaniard: Born: June 3, 1986. Naturally right-handed Nadal switched to being a left-handed player after his coach noted it would give him a huge advantage on court. Turned pro in 2001. NINE SLAMS: French Open 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010; Wimbledon 2008, 2010; Australian Open 2009; U.S. Open 2010 In 2005, became first man since Mats Wilander in 1982 to win French Open on debut. In 2009, beat Federer in the final of the Australian Open but was beaten for the first time at the French Open. In 2010, he won the French Open for the fifth time and Wimbledon for the second. Finished the year by winning his first U.S. Open title, becoming just the 7th man to win all four grand slams.— Reuters The Magnificent seven
FRED PERRY (Britain) (8 titles) - Australian Open: 1934; French Open: 1935; Wimbledon: 1934, 1935, 1936; U.S. Open: 1933, 1934, 1936. ROD LAVER (Australia) (11 titles) - Australian Open: 1960, 1962, 1969; French Open: 1962, 1969; Wimbledon: 1961, 1962, 1968, 1969; U.S. Open: 1962, 1969. EMERSON (Australia) (12 titles) - Australian Open: 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967; French Open: 1963, 1967; Wimbledon: 1964, 1965; U.S. Open: 1961, 1964. ANDRE AGASSI (U.S.) (8 titles) - Australian Open: 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003; French Open: 1999; Wimbledon: 1992; U.S. Open: 1994, 1999. FEDERER (Switzerland) (16 titles) - Australian Open: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010; French Open: 2009; Wimbledon: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009; U.S. Open: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008. NADAL (Spain) (9 titles) - Australian Open: 2009; French Open: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010; Wimbledon: 2008, 2010; U.S. Open: 2010. |
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India has great potential for basketball: Justice The next Magic Johnsons, AC Greens or Kareem Abdul-Jabbars can be produced by India as the country has mammoth scope and talent as well in basketball. This is what Troy Justice, director, basketball operations, India, National Basketball Association, believes. While talking to The Tribune’s Akash Ghai, Troy, who has been in the country for several years, is confident that the newly-launched league, Mahindra NBA Challenge Community Basketball League, will go a long way in producing and promoting the talent in near future. Q: How come the NBA has mulled over starting the league for amateur basketball players in the country? A: I have been in the country for past several years on the job. I observed that the game was popular here as many youngsters could be seen playing it in schools and centres. But here, India has tournament system, which is not sufficient to cater the talent and promote the game. So with the backing of Basketball Federation of India, we took our initial step by launching the league, firstly in three big basketball hubs, Ludhiana, Mumbai and Bangalore. Q: What are the major highlights of the league and what major changes it will bring in the game here? A: The league is especially designed for India and it is meant for budding amateur players, targeting the players of 14 to 17 years age group and 18 years and above section. In our next step we will include sub junior category in the league. Our objective as well as the main highlight of the league is to rope in more and more basketball players and provide the mammoth opportunities to showcase their talent and hone their skills. One can term it as a grass root and community-based league. Q: How do you find the initial response? A: Just overwhelming. You see over 120 teams were registered for the Ludhiana leg only. Here we have to shortlist the teams to the number of 80. Even a team from Jammu came to participate. The response was similar in Mumbai and Bangalore. In fact, the tremendous response in the first step has boosted our morale manifold. Q: How much funds does the NBA plans to spend on Indian players? A: For amateur players, our investment will be our expertise, time, quality training and special clinics for the players. For the funds, we have tied up with big companies here. On the suitable time, we will also start professional league here. Q: What are the biggest challenge you face here during your mission? A: Our mission is to make basketball the number two game after cricket in this country within five years. The biggest challenge in the way is infrastructure. You see, even in the city like Mumbai, there is no indoor basketball court. Q: You have been to China for the same purpose, what you find the major difference between the two top Asian countries? A: Again infrastructure. We (the NBA) have spent almost 20 years in China so far. There they have developed the required infrastructure very rapidly and the result is in front of everyone.
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Bigger, better shooting range ready, almost
New Delhi, September 14 “I have been practicing here since past many years. It is above anybody’s expectations. This new look of the range is absolutely amazing. I have been to many foreign events but this range stands out in terms of facilities,” said Mairoj Khan, one of the shooters in the Indian contingent of the CWG. However, the some areas of the range are still being worked upon. The organizers are busy completing the beautification work, which is facing the bad weather and consistent rains. The work includes clearing the undergrowth and the area near the trap shooting range. The surroundings of the ranges consist of rocky soil with lots of rocks and pebbles seen in the front of the shooting area. “These rocks will be removed and the area will be beautified with plants,” said Randhir Singh, Vice Chairman of Orgainsing Committee (OC). The work on the broadcasting compound is also still being undertaken. “It was very difficult task to bring out this venue in the present form as it required days of hard work. The range has been raised from scratch. We held the first test event in February which was quite successful. Abhinav Bindra, the Olympic gold medalist, was here some days ago for practice. He said that this is far better than what he saw in Beijing,” said Manjeet Singh Goindi, the Venue Commander of the Range.
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JP Atray tourney gets
underway today
Chandigarh, September 14 Initially the tournament used to involve 8 teams but today as many as 16 teams play the event every year. Like every year, many top teams of the country like Air India, Income Tax,
BPCL, Indian Railways, India Cement, Relaince and ONGC would vie to clinch top honours in the 17th edition of the tournament. “We are satisfied with the growing popularity of the tournament. I feel proud with the fact that MS
Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Avishkar Salvi, Vikram Rathore are some of the players who found a place in the Indian team immediately after performing well in the our tournament,” said Vivek
Atray, the main organsier and son of late JP Atray . |
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Chanu’s ‘B’ sample returns positive
Patiala, September 14 |
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MI lose again, semis chances badly hit Durban, September 14 Earlier, Saurabh Tiwary smashed a whirlwind 44 as Mumbai Indians recovered from a shaky start to post a challenging 181 for seven against South Australia. Tiwary smashed one four and four sixes and added 32 runs off 28 balls with Ambati Rayudu (38) and starred in a 58-run fifth wicket stand with Kieron Pollard (36) to resurrect the MI innings after they were tottering at 47/3 in 7.3 overs. Electing to bat first, Mumbai Indians had a disastrous start as they lost opener Shikar Dhawan (2) in the second over with the scoreboard reading just 3. Sachin Tendulkar (20) tried to breakfree and clobbered a six and a couple of fours to accumulate 14 runs off Daniel Christian's first over to take MI to 31 for one in 5 overs. But left-arm spinner Aaron O'Brien dismissed Tendulkar in the last ball of the next over to leave Mumbai tottering at 35 for two. Trying to accelerate, Tendulkar stepped out of his crease and swung hard, only to see his stumps all over the surface. Silent all this while, Ambati Rayudu (38) then smashed O'Brien straight over his head for a six but the spinner bounced back to caught and bowl J P Duminy (3) in the third ball of the eighth over.— PTI Brief Score: Mumbai Indians: 181 for 7 in 20 overs (Tiwary 44, Rayudu 38, Pollard 36; O'Brien 2/49) Redbacks: 182 for five in 20 overs (M Klinger 50, DJ Harris 56; Malinga 2/22).
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World No 1 Rafael Nadal claimed a thrilling four-set victory over Serbia's third-seeded Novak Djokovic to secure his first US Open title and complete a career Grand Slam. Nadal had never won the title at Flushing Meadows, but on Monday he claimed a 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2 victory in a match lasting three hours 22 minutes.
The next Magic Johnsons, AC Greens or Kareem Abdul-Jabbars can be produced by India as the country has mammoth scope and talent as well in basketball. This is what Troy Justice, director, basketball operations, India, National Basketball Association, believes. 
India biggest and one of the best shooting ranges, Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, is all set to face the Commonwealth Games
(CWG) starting from 3 October, though some patch work and finishing touches still needs to be given to the venue. The range, which is situated in Tughlakabad on the outskirts of the national capital, boasts of the best infrastructure and facilities and was built for the Asian Games in 1982.
Mumbai Indians’ chances of making it to the
semifinals of the Airtel Champions League took a big blow tonight, as South Australia Redbacks pulled off a massive chase to beat them by five wickets. Redbacks’ openers Klinger and Harris laid a solid foundation for the Australian side as they overhauled the IPL side’s total with three balls to spare.
Earlier, Saurabh Tiwary smashed a whirlwind 44 as Mumbai Indians recovered from a shaky start to post a challenging 181 for seven against South Australia. Tiwary smashed one four and four sixes and added 32 runs off 28 balls with Ambati Rayudu (38) and starred in a 58-run fifth wicket stand with Kieron Pollard (36) to resurrect the MI innings after they were tottering at 47/3 in 7.3
overs.
DON BUDGE (U.S.) (6 titles) - Australian Open: 1938; French Open: 1938; Wimbledon: 1937, 1938; U.S. Open: 1937, 1938.
LONDON:
Cape Town: