Talented Indian youngsters Fahad Mohamed and Ritwik Anand upset the top two seeds while Adavelli Parthasarathy brushed aside the challenge of the fifth seed in the first round of the ITF Men's Futures Tennis Championships here today.
     These three players along with five others went on to win their second round match to qualify for the main draw of the singles event which begins tomorrow.
     Qualifying Results:
     First Round: Fahad Mohammed (Ind)  beat Anvit Bendre (Ind) [1]  6-3 5-7 6-1 Varun Desai  beat Srinivasa, Darshanvs 6-1 6-0 Sagar Ahuja (Ind) [2] beat  Kapil Ghuraiya (Ind) 6-2,7-5 Rithvik Anand (Ind) beat Shahbaaz Khan (Ind)6-2,6-3 Sagar Manjanna (Ind) [3] beat Rohit Sarwate (Ind)6-4,6-1 Sandeep Tirdala (Ind)  beat  Raghvendra Subramanya (Ind)6-3,6-4 Lakshit Sood (Ind) [4] beat Tarun Nath Surath (Ind)6-3,1-6,6-0; Bruhad Mankad (Ind) beat Bharatram Balajee (Ind)6-4,4-6,6-2; Kumara P Saradhi Adavelly (Ind) beat Arpit Sharma (Ind) [5] 6-2,6-3; Sai Saran Reddy Byreddy ...

India's youngsters shine

PTI Automatic

Soon after being made the head of an "interim" set-up to run the Cricket Board, former BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya today backed incumbent N Srinivasan and said calling the arrangement an eyewash was "uncharitable and unreasonable".
     "I think the members felt it was too fast to demand his resignation," Dalmiya said after the Emergent Working Committee meeting here.
     "It was the most uncharitable and unreasonable comment you have made," Dalmiya said when asked by a reporter if the meeting was an eyewash.
     Bowing to all-round pressure, Srinivasan today agreed to "step aside" as BCCI President under a compromise formula that brought back former Chief Dalmiya as head of a four-member "interim arrangement" to run the Board, more than a fortnight after the spot-fixing scandal rocked Indian cricket.
     Dalmiya said nobody in the committee asked for the beleaguered President's resignation.
     "Nobody had asked for his resignation. I can say nobody came forward. It was ...

Calling the meeting eyewash uncharitable, unreasonable:Dalmiya

Serena Williams bludgeoned her way to another lopsided win at the French Open on Sunday as she continued her quest for a second French Open title, 11 years after her first.
     The top seeded American needed just 70 minutes to dispose of the world's top doubles player, Roberta Vinci of Italy, 6-1, 6-3 and in four matches at Roland Garros this year, she has dropped just 10 games.
     The win puts her into a quarter-final matchup against unseeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia who won the title in Paris in 2009 after defeating Williams in a quarter-final thriller.
     Kuznetsova, who outlasted eighth seed Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, said she would relish going up again against Williams, even given her current form.
     "I mean, she's the best in the world so far. She's been playing unbelievable tennis," she said.
     "But I believe that I have the game and my good days, as well. Let's cross fingers I will have a good day on that one.
     "She's just a fighter. She's .

Serena sets up Kuznetsova rematch at French Open

Former BCCI President I S Bindra today slammed the Board's Working Committee for allowing N Srinavasan to just "step aside" instead of resigning as the body's chief, calling the proceedings a "sham" and "worse than match-fixing".
     "I have the minutes and notes of the meeting. I categorically asked for his (Srinivasan's) resignation. I said this sham will not satisfy the public. I said he should resign and come back if exonerated. He (Srinivasan) said he will step aside but not resign at any cost," Bindra, whos is currently the Punjab Cricket Association President, said after the meeting here.
     "He (Srinivasan) is not resigning. He is just stepping aside for one month. This is taking the public for a ride. We needed something more than this. The decision is worse than match-fixing. I suggested, let him step aside until September, but he said he is not going to resign," he said.
     Bindra claimed that he was the only person in the meeting to have asked Srinivasan to resign.
   

BCCI WC meeting a sham, public taken for a ride: Bindra

Pakistan's troubled leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has sought permission from the PCB to play in local T20 tournaments, held in the month of Ramazan.
     Kaneria has also told the Board that he is ready to face any inquiry and that the PCB and its legal team should take up his case with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
     "The way things stand I see no future for myself in cricket because my case is being delayed and I am not getting justice from the ECB," he told PTI.
     The leg-spinner, who has taken 261 Test wickets has not played for Pakistan since 2010 and has been suspended from playing any level of cricket by the PCB since last year after the ECB disciplinary panel found him guilty of encouraging Essex teammate Mervyn Westfield to spot fix in a county match in 2009.
     The ECB panel termed Kaneria a grave danger to the game.
     Another panel of the ECB also rejected Kaneria's appeal this year to set aside the life ban imposed on him by the ECB disciplinary panel from ..

Kaneria wants to play in T20 tournaments during Ramazan

Martin Guptill made the highest score by a New Zealand batsman in a one-day international as England again paid the price for dropping him.
     Guptill's 189 not out was the cornerstone of New Zealand's 359 for three at Southampton on Sunday, their highest ODI total against England topping the 340 for seven they made in Napier in 2008.
     The opener's innings surpassed Lou Vincent's previous New Zealand record of 172 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2005, and was the equal fourth highest in history.
     England need to beat their previous record ODI winning chase of 306 for five against Pakistan in Karachi in 2000 if they are to level this three-match series at 1-1.
     The 26-year-old Guptill's 103 not out at Lord's on Friday had powered New Zealand to a five-wicket win.
     But, as happened at Lord's, Guptill was again dropped on 13 with Chris Woakes once more the unlucky bowler.
     The seamer's first over at Lord's had seen Guptill's top-edged pull dropped by Tim Bresnan at .

Record-breaker Guptill makes England suffer again

Jagmohan Dalmiya, who was shunted out unceremoniously eight years ago by the BCCI, today rose from the ashes like a phoenix to repair the damage caused by one of the worst scandals to hit Indian cricket.
     The 73-year-old administrator, who has also served as an ICC President, was once credited with making cricket a money-spinner in India but had to make an inglorious exit seven years ago when charges of financial misappropriation were slapped on him.
     The Kolkatan came into the BCCI way back in 1979 and immediately made an impression along with his friend-turned-foe Inderjit Singh Bindra.
     The dynamic duo was at the forefront in bringing the World Cup to India and commercialise the game to rake in the moolah which made BCCI the richest cricket Board in the world by the time 90's arrived.
     He was elected Chairman of the ICC in 1997 and managed to make the cash-strapped body a profit-making one with tactful commercial moves which involved selling TV rights and making ...

Life comes full circle for Dalmiya -- Master of numbers game

Bindra claimed that he was the only person in the meeting to have asked Srinivasan to resign

BCCI meeting a sham; public has been taken for a ride: Bindra

Press Trust of India

agdale along with former Shirke quit from their respective posts on Friday in the wake of the spot-fixing and betting scandal

Jagdale, Shirke refuse to return to BCCI

Former BCCI secreatry Jaywant Lele today equated the happenings at the BCCI's Emergent Working Committee meeting in Chennai to match-fixing in itself and termed the process of appointing Jagmohan Dalmiya as head of a four-member interim arrangement as "unconstitutional".
	"I am absolutely disappointed at what happened today. What's the difference between this and match-fixing? First of all, the whole thing is unconstitutional as the working committee cannot appoint anyone," the outspoken Lele told PTI from Vadodara.
	After an acrimonious meeting convened at less than the required 72 hours' notice, N Srinivasan today agreed to "step aside" as BCCI President under a compromise formula that brought back former Chief Dalmiya as head of a four-member "interim arrangement" to run the Board, more than a fortnight after the spot-fixing scandal rocked cricketing world.
     "Everything was unconstitutional. Srinivasan has not resigned, so where is the question of Jagmohan Dalmiya being ...

No difference between this and match-fixing: Lele on BCCI meet

Tainted Rajasthan Royals cricketer Ankeet Chavan today tied the nuptial knot with fiancee Neha Sambari in a low key ceremony here, here.
     The 27-year old, an accused in the T20 spot-fixing scandal, married IT consultant Sambari, who was his girlfriend for eight years,
     Left-arm spinner Chavan is currently suspended by the Cricket Board and was in the judicial custody after being arrested on the charges of spot-fixing.
     He was given conditional bail by a Delhi court till June 6 for his marriage.
     Rajasthan Royals players Chavan, Ajit Chandila and S Sreeshanth were arrested last month by the Delhi police for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing in IPL matches.

Disgraced cricketer Chavan marries girlfriend Neha

Former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi's counsel Mehmood Abdi today said N Srinivasan was behaving like a "banana republic dictator" and called the outcome of the BCCI Working Committee meeting in Chennai as "fore drawn conclusion".
     Srinivasan today stepped aside as the President of the BCCI till the probe into the spot-fixing scandal in the IPL-6 is completed against his son-in-law and CSK Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan, arrested on charges of betting.
     Jagmohan Dalmiya will take over as the interim chief of the BCCI looking after the day-to-day affairs.
     "Srinivasan is behaving like a banana republic dictator. The outcome of the Chennai deliberations of BCCI working committee was a fore drawn conclusion. Marred by hugely misplaced symbolism the working committee of BCCI was bound to pass off as yet another day," Abdi said in a statement.
     Abdi said while the BCCI has its headquarters in Mumbai, the Working Committee meeting took place in Chennai at the doorsteps of ..

Srinivasan acting like 'banana republic dictator': Abdi

He might have stepped aside but BCCI President N Srinivasan remained a combative man after the Board's Emergent Working Committee meeting, insisting that not a single member asked him to resign during the "smooth" discussion here today.
     "After discussions, I announced I will not discharge my duty till the probe is completed. In the meanwhile, because the Board has to function, the Board asked Mr (Jagmohan) Dalmiya to take care of the things," said a composed Srinivasan after the meeting.
     Asked if any member of the Board asked him to step down, Srinivasan said, "No, nobody."
     Srinivasan was expected to put in his papers during the meeting today after his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested for alleged involvement in betting. Srinivasan's company India Cements owns CSK.
     But at the meeting today, Srinivasan merely stepped aside and the day-to-day functioning of the BCCI was handed over to Dalmiya.
     The pressure on ...

Nobody asked me to resign: Srinivasan

Contrary to widespread perception that N Srinivasan could be shown the door, none of those who attended the BCCI Working Committee meeting demanded his resignation though I S Bindra claimed he did.
     A senior office-bearer of the BCCI categorically stated,"None of the members of the BCCI demanded resignation from Mr Srinivasan and he has been assured that he can resume functioning if he is cleared by the inquiry commission."
     Following is the timeline of the sequence of events that has happened at the Chennai meeting today afternoon.
     President N Srinivasan gives a resume of issues including domestic and pending issues with ICC. He then streamlines two incidents involving three players allegedly involved in spot-fixing and the Gurunath Meiyappan betting issue.
     Srinivasan then intimates WC committee that Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke are special invitees for the meeting.
     Srinivasan intimates about the resignation tendered by the duo and declares that resignation ..

None of the members demanded Srinivasan's resignation: Source

Bowing to all-round pressure, N Srinivasan today agreed to "step aside" as BCCI President under a compromise formula that brought back former Chief Jagmohan Dalmiya as head of a four-member "interim arrangement" to run the Board, more than a fortnight after the spot-fixing scandal rocked cricketing world.
     In a decision in which the pro-Sharad Pawar group appeared to have suffered a dent, the Working Committee of the Board decided that Dalmiya will conduct its day-to-day affairs after Srinivasan announced that he will not discharge his duties as the President till such time the probe is completed.
     Sources said that key members including Arun Jaitley, Rajeev Shukla and Anurag Thakur appeared to have tilted the scales in favour of Dalmiya and softened the blow on Srinivasan.
     While the Pawar group may have wanted former chief Shashank Manohar in Dalmiya's place, it could also not ensure that Srinivasan resigned.
     73-year-old Dalmiya will appoint a new member on the ...

Srinivasan "steps aside" as BCCI Prez, Dalmiya to head panel

Former captain Anil Kumble today said India will miss the services of Sachin Tendulkar when they enter the field for the first time without the batting great in a world-level tournament but insisted the team has enough young talent to do the job in the Champions Trophy.
     "It is never easy but the Indian team has a good set-up. It will be the first time it will be in a world championship without the great man but I strongly believe the India team has a good record and a good team to go out there and do really well," Kumble was quoted as saying in an ICC release.
     Describing Sachin Tendulkar's impact on the world cricket, Kumble said it won't be easy to replace someone like Tendulkar in the ODI format.
     "It is never easy to replace someone like Sachin Tendulkar. Not just because of his on-field credentials but what he brings outside of it in terms of the respect that India gets.
     "The atmosphere changes when he walks onto the field whether it is in India, Pakistan, ...

India will miss Sachin Tendulkar in Champions Trophy: Kumble

Sania Mirza and her partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands progressed to the second round of the women's doubles in the French Open with a straight set win over local pair of Alize Cornet and Virginie Razzano.
     The seventh seeded Indo-American pair recorded a 6-3 6-4 win in one hour and 28 minutes in the opening round.
     Saving nine of the 12 break points helps the cause of Sania and her partner.
     They next face American combo of Lauren Davis and Megan Moulton-Levy.

Sania-Bethanie move to 2nd round of French Open

Australia all-rounder Shane Watson says the team's last tour of India, where it was whitewashed 0-4, was the lowest point of his cricket career.
     "Whatever happened throughout India, certainly for me personally, was the lowest point in my cricket career, there's no doubt about that." he said.
     "The decisions that were made were made for a reason and we certainly have to move forward as a team because we've got two series back-to-back of the biggest cricket we'll ever play," the Aussie was quoted as saying by 'ESPNcricinfo'.
     Watson admitted the controversial episode ahead of Australia's last chance to save the series in India could have been avoided. Watson along with three other teammates were suspended ahead of the third Test in Mohali for breach of discipline.
     The 31-year-old is now looking forward to the upcoming Ashes series against England at the Old Blighty
     Australia are chasing the urn after England thrashed them 3-1 in their own backyard.
     "We've got 

India was the lowest point in my cricket career: Watson

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the 4th edition of World Cup Kabaddi will be held in the second half of November this year, in which 25 nations will participate.
     Reviewing the progress of ongoing sports complexes in a meeting held here today, Badal said that strict NADA anti doping guidelines would be implemented in the tournament and Punjab would seek more participation from Europe, Africa, USA, Australia and other non representative sub-continents to give Kabaddi a world class status.
     He said that the state government would take up the issue with International Olympic Committee to include Kabaddi in 2020 Olympics.
     Badal also asked Ashok Gupta, Secretary Sports to have consultation with Hockey India and International Hockey Federation to fix the itinerary of four nation hockey tournament.
     Emphasising the need for world-class sports infrastructure, Badal said 11 stadiums have already been completed at the cost of Rs 96 crore and 9 more ..

4th Kabaddi World Cup in November

The National Sports Federations and state Olympic units today decided to amend the IOA constitution to make it compliant with the International Olympic Committee charter besides fixing up a tentative date for elections in the later part of August.
     The meeting, called by the suspended Indian Olympic Association led by Abhay Singh Chautala, agreed to hold a Special General Body meeting next month to amend the IOA Constitution and also finalise the election process.
     A draft constitution of the IOA was distributed among the members with the proposed amendments in it and they have been asked to give their views on them. The members were also asked to send requisition forms to Chautala to call for a Special GBM in July to amend the constitution.
     "The NSFs and state Olympic units unanimously agreed to amend the IOA Constitution in conformity with that of the IOC. The House agreed that the timeline given by IOC in the roadmap agreed upon in May 15 Lausanne meeting would be ...

NSFs, state Oly units begin process to amend IOA constitution

Arunima Sinha, who achieved a world record feat of becoming the first woman amputee to scale Mt. Everest, wants to set up a multi-facility sports academy for physically challenged athletes and has requested the state government to help realise her dream project.
     "(Uttar Pradesh) Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had in the past promised me to help in setting up of the academy," Arunima, who arrived here after achieving the rare feat, told PTI.
     "Before starting off for the Everest expedition I had met the CM and he promised me that once the expedition was over he will help in realising my dream of setting up an academy for physically challenged and poor children," the former national volleyball player said.
     Arunima, who hails from Ambedkar Nagar district in UP, said that she had already purchased land in Unnao and wants help in setting up the facility.
     "I am hopeful that the CM will fulfill his promise of providing facility in it," she said.
     Arunima was pushed from 

Page 5054 -