Free from his dismantling duties on the cricket field right now, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned his energies towards disassembling the first bike that he acquired as he enjoyed a rare break from the hectic international schedule.
     In a series of tweets, Dhoni shared with his over two lakh followers, photographs of the first bike that he bought -- a Yamaha Rajdoot and the how he dismantled the two-wheeler.
     "...I don't know who will assemble it but it was fun taking it apart," Dhoni tweeted accompanied by pictures of the bike and then its dismantled parts.
     Dhoni has a fetish for bikes and has over a dozen of them besides 10 high-end cars. He bought his first bike for Rs 4,500 and plans to restore it.
     "I think my plan of action is to restore the 1st bike tht I bought for rs4500, ...Its in a very bad shape," he had tweeted last month.
     He also owns a two-wheeler racing team - Mahi Racing Team which competes in the World Superbike Championship.
     Dhoni 

Dhoni dismantles 1st bike, posts pics on twitter

PTI Automatic

India's top male shuttler, Parupalli Kashyap climbed a place to be at 13th position in the men's singles table in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released today.
     Other Indian men's singles shuttlers in the top-25 include R M V Gurusaidutt who retained his 20th position, while Ajay Jayaram earned a position to reach 23rd spot.
     In the women's singles, Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal retained her fourth place and P V Sindhu also managed to clinch on to her and 10th position.
     Meanwhile, no Indian figures in the top-25 list of the men's, women's or mixed doubles rankings.

Kashyap climbs to 13th position in BWF rankings

Ashok Menaria and Kedar Jadhav cracked half centuries to enable India 'A' inflict a 3-0 whitewash on New Zealand 'A' with a thrilling two-wicket victory in the third and final unofficial ODI match here today.
     India completed the task with four balls to spare with Mandeep Singh playing a 27-ball unbeaten 37-run cameo towards the end. He hit three boundaries and a six during the all-important knock.
     Chasing a stiff 291-run target, the Indians suffered a top-order collapse before all-rounder Menaria scored a quickfire 69 off 52 balls that included two fours and eight sixes. He was involved in a brilliant 128-run fifth wicket stand off just 107 balls with Jadhav (57), which denied the Black Caps a consolation win.
     A late counter-attack by Mandeep then made sure that the hosts won the match comfortably.
     Having sealed the three-match ODI series already, India tested their bench strength today by giving a chance to spinner Jalaj Saxena and batsman Sanju Samson.
     ...

India 'A' inflict 3-0 whitewash on New Zealand

Uttar Pradesh Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Narad Rai today said that efforts were being made to organise Indian Premier League matches in the state.
     Talking to the reporters Rai said that talks were being held with the BCCI to organise IPL matches in UP.
     He said that efforts were being made to stage the National Games in 2015 in UP.
     Rai said that a Test match between India and New Zealand would be played here in November.
     He said that sports colleges would be set up in Ballia and Basti district and meal allowance of the atheletes has been hiked from Rs 150 per day to Rs 200.

Efforts on to organise IPL matches in UP

Noida's Arjun Singh Chaudhri claimed his third professional title with a remarkable come-from-behind victory at the Forest Hills Golf Resort here today.
     Chaudhri posted a one-over-71 in the third and final round to total three-under-207 in the third event of the 2013 PGTI Feeder Tour season. Delhi's Honey Baisoya carded an even-par-70 today to finish as the runner-up at one-under-209.
     Chaudhri (65-71-71), who enjoyed an overnight three-shot lead, had a terrible start to the day as he bogeyed the second, fifth and eighth due to some poor hitting. He thus conceded a two-shot lead to Honey Baisoya at the end of nine holes. The 34-year-old Chaudhri then rallied with a birdie on the 10th and a good par-save with a chip-putt on the 12th.
     Chaudhri was back on level terms with Baisoya after the latter three-putted for bogey on the 13th.
     The golfer, 2011 PGTI Feeder Tour Order of Merit champion, hit a purple patch on the 15th, 16th and 17th to establish a two-shot lead. He .

Arjun fashions remarkable come-from-behind win

Indian boxers Aditya Maan (66kg) and Ashish (63kg) made their way into the quarterfinals of the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships with contrasting wins in the last-16 stage of the event in Kiev, Ukraine.
     But it was disappointment for 2013 Junior Asian Championship bronze-medallist Vishnu Dayanand Chayal (57kg) -- the third Indian to have made a place in the pre-quarters of the championship -- as he ended up on the losing side.
     Maan, also a bronze medal winner at the Junior Continental Championships earlier this year, made his place in the pre-quarters beating Hungarian boxer Laszlo Kozak in what was a close contest.
     In the round of 16, up against Javier Estrada from the USA, Maan made a strong start, taking the fight to the American. The Indian gained a clear advantage and put Estrada on the back-foot with some cracking straight punches.
     He did not allow his opponent to come close and went on to win by virtue of a unanimous decision. In the quarters, he will ..

Two Indian boxers in Jr World C'ship quarters

IMG-Reliance has invited all 26 members of the now disbanded Under 23 development team of the All India Football Federation to train along with its 40 contracted players for their upcoming IPL-style League at the Cooperage ground here.
     IMG-Reliance took the decision to invite the Arrows team members to fulfill its promise to the AIFF, it said in a media release today.
     AIFF's Under 23 outfit Arrows were pulled out ahead of the
2013-14 season's I-League on August 29 due to financial condition of its primary sponsor - Pailan Group.
     Soon after the decision to disband Arrows, AIFF had made all the 26 players available to the I-League clubs on loan, to enable the youngsters another chance of participating in the season.
     However, none of the I-League clubs came forward in the last 12 days to rope them in, and as a result IMG-Reliance took the decision to step in to help these talented youngsters, the release said.
     "The IMG-Reliance management strongly felt that these 

Disbanded Arrows squad to train with IMG-Reliance players

Younis Khan defied Zimbabwe's bowlers today, as Pakistan made slow progress on the third day of the second Test at the Harare Sports Club.
     Pakistan were 211 for five at lunch, still 83 runs behind Zimbabwe's first innings total of 294, with Younis unbeaten on 76.
     Only 48 runs were scored in 28 overs during the morning's play for the loss of two wickets.
     Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq made a laboured 33 off 120 balls before he fell victim to the second delivery with the second new ball, caught at first slip off left-arm bowler Brian Vitori, pushing at a wide ball slanted away from him.
     Asad Shafiq was bowled by Tendai Chatara for 10 in what was virtually an action replay of his dismissal in the second innings of the first Test, not getting forward to a fairly full delivery which swung in.
     Younis, man of the match after making an unbeaten double century in Pakistan's win in the first Test, played cautiously on a pitch with several cracks which is expected to ...

Younis defies Zimbabwe bowlers

IPL champions Mumbai Indians will commence its' preparation-cum-conditioning camp ahead of the Champions League T20 from tomorrow at its home ground in Ahmedabad.
     The team will have a five-day camp at the Sardar Patel Stadium and later return to play its two home matches in the city on September 23 and 27.
     "Mumbai Indians had a great season in IPL 2013 emerging victorious. We are looking forward to begin our CLT20 campaign from where we had left," said team mentor Anil Kumble.
     "Ahmedabad is our new home ground during the League. This is the first time Mumbai Indians is setting its foot in this city and it would be exciting to play in front of our fans here in Gujarat."
     Anil Kumble will be joined by team's head coach John Wright, Robin Singh, Jonty Rhodes, Nitin Patel and Paul Chapman in the support staff.
     Placed in Group A, Mumbai Indians will play its first match - also the CLT20 opener - against Rajasthan Royals on September 21 in Jaipur.

Mumbai Indians start CLT20 preparations from tomorrow

Non-payment of players' salaries by Mohun Bagan and Churchill Brothers will be the major issue that will be discussed when the All India Football Federation Players' Status Committee meet at the Football House here tomorrow.
     The committee will also discuss the breach of contract by Jovel Martins with Pune FC. Also on agenda will be Mehrajudin Wadoo's breach of contract.
     The seven-member committee comprises of Chairman K P Sunny, Abdul Rahman, Tamal Mukherjee, R D Saw, Dilip Chakraborty, Welwin Menezes and M P Swamy.
     "The committee will be taking a call on the following agendas: Non-payment of player salaries by Mcdowell Mohun Bagan AC and Churchill Brothers SC, Breach of contract by Mr. Jovel Martins with Pune FC, Breach of contract by Mr. Mehrajudin Wadoo," the AIFF said in a statement.
     Mohun Bagan have found it difficult to pay the players salaries from last season.

AIFF to discuss non-payment of players' salaries

former Olympic silver-medallist shooter and newly-inducted BJP member Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who is locked in a legal tussle with the national federation, said it is important to get inside the system to fight its ills.
     The current National Double Trap champion feels that sportspersons should have a bigger say in administration.
     Talking to PTI, the ace shooter said he was fighting a battle of principles against the National Rifles Association of India.
     Rathore's legal challenge against the NRAI elections had led to the Delhi High Court declaring the body's polls as null and void.
     "I feel that sportsmen should have a bigger say in the administration. In a democratic set-up, people who are being governed should also be a part of the governing system. They should be drafted into the governance," Rathore said.
     "No sports body can tolerate sportspersons getting united and stronger. We will have to find means and modes of getting sportsmen into administration ..

You have to be a part of system to fight its ills: Rathore

Indian football legend I M Vijayan today said that the game in the country has stagnated in recent years with the national side not showing improvement with a string of reverses at the regional and Asian level.
     Former captain Vijayan, who played 79 matches for India between 1989 and 2003, refused to pinpoint the SAFF Championships debacle, but said that the national side has not produced results in recent years.
     "I am not an (sports) administrator and not playing in the national side now. So I am not going to blame anybody for this. But what can I say, it's for all to see. We are not getting the results in the recent years at the regional and Asian level," Vijayan told PTI from his home in Kerala.
     "I am not saying this because of the title loss in SAFF Championships. In fact, the team played well, even in the final against Afghanistan. But we have not had the desired results in recent times. When I was playing India were in top 100 in the FIFA rankings (94th in 1996). ..

Indian football has not improved in recent years: Vijayan

Russia's former world number five and US Open semi-finalist Anna Chakvetadze, whose career was blighted by a horrific armed robbery in 2007, on Thursday announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 26 due to chronic back injuries.
     "I no longer see myself in professional tennis so I am ready to say that may career is over," Chakvetadze told the Sport Express daily.
     "Of course, this was a difficult decision and I thought hard about it but now it is finally taken. I understood that the point of return to tennis was behind me.
     "I have a chronic back injury," she explained. "So I took the decision to stop and start a new life."
     In a decade-long career, which earned her more than USD 3.9 million in prize money, Chakvetadze reached the semi-finals of the US Open in 2007, won eight WTA singles titles and was also a member of two Russian teams which won the women's team competition the Fed Cup.
     In 2007 she climbed to number six in the world singles rankings but ..

Russia's Chakvetadze retires due to injury

Effects of caffeine, part of everyone's morning cup of tea or coffee, has got into the new list of substances that would be monitored by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) in order to detect patterns of misuse in sport.
     Also in the list of substances, which are not on WADA's Prohibited List but which it wishes to monitor in future, is nicotine, inhaled by smokers of cigarettes.
     "Stimulants bupropion, caffeine, nicotine, phenylephrine, phenylpropanolamine, pipradrol, pseudoephedrine (< 150 micrograms per millilitre), synephrine, and narcotics hydrocodone, mitragynine, morphine/codeine ratio, tapentadol and tramadol have all been added to the 2014 Monitoring Programme for possible in-competition abuse," WADA said in a media statement after its Executive Committee meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, yesterday.
     "In addition, glucocorticosteroids have been added to the Programme for possible out-of-competition abuse," it added.
     The Executive Committee discussed the ...

Caffeine, nicotine to be monitored by WADA

Centre has approved a special package of Rs 1000 crore to strengthen sports infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, Minister for youth Services and Sports Taj Mohiuddin has said.
     "Under this package, a sports complex comprising both indoor and outdoor facilities would be constructed in every block of the State, besides a sports field would be constructed in every panchayat," the minister said at a meeting convened to review the functioning of department of Youth Services and Sports here yesterday.
     The Minister said work has already started on some ambitious projects in the State.
     Astro turf grounds are being readied at TRC Srinagar and Azad Gunj Baramulla, while the foundations of Rs 18 crore sports complex and a Football academy have already been laid, he said.
     He said every district would have sports academy where young boys and girls would be imparted coaching by reputed experts.
     Similarly, work on indoor stadium Jammu, renovation of M A Stadium, Jammu and ...

Centre approves Rs 1000cr for J&K sports facilities

The infrastructure required for hosting the Lusofonia Games in Goa would be ready well within the deadline, authorities have assured.
     "The construction of infrastructure is right on the track. All efforts are being taken to complete it within the time(frame)," Lusofonia Games chief executive officer, Keshav Chandra told PTI today.
     Three new facilities are being created for the games while existing three stadiums, including Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Fatorda, Peddem Ground at Mapusa and Tilak Maidan at Vasco, are being upgraded to meet the requirements.
     Except for the facility near Goa University, all others have been more than 90 percent completed, Chandra said.
     "The indoor stadium near Goa University is 70 per cent complete but maximum force is deployed there to complete it within the deadline," he added.
     The stadium at Bambolim village is also almost completed, he said.
     Lusofonia Games, the Portuguese Commonwealth Games, would be held in the first week 

Lusofonia Games preparations to be completed on time: official

He has often been painted as a batsman who has failed to realise his potential but Indian batsman Rohit Sharma is not bothered about the criticism, instead he is eagerly waiting to make his Test debut.
     After being catapulted to the opening slot by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sharma did extremely well in the Champions Trophy and the tri-series in the West Indies.
     Those performances together with his good show in the recent India A tour of South Africa have infused a new life into his career and the young batsman is now confident to do an encore when he takes guard in the five-day format.
     A freak injury just before the Nagpur Test in 2010 had delayed his Test debut but he is confident he will finally get to play the traditional format when the West Indies arrive for a short tour in November.
     "I am confident. I am expecting another Test call-up and making my debut. Although these things are not in my hand as my job is to perform and contribute towards team's victory 

A confident Rohit waits for his Test debut call

The second edition of the FMSCI Indian National TSD Rally Championship will begin in Nashik on September 28 while the city of Coimbatore will host the concluding round five in December.
     The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) today announced the calendar of the five-round rally.
     The championship will be run under the TSD (Time, Speed Distance) format of rallying, with the objective being to maintain precise times and average speeds on various segments of a predefined route.
     The total distance of the rally is minimum of 175 Km and maximum of 200 Km. There will be two main categories, namely, Pro Expert and Pro Stock.
     "Our first year of the TSD Rallying Championship was received very well and that is why we are keen to promote it again this year. The interesting thing about TSD is that it is the only form of motorsport where speed is not a priority but rather precision and is a great stepping stone for rally enthusiasts," FMSCI President Vicky Chandhok .

National TSD Rally to begin in Nashik on September 28

Sanam Singh enjoyed a good day in the office as he reached the singles quarterfinals and doubles semifinals in the USD 15,000 ITF men's Futures tournament in Toronto, Canada.
     Second seed diminutive Sanam overcame a fighting American Evan King 6-4 7-6(0) in the singles second round. He will fight it out with Canadian Brayden Schnur for a place in the semifinals.
     In the doubles, he and his Indian partner Vijayant Malik defeated America's Sekou Banggoura and Eric Quigley 6-1 3-6 11-9 in the quarterfinals.
     UP next for them are third seeds Americans Jason Jung and Evan King.
     In the Sharm El Sheikh event in Egypt, N Sriram Balaji, seeded second, moved to the singles quarterfinals after getting a walk over from Rafal Teurer of Poland.
     At the same event, Arjun Kadhe beat local qualifier Youssef Hossam 6-2 6-0 to make it to the second round.
     He next faces eighth seed Colombian C Rodriguez.
     Kadhe also tasted success in the doubles as he and his Spaniard ...

Sanam progresses in Toronto event

Perth's WACA ground will be without a Test match when India tour Australia during the 2014-15 season, Cricket Australia has announced.
     The WACA, a regular Australian Test venue since 1974, missed out when CA allocated its schedule of four Tests against third-ranked India.
     CA said Adelaide, scheduled to complete a Aus$535 million ($500 million) re-development for the upcoming Ashes series against England, and Brisbane will join Melbourne and Sydney in hosting Tests against India.
     "Unfortunately, due to the unique nature of the schedule next season, with a World Cup year (2015), there was going to be a couple of (Australian) states disappointed about our Test match allocation," CA chief executive James Sutherland said.
     "Although the WACA has missed out on a Test match, they will play host to up to four limited-overs matches in the 2014-15 season against South Africa as well as India and England competing in a tri-series in January prior to the 2015 ICC Cricket World .

Perth's WACA misses out on India Test

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar says instead of running after the BCCI for normalising cricket ties, the Pakistan Cricket Board should focus on converting the national team into a world class side.
     The Indian government has rejected visa applications of the players of Pakistani side Faisalabad Wolves, which was to play in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.
     "I am not surprised that the Indians have not issued visas to the Faisalabad Wolves team for the Champions League. The fact is that until and unless we have normal and friendly relations at the government to government level why do we expect the Indian cricket board to be supportive.
     "I have always said that we don't need to run after India all the time and we need to stop begging on different issues whether it is resumption of bilateral cricket ties, allowing our players for the IPL or our team for the Champions League," Akhtar said.
     The outspoken fast bowler said that BCCI simply followed the ...

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