India's Anirban Lahiri's free fall at the Omega European Masters continued, as Shiv Kapur (69) finished as the best Indian in the tournament, here today.
     The sole leader on first day with a round of 63, Lahiri shot even par on second and then had 75-75 on the weekend to finish.
     Kapur's 69 with three birdies and one bogey saw him finish at six-under 278 for the week in tied 26th place in the only tournament on European soil to be jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
     Lahiri at even par 284 was tied 57th while Gaganjeet Bhullar (77) slid to tied 62nd at two-over 286 for 72 holes.
     Up at the top, seasoned Thomas Bjorn sunk a 12 footer on the first playoff hole to win his 14th European Tour title.
     It was also his second at the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre.
     Extra holes were required to separate Bjorn and overnight leader Craig Lee, who struck 65 and 67 respectively on the final day.
     Bjorn former made quick work of sealing ...

Kapur best Indian as Lahiri slips, Bjorn wins title

PTI Automatic

Wrestling, as expected, regained its place on the Olympic Games sports roster after a vote by International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
     Wrestling, which is one of the rare sports to have transcended the ancient and modern Olympics, won in the first round of voting with 49 of the 95 votes cast.
     The joint bid of baseball/softball was second with 24 votes and squash received 22.
     The result sees wrestling assured of appearing at both the 2020 - which is to be hosted by Tokyo - and the 2024 Summer Olympics.
     It marks a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for wrestling which was dropped from the Olympic programme in February this year by the 15-person IOC Executive Board but which provoked an unprecedented backlash.
     The same board then gave it a second chance when they put it on the three-sport shortlist -- after presentations by eight sports at the end of May -- to be considered by the entire IOC membership in Buenos Aires.
     Nenad ...

Wrestling's stunning recovery is rewarded by IOC

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the wrestling fraternity of the country was ecstatic as wrestling today won a crucial International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote to regain its place in the Olympic sports roster.
     Wrestling got 49 out of 95 votes cast by the IOC members in Buenos Aires, Argentina while the joint bid of baseball/softball was second with 24 votes and squash received 22 votes.
     The voting at the 125th IOC session ensured that wrestling will be on the Olympic sport roster in 2020 games, to be hosted by the Japanese city of Tokyo, as well as in the 2024 Games.
     Star wrestler Sushil Kumar, who won back-to-back medals in Olympic Games, said it will inspire the young grapplers for better performance.
     "It's a great news for the wrestling fraternity. The decision will motivate the younger crop to take up the sport. I am happy that the ancient sport has been reinstated as it deserves to be in the Olympic movement," Sushil told PTI.
     "The IOC verdict also .

IOA, grapplers welcome wrestling's re-inclusion in Oly Games

Wrestling, as expected, regained its place on the Olympic Games sports roster after a vote by International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
     Wrestling, which is one of the rare sports to have transcended the ancient and modern Olympics, won in the first round of voting with 49 of the 95 votes cast.
     The joint bid of baseball/softball was second with 24 votes and squash received 22.
     The result sees wrestling assured of appearing at both the 2020 - which is to be hosted by Tokyo - and the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Wrestling regains place on Olympic sports roster

Former badminton great Nandu Natekar feels rising Indian shuttler P V Sindhu is vulnerable in few areas and needs to improve her game if she wants to do better on the international circuit.
     "I am sure P V Sindhu will have to pull up her socks if she wants to do better. Frankly, I found her quite vulnerable in a few spots in her match against Saina Nehwal (in the Indian Badminton League)," Natekar said at the award function of Sports Journalists' Association of Mumbai.
     Known for his stroke play, the Arjuna award winner felt that Saina Nehwal is performing well but needs patience and self evaluation to get to the top ranking.
     "Saina has already reached there and she needs a little more time, a little more patience, and a little more self process of improving the game to get into the top spot," the octogenarian said.
     He felt that the recently held IBL was a pleasure to watch but said its success would be determined only if the players get the confidence from it.
     .

Sindhu needs improvement to go further, feels Natekar

A "Bharat Jago Daur" (India Wake Race) will be organised to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand on September 11 with an aim to generate national self-respect and dignity in people, here.
     Over 30,000 runners led by Olympic silver medal winning shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore," Gopal Saini told a press conference today.
     The race will begin from Amar Jawan Jyoti covering about 4.5 kms of the city's important places like Gandhi statue and Shahid memorial, Saini said.

"Bharat Jago Daur" rally to mark Vivekanand celebrations

The SAFF football championships were today saved of a major mishap after Afghanistan player Farzad Ghulam suffered a cardiac arrest during the semifinal match against Nepal at the Dasarath Stadium here.
     The incident happened in the second half when Farzad collided with one of the Nepal forwards at the Afghan goal mouth and immediately fell down.
     What initially looked like an injury due to an on-field tussle turned out to be a much more serious as the defender lay unconscious on the ground.
     The Afghan players frantically pointed out towards their team bench seeking medical help. Farzad's heart stopped beating for a few seconds before life-saving CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) was given as the Ambulance rushed into the ground.
     The played was whisked away to the nearby Blue Cross Nursing Home where his situation is understood to be stable.
     According to the organisers, the doctors have termed it a mild cardiac arrest and his condition is said to be stable at .

Afghan player suffers cardiac arrest, saved in nick of time

Railway sprinter Merlin K Joseph today smashed the 13-year-old national record in women's 100m race in the semifinals but could manage only a bronze in the finals on the second day of the 53rd National Open Athletics Championships here.
     Merlin clocked 11.35secs to win the semifinals heat number three as she bettered the earlier national record of 11.38secs in the name of Rachita Mistry set in 2000 in Trivandrum.
     Merlin, however, finished third in the final race later in the day, clocking 11.95secs. Dutee Chand of ONGC won the gold in 11.73secs while H M Jyothi of Karnataka bagged the silver on a rain-marred day.
     Aniruddha Gujar of LIC became the fastest male athlete of the Championships as he won the 100m dash in 10.46secs. Gujar rocketed out of the blocks in the evening's final to finish well ahead of Tamil Nadu sprinter Suresh Sathya (10.66secs). Abdul Najeeb Qureshi, the joint national record-holder in 100m, finished third just one hundredth of a second behind.
     .

Merlin Joseph shatters women's 100m dash national record

Thousands of Japanese erupted in joy early Sunday as they learned Tokyo would host the 2020 Olympic Games.
     Some had risen very early, while others had stayed up all night to hear the decision from Buenos Aires, which came at 5:20 am local time.
     Several channels had live coverage of the event, with public broadcaster NHK having begun its programming at 10.30 pm on Saturday.
     As Olympic chief Jacques Rogge read the IOC decision, cheers and shouts rang out. Groups of ecstatic Japanese hugged each other and punched the air.
     TV hosts and their guests were temporarily speechless and several were in tears, with some making reference to people living in the area affected by the earthquake-tsunami and the nuclear emergency it caused in March 2011.
     At the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where around 1,200 people had gathered to watch live-streaming of the announcement in Buenos Aires, people held V signs aloft and cheerleaders hugged each other. Some shouted ...

Japan ecstatic at Olympic win

Two-time Asian champion Yasin Merchant today prodded ace cueist Aditya Mehta to surpass his record as the highest ranked Indian at 65 on the professional circuit.
     "He is taking too long, in fact very long, to reach the ranking which I achieved and to break it. He is much better than what I was. He needs to focus, he needs to regroup all his energy and I see that he is a player who will be in the top 16 and we will be felicitating him probably five years from now, when he comes back as the world No.1 in professional snooker," said Yasin.
     Yasin was the highest ranked Indian at 65 in the 1990s. In the past, only Geet Sethi, Yasint and Manan Chandra have managed to qualify for the pro circuit.
     The reigning Asian snooker champion, Mehta, is currently ranked 73rd in the world and his highest was 67 last year.
     He recently won the gold medal in the World Games in Cali, Columbia.
     Former national champion Yasin praised the 27-year old Mehta for his hard work and ...

Mehta should aim to better my record on Pro circuit: Yasin

Tokyo on Saturday won the right to host the Olympic Games for the second time, overcoming fears about radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant to land the 2020 edition of the world's biggest sporting event.
     Members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Buenos Aires chose the Japanese capital, which previously hosted the Games in 1964, over Istanbul, after Madrid was dramatically eliminated following a first-round tie with the Turkish city.
     Thousands of Japanese who gathered in Tokyo in the early hours of Sunday erupted in joy, making V for victory signs and shouting "banzai!" (hurrah!), as the result was beamed live from the Argentine capital nearly a dozen time zones away.
     At the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, crowds shouted "arigato" (thank you) in unison, several television hosts and their guests were lost for words and in tears, while at the Komozawa Olympic Park -- venue of several sports at the 1964 Games -- golden tinsel ...

'Safe pair of hands' Tokyo to host 2020 Games

Playing the role of a protective father, senior India batsman Sachin Tendulkar today asked the media to leave his "cricket mad" son Arjun alone and allow him to play the game without any pressure.
     Tendulkar, who was felicitated by the Sports Journalists' Association of Mumbai here for scoring 100 international centuries, said that he wanted his 14-year-old son to have his own identity and not be compared with him.
     "My son has played a match today. First club match, an official match. He is passionate, he is madly in love with cricket. But the other things that go around the cricketer and not just the on-field activity but whatever he gets to hear or gets to read or the way it gets projected, I would appreciate if everyone allows him to be himself and to have his own identity and enjoy his cricket above all," Tendulkar said.
     "Since I am here and the entire sports journalists' fraternity is sitting over here, I am going to be a protective father. When I started playing ...

Tendulkar asks media not to put son Arjun under pressure

Ram Arvind's winning run came to a halt when local boy Aansh Gupta forced the top seed to split a point in the ninth round of the National Under-11 Open Chess Championship at Ludlow Castle Sports Complex, here today.
     Playing with white pieces in closed Sicilian Defence game, Aansh showed great attacking skills in the middle game to gain slender advantage but Ram stood firm with accurate defensive moves to deny decisive result to his Delhi rival and agreed to sign the peace treaty after 64 moves.
     Ram still maintains his sole lead with eight and half points while Bhavik Bharambe of Maharashtra occupies the lone second spot with eight points after outwitting his higher seeded Tamil Nadu rival Sahdu S Adithya in the ninth round encounter.
     Rahul Srivatshav of Andhra Pradesh defeated Koustav Chatterjee of West Bengal to be at third spot with seven and half points.
     In the girls' section, top seed Priyanka Nutakki of Andhra Pradesh beat Divya Deshmukh of Maharashtra in 69 .

Aansh holds Ram in U-11 chess meet

Sebastian Vettel extended his lead in the drivers' world championship to more than 50 points when he drove to a polished victory for Red Bull in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.
     The 26-year-old German, series leader and defending triple world champion, survived a torrid start and gearbox problems as he dominated an intriguing 53-laps race, the last of the European part of the Formula One season
     Vettel came home 5.4 seconds clear of Fernando Alonso, as the Ferrari driver thrilled the tifosi with a battling chase in pursuit ahead of third-placed Australian Mark Webber in the second Red Bull and Brazilian Felipe Massa, fourth in the second Ferrari.
     On a warm, if overcast, afternoon, Vettel proved both his sublime talent and his fighting spirit - as both Red Bull men were told to nurse their cars home - to reel off his sixth win of the season and the 32nd of his career. It was his third win at Monza and helped Red Bull end a run of poor results at the circuit.
     His ...

Vettel wins again, extends championship lead

Paul di Resta retired in the first lap for the first time in his F1 career and Adrian Sutil finished 16th in the Italian Grand Prix as Sahara Force India returned without points for the fourth time in the season, here today.
     The result meant that Force India remained on 61 points in the sixth place and McLaren, courtesy their one point from the race, have marginally increased their lead over the Indian side to five in the constructors' championship.
     The second half of the season has been quite tough for Force India as it is third time in the last four races that they have returned without points.
     Defending champion Sebastian Vettel claimed his sixth victory of the season. Fernando Alonso was second in his Ferrari and Mark Webber third in the second Red Bull.
     Vettel (222) has now extended his lead over Alonso (169) to 53 points in the drivers championship while Hamilton is distant third (141).
     Di Resta locked up his front left tyre in the first corner and hit ..

Italian GP ends in disappointment for Force India

Michael Clarke plundered his eighth one-day international century to propel Australia to a formidable 315-7 against England at Old Trafford as the limited-overs series finally got under way today.
     The Australia captain hit 105 off 102 balls and shared a 155-run partnership with George Bailey (82) for the fourth wicket, making England pay for putting the tourists into bat in the second match of the series. The first ODI at Headingley was washed out on Friday.
     Boyd Rankin was the most economical of England's battered bowling attack, with the paceman's 2-49 including the wickets of Clarke and Matthew Wade in successive balls as the run rate slowed late on.
     It will require a record run-chase by England to win in Manchester.
     The Australians are looking to make amends for their 3-0 loss in the Ashes test series, part of a dismal tour of England in which they were also knocked out of the 50-over Champions Trophy at the group stage.
     Eoin Morgan's decision to insert ...

Clarke hits 105 as Aussies post 315-7 in 2nd ODI

Eight-time world champion Pankaj Advani could meet World Games gold medallist Aditya Mehta in the quarterfinals of the Indian Open 2013 World Professional Ranking Snooker tournament as both the cueists have been drawn in the same half for the 300,000 pound event in New Delhi.
     As per the draw released by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) president Capt PVK Mohan here today, Advani is drawn to play World No. 29 Marcus Campell in the first round while Aditya takes on 2002 World champion Peter Ebdon in his lung-opener for October 14 to 18 tournament.
    Advani and Aditya, the only two Indians on the professional circuit, are among the top 64 players to qualify for the Indian Open, the first of its kind in India.
     The five-day world ranking event will see top cueists from across the globe battling for a whopping winner's prize purse of 50,000 pound.
     "The best-of-seven format throws the tournament wide open. As for me, I will be playing Campbell for the ...

Advani, Aditya drawn in same half for Indian Open Snooker

India football team coach Wim Koevermans today said his players are feeling fresh and raring to go ahead of the crucial semifinal game against Maldives here tomorrow.
     "We are happy we have a bit of rest prior to the semifinal. There's more energy in the squad. We are focusing on the semifinal at the moment," said Koevermans.
     Maldives have been scintillating form in this tournament and have scored 18 goals in three matches.
     "Maldives have scored 18 goals in the Group Stage. But all had said that was an easier Group and ours was the Group of Death," he quipped about his opponent.
     "I don't need to motivate anyone. Tomorrow will be a tough match. Maldives are a strong opposition."
     Goalkeeper Subrata Paul said the team was not taking Maldives lightly despite sharing an upper hand over the islanders.
     "Every match is a tough one. Just because we have won the last two or more matches against Maldives doesn't mean that we will win this one too. History just ...

India focussing on semifinal against Maldives: Koevermans

Calling on the IOA to sort out the administrative mess which led to India's suspension from the Olympic movement, IHF patron KPS Gill today said that the overhauling should put in place a system so clean and efficient that it becomes a model for the world to follow.
     "IOA, in international area should become a model organisation because we are a very large country. About 1/5th people of the world live in India. People are interested in sports. So, we should be so transparent, so clean, so efficient that we become model for the rest of the world," Gill said at a press conference here.
     Hardening its stand against the Indian Olympic Association, the International Olympic Committee has asked the Indian body to sack "charge-framed" officials through constitutional amendments by October 31 and conduct fresh elections by December 15 to return to the Olympic fold.
     According to Gill, who is also the chief advisor of the Indian Hockey Federation, the IOA should not have been in ...

IOA should become a model for rest of the world: Gill

India discard Robin Uthappa slammed a sparkling century as India 'A' recorded a comprehensive six-wicket victory over New Zealand 'A' in the first of the three-match unofficial ODI series here today.
     Uthappa (103) shared a 178-run rollicking opening wicket stand with captain Unmukt Chand (94) from 30 overs to shut the game on New Zealand who were all out for 257 in 49.4 overs after electing to bat.
     India 'A' chased down the target of 258 with 5.5 overs to spare as Uthappa and Chand produced a scintillating exhibition of strokeplay at Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium.
     Uthappa, who was dropped on 93, struck eight fours and five sixes from 114 balls, while Chand's 88-ball innings was studded with nine fours and six sixes. Aditya Tare was the other notable contributor with a 42-ball unbeaten 37.
     Chand and Uthappa scored at a decent pace, reaching 48 for no loss by the end of the 10th over before they stepped up the gas and picked the India-born leg-spinner ...

Uthappa slams century in India A's comprehensive win

Top cueists Pankaj Advani, Aditya Mehta, Rupesh Shah are among the 30 players who will compete in the 10th Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) inter-unit billiards and snooker championship, commencing here tomorrow.
	The tournament is being organised by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) this year and the matches will be played at the Sports Club of Gujarat.
	Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), IOCL, Oil India Limited (OIL) and Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) are the five public sector units taking part in the contest, Gujarat State Billiards Association (GSBA) secretary Abhishek Shah said.
	The events have been categorised into team and individual championships.
	Individual championships will begin tomorrow and will go on till September 11 while the team championship will be played from September 12 to 14.
	While Mehta, Brijesh Damani and Dhvaj Haria will line up for IOCL, the ONGC team has a star-studded line-up ...

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