David Ferrer advanced to his first Grand Slam final by beating Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the French Open, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2 today.
	The No. 4-seeded Ferrer, who had been 0-5 in major semifinals, will face fellow Spaniard and seven-time champion Rafael Nadal for the title Sunday. Nadal advanced by beating No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 9-7.
	Ferrer collapsed to the clay with glee when he closed out the victory. He has played in more major tournaments, 42, to reach his first final than any other man in the Open era.
	Tsonga was trying to become the first Frenchman to reach the Roland Garros final since Henri Leconte in 1988, and the first to win the title since Yannick Noah in 1983.

Ferrer beats Tsonga to reach French Open final

PTI Automatic

Ferrer beats Tsonga to reach French Open

Defending champion Rafael Nadal moved closer to an historic eighth French Open title today when he defeated world number one Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 9-7 in a titanic semi-final.
	Nadal, the third seed, took his Paris record to a staggering 58 wins from 59 matches after recovering from 4-2 down in the deciding set to clinch victory after 4 hours and 37 minutes.
	The 27-year-old Spaniard, bidding to become the first man to win the same major eight times, moved into his 17th Grand Slam final where he'll face either home hope Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Spanish compatriot David Ferrer.
	Today's win was Nadal's 20th in 35 career clashes -- and 13th from 16 on clay -- against Djokovic.
	In a dramatic and controversial final set, Djokovic broke for 1-0 before Nadal levelled in the eighth game after the Serb had been handed a time violation and then lost a point when he collided with the net as he put away a smash.
	Djokovic even summoned the tournament supervisor onto the court to 

Tennis:Nadal beats Djokovic in epic to reach French Open final

West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo admitted that they made a heavy weather of the paltry run chase, but he credited his bowlers for restricting Pakistan to 170 which eventually set up the platform for the win.
     Opting to ball, paceman Kemar Roach and spinner Sunil Narine shared six wickets between them to help West Indies bowl out Pakistan for a paltry 170 in 48 overs.
     While chasing, West Indies were in a spot of bother before scampering home with two wickets in hand in 40.4 overs.
     "(It was a ) tough situation. But lot of credit goes to the boys. Kemar (Roach) set the stone, backed up by (Ravi) Rampaul and (Sunil) Narine," Bravo said after West Indies defeated Pakistan by two wickets in a low-scoring Group B encounter of the Champions Trophy at the Kennington Oval.
     "Yes it was a close match but it is important to get the nerves out of the way."
     Asked the reason behind his decision to bowl first after winning the toss, the West Indies skipper said, "We didn't want 

Bravo credits Roach and Co for win over Pakistan

West Indies eked out a two-wicket win over Pakistan in a low-scoring Group B encounter to start their Champions Trophy campaign on a perfect note at the Kennington Oval, here today.
     Opting to ball, paceman Kemar Roach and spinner Sunil Narine shared six wickets between them to help West Indies bowl out Pakistan for a paltry 170 in 48 overs.
     Pakistan owed their total to skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who laboured his way to an unbeaten 96 and shared a 91-run stand with opener Nasir Jamshed (50) for the fourth wicket.
     While chasing, West Indies made a heavy weather of the target before scampering home with two wickets in hand in 40.4 overs.
     West Indies lost two wickets -- Johnson Charles and Darren Bravo -- early during their paltry chase of 171.
      While Charles hooked a Mohammad Irfan (3/32) delivery straight to the hands of Wahab Riaz at fine-leg, Bravo edged one to Kamran Akmal behind the stumps off the same bowler an over later.
     Thereafter, Chris Gayle and ...

West Indies prevail over Pakistan in a low-scoring affair

West Indies defeated Pakistan by two wickets in a Group B match of the ICC Champions Trophy, here today.
     Brief Scores:
     Pakistan: 170 all out in 48 overs (Misbah-ul-Haq 96 not out, Nasir Jamshed 50; Kemar Roach 3/28).
     West Indies: 172 for eight in 40.4 overs (Chris Gayle 39, Marlon Samuels 30, Kieron Pollard 30; Mohammad Irfan 3/32).

West Indies beat Pakistan by 2 wickets

The national camp at the Army Sports Institute here was rocked by yet another controversy when two recurve archers were suspended after being caught in a compromising position.
     According to a camper, Pawan Xalxo and Gunjan Kumari were found in a compromising position on inside the hostel on June 1 afternoon and it was immediately reported to the Army.
     "They were immediately given marching orders as per the rules of the Army. They were close to each other but on Saturday, they crossed their limits. We all are ashamed of them," the source added.
     Confirming the incident, Archery Association of India assistant secretary Gunjan Abrol told PTI:"They have been given seven day's notice to explain about this incident."
     "Both have been given letters and henceforth, they would not be eligible to take part in any tournament at any level. No probe is required as there were eye witnesses to the incident."
     Terming this a shameful incident for the entire archery fraternity, ..

Recurve archers at Natl camp suspended for 'misconduct'

Smarting under a humiliating 243-run defeat against India in a warm-up match in Cardiff earlier this week, Australia's stand-in captain George Bailey says he is ready to lead Australia in their Champions Trophy opener against England here on Saturday.
     Clarke has been ruled out with a lower back pain.
     Bailey has been Australia's T20 skipper but against England at Edgbaston, this will be Bailey first big test as a national team leader in the 50-over format.
     "I'm not under any more pressure than any other captain. First and foremost, my role is to score runs in that middle-order for us. If I can do that, we have enough guys and our players have played enough cricket to know the basics of the game.
     "I'm not going to do anything as a captain that's going to revolutionize the game. It's all pretty basic stuff that we've got to do well and we've got to do better than the others. But first and foremost, my role is to score runs. So whether you're captain, vice-captain or ..

I am not under pressure as Australia captain: Bailey

A section of the British media praised India opener Shikhar Dhawan for his near flawless 114 against South Africa in the opening fixture of the ICC Champions Trophy here today.
     The Guardian in their match report wrote,"Actually it would be more accurate to say that he caressed the ball around Cardiff with silky strokeplay that barely contained a hint of violence.
     "There is a swagger about Dhawan; his hairstyle changes with the seasons; his earring glitters in the sunshine. When he was hit on the head he tried to give the impression that this was no more troublesome to him than an irritating fly. He was the man of the match."
     The Daily Telegraph also praised his approach as they wrote,"The 27-year-old left-handed Dhawan, whose only Test appearance thus far yielded a stunning innings of 187 in India's victory over Australia in Mohali, drove powerfully and pulled effectively."
     The Independant termed Dhawan's strokeplay "breathtaking."
     "Dhawan, who played five ...

British media praise Dhawan's century against South Africa

Premlata Agarwal, the first Indian woman and one of the oldest to conquer all seven summits was today felicitated for her feat by Tata Steel.
	"We congratulate her for this amazing feat," Sunil Bhaskaran, Tata Steel's Deputy vice-president (Corporate Services) said at the felicitation at Jamshedpur.
	Agarwal would remain a role model for the present and future generations, Bhaskaran said, adding it was a great honour for the company to be associated with her great achievement.
	"In its endeavour to promote mountaineering, Tata Steel Adventure Foundation has so far provided training, mentoring and financial support for four expeditions to Mt. Everest, besides numerous other expeditions across the continent," a press release from the steel major said.
     Agarwal, who has scaled the Everest, Killimanjaro, Aconcagua, Elbrus, Carstensz Pyramid, Vinson Massif, Antarctica and McKinley peaks, credited her sponsor Tata Steel and mentor Bachendri Pal for supporting her expeditions.

Premlata Agarwal felicitated by Tata Steel

Paying rich tribute to Shikhar Dhawan for his maiden One-Day International century against South Africa, former India skipper Kapil Dev said the Delhi left-hander was the future of Indian cricket.
     The 1983 World Cup-winning captain is so excited with Dhawan's batting performance against a four-pronged South African pace attack during India's Champions Trophy match that he summed up the opener's 114 in just one word, "fabulous."
     Kapil sees Dhawan as one for the future.
     "Shikhar is the future of Indian cricket and how well he handled the situation (on a new wicket that had bounce). It's time to move ahead (with new players)," he was quoted as saying by NDTV.Com.
     Dhawan's innings and his 127-run opening stand with Rohit Sharma gave India the foundation to post an imposing 331 for seven wickets. South Africa lost the match by 26 runs, their third straight defeat against India in the history of the Champions Trophy.
     Kapil feels the Dhawan-Sharma partnership is here 

Dhawan is the future of Indian batting: Kapil Dev

Hosts India led by Kiran Nadar, maintained their top position in the Open category of 17th Bridge Federation of  Asia and Middle East (BFAME) championship here today.
     Indian Seniors also continued to lead the field for the third  consecutive day scoring  a total of 112 VPs and are followed by Bangladesh (94), Pakistan (77.5) and Sri Lanka (75.5) respectively  while in the women's division, Pakistan regained the lead with a margin of one point against the hosts with Sri Lanka and Bahrain remaining at third and last position respectively.
     In the Open event, Bangladesh, the youngest team at this BFAME with an average of about 40 years who were lying at the 4th spot after fifth round with 80 Victory Points (VPs) yesterday, put up  commendable performance thereafter  to move to the second position  with 140 VPs  after the league leader India  who continued to be  at the top of the table with 165 VPs.
     Sri Lanka  are at the third spot  with 128 VPs and are followed by Bahrain( 

India remain on top in BFAME Bridge Championship

The Delhi Police today sought issuance of open non-bailable warrants for fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel in connection with the IPL spot-fixing racket, which it said was being run on their command.
	In an application moved before Additional Sessions Judge Vinay Kumar Khanna, the Special Cell of Delhi Police said, "It has come to our notice that main bookies and the fixers were in touch with Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel.
	"It has come to the notice that Dawood and Chhota Shakeel gave directions to bookies and fixers in India to fix the cricket players and betting on cricket matches," it said.
	The police also said the two are not traceable at their Mumbai address.
	The court has fixed the application for hearing on June 10.
	Meanwhile, the court today heard arguments on bail pleas of eight accused including pacer S Sreesanth and his Rajasthan Royals teammate Ankeet Chavan.
	Sreesanth's counsel senior advocate Pinaki Misra said, "Monumental injustice has ..

IPL fixing: Police seeks open NBWs for Dawood, Chhota Shakeel

National record holder triple jumper Renjith Maheswary today became the second Indian athlete to qualify for this year's World Championship in Moscow as he clinched a gold on the final day the National Inter-State Athletics Championships here today.
     Maheswary, representing the home state, crossed the World Championships B standard of 16.85m in his third attempt at the Nehru Stadium here to win the event with an effort of 16.98m, which is also a new meet record.
     Sudha Singh of Uttar Pradesh had yesterday booked her World Championships berth in the women's 3000m steeplechase event after breaking her own national record.
     Maheswary and Sudha were adjudged the best athletes in men's and women's sections at the end of the championship today.
     The day also witnessed Bengal sprinter Asha Roy clinching her second gold by winning the 200 meter race. She had won the gold in 100 meter dash on Tuesday.
     Asha claimed the 200m gold in 23.59secs, while Dutee Chand (24.03s) and .

Maheswary qualifies for World Championships

Rising star Gurbani Singh played a stunning front nine and held her nerves in the closing stages of the third and final round to win the Usha Karnataka Ladies and Junior girls golf, here today.
     Gurbani, who trailed Aditi Ashok by one shot at the end of the second round, landed four birdies in eight holes on the front nine, even as Aditi herself had four birdies.
     But Gurbani was flawless, while Aditi dropped bogeys on second and fifth.
     True to their billing as the top amateur stars, Gurbani and Aditi, took their fight to the wire.
     When they got to the tee on the 10th, the gap still one, though now in the favour of Gurbani, there was a lot of tension.
     Gurbani dropped a bogey on 10th to bring matters level. She dropped another bogey on par-4 11th, but Aditi double bogeyed to fall one behind.
     Gurbani birdied the 14th and Aditi birdied the 15th, and both parred the last three holes, to leave Gurbani a winner by one.
     Gauri Monga's form oscillated to the ...

Gurbani pips Aditi to win Karnataka Ladies golf

After its success last year, the second edition of the Tamil Nadu Badminton League will be held from June 8 to 16 with top 15 internationals confirming participation in it.
     Addressing the media here today, Badminton Association India Treasurer Ashok Bajaj said, "The event had helped youngsters from Tamil Nadu to rub shoulders with prominent foreign players and learnt a lot from them.
     "Based on the feedback from last year's success, we decided to host the event this year too offering a total prize fund of Rs 9 lakhs," he said.
     The Premier Badminton Extravaganza will involve six teams to compete for the TNBL Cup.
     "This time we have confirmed participation of 15 international players from as many as 8 countries with 3 of the players having represented their nations at London Olympics, making this years competition bigger than 2012," Bajaj said.
     The tournament, which was launched on experimental basis last year, has become bigger this time with the participation ..

Tamil Nadu Badminton League begins tomorrow

Facing prospect of termination following betting charges on one of its owners, Rajasthan Royals today distanced itself from Raj Kundra, saying he had no involvement in running of the franchise and would be suspended if found guilty.
     Reacting to reports over Kundra's involvement in betting, the Rajasthan Royals said that he would also forfeit his shares in the franchise if he has breached any regulations.
     "As a franchise, we have always been clear that the same rules apply to players, management or owners. As such, our actions will be consistent as in the case of the spot fixing allegations with respect to our players," Rajasthan Royals Chairman Ranjit Barthakur and CEO Raghu Iyer said in a statement.
     "Mr. Raj Kundra is a minority (11.7%) shareholder, and he has no involvement in the running of the franchise. We believe that Mr. Raj Kundra is a law abiding citizen and would not act contrary to law.
     "If however, he is proven guilty, or has breached any regulations, ..

Kundra will be suspended if found guilty: Rajasthan Royals

Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy (MPHA) thrashed Bihar 11-1 to become the fourth team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the third Hockey India Junior Men's National Championship, here today.
     MPHA scored through Mohammad Nizamuddin (4th min), Izhar Qureshi (1st, 9th, 36th), Sumit Patel (25th), Mohammad Umar (27th), Amir Shafique (33rd), Abhay Yadav (56th), Nicky Kaushal (63rd, 68th) and Arjun Sharma (64th) while Bihar's only reply came from Raushav Kumar (61st) in their last league match of Pool G played at the Moti Lal Nehru Sports Complex, Rai.
     Punjab, Haryana and Sports Authority of India are the three teams who have already qualified for the quarter-finals.
     In Pool D, Delhi registered their first win as they defeated Uttar Pradesh 3-2. Delhi scored through Manish Sharma (26th), Devender (33rd) and Inder Pal Singh (65th) while Kaushal Yadav (44th) and Faiz Alam (60th) scored for Uttar Pradesh.
     Himachal Pradesh easily defeated Gujarat 9-0 in their opening game of .

MPHA enter QFs of HI Junior Men's Nationals

Tallam Venkatesh, whose name is doing the rounds for the BCCI treasurer's post, today backed N Srinivasan, saying it would be "unfair" to put the Board President in firing line just because his relative is allegedly involved in betting.
     "If his son-in-law does something, can we claim he (Srinivasan) is also involved (in the IPL spot-fixing mess)?. Let us be fair to him. He has brought cricket to what it is now. Let us see the brighter side of it," Venkatesh, who is Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) treasurer, told reporters here.
     Venkatesh said if a few have people have gone wrong, it does mean it should impact the tournament.
     "These kind of things happen and we have been seeing it in our lives and families. Our country is known for corruption. It doesn't excite nor makes any difference," he said, adding that there must be stringent punishment for the guilty.
     Asked if the BCCI offers him treasurer's post, what would be his priority, Venkatesh said "I ...

KSCA treasurer bats for Srinivasan

Club Atleco Boca Juniors, one of the premier football clubs in the world, is working on plans to bring their professional team to India in next two years.
     Boca Juniors Football Schools Manager, Francisco Morea today said the club has played matches in South America and European countries and have strongest intention to bring quality football in Asian countries, especially India.
     "We are working to bring the professional team of Boca Juniors to come and play matches in India. We hope it is going to be a reality in one or two years," Morea told reporters here.
     "This will be good not only for the sport, but also for children and the country as a whole," he added.
     The club believes that India have plenty of potential for football and "if we do our job professionally, sooner or later India will become a name in football," Francisco said.
     Earlier Boca Juniors, home to legendary football stars like Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta, and more recently Carlos Tevez and 

Club Atleco Boca Juniors to play in India

Paceman Kemar Roach and spinner Sunil Narine shared six wickets between them as the West Indies broke the back of the Pakistan batting line-up in a Champions Trophy match, here today.
     Pakistan were bowled out for a platry 170 in 48 overs due to some disciplined effort from the Caribbean bowlers.
     Pakistan owed their total to skipper Misbah ul Haq, who laboured his way to an unbeaten 96 and shared a 91-run stand with opener Nasir Jamshed (50) for the fourth wicket.
     The worst part for Pakistan was that they could not bat out the full quota of 50 overs as Misbah was left stranded. The skipper faced 127 deliveries in his fighting knock which had eight boundaries including three sixes.
     Misbah's last-wicket stand of 32 with Mohammed Irfan (2 off 14 balls) lent some respectability to the total.
     It was Roach's (3/28) fury upfront that blew away the Pakistani top order and then their middle crumbled while facing wily spinner Narine (3/34).
     The fourth-wicket ...

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