S P O R T S

Special coverage
The middle order gets muscle
MS Dhoni is passing through some bizarre times. Even as his troubles are mounting off the field, things on it are surprisingly getting smoother by the day. It’s almost as if there’s a converse relation between his fortunes on and off the field these days; the worse things get on one front, the better it gets on the other.

Yuvraj Singh roared back to form with a half-century against Australia in the last group match. File photo

Once a powerhouse of pace, WI now turn to quality spinners
Mirpur, March 31
Just try and imagine what goes through the mind of someone like Michael Holding, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh, just to name a few, when they watch the West Indian wicketkeeper walking up to the stumps to their new-ball bowler, something happening regularly in the T20 World Cup?

india open
Tough challenge for Indians
New Delhi, March 31
The India Open Super Series, the country’s premier badminton tournament, will get underway at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here on Tuesday. The big question would be — Can the home shuttlers rise to the challenge against the world’s top players?

Herath’s five-wkt haul takes Sri Lanka into semifinals
Chittagong, March 31
Left-arm spin wizard Rangana Herath conjured up astonishing figures of 3-5 to help Sri Lanka demolish New Zealand by 59 runs in the race for the World Twenty20 semifinals. The spinner rocked New Zealand, chasing a modest 120-run total, in his 3.3 destructive overs to bowl them for 60 in 15.3 overs in Chittagong — the Black Caps’ lowest total in T20s.

Coach Saqlain is WI weapon against Pak
Mirpur, March 31
Saqlain Mushtaq, who introduced the doosra to the cricketing world, doesn’t get upset when there are questions raised about the legality of the delivery. The off-spinner, who now sits in the West Indian dressing room as their spin coach, prefers to see the brighter side. “Actually I am grateful to god that I am associated so intrinsically with it. And I always feel happy when I see someone bowling the ‘doosra’ or the carrom ball,” he said. “It’s always good to see someone bringing something new to the game. As for the right and wrong of it, it’s up to the ICC.”

BCCI removes all India Cements staff
Mumbai, March 31
Complying with the Supreme Court’s order, the BCCI has given marching orders to all the employees of India Cements or its associate companies who were also part of the Cricket Board.

Hockey nationals
Faltering United face ultimate challenge in Bayern
London, March 31
Manchester United, comprehensively outplayed by local rivals Liverpool and Manchester City at Old Trafford recently, face an even tougher challenge when holders Bayern Munich come calling in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Djokovic beats Rafa for 4th Miami title
Miami, March 31
Novak Djokovic tamed world No. 1 Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-3 to claim his fourth Sony Open title on Sunday, denying the Spaniard a maiden win on the Miami hardcourts. The win was the second straight Masters series title for the second ranked Serb, who defeated Roger Federer in the BNP Paribas Open two weeks ago in Indian Wells.

Buffon heroics can’t save Juve from rare loss
Rome, March 31
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon’s heroics were not enough for Juventus as the Serie A leaders lost 2-0 at an inspired Napoli on Sunday evening, only their second league defeat of the season. Jose Callejon and substitute Dries Mertens, who had only been on the pitch for two minutes, handed Juventus their first league defeat since Oct. 20 to give a glimmer of hope to chasing AS Roma.

Hingis returns to winner’s circle
Miami, March 31
Martina Hingis made a winning return when the Swiss player and German partner Sabine Lisicki claimed the Sony Open doubles title on Sunday with a 4-6 6-4 10-5 over Russian duo Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. The title was the 33-year-old Hingis’s first since winning the doubles in Doha in 2007.

hockey nationals
Punjab score big win over Delhi
Chennai, March 31
Ajit Pandit and Harmanpreet Singh netted three goals each as title contenders Punjab overwhelmed Delhi 10-0 in the league phase of the Hockey India men’s junior hockey Nationals (Division-A) here today.

IOA to set up panel to select boxers for CWG, Asiad
New Delhi, March 31
With Indian Boxing Federation’s return to the fold of its international body likely to take time, the Indian Olympic Association is set to constitute a committee to pick the teams for the upcoming Commonwealth and Asian Games.

Player saves opponent’s life in Ukraine club game
Kiev, March 31
Football club Dnipropetrovsk’s midfielder Jaba Kankava possibly saved Dynamo Kiev midfielder Oleh Husev’s life with his fast reactions after a potentially deadly incident during a Ukrainian top flight match on Sunday.

England humiliated by Dutch
Chittagong, March 31
England slumped to an embarrassing 45-run defeat by the Netherlands at the World Twenty20 to end a dismal few months at a new low. England, already eliminated after defeats by New Zealand and South Africa, were bowled out for 88 chasing 134 for win in their final Group 1 match. England's 88 was the lowest ever total by a full-member Test side against an associate nation in T20. Brief scores: The Netherlands: 133-5 in 20 overs (Barresi 48, Myburgh 39; Broad 3-24) bt England: 88 all out in 17.4 overs (Logan van Beek 3-9, Bukhari 3-12) — Reuters

Special coverage
The middle order gets muscle
Yuvraj back in form is a big boost for India in semis, feels skipper MS Dhoni
Subhash Rajta in Mirpur

MS Dhoni is passing through some bizarre times. Even as his troubles are mounting off the field, things on it are surprisingly getting smoother by the day. It’s almost as if there’s a converse relation between his fortunes on and off the field these days; the worse things get on one front, the better it gets on the other.

The Indian skipper must have woken up with the same confounding feelings on Monday morning too. He must have gone to bed feeling relieved with Yuvraj Singh storming back into some form, something he desperately wanted going into the knockouts. But along with the good news from the ground came an irritant in the form of reports saying that the Income Tax department wanted to check on some of his transactions.

The good thing is, from India’s perspective in the T20 World Cup, the skipper seems to be done with worrying about pressure, expectations and everything else going around him and Indian cricket.

“When you are part of the Indian team the amount of pressure is the same. There’s always pressure, doesn’t matter there’s a 100kg sack on your back or a mountain, it feels the same,” he said, choosing to focus on the boost India’s chances have got with Yuvraj coming back into form.

“Yuvi’s innings was brilliant. The best part was he needed an innings like this, it was an ideal opportunity and he made it count. We all know the kind of batsman he is, he can clear any ground in the world and doesn’t matter whether it’s a fast bowler bowling or a spinner bowling.”

Yuvraj of course needed a knock like that, but perhaps the team needed it even more. And the reason for that lies in this very knock against Australia. When in form, there are few batsmen who could absorb the shock of a top-order failure, keep runs flowing in the tricky middle overs and then go big in the death overs.

George Bailey, the Australian captain, put the importance of having someone like Yuvraj Singh in the middle in perspective. “I think you’ve got a perfect example from the other side in the way Yuvraj managed that innings from where India were,” he said, praising the left-hander for his measured knock.

And with the wickets slowing down even further and the teams relying even more heavily on spin, his presence in the middle will become even more crucial given that scoring would become more difficult in the middle overs. “In the middle period, Yuvraj paced his innings really well. He gives himself time initially but if he stays till the end, he, like others in the side, will always have more runs than the balls faced,” Dhoni said.

Besides, the duo brings out the best in each other, as is evident by the major triumphs the two have scripted for the team together. Their experience, too, will come in handy while setting or chasing down the target, especially on tricky wickets. “When the wicket is on the slower side, it’s important to know what the par score would be. For if you are unable to judge it, you may end up much lower than even the par score while going for an ambitious total. Yuvraj and I knew what the par score on this wicket would be and eventually we managed to get a few more than that,” Dhoni said.

It looks all good, provided Yuvraj’s knock doesn’t turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Once a powerhouse of pace, WI now turn to quality spinners
Subhash rajta
Tribune news service

Mirpur, March 31
Just try and imagine what goes through the mind of someone like Michael Holding, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh, just to name a few, when they watch the West Indian wicketkeeper walking up to the stumps to their new-ball bowler, something happening regularly in the T20 World Cup?

A small anecdote a West Indian journalist shared with this correspondent will give you an idea. Bowling in a fun game, Michael Holding wanted Jeff Dujon, the former West Indies wicketkeeper, to come up to the stumps. Holding waved at him to come up, but Dujon wouldn’t move. Finally, when Holding didn’t stop, Dujon walked up to him, and said, “Look, I have no issues standing close to the stumps, but let me tell you that ‘Stumped Dujon bowled Holding’ won’t look good on the score-sheet.”

Well, much water has flown down the bridge since fast bowlers from the West Indies made batsmen fear for their lives. Yet, their transformation into a spin-heavy attack, and that too as good as any other in the world, is quite striking, to say the least. So much so that as they head into what is virtually a quarterfinal against Pakistan, the contest is being essentially viewed as a battle between the spinners of the two teams, and the West Indians don’t think twice before declaring that they have better spinners.

“Well, the ICC has already answered the question. Aren’t Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked spinners in this format?” says Darren Sammy, the West Indian skipper.

While there must be several reasons for the West Indies to churn out quality spinners, especially in the shorter formats, Brad Haddin, the Australian wicketkeeper, pointed out a couple. “They have actually embraced this particular format too well and know exactly what’s required. Besides, their wickets are quite similar to the tracks here, so that too must be playing some part,” he said.

Be that as it may, West Indies batsmen have some work to do before they, like their counterparts from the subcontinent, are adept at playing spin. Sammy is quick to admit the problem. “We haven’t played spin as well as we would have wanted but we have been doing our best to get a grip. Yes, they have good spinners but they aren’t unplayable, we know even the best could get hit in T20,” said Sammy. Asked if West Indies could be a little low on motivation after winning the emotionally draining game against Australia, Sammy said they were all too aware of the fact that they had won just a league game, not the tournament, and were ready to give their best against Pakistan.

Pakistan, on the other hand, too appeared ready, and refused to read much into Saqlain Mushtaq’s presence in the West Indies camp as spin coach. “He’s of course a great spinner but he can’t give them some pill and change them overnight into something else,” said Mohammed Hafeez, the Pakistan captain.

People complaining back home

Teams may have moved on from that sparkling West Indies-Australia match, but the people just can’t seem to have enough of it. Every time a West Indian player is around, he invariably has to reply to a few questions on that game. Sammy, when asked how the people back home are reacting to it, said that they had been actually complaining. “Well, they are complaining that we have made them drink during lent (it’s a time leading to Easter when Christians fast and stay away from drinks)!” he said. Another Sammy special!

india open
Tough challenge for Indians
Almost all the Indians have landed a challenging draw in the toughest India Open in years
Sabi Hussain
Tribune News Service

While Saina Nehwal faces an easy opener against Austrian Simone Prutsch, both Parupalli Kashyap and PV Sindhu have drawn top Chinese shuttlers in the first round. File photos

New Delhi, March 31
The India Open Super Series, the country’s premier badminton tournament, will get underway at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here on Tuesday. The big question would be — Can the home shuttlers rise to the challenge against the world’s top players?

The $250,000 event offers a chance to the likes of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap, K Srikanth and Anand Pawar to again prove their class to the world. Almost all the Indians have landed a tough draw in the April 1-6 championship.

The hosts will have their task cut out in the toughest India Open in years, as unlike the previous three editions, all top Chinese players have confirmed their participation. Leading the list is the men’s world No. 1 and two-time champion Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.

The Indian challenge in the competition would be led by world No. 8 Saina and World Championship bronze medallist Sindhu in the women’s section, while Thailand Grand Prix Gold champion Srikanth and the London Olympics quarterfinalist Kashyap would be seen in action in the men’s category.

Saina faces an easy opener against Austrian Simone Prutsch and is expected to make the quarters. However, the London Games bronze medallist is likely to lock horns with former world champion Yihan Wang of China in the quarterfinals. Wang, the third seed, holds an impressive 7-1 record against Saina.

World No. 9 Sindhu will be up against second seed and world No. 3 Shixian Wang in the opener, against whom, the India number two holds a perfect 3-0 record. Sindhu’s latest win over Wang came in the Swiss Open quarterfinals just two weeks back.

“I played against Wang just weeks back. I didn’t think ever that I will play her in the first round again, so for me it was like ‘Oh, again!’ But I will have the crowd support, so I hope I can play well,” Sindhu had said at the launch of the India Open.

Meanwhile, world No. 1 and reigning Olympics champion China’s Li Xuerui has been accorded the top billing while Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, the defending champion, is seeded fourth in the women’s section.

Other Indian female shuttlers in the draw are Tanvi Lad, Arundhati Pantawane, Trupti Murgunde, Saili Rane and PC Thulasi.

Kashyap, who is nursing a shoulder injury since December, has drawn Chinese sixth seed Zhengming Wang in his tough tournament opener. Srikanth, the Thailand Grand Prix Gold champion, has a relatively easier opening round opponent in Japan’s Takuma Ueda, who is placed one place above him in the world ranking at 21. The 2010 Youth Olympics silver medallist HS Prannoy will be up against second seed Chen Long of China.

Anand Pawar faces fourth seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark and B Sai Praneeth meets seventh seed Pengyu Du of China.

In the women’s doubles event, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will open their campaign against Thailand’s Chaladchalam Chayanit and Peeraya Munkitamorn.

A host of Indian players will be seen in action in the qualifiers on Tuesday for a place in the main draw, which begins a day after.

Herath’s five-wkt haul takes Sri Lanka into semifinals

Rangana Herath celebrates the fall of Luke Ronchi. afp

Chittagong, March 31
Left-arm spin wizard Rangana Herath conjured up astonishing figures of 3-5 to help Sri Lanka demolish New Zealand by 59 runs in the race for the World Twenty20 semifinals. The spinner rocked New Zealand, chasing a modest 120-run total, in his 3.3 destructive overs to bowl them for 60 in 15.3 overs in Chittagong — the Black Caps’ lowest total in T20s.

The victory gave the 2012 runners-up their fourth successive semifinal place. Stand-in captain Lasith Malinga hailed Herath. “I trusted my spinners and Herath was unbelievable,” said Malinga. “We were waiting for an occasion like this and we pulled through. Rangana was waiting for his chance and he proved himself really well.”

It was fourth time unlucky for New Zealand who played the semifinal only in the inaugural edition in 2007.

Skipper Brendon McCullum rued their batting failure. “We knew there was a lot of hard work to go,” he said. “It was a bit drier than we expected and Herath and Sachitra, the way they bowled was outstanding.”

Just when they needed some sensible batting to overhaul a paltry total, New Zealand performed in a dismal manner with opener Kane Williamson the only man to reach double figures with 42.

He was the eighth man out and with Corey Anderson unable to bat due to a finger injury sustained while fielding, Herath wrapped up the match with Trent Boult's wicket. New Zealand lost opener Martin Guptill (five) in the fourth over, run out in Herath's first over.

After playing four dot balls, New Zealand's most dangerous batsman Brendon McCullum jumped out off Herath and was stumped. Herath then trapped Ross Taylor (nought) leg before and bowled Jimmy Neesham off successive deliveries to push New Zealand on the back foot.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka: 119 all out in 19.2 overs (Mahela Jayawardene 25, Lahiru Thirimanne 20, Boult 3-20) bt New Zealand: 60 all out in 15.3 overs (Williamson 42, Guptill 5, Herath 5-3). — Agencies

Coach Saqlain is WI weapon against Pak
Tribune news service

Mirpur, March 31
Saqlain Mushtaq, who introduced the doosra to the cricketing world, doesn’t get upset when there are questions raised about the legality of the delivery. The off-spinner, who now sits in the West Indian dressing room as their spin coach, prefers to see the brighter side. “Actually I am grateful to god that I am associated so intrinsically with it. And I always feel happy when I see someone bowling the ‘doosra’ or the carrom ball,” he said. “It’s always good to see someone bringing something new to the game. As for the right and wrong of it, it’s up to the ICC.”

Asked how it felt coaching West Indies against Pakistan, the spinner said his team was West Indies and he was just thinking about his team on the eve of what is a do-or-die game for both the sides. “I am just looking at West Indies. I tell the spinners in the side that god has given us two eyes. With one eye, I ask them to see their own strength and with the other the opposition’s weakness,” he said.

BCCI removes all India Cements staff

Mumbai, March 31
Complying with the Supreme Court’s order, the BCCI has given marching orders to all the employees of India Cements or its associate companies who were also part of the Cricket Board.

Confirming the development, a BCCI source on Monday told PTI, “All India Cements employees connected with the BCCI have been taken out of the Board as per the Supreme Court’s order.”

The notable faces among them are Tamil Nadu Cricket Association secretary and a close aide of Srinivasan, Kashi Viswanathan, who was a member of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and New Area Development sub-committees. He headed the costs department of India Cements for a long time and retired only a couple of years back.

President’s men

• Kasi Viswanathan, a close aide of India Cements chief N Srinivasan
• PS Raman and Prasanna Kannan, India Cements legal consultants
• RI Palani, a senior manager with India Cements

Hockey nationals
Faltering United face ultimate challenge in Bayern

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and manager David Moyes take part in a training session in Manchester on Monday. AFP

London, March 31
Manchester United, comprehensively outplayed by local rivals Liverpool and Manchester City at Old Trafford recently, face an even tougher challenge when holders Bayern Munich come calling in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Languishing seventh in the Premier League after a dismal first season under manager David Moyes, United are huge underdogs to get through the two-legged quarterfinal against the Bundesliga champions.

Moyes will take little comfort from results at the weekend when Bayern’s 19-match league winning streak ended in a 3-3 home draw with Hoffenheim after surrendering a 3-1 lead while United thrashed Aston Villa 4-1 in the Premier League.

United are a far cry from the team who commanded unreserved respect around Europe during Alex Ferguson’s heyday but their home form in the Champions League this season has been good, in marked contrast to their woeful Premier League record at Old Trafford.

The English champions have won their first four home matches in the competition, something they last did in the 2007-08 campaign when they made it six out of six and went on to lift the trophy for the third time.

But Bayern, managed by Pep Guardiola who outfoxed United in the 2009 and 2011 finals as Barcelona coach, have won their last seven Champions League away games. They also beat United on the away goals rule when the teams met at the same stage in 2010.

“We cannot allow United’s current position in the Premier League to affect our mindset for this game,” Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said. “We will travel to Manchester in order to play attacking football and score goals.” — Reuters

Martino, Simeone renew old rivalry in Europe

Madrid: Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino and his Atletico Madrid counterpart Diego Simeone clashed as rival players in their native Argentina and there will be no quarter given when they meet in the last eight of the Champions League on Tuesday. A callow Simeone was not yet 18 when he faced Martino, nearly 10 years his senior, in a league match between Velez Sarsfield and Newell’s Old Boys in January 1988, when Martino was sent off for a challenge on fellow midfielder Simeone, who was himself dismissed 10 minutes later. No stranger to controversy during his playing career, he admitted last year he had indulged in a spot of play-acting to try to provoke a red card for Martino. “There was an incident in the middle of the pitch,” Simeone said. “He reacted to something, I exaggerated a bit and they ended up sending him off.” Almost three decades later and the older and wiser Martino and Simeone are in charge of two Spanish teams with a genuine chance of achieving a rare double of Champions League and La Liga titles.

Djokovic beats Rafa for 4th Miami title

Novak Djokovic celebrates his win over Rafael Nadal in the final of the Sony Open in Miami on Sunday evening. AFP

Miami, March 31
Novak Djokovic tamed world No. 1 Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-3 to claim his fourth Sony Open title on Sunday, denying the Spaniard a maiden win on the Miami hardcourts. The win was the second straight Masters series title for the second ranked Serb, who defeated Roger Federer in the BNP Paribas Open two weeks ago in Indian Wells.

“That was a great confidence boost for me that I carried on in this week, and this tournament has been perfect from the beginning to the end,” said Djokovic, after hoisting his 43rd career title.

“I played really well, and I elevated my game as the tournament progressed. The best performance of the tournament came in the right moment on Sunday against the biggest rival.”

The world’s top ranked players added another line to what has grown into one of tennis’s great rivalries with Rafa holding a 22-18 edge.

But the Miami title continues to be one of the few to elude Nadal, who has now finished runner-up four times at Crandon Park, twice beaten in the final by Djokovic. “The quality of the tournament is Masters 1000 that I won 26, so I cannot have a mental block on that,” said Nadal when asked to explain his inability to hoist the Miami trophy. “No, no frustration. That’s tennis. That’s the sport.”

The contest featured everything one would expect except from a matchup between the world’s best with a title on the line, Nadal and Djokovic trading thundering groundstrokes right from the first point. But on this day, a confident Djokovic kept Nadal on the defensive, ending the drama quickly by winning all the big points. — Reuters

Buffon heroics can’t save Juve from rare loss

Rome, March 31
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon’s heroics were not enough for Juventus as the Serie A leaders lost 2-0 at an inspired Napoli on Sunday evening, only their second league defeat of the season. Jose Callejon and substitute Dries Mertens, who had only been on the pitch for two minutes, handed Juventus their first league defeat since Oct. 20 to give a glimmer of hope to chasing AS Roma.

Second-placed Roma cut Juve’s lead to 11 points after a controversial 2-0 win at lowly Sassuolo where play was delayed for five minutes as the referee changed his mind over a penalty decision.

Juventus have 81 points from 31 games and seven left to play while Roma have 70 and Napoli, in the Champions League playoff spot, are on 64. They are followed by Fiorentina (52) and Inter Milan (48) who visit Udinese on Monday.

Spain keeper Valdes to miss World Cup

Barcelona: Spain goalkeeper Victor Valdes will miss the World Cup after being ruled out of action for seven months following knee surgery. He had been in good form this season for Barcelona before suffering a cruciate ligament injury making a routine save in last week’s La Liga game against Celta Vigo.

Valdes, 32, was set to be named in Vicente del Bosque’s Spain squad to go to the World Cup and had a good chance of being the first-choice keeper. — Reuters

Hingis returns to winner’s circle

Martina Hingis (right) celebrates with partner Sabine Lisiki after winning the doubles final of the Sony Open in Miami on Sunday. AFP

Miami, March 31
Martina Hingis made a winning return when the Swiss player and German partner Sabine Lisicki claimed the Sony Open doubles title on Sunday with a 4-6 6-4 10-5 over Russian duo Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. The title was the 33-year-old Hingis’s first since winning the doubles in Doha in 2007.

“Obviously it is very exciting, when you convert that match point, you are like, yes, we did it,” said Hingis.

Since retiring in 2007, Hingis, a former world number one, has flirted with a doubles comeback.

Last year the winner of five singles and nine doubles Grand Slam career titles attempted a return with Daniela Hantuchova but found little success, winning just three of five matches and falling in the first round of the US Open.

Hingis launched a second comeback this season, losing in the first round of Indian Wells, but looked right at home on the Miami hardcourts, returning to the winner’s circle at an event she won twice (1998-99).

“Two weeks ago if you asked me, I probably would have had a completely different answer,” said Hingis, when asked about her future plans. “Last week, I was like, I’m not sure if I want to put myself out there like this and lose first, second round.

“Now after this victory, things have definitely changed. I would be very happy to continue to play some more doubles of course.” — Reuters

hockey nationals
Punjab score big win over Delhi

Chennai, March 31
Ajit Pandit and Harmanpreet Singh netted three goals each as title contenders Punjab overwhelmed Delhi 10-0 in the league phase of the Hockey India men’s junior hockey Nationals (Division-A) here today.

In the Pool A match, Punjab were seen dominating the game from the 8th minute when Pandit gave Punjab the lead. Shamsher Singh, Baljinder Singh, Parvinder Singh and Arshdeep Singh were the other scorers.

In a Pool C match, Haryana delivered a similar result by thrashing Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 7-0. By the end of the first half, Haryana established a huge 4-0 lead.

Ravi Choudhary converted a penalty corner in the 8th minute to provide the lead. Manpreet’s two field goals in the 14th and 27th minutes and a goal by Nikhil Saroha’s in the 31st minute helped Haryana end the half on a high. Manpreet became the top scorer for the team as he pocketed a total of three goals.

In another match, Uttar Pradesh downed Jharkhand 4-2.

In the Division-B final, Steel Plant defeated Manipur 5-1 to qualify for Division-A. Janma Mahji scored a hat-trick, while Santosh Baxla scored two goals. —PTI

IOA to set up panel to select boxers for CWG, Asiad

New Delhi, March 31
With Indian Boxing Federation’s return to the fold of its international body likely to take time, the Indian Olympic Association is set to constitute a committee to pick the teams for the upcoming Commonwealth and Asian Games.

A top IOA official said that in view of the upcoming Glasgow CWG (July 23-August 3) and Incheon Asian Games (Sept 19-Oct 4), a committee will be constituted to pick the India boxers as the deadline for sending the final list of participants for these showpiece multi-sporting events is fast approaching.

“The CWG and Asiad are a few months away and deadline for sending final list of participants will be approaching. But the situation is fluid now as we don’t know how long it takes for the boxing issue to be resolved,” the official said. “So, we have decided to form a committee to pick teams for the CWG and Asian Games. It may be done during the April 3 Executive Committee meeting or a few days later. We have to do it fast,” he said.

The committee is expected to be assisted by boxing coaches and other technical staff in picking the players. — PTI

Player saves opponent’s life in Ukraine club game

Kiev, March 31
Football club Dnipropetrovsk’s midfielder Jaba Kankava possibly saved Dynamo Kiev midfielder Oleh Husev’s life with his fast reactions after a potentially deadly incident during a Ukrainian top flight match on Sunday.

In the 22nd minute of Sunday’s tie, Husev was knocked down unconscious after a clash with the hosts’ goalkeeper Denis Boiko. Kankava, standing nearest, rendered assistance to Husev by removing Husev’s tongue from blocking his airwaves.

The live pictures showed Kankava desperately trying to save Husev. The medics then arrived to give professional help. Later reports said that Husev declined to be hospitalised and returned to the stadium. The medics said that Husev lost a tooth, suffered concussion and a jaw fracture but that Kankava’s reaction had possibly saved his life. — Agencies