New Delhi, October 11
Top Indian cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh today rubbished the reported claims of a London-based bookie Mazhar Majeed that he had "access" to them, saying that they had never even met him.

Majeed made the claims during his conversations with the now-closed 'New of the World' undercover reporter Mazhar Mehmood, who conducted a sting operation on the alleged bookie and players' agent.

The recording of the conversation were played to a jury and the judge during the criminal trials of Pakistani cricketers, accused of spot-fixing.

While Harbhajan threatened action, Yuvraj simply ridiculed the report of his name cropping up during the trial.

“I don't know who this person is, I have never met him. We will definitely take some action against him. I don't know whether it will be a legal action or whatever," said Harbhajan in Nagpur where he is currently playing in the Challenger Series.

"But I will definitely bring it to BCCI's notice and I am sure they will take the right kind of action against these kind people who are trying to spoil the game," added the feisty off-spinner.

Yuvraj took to Twitter to rubbish the report. "...And who is Majid!! absolute rubbish! Don't no, never met!" he wrote.

"The problem in India is if some one says a rooster has given an egg, it will become news !! Whether it’s true or not it doesn't matter," he fumed.

According to media reports, Majeed names these two Indian cricketers along with a host of other international players, who have also rejected the reported claims.

The name-droppings took place during the fourth day of the trial of former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and pacer Mohammad Asif, who are alleged to have bowled predetermined no balls for cash. Bot the players have denied the charges.

Patiala, October 11
The Indian boxers returned home today after putting up a good show at the World Boxing Championship that concluded at Baku recently. As many as four Indians qualified for the Olympics from this tournament, the first time that this number has made it to the Olympics from one tournament.

Qualifying through the World Championship, a really tough platform, makes the feat more commendable. Moreover, around 6-7 boxers made it to AIBA rankings after this competition, which is another achievement.

Talking to The Tribune, chief boxing coach Gurbax Sandhu said that he was delighted with the results of this championship. “The World Championships are the biggest sports bonanza for boxers and last time before the Beijing Olympics, only A.L. Lakra had qualified for the Olympics through World Championships, held at Chicago in 2007,” Sandhu said.

“But this time, four of our players have made it to the Olympics, which is a big achievement in itself. Vikas Krishan’s bronze medal is an icing on the cake,” he added.

Sandhu further informed that before this championship, the best performance by an Indian boxer was a bronze medal by Vijender Singh and he was glad that Vikas, being a comparative fresher, had won the sole medal for India.

About the performance of senior players, he said it was just a bad day and a bad draw. “Both Vijender and Suronjoy were pitted against very tough competitors in their first bouts. Both rivals were Olympic medalists but our players performed brilliantly. Vijender in fact, lost a very close bout. Similarly, even Akhil lost to world No 4. All this is part and parcel of the game. I am very sure that they would qualify for the Olympics at Kazakhstan,” Sandhu added.

Giving details of the Baku experience, he said the senior boxers played a big role in the qualification of these players. “Vijender and Suronjoy were the roommates of Jai Bhagwan and Devendro respectively and after they lost their bouts, they were the ones who backed these players in every bout and guided them. I witnessed some terrific teamwork which was a delight. I must give some credit of their win to the experience of senior players as well.”

Jalandhar, October 11
A spirited ONGC Dehradun whipped Punjab National Bank (PNB) Delhi 6-1 in the ongoing 28th Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey Tournament here today.

ONGC and PNB Delhi players displayed good hockey in the first half with Diwakar Ram from ONGC opening the account off a penalty corner in the 19th minute.

The second half of the game became a one-sided affair as ONGC routed PNB through a spirited display of attack and defence. In the 39th minute, PNB skipper Jalwinder Singh scored the equalizer (1-1) to raise hopes of the Delhi team. But after that ONGC controlled the game.

In the 48th and 51st minute Pramod Kumar from ONGC scored two goals (3-1). In the 57th minute, Bikash Toppo scored a field goal after dodging the goalkeeper. And two minutes later Preetinder Singh scored the fifth goal for his team.

In the dying minutes, Diwakar Ram converted another penalty corner to complete the tally (6-1). With this defeat, PNB are now out of the race for the semi finals while ONGC will take on Namdhari XI in their next match.

New Delhi, October 11
Hockey India (HI) announced here today that it would recruit only the best talent from India and the world’s most coveted current stars, and not “discarded or retired players”, for the proposed franchisee-based Men’s Hockey League, scheduled for 2013. HI said the matches will be played on a home-and-away basis and will be “showcased together in fast and furious prize money combats”.

HI’s proposed league is intended to counter the World Series Hockey (WSH), to be organised by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), from December this year. HI said it had requested the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to give a 45-day window for the league and not to hold any other tournament during this period.

The HI League has been scheduled for 2013 as next year will be the year of the London Olympics. “It is every sportsman’s ultimate desire to don the National colours at the Olympic Games and stand on the podium with a medal hanging from the neck,” HI noted. Incidentally, it was at London in 1948 that Independent India won their first Olympic hockey gold medal.

New Delhi, October 11
Sunil Kumar of Punjab, who had won the men’s singles title as a 16-year-old in 1999, suffered a first-round ignominy when he was ousted by Davis Cup player Vishnu Vardhan 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in the 17th Fenesta National Tennis Championship at the DLTA courts here today.

Vishnu had Sunil well under his control with solid ground strokes and all-round game, to earn a good win. Sunil, familiar with the DLTA court conditions, just could not cope with Vishnu’s powerplay, as he lacked direction and energy to take his opponent on an even keel.

Vishnu expectedly made good use of his height and build to return the ball with power and angles, which totally foxed Sunil, who just could not keep pace.

Yuki Bhambri of Delhi, who is a strong contender for the top prize, decimated Vivek Shokeen, conceding just two games at 6-1, 6-1. Having flirted with injury in the past few months, this was the kind of first-round win Yuki had looked forward to. Shokeen played the role of underdog to perfection, though not too long ago, he was considered capable of moving up the ladder.

Yuki’s cousin, Prerna Bhambri, however, suffered a first-round loss when she was tamed by Rutuja Bhosle 2-6, 6-4, 5-7. Rutuja won the big points with poise to shatter Prerna’s hopes. Seasoned pro Rushmi Chakravarthy whipped Delhi girl Vaniya Dangwal 6-1, 6-0 while Isha Lakhani notched up another win, defeating Aishwarya Aggarwal 6-0, 6-1.

Veteran Nitin Kirtane prevailed over Mandeep Kumar 6-1, 6-4 in a men’s singles first-round match.

BRIEFLY

Convincing win for India Red
Nagpur: Abhinav Mukund was once again amongst the runs as India Red achieved a convincing 8-wicket victory over India Green in the Challenger Trophy here today. Batting first India Green were shot out for a mere 170 in only 37.5 overs. Robin Uthappa topscored for Green with 56. The target was revised to 152 from 42 overs for India Green after a rain interruption and they got there with ease with both their openers Gautam Gambhir and Mukund slamming half-centuries. Part-time offie Yusuf Pathan was the pick of the bowlers for India Red grabbing four for 25 in only 7.5 overs. — PTI

Sri Lankan and Indian teams in action during the Kabaddi semifinals of The South Asian Beach Games in Hambantota on Tuesday. India won the match to qualify for the finals. — AFP

Indians bag 15 medals
New Delhi: India bagged 15 medals, including six gold, to begin their campaign on an impressive note in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Cape Town, South Africa today. Commonwealth Games silver medallist Soniya Chanu fetched a gold each in snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift in senior women's 48kg category. She lifted a total of 174kg. In junior women's 48kg category, Sanjitha Chanu won three silver, one each in snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift. She lifted 165kg in total. Minati Das won three gold in 44kg youth competition with a total lift of 100kg. — PTI

Swimmers win 5 gold
New Delhi: Led by Veerdhawal Khade, Indian swimmers made a big splash at the 7th Asian age group swimming championship, clinching 14 medals, including five golds, in the first two days of the event at Jakarta. Ace swimmer Khade has contributed three of the five gold medals and one silver in India's impressive tally. The 20-year-old Khade had also combined with Aaron D Souza, Anshul Kothari and Rehan Poncha to fetch another gold in 4x100 free style relay, yesterday. The other two gold medal winners are Rehan Poncha, who won 200m individual medley by clocking 02:06.82 today and Sandeep Sejwal, who won the 50m breast stroke recording a time of 28:36s yesterday. — PTI

ICC makes U-turn on DRS
Dubai: The ICC decision, reached at its Executive Board meeting here, was a reversal from the agreement reached between the world body and its member Boards at the annual conference in Hong Kong, when Hot Spot was made mandatory subject to its availability though the use of ball-tracking was left to the playing boards to decide. The ICC said that it will revert to its previous pre-June position to allow the participating nations to decide bilaterally whether they wished to use the DRS or not. It is a major boost for the BCCI, which was opposed to DRS, as it felt the technology was not reliable enough. — PTI

Santosh enters quarters
NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Santosh Kumar won his pre-quarterfinal bout against his Indonesian rival in the 56kg class of the 11th World Wushu Championship in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday and will meet a Chinese rival in quarterfinals on Wednesday. However, Asian Games bronze medalist, Bimoljit Singh of CRPF, lost his pre-quarterfinal against France in the 60kg category. Manoj Kumar (48kg) and Gulshan (52kg) also have quarterfinal bouts on Wednesday. — TNS

PCB gets new chairman
Lahore: President Asif Zardari today appointed banker Zaka Ashraf as chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board in place of Ijaz Butt. In a notification issued late evening, Zaka Ashraf was named new chairman of the Board replacing Butt who completed his three-year tenure on October 8. — PTI

Chowrasia-Kapur win
New Delhi: The curtain went up on the 48th edition of the Indian Open at the Delhi Golf Club here with Shiv Kapur and Shiv Shankar Prasad (SSP) Chowrasia registering a win over Edoardo Molinari and Rikard Karlberg in the Hero India versus Rest of the World Skills Challenge event today. The winners picked up US$ 6,000 for the win, while the runners-up took home $ 2,000. The challenge pitted the players in five sets of skills - long drive, approach shot (150 metres), pitch (from 75 metres), sand shot and long putt. The winner in each skill was awarded 50 points, with 30 for second, 20 for third and 10 for fourth. The combined points of both players in each team decided the winners. Molinari topped the challenge in the long drive and pitch, while Chowrasia was the best in sand shots and long putt. Kapur was ahead in the approach shot stakes, while Karlberg, who had two wins on this course last year, was second in approach and sand shots. Results: Long drive: 1. Edoardo Molinari 50, 2. Shiv Kapur 30, 3. SSP Chowrasia 20, 4. Rikard Karlberg 10; approach shot: 1. Kapur 50, 2. Karlberg 30, 3. Molinari 20, 4. Chowrasia 10; pitch shot: 1. Molinari 50, 2. Kapur 30, 3. Karlberg 20, 4. Chowrasia 10; bunker shot: 1. Chowrasia 50, 2. Karlberg 30, 3. Kapur 2, 4. Molinari 10; long putt: 1. Chowrasia 50, 2. Kapur 30, 3. Karlberg 20, 4. Molinari 10. — TNS