Ace paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal led from the front as India defeated Iran 3-1 to finish seventh in the team event of the Asian Championships here today.
     In the 7th-8th position playoff, Sharath Kamal (68) pipped 44th-ranked Iranian Noshad Alamiyan in a keenly contested match to help India finish seventh in the Champion Division.
     Sharath Kamal won the first two games with relative ease 11-5 11-9, but the Iranian came back strongly in the next two to level the tie. In the decider, however, the Indian held on to his nerves to claim the match.
     He won the encounter 11-5 11-9 7-11 2-11 11-7.
     Earlier, the 30-year-old got India off to a perfect start as he brushed aside Nima Alamian's (282) challenge 8-11 12-10 11-9 11-9 in the first encounter at the Gijang Gymnasium here.
     But Soumyajit Ghosh (170) failed to overcome the defenses of Alamiyan and went down 7-11 6-11 9-11.
     Anthony Amalraj (158) made heavy weather of his match against Mohammadreza Akhlaghpasand ...

Indian men finish seventh in Asian TT

PTI Automatic

Local favourite Anirban Lahiri today sizzled with an awesome 10-under-62 to seize the lead in round two of the PGTI Eagleburg Open here.
     Lahiri's two-day total stands at nine-under-135.
     Lucknow's Sanjay Kumar fired a five-under-67 to be placed second at eight-under-136, at the Eagleton Golf Resort here.
     Lahiri (73-62) was off to a flying start in Round Two as he had a 30-feet eagle putt on the opening 10th where he managed to extract a birdie. The 26-year-old went on to convert 15-footers for birdies on the 11th and 12th.
     Anirban's chip for eagle missed the hole by a whisker on the 15th where he picked up his fourth birdie of the day.
     Lahiri carried on the good work on his second-nine as he collected birdies on the first, third, fourth and fifth. He nailed a 20-feet putt on the third and a 12-footer on the fifth.
     The three-time Asian Tour winner recovered well from the bunker to salvage a birdie on the seventh before landing his chip within inches of the .

Lahiri seizes lead after producing a sizzling 62

India had a good day in office as Rohan Bopanna secured a quarterfinal berth while Sania Mirza too sealed a place in the last-eight stage with their respective partners in the mixed doubles competition at the Wimbledon here today.
     However, Mahesh Bhupathi's campaign ended after losing a fiercely-fought men's doubles quarter-final along with partner Julian Knowle to top seeded American twins Mike and Bob Bryan.
     While Bopanna and his Chinese partner Jie Zheng overcame the fighting Swedish-Hungarian duo of Johan Brunstrom and Katalin Marosi 7-6(4) 3-6 6-1, Sania and Horia Tecau of Romania posted a comfortable 6-1 7-5 win over Eric Butorac of USA and Alize Cornet of France.
     The seventh seeded Bopanna and Zheng took a little less than an hour and a half to get the better of their opponents.
     The Indo-Chinese duo will take on the winner of the match between Jean-Julien Rojer and Vera Dushevina and 14th seeds David Marrero and Kimiko Date-Krumm in the quarterfinals.
     ..

Bopanna, Sania in Wimbledon mixed double quarters

Asian Games silver medallist Tarundeep Rai has made a comeback to the India team almost after a year as the Sikkim archer was picked for the men's recurve team for the remaining two stages of the Archery World Cup.
     Tarundeep last played for India at the 2012 London Olympics as he made his way into the side after finishing second at the  third National Ranking Archery Tournament which was held at the DDA Yamuna Sports Complex, Delhi (June 21-23).
     Excited about his return, the double Olympian Tarundeep is eyeing the next year's Asian Games to be held in Incheon.
     "By God's grace, I'm back into the side. Hopefully, I continue this form till the end of this season as we have the all-important Asian Games," Tarundeep, who had won a silver at the Guangzhou Asiad in 2010, told PTI.
     29-year-old Tarundeep is incidentally the first Indian to win an individual men's silver medal in archery at the Asian Games.
     There was another surprise in the men's team as Priyank of ITBP 

Tarundeep makes a comeback for Archery World Cup

Former captain Rahul Dravid's father, Sharad Dravid, today passed away here at 4.15 pm at his Indiranagar residence, according to a release issued by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
     KSCA sources said the senior Dravid had health problems for the last four years. He was 79 years old.
     Dravid's father worked for Kissan, a company best known for producing jam, and thus he was bestowed with the nickname Jammy by his classmates at St Joseph's Boys' High School.
     Sharad's wife, Pushpa, is a former professor of Architecture at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE).
     KSCA President Anil Kumble, Office Bearers and Members of the Managing Committee (Vijay Bhardwaj, Sujith Somasundar and S Vijaya Prakash) mourn the sad demise and offer their deepest condolences to the aggrieved family, the release said.

Rahul Dravid's father passes away

Pakistan's controversial fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar has blasted the interim chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board for trying to exert pressure on the team national selectors and team management ahead of the West Indies tour.
     Akhtar responded strongly to statements from Najam Sethi today after returning from London that he will get the selectors, captains and head coach to put their thumb impression on the squad for the West Indies so that they know they are responsible for its performance.
     "Najam Sethi is an interim chairman and he should talk like one. This is not the right way to try to exert pressure on the selectors or team management. What does he mean by responsibility if a team does not do well in one series or tournament you don't sack the selectors or captain or coach like that this is not the way cricket is run," Akhtar told 'Geo' news channel.
     The fiery fast bowler said even if the team didn't do well the selectors and team management should be asked to ...

Akhtar blasts PCB's interim chairman

India's Rohan Bopanna along with his Chinese partner Jie Zheng became the first pair to enter the Wimbledon mixed doubles quarter-finals after defeating unseeded Swedish-Hungarian duo of Johan Brunstrom and Katalin Marosi 7-6(4) 3-6 6-1 here today.
     The seventh seeded Asian combo took a little less than an hour and a half to get the better of their opponents.
     The Indo-Chinese duo will take on the winner of the match between Jean-Julien Rojer and Vera Dushevina and 14th seeds David Marrero (ESP) and Kimiko Date-Krumm in the quaterfinals.
     Bopanna and Zheng hit 19 winners as compared to just 12 by their Swedish-Hungarian rivals today.
     After winning the first set in a tie-breaker, Bopanna and Zheng lost the second as their opponents converted one of the two break points they got, while the Asians failed to make use of either of the two they recieved.
     However, the Indo-Chinese pair got their act together in the third and deciding set and they completely dominated ...

Bopanna-Zheng in mixed doubles quarters

Flamboyant Pakistani allrounder Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal today made a comeback to the national team for the ODI and T20 series against the West Indies while senior players Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal were shown the door for the Caribbean tour starting July 14.
     Pakistan will play five one-dayers and two T20 internationals.
     After a dismal performance at the Champions Trophy last month, Malik and Kamran had to face the brunt along with opener Imran Farhat, who fared badly in the three group matches.
     While opener Ahmed Shahzad, allrounders Sohail Tanvir and Hammad Azam have been recalled by the selectors, uncapped players Haris Sohail, Zulfiqar Babar and wicketkeeper Rizwan Ahmed are also part of the squads.
     "We have started our rebuilding process keeping the 2015 World Cup in mind. We have tried to pick the best blend of players for the tour as we need to rebuild again after the Champions Trophy," chief selector Iqbal Qasim told reporters in Lahore.
     Qasim ..

Afridi, Umar make comeback for West Indies tour

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda wished success to a group of six children from the rural areas of Haryana who had called on him here today before leaving for a three-week advanced training programme in tennis in Madrid.
     This team of four boys and two girls will fly to Spain on Friday.
     All these children were undergoing specialised training in tennis at the Chandigarh Academy for Rural Tennis (CHART).
     The players who would take part in the specialised training programme includeded Vikrant Dahiya of village Matindu in Sonipat district, Naresh Badgujar of village Andhop in Palwal, Krishan of village Sanghi in Rohtak, Ravita of Dhamaka village in Palwal, Princy Panchal of Mankrola village in Gurgaon and Ranjeet Singh of Ansholi village in Kangra in Himachal Pradesh.
     All these players were in the age group of 11  to 18 years.
     During the three-week stint, the young players would receive scientific guidance in the finer aspects of the game from some of ..

Team of boys, girls to get tennis training in Spain

Sri Lanka's Minister of Media and Information, Keheliya Rambukwella today blamed the local press for blowing out of proportion the incident involving his son Ramith Rambukwella, who reportedly caused a mid-air panic in an inebriated state while on a British Airways flight.
     "My son told me about the incident, said he apologized to passengers. There was not even a two meter gap between the back door of the plane and the toliet door. Anybody can make this type of mistake. Even the British Airways have said that," Rambukwella told the local 'Lankadeepa' newspaper today.
     The minister's son Ramith, a member of the Sri Lanka 'A' team which toured the West Indies had allegedly tried to open the cabin door of the British Airways flight to London from the West Indies. The London 'Daily Mirror' reported that he was drunk on board.
     "This was a very small incident. I am sorry that the local media has chosen to blow it out of proportion. I have the British Airways report with me. ...

Lanka minister reacts to cricketer son's airline flare up

It's been six months since he won any major title but an optimistic Parupalli Kashyap is not losing his sleep over his slump in form and is determined to bounce back with a strong showing in the World Championships next month.
     India's top male shuttler, Kashyap has made some specific plans to prove his detractors wrong, who has been questioning his abilities ever since he made the first round exits from Singapore and Indonesia Super Series events.
     The Hyderabadi lad said he is working on his defence and rallies besides adding more variation to his game.
     "Gopi sir (Pullela Gopichand) has planned out a new schedule for the World Championships. Singapore and Indonesia were totally different and World Championships in China will be a different ball game. It was little tough for me in Indonesia and Singapore. I need to be more quicker in China," Kashyap told PTI on the sidelines of a function here.
     "I am preparing myself for longer rallies, more defensive kind of play. .

Working on defence, adding variation to my game: Kashyap

The British High Commissioner Sir James Bevan feels her cute smile will light up the hallowed Centre Court at SW 19 as well as bring luck to the nation's big hope Andy Murray, but 11-year-old Pinki Sonkar is blissfully oblivious of any such expectations.
     Pinki, who underwent a successful cleft repair surgery, which was later captured in the Oscar-winning documentary 'Smile Pinki', has been bestowed with the honour of flipping the coin before the start of the men's singles final at the Wimbledon.
     "Mujhe Wimbledon nahin maloon hai, lekin wahan coin ucchalne ja rahi hoon (I have never heard of Wimbledon but I know I'm going there to toss a coin)," a beaming Pinki said during a send-off organised by the British High Commission in association with charity organization 'Smile Train'.
     But talk to her about the giant 'London Eye', the grin widens.
     "Waisa gol, gol ghumne wala jhoola mere school mein hai, chhota wala.  (We have a whirling 'jhoola' ride in our school, small ..

Smile on her lips, Pinki sets off on her 'Big W' journey

The Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune will get to host its maiden one-day international match, with Australia slated to play India at the cricket venue in the first of the seven-match ODI series on October 13.
     The ground hosted its first international match on December 20 last year when India took on England in a twenty20 match. Besides, many IPL matches were also held here over the last two editions of the cash-rich Twenty20 league.
     Australia's tour will begin with the lone T20 contest in Rajkot on October 10.
     The ODI series will begin in Pune and culminate with the seventh and final match in Bangalore on November 2.
     All the matches will be day-night affairs.
     The other ODIs will be held in Jaipur, Mohali, Ranchi, Cuttack and Nagpur.
     Australia had toured India for a four-Test series in March this year, which they lost 0-4.
     They last visited India for a seven-match ODI series in October-November 2009, when they won 4-2 with the last match washed out .

Pune's new stadium to make ODI debut

Out-of-favour opener Gautam Gambhir today refused to believe that fatigue due to excessive cricket was the reason behind India's back-to-back defeats in the ongoing Tri series in the West Indies.
     "Not at all...If you talk about fatigue, then it should not only affect the Indian team but also the other teams. They should also get affected by it. Sri Lanka is playing the same amount of cricket as India. If other team has played well, we must acknowledge it. There efforts should be recognised," said Gambhir.
     India's tri-series campaign was thrown into disarray after a crushing 161-run defeat against Sri Lanka in Kingston last night. The Indians first allowed Sri Lanka to post a mammoth 348 for one and then were shot out for 187 in 44.5 overs to suffer their second successive defeat.
     The Indians got barely a few days to rejoice after their Champions Trophy win in England before boarding the flight to the Caribbeans.
     However, Gambhir warned against reading too much into 

Fatigue did not lead to India's back-to-back losses: Gambhir

Banned test leg-spinner, Danish Kaneria whose appeal against a life ban has been rejected by the England and Wales Cricket Board today complained about not receiving any support from the Pakistan Cricket Board.
     "It is really disappointing that the PCB is willing to speak up on behalf of players who have spent time in jail but they are not concerned about my case," Kaneria said today.
     The leg spinner said he had tried several times to approach PCB for help but got no positive response.
     The PCB recently convinced the International Cricket Council to form a sub committee to review anti-corruption laws and also the ban term on Muhammad Aamir.
     Kaneria lost his appeal against his life ban from playing in England yesterday and as a consequence he can't play cricket at any level in Pakistan or abroad.
     Kaneria said he had been a victim of injustice and malafide intentions from the ECB.
     "There is still no evidence against me that I indulged in any spot fixing or ...

I didn't get any help from PCB: Kaneria

A petition has been filed in a Pakistani court seeking registration of a criminal case against disgraced cricketer Salman Butt.
     It also requested the court to take back all awards and medals from Butt after he confessed to his crime.
     The petitioner, a local lawyer, said since the cricketer had admitted to his crime, he should be brought to the book.
     An application had been pending with the Ghaziabad police station for registration of a criminal case against Butt but the police were reluctant to action against him, so the lawyer has requested the additional district and sessions court yesterday to order the police to lodge the case against the cricketer in accordance with law.
     The judge issued a notice to the station house officer Ghaziabad for July 9.
     Butt made a confession last week and sought an apology from the nation for his involvement in spot fixing.
     Earlier, he had denied his involvement and even requested Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar ...

Petition against Salman Butt

The interim chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Najam Sethi has said that some elements tried to get the membership of the board suspended with the ICC.
     Sethi who returned home after attending the ICC annual meetings in London told reporters in Lahore that there had been efforts to get Pakistan's membership suspended.
     "It is very unfortunate but also true that some people including former board officials had tried to convince the ICC to suspend our membership," Sethi said.
     "I don't want to take names but the good thing is that when the officials of the ICC and member boards met us they supported us," Sethi added.
     Sethi was appointed as interim chief by the government late last month after the Islamabad High Court suspended Zaka Ashraf from working as head of the PCB after a constitutional writ petition was filed against his election as chairman in May under the new constitution of the board that is approved by the ICC.
     Sethi and the inter provincial ...

Some boards tried to get PCB's membership suspended: Sethi

Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi has said that the national team needs to adopt and play in the same positive manner as the Indian team is doing currently.
     Talking to reporters in Lahore, where he is training at the National Cricket Academy, the former Pakistan skipper said there was a time when the Indians were derided for not playing positive cricket.
     "Today things are different. The present Indian team has changed its approach and is playing positive cricket with an aggressive approach," he said.
     "The Indians have basically learnt and adopted the Australian approach of playing positive cricket. That is why they are enjoying such success," Afridi added.
     He said the Pakistan team also needed to adapt the same approach if it wanted to achieve good results.
     "I believe in positive competition and professional jealousy that is how one improves his game," he said.
     Pakistan lost all three of their group matches in the recently-concluded Champions Trophy, ...

Pakistan must play in same positive manner as India: Afridi

The Indian Badminton League (IBL) today announced the name of its second franchise -- the BOP Group, a Real Estate Consultant in India, who bagged the Bangalore team, 'Banga Beats'.
     The group is set to mark its debut in sports with the inaugural USD 1-million IBL, an IPL-style sporting event, an initiative of Badminton Association of India with Sporty Solutionz as the Commercial Partner.
     "Badminton has brought huge laurels for India in the past. The IBL has the potential to recapture the interest of the masses through achievements of stars like Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa and others," said Amit Mavi, Managing Director, BOP Group.
     "IBL is an ideal opportunity for us to share our passion and zeal for the sport. With the common vision of recognising and nurturing talent amongst the youth, we believe badminton has much to contribute to the league of talented professionals and offer a wider entertainment avenue to sports fans," he added.
     Speaking on the .

Real Estate Major BOP Group bags Bangalore franchise for IBL

An embarrassed Athletics Federation of India (AFI) today pulled out dope-flunked shot putter P Udaya Laxmi from the home squad for the ongoing Asian Championships here after she tested positive for a banned substance.
     Laxmi returned positive for stimulant methylhexaneamine in a test conducted by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on her 'A' sample taken during early last month's National Inter-State Championships in Chennai.
     AFI Secretary C K Valson told PTI that 39-year-old Laxmi has been ruled out of the Championships and sent back home in Andhra Pradesh.
     "We have got the intimation from the NADA about the adverse analytical finding and we have pulled her out from the Championships," Valson said.
     Indian team manager Lata Devi said that Laxmi, who had won gold in shot put in the National Inter-State Championships, has been sent home early today.
     Laxmi, who will now be put under suspension, faces the prospect of being banned for life as this has been her ...

AFI pulls out dope-flunked shot putter from Asian C'ships

India will host Australia for a seven-match ODI series and a one-off Twenty20 international in October-November this year, the BCCI announced today.
     The short tour will begin with the lone T20 contest in Rajkot on October 10.
     The ODI series will begin in Pune on October 13 and culminate with the seventh and final match in Bangalore on November 2.
     The match-schedule is as follows:
 10 October - T20 International      - Rajkot
 13 October - First ODI              - Pune
 16 October - Second ODI             - Jaipur
 19 October - Third ODI              - Mohali
 23 October - Fourth ODI             - Ranchi
 26 October - Fifth ODI              - Cuttack
 30 October - Sixth ODI              - Nagpur
 2 November - Seventh ODI            -  Bengaluru
     Hours of Play (IST)
 T20 International: 7:00 pm to 8:20 pm (First Session)
                    8:20 pm to 8:40 pm (Interval)
                    8:40 pm to 10:00 pm (Second Session)
 ODIs:              2:30 pm to 6:00 pm ...

Page 5000 -