New Delhi, April 28
One can only imagine how heartbreaking it must be for an athlete to miss Commonwealth Games and Asian Games because of injury. Haryana grappler Geeta Phogat, who won the first ever gold for India in women's wrestling (55 kg freestyle) at the 2010 CWG, had her 2014 CWG and Asian Games dreams shattered when an injury and the subsequent surgery ruled her out from the two quadrennial events.

Geeta suffered an Aterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Grade 3 tear during a training camp last month, and had to undergo a major surgery at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai on April 17. In Grade 3 tear, the ligament is split into pieces, and the knee joint becomes unstable. She has been advised a seven to eight month rehabilitation, which rules her out from both the events.

“I am heartbroken. I wanted to bring medals from these two events, but it's all over now,” Geeta told The Tribune from Mumbai where she is recuperating after the surgery. As if the unfortunate injury and her missing the two major events weren't tragic enough, a deeper look into how things panned out for her after she was hurt leaves one aghast, for hers is a shocking case of medical negligence, lack of professional advice and indifference on the part of her federation — Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). Never mind the fact that she happens to be a gold medallist in the 2009 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship, first-ever Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics (London Games in 2012) and a gold winner in the FILA Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament at Kazakhstan in 2012.

“I suffered the injury during the Asian Championship training camp at a SAI centre in Lucknow last month. I consulted the team physio who advised one-week bed rest and some medicines. There was no doctor with the women team in the camp, and hence I couldn't gauge the seriousness of my injury,” said Geeta.

“After a week's time, I resumed my training at the centre. I was playing handball, a part of our warm-up session, when I felt a severe pain in my right knee. It felt like I wouldn't be able to stand again on my feet. But again the physio told me that it wasn't serious and I would get better after taking some medicines. He did not tell me that I should go for an MRI scan. In the absence of a doctor and proper medical advice, look what has happened to me. This is a clear case of medical negligence and the federation has to take responsibility,” she fumed.

Geeta said when she approached a senior WFI official and asked the federation to bear her medical expenses, she was shocked by the response. “He told me it (injury) happens and it wouldn't matter if I didn't participate in the CWG and the Asian Games. I was heartbroken and went home crying. When we win medals, they hog the limelight and felicitate us, but when we get injured or face some trouble, they leave us to fend for ourselves. The federation officials did not even bother to call me once after my surgery,” said an upset Geeta.

“I would like to thank my sponsors Jindal Sports, who took care of me and funded my surgery. Doctor Dinshaw Pardiwala (Head, Centre for Sports Medicine at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital) told me that if I had not visited him in time, the injury could have finished my career,” said Geeta, who's hoping to return before the 2015 World Championship qualifying round.

WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar, when contacted, admitted that the women wrestling team does not have a doctor. “She never approached the federation. We came to know from others just a day or two back that she has had a surgery. We had no idea about her treatment. It's true that we don't have a doctor attached to our female wrestling team, but it's also the responsibility of the Sports Authority of India (SAI). We have not been able to identify a doctor so far, but are hopeful of getting one when our Lucknow camp resumes after a break on May 9,” said Tomar.

WFI secretary general Raj Singh could not be contacted as he is in Astana, Kazakhstan, for the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship.

A senior SAI official said a sports federation can always appoint a doctor on its own. “We have always said that federation can appoint a doctor or suggest us the name who they think is suitable for the job. We would pay the salary to the recommended person. So to say that it's solely the SAI's responsibility is wrong.”

Two-time Olympic champion wrestler Sushil Kumar said he will take up the issue with the federation. “It's wrong if this has happened to Geeta. She is our best medal hope in women's wrestling in the CWG and the Asian Games. This is really sad and I will take up the issue with the WFI,” said Sushil..

New Delhi, April 28
A Group of Ministers (GoM) mandated to look into alleged irregularities in Commonwealth Games related projects on the basis of the findings of High Level Committee (HLC) met only four times since its formation in 2011 and is yet to submit its final report.

The GoM, headed by Defence Minister AK Antony, was formed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on August 2, 2011. It was formed to decide on six reports on CWG scam submitted to Prime Minister's Office by the HLC, headed by former CAG VK Shunglu.

The GoM, which was told to submit its report within three months time, could hold only four meetings on August 16, 2011, September 6 and 27, 2011 and January 16, 2012, according to an RTI reply.

The tenure of the panel was also extended on many occasions. Finally on July 17, 2012, the government removed any time limit to submit its report. “The GoM will remain functional till completion of the assigned mandate,” according to the government's order.

The government denied to give minutes of the meeting of the GoM citing an exemption clause of the RTI Act. “It is informed that since the matter before the GoM is not yet complete or over, the information asked for by you cannot be furnished at this stage of time in the light of provisions of Section 8 (1) (i) of the RTI Act,” the Sports Ministry said in reply to the RTI query.

The section bars disclosure of information of cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the council of ministers, secretaries and other officers. The next date of meeting for the GoM was “not decided”.

The GoM was formed to consider the views expressed by the concerned central government ministries, the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and their agencies on the findings and recommendations contained in the reports of the HLC and to arrive at a considered view on the various recommendations of the Committee. It was also mandated to recommend the future course of action on each of the recommendations of the HLC, which would include disciplinary, criminal and civil action against persons, agencies, contractors indicated in the reports, among others.

The Commonwealth Games, which were held here between October 3 and 14, 2010, were marred by allegations of corruption in execution of various projects by government and private agencies.

Following which, the Prime Minister had formed high level Shunglu committee to look into the allegations and submit its findings.

The HLC had submitted six reports — on host broadcasting, Commonwealth Games Village, city infrastructure, games venues, Organising Committee and Organisation and Conduct of Commonwealth Games 2010 — to the PMO. The reports, which cited various financial irregularities were crores of rupees, were then referred to the GoM.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax department among others were looking into various financial irregularities in connection with the CWG work. — PTI

Dubai, April 28
Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith have given Chennai Super Kings a flying start in IPL 7 with their explosive partnership at the top of batting order and the New Zealander described his opening partner a “powerful” and “intelligent” cricketer.

“There is still a long way to go in the tournament, but I have certainly enjoyed my partnership with Dwayne Smith, ‘The Doctor’. It is great to bat with him because he is so powerful and has a lot of options in his batting,” McCullum said. “He is a very intelligent cricketer as well. We seem to have a good rapport and get a good partnership going. It is nice to be able to contribute, and personally too I am enjoying my time with CSK so far.”

Smith scored three fifties in five matches and McCullum hit two half-centuries to currently lie at the second and third position in the most runs list respectively.

Asked if they form the most explosive pair, McCullum said: “So far we have done well. We may not be the most explosive pair, but in terms of how we have been playing, we have managed to give our team a good start in most games.

KP’s calming effect

Delhi Daredevils pacer Wayne Parnell is all praise for his Kevin Pietersen, saying that the Englishman's calmness has rubbed off on his team-mates in their IPL campaign so far. "Pietersen brings his own energy to the team and his calmness rubs off on the other players. If you have a calm captain, you have a calm team as well," Parnell said. — PTI

Dubai, April 28
Kings XI Punjab defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets on Monday, extending their unbeaten run to five games.

Punjab got a good start but saw a minor collapse in the middle after the fall of Virender Sehwag while chasing an ordinary 125-run target . Sehwag made 32 off 26 balls with the help of four boundaries to give a good start. But after his fall, Punjab were reduced 88/5 and still needed 40-odd runs to sail through. Skipper George Bailey's run-a-ball 16 and Rishi Dhawan's responsible 23-run knock ensured Punjab cruised home without any further hiccups.

Sandeep Sharma, third in the list of top wicket-takers in IPL-7, helped Kings XI Punjab restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore to 124/8. BCCI

David Miller again chipped in with 26 runs in just 20 balls.

Earlier, table-toppers Kings XI Punjab's bowlers produced a disciplined performance to restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore to 124/8

Sandeep Sharma led with impressive figures of 3/15 while Rishi Dahwan (2/14) and Mitchell Johnson (2/19) chipped in with two wickets apiece. Laxmypathi Balaji also picked one wicket.

Having missed the team's first four games with a hamstring injury, Chris Gayle attacked from the word go, picking 20 runs in the first over of the match.

The first two boundaries were not convincing but the sixes over long-on and long-off had Gayle written all over them. But that's all he could make as the left-handed batsman fell in the next over.

RCB's joy was short-lived though as Sandeep Sharma cut short the towering Jamaican's stay after he missed the line to be bowled off a delivery that swung away from the left-hander.

More blows awaited RCB as they lost their skipper Virat Kohli cheaply, Sharma being the bowler again. The 20-year-old medium pacer from Patiala then accounted for Parthiv Patel, before Rishi Dhawan joined in the party, removing the dangerous A B de Villiers and Yuvraj Singh in quick succession.

Pace spearhead Johnson and Balaji then struck to make matters worse for RCB.

Yuvraj Singh (35) top-scored for RCB with the help of three fours and a six off 32 balls.

“I'm feeling lucky that I'm winning back-to-back Man of the Match awards, I'm feeling awesome. I've seen Gayle playiing many times, hitting many other bowlers, it was an awesome moment (to get him bowled)," said Punjab bowler Sandeep Sharma. — PTI

Today’s match

RR vs KKR

Live on Set Max, 8pm

Munich, April 28
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola is counting on Frenchman Franck Ribery’s anger to power them past Real Madrid in their Champions League semifinal second leg on Tuesday despite the winger’s recent slump in form.

Ribery had a sparkling season until Bayern clinched the Bundesliga title with seven games to spare.

The team has since looked like a pale shadow of its former scintillating self that broke record after record en route to the league title with Ribery having lost his spark down the left wing as Bayern notched just two wins in their last five league games.

“Franck Ribery is extremely important for this club, for the team,” Guardiola said on Monday ahead of the second leg following their 1-0 defeat in Madrid last week.

“He was playing angry against Bremen (in Bayern’s 5-2 win on Saturday). Franck needs this aggression, he needs to play angry. He keeps fighting and that is why fans love him. He is one of the best players in Bayern history, he has always performed at the highest level and we need the best Ribery.”

Bayern were again unconvincing for much of the game against Bremen before an explosive second half saw them charge past their opponents with Ribery also on target. Guardiola, in his first season in charge, is looking to lead Bayern to an unprecedented back-to-back Champions League win and should they make the final they would equal Juventus’ record of having reached three consecutive finals in this competition (1996-98).

They will, however, need to score against a team that last week successfully managed to keep the Bayern attack under complete control despite the Germans’ overwhelming possession.

“I cannot imagine that (Real coach) Carlo Ancelotti will set up his team in such a way as to just keep the result,” said the Spaniard.

“That would be difficult to maintain. Obviously it is clear what we need to do. We need to score more than one goal. Real are a quick team so we always have to be positioned well when we lose possession. The best is to keep them a long way away from our goal.”

Guardiola refused to speculate on the participation or not of Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, with the former twice on target in Saturday's 4-0 win over Ossasuna following a minor knee injury and the Welshman missing that game with a flu.

“To me it makes no difference whether Real have Ronaldo and Bale available.”

Ribery’s teammate Arjen Robben said they would not be surprised again by a defensive Real formation.

“Real are coming here with a lot of confidence but they also know that nothing is for free here,” Robben said.

“It will not be easy for them. We have to play quickly forward and score but we have to be careful of their counter attacks. We were a bit surprised by how defensive they were in the first leg,” he added. — Reuters

Live on Ten Sports, 00.15 am (Wednesday)

Chandigarh, April 28
Anirban Lahiri moved up to 67th in the World Golf Rankings and to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit with earnings of $192,150.

Lahiri took home the winners cheque of $135,000 and collected 20 points in the World Rankings after he carded his fourth victory on the Asian Tour at the Indonesian Masters on Sunday.

The highest ranked Indian in the world at the moment, Lahiri has also become the second-highest ranked Asian player after Thongchai Jaidee who is at 49. Besides Lahiri and Jeev Milkha Singh, no other Indian has been ranked higher than 67. Jeev had achieved his career-best ranking of 29 in 2009.

“It feels great to be top on the Asian Tour Order of Merit right now. One of my goals at the beginning of this year was to contend for the Order of Merit. I am glad I got off to such a good start. I just have to keep focusing on playing good golf and keep getting better as the year progresses,” said Lahiri, who will be tying the knot with his girlfriend next month.

“I needed the points so I am really happy I won. I think I played much better than my score. I hit the ball well all week. I played really solid and this victory means a lot to me,” he added.

Tiger on top

Tiger Woods has stayed atop the world rankings despite his continued absence from competitive golf following back surgery. The 38-year-old was treated for a bulging disc in his spine in late March and subsequently pulled out of the Masters. He is in serious doubt for the US Open in mid-June with reports saying he could be targeting a return to action at the British Open which starts on July 17. In the meantime his main rival for the top spot, Australian Adam Scott, took time off, while third-placed Swede Henrik Stenson closed the gap slightly with a tie for fifth in the China Open. — Agencies

Madrid, April 28
Barcelona maintained their slight La Liga title hopes as they came from 2-0 down to beat Villarreal 3-2 on an emotionally-charged night at El Madrigal when players and fans remembered Tito Vilanova.

The Catalans paid their respects to former coach Vilanova with a minute’s silence before the game, but a miserable week looked set to end with a sixth league defeat of the season as Cani and Manu Trigueros gave Villarreal a commanding lead.

However, own goals from Gabriel and Mateo Musacchio brought Barca level before Lionel Messi grabbed the winner eight minutes from time. Atletico continue to lead Barca by four points with just three games remaining, whilst Real Madrid fall to third, a further two points back, but with a game in hand.

“We played with fire,” Barca midfielder Andres Iniesta admitted. “We weren’t playing badly but the goal just before half-time affected us. Then it went 2-0, but we fought until the end because that is all we can do until the end of the season.”

And Iniesta added that Vilanova’s example in his fight with cancer for over two years will remain with them. — Agencies

Alves eats banana in response to racist taunt

Barcelona defender Dani Alves responded to a racist taunt Sunday in a game at Villarreal by picking up a banana that landed at his feet, peeling and then eating it before proceeding to take a corner kick. Alves said after the match humor is the best way to combat racism in sports. “We have suffered this in Spain for some time,” Alves said. “You have to take it with a dose of humor. We aren’t going to change things easily. “If you don’t give it importance, they don’t achieve their objective.” Alves has often been subjected to racist taunts and called fighting racism “a lost war” in January 2013, after segments of Real Madrid’s fans abused him with monkey chants during a match.

Los Angeles, April 28
Los Angeles Clippers players staged a protest at a playoff game on Sunday against racist comments allegedly made by team owner Donald Sterling, turning their warm-up jerseys inside-out to hide the team name before a loss to the Golden State Warriors.

The silent demonstration came as Sterling faced a firestorm of criticism over a 10-minute recording obtained by celebrity news website TMZ in which a man reported to be the NBA owner tells a woman not to post photographs of herself with black people online and not to bring African-Americans to Clippers games. The taped remarks rocked the NBA, where most of the players are black, and left its officials scrambling to address the scandal that has threatened to overshadow the playoffs.

Ahead of the game against the Warriors, Clippers players gathered at center court, dropped sweat-jackets with the team’s name and then came out with their warm-up jerseys inside-out, keeping the “Clippers” name off of their chests. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

Indians make winning start in World TT
Tokyo: Indian men and women’s teams started their campaign on a winning note by defeating Argentina and Nigeria, respectively, in their opening matches of the World Team Table Tennis Championships here on Monday. While Sharath Kamal-led men’s team blanked Argentina 3-0, the women came from behind to beat Nigeria. Both Indian teams are playing in the biennial tournament’s second division where only the top-two of the 24 teams qualify for the Championships division in the next edition. The women’s unit, ranked 25, was put under pressure by the 39-ranked Nigerian team after Madhurika Patkar lost a tight opening singles against Offion Edem 6-11 8-11 11-5 11-7 13-15. The experienced Shamini Kumaresan levelled the tie by overcoming Olufunke Oshonaike in another match, which lasted five games. Shamini scraped through with a 6-11 11-8 11-9 10-12 11-5 victory. Manika Batra, the Delhi—based paddler, who plays with a pimpled rubber, gave India the lead by foxing Cecilia Akpan 11—3 11—6 11—5. Shamini, returning to action for the reverse singles, got the job done by taming Madhurika’s conqueror Edem 11—8 11—8 12—10.

Somdev out of top-100, Yuki out of top-150
New Delhi: A struggling Somdev Devvarman today dropped out of top-100 bracket in the singles rankings as the Indian slipped to 102 with the loss of two places. Somdev has been struggling since winning the Delhi Open challenger title and failed to cross the first round hurdle in five consecutive tournaments on the ATP tour. Also sliding in the ATP ranking ladder was India's second best singles player, Yuki Bhambri, who lost four spots to be 153. In the doubles, Leander Paes continued to be India's best ranked player and the only one in top-10 at number nine. Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna was next best at number 14.