South Africa one-day cricket captain AB de Villiers said today that just as batsmen always wanted to make a hundred so too did he hope that Nelson Mandela reached a century of birthdays.
     Worldwide concerns have been mounting for the health of Mandela after South Africa's first black president, revered for his transformational role in guiding the country from apartheid to multi-racial democracy, spent a second day in hospital on Sunday with a lung infection.
     It is the fourth hospital stay since December for the Nobel peace prize laureate, set to turn 95 next month, after he was discharged in April following treatment for pneumonia.
     "He's a legend in our country," de Villiers, speaking at the Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham, central England, where South Africa play Pakistan in a Champions Trophy one-day international match on Monday, said of Mandela.
     "He obviously turned things around for our beautiful nation.
     "I just hope he gets better very soon. We all 

De Villiers hopes for Mandela century

PTI Automatic

India lived up to its reputation by sailing into the semifinals in the men's Open category of the 17th Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle East Championships here today.
     Pakistan secured a place in the final in the women's section after finishing top with 289 Victory Points (VPs).
     Along with India, who finished on top after league engagements, Bangladesh, Bahrain and UAE also moved into the last four stage in men's Open category after finishing second, third and fourth in the seven-team round robin league with 251, 223 and 201 VPs respectively. They were followed by Kuwait (185) and Sri Lanka (183) while last year's champions Pakistan finished at the bottom with 155 VPs.
     In the semifinals, India, comprising Kiran Nadar, Sunit Choksi, Satyanarayana Bachiraju, Balakrishnan Prabhakar and Rajeshwar Tewari, take on UAE while Bangladesh play Bahrain. The semifinals will have four sessions of 16 boards each.
      In the women's section, Pakistan, comprising Zeenat Azwer, ...

India enter semis in men's Open category in BFAME Championship

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq today urged his batsmen to take full advantage of the absence of South Africa's top pace bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel when the two teams clash in a crucial Champions Trophy game tomorrow.
     Steyn has not yet recovered from a side strain while a quad strain brought a pre-mature end to Morkel's campaign.
     "Whenever a team loses its top players it is always a setback for them. Like it is for South Africa. But as far as we are concerned the batsmen must take advantage of this situation," Misbah told PTI on Sunday.
     Misbah who stood out with 96 not out against the West Indies in a poor Pakistani batting display said that it would be a close match.
     "Both teams have recently played against each other in Tests and One-day series so we know each other's strategies well. But the difference is Steyn and Morkel are not available to them. But we must keep in mind that their replacement bowler, Morris has done well on subcontinental pitches in ..

Take advantage of Steyn and Morkel's absence: Misbah to team

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra today stressed on the need for reviving and promoting golfing and other sports activities in the state in a big way.
     "Time has come to revive some of our old traditions and the sports activities like golf for which Kashmir has been known for over a century," Vohra said while addressing a prize distribution ceremony of the Governor's Cup golf tournament organised by the Kashmir Golf Club at the famous Royal Springs Golf Course here.
     The Governor, who is the patron of Kashmir Golf Club, complimented the organisers for the initiative, and expressed the hope that the tournament would go a long way in popularising the game in the state.
     Speaking on the occasion, Northern Army Commander, Lt. Gen K T Parnaik said the Royal Springs Golf Course is among the best golf courses in the world and said that the tournament should be made an annual event.
     He invited all the golfers to play at the golf courses developed by the Army in the state ..

Governor Vohra pitches for promotion of golf and other sports

Former captain Rashid Latif today accused West Indies wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin of "cheating" when he claimed a clean catch of Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq in their Champions Trophy match in London.
     Ramdin has been charged with a level two offence by the match referee and a hearing is set for tomorrow. Misbah was ruled not out by the third umpire.
     Ramdin, who could be fined upto 100 per cent of his match fees and also face a one or two match ban, has pleaded not guilty.
	 But Latif, who once served a five-match ban for claiming a bump catch, said Ramdin definitely knew that he had not completed the catch.
     "It happens in the spur of the moment but for Ramdin to say he is not guilty is not right. He knew he had not completed the catch and had picked up the ball from the ground. He should not have claimed the catch," Latif told PTI.
     "He (Ramdin) might say anything but basically he cheated when he claimed a catch after picking up the ball from the ground. A keeper ..

Latif accuses Ramdin of "cheating"

Pakistan may face suspension from the International Olympic Council (IOC) like neighbours India due to a conflict between the national Olympic Association and a newly formed interim-committee, backed by the government.
     The Pakistan Sports Board has appointed an interim committee to run the POA affairs but Lt General (retd) Arif Hasan, who has been heading the POA as President for seven years, claims that the committee is illegal and not recognised by the IOC.
     The PSB, a government body, has said that it had appointed the interim committee after the Supreme Court approved the new sports policy for all sports bodies and under it no official could be elected for a third term.
     Ironically the ruling came after Arif Hasan was elected as POA President for a third term last December and it has challenged the decision.
     On Saturday Hasan-led POA held a meeting in Lahore and 24 hours later the interim committee headed by Asif Bajwa announced it was banning all those ...

Suspension looms on Pakistan Olympic Association

In what could be a big blow to South Africa, tearaway pacer Dale Steyn may miss their must-win Champions Trophy match against Pakistan here tomorrow as he has not recovered fully from the side strain he suffered in a warm-up game.
     South Africa captain A B de Villiers said a final decision has not been taken on the fast bowler but his fitness was not looking good. Steyn had missed South Africa's first match against India on June 6.
     "Chances are that he'll only be ready for the last one. We're still hanging on to that last little bit of hope that Styen could wake up tomorrow morning and do a bit of a fitness test and look good for the game," de Villiers said ahead of tomorrow's match.
     He said all-rounder Chris Morris is all set to make his ODI debut at Edgbaston.
     For both South Africa and Pakistan, tomorrow's fixture is a crunch game. Both teams have lost their opening games against India and the West Indies respectively. Nothing short of a win will keep the two ...

De Villiers says Steyn doubtful against Pak

Defending champion Punjab scored a facile 5-2 win over Karnataka to enter the final of the third Hockey India Senior Men National Championship at Major Dhyan Chand Polygrass Hockey Stadium here today.
     In tomorrow's summit clash, Punjab will face Air India while Haryana will take on Karnataka in the third-fourth position play-off match.
     Leading 3-2 at the half time, Punjab scored through Deepak Thakur (10th, 22nd min), Gurjinder Singh (17th), Sarvanjit Singh (45th) and Vikramjit Singh (58th) while M K Muddappa (7th) and Nikkin Thimmaiah (29th) scored for Karnataka.
     Punjab were by far the better side on display as they showed lot of character and composure. Karnataka, on the other hand, committed far too many errors forcing them to adopt a defensive approach in the second half of the game.
     Earlier in the day, last year's runners-up Air India defeated Haryana 7-3 in the first semi-final.
     Air India, who led 4-1 at the half time, scored through Affan Yousuf (5th, ..

Punjab to play Air India in HI Senior Men's National final

New Zealand bowlers stuck to a disciplined line to skittle out Sri Lanka for a paltry 138 inside 38 overs in a group A league encounter of the ICC Champions Trophy here today.
     Barring former skipper Kumar Sangakkara who stood tall amidst ruins, scoring 68 off 87 balls with eight boundaries, others simply didn't have any clue against controlled seam bowling by seasoned Kyle Mills (2/14) and young left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan (4/43).
     Spinners Daniel Vettori (1/16) and offie Nathan McCullum (2/23) also complemented the pacers well as Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals.
     Such was the dismal show of the batsmen that as many as eight out of 11 failed to reach double figures.
     As Sangakkara waged a lone battle, he never had anyone who was able to stay long enough to put up a semblance of fight.
     It was skipper Brendon McCullum's inspirational catch in the slips off the very first delivery of the match that set the tone. Kusal Perera (0) flashed hard at .

New Zealand bundle out Sri Lanka for 138

Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar today advised Pakistan bowlers to be aggressive and go for wickets in their group matches against South Africa and India to remain in contention for a knock-out berth in the ongoing Champions Trophy in the UK.
     "Both teams (South Africa and India) have strong batting line-ups, so our bowlers should not be thinking of containing them but about getting wickets," Akhtar said.
     "South Africa is struggling with injuries to their top pace bowlers. Pakistan must try to take advantage of this," he said.
     Pakistan have to beat South Africa tomorrow to stay in contention for a semifinal spot after they lost a close encounter to the West Indies. They play India in their final group match on June 15.
     He felt that Junaid Khan needed to step up his game as he was the key to Pakistan's success.
     "Junaid would be the most effective bowler on the English tracks and he has to exploit the conditions. Against the West Indies, Muhammad Irfan made an ...

Pak bowlers should go for wickets agianst SA, India: Akhtar

Sri Lanka were bundled out for a mere 138 against New Zealand in their Group A match of the Champions Trophy here today.
     Brief scores:
     Sri Lanka: 138 all out in 37.5 overs (Kumar Sangakkara 68, Mitchell McClenaghan 3/43).

New Zealand restrict Sri Lanka to 138

A major reshuffle in the Sports Authority of India has led to strong voice of dissent among officials with many questioning the wisdom behind transferring key administrators while merging the Long Term Development Programme (LTDP) with the Teams Division.
     In the second round of transfers since Jiji Thomson took over as the new SAI DG three months ago, veteran sports administrators like Roque Dias, Radhica Sreeman, Sanjiv Sharma, S C Sharma and Dr. Prem Chand Kashyap have been either transferred or shifted to new departments with immediate effect "to make SAI more active and result-oriented".
     "It's a process which has been undertaken to restructure SAI and make the organisation more active and result-oriented. Some of the officers posted in Delhi have been sent to different SAI centres while some have been shifted to other departments," SAI DG Jiji Thomson told PTI.
     "Some more changes are in the pipeline. We had made our first round of changes in the North-East and these 

Major reshuffle in SAI leads to voices of dissent

Ashwin Jayaram emerged as the best Indian with a tied 13th place finish after settling for a draw with GM Boris Chatalbashev of Bulgaria in the ninth and final round of Grand Europe Albena Chess tournament, here.
     There was little to cheer for the Indian enthusiasts as highest rated Indian Abhijeet Gupta went down fighting against International Master Vitaliy Bernadskiy of Ukraine in his final round.
     Earlier in the eighth round Abhijeet had raised visions of an improved finish after outplaying Eylon Nakar of Israel.
     Tigran Petrosian of Armenia comprehensively won the tournament defeating Levente Vajda of Romania in the last round. The Armenian finished with a very impressive eight points out of a possible nine and remained a full point clear of nearest rivals.
     Hrant Melkumyan of Armenia, Mircea-Emilian Parligras of Romania, Tamir Nabaty of Israel and Bernadskiy tied for the second spot on seven points each.
     Jayaram on six points ended in a tie for the 13th ...

Ashwin ends tied 13th to be best Indian performer in Albena

Indian duo of K Nandagopal and K Maneesha clinched the Li-Ning Maldives International Badminton Challenge mixed doubles title after registering a straight-game victory over Dae Sung Kim and Bo Kyung Oh of Korea in Male today.
     The pair from Andhra Pradesh registered a 21-16 23-21 win over the Korean combo in a contest that lasted 40 minutes.
     Meanwhile, among other prominent Indians in the fray, Chetan Anand lost to Muhammad Bayu Pangisthu of Indonesia in a hard-fought semifinal match of the men's singles event, 21-16 19-21 16-21.
     While in the women's singles, Tanvi Lad could make it to the quarterfinals before she was handed a 11-21 19-21 defeat by Li Michelle of Canada.
     In the men's doubles category, India's campaign ended in the semifinals after the pair of V Diju and Alwin Francis were outplayed 16-21 16-21 by the Indonesian duo of Arya Maulana Adiartama and Alfian Eko Prasetya.
     Sanyogita Ghorpade and K Maneesha lost to Melati Daeva Oktaviani and Rosyita Eka 

Indians lift mixed doubles title at Maldives Intl badminton

Adrian Sutil qualified a decent eighth but a technical issue pushed Paul di Resta to as back as 17th on the grid for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix, here.
     Force India had done well in the practice session with Paul setting the fastest time in the opening session but the side could not get the maximum from the qualifying due to tough weather conditions
     Sutil's fastest lap in Q3 came in 1:27.348, which placed him behind Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne.
     "It was a tough qualifying session and very hard to judge the conditions. Some parts of the track were wet and other areas were dry, so it was difficult to know how much to push. I also struggled to get the heat in the tyres, so it was not easy to get it altogether for one lap.
     "The most important lap for me was just after the red flag: we all queued up at the end of the pit lane - a bit like a race start - and I knew I had one chance to make Q2. Fortunately it worked out well for me," Sutil said.
     Paul could not cross 

Mixed qualifying result for Force India, Sutil 8th, Paul 17th

Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar and Tamil Nadu entered the boys quarter-finals of the 24th National Junior Throwball Championship here.
     MP beat West Bengal 15-1 15-3, Delhi defeated Uttar Pradesh 15-2 15-3, Bihar beat Karnataka 13-15 15-13 15-8 and Tamil Nadu defeated Odisha 15-2 15-2 at Old Campion Ground.
     The tournament is being organised jointly by the Madhya Pradesh Throwball Association and Madhya Pradesh Sports and Youth welfare Department.
     About 500 players from 18 states including Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Goa, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand,  Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and the host Madhya Pradesh are taking part in the games.
     In the girls event, Delhi defeated Andhra Pradesh 15-5 15-10, Tamil Nadu beat Uttar Pradesh 15-5 15-1, Haryana beat West Bengal 15-7 15-11, Bihar defeated Punjab 15-1 15-3.
     In other matches, Haryana beat Uttar Pradesh 15-3 15-2, Andhra Pradesh 

MP Delhi, Bihar and TN in quarters of throwball ch'ship

Minister of state for HRD Shashi Tharoor today said the arrest of Kerala pacer S Sreesanth for alleged spot fixing is "very painful" for cricket fans in the state.
     Asked if it was fair for Delhi police to have invoked stringent provisions of MCOCA against Sreesanth and 24 others, Tharoor said, "It was for the court to decide on it."
     "The enthusiasm of young fans should not wane due to the IPL episode," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
     Tharoor said 18-year-old Sanju Samson from Kerala, who played for Rajasthan Royals this year had become a star and added that Kerala has become a serious cricketing state. The IPL episode should not be a 'setback' for cricket, he said.
     Sreesanth and his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ankit Chavan and Chandila were arrested in Mumbai by Delhi police on May 16 for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing in IPL matches for payments upto Rs 60 lakh for giving away pre-determined number of runs in an over.

Sreesanth's arrest painful for fans in Kerala: Tharoor

The game of cricket is too good to be spoilt and it is actually time to weed out some "bad" players from the sport, says Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar whose team is aiming to file the charge sheet in the IPL spot-fixing scandal before he hangs his boots end of next month.
	59-year-old Kumar, who has been engaged in several high profile cases in his career spanning over three decades, feels that the spot-fixing scandal was a murder of faith of millions of cricket lovers.
	"After this case surfaced I actually started getting into the history of this game and came across what Australian captain Bill Woodfull told English Team Manager Pelham Warner in 1932 when bodyline attack was the order of the day between the two arch rivals.
	"This game is too good to be spoilt. It's time some people got out of it," Kumar quoted Woodfull and added, "similarly, I echo the same view that the game is too good to be spoilt and it is actually time to weed out some bad players from the game."
	The 

Time to weed out 'bad' players from cricket:Delhi Police Chief

The spot-fixing and betting scandal in Indian Premier League matches is unfortunate but IPL should not be scrapped, former Sri Lanka fast bowler Ashanta De Mel said.
     De Mel, who played 17 Tests and 57 ODIs besides serving in the Sri Lankan Cricket Board, said IPL has its positives.
     "It provided opportunity to the young cricketers to showcase their talent. It also enabled youngsters and promising players to learn and gain experience by playing alongside top players in the game," he said.
     De Mel, who is an avid bridge player and represented Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth Games in the card game, is here participating at the ongoing Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle East (BFAME) Championship.
     "IPL should not be stopped. But at the same time, cricket authorities here should find ways and take proper action to eliminate spot fixing and betting," he said.
     Asked whether BCCI President N Srinivasan should have resigned following the spot-fixing scandal, de Mel said, .

IPL should not be scrapped: Ashanta de Mel

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and elected to bat in their Champions Trophy match against New Zealand here today.
     The Teams:
     New Zealand: Luke Ronchi, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (C), James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan.
     Sri Lanka: Kushal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews (C), Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Rangana Herath, Shaminda Eranga, Lasith Malinga.

Sri Lanka win toss, opt to bat

Hockey India has inducted Vidarbha Hockey Association as an associate member.
     HI now has 12 associate members, with 29 affiliated members and two other State Olympic Association members.
     With this inclusion, Vidarbha Hockey Association can take part in all the National Championships to be conducted by HI in future.
     "I welcome Vidarbha Hockey Association for their entry into Hockey India as an associate member. Vidharba Hockey Association who have their own grounds, needs to make best use of their facilities and produce more and more players. Hockey India will give its full support to Vidarbha Hockey Association for the development of the sport in their areas," HI secretary general Narinder Batra said in a statement.
     "I am hopeful that Vidarbha Hockey Association will put in its best efforts to promote the game at grass-root level by organising more and more tournaments in Nagpur and nearby areas," he said.
     Vidarbha Hockey Association has produced some good ...

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