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India make best-ever medal haul
Late charge by Kohli, de Villiers propels RCB to win
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Sunrisers have put CSK loss behind: VVS
Lausanne meeting to proceed on time
Mohali set to get 7 new International stadia by June
Advani, Mehta star attractions at Snooker Masters
British sailing champ dies in America’s Cup training
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India make best-ever medal haul
New Delhi, May 10 The men's team had won the first silver while Mouma Das and Soumyajit Ghosh annexed the mixed doubles silver last night. The women had also picked a brone in the team event. India's rather abject surrender in the individual events proved they have miles to go before they can catch up with the big boys and girls of the game. Canada's Zhang Moe, though of Chinese origin, prevented a clean sweep by top seeds Singapore when she beat Yu Mengyu 4-3 to win the women's singles gold. But Singapore, otherwise, totally dominated the show, bagging six gold, two silver and three bronze medals. England earned three silver and two bronze medals to make their presence. India's best ranked player Achanta Sharath Kamal only flattered to deceive as first he and Saha flost to to the rather rookie English pair of Christopher Doran and Samuel Walker 11-4 ,8-11, 11-6, 10-12, 7-11 and then Sharath crashed in the singles semi-final as well. He could have made a match of the contest, but got buckled under pressure against a confident Hu Li. Sharath seemed a bundle of nerves as he committed far too many errors to give away points on a platter to Li. Li, ranked No 55 in the world, did not allow Sharath much lee-way, other than conceding a game before winning at 4-1.In the fourth game, they fought neck and neck, but for the third time Sharath messed up his serve and Li clinched the game 12-10. In the decider, Li just rushed past Sharathat to win at 11-4 . Sharath said though he executed his strategy of attacking Li on his forehands, he committed far too many service errors to nullify the gains.In the first women’s singles semi-final Mouma Das crashed to top-seed Mengyu Yu 2-4, after leading 2-1. The 29-year-old Indian veteran failed to match the tactical game of the world No. 27. Mengyu, with excellent footwork and sharp returns, troubled Moua no end, to drive the Indian to a corner. In the other women’s semifinal, Manika Batra was done in by her own mistakes against Mo Zhang of Canada. Manika was error-prone and gave away far too many soft points. In the women’s doubles, Mouma Das and K Shamini lost to top-seeds Feng Tianwei and Mengyu Yu of Singapore 0-3. In the other semifinal, England’s Joanna Parker and Kelly Sibley beat the Indian pair of Madhurika Patkar and Neha Aggarwal 3-1.
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Late charge by Kohli, de Villiers propels RCB to win
New Delhi, May 10 Kohli and de Villiers added 84 runs in the last five overs as they put on a 94-run partnership, which proved decisive in the end, in RCB’s total of 183 for 4. Kohli was run out off the last ball of the innings for 99 (58b,4x6,10x4) with all his sixes coming off Umesh Yadav. The late flourish by the duo added punch to the RCB total which Daredevils came close to catching up, but eventually fell short and folded up for 179 for 7, despite the heroics by local lad Unmukt Chand, who made a 35-ball 41 (4x4, 1x6). After Mahela Jayawardene was clean bowled by Jaidev Unadkat for 19 (13b, 4x4) with Daredevils losing the first wicket for 25, Vinay Kumar conceded 17 runs in the fifth over to almost undo the advantage. But Unadkat returned to scalp Virender Sehwag, caught by Cheteshwar Pujara, for18 (4x4) as Daredevils, having lost two wickets for 49 in six overs, played out the familiar script of the top order crashing without making substantial contributions. Unadkat went on to claim 5 for 25 as Daredevils suffered their fifth defeat in Delhi. Stand-in captain David Warner was bowled for four by Moises Henriques after he was carted for the first six of the innings and a boundary by Unmukt Chand as the two hoisted the 50-run stand. But RCB leaked runs when Syed Mohammad cost 20 runs in and 9th over. But the visitors had put on such a huge score that Daredevils just did not have the batting might to go after the bowling like Kohli and de Villiers had done in the death overs. Delhi Daredevils are out of the play-offs. Brief scores: RCB: 183 for 4 in 20 overs (Kohli 99, de Villiers 32 no; Nadeem 1/23) Delhi Daredevils: 179/7 in 20 overs (Unmukt 41, Rohrer 32, Irfan 23 no; Jaydev Unadkat 5/25).
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Mohali, May 10 A flex poster in the VVIP enclosures of the Kings XI Punjab home ground has become the centre of attraction; mostly for freeloaders guzzling on whiskey. With a peg one hand and a legpiece in the other they stand, facing the wall with amused looks on their sloshed faces and pass wry smiles. Those sober among the watchers walk away muttering: “Such vanity!” But those who stand and stare are treated to Mughal- era art, complete with doe-eyed ladies peeping through the windows of fort-like strutures, where Adam Gilchrist and his men are set on their illusionary journey to the IPL conquest. While the players are dressed in simple kurta-pyjamas, the well-fed lady in Anarkali suit has her ‘Jackie O!’ shades on and a blooming lotus firmly in her hand. She’s blissfully unaware that her infantry behind is rambling from the very outset in the tournament. It’s no guess Gilly is firmly perched on his mount and Praveen Kumar is the man with a catapult. But who’s the lady? There are plenty of guesses, and the unanimous view is that it’s the actress who’s the public face of the team. The picture is not a one off adorning one particular wall, but there are several of them, in the same Mughal style, in the enclosures.
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Sunrisers have put CSK loss behind: VVS
Mohali, May 10 "You have to be really positive, definitely you get really hurt when you lose in such a manner, which we did. There is no doubt that we were very disappointed about the way we played against CSK in Hyderabad," Laxman said ahead of the crucial match against Kings XI Punjab. "But you have to move forward, you learn from your mistakes and you don't want to repeat them in the following match or in the remaining part of the tournament. I think we took out the positives from that match," 38-year-old former batting star said. With 14 points from 12 games, Sunrisers have a good chance to make the knockout stage. A win here tomorrow will push them closer to the play-offs. Laxman said Hyderabad have done well as a bowling unit except for the last game. "I think whichever team we are playing against, they respect the bowling strength the Sunrisers has got. We have got some quality bowlers in all departments, we have got good fast bowlers in Steyn, Ishant Sharma and Perera. Darren Sammy is a good all-rounder. We have got Mishra and Karan as our spinners. “I think we have done well as a bowling unit and our bowlers have won a lot of matches, especially some close games,” he said. — PTI
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Lausanne meeting to proceed on time
New Delhi, May 10 The IOC has sent a message to the Swiss Embassy here to expedite the visa formalities of all the visiting delegates, a clear indication that it is going ahead with the scheduled meeting. "The Swiss Embassy has been asked to grant visa to all the delegates who will be attending the meeting. The names of all the delegates have been given to the Embassy," a top IOA official told PTI. The crucial meeting had come under a cloud of uncertainty after Malhotra and Randhir pulled out of it, apparently miffed with the world body's changed stance. Malhotra and Randhir's decision to boycott the meeting came a day after the IOC agreed to include Hockey India General Secretary Narinder Batra and Jharkhand Olympic Association R K Anand in the IOA delegation for the meeting, in addition to the four-member list submitted earlier. The meeting will also be attended by Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, Sports Secretary P K Deb, Beijing Olympics gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and Olympian sailor Malav Shroff. In a letter to IOC chief Jacques Rogge, Malhotra had informed that he would be withdrawing himself since the world body has started interacting with the suspended IOA. Malhotra had named a four-member delegation to be led by him for the joint meeting. The other members of the delegation he had named were Tarlochan Singh, S Reghunathan and N Ramachandran. IOA should think about sportspersons, says Aditya Mehta
Expressing optimism ahead of next week's meeting between the Indian Olympic Association and International Olympic Committee at Lausanne, snooker ace Aditya Mehta said the interest of Indian sportspersons should be kept in mind of all concerned. "We are now part of the Asian Indoor Games and hopefully everything goes well between IOA and IOC. We are keeping our fingers crossed. We are hoping to at least go to the (June 29 - July 6) Asian Indoor Games (Incheon, Korea)," Mehta told reporters here today. The May 15 meeting between the officials representing the Indian Olympic body, the sports ministry and the world organisation has been convened to find a roadmap for the re-admission of India into the Olympic fold from which it has been suspended by the IOC. "They have to think about the sports persons. Its something big for us. And this is just for the Asian Indoor Games. I am thinking further ahead and for all the other sports - for the Asian Games, the Olympics," said the 27-year-old. — PTI |
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Nishikori beats Fed; Sharapova in semis
Madrid, May 10 But Nishikori reasserted his ground game in the decider after breaking the defending champion for a 3-1 advantage and held on for the surprising victory to reach the quarterfinals. “He was my idol and to beat him was one of the goals for my tennis career,” the 16th-ranked Nishikori said. Federer’s early exit leaves Nadal as the apparent front-runner after world No. 1 Novak Djokovic bowed out on Tuesday. Earlier, Nadal cruised into the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Mikhail Youzhny. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova also advanced. Top-seeded Maria Sharapova outlasted Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Porsche Grand Prix. Sharapova, the defending champion, needed more than 3 hours to overcome Lucie Safarova a day earlier. This one was an hour shorter but nearly as intense. "It was hard to get my body going, I need some time to warm up a little,'' Sharapova said. "Another tough one.'' Sharapova will play third-seeded Angelique Kerber, who defeated Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3, 7-6 (2) to reach her third semifinal of the season. Against Ivanovic, another former No. 1 and the 2008 French Open champion, Sharapova squandered a 4-1 lead in the third set before breaking serve again and serving out the match on her second match point. Last year, Sharapova used the tournament to warm up for the French Open. — Reuters
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Junior national wrestling: NADA presence makes grapplers flee
Chandigarh, May 10 The presence of National Anti-Doping Agency led to fleeing of a number of wrestlers to avoid being caught on the doping offence. Competitions in the 84 kg freestyle competitions was most affected. The competitions in this category has been postponed. Ravita opened the Haryana account by defeating Sakshi of Uttar Pradesh in the 51 kg final. Sarita made it two gold after beating her colleague Ritu Malik in the 63 kg final. Uttar Pradesh's Sheetal Tomar outpointed Manpreet Kaur of Punjab in the 44 kg final. Two trainees of Gulzar Akhara of Zirakpur captured gold medals in the Greco-Roman competitions. Prabh Pal Singh, who represented Himachal Pradesh recorded the only victory registered tonight as he pinned down Sandeep of Haryana in the third round. Gulzar Akhara got their second gold medal through Santosh Kumar, representing Punjab, who outscored against Gautam Yadav of Uttar Pradesh. Mangal of Services Sports Control Board and Dinesh Kumar of Haryana claimed gold medals in the 50 kg and 66 kg freesrtyle categories. The 84 kg medal bouts were not contested and a number of wrestlers were avoiding the National Anti Doping Agency. The NADA officials looked handicap as a number wrestlers allegedly gave slip to avoid giving urine sample for dope analysis. The NADA officials were not willing to provide any information to the mediapersons regarding the number of samples they have collected. “It is not compulsory to take samples of the medal winners,” commented a NADA official. Results: Boys (Greco-Roman): 50 kg: 1 Santosh Kumar (Punjab), 2 Gautam Yadav (UP), 3 Rajneesh (WB) and Sunil Patil (SSCB); 66 kg: 1 Sagar Anand Patil (Mah), 2 Manjeet Dalal (Har), 3 Deepak Ujjwal (UP) and Manjeet (Delhi).
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Mohali set to get 7 new International stadia by June
Mohali is all set to have seven new international sports stadia by June this year, which will be a record in terms of per capita population. All the stadia would be inaugurated on a single day that would also mark the inauguration of three-nation hockey tournament.
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today visited all the stadia to review the progress and give suggestions for further improvements. Heaping praise on the new hockey stadium, which is just opposite the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), Badal felt that the venue was much better than the Olympic stadium of London. He also asked authorities to create separate rooms for international coaches, who are being hired by the authorities. Stressing on the need for a proper parking space for the spectators during the tournaments, Badal asked Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to develop area between Hockey Stadium and Indoor Stadium and also make a multi-storeyed parking with food court and other facilities. While going through the progress of the Indoor Stadium, Badal suggested making spectator galleries and ensuring lighting facilities as per the Olympic specifications for day and night performances. Badal also visited Sector 78 stadium and asked the GMADA to lay out international standard synthetic track, besides sufficient space for the spectators. He also asked for hostel facility for 200 players with residential facilities for coaches, besides an international level cafeteria. — PTI |
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Holland tour helped us identify weaknesses: Sardar
New Delhi, May 10 "It was a good tour and Roelant Oltmans, Indian Hockey’s director high performance, made it sure that we got to play against best clubs. We have learnt a lot on this tour . In fact we have identified our weaknesses and now will work harder on them," said the veteran midfielder. After beating the Netherlands 2-0 in the first match of the tour, India notched up their second consecutive win over the hosts in Rotterdam. Before that they also played five matches against top Dutch clubs and won two of them while one match was draw. The tour was part of the preparations for the FIH Men's Hockey World League Round III (Semi-final) to be played at Rotterdam from June 13-23. Apart from India, the Netherlands, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and Ireland will take part in this round where three or four quota place will be decided for the finals. "We defeated the Netherlands after a long time and this enhanced our confidence level. We also played against top Dutch clubs which included several top international players. We tried to match them in aggression and pace," he said. The tour was part of the preparations for the FIH Men's Hockey World League Round III (semifinal) to be played at Rotterdam from June 13-23. Apart from India, the Netherlands, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and Ireland will take part in this round where three or four quota place will be decided for the finals. "We defeated the Netherlands after a long time and this enhanced our confidence level. We also played against top Dutch clubs which included several top international players. We tried to match them in aggression and pace," he said. Sardar also said that video analysis after every match helped. — PTI
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Vettel and Alonso set pace in Spain
Barcelona, May 10 With sunshine replacing the morning’s drizzle, when Alonso was top of the timesheets with a largely meaningless lap of one minute 25.252 seconds on a drying track, Vettel produced a quickest time of 1:22.808. Alonso was second, 0.017 slower, with Australian Mark Webber third with a best lap of 1:22.891. Qualifying has been critical at the Circuit de Catalunya in the past, with 18 of 22 winners there to date starting on pole position and all but one — Michael Schumacher from third in 1996 — from the front row of the grid. McLaren’s Jenson Button failed to set a lap time in the damp first session, with the team opting for caution in the knowledge that they have a limited number of spares for their new aerodynamic upgrade package. The 2009 world champion was 12th after lunch with a best effort of 1:24.306 while Mexican team mate Sergio Perez lapped in 1:24.854. “We’ve got enough parts for two cars, but we’re limited on spares so we’d like to avoid crashing or going into gravel,” explained McLaren sporting director Sam Michael. Plans to provide more track action in the first session by giving drivers an extra set of prototype long-lasting hard tyres were stymied by the weather, with leaden skies and drizzle replacing Friday’s sunshine. Felipe Massa was just behind his teammate in 1:25.455 in a Ferrari one-two in that session and was fifth in the afternoon with Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen — a previous winner in Barcelona with McLaren and Ferrari — fourth. Vettel, the overall championship leader who is 10 points clear of Raikkonen after winning two of four races so far, was 19th quickest of the 22 cars in the morning after waiting until the track was drying before venturing out for a proper lap. Webber was 20th. — Reuters
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Advani, Mehta star attractions at Snooker Masters
Mumbai, May 10 World No.21 Stephen Lee from England will be the star attraction while also in the fray are World No.31 Michael Holt and No.46 Nigel Bond, a former British Open winner. — PTI
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British sailing champ dies in America’s Cup training
San Francisco, May 10 Simpson, 36, who won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was sailing on the Artemis, Sweden's entry in the America's Cup, when the catamaran overturned. — Reuters
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New Delhi, May 10
