CHAMP Tipsarevic withdraws
Chennai: The upcoming Chennai Open has been robbed off some of its sheen with defending champion Janko Tipsarevic on Wednesday withdrawing from the country’s premier tennis event owing to a foot injury. The Serb has been nursing the injury for quite some time now. “I have had a difficult three months after injuring my heel. I felt I would recover well in time for the Aircel Chennai Open but regret to say that I will not be able to take part in the tournament,” he said. “I apologise to fans who have always supported me and waited to watch me play during matches there. Chennai was always my favourite tournament to start the new season. I always felt very well in Chennai and love this tournament. I really look forward to recovering quickly and getting back to playing tennis soon,” he added.
Bhullar WANTS govt support
Kolkata: Ruing that golf is still beyond the common man’s reach, five-time Asian Tour winner Gaganjeet Bhullar on Wednesday said it’s high time that government support the sport with 2016 Olympics in mind. “let me tell you, golf is still not a common man’s sport. With most of our golf courses run by the real estate, a middle class person cannot afford to take up the sport. “Especially when golf is now part of the 2016 Olympics, I’m looking forward to the day when government play an active role. Things can only change the day Ministry of sports comes up with public driving course and golf course,” the 25-year-old said. The Kapurthala lad, who got this year’s Arjuna in a first in seven years, however, said things were looking bright. “I’m really thankful to the Government of India for giving this award to a golfer after a gap of seven years. It gives a great sense of achievement... I hope it will take about 10 to 15 years time then the whole scenario will change.”
teams qualify in Sub-Junior TT
Ajmer: Holders West Bengal, who lost the services of Ronit Bhanja because of overage issue, managed a table-top finish in the sub-junior boys’ category with Delhi following them in Group A in the ONGC Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships here at the MC Chowhan Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday. Bhanja, who was part of the West Bengal team but was not played on Tuesday, was debarred from the championships. Yet, in his absence, West Bengal pulled it off to be the No. 1 team, keeping a clean slate. Delhi, who lost to West Bengal, won the other two matches to take the second place in the group. Delhi boys, however, have a tough opponent in the pre-quarterfinals, drawn against the PSPB Academy. But for this, the rest of the big teams
have easy draws and should go through to the quarterfinals.
Gill, Das top in Rally
Dehradun: Jagmeet Gill and his navigator Chandan Das, winners of Raid De Himalaya TSD Category 2013, lifted the overall winner’s trophy at the Uttarakhand Adventure Car Rally here. The three-day rally saw a close fight among the TSD champions of the country. Gill, who was leading on day One, slipped to the fifth position overall on day two of the rally. On the third and concluding day, Gill made significant progress and proved why he ranks among the top TSD rallyists of the country.
Battle of 32 schools ends
New Delhi: In its bid to promote hockey at grass root levels, the real estate major Wave Group embarked on a journey to host an exciting “DElHI WAVERIDERS SCHOOl CUP 2013” presented by The Ponty Chadha Foundation. This first-of-its-kind hockey school tournament was flagged off on December 16, 2013 and came to a grand end on December 24, 2013 at the historical Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. The DElHI WAVERIDERS School Cup was organised under the aegis of Hockey India (HI) wherein 32 schools across Delhi/ NCR battled against each other to win the Best Hockey School team in the city. PNS/Agencies
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“I’ve known it from the grass roots right up to the first team, worked at every level of the football club and played here, so I know it better than most,” Sherwood said.
CARDIFF STAND-OFF
Malky Mackay remains in charge at Cardiff for Thursday’s game against Southampton.
Mackay was asked to quit by owner Vincent Tan - and looked set to be fired - before being handed a reprieve on Sunday.
But with Mackay’s fractured relationship with Tan yet to be healed, chairman Mehmet Dalman concedes the south Wales club might still have to act swiftly to bring in a new manager to restore stability.
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“So I don’t think it would be fair for me to sit here and give advice to Alastair or the England team because we’ve only won three Test matches out of a dozen now.
“That certainly doesn’t sound like a successful Test cricketing year for an Australian cricket team, so we need to stay focused on us and make sure we work extremely hard to have success in this Test match first and foremost.”
Clarke insisted the team’s unity and resolve was as strong now as it had been when it was unable to win in nine Tests earlier this year.
“You would love to write this team is different or things have changed, or my captaincy has changed, or my style of bloke has changed, but unfortunately I can’t give you that feedback,” he said.
“The team was just as strong (as a unit) and worked just as hard in the UK and lost 3-0. It is not ideal front-page news but not much has changed.”
Clarke, who said he hadn’t thought or spoken of the innings mauling England gave Australia in the most recent Boxing Day Test in 2010, said neither he nor his team was focused on anything but beating England this week. “I aim to win this Test match, probably because I’ve seen both sides of this game. I know how quickly you can be praised by the media and I also know how quickly you can be criticised. I’m not silly enough, at 32 years of age, to look past tomorrow because I know a couple of ducks and my job’s on the line or a couple of losses and I’m under the same pressure.