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SC to hear BCCI plea, defers RCA elections result
Aditya is world’s top junior shuttler
‘India the most unpredictable side’
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Academies the way forward for Indian football: Fowler
Australian media hails the ‘unchangeables’
Sanchez hat-trick puts Barca back on top
Brazil’s ‘too late’ preparations makes Blatter angry
Dhillon president of sports medicine body
Sania, Cara begin season with defeat
Dhoni keen to stay in driver’s seat in all three formats
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SC to hear BCCI plea, defers RCA elections result
New Delhi, January 6 A bench headed by Justice A R Dave also agreed to hear the objections raised by BCCI over Modi contesting the December 19, 2013 election before declaring the results if Modi comes out as a winner. BCCI pleaded that Modi should not have been allowed to contest the election as he has been disqualified by the Board for life from being associated with any cricket association. The bench, however, said the issue raised by the Board will arise only if Modi wins the election and if it happens then it will hear the plea of the BCCI before declaring the results. "Is he (Modi) more powerful that he will certainly be elected," the bench said when the Board insisted that it hear its plea against Modi. It said that the sealed envelope containing results of election will be opened on January 17 and all arguments will be heard only on that day. The BCCI has challenged the Rajasthan Sports Act 2005 allowing Modi to contest the RCA presidential election despite being banned for life by the Board. The apex court had on November 20, 2013 made its retired judge Justice N M Kasliwal as a principal observer to oversee the elections. It had said that "individual members shall not cast their votes and the result of the election shall be subject to the final outcome of the appeal which is pending before this court". The court had passed the order on a petition filed by former BCCI treasurer and ex-RCA secretary Kishore Rungta seeking the court's direction for appointment of a retired judge to conduct RCA elections. The Board had on December 28, 2013 decided to approach the Supreme Court. The decision to intervene was taken at an emergent working committee meeting of the Board to discuss the possible implications of Modi's re-entry into the RCA. Modi was allowed to fight for the post of RCA president in the December 19 elections held under the supervision of a Supreme Court-appointed observer. Lalit Modi was slapped with a life ban on September 25 last year by the BCCI after its disciplinary committee found him guilty on eight charges of "indiscipline and misconduct". The BCCI disciplinary committee, comprising Arun Jaitley, and Jyotiraditya Scindia, had submitted a 134-page report in July, 2013, in which it had found Modi guilty of financial irregularities, indiscipline and "actions detrimental to the interest of the BCCI." — PTI Mudgal Committee meets Shukla, Jaitley
The IPL Probe Committee headed by Justice (Retd) Mukul Mudgal has interacted with BCCI vice-president and union minister Rajeev Shukla, BJP heavyweight and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley along with former BCCI president IS Bindra. Another person with whom the committee interacted was lawyer Rahul Mehra. The interactions with the following people took place on January 4th and 6th. According to a media release issued by the BCCI, the IPL Probe Committee will next head to Kolkata where they would conduct the probe on January 16 and 17 followed by probe in Bangalore on January 18 and 19. When Bindra was contacted, he refused to divulge any information about his interactions with the committee. “I can't say anything as this is a judicial probe going on and the findings will be submitted to the Supreme Court,” Bindra said. |
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Aditya is world’s top junior shuttler
Mhow, January 6 Aditya, 17, a resident of Dhar town, recently got the number one slot in the January rankings of the World Badminton Federation (WBF). As information about his achievement reached his tribal-dominated town last week, the family`s near and dear ones started visiting his home to greet his parents. Aditya was at the 11th position till November, but he managed to jump ahead of all the players by achieving 18,776 points. Aditya started playing badminton in 2001 when he was only five and very soon, he started winning in the categories above his age in the local tournaments. Within six years, he started proving himself at the international arena and clinched the gold in Remensco Junior International tournament held in Russia in 2011. During the same year, he won a gold medal in Asian Sub-Junior championship held in Japan. The shuttler reached up to the pre-quarter level in junior international championship held at Malasiya last year and played quarter-final of the junior world championship held at Bangkok. His victory in the national junior championship held at Chandigarh last month made way for his top ranking. Aditya was the national champion in 2013 and had won two gold medals in Junior International tournament held at Pune and a silver in the Senior National championship while his age corresponds to junior category. His coach Amit Kulkarni, who is also the coach of MP badminton team, expressed happiness over Aditya`s achievement. His father Atul Joshi told the media that he and other players believe that Aditya will perform well in the coming Olympics. His mother Hemlata Joshi said when he was very small, she had to ensure that he did not watch cartoons or get addicted to TV, for which they did not install a cable TV connection till he grew up. — PTI
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‘India the most unpredictable side’
New Delhi, January 6 “We feel that Germany, Belgium and Netherlands are the teams to look out for in the League, but India is the most unpredictable team. The Indian boys can upset any strong team on any given day hence, should be extra careful while playing them," said Reid. Australia are placed in group B alongside Argentina, Belgium and Netherlands, while India have England, Germany and New Zealand in their pool. Australia open their campaign against Belgium in the opening match of the tournament on January 10 at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium here. — PTI
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Academies the way forward for Indian football: Fowler
New Delhi, January 6 “You need talent to raise profile of the game and that can come from academies. We have a plan to set up an academy in Pune. Hopefully, this is not the only one in India. We will start with that but we may set up many others in future to help Indian football,” Fowler said in a programme here. “I'm amazed at knowing that Liverpool is the most followed club in India with 93 million fans. There is so much passion for football here. Hope some successful players come from India in future from these academies,” said the former Liverpool striker and current brand ambassador of the English Premier League club. Fowler, the fifth highest scorer in EPL with 163 goals in 375 appearances, was here at a programme to witness the signing of a partnership between smart mobile devices brand XOLO and Liverpool. The agreement was signed at a press conference at Melwood Training Ground in Liverpool by Sunil Raina, Business Head XOLO and Olly Dale, Sales Director Liverpool FC. The event in Liverpool was shown live here. Fowler rated Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in the world in current form and said he should win the World Footballer of the Year Award (Ballon d'Or) in the FIFA Awards ceremony in Zurich on January 13, ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery. “I have a soft corner for Cristiano. I think he deserved to win the Ballon D'Or. He has been fantastic throughout the season,” he said. He, however, wants Messi to do well in the FIFA World Cup this year in Brazil. “I want Messi to do well. He has not done well for his country in the World Cup. I just think he will have a big World Cup this time.”
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Australian media hails the ‘unchangeables’
Sydney, January 6 “Never before in 137 years of Test cricket has Australia decimated England so completely, winning the fifth Test inside three days to finish with all 100 English wickets in a series for the first time,” The Sydney Daily Telegraph`s Malcolm Conn said. “And they did it as the Unchangeables, taking the same XI players through all five Tests after the selectors recalled man of the series Mitchell Johnson, 32, and his closest rival for the award, Brad Haddin.” The Australian newspaper’s Peter Lalor said the whitewash was special because “nothing remotely similar was expected of this lot”. “Clarke’s men had lost 4-0 in India and then 3-0 in England a few months back. It has sacked a coach, auditioned more batsmen and bowlers than a television talent contest and navigated a path as bleak as any travelled by an Australian team,” he wrote. “England won a handful of sessions but was soundly beaten from Brisbane to Sydney. “The home side did it with a reconstituted opener in Chris Rogers, a resurrected bowler in Mitchell Johnson, a reappointed wicket- keeper in Brad Haddin and a rediscovered sense of how to play cricket the Australian way.” The Australian`s Wayne Smith said English opener Michael Carberry`s bat snapping in half as he pushed forward to defend on Sunday was rich in symbolism amid the carnage of the team`s final collapse of the series. “Perhaps, in the absence of the real symbol of Ashes supremacy, the tiny terracotta urn that is regarded as so fragile it lives almost permanently in the MCC Museum at Lord`s, Carberry might be prevailed upon to leave his wounded bat here on these shores as a treasured reminder of one of Australia’s greatest Ashes triumphs,” Smith said. He added that “greatness” has never been a word applied to Clarke’s side. “That’s what most rankles the English about this series, that their mighty team, so recently ranked number one in world cricket, has been brought low by a team of, well, plodders.” Fairfax Media’s Chris Barrett said the annihilation of England has left an Australian team feeling on top of the world. “They’re not quite there yet — the savage beating of England over the past eight weeks confirms a leap to number three in the ICC Test world rankings with a visit to top nation South Africa on the horizon next month,” he said. — PTI
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Man U dumped out of FA Cup
London, January 6 Eleven points off the pace in the Premier League, where they have already lost six games, United crashed out at the first hurdle in the FA Cup to give beleaguered manager David Moyes even more problems. To compound matters, United's injury list swelled further after Rio Ferdinand had to go off with a knee injury, while Fabio da Silva was sent off shortly after coming on to replace him. “We were a bit unlucky to lose, but we probably didn't do enough to win it in the end," said Moyes, whose side visit Sunderland in the League Cup semifinals on Tuesday. “We made some opportunities, (but) not enough. When we went down to 10 men, we just needed to see it out and at least take a replay if that was what had to come about, but we didn't quite get that far.” In a game preceded by a minute's applause for late Portugal great Eusebio, who died on Sunday, Swansea took a 12th-minute lead through Wayne Routledge, who cantered onto a pass from Alejandro Pozuelo to lob Anders Lindegaard. The hosts equalised four minutes later, Javier Hernandez volleying in a cross from Alexander Buttner, but they could not find a second goal. Ferdinand had to hobble off due to injury late on and his replacement, Fabio, was sent off for a high challenge on Jose Canas shortly after coming on. Worse was to follow at the death, with Routledge lifting a cross into the box from the left and Bony powering home a near-post header to add a new chapter of disappointment to the tale of United's unravelling season. West Ham United also fell in the third round, crashing to an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at second-tier Nottingham Forest, but Chelsea and Liverpool both progressed against lower-league opponents. Chelsea win
Chelsea beat in-form Championship side Derby County 2-0, with Liverpool avenging their shock defeat by third-tier Oldham Athletic in last season's competition with a 2-0 success at Anfield. Chelsea enjoyed the best of the first half against Derby at Pride Park but they had to wait until the 66th minute before making the breakthrough against former England manager Steve McClaren's side. Eden Hazard's trickery wide on the left yielded a free-kick and from Willian's wicked, in-swinging cross, John Mikel Obi glanced home a header to mark his 300th Chelsea appearance. — Agencies |
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Sanchez hat-trick puts Barca back on top
Madrid, January 6 The Catalans are tied with Atletico Madrid on 49 points with the two set to meet for the first time in the league this season next weekend at the Vicente Calderon. Lionel Messi was once again watching from the sidelines as he nears a comeback from a hamstring injury and Neymar was left on the bench having recently returned from a Christmas break in Brazil. However, Sanchez and Pedro Rodriguez once again proved able deputies as they slotted home inside the opening 15 minutes. Xavi Hernandez also missed a second-half penalty for the hosts, but it mattered little as Sanchez rolled home his second goal from Pedro's pass shortly afterwards. And the Chilean sealed his first hat-trick for the club with a stunning free-kick 21 minutes from time. Barca now lead Real Madrid by eight points, but Madrid can cut the gap on the leaders to five with victory over Celta Vigo on Monday. "We played very well. We had variation, precision, control and we had a lot of chances," said Barca boss Gerardo Martino. “We were always concentrated through the game and limited the opponent to very few sights of goal. “In the second-half especially we controlled the game completely." And the Argentine was particularly pleased with the contribution of Pedro and Sanchez in the absence of Messi and Neymar. “I was happy for Alexis because, as a coach, you always like to see players like he and Pedro who work so hard for the team get their reward.” Barca needed just seven minutes to open their account in 2014 as Jordi Alba's enticing cross from the left was expertly finished by Sanchez at the back post. Victor Valdes was making his return in goal for Barca after six weeks out with a calf injury, but he was very nearly beaten on 14 minutes when Richmond Boakye fired a powerful drive off the outside of the post. Moments later, though, Barca had made the game safe as Cesc Fabregas' 10th assist of the season released Pedro to round Elche keeper Tono and roll the ball into an unguarded net. Pedro could have added to his tally twice more in the first-half. — Agencies
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Brazil’s ‘too late’ preparations makes Blatter angry
Paris, January 6 "Brazil has come to realise that they started too late. They are the country who are the most delayed (in terms of World Cup organisation) since I have been at FIFA," Blatter told Swiss newspaper 24 Hours. "Yet they are the only country who have had such a long time — seven years —to prepare.” The World Cup will be staged from June 12 to July 13, but the build-up has been plagued by construction delays, spiralling costs as well as civil discontent at the money being spent on the tournament as well as the 2016 Rio Olympics. World mourns Eusebio ahead of Monday's funeral
Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, who died of cardio-pulmonary arrest early on Sunday aged 71, reigned over Portuguese football in the 1960s, bringing glory to both his club Benfica and his country. His death led to an outpouring of tributes, with the Portuguese government decreeing three days of mourning and flags in Lisbon to fly at half mast ahead of his funeral. “But Eusebio's place among the greats will never be taken away.” said Bobby Charlton, who helped ManU to victory over Benfica in 1968 European Cup final. — Agencies |
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Dhillon president of sports medicine body
Chandigarh, January 6 Prof Dhillon is running a Sports Injury clinic at the PGIMER for the last five years, which is being upgraded to include other specialities like sports nutrition and sports psychology. Speaking at the ceremony of assuming office, Prof Dhillon said that during his tenure the focus would shift from the doctor being at the center of focus, to the sportsman being the focal point. In his plans for the next two years, he said that public meetings and seminars would be held where national and international sportspersons would be invited to put forth their problems before the medical personnel. This was experimented with at Jaipur, where three Olympians from Rajasthan and one National lady squash player, were invited. Dr Dhillon said that there was much more to sports medicine than simple injuries, and presented a paper on Mechanics of Bowling in Cricket, which detailed the issues that need to be addressed to improve bowling efficiency, and ultimately reduce injury. Dr Dhillon is also the current President of the Indian Foot & Ankle Society, and the immediate Past President of the Indian Arthroplasty Association.
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Sania, Cara begin season with defeat
Sydney, January 6 The third seeded Indo-Zimbabwean pair suffered a tame 3-6 2-6 defeat in under an hour contest against the Australian-Croatian combination. Sania and Cara, who ended the 2013 season by winning back-to-back titles in Japan and China, could convert just one of the six break chances they got while dropped service twice. — PTI
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Dhoni keen to stay in driver’s seat in all three formats
New Delhi, January 6 “I think, it's a point of no return with the World Cup literally one year away from now. It won't give a new guy the ideal time to play, at least, 70-80-90 games beginning to the World Cup that's what we would like to have him play before the World Cup", Dhoni said. "I understand the pressure, it's not always that you turn up and at the same time, you get the kind of things which give you more experience than the others. So, we have to go through it," he said at a promotional event here today. Dhoni, India's World Cup winning captain, was responding to a question on giving up captaincy in one of the formats to prolong his career. Dhoni had, last year, said that he might have to give up a format to lead India's title defence in 2015 but such a decision would be made only at the end of 2013. Dhoni will be 33 by the time the World Cup starts in Australia and New Zealand. The skipper said he is feeling a lot fitter and healthier than ever. "I was really fortunate to see where I am right now with the amount of cricket that we are playing these days. As of now, it's looking good. The body is closely knit together. How it will be (in future), I don't know but so far so good," he said. As the talks veered towards India's disastrous tour of South Africa, where the Men in Blue lost both the ODI and Test series, Dhoni said one bad session in Durban cost them the second Test. "Yes, we had some tough times. We had a bad session. We had one really bad session because of which we were on the losing side," he said. However, as always, Dhoni picked up the positives from the Proteas series. "I think the process is more important. The last couple of series before the South African series were I can't even say a decent or a bad one, it can go worse than that, but the good thing is that at least we know the players are there. We had a lot of good sessions in South Africa. "It's a process where we have to improve and also the fact that now we will be continuously playing out of India, so it will give more exposure to the players. Most of the players, who are part of the side barring a few, they have not played, may be, more than five Test matches outside India. I know they will take some time but the overall performance was good," he added. Critics have often questioned Indian bowlers' ability to take 20 wickets on foreign soil and Dhoni said it's one area where the team needs to improve. It was, after all, the fast bowlers' inability to dismiss the South African batsmen twice on a helpful pitch at Wanderers that deprived India of a Test win. The inclusion of pacers Ishwar Pandey and Varun Aaron in the touring squad of New Zealand has made one thing clear that the team management is looking out for bowlers who can take 20 wickets in Tests. "We have got the same amount of talent. We have bowlers who can take 20 wickets but still this is one area where we need to improve. I think on the wickets that are helpful we have done well. Our bowlers have done exceptionally well. Outside India, at times, you get wickets where we have to hit the deck hard and that goes completely opposite to what our bowlers actually bowl. "Here, I am talking about majority of bowlers, that's one area where we have to learn. We have seen in the past also, if there's help, then we will get 20 wickets, we have to make sure we get them. That's one area where we have to improve a bit. But looking at the lot of bowlers that we have got, definitely it seems that they have the potential to take 20 wickets in Test matches," he signed off. — PTI |
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The fate of former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, who contested the Rajasthan Cricket Association polls, is likely to be known on January 17 with the Supreme Court today saying that it would open the sealed envelope containing the results on that day.
Australia’s media on Monday hailed their cobbled together bunch of rejects and recycled players for their decimation of England in a crushing Ashes series whitewash. Michael Clarke’s Australians inflicted a comprehensive 281-run victory in just three days in the final Sydney Test on Sunday to become only the third Australian side to thrash England 5-0 in a series.
Professor Mandeep Dhillon of the Department of Orthopaedics, PGI, Chandigarh, has taken over as President of the Indian Association of Sports Medicine, at the recently concluded annual conference. He would head the body for a two-year term, and would represent the association at various national and International forums.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not averse to the idea of continuing as the skipper of the the Indian cricket team in all the three formats, saying it would be unfair to burden a new player with the mantle of captaincy with just one year left for the World Cup.
