Contador withdraws from Tour de France

Two-time champion Alberto Contador has pulled out of the Tour de France during the ninth stage due to a fever. Slightly more than 100 kilometers from the end of the stage, the Spaniard stopped at the side of the road, hopped off his bike and got into the passenger seat of his team car. Contador […]

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IAAF rejects 67 Russian applications to compete internationally

The IAAF’s Doping Review Board has turned down applications from 67 Russian athletes to compete internationally as individuals following a blanket ban on the country’s track and field athletes for systematic doping. The All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) said in a statement on Saturday it was informed by the sport’s governing body IAAF that only one […]

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Giants’ Aikawa comes through in clutch against BayStars

Ryoji Aikawa delivered a tiebreaking, three-run double to lift the Yomiuri Giants to a come-from-behind 10-7 Central League win over the Yokohama BayStars on Sunday afternoon. Before 44,017 at Tokyo Dome, the Giants bullpen stemmed the tide after Yokohama scored seven runs over the first four innings before catcher Seiji Kobayashi’s three-run homer tied it […]

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Murray tops Raonic to claim second Wimbledon title

Andy Murray’s first Wimbledon championship was for his country. This one was for Andy Murray. Dulling big serves with quick-reflex returns, conjuring up daring passing shots and playing impressively mistake-free tennis all the while, Murray beat Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) on Sunday for his second trophy at the All England Club and […]

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Davis Cup: Koreans hope for grip on grass in India

Davis Cup, Davis Cup Chandigarh, Davis Cup Chandigarh Club, Davis Cup South Korea, Davis Cup India, South Korea Training, South Korea team, Davis Cup grass court, Tennis, Sports News South Korea Tennis players during practice session for their upcoming Devis Cup match between India at Chandigarh Club on Thursday. (Express Photo/Kamleshwar Singh)

A small crowd gathered around the practice courts of the Chandigarh Club moments before South Korea could begin their practice. The curiosity over the visiting team was understandable, considering most of their players are rather unknown names here. But the Koreans needed their space.

Before they began practice, South Korea’s non playing captain Gap-taik Ro and playing captain Yong Kyu Lim were quick to tell the team’s Indian manager they are not comfortable practising in front of the crowd and the officials told the staff to dispel. Perhaps it was to avoid any distraction. But practicing behind closed doors would also ensure their game-plan for the crucial Davis Cup Asia/Oceania second round tie remains a secret, so as to surprise favourites India during the three-day tie starting July 15.

South Korea have reached here more than a week in advance to familiarise themselves to the conditions. India, who will be without their top two singles players Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri for the tie, have carefully chosen the grass courts of Chandigarh Club as the venue. Koreans are used to playing on hard courts. But none of their players have ever played on grass during their senior careers, and it’s something that’s playing on their mind.

Surface tension

“We have not yet played on the grass court and the next few days will be important for us. We play on hard court and synthetic courts back home. We do not have too many grass courts in Korea and this will be the first time that our senior team will be playing on grass court,” Ro told The Indian Express on Thursday. “Most of them have played on grass courts at the junior level. The major difference is the bounce and speed of the ball which we have to judge on grass courts and the players will be keen to adjust to that before the draw takes place next week. The courts here look good and the players will be keen to utilise whatever time they get to train here.”

South Korea hold a superior 6-4 head-to-head record against India in the Davis Cup but their last win came in 2013 Asia/Oceania quarterfinal when the Suk Young Jeong led side scored a 4-1 win at hard courts in Delhi. India, however, avenged that loss in 2014 when they returned with a 3-1 win over hard court in Korea. Another factor that may have played a part in AITA choosing grass courts is that Korea’s last win on this surface in India came in 1989 at Bharuch.

The Korean side is without the services of veteran Hyung Tak Lee, who has 51 wins for Korea in Davis Cup but the presence of captain Yong Kyu Lim will give them some respite, Ro hopes. “We could not bring our best players due to some reasons. But whatever resources we have, we will give our best. Seong Chan Hong is ranked around 400 in the world and other players can also surprise the Indian team,” Ro added. “The youngest member of our team 18-year-old Yun Seong Chung has just joined us after playing in Wimbledon and he has shown some good performance at grass courts recently. Yes, the conditions will be tough with the weather being humid and hot and we already experienced this today.”

With India also fielding a second-string singles side, the doubles rubber will prove to be crucial. India hold an edge over the visitors in doubles, having won the last six matches. South Korea’s most memorable doubles win was way back in 1989 in Bharuch, when their legendary pair of J Yoo and B Kim beat Zeeshan Ali (India’s coach in this tie) and Mark Ferreira.

But Ro knows history will have little to do with regards to how this tie pans out. “We see Indian team as one of the best strong doubles team in Asia. The singles players are not that tough in terms of what we expected. Of course, Leander Paes still is a good player and he has been one of the greats in Asia and he plays doubles very well. He has won an Olympic medal and his experience always comes handy for the junior as well senior players. And we know that. The fact that Rohan Bopanna and Paes are playing together will also make Indian team strong,” signed off Ro.

India tour of West Indies: India opt for safety first on first day

india vs west indies, west indies vs india, ind vs wi, wi vs ind, india cricket team, india tour of west indies, cricket news, cricket Showers in Basseterre had threaten to wash way day’s play but conditions were normal after toss. (Source: BCCI)

The opening day of India’s two-month long sojourn in the Caribbean was a portent of how things could unfurl as the series progresses and attains a graver hue. The massive stands of the Warner Park in Basseterre were thinly-populated, the strip, as had been Caribbean surfaces of late, was devoid of any life and bounce, and was more like a sluggish third-day wicket in the subcontinent, and the bowlers, some of them Test hopefuls, were largely insipid. But it served India’s purposes, as far as batsmen getting some useful red-ball practice was concerned, for they have been gorging on a diet exclusively of T20s since the turn of this year.

After Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first, the openers, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, blunted the fast bowlers with resolute defence, though the conditions hardly warranted such circumspection. There was literally nothing on the surface for the fast bowlers to exploit, despite sporadic showers in the morning, or for the batsmen to unduly worry about. And the West Indies Board President’s XI bowlers hadn’t the virtue of discipline. They erred with their lines, and had the openers been more bent on aggression, they would have tore into them with relish. Instead, Dhawan and Rahul carefully built their innings. For, even if it was a practice match, both had enough stakes in it.

For Dhawan it was about survival, or rather staying relevant. Sure, he’ll be the favourite to open with Murali Vijay in the first Test in Antigua. But there has been question marks over his consistency and technique, after his low-yield series against South Africa, which he began with a pair and in five further innings, couldn’t cross fifty. His partner, and the one who is yapping at his heels, Rahul, had a slightly tetchy day. While he was mostly comfortable, he couldn’t curb his expansive drives. He was beaten a couple of times, before edging one to left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, only the late reaction of the first slip bailing him out.

On the other hand, Dhawan grew in confidence and attacked the spinners. Upon completing a fluent 51, laden with seven boundaries, he was called back to the pavilion, to be replaced with Cheteshwar Pujara.

Likewise, Kohli displaced Rahul soon after his 99-ball 50. Followed an encore of the first hour, when both batsmen were intent on adjusting to the conditions than punishing a modest bunch of bowlers.

After 48 overs of toil, West Indies’ bowlers had their first taste of success, when Warrican had Kohli caught behind off a thin outside edge. Coincidence or not, the Indian skipper was twice dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja in the practice game in Alur during India’s preperatory camp in Bangalore. It’s now certain that West Indies’ selectors would be dialling all the half-decent left-arm spinners in the islands for the Antigua Test.

Brief score: Indians (1st innings) 146 for 1 in 50 overs (Dhawan 51, Rahul 50) vs WICB.

Injured Birender Lakra to miss Rio 2016 Olympics

rio olympics, rio 2016, rio olympics 2016, india hockey, indian hockey team, india hockey news, birender lakra, hockey news, hockey Birender Lakra was named Hockey India’s player of the year for 2014 and is regarded as one of the most reliable defenders. (Source: Express file)

In a major setback, the Indian hockey team will be travelling to Rio for next month’s Olympics without one of its key defenders Birendra Lakra. It is reliably learnt that Lakra’s name does not feature in the 16-member squad for the Games, which will be officially announced in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Lakra’s exclusion means young defender Surender Kumar is set to be included in the squad along with drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, who was named best young player at the Champions Trophy where India recorded its best-ever finish. India are likely to go with three penalty corner specialists, with VR Raghunath and Rupinderpal Singh being the other two. PR Sreejesh will be the only goalkeeper in the 16-member squad.

While there are no other major surprises, Lakra’s absence is likely to hurt India a lot. The 25-year-old suffered a ligament tear in his right knee during Ranchi Rays’ Hockey India League match against Dabang Mumbai in February. An ACL tear, experts say, takes at least four months to recover and Hockey India was hopeful Lakra would get fit in time for the Olympics. He did not play any further part in the HIL and, in March, was operated at Mumbai’s SportsMed facility under sports injury under sports injury expert Dr Anant Joshi. He had to miss the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Champions Trophy while spending all his time at the camp in rehab. Lakra was finally back on turf last month and also played in the six-nation tournament that concluded last week but did not look fully fit. Consequently, the selectors and chief coach Roelant Oltmans decided not to risk aggravating his injury and hence has been kept out of the Rio-bound squad.

Lakra, who was named Hockey India’s player of the year for 2014, is regarded as one of the most assured and reliable defenders in the team at the moment. Together with goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, he is responsible to ensure the backline keeps its shape.

Another unique ability he possesses is to launch counter-attacks. Considering he started his career as a forward, Lakra has natural attacking instincts and that reflects in the confidence with which he moves forward. Few Indian players have the ability to turn defence into attack with such ease as Lakra does.

“His performance was monitored closely at the six-nation tournament in Valencia but he did not look very comfortable. So it was decided not to risk him,” a source said.

Ritu Rani dropped

Women’s team captain Ritu Rani too has been omitted from the squad due to ‘poor fitness and bad attitude’. One of the most experienced women players, it is learnt that chief coach Neil Hawgood was not happy with Ritu’s conduct at the camp. The fact that she had stayed away from the camp for a considerable period and also missed tournaments owing to personal issues did not go well with the team management. However, her performance during the selection trials was the breaking point.

Boxing day test: Is India ready for Vijender Singh and pro boxing?

vijender singh, vijender, vijender singh boxer, vijender singh fight, india boxing, boxing india, pro boxing, boxing news, vijender singh news, boxing Vijender Singh will fight Kerry Hope on July 16 in New Delhi.

Vijender Singh’s homecoming in his first pro bout at Delhi’s Thyagaraj Sports Complex will be a good indicator of how ready India is to welcome the boxer and boxing in their new avatars, says Jonathan Selvaraj

Built during the heady construction boom ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games for the purpose of hosting the netball event, Thyagaraj Sports Complex, in central Delhi’s neighbourhood of INA colony, has gotten used to a more low profile role post the Games. It’s hosted the odd Pro Kabaddi League game and a few corporate tournaments but for most part Thyagaraj sports complex, despite its imposing concrete and glass structure, stays in character with its decidedly middle class surroundings. Outside the stadium, kids sprint on the synthetic running track. Other teens kick a football in the grassy space bounded by the track. Some parents keep watch from the concrete steps built into the side of the stadium while others simply snooze.

But Thyagaraj will break out of character this weekend. The venue, named after the medieval Tamil Carnatic composer, will witness heart-throb crooner Guru Randhawa belt out Punjabi love songs even as Bollywood actors, cricketers, politicians take their seats at the indoor venue. The wooden netball floor would have been covered up to fit in more seats, some 5000 in all, until just enough square footage remains to hold the squared circle.

Inside that canvas, former Olympic medallist Vijender Singh, still undisputedly the biggest name in Indian boxing, will do battle over 10 rounds with veteran Australian Kerry Hope. Vijender will be hoping the fight ends with him holding up his first professional title – a WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight title belt.

If you take Vijender’s promoters at their word, Thyagaraj will likely have seen nothing like it and certainly not Indian boxing. “This will be the biggest sporting event featuring an Indian in July,” says Neerav Tomar, MD of IOS which manages the Indian.

Interest in the amateur format spikes over intervals of four years, whenever the country’s pugilists box in one of the continental games or tournaments. But at least the boxers have a structure to speak of. For the most part, professional boxing has never really picked up. There have been a few bouts organised sporadically – a WBC Asia Pacific title fight last year, and AIBA’s own APB organised a bout featuring World medallist Vikas Krishan a few weeks back.

But both of those bouts were ineptly managed affairs. They were staged on seemingly short notice by group of aficionados running more on passion than professionalism. They were marketed as an oddity, with rings being put up outside malls to attract curious shoppers. The two events made more news for organisational goof ups – Krishan’s fight schedule had to be advanced after organisers feared the outdoor venue might be caught by rain showers.

Vijender’s promoters on the other hand believe they have things in place. Slick promos – with the theme ‘Return of the Singh’ are already playing on TV. Advertising rights and sponsorship deals for all parts of the stadium and Vijender’s clothing are being thrashed out. With certainly more people expected to tune in than the 20million who did for his professional debut, TV rights have been sold as well. The next few days will see the slow build up of fight week. The two prizefighters will do what it takes to generate even more buzz around the contest—press conferences, media workouts, a dance with a Bollywood A-lister on Wednesday, a TV appearance at a PKL game the day after and finally the weigh in and stare down a day before the fight — just the way the big boys do it around the world.

“Vijender is making his homecoming and It’s going to be like nothing India’has seen,” a beaming Francis Warren, CEO of Queensberry promotions had said at an event promoting the fight a few weeks ago in Delhi.

Brigadier Murali Raja, former president of the Indian amateur federation and current head of the IBC, a professional boxing organisation, which is the local co sanctioning body along with the WBO for Vijender’s title fight feels it could herald a new era for professional boxing in India. “I see Vijender doing for professional boxing in India what he did for amateur boxing after winning our first medal at the Olympics. Vijender will undoubtedly be the pathfinder,” he says.

Reality Checks in

Amidst all the breathless anticipation, it’s important to take a step back and look things through. While it is a significant step, Vijender’s homecoming and his title fight with Hope isn’t going to be a game changer – for either the sport or for his own year long career – just yet. Professional sport in India is increasingly packed with options each of which clamours for the same pool of sponsors and audiences. The stars ringside – Gautam Gambhir, Randeep Hooda, Ranijay (a veritable whose available) — aren’t expected to pay for their seats. Indeed with a week to go before the fight, tickets – despite being offered at a discount – have yet to be sold out. This perhaps explains why the fight, first expected to be held at the 20,000 seater IG stadium was eventually shifted to the smaller Thyagaraj stadium.

And while everyone wants to get onboard, how long the gravy train continues to chug along depends on how well one man, Vijender Singh fares in the ring. “Any sport needs winners for it to be popular,” says Raja simply. The man in the middle of it all, the one expected to be a pathfinder certainly knows so as do his promoters.

They’ve all done their part over the last year. Vijender, training under reknowned trainer Lee Beard in Manchester, has racked up an enviable 6-0 record with a hundred percent knockout ratio – a fine looking statistic. Naysayers may point out that the quality of his opponents wasn’t anywhere close to being of the highest calibre. At first glance it doesn’t seem a particularly harsh indictment. His first opponent Sonny Whiting was a scaffolder, his next Dean Gillen was a firefighter. Of his next four opponents, two – Matiuze Royer and Samet Hyuseinov had negative win loss records. Andrzej Soldra and Alexander Horvath had been more successful but a cursory look at their records indicated they had little power in their punches and not much ability to take them either.

But this wasn’t any devious attempt to shield Vijender from taking a career destroying loss early in his career. “There’s nothing he is doing which isn’t what another boxer will not be doing at this stage of his career,”says long time boxing correspondent Steve Lillis.

Lillis points out that each of Vijender’s opponents tested a different aspect of his game. “It makes no sense to throw a boxer who has just turned professional into the deep end. Vijender’s first six bouts were learning bouts. Whiting was an inexperienced boxer. Gillen had a 2-0 record when he fought Vijender. Hyuseinov didn’t have a great record but he was an opponent who had a bit of experience. Horvath didn’t have a lot of bouts but he had a few wins. Rouyer wasn’t a very strong boxer but he is someone who has the ability to take a punch and keep coming at you. In Soldra, Vijender was fighting someone who had a strong amateur background and also a decent professional record. All in all he’s faced a good range of fighters. They aren’t world beaters but they are getting better with every fight. His choice of opponents can’t be criticised,” says Lillis.

Rope in Hope

The bout with 34-year-old southpaw Hope, albeit for a title, can still be considered a learning bout. The Wales born Australian holds the WBC Asia Pacific middleweight title, the WBO Oriental middleweight title and formerly held the EBU European title at the same weight. With 30 bouts and a record of 23-7, he is easily Vijender’s most capable opponent. But with a low knockout ratio (just 2) Vijender’s match makers must believe Hope will challenge but not beat their fighter.

The expectation is that Hope will provide for Vijender some much needed ring time. The Indian admits as much himself. “I need more rounds. Its a good thing to be six wins but people ask me how many rounds I have fought and I know I still need experience,” he says. Lillis concurs. “Vijender is putting away his opponents right now quite easily and fans obviously like looking at knockouts but he needs to get some time in the ring. He needs to know what it’s like to fight 10 rounds of three minutes each with a minute’s break in between,” he says. A victory here will provide more tangible benefits as well. “Vijender will get a top15 ranking in the WBO world super middleweight ratings. That makes it easier for his promoters to set up higher profile bouts with better opponents in the future,” says Lillis.

And if all goes to Vijender’s plan on Saturday, his challenges will get tougher. “Once you are in the championship category (10 and 12 rounders), you wouldn’t get easy fights. Its only a small pool of fighters who can compete in championship rounds. His quality of opponents will improve. It won’t be as easy to knock someone out anymore and he will have to take a lot more punches than he has taken so far,” says Lillis.

And of course there won’t be an option of looking for an easier alternative. “There’s no going back now. Once I start boxing 10 and 12 rounds, I can’t decide I would rather fight weaker opponents in six round and four round contests,” says Vijender.

Indeed, stepping back is certainly not on his promoters minds. The Hope bout is seen as a harbinger of bigger things to come for the 30-year-old. “This bout will be a success but this is only the first round of Vijender’s career. We have a lot more rounds to go. But it is only going to be bigger things for Vijender now,” Tomar says. It was an optimism shared by Warren a month back as well. “I certainly believe that Vijender can fill up a cricket stadium at some point in his career,” he had said then.

For now though the task would simply be to sell out the last of the five thousand seats at the Thyagaraj Stadium.

His Pro-gress

A year ago when he made the decision to turn professional, Vijender was at a crossroads. Becoming a prizefighter meant that he would have to unlearn many of the tools and techniques he had picked up in his two-decades long amateur career. Over the course of his six professional contests however, the Indian has rebuilt his toolkit to become a more effective fighter. “It’s impressive how someone who became a professional boxer as late as he did in his career has adapted so quickly as he did,” says veteran boxing journalist Steve Lillis.

Energy— Unlike in the amateurs where boxers have to fight for just three rounds, professional fights are scheduled to last for up to 10 to 12 rounds. So while Vijender could fight at a relentless tempo in the amateurs, he had to learn to conserve his energy as a professional. The first thing to go was the typical bouncing foot movement. It has been replaced by a more measured advance that blocks off his opponent and allows him to lead him in the direction of his choice. This doesn’t mean that his defence is compromised. “The key to a good defence isn’t just that you keep moving. By staying balanced, Vijender is also able deliver his counter punches with a lot of power,”says his trainer Lee Beard.

Jab – the Jab is the one of the most crucial set up punches in professional boxing and Vijender’s left is certainly no exception. “His jab isn’t just a glove he extends in front of him. He delivers it like a backhand,” says Lillis. Vijender though had to be taught to use the punch effectively. “In the amateurs it wasn’t a scoring punch so I would not use it so frequently. But as a professional, you can use it to wear down your opponent,” he says. The Indian’s jab has plenty of deception. In his fight against Rouyer, he used a soft jab. The Frenchman kept his head down and walked repeatedly into Vijender right hook. In his final bout, his jab was delivered with more venom, hurting the Pole who eventually stopped advancing.

Power— Vijender’s big right hand is his biggest weapon. “When he first came into spar, I was surprised by the power in his right hand. I knew that if he ever landed it on an opponent in a contest, the fight would be over right there,” says trainer Beard. The Indian’s right too had to be worked on. “In the amateurs, you just have to get a touch from your gloves on your opponent and then get away. In the first couple of rounds of Vijender’s first fight against Whiting, he was doing that. We had to get him to get closer. He learned quickly as well. When he wasn’t punching at targets but through them, the contest got over quickly,” Beard says.

Weight – A key decision that had to be made by Vijender and his team was which weight should he fight at. For the bulk of his amateur career Vijender had fought at Olympic middleweight (75kg). The professional middleweight division is 2.5kg lighter (72.5kg). Vijender fought his first three bouts at that weight but Beard was concerned about the toll it was taking on his health. “He fell sick due to effects of cutting weight before his third bout. Vijender looked a lot better in sparring when he was 78-79kg. So the better decision was for him to move to supermiddleweight (76.5kg). He carries his power a lot better in that category and he is less likely to fall ill as well,” says Beard of Vijender who has fought at super middleweight ever since.

Indian junior hockey team open with 3-1 win versus Dinamo Stroitel in EurAsia Cup

 India Junior hockey team, India hockey, EurAsia India Hockey, Eursia Indian hockey junior team, Dinamo Stroitel vs India, EurAsia Cup, EurAsia results, Eurasia fixture, Hockey, Sports, Sports News The junior hockey team made no mistake in the second half to start the campaign on a winning note. (Source: Hockey India)

India’s junior men’s hockey team started its EurAsia Cup campaign with an emphatic 3-1 victory against Dinamo Stroitel here.

Despite a quick start to the encounter, neither team looked like breaking the deadlock last night. India though came closest, with a flurry of penalty corners in the first 15 minutes.

Dinamo’s goalkeeper Dryanitsyn Artem kept the effort of the Indian team out of goals. Dinamo had their own PC a few minutes later but failed to score from it. The two teams went into half time goalless.

The match was attended by the Governor of Yekaterinburg and Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran.

India came out stronger in the second half and soon enough started exerting their influence on the game. They scored the opener, after a technical foul in the circle led to them being awarded a stroke in the 44th minute. Varun Kumar made no mistake from the spot to give his team the lead.

Simranjeet Singh doubled the lead in the 45th minute, before Vikramjit added a third eight minutes later.

As the game started running away from the host team, they scored a consolation field goal through L Alexander in the 59th minute as India held on strongly to end up 3-1 winners.

Indian umpires paid upto 40 lakhs for IPL

Indian Premier League, IPL, UIPL 9, IPL season 9, IPL umpires, Umpires IPL, Cricket India, India cricket, BCCI, Cricket Anil Chaudhary, CK Nandan, C Shamshuddin earned approximately Rs 40 lakh.

Indian umpires Anil Chaudhary, CK Nandan, C Shamshuddin went home richer by approximately Rs 40 lakh for officiating in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Delhi’s Chaudhary earned Rs 39,63, 762.00 (Rs 39.63 lakh) while Nandan and Shamshuddin who are also in ICC’s Emirates Panel got Rs 40,83,876 (Rs 40.83 lakh) each. K N Ananthapadmanabhan received Rs 26.65 lakh approx) for his match official’s duties.

Former India pacer Javagal Srinath received in excess of Rs 26 lakh

 

Indian umpires get paid in range of INR 40 lakh for IPL < Indian umpires paid upto 40 lakhs for IPL