Ipoh, May 30
Five-time champions India’s title hopes came a cropper after they suffered a 2-3 defeat against Argentina in a crucial match of the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here today. India suffered from their inability to capitalise on openings and also feeble defense to allow Argentina to call the shots.

Two field goals by Matias Paredes (37th minute) and Santiago Montelli (38th) soon after the half-time gave Argentina the advantage and then Gonzalo Peillat (58th) converted a penalty corner to ensure a victory for the Pan American champions. The Indians fought hard and reduced the margin twice through goals from Sardar Singh (48th minute) and V R Raghunath (61st minute), but an equaliser eluded them inspite of repeated attacks into the rival citadel.

India have now lost three of their five matches, logging just six points ahead of tomorrow’s last league outing against Pakistan. Argentina have boosted their tally to nine points with three successive wins after starting with two losses.

The first session was mostly confined to the midfield with both teams often losing possession on top of the rival circle. India created two openings from the left flank, but were unable to capitalise on them.

India’s first penalty corner in the sixth minute was also wasted as Sandeep Singh’s rising flick was deflected out by a defender. Sandeep even suffered a minor ankle sprain in taking the penalty corner and was rested for a long period, but will be back for tomorrow’s game against Pakistan. After a barren first half, Argentina scored two goals in the space of one minute soon after the change of ends.

Paredes benefitted from Sandeep’s defensive lapse off a long diagonal pass to flick the ball into the goal. Within a minute, Argentina were up 2-0, courtesy another silly error from the Indians, to be precise captain Sardar Singh who easily gave away the ball and Montelli had all the time in the world to shot the ball into the net.

India then went all out and were rewarded with their second penalty corner from which Sardar scored with a reverse hit after Raghunath’s initial flick was saved by Argentina goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi. Argentina were then put 3-1 ahead by Gonzalo Peillat's low penalty corner shot that went to the left of Indian custodian Sreejesh.

India continued to press hard and were back in the contest when Raghunath scored with a rising drag-flick into the net nine minutes from the hooter. Raghunath had a chance to restore parity for India in the 66th minute from another penalty corner, but this time his shot went wide of the Argentine goal. — PTI

New Delhi, May 30
The nation today paid rich tributes to Grandmaster Viswanathan Anands for retaining the World Championship title with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi congratulating the chess legend and calling him an "inspiration" to the youth. Congratulating Anand, Singh said in a message, "You are a great inspiration to the youth of our country, particularly the sports enthusiasts. You have made the nation proud of you with this monumental achievement." The Prime Minister wished Anand many more successes in the future.

Sonia Gandhi called Anand's feat as "stupendous". "Anand has made India proud. His feat of winning the title consecutively for the fourth time is indeed stupendous," Gandhi said in her message. The Indian Grandmaster showed immense resilience to beat challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel in a tense rapid chess tie-breaker to win the World Championship crown for the fifth time and fourth in a row in Moscow today.

Sports Minister Ajay Maken said Anand is without a doubt the country's best sportsperson. "He has brought laurels to the country and I thank him for that. He is the best sportsperson the country has. He has showed time and again his consistency. It was a cliffhanger and he made it finally, that's what matters," Maken said.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh said Anand's win is bigger than any other sporting triumphs. "I think talking about the magnitude of this celebration, I was telling that when Anand wins the crown, the country should come out on to the streets and celebrate it bigger than any World Cup victory," Shah Rukh said.

GM Parimarjan Negi said it was taxing. "I think it was really taxing especially on their psychological stages and he has been pushed long. But it's good that it finished before the blitz matches," Negi said.

"Most of time when I have tournaments they go on for 9 days and it makes you feel like you have spent a month staying in the same place. This ran for 20 days and it will seem like almost a year," he added.

Patiala, May 30
In a major setback for the Indian athletic scene, which is already fighting dope menace, five more of its athletes have been found violating anti-doping rules and have been suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). The suspensions were decided by the recent decisions of the different disciplinary panels set by NADA after these top athletes were found positive for steroids.

Sources confirmed that of the five athletes suspended only one escaped with a one year suspension as performance enhancement could not be established in his case, while the rest were served the maximum two year suspension for steroid use.

The athletes are Haryana discus thrower Dharmvir Singh, Karnataka long jumper Avin Kumar, Uttar Pradesh distance runner Jagdish Patel and Orissa sprinter Ranjita Mahanta and Karnataka distance runner Sabeena.

In the case of 17 year old distance runner Jagdish Patel, who escaped with a one year suspension, was shown some compassion by the panel headed by retired judge Dinesh Dayal as Patel tested positive for steroid nandrolone, last year. As nandrolone cannot be believed to be a justified drug that could have been performance booster, Patel escaped maximum penalty.

“The panel considered the young age of the athlete and the fact that he suffered from some disease before taking any stern action. He has a long career ahead of him and his suspension for two year period could not have been justified”, said senior officials.

Another athlete Ranjita had tested positive for nandrolone at the National Youth championships at Coimbatore in 2010 when she took the sprint double and was also part of the gold-winning 1000m sprint medley team of Orissa. Ranjita set National youth records of 12.08s and 24.49s for the 100m and 200m. 18-year old Ranjita, who had represented the country in the 2009 World Youth Championships in Italy failed to turn up for the hearing for nearly two years during the proceedings of the case. Finally she was handed down a two-year suspension in an ex-parte decision.

Meanwhile Avin Kumar and Sabeena had tested positive in the 2011 inter-university championships at Karnataka in December. Avin tested positive for steroid methandenone and stimulant mephentermine while Sabeena had turned positive for stanozolol.

Dharamvir had tested positive for stanozolol and testosterone at the inter-Railway championships in Bhubaneswar last February. He had won the silver in discus there with 48.11m.

Chandigarh, May 30
The National Basketball Association (NBA), in collaboration with HP and Basketball Federation of India (BFI), today announced the succesful launch of the 2012 Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA basketball development program in India on May 26. The program will reach approximately 10,000 students and 800 coaches in five cities and marks an important step in incorporating basketball into the regular sports routine of Indian youth at the school level.

The program will visit Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Chandigarh, and will culminate with the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge National Finals in Delhi, 14 - 15 July. This marks the NBA's first program in Chandigarh, showcasing the league's commitment to growing basketball across the country. The NBA has now implemented sustainable grassroots programs in seven cities in India.

BFI and HP will support the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program and enhance the experience for Indian youth throughout the event. adidas is the official outfitter for the program and will provide apparel and footwear for participants and coaches.

The 2012 Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program will tip-off with a two-day 'Train the Trainer' program in each city led by NBA coaches. 'Train the Trainer' will feature on-court clinics and classroom sessions for approximately 150 coaches in each of the five cities.

These sessions will feature the NBA's first-ever Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA India-focused training video. The 75 minute DVD, shot in India with local players, includes videos illustrating fundamental skill development, advanced offensive moves, and fitness training. Each coach attending the 'Train the Trainer' sessions will receive a copy of the DVD.

A dedicated Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA microsite on NBA.com India will provide all coaches and physical education instructors access to videos, photos and other materials to reinforce proper training technique.

At the center of this program is the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge, which begins with a City Championship tournament in all five cities.

Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning against Blaz Kavcic during their 2nd Round match at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris on Wednesday. — AFP

Federer wasted two match points in the third-set tiebreak, which Ungur won 8-6, but the world number 91 ran out of steam in the fourth set. Federer, who is contesting his 14th consecutive Roland Garros, will next face either France's Nicolas Mahut or Martin Klizan of Slovakia.

Leander, Bhupathi advance

Veterans Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, along with their respective partners, advanced to the second round of the French Open mixed doubles event after notching up straight-set victories in the first round of the grand slam event here today.

The fifth seeded Indo-Russian pair of Paes and Elena Vesnina thrashed Czech pair Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak 6-1 6-1 in the first-round match that lasted for 49 minutes here. — Agencies