His father had won the first Olympic medal for Pakistan in boxing and 22 later years, judoka Shah Hussain Shah, is aiming to emulate that feat come August in Rio de Janeiro.
     With the failure of hockey team to make the Olympics cut, their only hope lies with Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver medallist Shah, currently world no 46 in IJF rankings.
     "He's the only one who can now quality for Olympics. We have a lot of hopes on him back home," Pakistan Judo Federation secretary general Masood Ahmed told PTI after he won the gold in minus 100kg at the 12th South Asian Games today.
     It's the sixth gold for the Shah family from the regional mega event with his father Syed Hussain Shah having won five in the past.
     "I miss him, this one is for him. I've got full support of him but he never wanted me to take up boxing and judo being very popular in Japan it became an automatic choice," the tall Shah Hussain Shah said.
     "My aim is to get more than 200 points to qualify for ..

Like father like son: Pak judoka wants to emulate dad

PTI Automatic

Malaysia beat Sri Lanka and Japan defeated Nepal in men's category, while Japan and Chinese Taipai emerged victorious in women's section on the second day of the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2016 here today.
     The Malaysian shuttlers scored a comprehensive 4-1 win over Sri Lanka and Japan made a clean sweep with a 5-0 victory over Nepal in the men's category at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here.
     Sri Lanka's Buwenaka Goonathileka, ranked 934, was the only player to post a win in the five-match tie, as he humbled Malaysia's Teck Zhi Soo, ranked 65, 21-14, 21-17.
     It was an easy 5-0 win for Japanese shuttlers, who faced no major resistance from their Nepalese rivals in the other clash in the men's section today.
     Japanese women shuttlers, including top-ranked Sayaka Sato, Yui Hashimoto and Minatsu Mitani, too registered a comfortable win over Singapore in the women's category.
     Sato, Hashimoto and Mitani are ranked 13th, 16th and 17th, respectively.
     In the .

Japan post win in both men & women category

India's regional supremacy went unchallenged as the hosts were crowned overall champions for the 12th consecutive time after notching up a record-breaking haul of 308 medals, dominating the final day of competitions as well in the South Asian Games here today.
     With women boxers scooping all the three gold medals on offer and the judokas also bagging two gold and two silver on the last day of the Games, India's final tally came to 188 gold, 99 silver and 30 bronze medals.
     It was a massive jump in medal count for the Indians, who had won 175, including 90 gold, in the previous edition of the Games in 2010.
     At the distant second spot were Sri Lanka with a haul of 186 medals (25 silver, 63 silver and 98 bronze). Pakistan held on to the third spot with a final count of 106 medals (12 gold, 37 silver and 57 bronze).
     On the final day of competitions, action was restricted to this hill town where women boxers and judokas fought their summit bouts.
     First off the blocks 

India sign off with triple ton of medals at SAG

Batsman Lokesh Rahul and all-rounder Parveez Rasool have joined Royal Challengers Bangalore from Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2016 Indian Premier League.
     IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla, said: "The Royal Challengers Bangalore have made strong moves ahead of the season. KL Rahul is one of the talented young batsmen in the Indian circuit while Parveez Rasool is an asset to any team with his all-round abilities."
      "The duo will join a dream line-up at RCB with India's Test Captain Virat Kohli leading them," he added.
      RCB owner Vijay Mallya, said: "Given his multiple skills, KL Rahul has a lot to offer RCB in terms of batting and wicket keeping. It's a good feeling to get a prominent local Karnataka boy back home and in the RCB fold again.
      "Parveez offers us a spinning all rounder option that we were targeting to compliment Chahal and Iqbal. I hope to see him continue his good form in this forthcoming IPL season," he added.
     The IPL will be played from April 9 to May ..

Rasool, Rahul move to RCB from Sunrisers

Madhya Pradesh were left to chase a mammoth 571-run target after Mumbai's Suryakumar Yadav and Aditya Tare completed their centuries on day four of the Ranji Trophy semifinal here today.
     Forty-time champions Mumbai Ranji Trophy are on the brink of entering another final after they reduced Madhya Pradesh to 99/2 at stumps, needing another 472 runs for an improbable win.
     Mumbai, who started their second innings on 285 for three, went on to make 426 courtesy Yadav (115), Tare (109) and Abhishek Nayar (73 not out). Both Yadav and Tare were in their 90s when they came out to batting in the morning.
    Ishwar Pandey and Harpreet Singh picked up three wickets each for Madhya Pradesh.
    Coming out to pull off a herculean task, Aditya Shrivastava kept the innings going with an unbeaten 53, and the experienced Naman Ojha batting at the other end.
    Saurashtra have already made the final, having thrashed Assam by 10 wickets in Vadodara. PTI BS
    Brief scores: Mumbai 371 and 426 .

MP have a mountain to climb against Mumbai

Top seed Yuki Bhambri looked a pale shadow of his usual self as he exited from the singles event of the Delhi Open with a first round defeat but advanced to the doubles quarterfinals with seasoned pro Mahesh Bhupathi here today.
     It was the fourth successive first round defeat this season for the Delhi lad, who lost 4-6 6-7(4) to Belgium's Joris de Loore, ranked 302 as to Yuki's 99.
     Yuki, who played with a lot of authority towards the end of 2015 season and broke into the top-100, was nowhere near his best, making many unforced errors in the match that lasted one hour and 40 minutes.
     After dropping his serve in the second game of the opening set, Yuki was always catching up. He struggled to contain unforced errors and could not stay solid in his service games.
     He saved a match point in the 10th game of the second set to make it 5-5, raising hopes of a turnaround but it never happened.
     He saved another match point in the second set tie-break but hit a forehand ..

Yuki bows out of Delhi Open, yet to win singles round in 2016

India's Under-19 cricket captain Ishan Kishan has been signed by leading tyre manufacturer CEAT Ltd. For a three-year bat endorsement deal.
     The left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman will now be seen playing with a bat prominently displaying CEAT insignia in all formats of the game. The association has been facilitated by IOS Sports & Entertainment, a company that exclusively manages Kishan.
     Having learnt his cricket on the streets of Patna, 17-year old Ishan debuted with the Ranji trophy against Assam in December 2014. Since then, he has steadfastly risen as a trustworthy captain, having led India into the U-19 World Cup final. Ishan played with Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the Vijay Hazare Trophy and is also a part of team Gujarat Lions for the upcoming IPL 2016. He also plays for Jharkhand in Ranji trophy.
     Commenting on the association, Anant Goenka, MD, CEAT Ltd said, "Our objective is to identify young talent and support them in their international cricketing journey. ...

CEAT signs Ishan Kishan for three-year bat endorsement deal

Preparations are on "war footing" at the scenic HPCA stadium, host to a bagful of eight matches in the World T20 with the highlight being the mouthwatering India-Pakistan showdown on March 19.
     Though Pakistan are yet to confirm their presence in the tournament to be held in India, HPCA organisers are ready for the marquee clash as well as for other important games such as the one between Australia and New Zealand on March 18. The stadium will also host a couple of women's World T20 matches.
     "The preparations are on war footing. That is what you expect with less than a month left for the qualifiers (to precede the main event)," HPCA curator Sunil Chauhan told PTI today.
      Chauhan assured it will be a typical T20 wicket for the scheduled India-Pakistan contest, offering lots of runs.
      "It will be a typical T20 wicket. We will keep one strip for the game and test it only during the warm-up matches. It will be the first time a big event is happening here, we are all ...

Dharamsala gearing up for World T20 extravaganza

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has confirmed today an amendment to the 'Rules of Hockey' to clarify rule 13.2 in relation to free hits within five metres of the circle.
     Following the amendment, the rule now states that at an attacking free hit within five metres of the circle, the ball cannot be played into the circle until it has travelled at least five metres or been touched by a defending player.
     This amendment, to be introduced with immediate effect, removes the possibility for the attacker to touch the free hit for a teammate to run on to and play the ball into the circle.
     One additional piece of guidance has also been added in relation to the amendment. Following a time stoppage after the award of an attacking free hit inside the 23 metres area, upon the re-start, all players other than the player taking the free hit must be at least five metres from the ball.
     This amendment follows feedback to the FIH Rules Committee from technical delegates, ...

FIH amends attacking free hits rule

There was high drama before the women's boxing finals in the 12th South Asian Games today after AIBA-appointed ad-hoc committee officials threatened to pull out claiming "delay in payment" by the organising committee here.
     The bouts were delayed by 40 minutes  after officials
claimed that they have not been paid their allowance while the organisers insisted that they were being blackmailed for higher payment.
     "They were trying to blackmail us to increase the daily allowance for the ITOs (technical officials). We had fixed it at USD 50 per day but they wanted more and pressurised us, this being the last day. Thankfully good sense prevailed on both sides and the matter was resolved," R K Sharma, CEO- Shillong Organising Committee told PTI.
     Boxing in India is being administered by an ad-hoc committee of the International Boxing Association (AIBA, which is conducting the sport in the regional mega-event.
     On the concluding day, the officials, including judges and ...

Payment row delays SAG women's boxing finals

Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has expressed confidence that he would fully recover from his abdominal injury and be eligible for selection for the ICC World T20, starting early next month.
     The mega-event is scheduled to be held in India from March 8 to April 3.
     Watson is one of four members of Australia's 15-man squad for the World T20 currently on the sidelines due to injury, with Aaron Finch, James Faulkner and Nathan Coulter-Nile also looking to get back to full fitness.
     The 34-year-old flew home from the UAE, where he was playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), after suffering the injury. He underwent scans and said he should be ready in another couple of weeks.
     "It's going to take me a couple of weeks to get back into batting and bowling," Watson was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia website today.
     "It's not major. We got it before it did too much damage. We'd played three matches in three days (for Islamabad). I tried to bowl a slower ball ..

Watson says he will be fit for ICC World T20

India judokas signed off their 12th South Asian Games campaign in style, bagging two gold and two silver to finish on top at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor sports hall here today.
     Four events were left in the last day of the judo competition today and the Indians put up a dominating show once again to finish on a high.
     Avatar Singh took just 49 seconds from the stipulated five minutes to prevail over his Afghan opponent Mohammad Ismail Kakar en route to the gold medal in the men's under 90kg.
     Pooja, on the other hand, overcame a strong challenge from Beenish Khan of Pakistan in an evenly-contested duel before the Indian sealed off the issue in 3:03 minutes from the stipulated four in women's U-70kg.
     Women's U-78kg was tricky as there was only four contestants and Aruna (200 points) was edged out by by gold medallist Fouzia Mumtaz (210) of Pakistan in a round-robin league.
     It was the fifth battle of the day between the two rivals, and Mumtaz clinched the issue in .

India sign off in style with two gold, two silver in judo

Disgraced FIFA president Sepp Blatter appeared before a FIFA's appeals committee today to fight an eight-year ban from the sport for ethics violations.
     Blatter arrived at FIFA headquarters in Zurich 90 minutes before the start of the hearing at 0800 GMT.
	His hearing follows a similar appeal by the fallen head of European football, Michel Platini, on Monday.
	Blatter and Platini were banned by FIFA's ethics committee in December after being found guilty of breaches surrounding a mysterious 2 million Swiss franc ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) payment Platini received from Blatter in 2011.
	Both men, once the most powerful figures in world football, have insisted that the payment was part of a legitimate oral contract reportedly for consulting work performed by Platini a decade earlier.
	The notorious 2011 payment is also part of a criminal probe by Swiss prosecutors targeting Blatter, in which Platini has been questioned in a capacity that falls between a witness and an accused ..

Blatter appears before FIFA's appeals committee

Eight-time world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has sparked a firestorm of criticism in the Philippines after describing gay couples as "worse than animals".
	Nearing the end of a glorious decades-long boxing career, the 37-year-old is reinventing himself as a conservative Bible-bearing politician ahead of the country's May elections, when he is running for a senate seat.
	"It's common sense. Do you see animals mating with the same sex? Animals are better because they can distinguish male from female," Pacquiao told local broadcaster TV5 in an interview aired earlier this week.
	"If men mate with men and women mate with women they are worse than animals."
	Gay marriage is outlawed in the Philippines due to strong opposition from the Catholic Church and 80 per cent of the country's 100 million people subscribe to the faith.
	Gay marriages are officiated at small churches but these unions are not recognised by the church or the state.
	The country's most popular gay comedian, Vice ...

Philippines' Pacquiao says gay couples 'worse than animals'

M C Mary Kom and Pooja Rani knocked out their respective opponents while L Sarita Devi survived a scare as India grabbed all the three gold medals on offer in women's boxing for an overall clean-sweep of top honours in the 12th South Asian Games here today.
     On a comeback trail after recovering from a shoulder injury, London Olympics bronze-medallist Mary Kom (51kg) packed a powerful punch against her seasoned Sri Lankan rival Anusha Kodituwakku Dilrukshi to be adjudged winner via Technical Knockout (TKO) in a bout lasting less than 90 seconds.
     With Mary landing some powerful blows, Anusha lost her balance and injured her right knee. This forced her to take a medical break 
before attempting a comeback.
     However, a booming jab from the five-time world champion sent her almost out of the ring
 Before the referee intervened.
     The injury to Anusha will take about two-three months to heal.
     "Anusha has sustained medical collateral ligament tear which would take about .

Mary, Sarita strike gold; Perfect 10 for boxers at SAG

Spanish tennis stars Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer insisted they were unworried by Brazil's Zika virus outbreak as they prepare to compete at the Rio Open ATP tournament this week.
     "I'm not at all afraid," Nadal, 29, told a press conference. "I go out at night, and I know there's a risk, but I'm just happy to be back here again.
     "If I get sick well then that's just bad luck," insisted the 14-time Grand Slam winner. I can see for myself that people here are going about their business as if everything was okay, so things can't be that bad.
     "People are going to the beach, going out for walks, having dinner in restaurants," the world number five continued.
     Ferrer, ranked sixth in the world, said he had been reassured by Brazil's efforts to wipe out the mosquitoes which carry the virus.
     "We've been told that everything possible has been done so that there will be no mosquitoes, which is comforting," he said.
     "We've been wearing long trousers at night but I'm ..

Nadal, Ferrer unworried by Zika virus at Rio Open

The fallen head of European football, Michel Platini said he was "happy" following his marathon hearing before FIFA's appeals committee on Monday where he protested against the "injustice" of his eight-year ban from the sport for ethics violations.
     Platini's hearing will be followed on Tuesday by that of suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who was also hit with an eight-year ban.
     The former France captain arrived at FIFA's Zurich headquarters at 10:30 GMT and left eight-and-a-half hours later saying he was "happy with the way it went".
     "It was a good hearing, well led by sincere people. I was heard by people who are part of the football family. Now we'll see how it goes," he told journalists.
     Platini, accompanied by his lawyer Thibaud D'Ales, presented his two witnesses -- Frenchman Jacques Lambert, the president of the Euro-2016 organising committee, and Spaniard Angel Maria Villar Llona, a UEFA vice-president -- to prove the existence of the famous oral ...

Platini 'happy' after marathon FIFA appeal hearing

Former No. 1 Rafael Nadal says he's "not scared" of the Zika virus as he prepares in Brazil - the center of the viral outbreak - for this week's Rio Open tennis tournament and the city's Olympics in less than six months.
	Nadal won Olympic gold in the Beijing Olympics, but missed London with an injury.
	He is the top-seeded man in the tournament and fellow Spaniard David Ferrer is No. 2, and both today said they were confident the tournament was doing all it could to control the mosquitoes that spread the virus.
	Ferrer says he'll be wearing long sleeves and long trousers when he goes out socially in the morning and evening. He says "I'll try to take those precautions, but I'm not obsessed about it.

Nadal and Ferrer in Rio, not worried by Zika outbreak

Sheikh Salman's credentials to run FIFA have been questioned by the head of the English Football Association.
	The Asian Football Confederation president is a leading candidate to succeed Sepp Blatter but remains under scrutiny over his role in Bahrain's Arab Spring uprising in 2011.
	Last week another candidate, Prince Ali of Jordan, publicly questioned whether Sheikh Salman protected Bahrain players who alleged abuses after pro-democracy protests.
	Sheikh Salman, a member of Bahrain's royal family, has strongly and repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
	But English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke told the BBC today: "Can you have someone from Bahrain running world football, in charge of world football, given what happened there four years ago? I personally have my doubts."
	England is yet to publicly endorse a candidate.

English FA head doubts Salman's suitability to lead FIFA

A court in Egypt today jailed 15 hard core football fans known as "ultras" for trying to kill the chairman of the popular Cairo-based Zamalek club, an official said.
	"Ultras", who were at the forefront of the 2011 uprising against ex-president Hosni Mubarak, had already been banned as a group since May 2015 after another court found them guilty of taking part in violence.
	Since February 2012 the authorities have banned all spectators from football matches in stadiums, as whenever some games were opened to the public they were marred by crowd violence, sometimes deadly.
	Today, a court sentenced 11 Ultras White Knights, diehard Zamalek supporters, to one year for "planning, participating and attempting to murder Mourtada Mansour", chairman of the club, in August 2014, the official said.
	They were also found guilty of possessing weapons and fireworks.
	The prosecution said the defendants attacked Mansour at the club's gate, and during the assault a security guard and a journalist ...

Egypt jails 15 football fans for trying to kill club boss

The former head of Russia's anti-doping agency RUSADA, Nikita Kamayev, who resigned last year over the state sponsored doping allegations scandal, has died suddenly, the agency said today.
	"The RUSADA former executive director died suddenly at the age of 52," RUSADA said in a statement. "The cause is presumed to be a massive heart attack."
	"It is a great loss and unexpected for us," the Russian anti-doping agency's interim general director Anna Antseliovich, who took charge after the scandal, told R-Sport news agency.
	Kamayev, who resigned as RUSADA's executive director in December, died after feeling ill while skiing, the former general director of the anti-doping agency, Ramil Khabriyev told TASS news agency earlier today.
	"I never heard before that he had heart problems. Maybe his wife knew about some problems," Khabriyev said.
	Kamayev had resigned along with three other RUSADA top officials after a report by a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) independent commission accused ...

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