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Latest Information on sports world, sports worldwide, sports news, sports games like Tennis, Cricket, Olympics, Football and many more games...India win Commonwealth judo title with 14 medals
2008-02-06
New Delhi, Jan 28: India won 14 medals, including seven golds, to clinch the seniors title while the juniors finished runners-up with six medals at the Commonwealth Judo Championship in Mauritius.
The junior team won four golds, one silver and one bronze in the competition that concluded Sunday, the Judo Federation of India (JFI) said here Monday.
A total of 23 judokas represented India in the 13-nation championship that was a warm-up event for the upcoming Asian Judo Championships.
In the senior section, Sandeep (56 kg), Navjot Chana (60 kg), Ram Ashrey Yadav (73 kg), Ranjit Kaur (44 kg), Khumujam Tombi Devi (48 kg), Anita Chanhu (52 kg) and Garima Chaudhry (63 kg) won gold medals while Yashpal Solanki (open) and Laisram Nirupama Devi (57 kg) clinched the silver.
Virender Singh (81 kg), Anil Kumar (90 kg), Pawan Kumar (100-plus kg), Chogtham Jina Devi (70 kg) and Bittu (78 kg) managed bronze medals.
Cameroon finished second behind India in the senior category with four gold, two silver and one bronze medal while Scotland was third with three gold, five silver and five bronze medals.
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Asian football chief said India is top priority
2008-02-06
Sydney, Jan 29 : The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced that it would give top priority to India with a view to improving the game of football in the South Asian country."India is top priority for us (AFC) and we will invest more to improve the game there," AFC President Mohammed Bin Hammam, told reporters ahead of an award function here Tuesday.
He vowed AFC's full support to India through the Vision India programme, which is part of the Vision Asia development project.
Hammam's words would boost the morale of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) as India is set to host the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and 2010.
The AFC had given to the AIFF a grant of $1 million for the development of the sport last year.
"Historically, India has strong football roots. Some of the oldest clubs and competitions are in India. Some clubs have a fan following of more than 20 million, inside and outside India. That is an indicator to the popularity of the game," said Hamam.
India is one of the seven pilot countries in the Vision Asia development project along with neighbours Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Oman, Vietnam and China.
"The AFC is trying to introduce professionalism in football throughout Asia with Vision Asia," Hammam added.
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India suffer back-to-back defeats in Fed Cup
2008-02-06
Bangkok, Jan 31 : India continued their miserable run at the Fed Cup tennis as they registered their second successive defeat, losing to New Zealand 1-2 at the National Development Centre here Thursday.Isha Lakhani, who replaced Wednesday's lone winner against Indonesia, Shikha Uberoi, started the tie on a winning note for India as she fought hard to scalp Sacha Jones 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-4 in the Asia-Oceania Group I tie.
In the second rubber, Sunitha Rao squandered the advantage and allowed the Kiwis to level the scores and take the match into the deciding doubles encounter. She was handed a 0-6, 6-7 (7-5) defeat by Marina Erakovic.
However, Shikha who did not feature in the singles tie against New Zealand Thursday as she was down with cramps, teamed up with Lakahni for the doubles only to see the same old story being repeated.
The combination of Leanne Baker and Erakovic thrashed the challenge of Lakhani and Shikha 6-2, 6-2 to seal the tie in favour of the Kiwis.
Morally down after two consecutive defeats, India now have an uphill task as they will be up against mighty Australia in their third and final tie Friday.
Earlier in the day, Australia suffered a shock 1-2 loss to Indonesia. Indonesia took an unassailable lead in the tie when they pocketed both the singles tie.
Seventeen-year-old Jessica Moore, who replaced an injured Alicia Molik, lost to Ayu Fani Damayanti 3-6, 4-6 and Sandy Gumulya defeated Casey Dellacqua in a tight two-setter 6-7, 6-7.
However, Dellacqua and Rennae Stubbs brought one back for Australia as they defeated Lavinia Tananta and Vivien Silfany 6-2, 6-1 in the doubles rubber.
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Indian boxer wins gold at Asian Olympic qualifiers
2008-02-06
New Delhi, Feb 2: Indian pugilist Akhil Kumar Saturday won the gold medal at the second Asian Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament at Bangkok by defeating Olympic silver medallist Worapoj Petchkoom of Thailand.
Akhil defeated Petchkoom with an impressive margin of 21-11 in the bantamweight category (54 kg) and earned the Best Boxer of the Championship award, an Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) release said.
Akhil Friday, became the second Indian boxer to qualify for the Beijing Olympics when he outclassed Ryom Chol Jin from North Korea in the semi-finals.
However, it was not a cakewalk for Akhil in the final, as the Commonwealth gold medallist had to combat a local hero in front of a partisan crowd and to his dismay he was down 3-4 at the end of the first round.
The second round too was evenly poised at 7-7. However, it was in the third round that Akhil shifted gears and sped away to a 13-9 lead.
In the fourth round there was no stopping Akhil as he stormed his way into the title with a score of 21-11.
Meanwhile, another Indian boxer Jitender Kumar was unlucky in the 51 kg category as he suffered an eyebrow cut in his second bout of the tournament.
Amandeep (48 kg), Dinesh (81 kg) and Manpreet (91 kg) won three bronze medals for India but did not qualify for the Olympics.
However, they have a final chance to book their passage to Beijing in a qualifying tournament, which will be held at Kazakhstan from March 15.
The Indian squad for the Kazakhstan tournament will be selected from the National Inter Zonal Boxing Championships scheduled to be held at Akola, Maharashtra Feb 10-14.
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Federation Cup football now on FA Cup pattern
2008-02-06
New Delhi, Feb 2: The Federation Cup format has undergone a change and the tournament will now be conducted on the lines of England's FA Cup, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced here Saturday.
The tournament will be held in several stages - qualifying round, preliminary round, quarterfinals, semi-finals and the final - the AIFF said following its executive committee meeting here.The dates and venues of the tournament were, however, not announced.
The qualifying round will involve each state and zone. It will be played on a zonal basis and will involve champion teams of each zone, excluding the first and second division I League sides. The winner and runner-up from each zone will advance to the preliminary round.
In the preliminary round, the 10 zonal champions and Division II teams will be divided into four groups for a knock-out competition, following which one team from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.
In the last-eight stage, the four group champions and 12 I-League teams will lock horns. They will be divided into four groups of four teams each and it will be a single leg league. The four champion teams will advance to the semi-finals, followed by the final.
The AIFF also decided that 12 teams would take part in the second division I-League. They are Mohammedan Sporting, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Sports Club, Chiragh United, Vasco Sports Club Goa, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Mumbai Football Cclub, Pune Football Club, Amity United, Osian's New Delhi Heroes, Indian Bank, State Bank of Travancore and Oil India.
The committee congratulated India captain Bhaichung Bhutia on being conferred with Padmashri, the fourth highest civil award
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Sania needs to learn how to handle adversities
2008-02-06
New Delhi, Feb 5 : India's Davis Cup captain Leander Paes Tuesday said Sania Mirza should be careful in managing her celebrity status since everything she does is constantly under public scrutinyPaes was a little hesitant to react to Sania's Monday's bombshell that she is pulling out of next month's Women's Tennis Tour (WTA) Tier II event, but chose his words carefully to say that no celebrity in the world can evade controversies.
The 21-year-old Hyderabadi Monday said "as of now" she was withdrawing from the Bangalore Open, starting March 3, as every time she played in the country she has been dogged by some controversy or the other.
Paes, however, felt that it's high time Sania handled such issues in a better way.
"I don't want to comment on this. I am least bothered about it, but at the end of the day who doesn't have controversies? It's not only with tennis players, cricketers, film stars all have controversies in their lives," Paes told reporters at the end of Indian Davis Cup team's practice session at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) here.
"We all had to face adversities in our careers. It's about how you handle them, it's about how you project yourself and it's about how dignified and honest you are. Sania has to be very careful about all these," he said.
Paes went on to say that the greatest pleasure for any athlete is to represent his country on the home turf.
"The greatest joy for an athlete is to play for his or her country and in the country.
"No individual is bigger than the game," he said.
Since her breakthrough 2005 season, the 21-year-old Hyderabadi has been battling controversies ranging from her on court attire, which did not please some Islamic clerics, to media photographs showing her resting bare feet near Indian flag during the Hopman Cup in December.
The controversies perturbed the world number 29 and Asia's number one, to such an extent that she at one point of time even considered quitting tennis before the Australian Open.
However, her decision to skip Bangalore event did not seem to go well with many with former Davis Cup captain Naresh Kumar too expressing his astonishment over her move.
"It is a big upset for the tournament. She has been asked to do a juvenile and immature thing," Naresh said.
Agreeing with Paes, Naresh said Sania needed to handle her celebrity status with a right approach.
"All the stars have problems but you have tackle them. Pulling out of a tournament is not the solution. I think Sania has been misguided," said Naresh.
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Indian Masters: Delhi Golf Club made a par-71 course
2008-02-06
By Abhishek Roy, New Delhi, Feb 5 : The Lodhi Course of the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) has been reduced by a par to par-71 for the inaugural $2.5 million EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters starting here Wednesday.
The 14th hole, which was par-5, has been reduced to par-4 and will surely challenge the golfers.
"Statistically there have been lot of birdies at the 14th hole. It was an easy par-5 hole and now to make it tough we have made it par-4. It will be a challenge for the golfers to get in four shots," Ranji Chaudhri, DGC captain, told IANS Tuesday.
Asked whether this was the first time the par of the course has been reduced, Chaudhri said: "I don't know whether the par was ever reduced in the history of the DGC. But I am sure that this is the first time the par has been reduced to 71 in the last 10 years."
Chaudhri also added that three tees, 3rd, 7th and 10th, have been pushed back and in the process 126 yards have been to the course.
"The length of the course was 6,888 yards but after pushing back the three tees we have added 126 yards, now the total length of the course is 7,014 yards. We have also added five bunkers, one each in the first, eighth and 18th and two on the sixth hole. These are well contoured and deep bunkers," said the DGC captain.
There were 65 bunkers earlier.
Chaudhri also said that the organisers have ensured that the greens are firm. "The test of a good green is that it should be firm and not hard and must reward a well struck ball by holding well," he said.
He also added that holding the Indian Masters during this time of the year was a challenge for the course management of DGC because the grass was dormant and not growing.
"This dormancy only breaks when the minimum temperature inches upwards to 15 degrees. But currently the temperatures over the last fortnight have been hovering around 2-7 degrees, which is extremely adverse for any golf course.
"But we had taken all the precautions over the last three months. We have gone for intense maintenance with lots of fertilisers to ensure that the course stays green despite the adverse weather conditions," said Chaudhri.
According to the captain, knowledge of the course will help home golfers like Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur but adaptability will be the key to success at the DGC.
"Golfers like Shiv and Jyoti, who grew up playing at this course will obviously have an edge but the key to success will be adaptability. That is the reason why other top golfers like Ernie Els and Lee Westwood will also have a good chance.
"In the course golfers can't go for powerful drives to cover 350 yards, because it may end up in the bushes adjacent to the fairway. That will be a major challenge for the golfers. The idea is to go for less powerful drives and stay on the fairway."
The Indian Masters is sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Professional Golf Tour of India.
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Somdev to play Davis Cup if Prakash Amritraj remains unwell
2008-02-06
Feb 5: Young Somdev Varman might have arrived late in the capital for the Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan starting Friday, but non-playing captain Leander Paes Tuesday was impressed by the youngster's game.
Paes said Somdev has an even chance of making his debut in the world team event.
Somdev's chances of featuring in the singles brightened after Prakash Amritraj was taken ill with a stomach upset, which forced him to miss the team's practice session Monday.
Somdev arrived here Monday night from US where he had to fulfil his commitments with his University of Virginia team before flying to India. However, he was on the court within hours of arrival and Paes was seen showing a lot of interest in his play.
"Rohan (Bopanna) is undoubtedly our spearhead as he is enjoying a good run. His outing at the Hopman Cup was excellent. But we are keeping our options open for the second singles," Paes told reporters during India's training session at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) here.
Paes said he was impressed with Somdev's adaptability to grass courts. "I am surprised to see his ability to adapt. Though he plays most of his tennis indoor in the US, he is an all court player," the tennis ace said.
He further added that Varman, who likes to play from the back of the court, is a prospect to nurture for the future. Even former Davis Cup captain Naresh Kumar, who was present during the practice session, was happy to see the youngster.
"Somdev has got his basics right. He has solid ground strokes," Kumar said.
Prakash, who is a natural grass court player, practised for half an hour practice in the second session Tuesday.
Paes, however, did not rule out Prakash's chances of playing the tie.
"He (Prakash) is feeling better. It's about regaining his strength and physical condition," he said.
However, Somdev himself is not so optimistic about his participation against the Uzbeks.
"I am trying to make the best of the situation and I am feeling pretty comfortable on grass. Obviously, the position I am in right now is tough, so I don't expect anything," the 22-year-old player from Tripura said.
"Rohan, Prakash and myself all have been playing well and two of the best among us will play against Uzbekistan," Somdev added.
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Twenty20 become the Professional Cricketer's Semi Retirement Plan
2008-02-06
Could Twenty20 become the Professional Cricketer's Semi Retirement Plan?
It's rumoured the cashed up IPL and ICL are offering contracts worth up to $1,000,000 to some of the world's finest. It's no wonder some of the biggest names in the game have signed on the dotted line. If the money wasn't incentive enough, knowing that a Twenty20 tournament lasts only a few weeks, makes the proposition even more alluring.
Both organizations have recruited heavily. The IPL especially. They claim to have a player pool of 78 with international experience. And they're paying handsomely for that experience, offering attractive sign-on fees
AUSTRALIA. Shane Warne 400,000. Glenn McGrath 350,000. Justin Langer 175,000.
SRI LANKA. Farveez Maharoof 150,000. Kumar Sangakkara 250,000. Mahela Jaywardene 250,000. Muttiah Muralitharan 250,000. Sanath Jayasuriya 250,000. Nuwan Zoysa 100,000. Dilhara Fernando 150,000. Charminda Vaas 175,000. Lasith Malinga 200,000.
PAKISTAN. Mohammad Asif 225,000. Shahid Afridi 225,000. Shoaib Akhtar 225,000. Younus Khan 225,000. Mohammad Yousuf 330,000. Shoaib Malik 300,000.
WEST INDIES. Shivnarine Chanderpaul 175,000.
NEW ZEALAND. Daniel Vettori 225,000. Stephen Fleming 350,000. Jacob Oram 225,000. Scott Styris 175,000. Brendon McCallum 175,000.
SOUTH AFRICA. Loots Bosman 150,000. AB de Villiers 175,000. Albie Morkel 200,000. Graeme Smith 225,000. Herschelle Gibbs 225,000. Shaun Pollock 200,000. Ashwell Prince 150,000. Makhaya Ntini 175,000. Mark Boucher 175,000. Jacques Kallis 200,000.
This list represents less than half the IPL player roster.
Brian Lara's ICL contract has been touted at !,000,000. Shane Bond's contract is a three year deal worth 800,000. Other notable ICL recruits are Nathan Astle, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Chris Cairns, Lance Klusener, Chris Harris, Stuart Law, Ian Harvey, Abdul Razzaq and Craig McMillan. Gilchrist, now that he has retired, could very well be on either shopping list.
Cricket Australia, concerned about a conflict of interest, made its contracted players sign a memorandum of understanding, stating they wouldn't take part in tournaments that coincided with official tour commitments.
A professional cricketer spends a lot of time away from home, friends and family. After a decade living out of a suitcase, the media scrutiny and the constant pressures; a player decides it's time to retire. That's how it was. Now, though, there's another option. In the last thirteen months Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath have retired from international cricket. But their playing careers aren't over. For the next couple of years they'll fill their pockets and only have to work a couple of months a year. That sounds like semi retirement to me
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New Zealand v England 2nd Twenty20
2008-02-06
New Zealand v EnglandDate: Thursday, 7 February
Start: 0600 GMT (day-night match)
Venue: Lancaster Park, Christchurch
BBC Coverage: Live on 5 Live Sports Extra, BBCi and the BBC Sport website
England will look to build on their impressive start to their tour when they take on New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international on Thursday.
England won the first match by 32 runs and will seek an emphatic victory in Christchurch to dent the hosts' morale.
"Putting them under pressure was our aim," said wicket-keeper Phil Mustard.
"I wouldn't say they're there for the taking because they're a very good one-day side, but we've got a young team who really want to perform."
 | It's always a goal to play Test cricket, that's number one in my priorities but we have a Twenty20 and one-dayers coming up Phil Mustard |
England are expected to name an unchanged line-up for the day-night match as they attempt to claim consecutive Twenty20 international wins for the first time against major opposition.
That will give Durham wicket-keeper Mustard another chance to impress with the bat as one of England's openers.
The left-hander, who is battling against Tim Ambrose for a place in the Test side, scored 20 off 13 balls in England's win in Auckland on Tuesday and is confident of being able to build on that performance.
"We had a couple of warm-up games down in Canterbury and I got the basics right and last night I was able to capitalise on that and made a few runs," said the 25-year-old.
"It's always my goal to do well in an England shirt, but I'm going to go out and enjoy my cricket and hopefully I can get a few runs as well - the runs will come.
"It's always a goal to play Test cricket, that's number one in my priorities but we have a Twenty20 and one-dayers coming up. I'll take every game but then hopefully get a chance in the Test series."
Daniel Flynn has replaced Jacob Oram in New Zealand's squad after the experienced all-rounder suffered a tight hamstring while bowling in the opening match in Auckland.
 Flynn captained New Zealand Under-19s at the 2004 Youth World Cup |
Left-hander Flynn, 22, will go into the match in good form after smashing 149 for his district side on Wednesday.
"This is a great chance to introduce another exciting youngster," said selection manager Sir Richard Hadlee.
"His innings on Wednesday was at better than a run-a-ball and as a left-hander he will fit beautifully into our middle order at number six or seven."
Oram, who top-scored for the Blacks Caps, wanted to play as a batsman only at Lancaster Park.
But the management did not want to risk exacerbating the injury ahead of the five one-day internationals, which start in Wellington on Saturday.
New Zealand are already without regular captain Daniel Vettori because of an ankle injury but he hopes to be fit for the match this weekend.
New Zealand (from): B McCullum (capt/wkt), J Ryder, R Taylor, J How, P Fulton, S Styris, D Flynn, K Mills, T Southee, J Patel, C Martin, P Hitchcock, M Mason.
England (from): L Wright, P Mustard (wkt), I Bell, K Pietersen, P Collingwood (capt), O Shah, D Mascarenhas, G Swann, S Broad, R Sidebottom, J Anderson, R Bopara, A Cook, J Tredwell, T Ambrose, C Tremlett.
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India v Sri Lanka - Played at Brisbane Cricket Ground 5 February 2008
2008-02-06
Played at Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane (neutral venue), on 5 February 2008 - day/night (50-over match) Result No result |
 | | | | | | | | | |
| India innings (50 overs maximum) | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR | ||
| V Sehwag | c  Sangakkara b Amerasinghe | 33 | 87 | 39 | 2 | 1 | 84.61 | ||
| SR Tendulkar | b Malinga | 35 | 70 | 52 | 2 | 0 | 67.30 | ||
| G Gambhir | not out | 102 | 159 | 101 | 10 | 1 | 100.99 | ||
| Yuvraj Singh | c Jayawardene b Muralitharan | 2 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 18.18 | ||
| RG Sharma | c Sangakkara b Muralitharan | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
 | MS Dhoni | not out | 88 | 124 | 95 | 5 | 1 | 92.63 | |
| Extras | (lb 3, w 4) | 7 | |||||||
| |||||||||
| Total | (4 wickets; 50 overs) | 267 | (5.34 runs per over) | ||||||
| Did not bat RV Uthappa, IK Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, S Sreesanth, I Sharma |
| Fall of wickets1-68 (Tendulkar, 14.3 ov), 2-80 (Sehwag, 17.1 ov), 3-83 (Yuvraj Singh, 20.3 ov), 4-83 (RG Sharma, 20.5 ov) |
| | | | | | | |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
| WPUJC Vaas | 10 | 0 | 72 | 0 | 7.20 | (1w) | |
| SL Malinga | 10 | 1 | 56 | 1 | 5.60 | (1w) | |
| MKDI Amerasinghe | 10 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 3.00 | ||
| M Muralitharan | 10 | 0 | 51 | 2 | 5.10 | (1w) | |
| CK Kapugedera | 6 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 3.83 | (1w) | |
| TM Dilshan | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8.00 | ||
| ST Jayasuriya | 3 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 8.00 |
| | | | | |
| Sri Lanka team | ||||
| WU Tharanga, ST Jayasuriya, KC Sangakkara, DPMD Jayawardene, TM Dilshan, LPC Silva, CK Kapugedera, WPUJC Vaas, SL Malinga, MKDI Amerasinghe, M Muralitharan |
|
Toss India, who chose to bat first
Umpires SJ Davis and RE Koertzen (South Africa) |
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