Saina not worried about ranking

Saina not worried about ranking

Hyderabad, June 30: After notching up a hat-trick of international titles, Saina Nehwal is in no hurry to become the numero uno badminton player in the world and now wants to do well in forthcoming World Championships and Commonwealth Games in October. “This year there is the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and also the Asian Games. So I will be working towards that. I did not expect to reach number three ranking, but have reached there and I am quite confident I can also reach number one position. But before that, it is important for me to play well in the World Championships and the Delhi Commonwealth Games,” Saina told PTI.

Saina, who pocketed the hat-trick of titles by defending the Indonesian Open Super Series trophy in Jakarta recently, also made it clear that she had never set deadlines for improve in the world ranking.

“I did not keep a target to reach number three. I thought by this year end I may be at number four or five, but I have reached number three so fast. So, I can be number one or may go down also because I am not playing so many tournaments,” she pointed out.

The 20-year-old, however, feels that there is enough space for further improvement. “A player is never perfect. You have to work hard to keep on improving every time. I have to improve my defence, net, backhands and forehands. I should work on the areas where I am weak,” she said. “The coaches are finding something special. They will try to improve and tell me to learn something new. Right now, I am not thinking of what to do. The plan is to start (practice) from the next week. (PTI)

World Cup opens with on a joyous, noisy note

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Nelson Mandela would have loved it. The joy, the pulsating music and dazzling colors, the big party to celebrate the world's embrace of South Africa -- even the scrappy 1-1 draw.

Dashing the hopes of many, the anti-apartheid hero and former president couldn't make it to the opening of the World Cup on Friday. Nearly 92, Mandela is frail, and his family was sent into shock when his 13-year-old great-granddaughter was killed in car crash on the way home from Thursday night's gala pre-tournament concert.

But Mandela sent a message, via South African President Jacob Zuma, that the revelers should enjoy themselves. They took it to heart.

From the start of the ceremony to the final whistle of the first match, four hours later, Soccer City was abuzz with vuvuzelas -- the plastic horns favored by South African fans that collectively sound like the amplified interior of a beehive.

Most of the crowd of 84,000 wore the yellow jerseys of Bafana Bafana, the host country's team, with a few pockets of green -- fans of Mexico, South Africa's foe in the opener.

Even the result did little to did dampen the festive mood. Mexico is ranked much higher among football nations, after all.

The level of euphoria somehow ratcheted to a higher level when Siphiwe Tshabalala gave South Africa a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute. Mexico's equalizer, 24 minutes later, subdued the noise only briefly.

It was a day that many South Africans welcomed with amazement. Only 20 years ago, their nation was still in the throes of apartheid -- and the target of an international sports boycott because of those racial segregation policies.

On Friday, whites and blacks cheered side by side for the home team.

Just before kickoff, Zuma, wearing a scarf in national colors, and FIFA President Sepp Blatter spoke briefly to the crowd from midfield.

Blatter depicted this World Cup as a triumph for Africa, which had never before hosted the event despite its passion for the game. He added: "The spirit of Mandela is in Soccer City."

The crowd then rose for the Mexican and South African national anthems -- the latter a fusion of the main hymn of the anti-apartheid movement and the anthem of the former white-minority government.

Then it was game time and the horns sounded louder than ever.

Several key players in South Africa's political transformation were there, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who at one point was dancing in his seat to the music. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden also was among the VIPs.

It was not an occasion for those who like it quiet, thanks to the vuvuzelas -- although they were briefly drowned out by the overflight of military jets just before the opening ceremony.

The public address announcer then begged the crowd to ease up on the noise so the global television audience could hear the music. The plea met with limited success.

An all-star cast of musicians, including South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela and American singer R. Kelly, performed. Cast members brought out large placards with the flags of the 32 nations competing in the tournament, holding them high as a final burst of fireworks ended the show.

Before long, the video screens were showing South Africa's players were dancing, singing and chanting in the tunnel on their way to the field.

Soccer City was nowhere near full at the start of the opening ceremony. Thousands of fans were stuck in traffic jams on roads leading to the stadium -- regaled along the way by groups of dancing, chanting young people in Bafana shirts and by vendors selling the multicolored South African flag.

"The traffic was mad! There should have been better organization," said 24-year-old Farzana Essop, whose party turned back before reaching the stadium, where they'd hoped -- somehow -- to obtain tickets.

Those who didn't go to the stadium had ample options.

South African city officials set up 10 official fan parks in the nine host cities to cater to fans who couldn't get match tickets.

In downtown Johannesburg, a viewing area was so packed that a crowd-control barrier was toppled. It didn't stop the party.

France, Uruguay play 0-0 draw

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- Nil-nil draws can be the scourge of soccer. Yet nobody who participated in Friday night's 0-0 World Cup match between France and Uruguay was complaining.

The game between former champions produced an opening day dud, yet there was much satisfaction expressed by each team for gaining a point.

"It is almost a beautiful 0-0," France coach Raymond Domenech said. "But the result is what it is."

Even if some of the tournament's top stars -- France's Franck Ribery and Uruguay's Diego Forlan -- showed flashes, the fear of losing the opening game stifled both offenses.

The low point came when Uruguay's Nicolas Lodeiro was ejected after a wild challenge on Bacary Sagna in the 81st minute for his second yellow card.

In the end, an early short-range miss by France's Sidney Govou and an excellent save from Uruguay's Fernando Muslera left Group A as wide open as possible.

"There weren't many chances for either team, neither team wanted to take many chances," Forlan said. "It was very complicated. The whole game was equal, I thought."

The match at the sold-out 64,100 Green Point Stadium had few of the thrills and drama of the 1-1 opener between South Africa and Mexico at Soccer City, but the result left all four teams tied with one point.

South Africa plays Uruguay next on Wednesday, one day before France meets Mexico. Lodeiro will be suspended for the game with the host team.

Down to 10 men for the last 9 minutes plus 3 minutes of injury time, Uruguay concentrated on kicking the ball away from its penalty area and net. But even with a man up, France failed to find a goal.

"We had to guard against an unlucky counter," Domenech said.

After the final whistle, the Uruguayans embraced, happy to have escaped with a point, while most French players looked sullen, saddled with the disappointment of a lost opportunity.

French coach Domenech swiped his hand in frustration and then dug them deep in his pockets before going to shake Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez's hand.

Both teams were bothered by a slippery pitch that made deep passes next to impossible and left even Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimmura unsure of his footing at one stage.

France dominated the first half, but its lack of a finishing touch showed the lack of confidence that has long affected the 1998 champion.

Great work from Abou Diaby set up Ribery on the left side and his pinpoint low cross found Govou in the center. But Govou didn't blast the ball home, sending it far wide instead.

Some of France's best chances came from set pieces, usually taken by Yoann Gourcuff. On one, the midfielder curled a free kick to the near corner, forcing Fernando Muslera to make an excellent save.

Uruguay, which won the title in 1930 and 1950, sometimes had at least seven players in its penalty area to contain a lone Frenchman.

It clearly wanted to give its standout forward duo of Forlan and Luis Suarez room to take on the French defense. And in the 17th minute, he outwitted Bakari Sagna and swept past a slow-moving William Gallas to give goalie Hugo Lloris his first test. It was Uruguay's only first-half chance.

In the 72nd minute, Forlan had an open shot from 15 yards he sent just went wide.

Paes-Dlouhy cruise to French Open final

PARIS, June 3 (PTI): Leander Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy are just one step away from winning back-to-back French Open men’s doubles title after they stormed into the final with a straight set victory over Julian Knowle and Andy Ram here today.

The third seeded Indo-Czech duo defeated their 10th seeded opponents Knowle of Austria and Ram of Israel 6-4, 6-2 in a lop-sided semifinal match which lasted 75 minutes at Roland Garros.

If Paes and Dlouhy win the summit match against second seeded duo of Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia, it would be the fourthFrench Open men’s doubles title for the Indian.

Paes has already won the title in 1999 and 2001 (both with Mahesh Bhupathi) and then with Dlouhy in 2009.

With already six men’s doubles and five mixed doubles Grand Slam crowns in his pocket, Paes, if he wins the final this time, will become the Indian with most Grand Slam triumphs with 12 titles – one more than his estranged partner Bhupathi. Paes and Cara Black, who won the Australian Open mixed doubles Grand Slam title early this year, however, are already out of theFrench Open after losing their match in the quarterfinals here.

Paes and Dlouhy made a rollicking start breaking their opponents’ serve in the first game and then held their own to surge 2-0 ahead.

The defending champions then broke Knowle-Ram in the seventh game to go 5-2 up and wrapped up the first set 6-4 in 37 minutes. A set up, Paes and Dlouhy, however, did not show any complacency and won five points in a row by breaking their opponents in the first, third and fifth games to go 5-0 up in the second set.

Nadal in semis

PARIS, June 3 (Agencies): Rafael Nadal is so good on clay he has reached this week’s semifinals at the French Open, and not many top players can say that.

Eager to reassert himself as the king of clay, Nadal has been immune to the recent wave of upsets at Roland Garros. The four-time champion advanced on Wednesday to the final four by beating fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-4.

“When I am in semifinals, it’s very good news for me,” Nadal said.

His opponent on Friday will be journeyman Jurgen Melzer, who joined the upset trend by rallying past No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Melzer never advanced beyond the third round in his previous 31 Grand Slam tournaments.

There was also a shocker on the women’s side – top-ranked Serena Williams lost to Australian spoiler Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-7 (2), 8-6. The surprises began Monday, when Stosur ended four-time champion Justine Henin’s Roland Garros winning streak at 24 matches. On Tuesday, top-ranked Roger Federer lost to Robin Soderling.