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IPL plans short sojourn in Emirates
champions league |
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Djokovic, Li Na advance at Indian Wells
Railways make light of star-studded Punjab
Tiger has lost his roar, says his former caddy
Encouraging signs in Schumi’s condition
Defunct IBF plans to hold nationals
Blow for athletes as Mittal Trust shuts down
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IPL plans short sojourn in Emirates
This decision was taken after Sharjah had come under a cloud due to allegations of match-fixing and the presence of underworld dons at the venue. The ban was also a reaction to the match-fixing scandal of 2000, which implicated the captains of India and South Africa. The IPL has also come under a cloud due to betting and spot-fixing - IPL faces a crisis of credibility. The Justice Mudgal Commission, which probed last year’s spot-fixing and betting scandal in the IPL, found that even allegations of match-fixing need to be investigated properly. Holding the IPL in the region that had become synonymous with corruption in cricket is quite bewildering. Former India allrounder Kirti Azad was scathing in his criticism of the decision to hold IPL matches in the UAE. “In spite of the observations made by Justice Mudgal and the Supreme Court about corruption in the IPL, I find it surprising that the BCCI hasn’t learnt a lesson,” said Azad. “The UAE is very convenient for the IPL as they are now are back with the fixers.” India last played in Sharjah in 2000, soon after the match-fixing scandal broke. In India’s last match there, after Sri Lanka made 299 (including a 189 by Sanath Jayasuriya), India were bowled out for 54 to lose by 245 runs. After the match-fixing scandal of 2000, and a month after the Indian government banned its team from playing in Sharjah, former England player Jonathan Agnew wrote that he was certain that match-fixing was taking place in Sharjah. “I would swear under oath that two of the dozen or so matches I have witnessed on that desert ground over the years were fixed: both of them by Pakistan,” he wrote in 2001. India did return to the UAE in 2006, playing two matches against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi. In fact, Sharjah and the UAE could be called the spiritual home of the IPL. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, Sharjah in the deserts of the UAE was doing exactly what the IPL did since its launch in 2008 - Sharjah had a heady mix of cricket and glamour, including Bollywood celebrities. It also had, however, shady personalities of the underworld. This too seems to be replicated by the IPL, if we go by the observations of the Mudgal Commission. In recent years, many international matches, including Tests, have been played among various countries in the UAE. However, considering the taint on the IPL, and the highly unpredictable nature of Twenty20 cricket, it would have been wiser not to hold any IPL matches in the
UAE. Key dates
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Bayern shut the door on Arsenal again
The Munich club draws 1-1 with the Gunners in second leg to go through 3-1 on aggregate
Paris, March 12 Bayern — who have reached the final of the past two Champions League campaigns — were held 1-1 in Munich by Arsenal, but just as they did last year against the same opposition at the same stage, the Germans went through, this time 3-1 on aggregate. However Bayern’s joy at going through was somewhat soured after Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger accused Dutch wing Arjen Robben of diving throughout the two legs. “Robben dived tonight (he was told to get up by the referee when he went down early in the second-half in the penalty area) and he dived in the first leg,” said Wenger. Robben, who won a penalty for Bayern in the first leg which saw the Arsenal goalkeeper sent off, was dismissive of the remarks. “Great managers don’t need to resort to claims like that. I don’t want to have to defend myself against remarks like that,” he said. Guardiola, who has won the trophy twice as coach of Barcelona, looked annoyed when told about the comments. “The best team won over the two legs that is what happened,” he said. Atletico — who are the surprise package of the competition this season as well as in the La Liga title race — reached their first Champions League quarter-final since 1997, when their present coach Diego Simeone was in the side, with a far more emphatic 4-1 win at home to Italian side AC Milan, to prevail 5-1 on aggregate. It left Italy without a side remaining in the competition as Napoli and Juventus went out in the group stage. Simeone, a former combative Argentinian international midfielder who was capped over 100 times, said he was proud of his side and tried to play down expectations by saying Atletico were very much the underdogs still. “It is a very nice moment, after such a long time,” said the 43-year-old. “But we are still at the beginning of the knockout stages, and we must continue to get better. A difficult and dangerous quarterfinal awaits us and we will have to recuperate and continue on the path we are following. There will be seven great sides in the last eight and one which will be very enthusiastic and capable of upsetting the others.” “As for Diego Costa he continues to progress, he has great physical strength and presence. He reminds me of some of the great strikers.” In Munich, Bastian Schweinsteiger opened the scoring for the hosts — his first goal since October — before Lukas Podolski equalized for Arsenal against his former team, just as he had done in last season’s first leg match. The hosts could have won the match itself right at the end but Thomas Mueller’s penalty was saved by Lukasz Fabianski. In Madrid, the result never looked too much in doubt, once Costa got the opener after three minutes, despite former Real Madrid star Kaka leveling halfway through the first-half. Turkish international Arda Turan restored the one goal lead before the break with a half-volley that took a wicked deflection and Raul Garcia and Costa added two more in the second-half, the latter taking his tally in all competitions this season to 29, including seven in the Champions League. Milan’s rookie Dutch coach Clarence Seedorf said the second goal had been the killer for his side, who are a shadow of the great Milan sides he was when he was a player. — PTI
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Djokovic, Li Na advance at Indian Wells
Indian Wells (USA), March 12 Djokovic had a little hiccup when he dropped the second set of his match with Colombia’s Alejandro Gonzalez but was otherwise untroubled in winning 6-1 3-6 6-1. “I thought I played really well from the start,” said Djokovic, a two-time champion at Indian Wells. “Then suddenly I just had a big loss of concentration and allowed him to win the second set for no reason. I bounced back better in the third.” While the Serbian was not at his best, Djokovic did at least survive to fight another day in the Californian desert after the shock losses of world number one Rafa Nadal and Maria Sharapova on Monday. Djokovic’s next opponent is the big-serving Croatian Marin Cilic, who recorded his 20th win this season with a 6-4 6-3 over Spain’s Tommy Robredo. “I cannot allow myself to have these particular concentration lapses in the match at this level especially in the next match when I’m playing Cilic, a guy who is in really good form and I think has gotten better in last couple of months working with (Goran) Ivanisevic.” Li, promoted to the women’s top seed after winning the Australian Open and in the absence of Serena Williams, beat Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1 6-4 but only after a extraordinary final game where she struggled to close out the match. Li raced through the opening set in just over half an hour then recovered from 3-0 down to serve for the match at 5-4 when she suddenly got the wobbles. The final game lasted 20 minutes as Li squandered 10 match points and took her tally of double-faults for the match to nine before she finally sealed the win. Jelena Jankovic ended her five-match losing streak to Carolina Wozniacki when she reeled off 10 consecutive games to win 6-3 6-1 and advance to the quarterfinals. Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, the second seed, breezed past Alize Cornet of France 7-5 6-3 while Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova brushed aside the challenge of Petra Kvitova, beating the Czech 6-3 6-2. — Reuters |
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Swiss
Open
Basel, March 12 World championship bronze medallist Sindhu posted a comfortable 21-18 21-15 victory over Malaysian Sannatasah Saniru in 32 minutes to enter the second round of the women’s singles event. Kashyap and Pawar also reached the second round of the men’s singles competition with straight game victories. But it was curtains for Kidambi Srikanth in the men’s singles, while Saili Rane failed to cross the opening round hurdle in women’s singles. Seventh seeded Sindhu opened with a 3-0 lead and went on to extend it to 10-3 in the first game. But the Malaysian raised her tempo and managed to reduce the gap to 15-16 before making it 17-17. But at 18-18, the 18-year-old Hyderabadi girl showed a lot of character as she went on to pocket three straight points to wrap up the opening game 21-18. The second game was a neck-and-neck battle till 7-7 before the Malaysian opened up a 13-9 lead, but Sindhu held on to her nerves to make it 12-13 and then tie it at 14-14. There was no looking back for the Indian from there and she dominated the proceedings to seal the match in her favour. World No. 9 Sindhu will take on winner of the match between Li Michelle of Canada and Russia’s Ella Diehl in the next round. Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kashyap prevailed over The Netherlands’ Erik Meijs 21-17 21-15 in a match that lasted 34 minutes. World number 18 Kashyap led 6-3 early on, before slipping to 9-11, but he raised his game in time and pocketed the first game. The second game was a more comfortable ride as Kashyap jumped from 5-4 to 10-4 and didn’t give a chance to his opponent and closed the door on Erik. The third seed Indian will next take on German Lukas Schmidt in the next round. Anand, too, didn’t break much sweat before getting past Malaysia’s Kok Pong Loke 21-17 21-10 in a 26-minute match last night, to set up a meeting with another German Tobias Wadenka. However, Thailand Grand Prix Gold winner, Srikanth, seeded fifth, could not reach the next stage after his gallant fight against Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen ended with a close 21-19 18-21 17-21 defeat. Third seeded Shixian Wang of China completely outplayed young Indian Saili 21-8 21-9 in just 31 minutes. The Indian mixed doubles pair of Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa also went down fighting against the Polish combo of Robert Mateusiak and Agnieszka Wojtkowska 10-21 21-16 13-21. The contest lasted for 43 minutes. London Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, Commonwealth Games gold medallist combination of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will play later today.
— PTI |
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Railways make light of star-studded Punjab
Kolkata, March 12 Railways won a good toss and their skipper Mahesh Rawat led from the front, scoring a classy run-a-ball 108 in team’s fighting total of 242. The Railways bowlers, Krishnakant Upadhyay (2/14) and Anureet Singh (2/26) then ripped through the Punjab top-order, while left-arm spinner Ashish Yadav (3/12) polished off the tail to skittle the Harbhajan-led side for just 105 in 33.4 overs. Railways were exceptional in the field, which resulted in a brilliant run-out of Yuvraj Singh (15, 34 balls), who didn’t look comfortable at all during his stay at the crease. Coming to the crease with Punjab 12 for three after five overs in pursuit of 243 on a difficult Eden track, Yuvraj had the perfect script but he looked a shadow of his past before his anxious innings was cut short by a run-out. Anureet in an excellent display of in-swing bowling had a first ball wicket while Upadhyay wreaked havoc with his out-swingers.Earlier, Rawat scored his maiden List A ton with 13 fours and a six. He added 141 runs for the fifth wicket off 156 balls with Nagaland’s Jonathan Rongsen (58) to propel their total to 242. They were in a spot of bother having lost four wickets for 64 runs but the wicketkeeper batsman turned the match around before Siddharth Kaul’s 5/47 including three wickets in an over bundled out Railways in 47.5 overs. “I wanted to hang in there, get through the new ball try rotate strikes. run outs changed the course of the game,” said a disappointed Yuvraj . Punjab were never in equation after his dismissal as Yadav ran through the tail castling Harbhajan Singh (11), Manpreet Gony (6) and Kaul (0) to hand Railways the mammoth win. Brief Scores: Railways 242 in 47.5 overs (Mahesh Rawat 108, Rongsen Jonathan 58; Siddharth Kaul 5/47); Punjab 105 all out (Taruwar Kohli 27 not out; Ashish Yadav 3/12, Anureet Singh 2/26, Krishnakant Upadhyay 2/14).
— PTI Yuvi hopes for good show in WorldT20 Yuvraj Singh today defended the poor show of the Indian bowlers in the Asia Cup, citing new field restrictions as one of the reasons. “Our bowlers have had a problem in restricting the opposition since the new fielding rules have come into force but T20 is a different format and I am hopeful that they will do well in the WorldT20,” said Yuvraj. The all-rounder is working hard on bowling. “I have been working hard on my bowling and would like to deliver during the World Cup.” Yuvraj hoped India's power-packed batting line-up would do well at the mega event. “We have players who can really do well in the last five to 10 overs. Myself, Dhoni, Raina, Rohit and Virat are all capable of winning matches.”
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Gangpur-Odisha beat Namdhari XI to enter final
Lucknow, March 12 While the Odisha outfit beat Namdhari XI 2-0, Maharashtra beat Mumbai Hockey Association (MHA) by a 2-1 margin at the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium. Gangpur-Odisha’s goals came in the second half through penalty corner conversions by William Xalxo (42nd minute) and captain Ashish Anmol Minz (59th). In the second semifinal, Maharashtra rode on Navneet Swarnkar’s (1st, 46th) twin strikes to get the better of MHA, whose only goal came from the stick of Amit Goswami in the 40th minute. UP, Railways register second wins
Meanwhile, on the second day of the Division A matches, Food Corporation of India (FCI) defeated Haryana 4-1 to register its first win while Uttar Pradesh and Railways recorded their second consecutive victories. Diwakar Ram continued his impressive run and converted two penalty corners to lead Uttar Pradesh to an easy 4-1 win over Jharkhand. Malak Singh, Amit Rohidas and Vinod Kumar Singh scored two goals each as Railways thrashed Tamil Nadu 6-0 in Pool D.
— PTI Chhattisgarh girls face Kerala in juniors final
Mysore: Chhattisgarh will play Kerala in the Division B final of the Hockey India junior women's National championship after registering easy wins in their respective semifinals at the Chamundi Vihar Hockey Ground here today. While Chhattisgarh thrashed Manipur 4-0, Kerala stunned Gangpur-Odisha 2-0. In the first semifinal, Chhattisgarh scored two goals each on either side of the break through Ishika Chaudhary (8th minute), Priyanka Parihar (34th), Akanksha Parmar (38th) and Sadhna Sengar (65th) to register the comfortable win. In the other semifinal, Kerala rode on two field goals from the sticks of M R Sindhu (26th) and Amala Thomas (68th) to set up the summit clash against Chhattisgarh.
— PTI |
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All change as Formula One enters new era
London, March 12 Just how much trouble Vettel’s Red Bull team might be in is one of the questions waiting for an answer as the sport’s unpredictable new turbo era whooshes into action at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit. The quadruple world champion won the last nine races of 2013 but the 26-year-old German spent much of his time during the pre-season tests in Spain and Bahrain watching the car being worked on in the garage. Red Bull are braced for a reality check as they and partners Renault work against the clock to fix the troublesome 1.6 litre V6 hybrid turbo engine and it’s complicated new energy recovery systems. Rivals Mercedes, under new leadership following the departure of Ross Brawn, have been racking up the laps with far less hassle. “Mercedes have got a bit of a march on people. They invested more, they invested earlier. They’ve got themselves into a good position,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said. “If Mercedes were to finish two laps ahead of the opposition in Melbourne, that wouldn’t be a surprise, based on what we’ve seen in pre-season testing. It’s massive.” “From what we can see at the moment, all the Mercedes powered teams are in pretty decent shape and we’re not. We’re on the back foot, and have a lot of ground to catch up,” added the Briton, who now has Australian Daniel Ricciardo in the lineup following compatriot Mark Webber’s retirement. Hamilton confident
Horner’s words may be a part of the pre-season mind games, repositioning Red Bull as underdogs but Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have sounded quietly confident about a car that is sleeker than many of its ‘ugly’ new-look rivals. “With all the changes within the sport and the hard work that’s been going on within the team, I believe this can be our year to really show what we’re capable of,” said Hamilton, the 2008 world champion with McLaren. “I feel like I’m equipped with the tools I need to succeed. I can’t wait to get started,” added the Briton, whose win in Hungary last July was the last by anyone other than Vettel. Ferrari will be hoping to challenge with their new lineup of champions following the return of Finland’s 2007 title winner Kimi Raikkonen — triumphant in Melbourne for Lotus last year - to partner Fernando Alonso. The cars will sound different without the old V8 engines and will also be far less reliable at first, with any repairs likely to take far longer due to the complexity of the power units. How many cars will start from the grid, let alone finish the race now that fuel economy is a big factor, is another uncertainty. Some insiders have predicted that Sunday evening could see less than half the field reach the chequered flag.
— Reuters |
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Tiger has lost his roar, says his former caddy
Sydney, March 12 Williams, who was sacked by Woods in 2011 after helping him win all but one of his 14 major titles, added that he had yet to reconcile with the world number one, but hopes to one day. “There’s just personal things and differences of opinion about how things went down. He thinks one thing and I think another,” Williams, who now carries the bags of Australian world number two Adam Scott, told Fox Sports late Tuesday. “I need to sort that out with him. But I haven’t had the opportunity sit down with him and iron out a few things, but it will happen at some stage.” Williams was fired after Woods’ slide down the world rankings following the revelation that the American had a string of extra-marital affairs. Since then, Woods has failed to win another major and Williams said it was because the intimidation factor had gone. “He doesn’t have the intimidation factor anymore. That was a big thing, guys were quite intimidated by him but there is no intimidation anymore. That counts for a lot,” he said. Williams switched to Scott after his dismissal, and has helped transform him into a major champion and the heir apparent to Woods’s world number one ranking.
— Agencies |
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Encouraging signs in Schumi’s condition
Paris, March 12 “We are and remain confident that Michael will pull through and will wake up,” his agent and spokeswoman, Sabine Kehm, said in a written statement. “There sometimes are small, encouraging signs, but we also know that this is the time to be very patient.” The seven-times world champion has been in a stable but critical condition since then in a hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble where doctors started lowering his sedation at the end of January to wake him up from an artificial coma. “It was clear from the start that this will be a long and hard fight,” Kehm said.
— Reuters |
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Defunct IBF plans to hold nationals
New Delhi, March 12 The IABF faction, led by former president Abhay Singh Chautala, is notifying various state units of the national championship in Hyderabad from May 18 to 23, and the fifth senior Women’s National Championships in New Delhi from May 8 to 11. Interestingly, the women’s nationals have been declared as the selection trials for the Commonwealth Games, scheduled from July 23 to August 3 in Glasgow. The AIBA has, however, made it clear that the events will have no sanctity given that India’s membership has been terminated. “AIBA will not recognise any national competition held in India at present since it does not recognise any governing body for the sport in the country,” said AIBA’s PR and Communication Director Sebastien Gillot. Earlier, furious with the logjam in the IABF, the AIBA terminated the IBF from its fold stating that the current set of office-bearers are “damaging the image, reputation and interest” of the sport. The world body has now invited direct applications from “any group of people with passion and love for our sport” for the establishment of a new national federation.
— PTI |
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Blow for athletes as Mittal Trust shuts down
New Delhi, March 12 The Mittal Champions Trust (MCT), founded in 2005 to raise India’s sporting standards and produce Olympic medallists, was headed by Mittal’s son-in-law Amit Bhatia. The charity backed shooter Abhinav Bindra, who won India’s first individual gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt who took bronze in London four years later. Former tennis player Manisha Malhotra, who was the trust’s CEO, confirmed local media reports that the venture had closed down. “They did not want to spend more money,” Malhotra said, without elaborating. The London-based Bhatia told the Indian Express newspaper on Wednesday that it was “now time to hand over the reins to others to continue with this wonderful initiative,” referring to other trusts and charities. Taking a swipe at Indian sports administrators, Bhatia added: “There is a lot of disorganisation within the Indian sporting system. The lack of planning within the government and federations makes it challenging to implement systems.” The IOA was until recently suspended from the Olympic movement for electing tainted officials to key posts at its elections in December 2012. The ban was lifted last month when the IOA, under pressure from the International Olympic Committee, revised its constitution and elected new officials headed by world squash chief N Ramachandran. Shooter Bindra said the trust, which looked after the training and funding of medal hopefuls, would leave a void for emerging athletes who struggled to get good facilities and funding.
— Agencies |
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Chandigarh, March 12
