Cricket : Sachin scores 50 th Test Centuary Barrier

[johnee]

dhoni is lucky and intelligents. rare combo......

india under him will break all records.

 

[Yusuf]

Congratulations to the Indian Hockey team for winning The Sultan Azlan Shah trophy after 13 years. The team seems to be doing well since the dictator Gill has disapeared

 

[Daredevil]

Congratulations to the Indian team. That's great news.

India beat Malaysia 3-1 to win Azlan Shah title

 

[Pintu]

Congratulations to Indian Hockey team for winning the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament.

 

[Yusuf]

Sports Minister criticises BCCI for IPL SMS game

NEW DELHI: Concerned about the "commercial use of cricket for business gains", Sports Minister MS Gill on Saturday criticised the BCCI for introducing an SMS game which requires fans to make ball by ball predictions for cash prizes in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

"I see the commercial use of cricket for business gains, that is going on. I am concerned, at knowledgeable comments, from serious followers of cricket about the latest venture of encouraging viewers to make ball by ball predictions of runs scored for economic gain in the shape of cash prizes," Gill said in a statement.

"This is viewed as 'openly encouraging gambling and betting', which official bodies do not resort to, even in countries where betting is legal; all this 'to make money and enlarge their TV viewership base'," the minister added.

The game has been widely criticised by cricket experts and the BCCI has been accused of promoting betting through it. Gill said the BCCI should have thought of the damage done to the game by the 2000 match-fixing scandal before introducing such a game.

"Cricket is part of the family of sports in our country. Its current riches, do not set it apart from other games. The actions of the BCCI, are bound to impact the thinking in other sports, sometime or the other. We have already had, sometime back, a match-fixing scandal, in the game. It seems the ICC, had expressed concerns about such possibilities, in the IPL league," he said.

Gill urged the BCCI to take note of the apprehensions. "All these are concerns, which must be taken note of, by those who run the game. I would suggest to the BCCI to always bear in mind, that as the richest and most powerful sports body today, they have a larger responsibility to discharge", he said.

"They should bear in mind, that today's commercially successful venture, may not be so, in five years time, and the game, has to be protected, for future generations. Modify the structure by all means, but after grave and serious consideration, of the larger ethical and moral questions, and the long term interest of the game," he said.

The charges are 5 per SMS. Its a killing. Besides only fools or people with lots of money will take part in this SMS contest.

 

[Rage]

Suranjoy ends India's 15-year gold drought in Asian Championship boxing


New Delhi, June 13 (PTI) Suranjoy Singh gave India its first Asian Championship gold in 15 years while Thokchom Nanao Singh and Jai Bhagwan settled for silver medals as the country's boxers rounded off a 27-year-best performance in the elite event in Zhuhai, China today.
India ended their campaign with a gold, two silver and four bronze medals, which went to Jitender Kumar (54kg) Vijender Singh (75kg), Dinesh Kumar (81kg) and Paramjit Samota (+91kg). The team was placed third in the overall standings behind hosts China and Uzbekistan.

The team was placed third in the overall standings behind hosts China and Uzbekistan.

The performance this time is a marked improvement from 1982 championships held in Seoul where the country's boxers notched up two gold, an equal number of silver and a bronze medal.

The last gold medal for India in the Asian Championship came in the 1994 edition in Tehran where Rajkumar Sangwan finished on top in the super heavy weight category.

​

And today, it was a fly weight (51kg) boxer who broke the 15-year jinx. Suranjoy, a junior World Championship bronze medallist in 2004, beat Li Chao of China 9-8 in a thrilling encounter.

"It was certainly not one of my best performances because my opponent came very close to upstaging me but I am thrilled to win India's first gold medal here in 15 years," an elated Suranjoy said.

"I didn't keep track of whether I was leading or trailing and that was a good thing considering it was such a close bout. I attacked him hard in the third round after taking it slightly easy in the first two rounds," Suranjoy, the reigning national champion, said.

"I fought with my guard down for some time as this tactic can unsettle the opponent and thankfully the strategy worked. I was confident of winning a gold when I first landed here and I am glad that I have managed to do that," the 22-year-old Manipuri added.

However, 18-year-old youth world champion Nanao Singh (48kg) was not as lucky and went down 8-9 to Thailand's Pongprayoon Keaw.

"It was so heartbreaking. Nanao was so much better than his opponent. He fought so well but just didn't have the luck," said coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu.

"It was a see-saw battle and our boy led most of the time but the lead was narrow and Keaw managed to catch up in the end," he explained.

In the light weight summit clash, Jai Bhagwan lost 3-8 to Hudayberdiev Serdar of Turkmenistan to settle for the second place.

The Haryana-boxer was a bronze medallist in the 2005 Asian Championships in Vietnam and despite the improved colour of his medal this time, he was disappointed at missing the gold.

"I wanted the gold. I fought hard but his tactics were way too evasive. He ran around the ring a lot and was hard to catch. But I am glad that our team has done so well," Jai said.

Sandhu, who was also the coach of the team both in 1982 and 1994, said the country's boxers made quite a reputation for themselves this time.

"It has been just fantastic. I was expecting at least four gold medals but unfortunately that didn't happen. Even then my boys have done the country proud by beating boxers from some top countries," he said.

India had sent an 11-member team for the event, out of which 10 made the quarterfinals. Chhote Lal Yadav (57kg) and Vijender's cousin Balwinder Beniwal (64kg) lost in close bouts in the quarterfinals.

While Balwinder lost on count-back, Yadav lost by a point after having been declared the winner initially. PTI PM PDS


Suranjoy ends India's 15-year gold drought in Asian boxing

 

[Pintu]

The Press Association: India rest trio

India rest trio

India's selectors have opted to rest Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Suresh Raina for the four-match one-day international series against West Indies starting later this month.

The trio have all been suffering injuries with Tendulkar having already indicated he was likely to miss the series due to a finger injury.

Left-arm paceman Zaheer was overlooked due to a shoulder injury to his bowling arm while Raina, who struggled for form in both the Indian Premier League and India's unsuccessful World Twenty20 defence, was also omitted due to a hairline fracture in his thumb.

In their place there is a long-awaited recall for Ashish Nehra, uncapped all-rounder Abhishek Nayar and top-order batsman Murali Vijay in a 16-man squad.

Nehra, who last played an ODI match in September 2005, makes a comeback on the back of a strong showing in the IPL for the Delhi Daredevils.

Explosive opening batsman Virender Sehwag, who was eventually dropped from the World Twenty20 team just before the start of the tournament in England due to a shoulder injury, was not considered for selection.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were also picked to the team.

The first ODI will be played in Jamaica on June 26.

 

[Pintu]

SRK finally fires John Buchanan- ET Cetera-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

SRK finally fires John Buchanan

18 Jun 2009, 0602 hrs IST, Girish Kuber & Leena Mulchandani, ET Bureau

MUMBAI: After two dismal seasons and a number of controversies, the Shah Rukh-owned cricket franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), on Wednesday,
fired its head coach, John Buchanan.

It took KKR’s owners a little more than three weeks after the end of the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to make the decision. The instructions to let go off Mr Buchanan came from Mr Khan through an email communiqué. The actor is in the US where he is shooting for his next film. Wednesday was the Australian’s last day with the team.

A spokesperson for KKR confirmed the development when contacted by ET. The team is said to be looking for a new head coach apart from making other changes. It is gathered that Andrew Leipus, the team’s physiotherapist, Matthew Mott, the assistant head coach and Adrian Le Roux who is the team’s trainer could also be eased out.

Mr Buchanan’s stint with KKR was controversial, especially in the second season of the IPL. His idea of having multiple captains came in for criticism from experts. KKR’s captain Sourav Ganguly was replaced by Brendon McCullum, which did not go down well with the former Indian captain’s fans in Kolkata. In the first IPL, KKR finished sixth (eight teams participated) while in the second edition, it was the worst- performing team with three wins out of 14 matches.

Interestingly, with all the controversies and an indifferent performance, KKR has been the most-valued team of the IPL with a brand value of $42.1 million, according to UK-based consultancy Brand Finance.

The KKR franchise was bought for $75 million by SRK, Jai Mehta and Juhi Chawla. It was one of the only two teams that turned in a profit in the first season of the IPL. The team has well-known names like Ricky Ponting, Brendon McCullum, Sourav Ganguly and Ishant Sharma apart from a top notch support staff making it the one of the most expensive franchises to run with a cash outgo of anywhere between Rs 60-75 crore each season.

 

[Pintu]

The Statesman

Nippy Nehra finds a niche

;Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, 17 JUNE: Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan were rested while Ashish Nehra staged a comeback after four years as national selectors today announced a 16-member squad for a One-Day Internationals series against the West Indies, beginning on 26 June.
Nehra, who last played a one-day international in September 2005, was rewarded for his fine show in the recent Indian Premier League with a berth in the squad. Suresh Raina was not considered because of a thumb injury and Irfan Pathan, left out of the squad announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's secretary, Mr N Srinivasan.
Apart from Delhi pace bowler Nehra, Tamil Nadu batsmen Murali Vijay and S Badrinath were included in the squad for the four-match series for which the Indian team would fly directly from London.
Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar, was also rewarded for his consistent performance in domestic cricket and the recent IPL, is the lone new face in the squad which will be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Yuvraj Singh will be his deputy. Virender Sehwag, who had pulled out of the Twenty20 World Cup because of a shoulder injury, was not considered.
Mr Srinivasan said Raina had not been considered as he sustained a hairline fracture on his thumb. He has been advised two weeks' rest.

 

[Pintu]

Indian women ready for NZ in semi-final - News - Women T20 WC '09 - Cricket on Times of India

Indian women ready for NZ in semi-final

18 Jun 2009, 0022 hrs IST, Nitin Naik, TNN

NOTTINGHAM: The Indian women's team is not used to much media attention when touring abroad. So the players were surprised to see a host of Indian scribes at the media conference on the eve of their semifinal of the ICC World T20 against New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

In fact, manager Diana Eduljee said sarcastically, "Finally you guys got the time to cover women's cricket."

Sans too much fan fare, the hype or a huge support staff that accompanies the men's team, the Indian women's team led by pacewoman Jhulan Goswami has managed to do what MS Dhoni and his boys could not. In fact, Jhulan and her band of girls had impressed in the 50-over World Cup too, beating defending champions Australia twice to finish third.

Now, after the disastrous show by the men, it's up to the ladies to keep India's flag flying high in England. How different will it be to play on the same ground as the men's team with the world watching? "It's a big thing for women's cricket that we will play before the men's semifinal. It's a nice way to promote women's cricket. That the game would be telecast live is a boon. Our friends and family will be able to watch us and that will be an inspiration for us. The players are excited.

Hopefully, we will be able to draw youngsters to women's cricket," Jhulan said. Did the team get any message from the boys? "After our game against Sri Lanka, the men's team manager V. Chamundeswarnath said, 'What we couldn't do, you all should achieve'." said Eduljee. Jhulan's team would love to do what the men's team did two years ago. That'll at least prompt a felicitation from the BCCI if not an open-top bus parade.

 

[Pintu]

We were not 100 percent fit: Dhoni - Top T20 World Cup Stories - News - Cricket on Times of India

We were not 100 percent fit: Dhoni
17 Jun 2009, 2356 hrs IST, Nitin Naik, TNN

NOTTINGHAM: Another loss, another humiliation, another grilling media session. The woes of Indian captain MS Dhoni seem to be never-ending. After the third straight loss in the Super 8 game against South Africa at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, the Indian captain looked at a loss for words.

Clearly, a man used to such heady success was finding it tough to come to terms with his team's shoddy performance.

Dhoni acknowledged, though, that the main reason for India's early ouster was their batting failure. "When you turn up on the field, you have to be always 100% and the key players have to be in form, which never really happened for us. Quite a few players were out of form, including me. That really proved crucial because it was our batting that was struggling. We are always known as a side that relies a lot on its batting. Because some of the guys were out of form, it really got tough for us," he said.

It's time for some serious introspection now for the captain and his troops before India's next big assignment on the world stage, the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.

"It's quite an unexpected performance. A lot of soul-searching needs to be done. It's not about what you can achieve. It's what you actually go out and achieve. We were not up to the mark. Our performance was never really up to international standards," Dhoni said.

Many factors are being attributed to India's poor performance, including fatigue. Although coach Gary Kirsten has attributed tiredness as the main reason for the poor show, Dhoni again seemed to refute that suggestion on Tuesday. "In a 20-over game, how tired can you be? You can work throughout the year and still play a tournament like this," he said.

Was he tired personally, as wicket keeping takes a heavy toll along with the captaincy? "I never thought I was too tired. I was going to the nets each and every day. I was doing whatever drills were given to me."

Dhoni, it might be recalled, had opted out of the Test series against Sri Lanka last August, citing fatigue after a hectic season. Surely, if he was as tired, he could have opted out of some of the warm-up games at least.

"At that time, I was not feeling like going to the nets at all. That's the time you know you are really tired. I was not even close to feeling like that. I don't know about other guys. I don't think fatigue is an appropriate reason for our defeat."

But fitness is and it could be seen that there were some players who were just not fit. "When we selected the team there were hardly a few guys who were 100% fit. Somebody had a shoulder problem, somebody an ankle problem. That really had a big impact on our fielding. I think most of the guys were not 100% fit."

Skipper booed

While the Indian public were present in large numbers in the ground even for an inconsequential game, they also booed the Indian team and its captain after the defeat. What did Dhoni, known to treat success and defeat with equanimity think about all this?

"It's not the first time it's happening to me or the Indian cricket team. Hamara toh antim sanskar bhi ho gaya tha after the 2007 World Cup (They had even conducted our last rites after the 2007 World Cup). It happened when we were playing a Test match against England (in Mumbai) too. There's no use feeling bad about it. It shows the level of expectations people have from us. If they did not boo us, we would have thought there is something unusual," he explained.

But Dhoni himself hasn't copped a lot of criticism in his immensely successful career so far. But he has got a fair bit of it in the last few weeks. How is he dealing with it?. "In four-and-a-half years, I have seen a lot. From being out of form to getting booed to crashing out of the 2007 World Cup to winning the World Twenty20, to winning the One-day series in Australia and Sri Lanka and now this. It's getting more demanding mentally. I cannot stop anyone from saying anything. It is an uncontrollable. But I am really happy to play cricket for India even if I get booed or something bad happens."

At times you have to hide things: Dhoni on Viru's injury

The mystery over Virender Sehwag's injury just refuses to die down even after India's campaign in England has ended. The media wanted to know what the levels of transparency are in the team when it comes to disclosing injuries. Dhoni finally came clear on the issue. "When the first MRI was done in India, it did not show anything. When the next MRI was done here, it showed he had a tear. At times, you cannot say everything because you want the opposition team to think of Sehwag, whether he is playing or not. I prefer announcing the team one hour before the game. At times you have to hide things."

 

[Pintu]

http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage/ndtv/id/spoen20090097890/storypage.html

Sania loses doubles first round at Aegon International
Press Trust of India
22:31 IST, Wednesday, June 17, 2009 (Eastbourne)

After singles, Sania Mirza's doubles campaign at the $ 600,000 Aegon International was also cut short in the first round itself.

Sania and her Taiepi partner Chia-Jung Chuang lost their first round match 5-7, 4-6 to fourth seeded Australian pair of Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs.

Sania had withdrawn from the singles event after suffering a hip-strain.

 

[indian_sukhoi]

Any Football freaks around?????????

 

[Pintu]

Dhoni helps India take 2-1 lead over Windies  - News - India in West Indies - Specials - Cricket on Times of India

Dhoni helps India take 2-1 lead over Windies
4 Jul 2009, 0437 hrs IST, PTI

GROS ISLET: Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a captain's knock as India battled inclement weather to defeat the West Indies by six wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis method and take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match ODI series at the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia on Friday.

Needing 11 runs off the last over after the target was revised to 159 from 22 overs, Dhoni (46 not out) sent Jerome Taylor's second delivery for a six over mid-wicket as India won with a ball to spare.

The One-dayer was almost reduced to a Twenty20 fixture as it witnessed as many as four stoppages due to rain during the West Indies innings -- including a two hour and five minutes delay at the start of the match. The interruptions forced the overs to be brought down to 27 per side.

The West Indies, put into bat after Dhoni won the toss, rode on Ramnaresh Sarwan's 62 to post a competitive 185 for seven and India were set a revised target of 195 following the D/L method.

The visitors needed a strong start and Dinesh Karthik (47 off 43 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (44 off 38) did just that.

The duo put on 84 runs before a direct throw from Ravi Rampaul ended Karthik's innings.

Gambhir and Dhoni took the score to 95 for one off 13.3 overs when rain intervened for the fifth time and following a 22-minute delay, the target was revised to 159 in 22 overs.

Needing another 64 runs from 51 deliveries, India lost Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh (2) in quick succession.

With 11 runs required off the last seven deliveries, Rohit Sharma too departed leaving Dhoni to see the team through. The skipper's 34-ball unbeaten knock included a couple of boundaries besides the six in the last over.

While Dhoni sparkled, opening partnership too did the job.

Karthik and Gambhir not only complemented each other but also gave the visitors perfect launchpad to go for victory after Sarwan's 58-ball 62 guided the West Indies to 185 for seven.

Sarwan was involved in two crucial partnerships, 51 runs with Runako Morton (22) and another 48 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (15) before he was run out going for a non-existent second.

Gambhir's strong throw found Sarwan short of the mark. His innings included five fours and a six.

He carried on the momentum provided by captain Chris Gayle (27), who gave the hosts a rollicking start after the match started two hours and five minutes late following a rain delay that first reduced the match to 41 overs a side.

Gayle hit Ishant Sharma for a couple of boundaries in each of his first two overs.

Left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra (3/21) received similar treatment in his second over, another couple of boundaries, before rain intervened with the West Indies at 27 for no loss from 3.3 overs.

Play resumed after a 15-minute delay but the distraction was enough to unsettle the West Indies captain, who departed chasing a widish delivery from Nehra.

Gayle slashed the first ball after resumption and Dhoni did the rest behind stumps. His 14-ball stay at the crease had six hits to the fence.

Morton (22 off 34 balls), who was a silent spectator till then was joined by Sarwan and the duo took the score to 56 for one from 9.1 overs before rain intervened for a third time.

Following another 15-minute delay, the overs were reduced to 36 per side.

However, rain forced play to be suspended again just two deliveries on re-start with the hosts on 57 for one.

This time play remained suspended for an hour and 20 minutes before it resumed with the overs reduced to 27 a side.

Morton greeted RP Singh with a four but fell soon after. Sarwan though didn't let the stoppages affect his rhythm as he took 16 runs off one Yuvraj over to help the hosts go past the 100-run mark in 16 overs.

Along with the vastly experienced Chanderpaul, the duo put on 48 runs before the left-hander departed trying to hoist Yusuf Pathan over mid-on and Nehra doing the rest.

 

[Pintu]

AFP: India eye victory over Windies in final ODI

India eye victory over Windies in final ODI

By Paul Mitchell – 3 hours ago

GROS ISLET, St. Lucia (AFP) — India are now one step away from a rare One-day International series victory in the Caribbean.

They face West Indies in the fourth and final ODI on Sunday at the Beausejour Cricket Ground confident in the knowledge that they cannot lose the brief series.

The visitors won the rain-affected third ODI by six wickets on Friday at the same venue to take an unsurmountable 2-1 lead in the series.

India had won the high-scoring opening ODI by 20 runs last Friday at Sabina Park in Jamaica, and two days later, West Indies rebounded to secure an eight-wicket victory in a low-scoring second ODI at the same venue.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni praised the overall effort in his side for prevailing in the match, despite having to battle the weather and the Duckworth-Lewis Method which calculates targets in weather-affected matches.

"It was getting tight, and from our experience in Twenty20 cricket, we never felt under any pressure, although we required 11 from the last six balls," said Dhoni.

"Our final target (of 159 runs from 22 overs) was always achievable, once we had two specialist batsmen at the crease, and others like Harbhajan Singh to come, but it was hard to cope with the pressure," he added.

India's top-order batting had misfired in the second ODI which led to their huge defeat, but they got a meaningful start on Friday from Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir which set things up for the final charge.

Karthik made 47 from 43 balls, and Gambhir collected 44 from 38 balls, as they shared 95 for the first wicket, and Dhoni felt this was crucial to India's victory, and hopes to see more of this on Sunday.

"We are a side which really relies on our opening batsman to give us the momentum," said Dhoni.

"Once we get a good start, we really have the firepower to capitalise on it, and get a big total on the board."

West Indies, on the other hand, have to finish the series with a win which would ensure the series ends in a tie.

"We are very disappointed about the way we lost the third ODI," said West Indies captain Chris Gayle.

"At the same time, we have to pick ourselves up and get ourselves ready for the final game on Sunday. But we'll just have to take the positives that we can out of this game."

Gayle agreed that his side found it difficult to get the momentum in between the rain to set India a more formidable challenge, but he felt the final target was decent.

"We thought we had a chance of defending the target because it's a big outfield," said Gayle.

"But their openers gave them a good start. . .and they were running hard between the wickets, and putting a lot of pressure on our fielders as well, so we will have to work on this, and see if we can squeeze their batsmen a bit more in the outfield."

In bilateral ODI series, India have only once overcome West Indies on five previous trips to the Caribbean, and this was 2-1 in a three-match contest seven years ago.

 

[Pintu]

It was comforting to have Dhoni at the crease: Kirsten

It was comforting to have Dhoni at the crease: Kirsten

Posted: Saturday , Jul 04, 2009 at 1449 hrs IST
Gros Islet (St Lucia):

Mahendra Singh Dhoni checks the wicket
during a break at a training session at
Beausejour Cricket Ground in St Lucia.

As nervousness gripped him during India's thrilling chase in the third one-dayer against West Indies, coach Gary Kirsten said he drew comfort from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's presence at the crease.

"Someone like MS Dhoni can hit the ball out of the ground at any time so it was comforting knowing that we had him at the crease controlling the game," said Kirsten.

Man of the match Dhoni, hit an unbeaten 46-run knock to take India through in the rain-truncated third ODI and take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series.

The wicketkeeper batsman hit a six in the last over when the team was needing 11 runs to win.

"He's had a magnificent series and he's played some really good one-day cricket for us. When it comes down to the wire it can go either way, the most important thing is that you have game breakers and match-winners in at that situation," said Kirsten.

Kirsten said the chasing in a rain-truncated match helped India's cause. "It definitely helps a team batting second in this type of set up. It did suit us to be batting second because you can dictate the game a little better when the overs are shortening in terms of what you need," he said.

"It became a Twenty20 game and you know that when you are chasing more than a run a ball and (the required run rate) is up at eight and nine and you have one bad over, you're behind a little bit," Kirsten added.

The electronic scoreboard on the ground had stopped functioning towards the end of the match but Kirsten said he ensured that the batsmen in the middle were well aware of the target, that was revised twice over.

"It was mind-blowing to be honest, but the umpires were giving them notice every over so they knew what was going on," he said.

"They were fully aware from us what the Duckworth-Lewis totals were so we were pretty much in control of that," he added.

 

[Pintu]

Roger Federer wins sixth Wimbledon title - News - Wimbledon 2009 - Specials - The Times of India Sports

Roger Federer wins sixth Wimbledon title
5 Jul 2009, 2259 hrs IST, AFP

LONDON: Roger Federer made history on Sunday when he defeated brave Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 16-14 to win a sixth Wimbledon title and claim a record 15th Grand Slam crown in a classic final.

Roger Federer returns a ball at the
Wimbledon championships. (AFP Photo)

But the Swiss second seed was given a huge fright by the American sixth seed who led by a set, had four set points in the second and didn't drop serve until the final, heartbreaking game of the match.

In an extraordinary conclusion, the last set was the longest ever played in a men's Wimbledon final.

Federer, 27, now has six Wimbledon titles, five US Opens, three Australian Opens and a French Open trophy, and has surpassed Pete Sampras's mark of 14 majors.

He will also reclaim his world number one spot from Rafael Nadal, who beat him in a five-set final here last year, on Monday.

Sampras, and fellow greats Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg were on hand to watch Federer's bid for history, as were Hollywood giants Woody Allen and Russell Crowe, such was the attraction of the Centre Court blockbuster.

Federer, in a record seventh straight Wimbledon final and 20th Grand Slam title match, saw Roddick save four break points in the 11th game of the opening set and he immediately paid a heavy price.

The Swiss went wide with a crosscourt drive, which put him set point down, and then repeated the error to hand the American the opener 7-5.

Roddick, whose only Grand Slam title came at the 2003 US Open, lost the 2004 and 2005 finals here to Federer, just two of his 18 defeats in 20 career meetings with the world number two.

But on Sunday he wisely adopted the same game plan he employed in his semi-final win over Britain's Andy Murray, a powerful mix of trademark big groundstrokes punctuated by regular visits to the net.

Serve again dominated the second set before Roddick stretched to a 6/2 lead, and four set points, in the tiebreaker but Federer fought back and levelled the final when the American unleashed a wild backhand.

Roddick was now under siege, saving a break point in the sixth game of the third set before another tiebreaker was required.

Federer went to three set points, two of which Roddick saved, but the Swiss opened up a two sets to one lead when a Roddick service return fell comfortably into his hitting zone and he despatched a fierce forehand winner.

Roddick, playing in his first Grand Slam final since the 2006 US Open, refused to surrender and broke Federer to lead 3-1 in the fourth set on his way to levelling the final.

Federer again failed to convert a break point in the second game of the decider before he was forced to fight off two on his own serve in the 17th game.

But eventually Roddick, always having to chase the game, wilted in the 30th game of the decider when he ballooned a weary forehand long.

 

[Pintu]

http://ptinews.com/news/177572_India-gets-right-to-host-Davis-Cup-tie-against-Aus

India gets right to host Davis Cup tie against Aus

STAFF REPORTER 18:28 HRS IST

New Delhi, July 16 (PTI) In a moral victory for the All India Tennis Association, the International Tennis Federation has given AITA the right to host its next Davis Cup tie against Australia, which had forfeited its previous rubber on security grounds in May.

In a significant development, the ITF Board of Directors upheld AITA's appeal against the ITF Davis Cup Committee, which had suggested a draw of lot to decide the venue.

The ITF Board of Directors meeting was held in Madrid (rpt Madrid) yesterday and was attended by 12 directors, besides the President.

"The directors considered India's appeal and declared that Chennai was a safe venue and Australia ought to have gone to Chennai," an AITA press release said.

 

[Pintu]

Pakistan not thinking to boycott 2011 WC - Top Stories - Cricket - SPORTS - The Times of India

Pakistan not thinking to boycott 2011 WC
IANS 16 July 2009, 05:44pm IST

KARACHI: Senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials are not thinking of boycotting the 2011 World Cup.

Sources in the board told IANS on Thursday that the PCB top brass remains hopeful of finding an amicable solution to the crisis that emerged after the International Cricket Council (ICC) stripped Pakistan of its status as a World Cup venue in April this year.

There have been reports in a section of the Pakistani press that the government is considering instructing PCB to boycott the 2011 World Cup after ICC stripped Pakistan as a co-host.

Quoting unnamed sources, 'The Nation' reported that the Pakistani government could ask the PCB to boycott the 2011 World Cup in protest against the ICC's decision to shift the World Cup matches from Pakistan.

"I think the Indian government, with the help of the three boards (BCCI, SLC and BCB), is trying to isolate the PCB and therefore this decision at political level is not ruled out," a source privy to the government was quoted as saying by the daily.

However, sources in the PCB said that the Board management hasn't received any such instructions from the government.

PCB top brass is hoping for a positive outcome from a meeting between its chairman Ijaz Butt and ICC president David Morgan to be held in Dubai later this month. The PCB is expecting to resolve the issue through an out of court settlement.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/183720_Deepika-wins-gold-in-Youth-World-Archery-Championship

Deepika wins gold in Youth World Archery Championship

STAFF WRITER 16:51 HRS IST

Kolkata, July 20 (PTI) Deepika Kumari became only the second Indian archer to win a Youth World Championship title after bagging gold in the girls' Cadet Recurve category in the 11th edition of the tournament at Ogden (Utah), USA.

In the final tussle, the fourth seeded Jharkhand-girl yesterday shot 115 points to beat Russian Sayana Tsyrempilova who could manage only 109, an Archery Association of India (AAI) release said.

Deepika had a consistent run throughout the tournament as she scored 115 out of a possible 120 in the quarterfinal and then 112 in the semifinal.

Compatriot Sanjay Boro won the bronze in boys' Cadet Recurve category.

Palton Hansda was the first Indian to win a Junior Compound Individual gold in the ninth Youth World Archery Championship in 2006 at Merida, Mexico.