Shot putter Inderjeet pulls out of SAG

Guwahati, Feb 9, 2016 (PTI)

Rio Olympics-bound shot-putter Inderjeet Singh has pulled out of the ongoing 12th South Asian Games due to a back injury.

Reigning Asian champion Inderjeet, who has already qualified for the Olympics, has been training in the United States with the government funding him under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.

"It's very painful not being able to represent my country in SAF Games due to strain in back. I know it's very disappointing to all those who wished me for a podium finish as well. As I am under recovery, I can assure all of you that I will try my best to live upto your expectations in my next competition," he wrote on his facebook page.

An official of the Athletics Federation of India confirmed Inderjeet's pulling out of the Games.
Had he participated, Inderjeet is a sure shot gold winner.
The athletics competition of the SAG began here today.

India colts steamroll Sri Lanka to enter fifth World Cup final

Mirpur, Feb 9, 2016 (PTI)

 Three-time champions India continued their invincible run to enter the ICC Under-19 World Cup final for a fifth time with an emphatic 97-run win over Sri Lanka in the semifinals here today.
India did well to reach 267/9 after a shaky start before putting up an impressive effort with the ball to dismiss Sri Lanka for 170 in 42.4 overs.

The batting stars were Anmolpreet Singh (72 off 92) and Sarfaraz Khan (59 off 71), who amassed his fourth fifty plus scores in five innings player in the tournament.

The three time champions now await either West Indies or hosts Bangladesh in the final to played on February 14.

Indians, put in to bat on an overcast morning, were put under pressure right away with its formidable opening pair of Rishabh Pant and captain Ishan Kishan falling cheaply to leave their team at 27/2 in the 10th over.

Batting was not easy but Anmolpreet and the in form Sarfaraz steadied the ship with a 96-run stand off 126 balls for the third wicket.

While Anmolpreet's was a gritty 92-ball knock, power- hitter Sarfaraz too played a measured innings considering the circumstances. The 18-year-old IPL recruit, who came into the match with scores of 76, 21*, 74, 74, still managed to pierce the field for six fours and a maximum.

Anmolpreet, who struck half a dozen fours and a six during his stay at the crease, stitched another handy 70-run partnership with Washington Sundar (43 off 45) after Sarfaraz's departure.

India needed a move on in the last 10 overs and the late burst came courtesy Sundar and Armaan Jaffer, who smashed 29 off 16 balls before Mayank Dagar's 17-run cameo off 10 balls took his team to a competitive total in a crunch match.

Defending the target, the Indian bowlers did not allow the Lankan chase to take off.
India missed quite a few chances on the field but the bowlers were still good enough to keep things tight for the opposition. After a batting cameo, Dagar did his bit with the ball as well, grabbing 3/21 in 5.4 overs of his left-arm spin.

Pacer Avesh Khan, India's leading wicket-taker in the tournament, struck in the very first over, dismissing Avishka Fernando leg before wicket even though the ball appeared to be drifting down. Soon after, the run out of Kaveen Bandara made it 13 for 2 in the fourth over.

The chase was not a huge one but Sri Lankan batsmen failed to rotate the strike and a regular loss of wickets meant the asking run rate kept going up.

Sri Lanka's hopes of reaching their second ever final were all but over when the scoreboard read 133 for six in the 35th over.

Kamindu Mendis (39) and Shammu Ashan (38) got starts but failed to get that one big score needed to overhaul the target.

Japan worried about 2020 problem, or life after the Olympics

Tokyo, Feb 9, 2016 (AP)

Japan is gearing up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with gusto, investing in everything from stadiums to electric cars, and expecting an economic bonanza from a construction frenzy and an influx of visitors.

On the face of it, hosting the Olympics is a big win for Japan at a time when its economy seems besieged by intractable problems. The Bank of Japan estimates the economic perk at 30 trillion yen (USD 250 billion), many times even the highest estimate of the costs to prepare for and run the event.

But for some, 2020 is another manifestation of what has been going wrong in Japan for decades. Instead of modernizing the economy and taking other steps to address the powerful headwinds of an aging population and shrinking workforce, the government has turned again to its well-worn playbook of borrow and hope.

Discussion and fears about what Japan can turn to for an economic lifeline after the Olympics have become so commonplace it's even been given a name: the 2020 problem.
Japan "will overstretch itself," William Saito, an entrepreneur and technology expert, said of the spending for the games. "It will quite possibly be the straw that broke the camel's back," he said. "Everyone is predicting that it will be that catalyst."

In his concerns, Saito is joined by a chorus of doomsayers. The title of one recent book screams: "Japanese Land Prices Sink to a Third of Their Value! The Crisis That Comes After the 2020 Tokyo Olympics."

Prophetically, for the naysayers, preparations for the Olympics have already hit big snags. The design of the main stadium has been redone after a public uproar over its cost. The Tokyo Olympics emblem is being redesigned because of plagiarism allegations.

And the organising committee has not disclosed an official estimate of costs, saying it's still trying to figure it out and did not know when such a number would be ready.

It has acknowledged the cost will be considerably higher than the 350 billion yen (USD 3 billion) it gave when the city was bidding.

The dire predictions of what's in store for Japan after the Olympics range from a collapse in property prices to a financial crisis sparked by the weight of the government's debt burden, which is the highest in the industrial world at 234 per cent of gross domestic product.

The time limit for getting that debt under control may be running out, said Kazumasa Oguro, professor of economics at Hosei University.

Smith takes Australia captaincy for World Twenty20

Sydney, Feb 9, 2016, (AFP)

Australian selectors today dumped Aaron Finch as captain in favour of Steve Smith for the World Twenty20 which begins next month in India, while Peter Nevill replaces Matthew Wade as wicketkeeper.
Finch has been skipper since October 2014 but with Smith already captain of both the Test and one-day team, national selector Rod Marsh said it was the right time for him to now take over in the shorter format.

"Aaron Finch has done a very good job captaining Australia in T20 cricket. He will have benefited enormously from the leadership opportunity and will remain a highly-respected leader within the Australian squad," said Marsh.

"However since he became T20 captain, there has been a broader leadership transition in Test and one-day international cricket with Michael Clarke retiring and Steve Smith assuming the captaincy in Test and one-day cricket.

"We think now is the right time for Steve to lead Australia in all three forms of the game as it offers us important continuity, not only ahead of the World T20, but beyond that tournament as well."

A key surprise in the 15-man squad was the inclusion of Nevill, who is yet to play limited-overs cricket for Australia, but he was preferred to Wade whose recent form with the gloves and bat prompted the change.

"We feel our batting depth in this squad is sufficient enough that we can have a specialist wicket-keeper in the squad," said Marsh.

"We want Australia's best wicket-keeper playing in this tournament and we consider Peter Nevill to be the best in the country right now."

Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa, both yet to play T20 cricket for Australia, claimed the spin spots ahead of Nathan Lyon and Cameron Boyce, while Josh Hazlewood spearheads the attack.

Finch (hamstring), Nathan Coulter-Nile (shoulder) and James Faulkner (hamstring) were all named in the squad subject to proving their fitness.

"Overall, we believe the squad we have selected is well-balanced and has the experience and talent required to be successful in India and help us win the World T20 title for the first time," said Marsh.

"We were able to look at a number of players during the Big Bash League and the recent T20 international series against India and have selected the best short-form players available for the conditions we will encounter."

Australian squad: Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Shane Watson, Steve Smith (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Peter Nevill, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Aaron Finch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye.

Waugh the most selfish cricketer that I've played with: Warne

Melbourne, Feb 9, 2016, (PTI)

His long-standing feud with Steve Waugh was out in the open once again when spin legend Shane Warne slammed the former Australian captain as "the most selfish cricketer that I've played with" during a TV program.

"There's a lot of reasons I don't like Steve Waugh, a lot of reasons ... because he's the most selfish cricketer I've played with, blah, blah, blah," Warne said while appearing on Channel Ten's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here program.

Warne spoke about the fateful incident that happened 17 years ago when he was axed from the final Test against the West Indies in 1999, with Australia trailing 1-2.

"One thing that really annoyed me about him was the one Test I got dropped, in West Indies. We we had to win the last Test match to win the trophy. At that stage, captain (Waugh), vice-captain (me), coach (Geoff Marsh) used to pick the team," said the 46-year-old.

"We went to selection. I hadn't bowled well, we'd lost - Brian Lara batted unreal - but I felt like I was being the scapegoat, because I didn't bowl well it was my fault.

"Anyway, we get to selection table and I said, 'OK, what's everyone's thoughts?'. Steve Waugh said, 'You're not playing'. I went, 'What? Hang on. What do you think the team should be? Blah blah blah', and Steve Waugh said 'No, I'm the captain of this side, I'm the captain, you're not playing'.

"I was really disappointed. After 10 years. I'd just had a shoulder op. I thought the situation where we had to win the Test match would have brought the best out of me too."

Warne then added: "I don't like Steve Waugh for a lot of other reasons." During that fateful Test in Antigua, Colin Miller had replaced Warne and Australia registered a 176-run win to draw the series 2-2.

Tickets sold out, stands empty - a SAG tale of shoddy organisation

Ratnadip Choudhury, Feb 09, 2016, Guwahati, DHNS

Even as India rake in gold medals at the 12th South Asian Games at Guwahati and Shillong, fans in both the venues are having a hard time getting tickets for the events.
While the Games organising committee claimed people are not getting tickets in counter since most are sold online, in many events even during finals, stands are found empty. “It is not like everywhere stands are empty. We are getting spectators. The tickets for the India-Pakistan hockey match were sold out long back. Now if people buy tickets online and do not turn up in the stadium, then what can we do?” asked Avinash Joshi, the Joint CEO of the organising committee.

At many venues across Guwahati, several people were seen queuing up in front of ticket counters. “I am a squash fan. I wanted to see the squash finals. I tried booking online, it said sold out. At the counter I could not get tickets. I am disappointed. There was no publicity from the organising committee where we will get tickets. But then we get to hear that the stands are empty,” said Sumita Borah, a local fan.

Indeed, many seats were empty during the squash finals. “I do not understand where are all the tickets going. I have been going around all venues. People are looking for tickets but the organisers say it is sold out. Today in squash, all I could see were security forces, organisers, volunteers, participants, media and some with VIP passes and complementary passes,” said a senior Guwahati Police official. 

Sources said there was rift in the organising committee on the matter. “Although marketing is our mandate, senior officers from New Delhi have kept the tickets under their control. What we are told is that most of the tickets are kept for online sales. Thus common people are not getting tickets at the counters. Moreover extra complementary tickets have been distributed since elections are round the corner,” revealed a senior official from the marketing team on condition of anonymity. 

It is not smooth sailing for those who have bought tickets online as well, as they are facing lot of harassment while redeeming the tickets. The committee had asked them to redeem the tickets a day earlier, forcing them to go to the stadium twice. 
On Monday, a few spectators protested after the wrestling matches started ahead of the time printed on the tickets. Apparently, no efforts had been made to inform the fans about the change of timings. 

12th South Asian Games: Lifters hoist four gold

Feb 09, 2016, Guwahati, DHNS:

Indians enjoyed a perfect penultimate day at the weightlifting competition, sweeping home all the four gold medals that were on offer at the Bhogeshwari Phukanani Indoor Stadium.

Victor Abilash Christopher, Pardeep Singh, Vikas Thakur and Kavita Devi all exuded confidence as they climbed up the podium on Monday.

Christopher lifted a total weight of 317 kg (135+182) to wear the gold in the 105kg category, 17kgs more than second-placed Shanaka Peters of Sri Lanka and 37 kgs higher than Azharamir of Pakistan.

Things were easy for Pardeep in the 94kg section as well, the Indian lifting 331kg (145+186), winning the gold by nine kgs. Vikas too didn’t face any competition in the 85kg category, carrying a load of 300kg (140+160) for the gold.

Kavita won on a canter, totalling a lift of 210kg (92+118) in the women’s 75kg.

Spikers sparkle

Indian volleyball teams set themselves up for an expectedly grand double after marching into the final with lop-sided victories. While the male spikers blanked Maldives 25-17, 25-20, 25-19, the female counterparts thrashed Nepal 25-10, 25-9, 25-15. Both the finals will be played on Tuesday.

Cyclists shine

Indian cyclists continued to call the shots, landing another double. While Rutuja Satpute, Manisha G, Chaoba Devi Elangbam and Udeshani Niranjani won the women’s 40km team trial gold with a final timing of 59:23.52, the male quartet of Manjeet Singh, Deepak Kumar, Manohar Lal and Nisar Ahmed claimed gold in the men’s 70km team trial with a timing of 1::37:37.840.

Hockey eves win

India’s women’s hockey team hardly broke a sweat in their second straight match, hammering a hapless Sri Lanka 12-1 to seal their final spot in style on Monday.

In the three-team competition, the eves, clear-cut favourites for the gold, expectedly made the Sri Lankans do all the running with as many seven getting their name on the score sheet.

Jaspreet Kaur nailed in five goals while Soundarya Yendala struck a brace. Rani, Sonika, Jyoti Gupta, Deepika and Gurjit Kaur also scored one apiece. The Indians had beaten Nepal 24-0 in their match on Sunday.

Organisers scrap basketball from South Asian Games

Guwahati, Feb 9, 2016 (PTI)

 The 12th South Asian Games today suffered a jolt with the organisers deciding to cancel the basketball event following the world governing body FIBA's decision to de-recognise the event on the ground of interference from the government and Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
Games Chief Executive Officer and Sports Authority of India Director General Injeti Srinivas told reporters that a solution could not be reached to end the impasse and it was decided to scrap the discipline.

"We tried to sort the issues out and suggested different options like going ahead with the event and give away medals without the results going into record books. But there was no response from some quarter. So we have decided not to go ahead with basketball. It will not be held now," he said at the media briefing.

The event was to start on February 11.
He said the issue arose due to different stands taken by different quarters.
Left red-faced after FIBA de-recognised the sport from the 12th South Asian Games due to government interference, the organising committee was on a damage control mode, trying to find a feasible solution before the start of the event.

In a letter to the basketball federations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and hosts India, the FIBA has advised the participating nations not to send their teams to the multi-sporting event to be held in Guwahati and Shillong from February 5 to 16.

Arvind proves a cut above in pool

February 8, 2016, Guwahati, DHNS

 Bengaluru teenager M Arvind made it a Sunday to remember after sweeping to glory at the 12th South Asian Games here on Sunday.
Watched by his father A Mani from the stands at the Dr Zakir Hussain Aquatic Complex, the 19-year-old civil engineering student of RV College made hay of the weakened field in the men’s 200M backstroke event, romping to glory with his personal best timing of 2:08.00.

The only offset for the teenager was that he couldn’t push for the Games record with the weak field of just four swimmers forcing him to take things rather lightly.

“The event was pretty easy actually. There were just four competitors. It is the event with the least amount of competitors. The pressure was comparatively less and as result, I couldn’t give my best and I missed my record by three seconds,” gushed Arvind after being congratulated by his personal and national coach Pradeep Kumar.

“This was one of the biggest international meets which I’ve attended. Winning a medal will turn me around. Before this, I’ve won medals in Portugal and Dubai meets. This event obviously ranks much higher than all of them. This is the perfect start to the season in a very important year. I hope it acts as a catalyst.”

Arvind’s father hailed Pradeep for his son’s success. “All credit goes to Pradeep. He has been training under him for the last 14 years. If not for Pradeep, my son wouldn’t have won a medal. He really knows  how to push my son hard. I’m delighted.”

There was cheer for another Bengaluru girl Shraddha Sudhir in the 400M individual medley event. Another trainee of Pradeep at the Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre and 11th standard student of Jain College, the teenager set the early pace, touching the pad first after the opening butterfly leg. But West Bengal’s Sayani Ghosh took charge from the backstroke leg before galloping home over the final two segments.

“It’s my fault. I should have trained harder. I’ve got two more events to go and I shall push for gold,” said Shraddha with mixed emotions. 

Saraswati leads charge in lifting; Joshna in semis

February 8, 2016,Guwahati, DHNS

 Indians continued to dominate the weightlifting competition of the 12th South Asian Games, winning three out of the four gold medals on offer here on Sunday.

Saraswati Rout kick-started the hosts’ day on a superb note, lifting a total weight of 187kg (80+107) to claim the gold in the women’s 58kg discipline. Sambo Lapung then added sheen with a lift of 281kg (123+158) to wear gold in the men’s 69kg event.

Reena was eliminated in the women’s 63kg event but army man Ajay Singh completed a wonderful day for the Indians in office, triumphing in the 77kg event with a lift of 305kg (136+169). 

Lankans sparkle

Indians were forced to share the spoils with Sri Lanka in the cycling lane with women completing a 1-2 and the men managing just a bronze.

In the 40km criterium race, Lidiyamol Sunny Menamparambil garnered 30 points to capture the gold while Manorama Devi Tongram was four points behind in second place. Sri Lanka’s Sudarika Priyadarshani, with a mere nine points, won bronze.

Sri Lanka’s Jeevan Manjula Jayasinghe scored 34 points to win the gold in the men’s 60km criterium, 10 ahead of his second-placed compatriot  Naveen Ruchira. Pankaj Kumar claimed bronze after totalling 21 points.

Squash

There were plenty of disappointments in store for the hosts at the squash court after title favourite Saurav Ghosal and compatriot Harinder Pal Singh tumbled out to Pakistani counterparts in the men’s singles semifinals.

While Harinder conceded his match to Nasir Iqbal after pulling his right hamstring while trailing 7-11, 14-12, 7-11, 6-11, Ghosal was completely outclassed by third seed Farhan Zaman, the Indian losing 4-11, 5-11, 12-10, 5-11 much to the surprise of many.

The lone bright spark for the hosts was Joshna Chinnappa, who blanked Pakistani Sadia Gul 11-7, 11-9, 11-7. In the final on Sunday, she will take on World No 50 Maria Toorpaki Wazir of Pakistan.

Indian women outclass Nepal in hockey

February 8, 2016, Guwahati, DHNS

 The Indian women’s hockey team displayed their gold medal ambitions in crushing fashion, decimating a hapless Nepal 24-0 here on Sunday.

With just three teams competing and the gold medal to be decided between the teams finishing first and second after the round-robin phase, the Indians will be expected to walk away with the gold when the final is played on Friday.

The opening goal came as early as in the second minute through Rani. Within two minutes Jaspreet Kaur made it 2-0 from a penalty corner as the writing on the wall was very clear for the Nepalese. Punam Barla and Soundarya Yendala were the top scorers of the match with four goals each. Neha Goyal, Deepika, Jaspreet Kaur and Rani scored three goals each while Gurji Kaur and Preeti Dubey hammered in a brace. 

Spikers shine

The women’s volleyball team registered their second straight victory to advance to the semifinals. The eves, who had crushed Maldives in their opening group game, outclassed Pakistan 25-5, 25-7, 25-6. The semifinals will be on Tuesday.

Fine day

India’s men’s and women’s kho-kho teams enjoyed a fine day in the office, scoring fine wins. While the men beat Sri Lanka 19-17, the women overcame Pakistan 16-14.

12th South Asian Games: Indian swimmers dominate

Sidney Kiran , February 8, 2016, Guwahati, DHNS

Indian swimmers dominate : Arvind, Sajan, Sejwal nail gold medals on day two; Sayani edges Shraddha

M Arvind, Sajan Prakash and Sandeep Sejwal all produced dominating performances as India bagged four gold medals on the second day of the swimming competition at the 12th South Asian Games here on Sunday.
While Bengaluru’s Arvind proved way too good for a weakened field in the men’s 200M backstroke event, long distance specialist Sajan won a two-horse race between him and national rival Saurabh Sangvekar in the 1500M freestyle, and Sejwal once again stamped his authority in the 100M breaststroke event at the Dr Zakir Hussain Aquatic Complex.

Sayani Ghosh and Shraddha Sudhir slugged it out in the women’s 400M individual medley before the former outscored the other in the final three segments to land India’s fourth gold of the day.

There were disappointments for India though with favourites Maana Patel and Veerdhawal Khade settling for silver medals. While teenage sensation Maana shockingly lost to much-improved Kimiko Raheem of Sri Lanka in the her pet 200M backstroke event, seasoned campaigner Khade was outdone in the final third by the in-form Mathew Abeysinghe in the 50M freestyle event. Sadly, Khade also saw his games record obliterated by the young Sri Lankan, who has been setting the pool on fire at this meet.

Right from the time Sajan and Saurabh emerged after the opening dive, the 1500M event looked more like a national championship battle rather than an international meet. Sajan, who has been training in Phuket, Thailand, on a one-year scholarship from world body FINA since May, 2015, kept pace with Saurabh for nearly 80 percent of the race.

Having battled him many times in training, national camps and competition, Sajan just focused on maintaining the pace before beginning to open his shoulders over the final 300 metres. He increased his tempo considerably and with two laps left, his lead stood at nearly 10 seconds. From thereon it was just a foregone conclusion and Sajan touched the pad with a new games record time of 15:55.34. Saurabh won silver with a timing of 16:13.15 while Md Mahfizur Rahman (17:11.95) claimed bronze.

Sejwal’s reign as a champion in the 100M breast stroke seemed in danger during the early part of the race when Puneet Rana staged a surprise early attack. Delhiite Sejwal, however, managed to hit the halfway stage in front from where he remained untouchable.

Chugging along beautifully, Sejwal touched the pad first in a timing of 1:03.14, obliterating his own record at the last meet in Dhaka in 2010. 

Rana (1:03.80) settled for silver while Sri Lanka’s Kiran Jaisinghe (1:05.86) claimed the bronze medal.

Results: Men: 50M freestyle: Mathew Abeysinghe (SL) 23.33 seconds (GR; Old: 23.75, Veerdhawal Khade, Ind, 2010) 1; Veerdhawal (Ind) 23.54, 2; Md Mahfizur Rahman (Ban) 23.95, 3. 1500M freestyle: Sajan Prakash (Ind) 15:55.34

India scoops 10 medals from swimming, including 4 gold

Guwahati, Feb 7, 2016, PTI:

India scooped 10 medals, including four gold, from the pool to continue its dominance in swimming with Sandeep Sejwal picking his second yellow metal of the competitions at the 12th South Asian Games here today.

As many as five Games record were created out of the seven events today with the Indians accounting for three of them, including Sejwal's.

India also suffered a rare reverse as ace swimmer Veerdhawal Khade was beaten in men's 50m freestyle by the promising Sri Lankan teenager Matthew Abeysinghe, who continued with his fine performance by grabbing the third gold of the Games, the most by any swimmer so far.

Abeysinghe won in a Games record time of of 23:33 to emerge as the fastest swimmer of the SAG, eclipsing Khade's 2010 Dhaka edition mark of 23.75 secs. Khade also bettered his own Dhaka mark with an effort of 23.54 secs but had to be content with the silver.

India collected four gold, five silver and a bronze from the pool, adding to the 11 medals won yesterday. Sri Lanka took two gold, one silver and two bronze while Bangladesh bagged a gold and two bronze.

Sejwal, who yesterday won a gold in 200m breaststroke, added another yellow metal in 100m breastroke today in a new Games record time of 1:03.14, bettering his own mark of 1:05.01, which he had set in the 2010 edition.

Another Indian, Puneet Rana, took the silver in 1:03.80, while Kiran Jasinghe of Sri Lanka got the bronze.

In men's 1500m freestyle, Kerala swimmer Sajan Prakash won his first international gold in 15:55.30 ahead of his compatriot Saurabh Sangvekar, who took the silver in 16:13.2. Mohd. Mahfizur Rahman of Bangladesh was third in 17:12.0.

In women's 400m individual medley also, India finished one-two with Sayani Ghosh winning the gold in 05:14.51 and Shraddha Sudhir bagging the silver in 05:23.32. J Silva of Sri Lanka was third in 05:44.20.

M Arvind gave India the fourth gold by winning the men's 200m backstroke event. Kavindra Nugaweh of Sri Lanka was second while Naveed Hussain of Paksitan was third.

In women's 200m backstroke, Manna Patel took a silver in 2 minutes and 22.06 seconds behind Kimiko Raheem of Sri Lanka who won the gold in Games record time of 2:18.09. The lone bronze winner for India was Chahat Arora in women's 100m breastroke.

Indian eves pound Nepal 24-0 in SAG hockey

Guwahati, Feb 7, 2016, PTI:

Indian women's hockey team began their campaign in the 12th South Asian Games with a 24-0 mauling of a hapless Nepal in a completely lopsided round robin league match, here today.

The opening match of the Games looked like a practice match with the Indian players scoring goal at will and the home team players appeared to be competing in registering their names in the score sheet at the Moullana Tayabullah Stadium.

Strikers Soundarya Yendala (15th, 52nd, 62nd and 64th minutes) and Poonam Barla (7th, 472nd, 43rd and 51st) scored the most with four strikes each.

Four players – Rani (2nd, 46th and 48th), Jaspreet Kaur (4th, 35th and 56th), Neha Goyal (14th, 22nd and 70th) and Deepika (53rd, 62nd and 67th) – scored three goals  each while Gurjit Kaur (21st and 41st) and Preeti Dubey (23rd and 29th) got the other goals for India.

India, who have qualified for the Olympics after a gap of 36 years, are ranked 13th in the world while Nepal are not even included in ranking charts of the world governing body of the game, the FIH.

India play their next league match against Sri Lanka, another minnows, tomorrow. Only three teams are competing in the Games and India are expected to walk away with the gold.

India to face Sri Lanka in U-19 World Cup semis

Mirpur, Feb 7, 2016, PTI:

India will face Sri Lanka in the semifinals of the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup after the island nation reached the last-four stage with a six-wicket win over England, here today.

In an impressive all-round performance, Sri Lanka dismissed England for just 184 and then overhauled the modest target in the 36th over. Avishka Fernando hit 95 off 96 balls after Wanidu Hasanranga grabbed three wickets to set up the semifinal against India on Tuesday.

This is only the third time Sri Lanka has reached the semi-final of this tournament since its inception in 1988. In the home event in 2000, it reached the final where it lost to Mohammad Kaif's India, while in 2010 in New Zealand, Sri Lanka reached the last four and finished in fourth position.

England failed to match its earlier run-feast in Group C where it raked up totals of 371 for three against Fiji, 282 for seven against the West Indies and 288 for four against Zimbabwe.

Callum Taylor top-scored with 42 after England won the toss and elected to bat, but the rest of the batting fell apart against the sustained pressure applied by the Sri Lanka bowlers.

Leg-spinner Hasaranga finished with three wickets for 34 runs after seamer Asitha Fernando had wrecked the start with two dismissals. Sri Lanka made a breezy start to its reply, racing to 51 for no loss in eight overs before the lunch break, with Fernando contributing 35 of those runs.

Kaveen Bandara helped Fernando put on 76 for the first wicket by the 14th over when he was run out for 22.

Fernando hit 11 boundaries and a six to steer Sri Lanka towards an emphatic win before he was caught behind off Saqib Mahmood when just 14 runs were needed for victory in 17 overs.

Skipper Charith Asalanka, who put on 69 for the third wicket with Fernando, fell for 34 soon after, but Sri Lanka cruised home easily. Asalanka said he was delighted to see his team bounce back after losing to Pakistan in the last league match.

"We had not batted well against Pakistan, so it was important to settle down and build big scores, which is what Avishka was able to do today," he said.

"But the bowlers won us the game today. We bowled well and fielded very well too. But the plus point is that we have improved our batting." Asalanka said Sri Lanka will test India with spin.

"We know India players are good facing spin, but spin is our strength and we will stick to that. We are confident of doing well in the semi-final," he said.

England captain Brad Taylor said he was disappointed to lose after his team did so well in the league stage.

"I genuinely believe we had an off-day. I think Sri Lanka played very well, but on another day, we would back ourselves. We expected Sri Lanka to rely on spin, but the batsmen did not stay long enough to build partnerships," he said.

Mithali guides India to consolation win over Australia

Hobart, Feb 7, 2016, (PTI)

Skipper Mithali Raj led from the front with an 89-run knock to save the Indian women's cricket team from a whitewash by guiding it to a comfortable five- wicket in the third and final ODI against Australia here today.

The Indians, having already surrendered the series by losing the first two matches, managed to end the tour on a positive note with today's consolation victory.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, the Australian team lost a couple of early wickets before half-centuries by Elyse Perry (50) and Alex Blackwell (60) helped the team post 231/7 in their 50 overs.

Blackwell's 60 from 64 balls was noteworthy given that Australia's strong batting line-up struggled to score freely in the face of a disciplined bowling display from India

Perry, on the other hand, took 91 deliveries to reach her milestone.
For India, Shikha Pandey snared 3 for 50 in her 10 overs, while Rajeshwari Gayakwad also picked up a couple of wickets for 41.

In reply, the Indians were off to a solid start with in- form opener Smriti Mandhana striking a 52-ball 55. Mandhana partnered Mithali in a 58-runs second-wicket stand which set the tone for a smooth chase.

During her 112-ball stay, Mithali struck 12 fours and set the platform for Harmanpreet Kaur (22) and Poonam Raut (24 not out) to steer India home in 47 overs.

For Australia, Perry was the most successful bowler with figures of 2/50 in 10 overs.
Before the ODIs, the Indian eves had notched up a historic 2-1 Twenty20 series triumph over the hosts.

Brief Scores:
Australia Women: 231/7 in 50 overs (Alex Blackwell 60, Elyse Perry 50, Shikha Pandey 3/50).
India Women: 234/5 in 47 overs (Mithali Raj 89, Elyse Perry 2/50).

BCCI to convene SGM before responding to SC

Mumbai, Feb 7, 2016, (PTI)

Cornered by the Supreme Court's latest missive to "fall in line" with the recommendations of the Justice R M Lodha Committee, the BCCI today decided to convene a Special General Meeting before responding to the apex court.

BCCI President Shashank Manohar, himself a lawyer by profession, attended the meeting of its legal panel here comprising P S Raman (Tamil Nadu, chairman), D V S S Somayajulu (Andhra) and Abhay Apte (Maharashtra), along with treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary.

It is learnt, that in the meeting, it was decided that an SGM would be convened at the earliest to get the views of the BCCI's various affiliates before it responds to the Supreme Court on the issue.

As per the BCCI's Memorandum of Rules and Regulations 21 days' notice has to be given to convene an SGM, but the President has the discretionary powers to direct the secretary to convene an SGM "at shorter notice in which case as a notice of at least 10 days shall be given."

The apex court had said on February 4 that the recommendations are "straight, rational and understandable" and "deserve respect" and "there is no reason to disagree with the committee" which has the most "illuminated and respected members of the legal community".

While four weeks time was granted to the BCCI to respond to the implementation of the recommendations, the court had made it clear that there should not be any difficulty in accepting the recommendations.

The remarks by a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur came after senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, representing BCCI, said there was a need to consult the 30-odd members of the Board on the recommendations and in view of its legal committee's meeting today, four weeks be allowed to respond. 

However, the bench said "they all have been heard and have given their views to the Committee. Ask your client to take a strict view of the recommendations. You can't jump the gun. You must see the recommendations. These recommendations deserve respect.

"They have come from the most illuminated and respected members of the legal community. They had invited people and have done extensive deliberations with all stakeholders. The recommendations are straightforward, understandable and rational."

"The best thing is to fall in line and follow the suggestions to save the trouble," the bench, which also comprised Justice F M I Kalifulla, said.

The BCCI had submitted that it should not be seen as "obstructionist" and it would come back with "concrete suggestions" after the meeting of the legal committee.
However, the bench said "decks must be cleared for complete reform".

When Naphade said several technical problems would arise in implementing the recommendations of the committee as BCCI is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, the bench said it would give the solution for following the suggestions.

The bench, which was hearing the plea filed by Aditya Verma, Secretary of Cricket Association of Bihar, on whose petition N Srinivasan was asked by the apex court to step down as the BCCI President for conflict of interest, posted the matter for further hearing on March 3.

Warriors score big win over Lancers

February 8, 2016, Bhubaneswar, PTI

Hockey HIL : Punjab side move up to second spot

Simon Orchard and Satbir Singh scored a field goal each as Jaypee Punjab Warriors registrered a 4-1 victory over Kalinga Lancers to propel to the second position in the fourth edition of the Hockey India League here on Sunday.
After the Lancers took the lead through a penalty corner conversion by Glenn Turner in the 42nd minute, the visitors emerged victorious through strikes from Orchard (48th) and Satbir Singh (58th) 

By virtue of this win, the Warriors have moved to the second spot in the standings with 22 points from seven games. The Lancers too have similar points from as many matches but they are atop the table because of superior goal difference.

The first quarter of the match started with attacking intent from the Lancers but the Punjab unit showed good defensive skills to keep the hosts at bay as both the teams looked dangerous on counter attacks.

The second quarter started with the home team getting defensive as the visitors raised their pace in the game. The Warriors started pressing hard but the possession was still majorly controlled by the Lancers who were looking very strong in the midfield.

The Punjab outfit came close on many occasions including four failed back-to-back penalty corners, which were beautifully saved by Andrew Charter leading to a goalless first half.

The third quarter saw both the teams pushing hard for a goal. The Lancers finally managed to break the deadlock in the 42nd minute when the star player Turner made no mistakes in converting a penalty corner, giving the home team a much needed 1-0 lead.

The final quarter started with the Lancers trying hard to capitalise on their lead in the early moments but an excellent interception by Sardar Singh foiled the home team’s ambitions and the visitors scored a field goal through Orchard in the 48th minute handing the visitors a 2-1 lead.

The Lancers pressed really hard after this but the Punjab defence was way too strong for them to break. In the process the Warriors scored their second field goal in the 58th minute through Satbir to propel their lead.

MP set Mumbai date in semifinals

February 8, 2016, Mumbai, PTI

Cricket Ranji Trophy

 Skipper Manoj Tiwary and lower order batsman Pankaj Shaw cracked individual hundreds but could not save Bengal from suffering a huge 355-run defeat against Madhya Pradesh on the fifth day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal tie here on Sunday.

Starting the final day on 113 for 3 and chasing an improbable victory target of 788, Bengal were kept in the fight till the extended tea session by Tiwary (124), Shaw (118) and Ashok Dinda (52) before they folded up for 432.

Lanky pacer Ishwar Pandey once again led the bowling honours for Madhya Pradesh with a haul of 4 for 93 to add to his first innings tally of 4 for 45, while debutant pacer Chandrakant Sakure finished with a match haul of six wickets that included his second innings 3 for 114.

Madhya Pradesh, who thus recorded their second outright win over Bengal in nine outings in the Ranji Trophy, now take on 40-time champions Mumbai in the semifinals commencing at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack on February 13.

When play started on the final day, the only point of interest was whether Bengal — similar to last year when they denied MP an outright win — could repeat the feat.
The loss of two wickets in successive overs pegged them back but Tiwary, who stroked his way to 14 fours and 3 sixes in 161 balls, and Shaw — who was the last batsman to be dismissed after facing 137 balls and striking 13 fours and four sixes — put on 108 for the sixth wicket to prolong the fight.

Tiwary fell seven minutes before lunch in trying to hit Pandey, whom he had smacked for two sixes off successive balls last evening, for a maximum over mid-off and was caught.

After lunch, Shaw kept one end up, adding 58 runs with Pragyan Ojha (27) for the seventh wicket and 78 for the next wicket with Dinda, who used the long handle to smack ten fours in his 42-ball cameo.

The game ended when Pandey caught and bowled Shaw with the second new ball soon after dismissing Dinda while Sakure accounted for Veerpratap Singh.

Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh: 348 all out and 560/ 9 decl bt Bengal 121 all out and 432 all out (Sayan Mondal 39, Manoj Tiwary 124, Pankaj Shaw 118, Ashok Dinda 52; Ishwar Pandey 4-93, Chandrakant Sakure 3-114, Jalaj Saxena 2-96).

Final four

In Cuttack: Mumbai vs Madhya Pradesh.
In Vadodara: Saurashtra vs Assam.
Note: Semifinals are scheduled on February 13-17.

Determined Barca sore high

February 8, 2016, Madrid, Agencies

Football La Liga : Catalan side regain three-point lead; Atletico Madrid win

 Barcelona equalled a club record of 28 games unbeaten to move three points clear at the top of La Liga with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Levante on Sunday.
The European champions were far from their best in coach Luis Enrique’s 100th game in charge, but David Navarro's first-half own goal and Luis Suarez's strike in stoppage time was enough to secure a 10th consecutive win in all competitions.

Barca now lead Atletico Madrid by three points and have a game in hand on Diego Simeone's men. Third-placed Real Madrid are now seven points adrift of Barca.

Barca's 28-game unbeaten run matches the same feat of Pep Guardiola’s side in 2010/11 with Enrique's men well on course to repeat their treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey.

Fresh from hitting Valencia for seven in the Copa del Rey semifinals in midweek, Barca started with purpose and should have been ahead inside two minutes when Lionel Messi was wrongly flagged offside as he slotted home from Andres Iniesta's pass.

However, Barca needed a slice of luck to open the scoring on 21 minutes as Jordi Alba burst down the left and his ball into the box was deflected into his own net by Navarro. Barca’s star front three of Suarez, Messi and Neymar were kept for long periods, but they nearly combined for a brilliant second moments later when Messi picked out Neymar and his driven cross was turned just wide by Suarez.

Levante remain rooted to the foot of the table, but had won their previous two home games and deserved to be at least level at the break as they outplayed the Catalans in the latter stages of the first-half.  Verza fired a free-kick inches over before Jefferson Lerma had a great chance to level when he skewed horribly wide with just Claudio Bravo to beat.

Barca had barely threatened themselves after half-time, but did seal the points with the last move of the match as Messi picked out an unmarked Suarez to fire home his 36th goal of the season.

Ton-up Torres

On Saturday, Fernando Torres scored his 100th Atletico Madrid goal as Los Rojiblancos came from behind to move level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga thanks to a 3-1 win over Eibar.

Central defensive pairing Jose Maria Gimenez and Saul Niguez headed home corners after Keko had fired Eibar into a shock lead just after half-time before Torres ended a five-month goal drought in stoppage time.

Arsenal return to winning ways

February 8, 2016, Bournemouth, AFP

Football EPL : Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain on target as Gunners return to third place on table

Arsenal returned to third place in the Premier League after Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goals ended a four-game winless streak with a 2-0 victory at Bournemouth on Sunday.
Arsenal arrived at Dean Court with their title challenge under threat after a poor run in January capped by a failure to score in their previous three league matches.

But two goals in a minute midway through the first half were enough to move them back level on points with second-place Tottenham Hotspur, five points behind leaders Leicester City, who visit the Emirates Stadium in seven days' time.

The progress of near neighbours Tottenham has only added to Arsenal's frustration as they have struggled to rediscover the form that took them to the head of the table.

But manager Arsene Wenger could be satisfied with the way his side showed signs of the form that took them to the league summit at the turn of the year, with Oxlade-Chamberlain's first league goal of the season a welcome bonus.

Bournemouth's recent results showed that Wenger's side could not afford to take anything for granted, with Eddie Howe's team unbeaten in their previous three league games, including an impressive mid-week victory at Crystal Palace.

The presence of Benik Afobe in the home line-up also gave the Gunners cause for concern, with the 22-year-old anxious to impress against his former club after revealing his frustration at having never been given a first-team chance at the Emirates Stadium.

Afobe left 13 months ago and has already made his mark in the top flight with three goals in four games since completing a £10 million move from Wolverhampton Wanderers last month.

A positive start by Howe's men meant that Arsenal were given little time to settle and the hosts were convinced that Mathieu Flamini -- selected ahead of Francis Coquelin, who started on the bench -- should have seen red rather than yellow for a studs-up challenge on Dan Gosling. Referee Kevin Friend thought otherwise and having withstood early pressure, Wenger's side exposed Bournemouth's defensive vulnerability twice in quick succession to take control of the game.

Aaron Ramsey was the provider for the first goal, clipping a ball towards the far post for Olivier Giroud, whose headed knock-down enabled Ozil to finish smartly from 10 yards out in the 23rd minute.

Less than a minute later, the visitors added a second, with Ramsey again the architect.

This time the midfielder picked up a loose ball after Alexis Sanchez's forward run had been halted before releasing Oxlade-Chamberlain on the right side of the area, from where the winger finished well with an angled shot that went in off the left-hand post.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has endured a frustrating run of injuries over the last couple of seasons and this was the first time he had been involved in a league goal since September 2014. The game could have been over if the referee had not ignored Arsenal's claims for a penalty when Nacho Monreal went down under a challenge from Matt Ritchie.

But with Bournemouth's first-half response limited to an excellent dipping shot from Harry Arter that drew an acrobatic save from Petr Cech, there seemed little chance of a comeback.

Southampton win

On Saturday, Maya Yoshida struck as Ronald Koeman's resurgent Southampton defeated West Ham United 1-0. 

Japan defender Yoshida scored from close range in the ninth minute at St Mary's and the hosts weathered the 54th-minute dismissal of Victor Wanyama to condemn West Ham to only a second defeat in 14 games. Aided by fit-again goalkeeper Fraser Forster Southampton have now gone five games in the league without losing or conceding a goal.

Meanwhile in Liverpool, a mass protest by fans over ticket prices was not responsible for Liverpool's collapse as they allowed Sunderland to fight back to snatch a 2-2 Premier League draw on Saturday, said assistant coach Pep Lijnders.
In the 77th minute at Anfield, with the home team 2-0 up, thousands of supporters left their seats and headed for the exits in a pre-planned walkout to highlight discontent over the club's ticket plans.