Copenhagen, August 29
Indian teen sensation PV Sindhu assured herself of a second consecutive bronze medal at the World Championship but it was curtains for star shuttler Saina Nehwal after she suffered a straight-game loss in the women's singles quarterfinals.

The 19-year-old Sindhu, who clinched the bronze at the 2013 World Championship in China, produced another gritty performance to see off All-England champion Shixian Wang of China 19-21 21-19 21-15 at Ballerup Super Arena.

Sindhu, seeded 11th, showed why she is considered one of India's finest shuttlers as she held her nerve in crucial moments during the energy-sapping battle to record her fourth win against Wang.

In the contest that lasted for one hour and 25 minutes, Sindhu and Wang were locked in a battle of attrition and rode on each other's mistakes to gather points. Sindhu dominated the net early on and used her height and reach well to lead 11-5 initially. However, Wang soon caught up at 15-15 before getting past the Indian to pocket the first game.

Frustrated by the first game loss, Sindhu stepped up her performance in the second and once again opened up a healthy 5-1 lead but Wang made her way back into contention at 6-6 with some precise net shots to lead 11-9 at the break. A couple of unforced errors helped Sindhu to narrow the gap but the Indian faltered at the forecourt to help Wang keep the lead. The Indian kept fighting and used her smashes and better judgment of the shuttle to draw parity at 16-16.

Wang, however, faltered at the net, to allow Sindhu a 19-16 lead and then hit another miscued shot to give the Indian four game points.

The Chinese saved three game points with a couple of shots from the back but Sindhu finally managed to send one away from the outstretched right hand of Wang. The decider started with a long rally which Sindhu grabbed after Wang hit wide. The Chinese kept hitting wide and long and found the net allowing the Indian to lead 5-2. But Wang once again caught up at 5-5.

Both Sindhu and Wang committed too many unforced errors as the Indian managed to hang on to a fragile one-point lead at the breather with a smash which kissed the nets and fell over.

New Delhi, August 29
Opener Rohit Sharma will miss the next three One-day internationals and the One-off T20 game against England with a finger injury and will be replaced by Murali Vijay, the Indian board (BCCI) said on Friday.

“Rohit Sharma has sustained a fracture on the middle finger of his right hand, and has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI and T20 International series against England, as a result,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said.

New Delhi, August 29
The Supreme Court-appointed probe panel, headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal, today submitted its report on the allegations of betting and fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.

The SC had ordered further probe on the basis of the panel’s preliminary report that had raised doubts over the integrity of N Srinivasan, who had to step aside as President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and 12 leading players.

The panel gave the report in a sealed cover. It is, however, learnt that the panel has given details of the investigations conducted so far and sought time for two more months for completing the probe and submitting the final report.

The SC had empowered the panel to search and seize and summon witnesses and set August 31 as the deadline for wrapping up the investigations. The panel, which includes senior advocates L Nageshwar Rao and Nilay Dutta, is being assisted by a team of investigators led by BB Mishra, Deputy Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau. The probe team includes three Assistant Commissioner-level officers — one each from Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai police.

The panel’s preliminary probe had covered allegations of betting and spot fixing, primarily against Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of Srinivasan, and Rajasthan Royals. The panel said that during its investigations it came across allegations against Srinivasan and 12 others which required probe.

“We are of the considered opinion that the allegations against the 13 persons including Mr N Srinivasan mentioned in the report submitted in the sealed cover should be investigated into by the Justice Mudgal committee,” the SC had said in its order.

If the investigation was given to another panel it could lead to leakage of the report, damaging the “reputation of the 13 persons beyond repair,” the Bench had said.

New York, August 29
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams sailed through brisk winds to dismiss overmatched opponents on Thursday and land comfortably in the third round of the US Open.

Gusty breezes led Williams to misfire for three double faults in her first service game before the two-time defending champion found her bearings to cruise by fellow American Vania King 6-1 6-0 in 56 minutes.

Serena Williams react as she play with her sister Venus Williams during their women’s doubles match against Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France on Day Four. AFP

“It's so hard to play in the wind,” said the top-seeded Williams, seeking her sixth U.S. Open title and 18th career grand slam singles crown. “I'm very happy to get through a solid match with the conditions today.

“You have to be able to adjust,” added Williams, who powered through 25 winners to just five for King. Wimbledon champion Djokovic followed Williams onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium court and was equally efficient, gliding past French veteran Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-1 6-3 6-0. Djokovic sounded the same note as Williams after advancing. "It was very windy but I was able to adjust. I used my serve efficiently, getting them in,” said the Serb, who pounded in 75 percent of his first serves including 13 aces without a double fault.

Djokovic joked about how his coach, Boris Becker, whose big serve in his playing days brought him the nickname “Boom Boom,” would not be impressed.

“Thirteen aces he used to make in one set,” joked Djokovic. “It's not a big number for him, but big for me. Glad it was working.” Most other leading seeds also stayed on course at the year's last grand slam.

Ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France breezed by Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan 6-3 6-4 6-4 and big-serving American John Isner, the 13th seed, beat German Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets. Kei Nishikori advanced after Spain's Pablo Andujar retired while trailing 6-4 6-1. — Agencies

Hoshiarpur, August 29
CRPF defeated Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) 2-1 in the Punjab State Super Football League on Friday. The CRPF team combined well and took the lead in the 11th minute when Sugesh M received a cross from S Banerjee and slotted it home.

CRPF, after taking the lead, continued to dominate. In the 36th minute, however, PSPCL’s Gurpreet Singh scored an equaliser after receiving a measured pass from Kuldeep. After drawing level, PSPCL started creating more chances with some superb moves. But their efforts to surge ahead received a big setback when CRPF struck back in the 45th minute.

PSPCL made several good moves in the second half to find an equaliser but poor finishing put paid to their hopes. At Punjabi University Campus, Dalbir FA and RCF Kapurthala played out a drab draw, with none of the teams finding the net even once.

BRIEFLY

India should make ICC more democratic: Shahryar Khan
New Delhi: Newly appointed Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shahryar Khan wants cricketing “powerhouse” India to encourage “democracy” in the functioning of the ICC after being forced to let BCCI have the control of the governing body along with England and Australia.PCB was the last of the ICC members to give it consent to the ICC revamp after it was decided that the cricket-starved nation will be able to play against the full members in a bilateral series including one against arch-rivals India. "Well, we have already agreed on playing each other (India and Pakistan) regularly from next year. We were the last ones to accept the ICC revamp formula and that is how it is. India deserves to have a special status in the current scenario and I hope they look after the interest of Pakistan cricket," Shahryar said.

Spectator evicted from stadium, bookie links 
Cardiff: The fears of involvement of bookmakers in international cricket re-surfaced once again during the second ODI between India and England as the police authorities reportedly threw a spectator out for allegedly supplying information to “sub-continental” bookies. According to a UK’s weekly broadsheet ‘Cricket Paper’, Chirs Watts, the chief of ECB’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACSU) confirmed that the stewards ejected a spectator for “breaching the ticket terms and conditions”. Since the live feed is delayed by quite a few seconds (normally after a delivery is bowled), betting markets can be manipulated by those with access to information inside the ground. According to the report, “The man in Cardiff is understood to have been using two laptops and a mobile phone during India’s innings, before being removed from the ground. An additional ECB anti-corruption presence is likely for the final three ODIs of the series.”

Pro Kabaddi: Panthers beat Pirates to enter final
Mumbai: Jaipur Pink Panthers outclassed Patna Pirates 38-18 to enter the final of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League at the NSCI Stadium here today. Riding on some telling raids and sound defending which nullified whatever their rivals could throw, the Panthers simply rode roughshod over the Pirates to come out on top. Except for the initial few minutes when they trailed 1-4 after a successful raid by Ravi Dalal, it was the Panthers all the way as they were led by Jasvir Singh, who was difficult to stop. The entire Pirates line-up was packed off twice for two 'lonas' by the Panthers, who caght up at 5-all after ten minutes and then surged to a 20-5 lead before the Patna team secured another point.

ECB denies 'court-siding' eviction story
Cardiff: The English & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has denied that the eviction of a man from the stadium in Cardiff during the second ODI on Wednesday was related to court-siding or betting. One of the local papers in England had reported that ‘a man was ejected from the second ODI for attempting to manipulate Asian betting markets.’ However, when contacted today afternoon, an ECB spokesperson completely denied that the spectator had been thrown out for the afore-mentioned activity. The spokesperson said that the reported 'story is incorrect'.

Rosberg apologises, disciplined for crash
London: Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg has apologized for colliding with team mate Lewis Hamilton during the Belgian GP and been disciplined, his Mercedes team said. Rosberg hit Hamilton on the second lap at Spa and the Briton later retired from the race with a damaged floor after picking up a puncture. Hamilton told reporters that Rosberg had admitted in a team meeting to hitting him on purpose to "prove a point" although the German later dismissed it as a “racing incident."

Hat-trick for Utseya but Zimbabwe loses to SA
Harare: Prosper Utseya became just the second Zimbabwean to take a hat-trick in a One-Day International as South Africa were bowled out for 231 on Friday. Utseya sparked a remarkable collapse as he claimed the wickets of Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw and David Miller from consecutive deliveries before finishing with career-best figures of 5 for 36. South Africa had been cruising at 142 without loss in the 25th over when the off spinner turned the innings on its head, with Hashim Amla the first to go when he was stumped for 66 off Utseya's bowling.