Indian men shoot bronze in 10m air pistol, Jitu enters finals

Indian men settled for a bronze medal after narrowly missing the silver in the 10m air pistol event at the Ongnyeon shooting range, continuing their good run in the 17th Asian Games, here today.



Their latest shooting star Jitu Rai also entered the eight-man final as the second best qualifier, a day after clinching the 50m gold, to make it a satisfactory morning.

Rais precise shooting, that helped him garner 585 points and qualify with a point behind Kazakhstans Rashid Yunusmetov, backed up by Samaresh Jungs 580 (who finished 9th) and Prakash Nanjappas 578 (14th), albeit with an injured leg, helped India garner 1743 points, the same as second placed China, for the bronze.



India and China were level on points and the silver was decided by the number of Xs (bullseye) in the tens in which the latter tallied one more - 65 to Indias 64.



The gold was won by hosts South Korea with a combined tally of 1744, leading Samaresh to later say that "why only silver, we narrowly missed the gold too".



Rai, who had provided India with their first gold in these Games on day one of competitions yesterday, has a very good chance of adding another to his and the countrys tally later this morning when the eight-man finals take place.



Rais sequence of hits at the target were 97, 99, 95, 98, 97 and 99 and he even expressed his disappointment despite scoring tens at times.



Burly Samaresh, the 2006 Commonwealth Games Gold Finger, came up with 97, 97, 97, 96, 96 and 98 to finish one slot outside the finals qualification.



He later said, "I am pretty happy to finish with a medal and not exactly disappointed (at not making the finals)."



"Why only silver, we missed out on the gold too by one point. But thats how it goes," he said.



Like all other shooting contingent members, he too had to return to India after the World Championships in Spain to get Korean visas in the absence of their accreditations with them but, unlike a few of the rest, said he was quite happy to spend a day at home after spending several days overseas.



Asked about his immediate future, he said, "I am not even looking at the Rio qualifications now. If I get a quota I will go and shoot there. Its two years away. I will be taking part in the nationals."



Nanjappa, a CWG gold medal winner, was hampered by a leg injury which he had sustained just before the Granada worlds while running on the road as part of the physical fitness training process in Hanover, Germany.



"I shot in the world championships with this ligament strain on my left leg. I did so again today after removing the cast and took some time to shoot well," he said.



Nanjappa said another problem he faced, like fellow shooter Shweta Chaudhry, was that he could not use his new weapon, a different brand of Italian make to the one he had been using in the past, during yesterdays practice as "it had been held up at the Korean Customs and got released only late yesterday".



"We provide our federation with the details of the weapon we are using and the federation forwards the information to the Indian Olympic Association. For my part I had informed the federation well in advance."



"The weapon, if its new, has a different feel to it. I used it at the World Championships," he added.



Saying he was disappointed at not making the finals, Nanjappa said the team could have won the silver if not gold.



"We should have done better. I took time to settle down. I had not done any physical fitness routine like running for several days because of my doctors advice following the leg injury," he pointed out.



Having completed his campaign here, he has set his immediate future sights on the upcoming nationals in Delhi and the National Games next year in Kerala.



"These two and one more qualification tournament would decide the teams for the World Cups to get our quota places for the Rio Olympics," he said.

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Cilic crushes Nishikori to claim U.S. Open title

NEW YORK, September 9, 2014 (Reuters)

- Croatias Marin Cilic swept past Japans Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 6-3 to win the U.S. Open on Monday and reach the pinnacle of the sport one year after a doping ban kept him out of the years final grand slam.

The big-serving Croatian overwhelmed a weary Nishikori in one hour, 54 minutes to clinch a ruthless victory and deny his 10th-seeded opponents bid to become the first Asian man to win a grand slam.

With the win, 14th seed Cilic becomes the first Croatian to win one of the sports four grand slam championships since his coach Goran Ivanisevic celebrated a Wimbledon victory in 2001.

"This is all hard work in these last several years and especially this last year," said Cilic. "My team has brought something special to me, especially Goran, we were working really hard but the most important thing he brought to me was enjoying tennis and always having fun."

"I enjoyed my best tennis over here and played the best ever in my life."The final marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that at least one of tenniss big three of Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer was not playing for the title.

The two players walked onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium court under overcast skies and much more forgiving conditions than the sweltering heat they faced through much of the fortnight.

While both men were playing in their first grand slam final it was Nishikori who displayed more jitters as Cilic quickly found his range and unloaded on his helpless opponent by blasting 17 aces to Nishikoris two.

Nishikori had his opportunities with nine break chances but could convert just one while Cilic was five of 11 and enjoyed a 38-19 edge in winners.

"Its a really tough loss but I'm really happy coming to my first final," said Nishikori, who appeared to run out of gas after beating three consecutive top-10 opponents and having to endure a pair of five-setters. "Sorry I couldn't get a trophy today but for sure next time.

"It was a really fun two weeks here. I hope I can be coming back next year."

PRETTY NERVOUS

Cilic had Nishikori on the back foot from start to finish, speeding through the opening set in 33 minutes.

The 14th seed, using his huge wingspan to reach out and bash forehands across court and a booming serve to score easy points, again had an early break in the second and added another to goup 5-2.

Nishikori mustered a fightback to score his only break of the match and close to 5-3 but the relentless Cilic broke right back for a 2-0 lead killing any momentum his reeling opponent was building.

With a maiden grand slam within sight, Cilic kept his foot on the gas and grabbed an early break in the third.

The only nerves Cilic would show came when he double faulted on his first match point.

But it was only a momentary lapse as he buckled down and finished off a reeling Nishikori with a backhard winner before letting out a mighty scream as he fell onto his back and raised his arms in celebration.

"You never know when the nerves are going to kick in," said Cilic, who returned to competition last October after a four-month ban for what he always maintained was the result of ingesting a banned substance through a tainted supplement.

"I think both of us were pretty nervous in the first set especially.

"Everything I was working for and dreaming came today and I feel for all the other players that are working hard, I think this is a big sign, a big hope that if you are working hard things are going to pay off."





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Stage set for a fresh beginning

Namma yuddha, nimma habba (we fight, you feast) and several such slogans scream out of large hoardings -- featuring Kannada film star Sudeep and some of the popular Karnataka cricketers in various shapes and sizes -- put up at many vantage points across the City, promoting the Karnataka Premier League.



After a gap of three years, the third edition of the T20 league, conducted by the Karnataka State Cricket Association, will commence on Thursday, with the Gangotri Glades in Mysore hosting the first of its three legs (August 28 - September 3).



The match between defending champions Mangalore United and Rockstars, a team made up of an assortment of film personalities, will kick-off the proceedings.



Live telecast on a sports channel (Sony Six), LED bails (that illuminate when dislodged) and floodlit matches in places like Mysore and Hubli are some of the novelties of the revived league which is much smaller in size compared to what it was in 2011 and 2012.



While eight teams were in fray in the first two years, only six franchises (Mangalore, Hubli Tigers, Mysore Warriors, Bellary Tuskers, Bijapur Bulls, Belagavi Panthers) have shown interest in being part of the league this time while Rockstars, led by Sudeep, has ostensibly been included to draw more crowds to the stadiums.



While Sudeep and Co are one of the most dominant sides in the hugely popular Celebrity Cricket League, it will be interesting to see how they fare against professional cricketers, some of whom have donned India colours and some others who hope to do so soon. Many of them have also been big hits in the highly-competitive IPL-7.



Star attractions



R Vinay Kumar (Panthers), Robin Uthappa and Mayank Agarwal (both Tuskers), Manish Pandey (Warriors), Karun Nair (United) and KL Rahul (Tigers) who enjoyed varying degrees of success in this year's IPL will be the star attractions of the 16-day event that has been named after the late Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, former president of the KSCA.



The organisers will have also heaved a sigh of relief on learning that Uthappa, the costliest buy in the auction at Rs 5.3 lakh, will be available for the major part of the tournament. Uthappa has been nursing a knee injury but the right-hander confirmed to Deccan Herald that he would be fit to play the Tuskers' third match against Tigers on September 3 in Mysore.



While there is little doubt that the tournament will be well received in Mysore and Hubli, the challenge will be to fill the stands in Bangalore which doesn't have a team of its own.



Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium will host the second leg from September 5 to 7 while the league will conclude at the Rajnagar Stadium in Hubli which will host the last stretch of the meet, including the semifinals (Sept 11) and the final (Sept 12).



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'Play the game in true spirit'

As the third edition of the Karnataka PremierLeague is set to begin here on Thursday, the Karnataka State Cricket Association unveiled the tournament's trophy here at the M Chinnaswamy stadium.


Legendary batsman GR Viswanath, KSCA President PR Ashok Anand, former State skipper Sudhakar Rao and Biju Menon, General Manager of Karbonn Mobiles, who are the official sponsors for the league were present at the event on Wednesday.



Speaking on the occasion, Viswanath said: " Finally we are ready to begin. The tournament was not organised in the previous years for various reasons but now things have fallen in place. It is a collective effort and the teams have shown great interest in the tournament."



"I was not very impressed with the lights in Gangotri Glades initially. But now I am made aware of the latest arrangements where I have been told that the the lights are beaming with great quality. I feel its a great sign and I am very happy about it."



The former India batsman hoped the tournament would be played in the right spirit."I wish all the players and KSCA a great success and I hope the game is played in right spirit."



The trophy, which is dedicated to ex-KSCA President late Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, presents a bright look with features signifying the glory of the game and the State.



Interesting elements of the trophy include two pillars reflecting the grandeur of Mysore Palace. Placed between the two pillars are cricket stumps with a ball positioned on top of the trophy.



A colourful opening ceremony has been planned before the league opens in Mysore at 4.00 pm. The tickets for the first match between Mangalore United and Rockstars have been sold out, according to the organisers.



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Akhil to lead Hubli

Veteran Karnataka all-rounder BAkhil will lead Hubli Tigers in the third edition of the Karnataka Premier League, beginning on Thursday.



The team was launched at a function here on Tuesday evening, and the owners of the Tigers -- Jindal Steels and Anand Sweets -- also named promising Karnataka batsman K LRahul as the vice-captain.



Akhil was the captain of Bangalore Provident (Rural) when they won the inaugural KPL title in 2009, beating Belagavi Panthers. He also captained Provident in the second edition of the tournament in 2010, finishing runners-up to MangaloreUnited.





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Sindhu, Srikanth in round three

India's P V Sindhu entered the third round of the World Badminton Championship with a 21-12 21-17 victory over Olga Golovanova of Russia here on Wednesday.



She will next take on sixth seeded Yeon Ju Bae of Korea.



Kidambi Srikanth also progressed into the round three, winning his men's singles second round match against England's Rajiv Ouseph 21-18, 21-13.



The men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy B also progressed, stunning 15th seeded Japanese duo of Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Noriyasu Hirata 21-19, 21-19 in 44 minutes to advance to the third round.



Later in the day, the India duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar pulled off a stunning 21-15 21-17 win over Ki Jung Kim and Sa Rang Kim of Korea to move into the next round.



However, it was curtains for the women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa as they lost their second round match to fifth seeded Chinese combination of Qing Tian and Yunlei Zhao 16-21 8-21.

Park blasts BWF



The Badminton World Federation should have taken more time to trial their proposed scoring changes and given top shuttlers a better chance to experience it, Japan coach Park Joo-bong said.



"The timing is not right. They should have tried it out much earlier and give everyone a taste of it," Park told reporters in Copenhagen.

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Delightful double for Pruthvi

Pruthvi Roy bagged a grand double clinching the boys' under-13 singles and doubles titles in the 20th Ramaiah Rajan Memorial Junior State ranking badminton tournament here on Wednesday.

In the singles final, the top seed Pruthvi ended second seed CS Saket's run with a fine 21-15, 21-15 victory. In the doubles clash, Pruthvi partnered Naren Iyer to beat Daniel Biju and Raghav Maheshwaran 21-13, 21-19, 21-14. In the under-15 girls' singles title round, third seed Drithi Yatheesh prevailed in a hard-fought battle to upset top seed Shivani Pathi 21-11, 19-21, 21-13. In the corresponding boys' singles match, Mayuresh Janpandit defeated S Avinash 21-19, 21-15 to claim the title.

Medha Shashidharan defeated Deetya Jagadiesh 21-12, 21-16 to win the girls under-13 title.

Results (all finals): U-15: Boys singles: Mayuresh Janpandit bt S Avinash 21-19, 21-15.

Doubles: M Rohith/ MR Vikhyath bt Anirudh Rajeev/ Mayuresh Janpandit 21-23, 21-19, 21-14.

U-13: K Pruthvi Roy bt CS Saket 21-15, 21-15.

Doubles: Naren Iyer/ K Pruthvi Roy bt Daniel Biju/ Raghav Maheshwaran 21-16, 21-13.

Girls singles: U-15: Drithi Yatheesh bt Shivani Pathi 21-11, 19-21, 21-13.

U-13: Medha Shashidharan bt Deetya Jagadish 21-12, 21-16.

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Faf, AB slam centuries as S Africa stun Australia

AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis struck sublime centuries as South Africa chased down a massive score to beat Australia by seven wickets in the second one-day international of the triangular series on Wednesday.



The pair put on 206 for the third wicket, the highest South Africa partnership against Australia, as the Proteas reached their victory target of 328 with 20 balls to spare at the Harare Sports Club home of series hosts Zimbabwe.



It eclipsed the 187 put on by Herchelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith as they famously chased down 434 at The Wanderers in 2006, and was no less impressive for the skill shown by the pair as they scored all around the ground.

After South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl, Australia showed great acceleration at the end of their innings to post 327 for seven in 50 overs, with opener Aaron Finch crashing 102 from 116 balls.

But it was not enough as the Proteas recovered from a wobble at 51 for two to reach their target with some ease on a wicket that got flatter as the day wore on.



For Du Plessis it was a first ODI century as he recorded 106 from 98 balls and made a mockery of recent criticism over his slow strike-rate in limited overs cricket with a fine display of finesse and power hitting.



Captain De Villiers rode his luck after offering simple chances to Mitchell Johnson and George Bailey that were dropped when he had 78 and 85 respectively, and battled on through severe cramp to score 136 not out from 106 balls.

It is a welcome return to form for the right-hander, who had scored only 29 runs in three innings in test and ODI cricke.

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Raina's ton fuels India's surge

Suresh Raina smashed his first overseas century as India began their one-day campaign on a resounding note when they trounced England by 133 runs in the second ODI to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series at Sophia Gardens, here on Wednesday.

Put into bat, India, who are looking to put their Test debacle behind them in the limited-overs format, rode Raina's 75-ball 100 to post a challenging 304 for six in 50 overs.



The 144-run fifth-wicket partnership between Raina, who registered his fourth ODI century, and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (52) was the highlight of the Indian innings.

Rain forced a delayed start to the England innings and the Duckworth-Lewis method revised the hosts' target to 295 in 47 overs. The hosts were bundled for 161 in 38.1 overs as Indian bowlers for once made their presence felt in English conditions. England opener Alex Hales (40), who was handed his debut cap by skipper Alastair Cook in the morning, was the highest scorer in a disappointing scorecard.



The hosts slumped from 54 for no loss to 85 for five and the slide continued with the overcast conditions doing little to save the batting collapse. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (4-28) was India's leading wicket-taker after medium-pacer Mohammad Shami (2-32) did the early damage.



Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2-38) took care of the finishing act while new-ball bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1-30) and Raina (1-12) also picked up a wicket each. Shami started the rot in his third over by sending back Cook LBW for 19 and cleaning up Ian Bell for 1. Bhuvneshwar cleaned bowled Joe Root for 4 and Jadeja then turned on the heat to make short work of the England middle and lower-order.



The first match of the series was washed off due to persistent rains in Bristol while the focus now shifts to the third ODI at Trent Bridge on Saturday. For India, Rohit Sharma (52) and Ajinkya Rahane (41) also stitched a 91-run third-wicket partnership to contribute their bit in a good batting performance.



England off-spinner James Tredwell (2-42) removed Rohit and Rahane to disturb the good work done by the two batsmen. Virat Kohli's bad run with the bat continued as the No 3 batsman was ousted by Chris Woakes (4-52) for nought to put India in trouble at 19 for two.



But once Rohit and Rahane built a platform, Raina and Dhoni picked it up from there and helped the team score 147 runs in the final 15 overs with 62 off them coming in the batting powerplays (35-40). Match-of-the-match Raina's knock was laced with 12 fours and three sixes as Dhoni, who struck his 55th ODI half-century smashed 6 boundaries.

In reply, England were off to a comfortable start despite the Indian medium-pacers getting good purchase under heavy cloud cover. They beat Cook and Hales on many occasions, but the desired returns never came through as the duo added 45 runs without loss in the first 9 overs.



But two wickets in one over from Shami changed the tide as the new batsmen at the crease couldn't survive under pressure of keeping tabs with the D/L par-scores. The conditions didn't help either as the Indian bowlers were making the ball nip around.

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Bulls tame Panthers, reach semis

Bengaluru Bulls tripped, stumbled and crawled but ultimately made the semifinals of the Pro Kabaddi League after a come-from-behind 30-29 victory over table-toppers Jaipur Pink Panthers here at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday.

Having made a habit of giving heart-stopping moments to their fans right until the final second in previous games, Wednesday was no different as they took the lead with only seven minutes left on the clock. Jaipur then bounced back to level the scores with just a few raids remaining but the hosts' showed enough gumption to drag themselves over the line.

After the Bulls' stars, Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chillar, earned their side three points, they took a four point lead.

Panthers' Maninder Singh then reduced the deficit to two before Bulls employed time-wasting tactics as Dharmaraj Cheralathan ate up time on his raid. With time remaining for only one raid and Bulls still leading by two, Cheralathan than sacrificed himself to leave the Bulls victorious by a point.

Bulls, who needed a strong showing on their home turf to qualify for the semis, even leapfrogged Patna Pirates (45 points) to third place on the table with 47 points as the league phase of the tournament concluded in front of another lively crowd.

Bulls will face U Mumba in the semifinal in Mumbai on Friday while Pirates will face the Panthers in the other semifinal. The victory will certainly give confidence to the Bulls as they seemed headed for defeat for much of the game. In a first half which could have done with a large dose of pace, Panthers' Maninder (12 raid points in the game) seemed to be on a mission to eliminate Bulls on his own.

After his first raid took out two Bulls' antis, he returned to claim three outs which ultimately resulted in a lona for the away side. With the Bulls trailing 9-16 at one stage, there were a few anxious faces in the crowd, which included the likes of Abhishek Bachchan, owners of the Panthers, former India Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and cricketer Robin Uthappa.

Bulls' Ajay and Deepak Kumar, who kept chipping away with crucial raids all through the game, significantly closed the gap in the second stanza.

Even then, Panthers, who had only lost once before, seemed assured of victory. But a lona in the 33rd minute saw the tide turn. The home side, roared on by a raucous crowd, were happy to oblige.

U Mumba finish second



Earlier on Wednesday, U Mumba sneaked past basement dwellers Puneri Paltan 39-38 to cement second place with 51 points.



Trying to salvage some pride in what could be called as the Maharashtra Derby, Paltans' skipper Wazir Singh went for the final raid with the intention of outing a few antis but they got the better of him as the clock showed that the time was up.



The caravan now moves back to where it all began for the knockout phase of the event. The semifinals would be held on Friday with the third-fourth place play-off and the final scheduled two nights later..

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Shivkumar shines in DPS win

Shivkumar BUwas the brightest star among a host of performers for Delhi Public School (South) in their crushing innings and 123-run win over Triveni Public School in the Division Iunder-16 inter-school tournament for the KSCACup.



Shivkumar (4-39) and ShubamSingh (4-44) shared eight wickets between them as DPS bundled out Triveni for 146 in their first innings. DPSreplied with a massive 374 for three in 61 overs for an innings lead of 228 runs. Shivkumar made an unbeaten 131, while Ashrit made an even hundred. Varshith chipped in with 77.



Advith Jgrabbed six wickets for just 13 runs as DPS fired out Triveni for 105 in 47 overs to celebrate a fine win.



Brief scores:



Triveni Public School: 146 all out in 39.3 overs (M Ravikumar 44, Ankush Bopanna 35, Harshith Raj G 40; Shubham Singh 4-44, Shivkumar BU 4-39) and 105 all out in 47 overs (Amith Kumar 41; Advith J 6-13, Samarth S 2-0) lt to Delhi Public School, South: 374/3 in 61 overs (Ashrit 100, Varshith 77, Shivkumar BU 131 n.o.).



Ebenezer International School: 379 all out in 87.3 overs (Abhinav P Koushik 31, Munim Mehdi 43, Sudhanshu Sonkar 143; Vishruth Rao 3-44) bt Jain Heritage School: 127 all out in 58.3 overs (Sai Prajwal Reddy 50; Rishab Belavadi 3-27, Karthikye Wadhwa 3-17, Shaun Joseph 2-14) and 111 all out in 41 overs (Shaun Joseph 3-32, Chinmaya M Narasimiah 2-26, Rohan Nayakar 2-5).



St Joseph's Indian HS: 229 all out in 65.2 overs (Ravikumar N 70, Amarnath AC 40; Ahiram Vadlamani 6-60)and 258/6 in 41.4 overs (Ravikumar N 144, Sankalp Shettennavar 60) drew with Vidyashilp Academy: 204 all out in 45.3 overs (Tanishq Burhaani 28, Abhiram Vadlamani 64, Nehal Gowda 50 n.o.; Prajwal Pavan 6-55, Sankalp Shettennavar 2-46).



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Akhil, Mary get the nod

All but written off after a string of injuries wrecked havoc on his career four years ago, enigmatic boxer Akhil Kumar on Wednesday staged a remarkable comeback to make the 10-member Indian men's team for the Asian Games scheduled to be held from September 19 in Incheon, Korea.



The 33-year-old, who rose to fame in the bantamweight 56kg category, has moved up a division to 60kg for the September 19 to October 4 event.



In the women's team, five-time world champion MC Mary Kom (51kg) has made the cut, putting behind the disappointment of her omission from the Commonwealth Games squad. She had lost to eventual bronze-medallist Pinki Jangra in the trials.



Team: Men: L Devendro Singh (49kg), Madan Lal (52kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg), Akhil Kumar (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg), Mandeep Jangra (69kg), Vikas Krishan (75kg), Kuldeep Singh (81kg), Amritpreet Singh (91kg), Satish Kumar (+91kg).



Women: MC Mary Kom (51kg), L Sarita Devi (60kg), Pooja Rani (75kg).



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PKL exceeds expectations

Desperately in need of a revamp, kabaddi is enjoying a new lease of life through the Pro League. An astounding 288 million have turnred to their television sets to watch the PKL since its beginning.


Abhishek Bachchan, who addressed the media at the trophy unveiling ceremony on Wednesday, had a broad smile on his face while revealing that piece of statistic.



"Before the beginning of the League, we were expecting a TV viewership of 50 million," he said. "But to get 288 million is unimaginable. All thanks to the coaches, players and Star for they have made kabaddi relevant once again," said Bachchan.



That response, he maintained, exceeded the expectations of all the owners. "I speak on behalf of all the owners when I say I this - nobody expected such a big response. It has exceeded our expectations by 400 per cent."



The Bollywood star, who owns Jaipur Pink Panthers who tops the league at this stage, also spoke about the passion he has for the sport. "That (celebrities) has nothing to do with the popularity of the league," he pointed out.



"This is all about passion. Of course, it does not hurt to have celebrities for grabbing eyeballs but if you are not into it, it will not work. You should be in it for the right reasons."



The junior Bachchan, who used to play the sport when he was a kid, said the format worked because its short duration. "It is very attractive because it gets over quickly and people get done with it before dinner."





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Football, TT may get axe from govt

Uncertainty looms over the participation of Indian football and table tennis teams in the Asian Games with Sports Ministry not willing to support the disciplines which hold little hope of a medal in the mega event.



While it is for the sports minister to take a final call on the matter, Sports Authority of India Director General Jiji Thomson said the move was necessary to cut down the jumbo Indian contingent forwarded by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for the Asian Games.



"Sports minister will take a final call on the participation of the players in some of the disciplines where we don't have a chance of winning a medal. We will not field our teams in baseball, bowling, fencing, karate, modern pentathlon, rugby, softball, soft tennis and triathlon. Since cue sports, chess and roller sports are also not there at the Incheon Asian Games roster, so we lose out on medals from these events as well. Cricket we do have a bright chance but BCCI is against sending a team," Thomson told reporters on Wednesday.



"As of now we have a 922-member contingent and surely it will be trimmed after we get the approval from the sports minister. Whatever the number of the athletes is, 24 per cent of that figure will be that of the officials."



Thomson said there is also possibility of table tennis, football and handball teams being excluded from the Indian contingent.



"Table tennis is another event where we do not expect a medal because the level of competition is very high in Asia. But of course, participating at this level is also something that gives experience. For team sports, we have set eighth place in Asia as benchmark for selection. Our football teams definitely don't figure in that range. It performed quite badly against Pakistan recently. So we will wait for the minister to decide," Thomson said.



In the previous edition in Guangzhou, India registered its best ever performance in the Asian Games winning 64 medals including 14 gold. Thomson said they were expecting an even richer medal haul from the Indian athletes this time.



"We are expecting 72-100 medals at the Asian Games. Last time (Asian Games) we won 12 medals in athletics and this time we are expecting it to reach 16. Shooting is another event from which we have high expectations and possibly we will win 14 medals," Thomson said.







source Deccan Herald - Sports http://ift.tt/1nFlxXW

Boxers may have to miss Asian Games

Indian pugilists' participation in the forthcoming Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, could be in jeopardy if Boxing India elections are not held on the stipulated date of September 11.



SAI Executive Director (Teams) Sudhir Setia said that no country was willing to invite the Indian pugilists for training ever since world body AIBA dissolved the national federation.



"It is for this reason that our boxers couldn't get exposure trips and now our medals tally from the discipline in the Commonwealth Games has also been affected. Cuba, which has helped Indian boxing in the last 10 years, was reluctant to host Indian boxers when we were planning to send them there," Setia told reporters.



"If the boxing body fails to conduct the elections within the time frame (Sept 11) given by the AIBA to conduct the elections, there is a very good possibility that we may not be able to field our boxers. In fact, at the Commonwealth Games, there was a fear that we may not be able to win a single medal because of the lack of foreign training for our boxers."



SAI Director General Jiji Thomson said it was understood the electionS would be held soon after the Commonwealth Games and the delay might draw the ire of AIBA.



source Deccan Herald - Sports http://ift.tt/1qzPvkJ

Silver-winning Indian spikers felicitated

The Indian men's volleyball team that won the silver medal in the Asian Championship at Almaty, Kazakhstan, last week was felicitated at the Sports Authority of India in Bangalore on Wednesday.

After a stirring run, India had lost to South Korea 23-25, 21-25, 24-26 in the final.

India had beaten Kazakhstan, Japan and Thailand in the league phase before ousting Iran in the semifinals. India's G R Vaishnav was named the best blocker and Prabhakar was adjudged the best attacker of the tournament.

source Deccan Herald - Sports http://ift.tt/1nFlzPE

Pursuit Of Fame fancied

Bangalore race card

Pursuit Of Fame, to be ridden by S John and trained by F AMangalorkar, is poised to land home the riches in the Sanctity Trophy over1800 metres, the feature event of the races to be held here on Thursday.

False rails, average width of 4.6 metres, will be in place from 1600 metres to the winning post.

1. the lt Col DK Mistry Memorial Plate (Div II) (rated 20-45) 1400M, 1.45 pm

1. Belle Etoile (Z Darashah) 62 VRJagadeesh 7

2. Woodkraft (Rakesh) 61,5 AAsbar 5

3. Kimora (P Kumar) 60.5 S John 11

4. Jump In The Red (S Babu) 59.5 Noorulla 4

5. Small Cruise (S Rao) 59 A Khan 2

6. Our Commander (A Ganapathy) 57 T Patel 9

7. Encourager (S Kumar) 54.5 M Kumar 10

8. Mister Grey (M Khan) 53.5 Christopher 6

9. Youre Scintillating (B Rao) 53.5 R Kumar 3 10. La Lanterna (SKumar) 53 A Alam 1 11. Aj One (SS Attaollahi) 52.5 Vivek 8



Mister Grey 1; Kimora 2; Our Commander 3.



2. lt col dk mistry memorial plate (Div I) (rated 00-25) 1400M, 2.15 pm

1. Forest Charm (M Eshwer) 62.5 A Alam 5

2. Zipping (Z Darashah) 62.5 VR Jagadeesh 4

3. Blue Star (G Nityanand) 62 S Babu 10

4. Come On Gingin (D Pujar) 62 S Paswan 2

5. Markus Sittikus (N Gowda) 62 K Rai 3

6. Penalty Kick (B Salvi) 62 ABaandal 6

7. Cardiff City (CD Monnappa) 61.5 Himanshu 7

8. Dancing Laurie (B Puttanna) 61.5 ARamu 8

9. Whimsical (RR Byramji) 61.5 TPatel 1

10. Emancipation (S Kumar) 58.5 S Mallikarjun 9

Whimsical 1; Markus Sittikus 2; Blue Star 3.

3. the kasargod plate (Div II) (rated 20-45) 1200M, 2.40 pm

1. Zora Zora (Rakesh) 60 N Alam 2

2. Super Saloni (S Kumar) 57.5 AKhan 7

3. Star Kingdom (S Narredu) 57 YS Srinath 3

4. Forest Tern (A Ganapathy) 56 T Patel 11

5. Lady Charmer (M Eshwer) 56 A Alam 4

6. Winning Desire (V Appachu) 55.5 RKumar 1

7. Insight (B Puttanna) 55 ARamu 5

8. Natural Nine (M Bobby) 55 GRUrs 8

9. Amanda (V Lokanath) 54.5 Vishwanath 10

10. Fire Storm (S Britto) 54.5 M Prabhakaran 9

11. Viento Plata (N Gowda) 53 Kiran Rai 6



Star Kingdom1; Forest Tern 2; Insight 3.



4. Safi Darashah memorial trophy (Div II) (rated 60 and above) 1200M, 3.15 pm

1. Talisker (V Lokanath) 63 A Ramu 4

2. Divine Deliverance (D Pujar) 55.5 Gnaneshwar 7

3. Secret Missile (M Bobby) 55.5 U Kiran 3

4. Protector Of Paris (SM Johnson) 55 VR Jagadeesh 5

5. Sweet Secret (B Puttanna) 55 M Nazar 1

6. Violent Storm (NM Punna) 55 TPatel 11

7. Autumn Rush (A Mangalorkar) 54.5 Vivek 10

8. Ice Cutter (SNarredu) 54 G Adarsh 8 9. Super Start (RNaredu) 54 Tauseef A 2 10. Sabse Bada Rupaiya (S Singh) 53.5 AKumar 9 11. Grand Applause (Dominic) 52.5 A Alam 12 12. Flying Tricolour (Santosh R) 51.5 M Kumar 6



Grand Applause 1; Violent Storm 2; Talisker 3.

5. the sanctity trophy (rated 60 and above) 1800M, 3.45 pm

1. Winged Foot (AMangalorkar) 61.5 Vivek 2

2. Ace Bucephalus (Azhar Ali) 57.5 Srinath 5

3. Pursuit Of Fame (AMangalorkar) 55.5 SJohn 3

4. Spinning Chakram (MP Kamath) 54.5 P Trevor 4

5. Artic Attraction (Byramji) 54 Irvan Singh 6

6. Yamas (Monnappa) 53.5 N Alam 7

7. Lad Lady (Darashah) 50.5 Jagadeesh 1



Pursuit Of Fame 1; Ace Bucephalus 2; Artic Attraction 3.



6. the safi darashah memorial trophy (Div I) (rated 60 and above) 1200M, 4.15 pm

1. Amazing Desire (Lokanath) 64 A Ramu 3

2. Divine Friendship (Rakesh) 63 SKumar 10

3. Solitaire Royale (Dominic) 62 AAlam 7

4. Will Star (Puttanna) 62 S John 6

5. Virat (N Gowda) 61 RKumar 1

6. Icelander (S Narredu) 59 Srinath 12

7. Atlas Power (Sharat K) 58 AKhan 11

8. Commanding Heights (Monnappa) 58 Viswanath 2

9. Spark Of Beauty (Bipin VS) 56.5 Gnaneshwar 5

10. Azure Fire (MP Kamath) 56 Jagadeesh 8

11. Impressive Bolt (V Yadav) 56 AKumar 9

12. Amazing Redd (Prasanna K) 55.5 P Trevor 4

Icelander 1; Amazing Redd 2; Will Star 3.

7. mk srinivas memorial trophy (rated 40 to 65) 1400M, 4.45 pm

1. Lads Ability (DPujar) 61 S John 11

2. Esoterical (MP Kamath) 59 P Trevor 7

3. All For Cash (Darashah) 58.5 Jagadeesh 5

4. Cash Is King (Md Sajid) 57 Noorulla 1

5. Dance Of AGeneral (Monnappa) 56.5 Viswanath 10

6. Ice Splendour (Rakesh) 56 Dharmendar 3

7. Midtown Magic (Santosh R) 54.5 A Khan 8

8. Absolute Brave (Johnson) 53.5 S Kumar 6 9. Too Cool To Hold (FM Khan) 53.5 Vivek 4 10. Ensatus Elegans (Ranjeet) 53 I SIngh 9 11. Gunpowder (V Appachu) 53 K Rai 12 12. Strike And Serve (Surender) 53 U Kiran 2

Lads Ability 1; Dance Of A General 2;

Esoterical 3.

8. The kasargod plate (Div I) (rated 20 to 45) 1200M, 5.15 pm

1. Woodberg (SNaredu) 62.5 Srinath 10 2. Best Move (Rakesh) 60 AAsbar 5 -. SBlizzard Of Oz (NM Punna) 59.5 Withdrawn -- 4. Coffee Time (Monnappa) 58 AViswanath 1 5. Brown Panther (Sharat K) 57.5 M Kumar 8 6. Mandarin (Aravind G) 57 P Trevor 6 7. Super Silver (R Narredu) 56 G Adarsh 9 8. The Back Bencher (V Yadav) 54.5 A Kumar 7 9. Zagato (N Gowda) 54.5 K Rai 4 10. Julius (Britto) 54 Prabhakaran 2 11. Kir Royale (Darashah) 54 Jagadeesh 3



Woodberg 1; Mandarin 2;

Zagato 3.



Day's best: Icelander.

Double: Whimsical and Woodberg.

Jackpot: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

I Treble: 3, 4, 5. II Treble: 6, 7, 8.

source Deccan Herald - Sports http://ift.tt/1qzPtJJ

Spartacus wins Amberdue Cup

KOLKATARESULTS

Spartacus, ridden by Md Azharuddin and trained by E Bhungard, rode to victory in the 1600-metre Amberdue Cup, the feature event of the races held here on Wednesday.



1. The Fair Mona Handicap - 2000M: Conquerable (C Alford) 1; Craft Lady (T Patel) 2; Biloo Badshah (J Singh) 3; Dance In China (V jaiswal) 4; WB:9, Lnk, 2-1/2L; T: 2:13.17; TB: SS habbu; Fav: Conquerable.



2. The Own Ability Handicap - 1100M: Passionate (S Rajput) 1; Chhundu (S Khan) 2; Oan Woods (S Singh) 3; My Boy Lollipop (Md Javed) 4; Not run: Carnival Spirit; WB:1/2, 2-1/2, 1/2L; T: 1:10.57; TB:V Jaiswal; Fav: Crackle.



3. The Vanitas Handicap - 1400M: Romantic Flow (C Alford) 1; Pick Pocket (T Patel) 2; Black Caviour (S Rajput) 3; Something Stupid (S Khan) 4; WB: Nk, 6, 3-1/4L; T:1:28.04; TB:V Singh; Fav: Romantic Flow.



4. The Great Scot Plate - 1400M: Queen Of The Winds (S Kamble) 1; Warrior (T Patel) 2; Treasure Island (Md Azharuddin) 3; Laverock (Md Islam) 4; WB:3, 1,L, Lnk; T:1:30.83; Fav: Treasure Island.

5. The Amberdue Cup - 1600M: Spartacus (Md Azharuddin) 1; Massachusettes (S Shinde) 2; Shivalik Shakti (R Singh) 3; Stiling Veil (G Singh) 4; Not run: Combined Operation; WB:2, 5-1/4, 1-1/4L; T:1:44.02; TB:EBhungard; Fav: Spartacus.

6. The Accuser Handicap - 1600M: Smart Hunter (B Mahesh0 1; Chala Ja Bachha (S Khan) 2; Kwan Yin (T Patel) 3; Razmaden (M Singh) 4; WB: Hd, Snk, 2-3/4L; T:1:44.82; TB: M Singh; Fav: Kwan Yin.

7. The Turf Hawk Handicap - 1200M: Primrose (S Kamble) 1; Gorgeous (S Rajput) 2; Silken Senorita (Md Azharuddin) 3; Carnival Point (S Shinde) 4; WB:3-1/2, 2L, Snk; T:1:15.32; TB:A Doctor; Fav: Primrose.



Bangalore dividends:



I race: Rs 16w, Rs 11, Rs 17p; Fc: Rs 33, Q: Rs 17; SHP: Rs 25; Tri: Rs 38 and Rs 21.

II race: Rs 35w, Rs 13, Rs 17, Rs 26p; Fc: Rs 210; Q: Rs 120; SHP: Rs 49; Tri: Rs 783 and Rs 294; Exp:Rs 1,538 and Rs 431.

III race: Rs 15w, Rs 11, Rs 15p; Fc: Rs 17; Q: Rs 17; SHP: Rs 20; Tri: Rs 159 and Rs 198; Exp: Rs 642 and Rs 236.

IV race: Rs 61w, Rs 20, Rs 20, Rs 14p; Fc: Rs 216; Q: Rs 126; SHP: 42; Tri: Rs 743 and Rs 314; Exp: Rs 2,843 and Rs 2,547.

V race: Rs 21w, Rs 13, Rs 15p; Fc: Rs 49; Q: Rs 17; SHP:Rs 28; Tri: Rs 101 and Rs 71; Exp: Rs 357 and Rs 255.

VI race: Rs 71w, Rs 32, Rs 38p; Fc: Rs 606; Q: Rs 225; SHP:Rs 71; Tri: Rs 1,263 and Rs 583; Exp:Rs 7,481 and Rs 5,130.

VII race: Rs 31w, Rs 15, Rs 33, Rs 61p; Fc: Rs 266; Q: Rs 533; SHP: Rs 127; Tri: Rs 17,248 and Rs 2,464; Exp: Rs 23,276 and Rs 7,481

Jackpot winner: Rs 3,430 (15); Jackpot runner: Rs 401 (55). I Treble: Rs 323 (30); II Treble: Rs 3,079 (16).

source Deccan Herald - Sports http://ift.tt/1nFlxqU

Porto, Zenit make progress

Porto and Zenit St Petersburg swept into the Champions League group stage, helped by inspired displays from Yacine Brahimi and Hulk, on Tuesday while hapless Celtic were knocked out of the competition for a second time in three weeks.



Brahimi, who shone for Algeria in the World Cup, curled in a majestic free kick and set up a second goal for Jackson Martinez to give Porto a 2-0 win over Lille in their playoff round second leg tie.



Hulk scored twice, converting a penalty and then barging his way through the Standard Liege midfield, as Zenit beat the Belgians 3-0 despite playing the second half with 10 men.



Celtic, beaten 6-1 on aggregate by Legia Warsaw in the third round only to be reprieved because the Polish champions fielded an ineligible player, slunk out for a second time with a 1-0 home defeat against Slovenian champions Maribor.



APOEL Nicosia, 4-0 winners over Aalborg, and Belarus champions BATE Borisov, who beat Slovakian counter-parts Slovan Bratislava 3-0, also qualified.



Porto went ahead in the 49th minute when new signing Brahimi curled a superb effort over the Lille wall from 25 metres.



He followed that up by splitting open the Lille defence and finding Colombia forward Jackson Martinez who swept home a first-time effort in the 69th minute as the twice European champions completed a 3-0 aggregate win.



Zenit, also leading 1-0 from the away leg, went ahead on the half hour when Venezuela forward Jose Rondon headed in Domenico Criscitos cross.



The Russians, coached by former Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur coach Andre Villas-Boas, were still too good, even after Viktor Fayzulin was sent off for a second booking in the 44th minute of the encounter.



Hulk put his Brazilian World Cup misery behind him as he converted a penalty in the 54th minute following a trip on Igor Smolnikov.



Four minutes later, Hulk lived up to his name as he won possession in midfield, flicked the ball past one defender, held off another and burst his way past the third with the help of a lucky rebound before firing past Eiji Kawashima.





source Deccan Herald - Sports http://ift.tt/1nFlwU3

Humiliating loss for United

Manchester Uniteds early season problems were compounded by a humiliating 4-0 loss to third-tier Milton Keynes Dons in the League Cup second round on Tuesday leaving new manager Louis van Gaal still looking for his first win.



MK Dons Will Grigg and substitute Benik Afobe scored two goals apiece as Uniteds defensive frailties were ruthlessly exposed by their enthusiastic lower division opponents who took advantage of playing against a second-string side.

Grigg capitalised on Uniteds mistakes to score either side of halftime before Afobe compounded the visitors misery with two late goals, the first seconds after coming off the bench.

It was Uniteds first outing in the second round of the competition since 1995 and the first time they had conceded four goals in a League Cup match against lower league opposition.



Following Uniteds 2-1 Premier League defeat by Swansea City, and a toothless 1-1 draw at Sunderland, they should have welcomed a seemingly straightforward game at lowly opponents. After a bright start, though, they wobbled and collapsed badly.



United manager Louis Van Gaal left out several first-team regulars including captain Wayne Rooney and strike partner Robin van Persie but asked if he regretted making so many changes, he said: "No, you have to analyse the problem and Ive done that. "We have nine injuries and a very young team. Ive seen them trying to do their utmost best so you cannot expect more."

In the other fixtures on Tuesday, West Ham United lost 5-4 on penalties at home to Sheffield United following a 1-1 draw after extra time, while fellow top-flight sides Leicester City and Burnley went down 1-0 to visiting Shrewsbury Town and Sheffield Wednesday respectively.

Dwight Gayle scored a first-half hat-trick Crystal Palace enjoyed a 3-0 win at third-tier Walsall. Newcastle United won 1-0 at Gillingham, Southampton beat Millwall 2-0 away, Swansea triumphed 1-0 at home to Rotherham United and West Bromwich Albion beat visitors Oxford United 7-6 on penalties with the teams locked at 1-1 after extra time.

source Deccan Herald - Sports http://ift.tt/1nFltaW