Nalini finishes tied 11th, Phatlum defends title

Gurgaon (PTI)" Nalini Singh's 11th place finish turned out to be the best by an Indian but the day belonged to Pornanong Phatlum who defended her title in the DLF Women's Indian Open here on Friday.

Phatlum fired in a round of four-under 68 to sign off with a tournament tally of eight-under 208, just two shots ahead of Korean Kim Hae Jung, who carded her third straight round of 70 on Friday.

Nalini finishing tied 11th at six-over 222, while the seasoned campaigner Smriti Mehra (228) finished tied 26 and Saaniya Sharma (233) tied 37th.

Meanwhile, 15-year-old Gauri Monga triumphed in amateur category with a seven-over 223. Tanya Wadhwa finished second at 229.

Flavia Pennetta reaches sixth Acapulco final

Acapulco, Mexico (AP): Flavia Pennetta reached her sixth consecutive final at the Mexican Open after dispatching 2004 champion Iveta Benesova 6-3, 6-3 on Friday.

"Six finals is incredible I didn't expect it or hope for it," Pennetta said. "Every year I come just hoping to play good tennis and produce a little magic for myself."

Standing between second-seeded Pennetta and a third Acapulco title in five years will be top-seeded Venus Williams, who put away unseeded Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Pennetta leads Williams in their matchups 3-2, and won their only match on clay in last year's French Open third round.

Benesova had beaten Pennetta in the 2004 final but the Italian served better on Friday, and pounced on far more chances than Benesova could produce. Pennetta claimed four of eight break points and lost her serve only once to the fourth-seeded Czech.

Pennetta, who improved her Acapulco record to 28-4, won the title in 2005 and 2008.

"I think I am more famous here than in Italy, this is like my second home," she said.

This will be her 15th career final, of which nine have been in Latin America.

Williams saved all six break points she faced against Zahlavova Strycova to extend her winning streak to nine games, and 19 in her last 20 going back to last year. She came to Acapulco for the first time this week following her 40th career singles title in Dubai.

Nicolas Almagro of Spain will also get to defend his title in the men's final. He defeated unseeded Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina 6-4, 6-4. Fourth-seeded Almagro will play for his fifth career title against either second-seeded Gael Monfils of France or fifth-seeded Jose Acasuso of Argentina.

We have to curb playing too many shots early on: Yuvraj Singh

Wellington (PTI): Dashing middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh on Thursday refused to read much into India's seven-wicket defeat in the tour opener but admitted his side could not afford to repeat the mistakes in the do-or-die second Twenty20 international against New Zealand.

Yuvraj said playing too many shots early in the innings was the reason behind India's downfall in the first game at Christchurch and his batsmen will try to build partnerships to win the second match tomorrow and square the two-match Twenty20 series.

"We did some mistakes. It is the start of the new tour and we have to understand the conditions and the wickets. So hopefully we will make less errors in the next game," Yuvraj said.

"We actually played too many shots. The moment we got going we got out. We didn't have too many early partnerships.

So I guess we need to assess the conditions better in the next game and make a proper plan. The batsmen need to take more responsibility," he said ahead of tomorrow's match.

Despite the seven-wicket defeat at Christchurch, Yuvraj said the team spirit was high.

Andy Moles wary of an India backlash tomorrow

Wellington (PTI): Wary of an Indian backlash in the second Twenty20 International, New Zealand coach Andy Moles on Thursday asked his wards to lift their standard in all departments of the game.

Moles expects India, after their seven-wicket loss in the tour opener last night, have now got a fair idea about the Kiwi players and would come back strongly on Friday.

"They know we are a good side. They have seen us operate last night, and they won't be taking anything for granted," a cautious Moles said.

According to him, the hosts would have to up their game in all areas to thwart an Indian backlash.

"We are looking at all areas. While bowling we didn't hit the hole we wanted to. In fielding, we were good overall but we can be better. Perhaps we are struggling a bit with our batting at the top of the order. We are not going to stand still. As a team we are looking to get better with every game," Moles said.

According to him, experience played a big part in last night's win against India.

"We thought we had a good tour of Australia. We didn't win there. I thought it was an opportunity missed. We were disappointed with the way we went about the chase in the Twenty20 game", he said.

Rohan Bopanna -Qureshi out of Dubai tennis

Dubai (IANS): The wildcard pair of India's Rohan Bopanna and Pakistani Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi lost in the first-round at the Dubai Tennis Championship but not before two furiously fought sets 6-7(4),5-7 against Czech Martin Damm and Swede Robert Lindstedt.

Damm and Lindstedt next meet Italian Simone Bolelli and Croat Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinal.

Bolelli and Karlovic had upset third-seeded Indo-Czech pair of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy 6-4, 2-6, 10-8 in the first-round.

hoaib Malik denies rift with Younis Khan

Karachi (PTI): Insisting losing captaincy doesn't rankle him, former Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik said he is more relaxed now and looking forward to playing just as a senior member of the side.

Younis Khan replaced Malik as the skipper of the team after Pakistan were handed a humiliating ODI series defeat by Sri Lanka. Coach Intikhab Alam and the manager Yawar Saeed described him as "a loner who didn't enjoy the confidence of the players".

"I felt it was better for me to go and allow the PCB to appoint a new captain. I have no issues at all. I am feeling more relaxed now and enjoying myself as a senior member of the team and concentrating on my game. My aim right now is to become a regular member of the Test and ODI teams. I am also focusing on my bowling," Malik said in a talk show on Geo Super channel.

Malik vehemently rubbished possibility of any friction between him and the incumbent skipper Younis Khan saying, "I am pleasantly surprised at the way Younis has been treating me. He has been very friendly and communicating all the time.

I am happy to see him doing well." Malik also don't has any hesitation to admit the fact that he was not enough prepared to handle the job of leading the national team. "I was thrust into the job and there is no doubt I was not mature enough at that time for the responsibility.

But I started learning with time and it was a great experience for me. But I have no regrets not being captain because I know I will get another chance in future and I will use my experience then," Malik said.

The senior member of the team is also quite disappointed as Younis fell short of compatriot Hanif Mohammad's national record and West Indies great Brian Lara's 400 during the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka that ended in a draw on Wednesday.

"We were all very disappointed that Younis didn't get the record for the highest score but his achievement of 313 runs is a big one and it made us all proud. It also allowed us to perform well under pressure," he said.

Commonwealth Boxing Championships shifted to 2010

New Delhi (PTI): The Indian Boxing Federation's (IBF) request to postpone the Commonwealth Championships here from December to February-March next year has been accepted by the Commonwealth body.

The Commonwealth Boxing Federation (CBF) has agreed to reschedule the tournament in the city from December 2009 to February-March next year, the IBF said in a statement.

"The Indian Boxing Federation has now requested the International Boxing Association to allot a suitable date in February-March 2010 so that it does not clash with any other major international boxing competitions in the world," IBF secretary general PK Muralidharan Raja said.

This change was necessitated since construction work at Talkatora Stadium, venue of the boxing event for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, will be completed by November this year.

"Although NDMC has promised to hand over the stadium by December, the federation in consultation with the Organising Committee of Commonwealth Games has preferred to host the Commonwealth Boxing Championships, which will be a test event for the Commonwealth Games, in February-March 2010 rather than trying to squeeze it in December this year," Raja added.

In another development, the first international (16th AK Mishra) boxing tournament will be held in Chandigarh from March 11-15 this year.

I wouldn't change a thing about my life: Clarke

Sydney (IANS): Michael Clarke says he is paid to play cricket for Australia and wouldn't change a thing about his life as he is enjoying both his game as well as life outside of it.

"With my life outside of cricket, I've had to accept there will be things said about me that I might not always agree with or like," Australia's vice-captain said on the eve of the first Test against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

Clarke says has never met the people who say or write a whole lot of things about him and wants know how they can judge his personality. But it doesn't matter anymore, he says, though three years ago it would have bugged him.

"All I can say now is that I just wouldn't change a thing about my life. I love playing cricket for Australia, I love being in the relationship I'm in, and I'm just really enjoying my life," he was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Some have said Clarke was the villain in his scuffle with Simon Katich following the Sydney Test. The criticism became personal. He was accused of being too cosy with his partner at the Allan Border Medal presentation night and also plotting to take the captaincy off Ricky Ponting. He is made out to be a selfish player who doesn't understand the team mentality. He was also criticised for driving a swish car in this economic crisis.

"If I'm praised or if I'm criticised, it's my job to try to keep going," Clarke said. "I'm paid to play cricket for Australia, and I take that seriously.

"Some people are going to like me and some people aren't, I guess. Katto and I, we don't know how many times we have to say it -- we're fine. I'm looking forward to spending as much time as I can in the middle with him because he's batting absolutely brilliantly at the moment."

"I don't drink beer, I've never drunk beer in my life, I don't feel uncomfortable about it at all. If all the boys are having a beer, I can have a glass of wine, whatever. Have a soft drink. We're all very different. But I think that's the strength of the Australian team, that you allow everyone to be different people. You can't change a person and you shouldn't try to.

"I was lucky when I first came into the team five years ago, I built a lot of friendships with the older guys who always made me feel comfortable and let me be the person I wanted to be. As vice-captain now, I'm trying to be the same with the guys coming in. If you're different, if you don't drink alcohol, if you don't want to go out, you really don't have to."

His critics had gone silent when he was the only batsman who stood up to the South Africa's furious pace attack, averaging 76.6 while all others fell below 50. Or, for that matter when Ponting said it was Clarke's idea that the Australian team should visit the survivors of the Victorian bushfires.

Clarke scored a century on debut, 151 in India and now at 27 he is the vice-captain because Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden have all retired.

He has already won his second Allan Border Medal this season and climbed to No.3 on the world Test batting rankings. He's the mentor to the inexperienced players still in their Test nappies.

"When I played my first Test, I was fearless," he said. "I had nothing to lose. I was so happy I was making my debut, receiving my baggy green cap. It didn't matter who was bowling, I couldn't wait. I see it as a positive. All these guys in their first few Test matches are just going to go crazy. It doesn't matter how many wickets Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini have, you're that excited to be out there, it's such a magic moment for you, it doesn't matter who's bowling.

"Keep performing individually and as a team, keep enjoying the game, keep enjoying being around mates, and the results will come.

"We play the greatest game in the world, and we play it with a great bunch of blokes. That's what Warnie always said to me. No matter what happens -- win, lose or draw -- remember why you started playing the game; to enjoy it. As a kid, there's no money, no fame, you just played the game because you loved it. Nothing has changed for me."

Indians advance in German Open badminton

New Delhi (IANS): It was a good day for Indians at the Yonex German Open badminton tournament as all the four players in the men's section moved into the second-round.

Chetan Anand, Arvind Bhat, Anand Pawar registered easy wins while Anup Sridhar was stretched to three games by his German opponent on Wednesday at Mulheim.

Second-seed Anand was clinical in his 21-6, 21-8 win over Swede Henri Hurskainen and will now play Malaysian Kay Bin Yeoh, who staved off a stiff challenge from Russian Ivan Sozonov 17-21, 21-15, 21-11.

Ninth-seed Bhat showed the door to Dutchman Koen Ridder with a scoreline 21-15, 21-13. In the second-round, Bhat will meet Kestutis Navickas of Lithuania who beat Malaysian Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif 21-19, 24-22.

Pawar brushed aside Malaysian Daren Liew 21-17, 21-19 to set up a second-round meeting with fifth seeded Briton Andrew Smith who was made to toil hard by Canandian David Snider before winning 23-25, 21-19, 21-16.

Sridhar, seeded 15th, overcame mid-match jitters against Dane Sven-Eric Kastens to win 21-16, 16-21,21-15. He next plays local boy Marcel Reuter who scored a facile 21-11, 21-7 over Emil Vind of Denmark.

Benitez: I'm not quitting Liverpool

London (IANS): Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez says he is not quitting. That's what the fans at Anfield want and his announcement could not have come at a more opportune time than on Wednesday night when his boys pulled off a solitary away goal against Real madrid.

His three words "I am staying" were telling after the victory. There were rumours before the match at the Bernabeu that Benitez's relationship with the Liverpool management had come to such a pass that he was to announce his decision to quit immediately after the Madrid game.

"I was clear before the game that I was not thinking about resigning," he insisted. "I need to keep working and win games for Liverpool; then I will speak to the owners further down the track," the Liverpool manager was quoted as saying in the Guardian.

"My lawyer was talking to the owners' advisers and there will be discussions in the future. I will try to enjoy this victory for now, not worry about negotiations. We have plenty of time." Benitez insisted that Liverpool are not through yet, not with Yossi Benayoun's goal in the first leg.

He also would not like to say, which is his priority, the Champions League or the Premiership, at least not until after the second leg in two weeks' time. For now, he would talk only on Wednesday's victory.

"Tonight, we had planned to defend well and play on the break. After all, we had Steve Gerrard missing and [Fernando] Torres got injured in the first minute. Because they were the home team, they had to attack us and the more you throw people forward the more gaps you leave at the back. We knew that would give us the chance to launch the counter-attacks. We had good chances. I thought we did a very good job."

Real coach Juande Ramos also said the tie was still alive. "We now have no choice but to go to Anfield and look for the victory, but one goal is not such a big lead. If we play well we can win at Anfield," he said. "Liverpool did not surprise me at all. They were very conservative, they just defended and waited for their chance."

Carlos Moya loses in Acapulco

Acapulco (AP): Defending champion Nicolas Almagro endured more than 2 1/2 hours on clay to reach the Mexican Open quarterfinals, but two-time winner Carlos Moya lost in the second-round on Wednesday.

Almagro hit 18 aces to Potito Starace's three but went serve for serve with the Italian before finishing off a 7-6 (1), 6-7 (5), 6-3 win. Almagro made the decisive break for 4-2 in the third set.

``It was a tough match,'' fourth-seeded Almagro said. ``I played a good first set and a better tiebreak than him. In the second set I couldn't take advantage of the early break I had in the second set. I'm still not playing as good as last year but am getting better each match.''

In his fourth successive quarterfinals in Acapulco, Almagro will play Spanish countryman Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Not so fortunate was compatriot and eighth-seeded Moya, the champion in 2002 and 2004 and a finalist two years ago. Meeting 110th-ranked Leonardo Mayer of Argentina for the first time, Moya lost 6-4, 7-5, squandering four break chances.

Moya made only half of his first serves and was broken once in each set to bow out in the second-round for the second year in a row. Mayer, following only his sixth ever match on the main ATP Tour, will meet second-seeded Gael Monfils after the Frenchman outlasted Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-1.

Two other Spanish seeds also departed; Gimeno-Traver ousted No. 6 Albert Montanes 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), and Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina removed No. 7 Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-3 to reach his first quarterfinals in two years.

However, third-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain, the champion this month in Brazil and Argentina, routed Kevin Kim of the United States 6-2, 6-0 in 44 minutes.

Fifth-seeded Jose Acasuso beat fellow Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela 7-5, 6-3, while Austria's Daniel Koellerer downed Alberto Martin of Spain 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4). In the women's draw, second-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy cruised past Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier 6-1, 6-3.

Meantime both of the Bogota finalists last weekend were ousted. Eighth-seeded Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain, who won her first WTA title in Bogota, was tripped up by Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 for a third time, while fifth-seeded Gisela Dulko, the Bogota runner-up, was upset by Maret Ani of Estonia 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Iveta Benesova, the champion five years ago, survived Klara Zakopalova 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3), in an all-Czech match, but two more seeds exited in the second-round.

Third-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro, the Australian Open quarterfinalist, lost to Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-5, Agnes Szavay of Hungary beat Roberta Vinci of Italy 7-6 (1), 6-4 and seventh-seeded Tathiana Garbin withdrew with a bad abdominal strain before her match against Mathilde Johansson of France. Johansson will play Benesova in the quarterfinals.

Fisichella: Force India can surprise

New Delhi (PTI): Force India's scoreless debut season last year is water under the bridge for its Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella whose gut feeling is that the Vijay Mallya-owned outfit could be the surprise package in this year's Formula One championship.

Incidentally, former Red Bull driver David Coulthard, now an F1 pundit, had a similar hunch about the Silverstone-based outfit following its tie-up with McLaren-Mercedes late last year. Fisichella believes the slew of sweeping changes has, to a large extent, evened out some of the glaring F1 inequalities and insists Coulthard didn't merely talk through his hat.

"Why not? I think this year is a good opportunity for us as a team," Fisichella said. "Everyone has had to redesign their cars, so if you had a good car last year you might not have a good one this year. We're all a lot more equal this year and with a good overall package I think we could be strong once we've had a few races," he said.

The late unveiling of VJM02, however, limits the outfit's testing opportunities and the lack of laps doesn't amuse the Italian. "It is a disadvantage as it's important to drive as much as you can before the start of the year to get a feeling with the car and try and establish a good set-up," said the 36-year-old Roman.

"It's not easy in just four days, especially with the new rules coming in this year. We are just going to have to try and get as much as we can from these eight days before the season," he added.

A veteran of 200-plus F1 races, Fisichella reckons slick tyre, reduced role of aerodynamics and other changes would mix things up this season and negotiating corners would be the key for the drivers.

"F1 was very tight last year, with the whole field separated by just over a second, so it will be hard to be that close this year. But I do think that the field will be a lot more mixed -- we don't know who has got it right as the rules are so different and teams have all interpreted them differently.

"I think this year we will have to be very smooth. The cars will have less grip from the aero, but more grip from the tyres so you will have to be very smooth through the corners. If you get it wrong then you might go off more easily than last year," he explained. Force India came close to scoring its maiden point a couple of times last year only to fall short of it.

Asked how difficult it was to go through an entire season without points, Fisichella said it is now a thing of past for him. "I love Formula One so it's not hard to stay motivated as I love driving the cars and still want to do well. There are always challenges in motorsport, but you have to keep looking to the next opportunity and not think too much about the past," he said.

Instead, Fisichella is rather keen to look at this year's championship. "I think this year is maybe the biggest change for many years, with KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), slick tyres, downforce and new aero rules, so it's very exciting. It would be good to see all the teams mixed up and to be able to fight for points," he said.

Novak Djokovic, Murray in Dubai quarters

Dubai (AP): Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray led the top six seeds into the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships on Wednesday.

Top-seeded Djokovic had to fight back from a break down in the last set to beat Jan Hernych of Czech Republic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 over more than two hours, while second-seeded Murray cruised past Arnaud Clement of France 6-2, 6-3.

``I think Hernych played really well,'' Djokovic said. ``He had nothing to lose and was going for winners, while I became a bit defensive.'' Djokovic, yet to reach a final this year, will next play fifth-seeded Marin Cilic, who already has two titles this season in Chennai and Zagreb.

Cilic overcame Julien Benneteau of France 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in his second straight three-setter. ``I was quite relieved when I won this one,'' Cilic said. ``He was playing very well on those big points, and he was serving very, very good. It was tough for me to be in position to get a break, especially in the second set.''

Murray was another double winner on the tour, with titles from Doha and Rotterdam. Clement had won both of their previous encounters in 2006 when Murray was 18, but the Scot was now ranked No. 4 in the world.

``The last couple of times we played, I was very young and he was a very experienced player,'' Murray said. ``But I am happy that I played much better than my first-round. I served a whole lot better and didn't give him any chance to break. I think I adjusted well tonight.''

Murray said he still felt soreness in his ankle, which he injured during his win at Rotterdam. ``It changes where it hurts from day to day. Sometimes it's on the serve, and sometimes it's when I am hitting a forehand. Sometimes it hurts more when I'm walking rather than running,'' he said. ``I just have to sort of see what it's like when I wake up, and deal with it.''

Next up for Murray will be unseeded Richard Gasquet of France, who took more than three hours to edge Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Third-seeded Gilles Simon of France dispatched Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia 6-1, 6-2, conceded only 11 points on serve, and set up a quarterfinal with countryman Fabrice Santoro, who beat qualifier Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1).

The other quarterfinal pits fourth-seeded David Ferrer against sixth-seeded Igor Andreev. Spain's Ferrer beat Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-2, and Andreev topped fellow Russian Dmitry Tursunov 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

Sri Lanka proposes Dambulla as alternate venue for CT

Karachi (PTI): Determined to bag the hosting rights of the Champions Trophy, Sri Lanka has proposed Dambulla as alternative venue if participants show reluctance to play in Colombo due to security reasons.

Last month the International Cricket Council decided to relocate the eight-nation tournament from Pakistan after some countries raised security concerns about touring the trouble-torn country.

Sources aware of the developments related to Sri Lankan cricket said although some countries are still in favour of holding the tournament in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, India had promised to support the island nation in its bid when the ICC board takes a decision on the new venue in April.

"Sri Lankan authorities have conveyed to ICC that they can host the entire tournament at Dambulla to ease security concerns," one source told PTI. "The BCCI is strongly supporting Sri Lanka hosting the tournament because it apparently is part of an agreement between the two boards, which also saw the sacking of Arjuna Ranatunga as head of the interim committee by the Sri Lankan Sports Minister," the source alleged.

The source said the Indian Board was unhappy with Ranatunga when he was president of Sri Lanka Cricket and wanted him out after a series of tiffs. "Apparently the word is that the Sri Lankan Sports Ministry and board was told they would get the Champions Trophy if Ranatunaga went. That is why India is pushing for the Lankans to host the tournament," the source alleged.

PCB: Lahore will host 2nd Test

Karachi (PTI): The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to go-ahead with the second Test against Sri Lanka in Lahore despite sensing trouble following Supreme Court's ban on Nawaz Sharif contesting elections and his sibling Shahbaz continuing as Punjab Chief Minister.

The Sharif brothers hold considerable influence in Lahore and there is apprehension of widespread violence in the aftermath of the court's ruling. Following government's assurance, the PCB, however, has decided to go-ahead with the Test in Lahore.

"At the moment the programme is on track. The teams will leave for Lahore in the afternoon while the crew of the official broadcasters for the series have already started transporting their gear and equipment from Karachi to Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium," a PCB source told PTI.

"The broadcasters had inquired from the Board if there was going to be any change in plan for the second Test scheduled to start from Sunday. They were told the match would be on schedule," the source said.

In the event of disturbances, the source claimed that PCB has drawn up contingency plans. "One option is the second Test gets cancelled and the Sri Lankans return home or that the match is shifted to Karachi," the source said.

He also added that the Board is reluctant to shift the match because foreign teams had already stated their unwillingness to tour Pakistan due to security reasons. "What sort of message will we send out to the rest of the world if this series is affected by the political problems in Lahore and rest of Punjab," one Board official questioned.

Red Bull extends computer partnership

Vienna (AP): The Red Bull Formula One team has extended its partnership with computer sponsor Platform through 2014.

Red Bull uses Platform's software to analyse and monitor car information relating to performance.

The five-year extension was announced on Thursday, a day after the Royal Bank of Scotland said it was pulling its sponsorship of F1 team Williams at the end of the 2010 season. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has already pulled its sponsorship of BMW Sauber.

Viswanathan Anand shocked by Carlsen, slumps to joint fourth

Linares (Spain), Feb 26 (PTI) World champion Viswanathan Anand suffered a shocked defeat against Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen in the sixth round to slump to joint fourth of Magistral Ciudad de Linares chess tournament here.
With his second loss in the first six rounds, Anand has now three points out of a possible six and will have to do a lot of catching up in the remaining eight rounds of the Super Grandmasters tournament.

Anand now shares joint fourth spot with Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine while Alexander Grischuk of Russia shot into sole lead on 4.5 points after shocking Levon Aronian of Armenia in another sensational result.

Aronian and Carlsen share the second spot on 3.5 points each while Lenier Dominguez of Cuba stands sole sixth on 2.5 points, a half point clear of Wang Yue of China and Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan.

Carlsen has been tipped by many experts as the future world champion not without reasons. The Norwegian showed immaculate technique to beat Anand for the first time ever in a Classical game.

Anand, who rallied from a hopeless position to score a victory against Ivanchuk in the previous round, had also lost to Aronian in the second round.

Clearly the world champion was not at his best form and Carlsen took full advantage of that in the game which lasted 77 moves. PTI

Pankaj Advani, Chawla, Merchant and Shahbaz make semis

Mumbai (PTI): Top seed Pankaj Advani would meet fourth seed Kamal Chawla while seventh seed and defending champion Yasin Merchant would take on sixth seed Shahbaz Khan in the semi-finals of the Rs 3.77 lakh CCI Platinum Jubilee Invitation Snooker Tournament here on Thursday.

In Wednesday's best-of-nine-frame quarter-finals, Chawla of Railways ousted six-time national title winner Alok Kumar (Petroleum Sports Promotion Board) 5-2 while Bangalore-based Advani, also of PSPB, subdued a fighting Rupesh Shah of Railways 5-3.

Mumbai-based Merchant rallied from behind twice to shock second seed Manan Chandra of PSPB 5-4 to earn a berth against Shahbaz (Railways), who got the better of Sandeep Gulati of Delhi 5-3 in two other quarter-final.

Merchant, a former two-time Asian champion, was trailing 2-3 and then 3-4 before clinching a close eighth frame to draw level with his PSPB rival Chandra.

The holder, who had two significant breaks of 82 and 59, then took control of the deciding ninth frame in a determined fashion to win the well-contested quarter-final match.

Chawla jumped to a 3-0 lead before his rival Alok Kumar fought back to take the fourth frame. But the winner once again nosed ahead and, after allowing his opponent clinch the sixth, wrapped up the tie by easily grabbing the seventh frame.

The results:

Quarter-finals: Yasin Merchant (Mah) bt Manan Chandra (PSPB) 5-4 (86-0, 33-70, 84-39, 0-85, 15-57, 70-38, 5-97, 55-51, 70-34); Shahbaz Khan (Rlys) bt Sandeep Gulati (Del) 5-3 (78-16, 74-18, 1-83, 84-54, 21-93, 92-20).

Kamal Chawla (Rlys) bt Alok Kumar (PSPB) 5-2 (68-36, 74-35, 85-28, 56-72, 60-56, 18-81, 69-19); Pankaj Advani (PSPB) bt Rupesh Shah (Rlys) 5-3 (78-21, 29-77, 84-11, 49-60, 76-42, 72-14, 20-64, 79-69).

Pre quarter finals: Chandra bt Nikhli Ottam (Mah) 4-2 (96-38, 62-9, 76-0, 36-60, 51-59, 79-32); Merchant bt Devendra Joshi (PSPB) 4-1 (54-72, 74-24, 81-19, 72-48, 94-22).

Somdev Devvarman, Rohan Bopanna lose

Delray Beach (USA): There will be no Indian competing in the singles event of the Delray Beach International tennis championships as both Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna failed to make the main draw, losing their qualifying matches.

Bopanna made a first round exit, losing to American John Isner 2-6, 1-6.

Devvarman went down fighting 5-7, 4-6 against America’s Ryan Sweeting. — PTI

Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov leads in World Chess Challenge

Sofia (Xinhua): Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov beat U.S. champion Gata Kamsky on Monday in the fifth match of the World Chess Challenge in Sofia.

Topalov claimed his second victory in the World Chess Challenge at the 55th move. Topalov now leads Kamsky by 3 points against 2 points.

The sixth game will be contested on Tuesday at Sofia's National Palace of Culture and Kamsky will have the white pieces.

The World Chess Challenge Sofia 2009 will run until 28 February. The winner will compete for the world title against current world champion Viswanathan Anand of India.

There are at least three more matches to go, and if their points are even then, Kamsky and Topalov will meet in a tie-break.

Topalov, a former world champion, is currently ranked number one in the world. He has been among the world's best players for years, but it was only after the retirement of Garry Kasparov in 2005 that he broke through to the top.

Kamsky, No. 17 in the world, was a prodigy. He rose as high as No.4 by the time he was 21, played a match for the title in 1996 and then abruptly quit for eight years.

Argentina coach Diego Maradona not concerned over high altitude

Buenos Aires (Xinhua): Argentina coach Diego Maradona said his team would be daunted by the high altitude when they face Bolivia at 3,600 meters above sea level in their World Cup qualifier in April.

"We're working on the altitude matter," said Maradona during a news conference on Monday in Buenos Aires.

"You have to face up to the altitude and not be afraid of it. If you fear it, then the doubts start."

Argentina host Venezuela in a World Cup qualifier on March 28, Maradona's first competitive match in charge, and visit Bolivia four days later.

Argentina have played and won two friendlies, away to Scotland and France, since Maradona's appointment in October.

"The base of the team will be the one we have been using so far," said Maradona, who has left midfielder Esteban Cambiasso out of his team and been denied playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme because of club commitments.

"I'm proud of the players who have understood the message that the Argentina shirt comes above everything else."

Viswanathan Anand meets Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk's in 5th round

Linares (Spain) (PTI): Rejuvenated after a day's rest, world champion Viswanathan Anand will hope to crash through Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk's defence in the fifth round of the Magistral Ciudad De Leon Chess tournament here.

Trailing joint leaders Levon Aronian of Armenia and Alexander Grischuk of Russia by just half a point following his two victories, one loss and a draw, the Indian ace will hope to bridge the gap in the first half of the 14-round tournament when he sits behind black pieces against Ivanchuk.

Ivanchuk, who has drawn all his games so far, is joined by Magnus Carlsen at the fourth place in the eight-players double round robin tournament with two points each.

Debutant Lenier Dominguez of Cuba stands sole sixth on 1.5 points while Teiumour Radjabov of Azerbaijan and Wang Yue of China are at the bottom with just one point each.

For Anand, this has been an excellent event barring the disaster he suffered at the hands of Aronian in round two. The Indian was apparently having a huge advantage when the disaster occurred in the form of an optical blunder resulting in his lone loss in the tournament so far.

300,000 online applications for FIFA World Cup tickets

Johannesburg (Xinhua): More than 300,000 online applications for the 2010 FIFA World Cup have been received within 48 hours of the opening of ticket sales, the organising committee has said.

"This is a very happy moment," said the committee's chief executive Danny Jordaan at Durban's Moses Mabhida Visitors' Centre Monday.

This figure excludes thousands of other applications being processed through First National Bank (FNB) branches countrywide.

{lsquo}{lsquo}The fervor is already palpable within South Africa and all around the world... everyone wants to take part in this extraordinary event," said Jordaan.

Tickets went on sale Friday.

Fans have until midnight March 31, to make ticket applications on the www.fifa.com website. In addition, South African residents have the opportunity to submit paper applications in one of the 700 FNB branches across the country.

This is the first phase of ticket sales and all applicants who register correctly by the end of this sales period will have an equal opportunity to get tickets, as a random draw will take place April 15 to determine which applicants receive tickets for oversubscribed matches.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is scheduled for June next year.

Tiger's opponent sees a big opportunity

Marana, Arizona (AP): Australia's Brendon Jones felt chills up his spine when he heard of Tiger Woods' decision to make his return to golf at this week's Accenture Match Play Championship.

Jones, the last man to qualify for the 64-man field, was home with his family when he heard the news. He knew the No. 64 seed plays the No. 1 seed in the opening round, and he knew who was No. 1.

"I got a few chills up the back of my neck," Jones said. The trick will be getting them to go away when he meets Woods on the first tee of The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain tomorrow.

Jones has played in five majors and three World Golf Championships. He spent two years on the PGA Tour without much success, but has won eight times on the Japan Golf Tour.

He was quite the celebrity yesterday. He was stopped twice for pictures with fans as he walked off the 18th green. When he stepped into the media center, he found 30 reporters staring at him, along with eight television cameras at the back of the room.

Jones is curious, like everyone else, about how Woods will perform in his first tournament since winning the US Open on one good leg. Wood had season-ending surgery a week later to reconstruct the ligaments in his left knee.

MS Gill wants States to honour former Olympians

New Delhi (PTI): A day after honouring the heroes of India's 1956 Melbourne Olympic football teams, Sports Minister MS Gill on Tuesday wrote to the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal requesting them to fete the soccer players of the yesteryears.

"I have written to the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal, drawing their attention to the function we had yesterday to honour the living members of the great Indian team of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where they were in the last four, a remarkable achievement never again repeated," Gill told PTI.

"I have requested the CMs that they too should hold a similar function honouring them and giving them a handsome financial rewards," he added.

"Almost all the players hail from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. I have requested them that they should be graceful enough to honour all and not just those who are from their own state," Gill said.

"This would be a good gesture and it will encourage and lift Indian football," added the Sports Minister.

Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela advances in Acapulco

Acapulco (AP): Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela rallied to beat Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Monday to advance to the second-round of the Acapulco Open.

``This is a very important victory, Cuevas is a good player who is coming from the qualifying rounds, he played a great first set but I was able to take him down,'' said Chela, who is 162nd on the ATP rankings and came to Acapulco with a wild card.

Chela, a winner here in 2001 and 2007, has won only two other titles, at the Netherlands in 2002 and Portugal in 2004. ``I like Mexico very much, people is very nice and I love the surface,'' Chela said. ``Right now I'm not thinking about a victory, it's a long road.''

Chela, 29, will play against the winner of Tuesday's match between fifth seeded Jose Acasuso and Brian Dabul. Sixth seeded Alberto Montanes had a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 win over Mexican Bruno Echagaray in the late match and will next play fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno Traver, who beat Ecuadorean Nicolas Lapentti, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

In other men's matches, Brazilian Thomaz Belluci beat Nicolas Devilder of France 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, Leonardo Mayer defeated fellow Argentine Diego Junqueira 7-6, 6-3; Italy's Potito Starace eliminated Spain's Oscar Hernandez 6-4, 6-2.

In women's matches, fourth seeded Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic had an easy win over Ukrainian Olga Savchuk 6-2, 6-0, while Czech Klara Zakopalova beat 2006 Acapulco champion Emilie Loit of France, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Petra Cetrovska of the Czech Republic beat Spain's Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-2, 6-2, Italian Tathiana Garbin defeated Jill Craybas of the United States 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-3 and Roberta Vinci of Italy had a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.

AirAsia mulls Manchester United sponsorship

Kuala Lumpur (AP): Budget airline AirAsia is in talks with Manchester United about becoming the club's next shirt sponsor.

AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes said on his Internet blog on Monday he has been in London to meet with United officials about a potential deal. ``There is no doubt that this would be great for AirAsia and ... it is worth the money,'' Fernandes said.

``We would not be the global brand we are today if we hadn't invested early on,'' he added. ``The question is whether we need to anymore. And that's what I'll be examining.''

United has also reportedly been in talks with Indian business conglomerate Sahara. The Premier League club says any prospective sponsor would likely need to pay more than the 19 million pounds ($27 million; euro21 million) a year that the current deal with AIG is worth.

``To be honest, I don't know what the entire package would amount to, as prices would have come down,'' Fernandes said. ``But it must be stated that all our branding commitments ... have always been about the impact to our bottom line.''

Former India coach John Wright to plot India's downfall

Auckland (IANS): Former India coach John Wright will be helping New Zealand plot the visitors' downfall in the upcoming cricket series.

Wright was India's first overseas coach and also guided them to the final of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. He was the coach of the Indian team when they last toured New Zealand. Wright is currently New Zealand Cricket's (NZC) high performance manager.

New Zealand coach Andy Moles said that Wright has been involved with the team and has helped them identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian team, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Moles wants his team to be more ruthless and wants his players to capitalise on all the opportunities -- something they failed to do on the Australian tour.

Moles has identified a couple of areas where his side may hold the upper hand in the limited overs matches. He feels that the batting line-up can take on any bowling attack in the world. Moles also felt that destructive batsmen in the team like Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder can outplay the Indians.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil warm up to Danica's F1 entry

New Delhi (PTI): Danica Patrick's potential Formula One entry will be nothing short of storming what is essentially a male bastion but the IndyCar sensation can count on the support of both the Force India drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil.

USF1, an American outfit, plans to hit the F1 track in 2010 and its technical director Ken Anderson wants to offer the 26-year-old Danica a test. Both Fisichella and Sutil believes having one more team on the grid is just what the doctor prescribed since Honda pulled and the economic meltdown hit the sport.

And both seem to have a fair amount of respect for whatever Danica, the first woman to win an IndyCar race, has achieved so far. "Having new teams is always good as it's more competition and better for the sport in general," Fisichella said.

"I don't know too much about the USF1 team, but the States is a big market for the car industry so it would be good to get a team from that area," said the Roman, a three-time winner with 200-plus F1 starts under his belt.

"And for women in F1, why not? Danica has got some really good results in the past," said Fisichella, a former Renault driver. His German teammate Sutil believes USF1's entry would not only intensify competition on the track but also open up a new market for the sport.

And though he does not know Dania well, Sutil is not unaware of the American's exploits behind the wheels. "New teams coming into F1 is always good as it means more competition, greater media interest and if this team is from the States, a new market for the sport," Sutil said.

"It's a real positive, particularly when every team is having a tough time due to the economic problems. I don't know Danica Patrick very well, but I know she has had some good results," said the German youngster.

Danica was expected to test for the Honda team late last year but it eventually didn't materialise as the outfit pulled out of F1 owing to fund crunch. Danica is yet to be approached by the USF1 management but even if she lands a seat with the outfit, she would not be the first woman driver to do so.

Italian trio of Maria Teresa de Filippis (1958), Lella Lombardi (1974) and Giovanna Amati (1992), American Divina Galica (1976) and South African Desire Wilson (1979) have entered at least one Grand Prix. Of them, Lella had 12 starts against her name.

Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta to undergo surgery

Liverpool (AP): Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta will have surgery in Spain next week on the ruptured cruciate ligament that will keep him out of action for as long as six months.

The Spaniard was ruled out for the rest of the season after damaging his right knee in the third minute of Sunday's 0-0 Premier League draw at Newcastle.

``He's going to have surgery early next week in Barcelona,'' Everton physiotherapist Mick Rathbone said. ``We use three surgeons: the best in Britain, the best in Europe and the best in America.

``Clearly it suits Mikel to use the Spanish guy and he is very happy with the choice.'' Arteta has scored seven goals this season and his skillful midfield play has been crucial in the team's rise to sixth place in the Premier League.

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has home burgled

Manchester (AP): Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has become the latest Premier League footballer to have his home in the northwest of England burgled.

The 25-year-old Scotland international was in Italy ahead of a Champions League game against Inter Milan when his home in Bowden, Lancashire, was robbed late Monday. Local police said a woman was threatened during the robbery.

Fletcher, who could start Tuesday's match at Inter, joins players such as Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt and Jose Reina who have all had their homes broken into.

Thieves regularly target properties when players are out of the country. Liverpool goalkeeper Reina's home was robbed in May 2007 on the same night he saved two penalty kicks at Chelsea to carry his team into the Champions League final.

Andre Agassi -Steffi Graf to play under new roof at Wimbledon

Wimbledon (AP): Former Wimbledon champions Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf will return to the All England Club in May to try out the playing conditions under the new Centre Court roof.

Agassi and Graf, who are now married, will join Kim Clijsters and Tim Henman for a series of exhibition matches on May 17.

The event is designed to test the new roof and air management system with live matches in front of a capacity crowd of 15,000. The program will feature a men's singles, a women's singles and a mixed doubles match.

Tickets will cost 35 pounds ($50). The new sliding roof will help alleviate Wimbledon's perennial rain delays. The Wimbledon tournament will be held from June 22-July 5.

AC Milan denies Abu Dhabi report

Milan (AP): AC Milan has denied a report that the Abu Dhabi United group will purchase 40 per cent of the club.

Milan and club president Silvio Berlusconi's Fininvest holding company issued a joint statement saying that ``the news has no basis.''

Corriere della Sera reported on Tuesday that after failing to purchase Kaka, Abu Dhabi United had switched its focus to buying part of Milan. The paper did not cite any sources, but said the offer would be euro500 million ($640 million).

Last month, Milan playmaker Kaka rejected a reported 100 million pound transfer offer from Manchester City, which is controlled by Abu Dhabi United.

``Fininvest Spa, which controls AC Milan, denies in the most categorical manner press speculation concerning possible changes to the football club's assets,'' the company said. ``This is a journalistic hypothesis without any basis.''

Hopes are with Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza

.
After Leander's exit from Dubai Tennis, now all hopes are with Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza. Let's hope for the best.

DUBAI - Fresh from his mixed-doubles title in the Australian Open with Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi will be fighting for the honours in the doubles event of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Bhupathi, the 11-time Grand Slam winner, will be partnering Mark Knowles of Bahamas. The two have been given the number two seeding by the organisers here. In the Australian Open doubles, Bhupathi and Knowles reached the final where they lost to the Bryan brothers of the US – Bob and Mike.

Bhupathi's former doubles partner Leander Paes will also be in action in Dubai. Paes, the bronze medallist of the Atlanta Olympic Games, will partner Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic. Paes and Dlouhy will be the number three seeds in the championship.

Paes and his partner will begin their campaign on Monday when they take on Simone Bolelli of Italy and Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in the first round on Court One. Meanwhile, Prakash Amritraj, who lost in the qualifiers of the singles event here, has been given a wild card here in the doubles event. His partner will be Pakistan's Asiam-ul-Qureshi. source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/

Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy ousted from Dubai event

.
It's a sad day for Indian tennis as Leander Paes loose in the first round of Dubai Tennis Championship. Millions of Indian aspected Leander to do well in Dubai. It was a shock exit for the 3rd seed duo.
...............................................................


Third seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy made a shock first round exit from $2,233,500 Dubai Tennis championships after losing 4-6, 6-2, 8-10 to unseeded pair of Simone Bolelli and Ivo Karlovic.

Paes-Dlouhy made a spirited comeback after going down in the first set but lost it in the closely fought super tie-breaker.

They squandered three breakpoints in the first set to hand the lead to their Italian-Croatian rivals but pulled up their socks and outplayed them in the second to draw parity.

However, Bolelli and big serving Karlovic edged past their fancied rivals in the deciding tie-breaker to book a quarterfinal berth for themselves.

Mahesh Bhupathi and Prakash Amritraj are also in the fray with their respective partners.

Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of Bahama, seeded second, will play their opener against UAE's wild card entrants Hamoud Abbas and Mahmoud-Naden Al Baloushi.

Amritraj and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi have been given a wild card entry and they will begin their campaign against Czech Martin Damm and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden. source: http://www.ndtv.com

Veteran Olympians honoured

FELICITATED: Mohammad Zulfiqaruddin, Syed Abdus Salam, S.S. Narayan, Samar Banerjee, Nikhil Nandy, P.K. Banerjee and Ahmed Hussain, seen with Sports Minister M.S. Gill on Monday.

NEW DELHI: Their voice quivered as they gratefully acknowledged the honour. Their legs, which once carried them in swift motions on a football pitch, were not strong anymore.

But these grand old men of the 1956 Indian football team which won laurels at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games won the hearts of one and all at a function held at the India Islamic Cultural Centre here on Monday.

Led by their captain Samar Banerjee, and kept in good humour by the energetic P.K. Banerjee, five other members of that team flew down to Delhi on the invitation of Sports Minister M.S. Gill, to receive recognition for their wonderful feat 53 years ago. “It seems like it happened just yesterday,” quipped Nikhil Nandy.

“A pity we can’t be associated with the game,” said Nandy and his pain was quite understandable.

Best ever finish

He was part of that team which finished fourth at the Olympics, the best ever finish by India. His sentiments were shared by Ahmed Hussain, S.S. Narayan, Syed Abdus Salam and Mohammad Zulfiqaruddin. The other two surviving members of that team, T. Balaram and K.C. Pal, could not make it. The team recently lost Peter Thangaraj, one of its most illustrious members.

Mr. Gill had met some of these players at Kolkata recently and decided to honour them, a move that brought these veterans on the same platform after a long time.

Some of them do go and watch football but some can’t because there is hardly any competition in their city.

Zulfiqaruddin, who could deceptively kick using either of his feet, and Salam, come from Hyderabad and watch most of the action only on television.

Narayan, a goalkeeper of sterling quality, is “forced” to watch the I-League matches as a judge to decide the man of the match winner. “It is sometimes a torture because there are not any goals scored these days,” confided Narayan.

Kind words

He, however, had kind words for the players and some harsh observations for the administration.

In a splendid gesture, Samar Banerjee lived up to his image as a caring captain when he requested the audience to observe a minute’s silence in the memory of nine members of his team. “They departed too soon,” he mumbled.

True to their nature, the veteran heroes of Indian football, all 70-plus and visibly tired, put up a graceful front when obliging the overbearing media.

They were each presented with a silver plaque and a token cash honour of Rs. 1.5 lakh.

source: hindu.com

Don Bosco Blues advance

KOCHI: Don Bosco School Blues, Vaduthala, defeated St. John de Britto, Fort Kochi, 1-0 and entered the semifinals of the Balkishen Singh inter-school hockey tournament at the St. Albert’s College Ground, Kaloor, on Monday.

Kiran scored the match-winner in the ninth minute.

Source: the hindu

Roddick triumphs at Memphis

TRIUMPHANT: Andy Roddick avenged a loss to Radek Stepanek as he regained the RMK Championship in Memphis on Sunday.

MEMPHIS: American top seed Andy Roddick claimed his first title of the season and a measure of revenge with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Czech Radek Stepanek in the final of the Memphis tennis championships on Sunday.

Roddick, who lost to Stepanek in the semifinals of the San Jose Open last week, ended his opponent’s bid for back-to-back titles when he converted on his second match point to clinch a 27th career title.

“A week ago (in San Jose) I felt like I was in control of the match but he played better when it counted on the big points,” Roddick told reporters.

“I played better today on the big points. Right now I’m looking at it as a process and it’s great to win a title.”

Great start

The champion in 2002 and runner-up in 2003 and 2007, Roddick got off to a bright start with an early break to race 3-0 ahead on his way to securing the opening set, the first taken from Stepanek all week.

In the second set, both players held serve throughout, Roddick saving two break points at 15-40 in the ninth game and one more break point in the 11th game with one of his eight aces.

Leading 6-5 and Stepanek serving to stay in the match, Roddick set up a triple match point and while the fifth seed was able to stave off the first, the 26-year-old American sealed victory on his next attempt.

Ninth title

At Buenos Aires, Spain’s Tommy Robredo won his second successive tournament when he beat Argentina’s Juan Monaco 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5) in the final of the Copa Telmex.

The third seed followed up last week’s win in Costa da Sauipe, Brazil, by clinching his ninth ATP title.

“I am very happy for having won back-to-back titles for the first time in my career,” said the World No. 17. “I trained hard to be able to play well in consecutive weeks.”

Robredo earned the opening set’s only service break in the 11th game, but lost momentum following a 90-minute rain break after the first game of the second set.

Unseeded Monaco, who beat top seed David Nalbandian on Saturday, took advantage to break serve three times in a row and level the match.

Both players broke serve twice in the third set before Robredo squandered two break points at 5-5.

The set went to a tie-break, which the Spaniard clinched with his fourth match point.

The results:

At Memphis (ATP RMK Championship): Final: Andy Roddick bt Radek Stepanek 7-5, 7-5.

At Buenos Aires (ATP Copa Telmex): Final: Tommy Robredo bt Juan Monaco 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5)

At Bogota (WTA Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas): Final: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez bt Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-2. — Agencies Hindu

Devvarman, Bopanna lose

Delray Beach (USA): There will be no Indian competing in the singles event of the Delray Beach International tennis championships as both Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna failed to make the main draw, losing their qualifying matches.

Bopanna made a first round exit, losing to American John Isner 2-6, 1-6.

Devvarman went down fighting 5-7, 4-6 against America’s Ryan Sweeting. — PTI

NIFE centre in State soon

Sports Minister of Asom Bharat Narah on Sunday said that a branch of the National Institute of Physical Education will very soon open in the State. Plans are afoot to set up the institution in a 100-bigha plot of land in Palashbari. Attending the foundation stone laying function of the Assam Football Association, Narah said that as sporting activities are gradually growing day by day in the State so such type of centre has now become essential. “Though it will take some time to find land and build the infrastructure for the centre, we don’t want to wait too long and have decided to use the sports complex in Tapesia on a temporary basis to start the function of the centre, ” the minister added. Narah also added that the Sports Authority of Assam would very soon start functioning and formalities regarding its formation is almost complete. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will very soon appoint one former sportsperson as the vice president of the Sports Authority of Assam. The sentinel assam

Thumping win for Welcome CC

VIJAYAWADA: Ajay Kumar (71) and Vamsi Krishna (66 n.o.) guided Welcome Cricket Club to a six-wicket victory over Everest Cricket Club in the Krishna District Cricket Association Power League, for the Katragadda Madhusudhana Rao Memorial Trophy, here on Sunday.

In another match, Andhra Blues defeated South Central Railway by five wickets.

The scores: South Central Railway 98 in 28.1 overs (A. Sridhar 40, T.K. Ganesh three for 30, Bharat Reddy three for 16) lost to Andhra Blues 102 for five in 24.4 overs (Kranthi Kumar 51 n.o., B. Sudha Kiran three for 39).

Everest CC 189 in 46.2 overs (G.N. Srinivas 81, K. Manuraivath four for nine) lost to Welcome CC 191 for four in 25.3 overs (Ajay Kumar 71, Vamsi Krishna 66 n.o.). THE HINDU

Asif suspension issue gets murkier

K.P. Mohan

NEW DELHI: With the IPL Chairman and Commissioner, Lalit Modi, stating in Mumbai on Friday that Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif had been banned from IPL and it was for “other Boards” to see what further action could be taken, the suspension issue has got more clouded.

“Our rules govern our tournament. Whether there are other implications, that’s for other Boards to see. As far as the IPL is concerned, Asif has been banned for a year.THE HINDU

Jagan Mohan award instituted

HYDERABAD: C. Venkatesh, former sports journalist and currently a sports analyst for some of the television channels, instituted an award in memory of his father, C. Jagan Mohan Rao, for the best sports writer in Telugu (C. Jagan Mohan Rao Smaaraka Uttma Kreeda Rachana Award), according to a press release on Sunday.

The award will take into consideration the writings in a calendar year starting from the year 2008 and carries a cash prize of Rs. 5,000. The award committee comprising sports writers and analysts will select the winner from the entries received.

The members of the award committee include K. Chandra Mohan, R. Narender, Sudheer Mahavadi and K.V.S. Nagaraju. “Telugu sports journalism needs encouragement, especially good writers. It is with this intention this award is being instituted,” Venkatesh said.

The writing can be in the form of an article or a report on any sport and must be in Telugu and a published work. In cases where there is no byline, the editor or the competent authority of the publication will certify the writer’s name. Only those articles/reports published during the calendar year concerned would be eligible for the award of that particular year. The decision of the selection committee is final.

The last date for receipt of the entries for the year 2008 is March 31, 2009, and should be sent to C. Venkatesh, Flat No.101, 390/3RT, SR Nagar, Hyderabad-500038. Call 99499 92954. THE HINDU

Team India gets three points in Sprint race

Gauteng (South Africa): Narain Karthikeyan secured three points for Team India by finishing sixth in the Sprint race, but returned empty handed in the Feature race with a 12th place finish in the South African leg of the A1 GP here on Sunday.

Narain started the Sprint race from fifth position and Feature race from 18th. Narain finished the 40-lap Feature race in 1:03:33.767 minutes, 1:09.150 minutes behind the Swiss winner Neel Jani.

India now has eight points and is 15th in the event. Narain started fifth on the grid in Sprint race and moved up to fourth, but Clivio Piccione of Monaco and Ireland’s Adam Caroll overtook him pushing him to sixth. — PTI

Honda spurned Ecclestone’s offer

LONDON: Honda reportedly spurned a buy-out offer from Bernie Ecclestone that would have allowed the Formula One team to race this season.

“They should have taken what I offered. It was a very good offer for everybody concerned,” Ecclestone was quoted as saying in Sunday’s edition of The News of the World.

“It gave them complete protection but they wanted to do things on their own.”

The British tabloid said that Honda team principals Ross Brawn and Nick Fry rejected a $143 million offer from the F-1 boss, who would have then had a say in the Formula One Teams Association.

Ecclestone said that Honda must now accept a management buy-out, sell to Virgin’s Richard Branson or disband.

Branson said on Saturday that he would be interested in bringing Virgin into F-1 if the sport was greener and costs were further reduced. — AP

Rajalakshmi enters final

NEW DELHI: S. Rajalakshmi of Intelligence Bureau defeated Kanakavalli Venkataraman of Delhi Audit 25-0, 25-24 in the women’s semifinals of the inter-Ministry carrom tournament at the Nirman Bhawan hall here. In the final, Rajalakshmi will face Geeta R. Shankar of Delhi Audit who swept aside L. Jyothi of Railways.

The results: Men (third round): Mohammed Nasir bt Arvind Singh 25-0, 25-0; Sanjeev Bhatnagar bt D. N. Khattar 25-8, 25-0; Deepak Raj bt Manoj Kumar 25-0, 25-0; Rajinder bt Zahid Hussain 25-21, 22-19.

Women (semifinals): Geeta R. Shankar bt L. Jyothi 25-9, 25-5; S. Rajalakshmi bt Kanakavalli Venkataraman 25-0, 25-24. THE HINDU

Jhanu Hansda wins gold

New Delhi: Indian archers added a gold and a bronze on Sunday in the first Asian Grand Prix archery championship in Bangkok.

Jhanu Hansda won gold in the women’s FITA round while Arjun Rao bagged a bronze in the men’s section on the third day of the five-day competition which began on February 19.

Jhanu shot 112 against Malaysia’s Burhanudddin (107) in the title round to bag the gold medal. Junior National champion Arjun Rao shot his personal best and also created a National record by scoring 117 out of a possible 120 to win the bronze medal.

At the end of the individual events, India’s medal tally stood at six gold, three silver and eight bronze. — PTI

Bordieu scores six goals

NEW DELHI: Six goals by Gonzalo Bordieu powered Jindal Steel and Power to a 8 goals to 6-1/2 victory over Cavalry Black in the final of the Sir Pratap Singh Cup polo tournament at the Jaipur Polo ground here on Sunday. Simran Shergill (2) accounted for the other two goals of the champion team.

Vishal Singh (3), Tarun Sirohi (2) and Vishal Chauhan scored for Cavalry Black that had started with a half-goal handicap advantage. the hindu

Boaz’s Team triumphs

Chennai: Boaz’s Team, comprising Dr. P.D. Boaz, P. Sridhar, N. Kirubakaramurthy, Uttam Gupta, Kumar and T.M. Suryanarayana won the Team of Four duplicate event of the N. Ramaratnam Memorial open bridge tournament at the Mylapore Club on Sunday.

The team beat Nest Inn ‘B’ (N. Sriram, D. Vijay, C.R. Badrinath, R. Krishnan and Prajwal) to clinch the title.

In the semifinals, Boaz’s Team defeated Mylapore Club (P. Narayan Iyer, V.N. Ramamurthy, S. Sankaran, S.V. Raghava, K. Chandramouli and C. Mohanakrishnan), while Nest Inn ‘B’ beat Gowri’s Team (V.G. Gowri Shankar, T.M. Ravindran, A. Sridhar, Ravichandran, C.S. Narayanan).

The Board-a-Match event was won by Gowri’s Team (V.G. Gowri Shankar, T.M. Ravindran, R. Ravichandran and R.S. Narayanan), with Commandos (R. Jagadeseesan, G. Koteeswaran, C. Mohanakrishnan and Cmdr. Ilangovan) finishing second. Lalitha’s Team (Lalitha Lakshmanan, Lakshmanan, Hari and Latha) was third.

M. Ram Santhanam, MD, Wheels India Ltd., presided over the prize distribution, while V. Muralidharan, CMD, PVA Market Sourcing Solutions Ltd., distributed prizes.

Other results: Pair event: North-South: 1. Ganesan & R.S. Narayanan, 2. Sunil Verghese & Sri Verghese, 3. Peryaswamy & L.S. Subramanian. East-West: 1. S. Dang & K. Chandramouli, 2. P. Sridhar & Uttam Gupta, 3. R. Kanan & T.R. Krishnan. — Sports Reporter the hindu