|
|
|
|
|
I am living a dream: Sania
Sania Mirza in Hyderabad after winning a wta finals title in
Singapore.
Ministry goes talent hunting for Olympics
|
|
|
duleep trophy final
Chennaiyin bounce back
Ballon d’Or: No Suarez, Germany dominate list
Delhi take on NorthEast
paris masters
TT champ stripped of prize money after ‘shameful’ celebration
India connect for Marussia?
Language cost us our jobs, says Dawes
Another blow to SA, boxer dies
|
|
I am living a dream: Sania
Hyderabad, October 28 Sania won the prestigious WTA Tour doubles title with Zimbabwean Cara Black in Singapore, a mixed doubles title at the US Open besides winning the mixed doubles gold at the Asian Games this year. “To finish off the season like this, it's good. Basically, I achieved what any tennis player wants to achieve in a year — win a Slam, win a gold medal and win the year-end Championships. It has been an incredible year for me. Especially, to finish off the partnership (with Black) this way, on such a high, winning the way we did in the final. It has been pretty amazing,” she said. She said the secret of her success is hard work. “There is no secret, unfortunately. You have to work hard. As long as you keep working, it will come. It does not happen overnight as people think. It has been a long career for me. I've been doing it for 21 years of my life. I cannot think of doing anything else at least at this point of time. When you are down, you have to work even harder. That's when you come through,” she said. Replying to a query, she said she felt great when Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated her on her win. “He is an extremely dynamic personality. He is a great leader. He tweeted to me a few times which is very exciting. Whenever I win, he is extremely encouraging. I think it's amazing for a Prime Minister to take notice of athletes and encourage them,” she said. Asked about the controversy she went through following a BJP leader's comments about being married to Pakistani, she said the controversies only made her tougher. “I actually want to thank all those people who put me through that. That makes me mentally tough. I think fighting a match point is easier than fighting these people here. It is not just this year, it's has been happening for a long time now. I wish them well. They have made me tough. It has also shown how much the country supports me,” said Sania. She said she respects the decision of Cara Black to end their partnership. “As tennis players, there are some tough decisions we have to make. You have to accept that, I respect her decision and wish her well. Of course, it is really hard, to win the biggest championship in the year and say that this is going to be our last tournament,” she said. She said she is looking forward to the partnership with Hsieh Su-wei. “Every partnership, relationship takes time to click. You have to work on it. You have to believe in the partnership. Me and Cara clicked immediately. Su-wei is a great player. We have known each other for a long time. We will work on it. Hopefully, we will click,” she said. Sania said the recent months have been very taxing for her physically. “It was extremely challenging for me. Last few months, it has been non-stop. I was sick before I went to the championships. It is something, you try and push yourself. Emotionally too it has been pretty hard...to make certain decisions, whether to skip a tournament, go and play the Asian Games, to come back with a gold from there, and then get into the championships and return victorious. If I would have written the script, it would have been probably this way. It is kind of living a dream,” she said. Talking about the WTA finals win, Sania said it was huge for they defeated someone who had never lost in the finals. “Our rivals had a 12-0 record in the finals. They had never lost a final together. We were trying not to think about it. We were almost out of the tournament but we came back. And now, here we are, the winners of the tournament,” she said.
— PTI Secret? Hardwork There is no secret to my success. As long as you keep working, it will come. It does not happen overnight. It has been a long career for me. I've been doing it for 21 years of my life. I cannot think of doing anything else, at least at this point of time. When you are down, you have to work even harder. Ideal partner Every partnership, relationship take time to click. You have to work on it. You have to believe in the partnership. Me and Cara clicked immediately, and achieved some fantastic results. Su-wei is a great player. We have known each other for a long time. We will work on it, hopefully, we will click too. Perfect script It's been a tough, both physically and emotionally. To make certain decisions, whether to skip a tournament, go and play the Asian Games, to come back with a gold from there, and then get into the championships and return victorious. If I had written the script, it would have been probably this way. It is a kind of living a dream.
|
|
Ministry goes talent hunting for Olympics
New Delhi, October 28 The elite athletes' identification committee, which forms an integral part of the scheme, held its first meeting at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in the Capital. Dravid, Olympics gold medal-winning shooter Bindra, national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, London Olympics bronze medallist Mary Kom, 2005 World Athletics long jump champion Anju Bobby George, SAI director general Jiji Thomson, joint secretary sports, and Amrit Mathur are part of the high-profile eight-member committee. The committee is being headed by BJP MP and IOA's executive member Anurag Thakur. During the meeting, Sonowal asked the committee to identify athletes with a potential to achieve excellence at the Olympics and help them with their training and equipment requirements. “I understand how hard the athletes have to work. They should be provided with every input to succeed and all their requirements should be taken care of,” the Minister said after chairing the meeting.
Thakur said the scheme would create a more cordial working atmosphere between the Ministry, National Sports Federations (NSFs), SAI and IOA. “There are always some problems like coordination problems between the Ministry and the federations. We will try to streamline it so the players just have to focus on their performances. We want our athletes to get the best training facilities so that they can perform well at the international level,” Thakur said. |
|
South enter as favourites
Sabi Hussain Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 28 Central, the five-time winners, proceeded to the final with a first innings lead over North Zone after their semifinal ended in a draw at Mohali. As has been the case in the past, Central do not boast of as many India players as South, but the team, led by leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, has some exciting young talents in Naman Ojha, Ishwar Pandey and Jalaj Saxena. The likes of Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Pankaj Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Chawla and Naman would be looking to stay on the radar of the national selectors. Central's Naman has emerged as one of the few bright spots, aggregating 687 runs at an avarage of 229. His double century (217) against North proved to be crucial, giving Central the all-important first innings lead. In his last three First-Class games, Naman has scores of 219 not out and 101 not out, 110 — all for India 'A' against Australia 'A'. Another player back in reckoning is Robin Uthappa — he has been in red-hot form this season. Uthappa has been out of favour since the three-match series in Bangladesh in June. The Karnataka dasher scored a fighting 120 against East in Lahli on one of the most difficult surfaces in India. Chinaman Kuldeep, who was called to the Indian team for the ODI series against West Indies without any prior First-Class experience, too showed he has a bright future in the longer version. His three important wickets in North's first innings —Yuvraj Singh, Nitin Saini, and Rishi Dhawan — proved crucial in the overall context of the game. He also displayed his batting skills with the scores of 21 and 56. Central, however, would miss his services, along with that of fellow spinner Karn Sharma, as both have been called to India 'A' duty against the touring Sri Lanka. Kuldeep and Karn had combined well in the game against North, taking three and two wickets, respectively. South, too, would be without their regular performers Stuart Binny, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair.
|
|
Chennaiyin bounce back
Brazilian Elano with his two goals (ninth and 69th minutes) today became the highest goal scorer in the ISL and was adjudged the hero of the match, while Colombian Mendoza scored the third and fourth goals (40th and 44th). In between, Indian striker Jeje Lalpekhlua netted the second goal for Chennaiyin FC in the 26th minute. For Mumbai, Syed Rahim Nabi scored the consolation goal in the 87th minute, heading a corner. In fact, Elano, who found the target from the penalty spot and from a free kick, could have scored on two other occasions also. Chennaiyin manager-cum-player Marco Materrazi took the field for the first time in the ISL. The home side controlled for most part of the match against the visitors who has lost their previous match at home to NorthEast United FC. The Chennai side showed better co-ordination and cohesion in both attack and defence than in their 4-1 loss to Delhi Dynamos. Indian cricket captain and co-owner of Chennaiyin FC, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was seen celebrating at each goal scored by his team. Former France and Chelsea star Nicholas Anelka’s presence did not bring any change in the fortunes of the Mumbai side which has now lost three matches out of four so far. Anelka played for the first time for Mumbai as he was serving a five-match ban by Football Association in England for quenelle gesture in December while playing for West Bromwich Albion in the English Premier League. With Materrazi deciding to take the field and manning the central defence, there was total transformation in the attitude of the home players. Throughout the first half, Mumbai players lacked the thrust in the midfield and the defenders played high, leaving a lot of space at the back. The home side changed its strategy to apply pressure from the wings to find the openings. Elano and Mendoza combined beautifully. Mendoza sped down the wings, mostly on the right. Whenever Mendoza drew a foul, Elano would be the trump card to take the free-kick and Materrazi, who was substituted in the 58th minute by Bojan Djordjic, would go upfront to try and get the chance to score. This worked well for the home side. Chennaiyin FC play Atletico de Kolkata in their next game at home on November 4. — PTI
|
||
|
Ballon d’Or: No Suarez, Germany dominate list
BERNE, October 28 Juergen Klinsmann was included among the coaches after leading United States to the last 16 of the World Cup but Jorge Luis Pinto and Jose Pekerman, who took Costa Rica and Colombia respectively to the quarterfinals, were overlooked. Jorge Sampaoli, whose hugely entertaining Chile side knocked out defending champions Spain on their way to the last sixteen, and Vahid Halilhodzic, who took an inspirational Algeria to the knockout stages, were also ignored. On the other hand, there was room for Bayern Munich’s Pep Guardiola, even though his team’s most important match of the year, a Champions League semi-final at home to Real Madrid, ended in a 4-0 defeat. Almost inevitably, Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho also sneaked in despite failing to land a trophy on his return to Stamford Bridge. The players’ list showed similar anomalies and appeared to be based more on European club football than FIFA’s flagship tournament. Manuel Neuer, Thomas Mueller, Toni Kroos, Mario Goetze, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger were six players from world champions Germany to be included and beaten finalists Argentina had three, Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria and Javier Mascherano. Last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo was duly named along with his Real Madrid team mates Gareth Bale (Wales) and James Rodriguez (Colombia). Manchester City and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure was the only African player short-listed, Neymar was Brazil’s sole representative, and there were none at all from CONCACAF region or Asia. Notable absentees included United States goalkeeper Tim Howard and Costa Rica stopper Keylor Navas, both outstanding in Brazil, and Costa Rica defender Giancarlo Gonzalez, who many critics saw as one of the tournament’s most influential players. Luis Suarez omitted
He was served with a fourth-month ban by Fifa as a consequence and but for that he would surely have made the list and been a strong contender. FIFA, who organise the award jointly with France Football, said the final three candidates for both awards, officially known as the Ballon d’Or, would be announced on Dec 1 with the award ceremony in Zurich on Jan 12.
— Agencies |
||
New Delhi, October 28 After two consecutive draws, Delhi notched up their first win of the tournament by drubbing the Chennai side 4-1 to the delight of home fans and coach Harm van Veldhoven. The Dutch coach talked about his attacking brand of football and goals that would come by before the tournament but he was finding it difficult to answer questions after his side could get just two goals in the first two matches. Now that his players have tasted their first victory with four goals against a quality side like Chennaiyin, who have come after winning their first two matches, Veldhoven is expected to maintain the tempo tomorrow also. “I would want my players to continue the momentum. We want to score goals tomorrow also,” Veldhoven said. “We played very well against Chennaiyin FC but in football you never know. We cannot be complacent and we have to see that we build on the momentum.” NorthEast, however, would be a tough team to beat, having won two out of four matches so far. They have also come here on a high after defeating Mumbai City FC 2-0 in their first away match. Veldhoven is likely to stick to the starting line-up that played against Chennaiyin FC but Brazilian Gustavo Dos Santos, who scored a goal just after coming onto the field in the 89th minute, could be given more playing time. The midfield trio of Hans Mulder, Bruno Herrero and Steven Dias did a commendable job by controlling the middle of the park for Alessandro Del Piero, Shylo Malswamtluanga and Mads Junker to look for goals. Former India international Dias found his touch in his first start in the tournament as he supplied the inch-perfect floater for Junker to score a spectacular goal through a diving header. The Delhi side could also be looking for Del Piero to finally come to the party as the Italian legend is yet to stamp his class in the three matches he has played so far. NorthEast, on the other hand, are a balanced side with few well-known international and national stars. They have, however, shown that they can go a long way by beating Kerala Blasters and Mumbai City FC and holding FC Goa. Their attack will once again revolve around former Marseille player Sergio Contreras Pardo of Spain, better known as Koke. NorthEast defence was impressive against Mumbai with 36-year-old former Spain international Joan Capdevilla marshalling the backline with aplomb. — PTI Live on Star Sports, 7pm
|
||
Robredo sets up Nishikori clash; Verdasco upsets Simon
Paris, October 28 Verdasco’s next match could have an impact on the ATP Race To London, with the left-hander projected to face fourth seed David Ferrer. Ferrer, who won the Paris title in 2012, opens his campaign against David Goffin after the Basel runner-up defeated Lukas Rosol 6-4 6-3. The Spaniard is currently ninth in the Race To London and can guarantee his place at the World Tour Finals by reaching the Paris final for the third year in a row. Marathon man Tommy Robredo bounced back from the disappointment of squandering five match points in Sunday’s Valencia final defeat to Andy Murray to beat Vasek Pospisil 6-3 4-6 7-6(5) in the first round. The Spaniard played for three hours and 20 minutes against Murray and hobbled over the finish line in two hours and 10 minutes against Pospisil, having rallied from a 2-4 deficit in the final set. The in-form Robredo will look to hamper Kei Nishikori’s London bid in the second round. The sixth-seeded Nishikori is due to play his first match since falling in the first round of the Shanghai Masters three weeks ago. The Japanese star, who has beaten Robredo in their two previous meetings, will secure his spot at the season finale by reaching the semifinals in Paris. Roger Federer will open his bid to win a 24th World Tour Masters 1000 crown against Jeremy Chardy, who won an all-French contest with Kenny De Schepper 7-6(5) 7-6(4). — Agencies
|
|
TT champ stripped of prize money after ‘shameful’ celebration
Beijing, October 28 Reigning singles world champion Jike kicked an advertising hoarding next to the court, breaking it, after beating fellow Chinese player Ma Long in the Liebherr Men’s World Cup final in Dusseldorf on Sunday. He than ran to the opposite side of the arena and shattered a second advertising board with a flying kick, before stripping off his shirt and throwing it into the crowd. Zhang fought back from three games down to overcome Ma in a seven-game match, handing Ma his first defeat this year. While the International Table Tennis Federation described the match as being “of the highest quality”, it was less impressed by Zhang’s celebration, deciding to withhold his prize money as punishment for the display. “I am very sorry for what I did,” Zhang said. “It was not acceptable behaviour.” A spokesman for the Chinese Table Tennis Association said that it will decide if further punishment is necessary.
— PTI |
|
India connect for Marussia?
London, October 28 The English daily said the two brothers, who made their fortune in steel industry, have been in talks with Andy Webb, the chief executive of the beleaguered team, for the past three weeks to buy Marussia and save it from going into administration. Sohi said that both the sides were separated by some 12.7 million euros in their evaluations of the deal to save the 190 staff of the team, who announced last week that they would miss two next GPs in Austin and Sao Paolo. “We are very close to a deal,” Sohi said. “But it has to be the right price. We have put in a serious offer and we will see what happens.” If the deal passes through the two brothers would also inherit Marussia's current debt of about 38 million euros, believed to be owed by the team to Ferrari for their engines.
— Agencies |
|
Language cost us our jobs, says Dawes
New Delhi, October 28 “They (BCCI) thought there was a language barrier issue,” Dawes said. “But I had things in place to assist me with that. I have a very simple grasp of Hindi but cricket is a universal language. I would use either the manager or one of the bowlers who spoke English to communicate.” Dawes said that he used to take help from lanky pacer Ishant Sharma to communicate with other Indian players. ''I would use Ishant Sharma because he spoke good English. I would always make sure he was around to give me a hand. At the end of the day, they sent me for a break while they had a think about which direction they wanted to head in. There has been a big push in India to get local Indian coaches in,” added Dawes. Dawes, along with fielding coach Trevor Penney, was asked to rest following the 3-1 drubbing India received in England in the five-Test series. The duo was replaced by Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar for the ODIs in England.
— PTI |
|
Another blow to SA, boxer dies
Pretoria, October 28 The sports ministry's announcement on Tuesday that Phindile Mwelase had died on Saturday in the hospital means three South African athletes died in three days. Former 800-meter world champion and Olympic silver medalist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was killed in a car crash on Friday. Popular national soccer team captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa was fatally shot in an apparent house robbery on Sunday, unleashing widespread dismay and anger in South Africa, which struggles with high levels of violent crime. Mwelase died at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in the capital, Pretoria, South Africa's sports ministry said, after she was knocked out in a bout on October 10. It didn't give her age but reports said she was 31. The ministry said it was “a very difficult week” for South African sport. Boxing South Africa, the national federation, announced Mwelase's funeral would be held on Saturday in her home town of Ladysmith, in the eastern Kwazulu-Natal province. Boxing South Africa said it “grieves at the passing of a wonderful and tremendous individual.”
— Agencies |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Having ended a successful year with the victory in the WTA Tour Finals, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza has set her sights on becoming the doubles world No.1 next season. “I am getting closer to my goal, which is to try and be the No. 1 in the world. Hopefully, that will happen next year,” said Sania.
New Delhi, October 28
Chennaiyin FC marquee player Elano Blumer and John Mendoza fired two goals each to steamroll a hapless Mumbai FC 5-1 and bounce back from their previous match defeat in the Indian Super League here today.
Brazilian Elano with his two goals (ninth and 69th minutes) today became the highest goal scorer in the ISL and was adjudged the hero of the match, while Colombian Mendoza scored the third and fourth goals (40th and 44th).
China’s world and Olympic table tennis champion Zhang Jike may face further action after being stripped of $45,000 in prize money for damaging advertising hoardings during over enthusiastic victory celebrations at a tournament in Germany.
Reigning singles world champion Jike kicked an advertising hoarding next to the court, breaking it, after beating fellow Chinese player Ma Long in the Liebherr Men’s World Cup final in Dusseldorf on Sunday.
British Indian brothers Baljinder Sohi and Sonny Kaushal are reportedly looking to purchase Formula One team
Marussia, based in Britain and owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Cheglakov. According to The Telegraph Monday, the purchasing sum is a reported 70 million euros (almost $89 million).
It was decided during the meeting that the committee would evaluate and select potential medal prospects for the 2016 and the 2020 Olympics and work closely with the NSFs and the national coaches to create specific training programme for the athletes. “There is no doubt that things are improving in the Indian sport even outside of cricket. We are getting a lot more medals at the international level and in Olympics. So this is a great initiative. It supports the top athletes and that's how it's done all over the world. An elite athlete needs a lot of support to compete at that level against the best players of the world,” said Dravid.
Chennai, October 28
Barcelona’s former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been omitted from list, which has no Englishmen but five Premier League players on it, though there is no place for the division’s leading scorer from last season. Twenty-seven-year-old Suarez scored 31 goals for Liverpool as they narrowly missed out on the English title, but his season ended in controversy after he bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini while playing for Uruguay at the World Cup.
Madrid: