Del Potro beats Nadal
Shanghai: World number one Rafael Nadal was dumped out of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday by inspired Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who blew the Spaniard away with a relentless display of brutal hitting to set up a final against Novak Djokovic. TDel Potro won 6-2, 6-4. Earlier, top seed Djokovic swept aside Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 7-5 to earn the chance to defend his title.
Webber takes pole
Suzuka: Red Bull’s Mark Webber took full advantage of mechanical problems plaguing his title-seeking team-mate Sebastian Vettel on Saturday as he snatched his first pole position of the year at the Japanese Grand Prix. lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes will start behind the Red Bulls on the second row alongside lotus’s Romain Grosjean, with Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg on the third rank. Nico Hulkenberg timed seventh, just ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Sharan-Raja lose in final
Tashkent: Second seed Indian pair of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan went down 4-6, 4-6 against the unseeded Russian duo of Mikhail Elgin and Teymuraz Gabashvili in the doubles final of Tashkent ATP Challenger, here on Saturday.
Colombia seal WC berth
Montevideo: Colombia pulled off an amazing fightback to reach the World Cup for the first time since 998 on Friday, rallying from 3-0 down to snatch a 3-3 draw against 10-man Chile.
NZ 117/1 after gazi’s ton
Chittagong: New Zealand led Bangladesh by 85 runs in reply to the host’s first innings total of 501 as rains forced umpires to declare an early stump amid strong possibility of a drawn match on the fourth day of the first Test Saturday. Brief Scores: NZ: 469 & 117/1 (Peter Fulton no 44) lead Ban: 501 (Sohag Gazi no 101; Bracewell 3/96) by 85 runs at stumps on Day 4.
South Africa face Pakistan
Abu Dhabi: World number one South Africa will hold most of the aces against an erratic and unpredictable Pakistan when the teams open a two-Test series from Monday. Graeme Smith’s Proteas have dominated the five-day format and are unbeaten in a Test series since 2006.
ssp Chowrasia misses cut
Algarve (Portugal): Indian golfer SSP Chowrasia had to face yet another disappointing outing as he missed the cut by two shots at the midway stage of Portugal Masters here. Chowrasia made 69. The cut fell at two-under 142 but Chowrasia finished at even par 144.
lahiri, Randhawa tied 10th
Yeoju (Korea: Anirban lahiri and Jyoti Randhawa made an upward surge to lie at tied 10th in the weather-hit third round of the CJ Invitational Hosted by KJ Choi here on Saturday. lahiri turned in a three-under 69, while Randhawa shot 73 in third round to join the former in the 10th spot. Rahil Gangjee (71-74-74) and Digvijay Singh (71-73-76) are the two others to make cut.
IOA’s Special GBM on Oct 27
New Delhi: Indian Olympic Association will hold its special General Body Meeting here on October 27 to decide on the date of elections as per the directives of the International Olympic Committee. A top IOA official said that the notification to hold the special GBM was issued on Saturday. “We have issued the notification today to hold the GBM on October 27,” he said.
East 32/1 post North’s 591/8 d
Kochi: Ian Dev Singh posted a scintillating 145, while Rajat Paliwal and Nitin Saini also scored unbeaten centuries as North Zone amassed a mamoth 591 for eight declared in their first innings against East Zone on the third day of the Duleep Trophy here on Saturday. Brief Scores: NZ: 591/8d (Rajat Paliwal no 106, Nitin Saini no 101; Sunny Gupta 4/182) lead EZ: 32/1 by at stumps on Day 3.
Mukund, Aparajith hit tons
Chennai: Skipper Abhinav Mukund and Baba Aparajith smashed hundreds as South Zone took a firm grip of the Duleep trophy semifinal against Central Zone by reaching 479/9, which gave them a 258-run lead on the third day of the match here on Saturday. Brief Scores: CZ: 209 trail SZ: 467/9 (Mukund 111, Aparajith109, Pandey 85, Gautam 9; Chawla 4/159) by 258 runs at stumps on Day 3.
Meghalaya, Manipur in final
New Delhi: OM Roy High School, Shillong, Meghalaya entered the U-17 Boys’ final while RMSM Vidhyalaya, Nambol, Manipur secured a spot in the girls’ title clash in the 54th Subroto Cup fat the Ambedkar Stadium on Saturday. While boys from Meghalaya shot down Army Boys, Danapur, Bihar 3-0, RMSM Vidhyalaya, Nambol, Manipur girls romped home to a 5-1 victory over Reverend Saiaithanga School, Aizawl.