Paris, June 2
China's Li Na shattered Maria Sharapova's dream of completing a set of Grand Slam titles by defeating the double-fault prone Russian 6-4, 7-5 in the French Open semifinals on Thursday.

In so doing, Li made it back-to back Grand Slam finals for her and she gets another crack at becoming the first player from China to win a major title after losing to Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open at the start of the year.

For Sharapova it was a bitter pill to swallow as she had hoped to become just the 10th woman in the history of the sport to win all four Grand Slam titles, having won one apiece at Wimbledon and the Australian and US Opens. But 10 double faults, five in each set, proved to be her undoing.

In Saturday's final, the 29-year-old Li will go up against the winner of the other semifinal which opposes defending champion Francesa Schiavone of Italy and Marion Bartoli, who is aiming to become the first home winner at Roland Garros since Mary Pierce in 2000.

"I never believed I could be in the final of the French Open," said Li, better known for her play on hardcourts and grass.

"I hope I can do even better on Saturday. Both players are tough so I will watch them later and just enjoy the day and then get ready for Saturday."

Sharapova came into the semifinal on a 10-match winning streak on clay following her victory in Rome and with a self-professed new-found confidence on the surface on which she has always struggled.

But it was clear early on that of the two players, she was the one most troubled by the gusts of wind that whipped up the red dirt on the Philippe Chatrier centre court on a sunny, pleasant Paris afternoon.

Regularly waiting for calm conditions before launching into her high ball-tossing service action, the Russian was broken in the second game as the more consistent Li dominated.

Sharapova had two break points of her own in the next game but failed to take them as the 29-year-old Chinese player jumped out into a 4-1 lead.

Some booming groundstrokes from the tall Russian forced a break back to get to 4-3, but three double faults in the next game as the wind played havoc with her serve handed the advantage back to Li.

The seventh seed failed to serve out for the set, but once again had little difficulty breaking Sharapova's serve to 15 pocketing the first set in 50 minutes.

Sharapova, playing in her second semifinal at Roland Garros after losing to Ana Ivanovic in 2007, saw two break points go amiss at the start of the second set, but a Li double fault on the third put her ahead.

This time Sharapova's serve did not betray her as she moved out into a 3-1 and then 4-2 lead. Two games later though her serving woes struck again as she double-faulted on break point to allow Li to level the set score.

Nerves were fraying, but Li staved off a break point to lead 5-4 and then three games later clinched the win with Sharapova once again double-faulting, her 10th, on match point. — AFP

Port Of Spain, June 2
A depleted Indian cricket captain, sans senior players Sachin Tendulkar and regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, arrived here for a limited overs series against the West Indies, starting Saturday.

Smartly dressed in a tee and trousers, the Indian players landed at around 20.30 Hrs (local time) yesterday at the Piarco International Airport here and were received by officials of Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) and sponsors Digicel.

The Suresh Raina-led Indian side looked tired and exhausted after their long flight from Mumbai via London and Barbados. Stand-in skipper Raina's eyes were blood-shot for lack of sleep and a few team members looked dishevelled from the exertions of a long, trans-Atlantic flight.

Even though he looked tired and sleepless, Raina exuded confidence that his young team will do whatever it takes to win the lone Twenty game and the five-match ODI series against the Caribbeans.

"It's a young side. The players want to do well for the country and themselves. They are extremely motivated," said Raina after arriving here last evening. Vice-captain Harbhajan Singh too opined that the starless Indian team would not be short of motivation in the upcoming series, irrespective of their relentless cricket schedule.

"These are young boys who are looking to build a career for itself. I don't think tiredness or fatigue would be a factor," said the off-spinner. — PTI

New York, June 2
Shaquille O'Neal, one of the most successful and recognisable players in professional basketball, announced his retirement today, ending a career that spanned almost two decades and helped increase the popularity of the sport outside the United States.

A giant of a man who wore size 23 shoes but endeared himself to millions of people around the globe both through his performances on the court and his sometimes wacky sense of humour, he typically chose an unusual way of delivering his news, posting a video on a social media website.

"We did it. Nineteen years baby. I want to thank you very much, that's why I'm telling you first, I'm about to retire. Thank you, talk to you soon," he said in the message.

The 39-year-old, who has been struggling with an Achilles injury, later told ESPN during a brief telephone interview that he hadn't really wanted to retire but his body and age had dictated he quit.

"I'm going to miss the competition. I'm going to miss the chase for the ring. I'm actually going to miss everything," he said. — Reuters

Melbourne, June 2
More than two-thirds of international players in a recent survey conducted by FICA believe that Indian Cricket Board exerts unfair influence on ICC decision-making but 40 per cent of them said they were willing to skip national duty for playing in the cash-rich IPL run by the BCCI.

Asked if ICC decision-making was influenced unfairly by the power of BCCI, 69 per cent said 'yes' while 31 per cent answered 'don't know'. None of the respondents gave a definitive 'no' in the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations survey of 45 international players during the recent World Cup in the subcontinent.

No Indian player is a member of FICA. FICA chief executive Tim May, who released the survey results, said the findings raised important issues, with 46 per cent of the players saying the structure and composition of the ICC executive board should be reviewed.

"Players have highlighted that the governance of the game is a serious issue. FICA have continually advocated for a review of the game's governance. Its present structure is outdated, full of conflicts, cronyism and far from best practice," he said.

Interestingly, nearly a third of players polled said they would retire early from international cricket to play exclusively in Indian Premier League, citing fears over fixture clashes curbing their participation in IPL.

Around 40 per cent of players feel that given the magnitude of salaries being offered by the IPL, they could envisage a day where they would rank their obligations to IPL and other T20 events ahead of obligations to their home boards. And, 94 per cent of the players believed that superior salaries offered by the IPL would motivate younger players to hone their skills principally to Twenty20.

Only six per cent of players polled believed that decisions at ICC board level were made "in the best interests of cricket", while 49 per cent felt decisions were made according to "party lines or best interests of the country that they are representing".

The remaining players were "unsure". "The Indian Premier League continues to be popular with the players, and its superior pay structures for the players, continue to challenge players' priority over international cricket," May said. "When players are able to earn over 10 times their annual salary from their Boards, for just seven weeks cricket in the IPL, it would be foolhardy of Boards to continue to schedule international matches during IPL and expect players to remain loyal to the Board and international cricket," he said.

He, however, said that the ICC day-to-day management has improved considerably and the world body's image was tarnished as a result of decisions of the ICC Chief Executive and Board Committees.

In another important finding, 77 per cent of respondents believed that the five-year bans handed to three Pakistani cricketers by the ICC for spot-fixing offences last year were too lenient. An ICC tribunal found Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif guilty of orchestrating deliberate pre-planned no-balls during the Test against England last August, and they received bans ranging from five to ten years.

None of the 45 players surveyed believed the penalties were too harsh, while 23 per cent considered the bans "fair". Notably, FICA is not affiliated with players from Pakistan, besides from India and Zimbabwe. "The vast number of players want significant penalties to be invoked against those who are found guilty of serious corruption offences," May said.

"Whilst 100 percent of players say that they will report any corrupt approaches made to them, 20 percent of them do not have confidence in the ICC to treat this information confidentially," said May.

May said the majority of the 45 players polled were more comfortable reporting corruption approaches to their team manager, than to the ICC Anti Corruption Unit. An overwhelming majority of the players polled strongly supported the Umpire Decision Review System with 97 per cent of them saying that the DRS should be made compulsory in all Test matches. India has been a staunch critic of the DRS.

82 per cent said the DRS made for better decision-making from umpires at the World Cup. However, 74 per cent of the players surveyed felt the World Cup in the subcontinent was still too long while 72 per cent backed the decision to reduce the number of teams in the next World Cup to 10.

91 per cent felt the Associate nations should have a chance to qualify.

The survey also revealed strong support for 50-over cricket with only 24 per cent of the players polled favoured a change in the format of ODIs. 39 per cent felt the cricket boards scheduled too many ODIs, reducing the public interest in the format. — PTI

New Delhi, June 2
With Dempo coach Armando Colaco taking charge of the team after Bob Houghton's sacking, the AIFF today dropped as many as 13 senior players (including Bhutia) who were part of the 23 member squad for the Asian Cup in Qatar early this year.

Most of the youngsters, who were part of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifying tournament in Malaysia, got themselves named in the probables' list.

Besides Bhutia, who played in the I-League second division for United Sikkim, other senior players dropped are defenders Surkumar Singh, Anwar Ali, Deepak Mondal and N S Manju, midfielders Renedy Singh, N P Pradeep and Mehrajuddin Wadoo and strikers Abhishek Yadav and Mohammed Rafi.

List of probables:

Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal (Pune FC), Jagroop Singh (Indian Arrows), Sandip Nandy (Kingfisher East Bengal), Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar), Laxmikant Kattimani (Dempo SC).

Defenders: Gourmangi Singh, Denzel Franco, Robert Lalthlamuana, Rowilson Rodrigues (all Churchill Brothers); Thokchom Naoba Singh, Gurwinder Singh (both Kingfisher East Bengal); Raju Eknath Gaikwad (Indian Arrows), Khangembam Singh (Salgaocar), Valleriano Rebello, Debabrata Roy, Sameer Naik, Mahesh Gawli (all Dempo SC); Mohanraj, Rakesh Masih (both Mohun Bagan).

Midfielders: Mehtab Hossain, Syed Rahim Nabi, Harmanjot Khabra (all Kingfisher East Bengal); Steven Dias (Churchill Brothers); Jewel Raja Sheikh, Khan Gembam Jibon Singh, Shilton D’Silva, Lalrindika Ralte (all Indian Arrows); Gilbert Oliviera, Francis Fernandes, Anthony Barbosa, Rocus Lamare, Baldeep Singh (all Salgaocar SC); Peter Carvalho, Climax Lawrence, Clifford Miranda (all Dempo SC); Xavier Vijay Kumar (HAL).

Forwards: Sunil Chhetri (Chirag United), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Indian Arrows), Joaquim Abranches (Dempo SC), CS Sabeeth, Anil Kumar (both Viva Kerala); Sushil Kumar Singh (Kingfisher East Bengal). — PTI

New Delhi, June 2
An all-round performance by Nitish Rana (48 and 2/28) enabled Gush Club defeat last year’s runners-up Rajnigandha by 48 runs in the 35th Lala Raghubir Singh Prize Money cricket tournament at the Modern School ground here today. Nitish was adjudged the man of the match.

Scores: Gush Club: 264 for 8 (Farma Ahmad 61, Nitish Rana 48, Sandeep Raj Kaushik 47, Rajeev Bose 37, Rajeev Gaur 2/26, Manoj Chauhan 2/35, Rajeev Rathore 2/57). Rajnigandha: 216 (Aditya Jain 60, Rajeev Rathore 47, Vishan Panchal 3/35, Darshan Kajania 3/35, Nitish Rana 2/28). — TNS

New Delhi, June 2
Forward Saba Anjum will lead the Indian team for the FIH Champions Challenge Tournament for Women, to be held from June 18 to 26 at Dublin (Ireland). Eight teams, drawn into two pools, will compete for the title. The matches will be held on a league-cum-knockout basis.

India have been drawn in Pool B, along with Spain, Azerbaijan and hosts Ireland. Pool A consists of Japan, South Africa, United States and Scotland.

The Indian team qualified for this tournament after winning the Champions Challenge II at Kazan, Russia, in 2009. India take on Ireland on June 18, Spain on June 19 and Azerbaijan on June 21.

The team: Goalkeepers: Yogita Bali and Savita; defenders: Joydeep Kaur, Jaspreet Kaur, Preeti Sunila Kiro; midfielders: Asunta Lakra, Ritu Rani, Roselind Ralte, Deepika, Kirandeep Kaur and Mukta Prava Barla; forwards: Saba Anjum, Rani, Jasjeet Kaur Handa (vice-captain), Anuradha Devi, Chanchan Devi, Soundarya Yendala and Poonam.

Pune, June 2
In an exciting last-ball finish, North Zone beat defending champions South Zone by five wickets on the opening day of the Sports Journalists' Federation of India's JK Bose Twenty20 inter-zonal cricket tournament at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana here today.

In a high-scoring match, North successfully chased down South's 180 for seven. For North, Siddarth Sharma top scored with 70, while Jasvinder Sidhu and GS Vivek chipped in with 38 and 25, respectively. Earlier, South Zone rode on Abhishek Badkar's 74 and Tanveer's 38 to set a competitive total.

Brief scores: At PYC Hindu Gymkhana: South Zone: 180 for 7 in 20 overs (Tanveer 38, Abhishek Badkar 74, Mallikacharan Wadi 26; Rakesh Thapliyal 2-36, Amit Chaudhari 2-31). North Zone: 183 for 5 in 20 overs (Siddarth Sharma 70, Jasvinder Sidhu 38, GS Vivek 25; Mallikacharan Wadi 2-26). — PTI