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 ...

Roach, Narine restrict Pakistan to meagre 170

PTI Automatic

Pakistan were bundled out for 170 against West Indies in a Group B match of the Champions Trophy at Kennington Oval here today.
     Brief scores:
     Pakistan: 170 all out in 48 overs (Misbah-ul-Haq 96 not out, Nasir Jamshed 50; Kemar Roach 3/28).

Pakistan manages 170 against West Indies

Defending champion Saina Nehwal's hopes of retaining her Thailand Grand Prix Gold title went up in smoke as she suffered a shocking three-game defeat to Singapore's Juan Gu, while promising youngster K Srikanth entered the semifinals of the men's singles event, here today.
     Twenty-year-old Srikanth overcame South Korea's Wan Ho Son in straight games 21-17 21-18 to set up a clash against Thammasin Sitthikom of Thailand.
     Saina, ranked number two in the world, however lost 21-13 12-21 18-21 to eighth seed Juan in a 53-minute match at the Nimitbutr National Stadium here. This was Saina's first defeat to the Singaporean in six encounters.
     In the first game, Saina opened up a slender 4-2 lead but Juan continously put pressure on her and caught up with the Indian at 9-9. The 23-year-old from Hyderabad then registered two points to move into the breather with a two-point cushion.
     Saina then slowly started widening the gap and accumulated points at will to pocket the first ..

Saina crashes out of Thailand Open, K Srikanth reaches semis

Karnataka defeated Services Sports Control Board 4-2 in a Pool C match to complete the quarter-final line-up of the third Hockey India Senior Men National Championship, here today.
     Karnataka, who led 2-0 at the half time, scored through S K Uthappa (17th min), Mohan Muthanna (23rd), M G Poonacha (39th) and M B Aiyappa (58th), while Johnny Jasrotia (48th) and Ignace Tirkey (59th) scored for SSCB.
     In the quarter-finals slated for tomorrow, Air India will take on Railways, Haryana will face Chandigarh, Punjab will play Jharkhand and Karnataka will be up against Manipur.
     Earlier in the day, Sports Authority of India defeated Goa 22-1 in Pool C encounter.
     SAI scored through Sunil Yadav (5th, 25th min), Kamlesh Yadav (7th, 13th, 16th), Neeraj (14th, 44th, 50th, 52nd), Maskalan Bhengra (15th), Pal Raju (20th, 58th), Sunil (30th, 40th, 70th), Deepak Yadav (43rd, 55th, 59th, 86th, 69th) and Naveen (61st, 67th) while Amar Bahadur (10th) scored the only goal for Goa.
     In .

Karnataka complete QF line-up of 3rd HI Sr Men's hockey Natls

The 24th National Junior Throwball Championship (boys and girls) will be organised jointly by the Madhya Pradesh Throwball Association and State Sports and Youth Welfare Department began here.
     In the boys' category, hosts Madhya Pradesh trounced Maharashtra by 15-1 and 15-2 while Delhi defeated Goa 15-9 and 15-7 in a close match yesterday.
	In other matches, Tamilnadu beat Haryana 15-4 and 15-2, and Chhattisgarh overwhelmed Rajasthan by 15-0 and 15-3.
     In the girls' section, Tamilnadu defeated Haryana by 15-10 and 15-8 while Delhi beat Chandigarh 15-8 and 15-4.
     Around 500 players from 18 states including Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Goa, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and the host Madhya Pradesh are taking part in the games that began yesterday, state throwball association secretary Avinash Burbure said in a release issued today.
     Burbure said the elections for the ...

24th national junior throwball championship begins

Talented paceman Chris Morris was named as injured Morne Morkel's replacement in the South Africa squad for the ongoing Champions Trophy.
     "The ICC has confirmed that the Event Technical Committee of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 has approved Chris Morris as a replacement player for Morne Morkel in the South Africa squad for the tournament," the official press release stated.
     Morkel suffered an injury to his left quad during South Africa's opening match of the tournament against India in Cardiff yesterday.
     South Africa's next match is against Pakistan in Birmingham on Monday 10 June.
     Morkel could not even complete his spell. All he could bowl was 6.5 overs in which he gave away 27 runs and did not take a wicket.
     He has suffered a Grade 1 injury on the left quad and would need no less than three weeks to regain fitness.
     South Africa are already struggling with fitness of their pace spearhead Dale Steyn, who missed the game against India due to a side ...

Chris Morris to replace injured Morkel in SA squad

Former Manchester City defender Simon Colosimo has signed up with I-League club Dempo SC for a one-year deal.
     Colosimo has represented the Australian senior national team in 26 international matches and is the second English Premier League Player (EPL) to have joined Dempo SC.
     Arsenal's Rohan Ricketts was a part of the Dempo SC squad in 2012-13 season.
     Colosimo last played as a central defender for Australian-League Club Melbourne Heart.
     After graduating from Australian Institute of Sport Programme, Colosimo signed with the National Soccer League team Carlton FC.
     Some promising performances in the national U-23 squad earned him a call from the EPL Giants Manchester City.
     After spending a season with six appearances with the 'Sky Blues,' he then moved on to various competitive leagues across Europe.
     Colosimo, who also represented Australia at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as well as in the AFC Asia Cup Qualifiers in 2011, is expected to reach India in ..

Dempo SC signs former Man City defender Simon Colosimo

The International Olympic Committee has officially declared its presidential election a six-man race to succeed Jacques Rogge in September.
     There were no surprises today after all six launched their campaigns ahead of an overnight deadline to enter.
     They are: IOC vice presidents Thomas Bach of Germany and Ser Miang Ng of Singapore; executive board members Sergey Bubka of Ukraine and C. K. Wu of Taiwan; and former board members Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico and Denis Oswald of Switzerland.
     The election is scheduled for Sept. 10 at the IOC annual assembly in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
     The six will pitch to 100-plus IOC members at closed-door meetings in Lausanne on July 3-4.
     Rogge is stepping down after completing the maximum 12-year mandate.

IOC declares 6-man race for presidency

NCP President Sharad Pawar today fuelled further speculation on getting back into cricket administration when he said that he may be "in some sports body in the future".
     Amidst speculations that he may contest the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) elections to make a comeback into BCCI, he told reporters that, "right now, I am not associated with BCCI (so I should not comment). I may be with some sports body in the future."
     At the height of the recent spot-fixing scandal in IPL before BCCI President N Srinivasan was forced to step aside till pendency of the inquiry, there was speculation that Pawar may contest the MCA elections.
     As per rules, one needs to represent a BCCI affiliated unit to take up an office-bearer's position in the country's governing body for cricket. The BCCI AGM is scheduled for September where there is a possibility of an election.
     Pawar also said that he endorsed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's view that politics and sports should not be ...

I may be with some sports body in future: Sharad Pawar

Facing accusations of betting in the Indian Premier League matches, Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra today appointed noted criminal lawyer Majeed Memon to defend his case.
     Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar had said after interrogation that Kundra had admitted to betting in IPL matches. But Kundra, whose passport has been seized, remained defiant and said that the truth will come out.
     "I have now appointed Mr Majeed Memon as my council (counsel) my official statements coming soon through Memon sir. Truth will prevail!," Kundra tweeted.
     Kundra, a British national, was questioned for 11 hours on Wednesday after cricketer Sidharth Trivedi told police that the Royals owner's business partner-friend Umesh Goenka used to ask for information regarding team formation and pitches.
	Neeraj Kumar had said that Kundra has admitted to betting and "he used to bet on his own team and lost a lot of money in betting".
     Police sources claimed that Kundra was into betting but .

Kundra appoints noted lawyer Majeed Memon to defend him

Defending champion Saina Nehwal's hopes of retaining her Thailand Grand Prix Gold title went up in smoke as she suffered a stunning three-game defeat to Singapore's Juan Gu in the quarterfinals of the women's singles competition here today.
     The world number two Indian lost 21-13 12-21 18-21 to eighth seed Juan in a 53-minute match at the Nimitbutr National Stadium here. This was Saina's first defeat to the Singaporean in six encounters.
     In the first game, Saina opened up a slender 4-2 lead but Juan continously put pressure on her and caught up with the Indian at 9-9. The 23-year-old from Hyderabad then registered two points to move into the breather with a two-point cushion.
     Saina then slowly started widening the gap and accumulated points at will to pocket the first game.
     World number 23 Juan came back strongly in the second round and turned the heat on Saina, moving into the break at 11-7. The China-born Singaporean didn't give Saina much chance to fightback and .

Saina crashes out of Thailand Open

A "frustrated" Sunil Chhetri is not ready to just warm benches at Sporting Lisbon B team and may consider plying his trade at top Asian clubs if he does not get to play with the Portuguese side.
     Chhetri, who joined the reserve side of the top Portuguese side last July, is now uncertain of his immediate future but he has made it clear that he does not want to spend his remaining one year at the club without playing matches.
     "I am leaving for Portugal very soon and speak to the people at the club, including the coach. I will speak to them and find out what they want from me. I will also express my views and get the feedback. Accordingly, I will decide what to do," said Chhetri who just played five games for Sporting Lisbon B in the six months he was there.
     "As of now I can't tell anything what I would be doing. I have one more year left with Sporting Lisbon but I want to play matches and not sit at the benches," he told PTI in a telephonic interview.
     Chhetri said ...

Chhetri keeps option of playing for Asian clubs open

Pune Football Club have signed up city-born Prakash Thorat to strengthen their forward line for the forthcoming season.
     Prakash has signed a two year contract (2013-14 and 2014-15) with the club as the 28-year-old becomes only the third player from Pune to ever figure in the main squad.
     Earlier, striker Sandesh Gadkari (2007-2011) and winger Paresh Shivalkar (2010-12) plied their trade at the club.
     The forward becomes the fourth Maharashtra player after Kolhapur's Nikhil Kadam to earn the nod from Pune FC.
     "We are happy to have Prakash on board for this season. His signing should send out a strong message that Pune city has talent and also that hard work is recognised," Pune FC Head Operations Chirag Tanna said.
     Prakash's signing, thus, completes his long term desire to play for a club he looked up to when plying his skills in local and state club teams respectively, where he always remained a stand out player.
     "My target is to get settled in fast, cement 

Pune FC sign up Prakash Thorat

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with earnings of USD 31.5 million, has been ranked at 16th place on Forbes' list of 100 highest-paid athletes, which has been topped by iconic golfer Tiger Woods.
	The magazine said 31-year-old Dhoni moved up 15 positions this year. In 2012, he was placed at 31st position.
	The influential business magazine estimated that Dhoni made USD 31.5 million over the last year from prize money and endorsements.
	37-year-old Woods of America made USD 78.1 million followed by Swiss Tennis star Roger Federer at USD 71.5 million. Kobe Bryant, American professional basketball player, is third at USD 61.9 million.
	Federer, 31, had topped the 2012 list.
	This year's list features just three women led by Tennis ace Maria Sharapova, who ranks No 22 with earnings of USD 29 million.
	Sharapova is joined by No 68 Serena Williams, who raked in USD 20.5 million, including USD 8.5 million in prize money.
	While China's Li Na ranks 85th overall with earnings of ...

Dhoni ranked 16th on Forbes' list of 100 highest-paid athletes

South Africa's fast bowling department today got depleted as Morne Morkel was today ruled out of the entire Champions Trophy tournament due to a quad strain, he suffered on Thursday.
     The lanky paceman was troubled by strain in the game against India and he could not even complete his spell. All he could bowl was 6.5 overs in which he gave away 27 runs and did not take a wicket.
     He has suffered a Grade 1 injury on the left quad and would need no less than three weeks to regain fitness.
     South Africa are already struggling with fitness of their pace spearhead Dale Steyn, who missed the game against India due to a side strain.
     Cricket South Africa (CSA) would soon name replacement of Morkel. South Africa's next play Pakistan on Monday at Edgbaston.

Morkel ruled out Champions Trophy due to quad strain

West Indies skipper Dwayne Bravo won the toss and elected to bowl against Pakistan in a Group B match of the Champions Trophy at Kennington Oval here today.
     "We want to bowl first and get the nerves out of the way," Bravo said. "The wicket is good so we want to give the bowlers the best use of the freshness."
     Teams:
	Pakistan: Imran Farhat, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq (C), Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (WC), Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan
     West Indies: Chris Gayle, J Charles, DM Bravo, MN Samuels, RR Sarwan, DJ Bravo (C), KA Pollard, D Ramdin (WC), SP Narine, R Rampaul, KAJ Roach.

WI win toss, elect to field in Champions Trophy

Divij Sharan and Purav Raja squandered a superb start to crash out of the ATP Challenger event in Furth, Germany as they lost the quarter-finals to local favourites Kevin Krawietz and Dominic Schulz.
     The third seeded Indian pair, which had raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set, suffered a surprise reversal and bowed out with a 5-7 3-6 defeat in the euro 30,000 clay court event.
     Not converting break points cost the Indians dear as they could cash in on just two of the seven chances they had.
     On the other hand their rivals were quick to grab opportunities as they converted seven out of 10 chances.
     The other three seeds pairs also lost in the quarter- finals, leaving the draw open for the remaining teams.

End of campaign for Divij, Raja at Germany Challenger

In a blow to Australia's Champions Trophy campaign, skipper Michael Clarke was today ruled out of their opening match against England tomorrow as he is yet to recover from a recurring back problem.
     Clarke had also missed out on the two warm up games due to the lower back issue. He had rushed to London to see a specialist and will remain there for a few days for rehabilitation.
     His availability for the remainder of the tournament would depend on his recovery. George Bailey, who led the side in the warm up games, is expected to captain the team when they begin their title defence tomorrow.
     "Michael is making steady progress in his recovery from the recent lower back injury but is yet to return to training. He will remain in London over the coming days to continue his rehabilitation and will not be available for the first match against England on Saturday," Cricket Australia Physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said in a statement.
     "How he responds to the ongoing treatment 

Injury rules Clarke out of tomorrow's CT clash against England

The second edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) will be played from January 23 to February 23 next year.
     A new team will be added to make it a six franchise based tournament, Hockey India announced today.
     "We are pleased to announce the dates for Hero Hockey India League 2014. After the enormous success in the inaugural season, we are expecting more spectacular hockey for the fans during Hero HIL 2014. We hope that the second season will see the toughest battles among the six teams," Narinder Batra, Chairman Hero Hockey India League said.
     The inaugural edition, which was telecast in 146 countries across the globe, recorded more than 41 million viewership.
     Star Sports, Broadcast Partner of the league, will telecast live all the matches of the league.
     Ranchi Rhinos emerged winners in the inaugural season.
     In the first season, 70 top domestic players including the Indian national side as well as 50 international players who were part of the national ...

Second edition of HIL from Jan 23

Vishnu Prasanna's unbeaten run was halted by Grandmaster Hrant Melkumyan of Armenia as the Indian suffered his first defeat in the sixth round of Grand Europe Albena International Chess Tournament here.
     Having completed the Grandmaster title in style earlier in the tournament, Prasanna ran out of steam against Melkumyan. The loss proved costly as Prasanna also lost his lead in the tournament and now trails the leaders by a full point.
     Meanwhile, Tigran Petrosian of Armenia defeated Sandro Mareco of Argentina on the top board to move to 5.5 points. Giving him company at the top are Melkumyan and Vladislav Nevednichy of Roumania who defeated Evgeny Sveshnikov of Latvia.
     The Indians had a mixed day as former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta first misplayed a won position and then struggled to a draw against Alexej Gorbatov of Russia while Ashwin Jayaram got the same result against Grandmaster Avetik Grigoryan of Armenia.
     Anurag Mahamal got a good result too as he .

Vishnu Prasanna loses to Melkumyan in Albena tourney

World's leading sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports will showcase Wimbledon live besides bringing the thrilling motor-racing action from the British and Canadian Formula One Grand Prix races and the Moto GP, through the month of June.
     The month will be rounded off with live action from the FIFA Asian Football Qualifiers and the much awaited golf major - the 2013 US Open Golf Championship.
     The action from the third grand slam of the year will be telecast live on ESPN and STAR Sports 2, starting June 24.
     With a star-studded expert panel featuring Vijay Amritraj and Alan Wilkins the coverage of Wimbledon 2013 will bring a new viewing experience for fans nationwide.
     "With such premium sporting action across sporting genres, our aim is to take the viewership of sports to a whole new level - be it through our quality of talent, look and feel of the presentation or through innovative production led enhancements which help in creating an immersive experience for sports ...

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