Thrilled at her feat of bagging three gold medals, including a singles title at the Slovak Junior TT Open, promising paddler Sutirtha Mukherjee has credited regular overseas exposures for India's best-ever show in any table tennis tournament abroad.
     "It feels really proud while standing on top of the podium and hearing your national anthem. And I got that opportunity thrice in the tournament," said Sutirtha, who won gold in doubles and girls' team category, besides singles.
     "We have been playing in the international competitions regularly. It gives us confidence in taking on strong TT playing nations," the 15-year-old from West Bengal added.
     The Indian contingent finished with overall tally of four gold and two silver medals with boys' claiming gold in doubles and silver in the team competition.
     "Hopefully I will be able to continue with this form in the Asian Junior Championships in August," she said.
     This was by far the best performance by any visiting ...

Sutirtha thrilled with three gold medal finish at Slovak Open

PTI Automatic

Ankita Raina upset fifth seed Teodora Mircic of Serbia 1-6 6-1 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the USD 25,000 ITF women's tennis tournament in Karshi, Uzbekistan.
     This will be the first-ever appearance in the quarters for the 20-year-old, who had to qualify for the main draw.
     She will now face third seed and local favourite Nigina Abdurakhimova.
     Facing a player ranked 200 places above her in ranking, Ankita struggled to find her rhythm in the first set and had to wait till the sixth game to hold her serve and win her maiden game of the match.
     The youngster regrouped herself during the break after the first set and promised to give her best in the next two sets for her grandfather, who passed away a couple of weeks ago.
     Ankita, who trains under Hemant Bendrey at the PYC Gymkhana, then started controlling the pace of the rallies with her deft ground strokes and raced through the second set.
     The third set was a closer affair with Ankita losing her serve ...

Ankita reaches quarters of ITF women's meet in Uzbekistan

Madhya Pradesh government gave away cash rewards of Rs one crore and Rs 50 lakh respectively to Indian sportspersons, who won silver and bronze medals in 2012 London Olympics.
	Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave away the rewards at T T Nagar Stadium here last evening.
	While silver medallists Sushil Kumar (wrestling), Vijay Kumar (shooting) received Rs one crore, bronze medal winners Gagan Narang (shooting) and Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling) were given Rs 50 lakh cash reward.
	However, bronze medal winners M C Mary Kom (boxing), Saina Nehwal (badminton) were not present at the function.
     On the occasion, the Chief Minister said that paucity of funds would not prove a deterrent to the development of sports and the welfare of sports community.
	"The budget for sports in the state has been increased to Rs 150 crore and if there is a need it would be increased to Rs 300 crore," he said.
	Sushil Kumar said that the number of sports academies Madhya Pradesh has are not 

MP govt gives cash rewards to Olympic medallists

Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri will give budding talent an opportunity to train under his watchful eyes during a "unique" eight-day camp, to be held in the capital from June 16.
     "There's an unique plan. There's a plan to have a coaching camp for kids at the Ambedkar Stadium. It kicks off on June 16 and will go on for eight days," Chhetri said.
     According to the ace striker, his initiative will be different form other camps.
     "It's not just a camp pulled out from the dictionary. The idea is to give the kids a proper feeling of how a training process should be. A budding footballer needs to balance practice, diet and rest at the same time. But someone needs to tell them about it.
     "I will personally talking and interacting with the kids and tell them about the mistakes which I made at their age. I will also have a separate session with the parents.
     "We will take care of the kitting. Nike will be supplying the balls and the kids will be given clean ...

Chhetri to organise 'unique' football camp in capital

Drawn in what is being dubbed as the Group of Death, India will look to carry forward the form they exhibited in the tournament's warm-up games as they lock horns with South Africa in the Champions Trophy opener, which will be their first match outside the sub-continent in 15 months.
     With every game a virtual shootout, both the former winners will be eager to make a head start in the tournament which is being held for the last time.
     As World Cup champions, India will have more than reputation to defend in the 50-over format contest. They have not played a limited over international outside the sub-continent in the last 15 months but the two big wins in their practice matches against Sri Lanka in Birmingham and Australia in Cardiff will give the Indian team management a fair idea of the conditions to confront.
     India will also look to put behind them the recent spot-fixing scandal surrounding the IPL.
     Although history never counts in international cricket, India have 

Inspired India take on South Africa in CT opener

Sports Minister Jitendra Singh met his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully in a bid to increase co-operation and exchange of information between the two countries in the field of sports development and excellence.
     The two sports ministers exchanged views on issues related to development of sports, here yesterday.
     Singh expressed hope that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by between India and New Zealand would soon be operationalised and lead to greater co-operation between the two countries, a statement from the sports ministry said.
     McCully, a former Minister for the Rugby World Cup, briefed about the the national training institute being set up in New Zealand. The Kiwi minister further spoke about the sports scholarships offered by his nation.
     Meanwhile, Singh stresed on the importance of identification and nurturing of sports talent in the country and elaborated on the role of Sports Authority of India in setting up Centres of Excelence for ...

India, NZ sport ministers meet to extend co-operation

V Vishnu Prasanna celebrated his new Grandmaster status by outwitting seasoned GM Boris Chatalbashev of Bulgaria to stay in joint lead after the end of the fourth round of Grand Europe Albena chess tournament here.
     Winning his fourth game of the trot, the unassuming Prasanna shares the podium with Sandro Mareco of Argentina with a perfect score.
     Having crossed the 2500 rating barrier required to become a Grandmaster as per FIDE rules, Prasanna will be looking for a career best performance on this black sea resort.
     After a sedate start, highest rated Indian Abhijeet Gupta continued with his catching up act and defeated Frenchman Manuel Valles to inch closer to three points out of a possible four. Abhijeet has won two games with white but both his black games have ended in draws so far.
     Also reaching three points was Ashwin Jayaram who played out a draw with Yurtseven Melih of Turkey and Anurag Mahamal who put it across Viktoriya Tarasova of Russia.
     In other ...

Prasanna celebrates GM title, beats Chatalbashev

A point from losing the first set of his French Open quarterfinal, Roger Federer shanked a routine forehand, sending the ball 10 feet beyond the opposite baseline.
     The Court Philippe Chatrier crowd roared with approval, then loudly chanted the last name of Federer's foe, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
     That shot was a clear indication that Federer was hardly Federesque on this day. There were plenty of others: He argued with the chair umpire about a call. He dumped overhead smashes into the net. And in a truly rare ungraceful moment, he failed to put a racket to -- or get out of the way of -- a backhand flip by a sliding Tsonga, instead getting hit on the back.
     All in all, Federer looked lost out there yesterday against the sixth-seeded Tsonga, who pounded his way to a 7-5 6-3 6-3 victory over the 17-time Grand Slam champion in a 1-hour, 51-minute mismatch remarkable for its lopsidedness and brevity.
     "I struggled a little bit everywhere. To be honest, personally, I'm 

Federer loses quick French QF; Williams back in SF

Tim May today quit as head of cricket's international players' union after eight years, lashing out at the sport's powerbrokers and their alleged "threats, intimidation and backroom deals".
     May, who was last month controversially ousted from an International Cricket Council players' committee amid allegations of pressure from India, said he was tired of battling the governing body.
     "More and more we see allegations of corruption and malpractice on and off the field dominating headlines," he said, stepping down as the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) chief.
     "As stakeholders in the game we look to leadership from the ICC to address these and other issues.
     "A vital ingredient of any organisation is the ability of its leaders to set the moral and principled example to others, and to police its organisation from top to bottom to ensure adherence to those principles.
     "Yet cricket increasingly seems to be pushing aside the principles of ...

Tim May quits as players' chief, slams ICC

Despite recording two facile victories in the warm-up games, India are worried about their top-order batting, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said here today.
     Like the first warm-up game against Sri Lanka in Edgbaston on Saturday, India suffered a similar top-order collapse against Australia today.
     India were struggling at 55 for five in the 17th over till skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (91) and Dinesh Karthik rescued the innings with a fabulous 211-run sixth wicket stand.
     Indian off-spinner said coach Duncan Fletcher "is addressing the issue, but the players will have to deliver on the field."
     "Fletcher has got vast experience of English conditions. He has been passing knowledge to the team but it is up to us to take it forward," Ashwin told reporters, after India's comprehensive 243-run win.
     "He (Fletcher) has told our batsmen, 'runs will come if you stay at the wicket'," added Ashwin.
     Karthik (146 not out) scored his second consecutive century and never ...

Fletcher addressing top-order batting failure, says Ashwin

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga sent Roger Federer crashing out of the French Open quarter-finals Tuesday to take a step closer to ending France's 30-year wait for a men's champion at Roland Garros.
     Sixth-seed Tsonga swept to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 triumph to reach his first semi-final in Paris and first by a home player since Gael Monfils in 2008.
     The 28-year-old will tackle Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer for a place in Sunday's final.
     Victory also helped wipe out the misery of his quarter-final in Paris last year where he had four match points over Novak Djokovic and lost in five sets.
     "It's extraordinary to be here and to have won," said Tsonga, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of Yannick Noah, France's last men's champion in Paris in 1983.
     "I never dreamt of this moment. Today was my moment against a champion who has won everything. "I didn't think I would get this far without losing a set. But Ferrer has not lost a set as well, he's in great form."
     Federer, in his 

Tsonga stuns Federer to reach French Open semi-finals

Stoking the fires ahead of the Ashes series, former England captain David Gower has said Australia is a country with "no culture" and that its cricketers have a "certain animal mentality".
     Asked if England's long-standing rivalry with Australia was a clash of cultures, Gower said: "I'm tempted to say, how can you have a clash of cultures when you're playing against a country with no culture? That would almost be sledging."
     "It's the same with sledging on the field. There's a certain animal mentality, and if they sense a bit of weakness, they'll try it on more," Gower told 'Radio Times'.
     Gower's comments come ahead of a busy fixture list between the two rivals, which begins with a Champions Trophy clash at Edgbaston on Saturday and continues with five Tests, two T20 internationals and five more one-day internationals in the coming months.
     Gower, who played 117 Tests for England from 1978 to 1992 and captained his side to victory in the 1985 Ashes series, said: "If ..

Australia is a country with no culture: Gower

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni indicated that Dinesh Karthik has more or less "earned" his berth in the playing XI with an unbeaten century in India's crushing win over Australia in a warm-up match for the Champions Trophy, here today.
     "I think he has earned his place in the side and we'll just have to see who misses out when we play against South Africa. I'd like him to play at the top of the order but we'll see," Dhoni said after the match which India won by 243 runs.
     This would have the biggest ODI loss for Australia, if this was an official game. And the credit mainly goes to three players -- Karthik, who hit 146, five-wicket man Umesh Yadav, and the skipper himself, who blasted his way to 91 off 77 balls at the Swalec Stadium.
     The platform was set by Karthik and Dhoni's 211-run sixth-wicket partnership after India were at a spot of bother.
     "To start off Dinesh batted really well. That partnership between me and him got us to a respectable score and then the ...

I think Karthik has earned his place in the side: Dhoni

Pakistan's former captain Wasim Akram has credited current skipper Misbah-ul-Haq for bringing positive changes to the team.
     Akram, who is in England to commentate in the Champions Trophy and is also helping the Pakistani bowlers with his tips, said that Misbah deserved praise for his change in attitude and approach to the game.
     He also termed West Indies as the most dangerous side of the competition.
     He expressed surprise that no one talked about the danger posed to all teams by brilliant players like Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and others in the West Indies team.
     "They have brilliant wicket taking bowlers. They have more one-day experience. It will be very interesting to see how the West Indian side plays," Akram told 'Geo News'.
     When asked if India will be under pressure due to the IPL spot-fixing scandal, Akram said that in such a situation players normally don't admit that they are under pressure but it does have its affects.
     Commenting .

Akram praises Misbah ahead of Champions Trophy

The Indian challenge at the French Open ended as Sania Mirza and Leander Paes bowed out of the doubles events with their respective partners, here today.
     Sania and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands were forced to retire from their women's doubles pre-quarterfinals following a groin problem to the latter.
     Sania and Bethanie, seeded seventh, had annexed the first set but the American encountered a groin issue in the second set and eventually they pulled out with the score reading 7-6 (0) 3-5 against 11th seeds Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova.
     Sania and Bethanie, who had encountered a back problem yesterday, had overcome American pair of Lauren Davis and Megan Moulton-Levy 1-6 6-3 6-0 in their second-round match.
     Later in the day, Paes and Jelena Jankovic fought hard before their mixed doubles second round 5-7 7-6(1) 2-10 against eighth seeded team of American Liezel Huber and Brazilian Marcelo Melo.
     Paes and Jankovic lost in one hour and 30 .

No Indian left in French Open after defeats of Sania, Paes

Mohit struck a hat-trick as Delhi thrashed Gujarat 11-1 in their Pool 'A' league match of the third Hockey India Senior Men's National championship at Major Dhyan Chand Polygrass Stadium, here today.
     The goal scorers for Delhi were own goal (3rd minute), Mohit (5, 14, 16 min), Parveen Kumar (20min), Parshant (26min), Kabir Sharma (27min), Kuldeep (28min), Pradeep Kumar (45min), Anil Kumar (55min) and Rajbir Yadav (58min) while Rohit Thakur (35min) scored the only goal for Gujarat.
     In the other match of Pool A, defending champions Punjab registered their second win beating Association of Indian Universities 8-4. Punjab scored through Deepak Thakur (3, 28, 31, 60, 63 min), Vikramjit Singh (24, 49 min) and Ravi Pal (33 min) while Ramandeep Singh (16 min), Razin Kandulana (37, 45 min) and Hardeep Singh (66 min) scored for AIU.
     In Pool C, Karnataka registered their second consecutive win, defeating Sports Authority of India 5-2. In Pool E, Himachal Pradesh drew 1-1 with ...

Delhi beat Gujarat 11-1

The 17th Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle East Championship got off to a fine start with the duo of Vinay Desai and Swapan Desai winning the Friedship Pair event at Hotel Hyatt, here today.
     They were followed by Keyzad Ankelsaria/J M Shah and Kiran Nadar/Satyanarayn Bachiraju. This event was held as a curtain raiser for the main championship which starts tomorrow.
     Champions Indian women will meet Sri Lanka in their opening match tomorrow while runners-up India take on the Islanders in their first outing in the Open category the same day.
     Out of 16 BFAME championships held earlier, Indian women have a fine record of finishing among top two teams and thus qualify for the World Bridge championship for Venice Cup 14 times so far.
     Commenting on tomorrow's match, Marrianne Karmarkar, one of the players of the six-member Indian women's team said, "We are looking forward to this match. Hopefully we would be able to live up to the expectation and put up a good show ...

17th Asian and Middle east Bridge Championship starts

Saddened by the recent spot-fixing and match-fixing scandals in the IPL and BPL, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi today said that all stake holders in international cricket must take effective steps to curb such menace in future.
     "These sort of scandals are very damaging for cricket as a whole. They are also unfortunate and sad. But I think now all stake holders involved in the game must ensure they don't happen again," Afridi told reporters in Lahore on Tuesday.
     The former captain who has been dropped for the Champions Trophy said authorities must now take more measures to keep the sport clean.
     "Steps have to be taken to ensure the credibility and image of cricket doesn't suffer anymore," he added.
     Afridi said he was saddened to learn about the latest fixing scandals that had emerged from the IPL and BPL.
     "Such leagues are bringing so much earning for players and if we don't protect their credibility we will suffer. Due to a few players all the players ..

'Stake holders of cricket should curb fixing menace in future'

A cloud of doubt was hovering over Australian skipper Michael Clarke's participation in the Champions Trophy as his lower back problem has flared up again which forced him to miss two warm up games.
     Clarke is rushing to London to see a specialist and it remains to be seen if he recovers in time to play in their tournament-opener against England on June 8.
     Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said, "Michael is still experiencing some lower back pain and as such is not fit for the warm-up game against India today. Michael will head to London tomorrow for specialist treatment and a decision on his fitness for next game will be made in due course."
     George Bailey led Australia against the West Indies in the first warm-up match and also today against India.
     Clarke was also forced to miss the Delhi Test in the series against India due to the same back problem and Shane Watson had led the side.

Clarke's back problem gives Aussies headache before opener

Up and coming Maharashtra sprinter Aniruddh Kalidas bagged his maiden title after graduating recently to senior levels as he became the fastest man of the meet on the opening day of the 53rd National Inter-State Athletics Championship here today.
     Aniruddh completed the 100m sprint in 10.61 seconds, followed by Vijayakumar of Tamil Nadu (10.63s) and Manikandan (10.64s).
     Bengal's Asha Roy, a railway athlete, won the gold in women's 100m dash in 11.86 seconds. Kerala's Merlin K Joseh was second in 11.90secs while Sharadha of Tamil Nadu was third in 11.97secs.
     In the women's discus throw, Krishna Poonia did not exert much as she clinched the gold with a modest effort of 56.73m. Seema Antil of Uttar Pradesh came second (51.70m) while Navjit Kaur pf Punjab (47.07m) was third.
     The first event of the day, women's 5000m, witnessed national record holder Preeja Sreedharan being pushed to second spot by Punjab's O P Jaisha, a Keralite running under Punjab colours  as she was .

Aniruddh emerges fastest man in National Inter-State Athletics

Senior BCCI official Prof Ratnakar Shetty, who was today banned for five years by the Mumbai Cricket Association, slammed the decision saying it was a personal vendetta and vowed to challenge it legally.
     "I have raised an issue at the AGM of the Association pertaining to the misuse of MCA funds and have done nothing wrong," said Shetty in a statement.
     "This is a personal vendatta by people who want to make sure that I do not contest the next elections and also because their ego was hurt that the two anti club resolutions proposed by the managing committee had to be taken back by the Chairman after he sensed the mood of the house after I raised the issue on behalf of the members," he said.
     "I will fight this kind of undemocratic decisions both within the association and legally," Shetty added.
     The seasoned administrator was banned for alleging that some MCA office-bearers could have sold the tickets for the T20 International between India and Pakistan played at ...

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