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 

Arunima requests UP govt to help set up sports academy

PTI Automatic

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal today said she expects nothing but defence of her titles in Thailand and Indonesia as she returns to action post a freak toe injury.
     It will be a busy month for the young Hyderabadi as she will feature in an event in Singapore after playing in Thailand and Indonesia.
     The world number 2 Indian was forced to skip the Sudirman Cup after aggravating a toe injury during the India Open in April. She had suffered a hairline fracture on the small toe of her left foot before the home event.
     "It was an inadvertent happening in house when I was injured. It was quite painful that I was not able to participate in Sudirman cup. But past is past. Moving ahead, I have fully recovered from injury," Saina told PTI in an email interview.
     The girl from Hyderabad had won the Thailand Grand Prix Gold and Indonesia Open last year and said she will look to repeat her performance in the back-to-back tournaments this month once again.
     "I had good ...

Fit-again Saina looks to retain titles in Thailand, Indonesia

As the BCCI geared up for its Emergent Working Committee meeting to decide the fate of N Srinivasan, the embattled Board president had a word with some of the members in a last-ditch effort to resign on his own terms here today.
     BCCI joint-secretary Anurag Thakur, however, said that there was nothing wrong in Srinivasan having separate meetings with the WC members.
     "It's a natural process. As a Board president he is entitled to meet the state unit heads and other Working Committee members. I have no objections in that," Thakur told reporters before on arrival for the meeting.
     Asked he was still stuck to his view that Srinivasan should resign from his post, Thakur said, "In the interest of cricket and to have a fair and transparent probe, it will be better if Srinivasan does that."
     "No individual is bigger and more important than an organisation. As a former cricketer, I want to appeal that everybody should perform their duties for the betterment of the game," said .

Srini meets WC members before meeting

Back in the side after London Olympics last year, star drag flicker Sandeep Singh has credited his friend and Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh for helping him come out of the bad phase that sidelined him from the national squad for nine months.
     Sandeep returned to the national-fold for the upcoming FIH World League Round 3 (semifinals) to be played in the Netherlands after being dropped from the Asian Champions trophy, Champions trophy, Azlan Shah cup and World League Rd 2 played earlier this year.
     "Last few months were tough for me and I was stressed. I spoke to Bhajji who is a good friend. He told me not to give up hard work and spend quality time with family. I did the same and despite not being a part of final team I took part in every camp. I was confident that my hard work will come good for me," Sandeep told PTI in an interview.
     Sandeep was out of favour after London Olympics due to slump in form but his performance in the inaugural Hockey India League, where he .

Bhajji's advice helped me make India comeback: Sandeep Singh

Even as the spot-fixing scandal rages on, Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) President I S Bindra has created a fresh controversy by claiming that a BCCI official had arm-twisted the Sri Lankan board to withdraw a report which violated the anti corruption regulations during India's tour of Sri Lanka in 2010.
     Bindra, in an article on his website, made three points in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal and recounted an incident involving corruption during India's tour of Sri Lanka in 2010.
     "On India's tour of Sri Lanka in 2010, due to the LTTE operation, a retired general of Sri Lankan army was given charge of the Indian team's security and he ensured the tightest security arrangements, including installing CCTV cameras on every floor and the lobby of the hotels where the Indian team was staying.
	"At night an official travelling with the team had taken a girl into the room of an Indian player who is also a prominent member of CSK team for last six seasons. It was observed on ..

'BCCI arm-twisted SL to withdraw corruption report in 2010'

A non-profit sports foundation started by Indian sports legends Prakash Padukone and Geet Sethi is keeping its fingers crossed ahead of the September full session of the International Olympic Committee when wrestling's fate would be decided for the 2020 Games.
	The ancient sport is grappling with two other disciplines - squash and baseball/softball - for survival with the 125th IOC session in Beunos Aires voting to include one of the three for the 2020 Games programme.
	Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) has currently added 20-year- old freestyle grappler Parveen Rana into its fold to support him for the next Olympic Games in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but any decision to add more wrestlers would depend on whether wrestling retains its place for the 2020 Games, the foundation's Chief Executive officer, Viren Rasquinha, said.
	"We have just taken in a senior athlete whom we are grooming for the 2016 Olympics. September is the (IOC) vote. If wrestling is confirmed for 2020, we would also be .

Olympic Gold Quest waiting for September IOC vote on wrestling

Former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta misplayed a better position and was held to a draw by Pavel Janev of Bulgaria in the first round of rand Europe Albena Chess tournament here.
     It turned out to be a rather sedate start for Abhijeet whose plans of entering wild complexities against much lower ranked Janev backfired. With a half point from the first game, the Indian will have some catching up to do in the remaining eight rounds of this 30000 Euros prize money tournament.
     The other Indians in the fray got off to a flier and topping the list was N Raghvi, who played out a spirited game to hold higher ranked International Master Ivajlo Enchev of Bulgaria.
     International Master Ashwin Jayaram and Grandmaster-in-waiting Vishnu Prasanna had an off from work as their opponents Antonina Dragasevic of Serbia and Oleksandr Fedotov of Ukraine failed to turn up for the first round.
     Waiting for confirmation of his Grandmaster title, Swapnil Dhopade dispatched the ...

Abhijeet Gupta held to a draw in the Grand Europe opener

Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) President I S Bindra tonight "fervently hoped that the game of cricket is cleansed and restored to its pristine heritage in the wake of the present cricket detritus and rightful resignations."
	Bindra in a note on his website, the page of which has been e-mailed to the media, said, "The pubic deserves and demands it, and most of all, the gentleman's game cries for it. We must bring back the credibility and love for the game."
	The PCA Chief said, "The shenanigans of the recent times run the risk of bringing ignominy to the game of cricket which was built brick by brick by many. After decades of being a part of the great game of cricket, and having served Indian cricket in various positions, I believe that this is the worst crisis faced by Indian Cricket."
	"My central postulate is that the sanctity and credibility of the game should be our focus and be preserved at all costs. The game is bigger than any individual," he said without naming any ...

Hope cricket is cleansed, restored to pristine heritage:Bindra

Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik smashed a centur each as India warmed up their Champions Trophy campaign with a five-wicket thumping of Sri Lanka in their first practice game here today.
     Kohli (144) teamed up with Dinesh Karthik (106 not out) to rescue India from a wobbly start with a 186-run stand for the fifth wicket in just 23.2 overs to chase down a huge target of 334 with one over to spare.
     India were reduced to 62 for three in the 13th over and then to 110 for four in the 21st over before Kohli and Karthik resurrected the innings and sent the Sri Lankan bowlers for a leatherhunt in the second part of their run chase.
     Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews used nine bowlers in the 15-a-side warm-up game and all of them were punished by Kohli and Karthik.
     Kohli, who was coming at the back of a strong performance in the recent Indian Premier League, struck 11 fours and three sixes in his 120-ball flawless innings.
     Coming in the second over at the team score of ...

Kohli, Karthik centuries help India beat Lanka by 5 wkts

Leander Paes crashed out of the men's doubles event, while Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna made first round exits from the mixed doubles event to sum up a disappointing day for India at the French Open, here today.
     India's campaign came to an end in the men's doubles when Paes and his Austrian partner Jurgen Melzer crashed out in the second round.
     Seeded ninth, Paes and Melzer fought hard before going down 7-5 4-6 6-7(6) against unseeded Uruguan-Argentine duo of Pablo Cuevas and Horacio Zeballos in little less than two-and-a-half hours at the Roland Garros.
     The other Indians in the men's doubles fray, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, who were seeded fourth, had already lost opening round to Polish pair of Tomasz Bednarek and Jerzy Janowicz.
     To add salt to Indian tennis fans' woes, Bhupathi and his Australian partner Casey Dellacqua suffered a shocking first round defeat in the mixed doubles at the hands of Anastasia Rodionova of Australia and Mexico's Santiago .

Bad day in office for Indians in French Open

Lalit Modi has held Rajiv Shukla responsible for the entire "mess" in India Premier League and said by merely resigning from the position of the IPL chairman doesn't absolve the politician-cum-cricket administrator from his "wrongdoings".
     Shukla today resigned from the high-profile position in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal that rocked Indian cricket, a development which puts further pressure on the beleaguered BCCI President N Srinivasan to follow suit.
     But Modi said the entire spot-fixing scandal has brought Shukla's incompetence to the fore.
     "Hey @ShuklaRajiv your resigning does not absolve you of your wrong doings. Either admit you were rubber stamp or co conspirator," Modi wrote on his twitter page.
     "Does Rajiv Shukla resignation absolve him of IPL MESS - a big NO. - you were chairman of Ipl. It happened in your watch. You are either incompetent or co conspirator. Either way you must take the blame," the former IPL commissioner added.
     Shukla decided .

Shukla's resignation doesn't absolve him of IPL mess: Modi

Former India wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani today asked for formulation of stringent laws to curb betting in cricket.
     "There should be stringent laws to prevent betting in cricket," Kirmani, who was here to attend a function organised by a company, said while expressing disappointment at the happenings involving the gentleman's game.
     The wicket-keeper batsman, however, did not demand resignation of N Srinivasan and left the decision on the beleaguered BCCI president following enormous pressure on him to step down, saying it was upto him to decide.
     Srinivasan is facing mounting pressure to quit from his post in the wake of the arrest of his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan on charges of betting in IPL.

Bring in stringent laws to prevent betting in cricket: Kirmani

While supporting the increasing clamour from members for the resignation of under-fire BCCI President N Srinivasan, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) wants a proper procedure to be followed in achieving this objective.
	MCA today insisted that everything should be done as per the BCCI's constitution at the crucial Working Committee meeting in Chennai tomorrow.
	"We don't support any scandal in cricket. But we want a proper process to be followed so that any decision taken can stand in a court of law," MCA President Ravi Savant said on eve of the meet.
	Savant said as per the BCCI's memorandum of rules and regulations, the working committee cannot remove the President and it can be done only by convening a special general body meeting for the purpose.
	"The working committee cannot remove the president. The only way (for removal) is to call a special general body meeting of the BCCI."
	Savant maintained that tomorrow's meeting has been convened without giving the mandatory three days' ..

MCA wants proper procedure to be followed at BCCI meet

Indian Premier League Chairman Rajeev Shukla today resigned from the high-profile position in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal that rocked Indian cricket, a development which puts further pressure on the beleaguered BCCI President N Srinivasan to follow suit.
     Shukla decided to quit in view of the recent controversies and the move is bound to have some impact on Srinivasan's continuance when the BCCI's all-powerful Working Committee meets in Chennai tomorrow.
     The 53-year-old Shukla, who is also a Union Minister, had earlier indicated that he would not take up the position for a third successive term.
     "I have decided to quit as IPL chairman. It is a decision which I was pondering over for some time. I think it is time to step down," Shukla told PTI.
     Shukla said that he also took into account the resignations of BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke before taking the decision to step down.
     "Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke resigned in the best .

Shukla resigns as IPL chief in view of recent controversies

Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke today welcomed IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla's decision to step down from the post in view of the recent controversies surrounding the T20 league and said it's time the credibility of Indian cricket was restored.
     The resignation of Shukla, who is also a Union Minister, comes as a severe setback to President N Srinivasan who has already been isolated by his team of officials, two of whom -- secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke -- have already quit.
     "That is his decision. He is at the eye of storm. Perhaps he must have realised the gravity of the situation. It's never too late. But the real issue is how Indian cricket moves ahead and the credibility of BCCI is restored," Shirke said when asked to comment on Shukla's resignation.
     Jagdale said, "Whether to resign or not, it's an individual decision and we have got to respect that. I just hope something good comes out of it for Indian cricket that will restore the confidence of the ..

Jagdale, Shirke welcome Shukla's decision to quit

India's campaign came to an end in the men's doubles event of the French Open when Leander Paes and his Austrian partner Jurgen Melzer crashed out in the second round here today.
     Seeded ninth, Paes and Melzer fought hard before going down 7-5 4-6 6-7(6) against unseeded Uruguan-Argentine duo of Pablo Cuevas and Horacio Zeballos in little less than two-and-a-half hours at the Roland Garros.
     Cuevas and Zebalos will face sixth seeded Pakistani-Dutch combination of Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer in the pre-quarterfinals. Qureshi and Roger beat Slovakian pair of Aljaz Bedene and Grega Zemlja 7-5 	6-1 in their second round encounter.
     The other Indians in the fray, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, who were seeded fourth, were shown the door in the opening round by Polish pair of Tomasz Bednarek and Jerzy Janowicz.
     Bhupathi and Bopanna were no match for their unseeded opponents, losing their tournament opener in straight sets 5-7 4-6.

Paes-Melzer crashes out of French Open

City-based Pailan Group today claimed that they would continue to support I-League side Arrows as they have sorted out differences with the AIFF.
     "Whatever little differences we had with the AIFF were sorted out amicably," Pailan Group chairman Apurba Saha stated in a release today.
     Pailan Group were locked in tussle with AIFF over payment of dues but Saha claimed that they had settled the issue after a meeting with federation secretary Kushal Das.
     "Pailan Group has settled all financial dues with the AIFF and both parties are now ready to concentrate on upcoming I-League season with a deep sense of association as before," Saha said.
     Earlier, while admitting that they owed AIFF a due of Rs 70 lakh, Pailan Group had demanded Rs 44 lakh from the federation.
     "AIFF has a long overdue of Rs 44 lakh to help run the FIFA-AIFF Pailan Football Academy. We never said we would not settle the dues but we're also expecting a payment of Rs 44 lakh," the company had stated ..

We have sorted out issues with AIFF: Pailan

IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla resigned from the post ahead of the BCCI's Working Committee meeting tomorrow which may see the exit of President N Srinivasan in the wake of scandals surrounding the IPL matches.
     The resignation of Shukla, who is also a Union Minister, comes as a severe setback to the incumbent President who has already been isolated by his team of officials, two of whom -- Secretary Sanjay Jagdale and Treasurer Ajay Shirke-- have already quit.
     Besides the attack on Srinivasan and the demand for his resignation, questions were also raised over Shukla continuing in the post as IPL Chairman.
     "I have decided to quit as IPL chairman. It is a decision which I was pondering over for some time. I think it is time to step down," Shukla told PTI.
     Shukla said he took the decision in view of the recent controversies and in the interest of cricket. He also took into account the resignations of BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke before taking the 

Rajeev Shukla resigns as IPL chief, endgame for Srinivasan

Sanjoy Sen, who parted ways with Mohammedan Sporting after guiding them to I-League, would be the coach of AIFF developmental outfit Arrows, team sponsors Pailan Group said today.
     "We had requested that Sen be appointed as the Pailan Arrows coach for the upcoming season... This has been agreed in principle by the AIFF," Pailan Group chairman Apurba Saha stated in a release.
     The city-based group said Sen had already given his consent.
     AIFF officials would meet Sen anytime soon to finalise the deal, a Pailan Group spokesperson said.
     Australia-born Arthur Papas coached Pailan Arrows last season as the developmental side finished 12th in the 14-team I-League.
     Papas had left the Arrows for Dempo, inking a three-year deal with the former I-League champions from Goa.

Sanjoy Sen set to coach Arrows

India's Narain Karthikeyan claimed the pole position ahead of the Auto GP World Series round four at the Silverstone Circuit here today.
     The racer clocked 1:46.286 ahead of newcomer Kevin Giovesi and Super Nova teammate Vittorio Ghirelli.
     Karthikeyan drove for Zele Racing in the first three rounds of 2013 before securing a last-minute deal at Super Nova.
     The 36-year-old driver earned 34 points in six races while driving for Zele.
     The opening race at Silverstone takes place later in the day and Karthikeyan is looking forward to it after being fastest in today's qualifying and two practice sessions yesterday.

Karthikeyan takes pole at Silverstone

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla today resigned from the high-profile position in the wake of the raging spot-fixing scandal that has rocked Indian cricket, piling up pressure on N Srinivasan to follow suit.
     A day before the emergency meeting of the working committee in Chennai, Shukla took the decision to quit saying that he felt it necessary to do so in the light of the recent developments.
     "I have decided to quit as IPL chairman. It is a decision which I was pondering over for some time. I think it is time to step down," Shukla told PTI.
     Shukla said that he also took into account the resignations of BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke before taking the decision to step down.
     "Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke resigned in the best interest of Indian cricket. I thought this is the right time," he said.
     Shukla's resignation just a day ahead of the emergency working committee meeting in Chennai is bound to put more pressure on under-fire Srinivasan ..

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