18 months Doping ban for Powell
Kingston: Former 100-meter world record holder Asafa Powell has been banned for 18 months. The 31-year-old sprinter tested positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrone at Jamaica’s national trials last June. He’s been suspended from competition since his doping case was disclosed in July. A panel of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission announced their decision Thursday in Jamaica’s capital. Powell’s ban begins from the date of his sample collection on June 21, 2013. That means he’s eligible to return to competition on Dec. 20. Powell had placed the blame on a physiotherapist who supplied them with supplements.
8 isl teams to be unveiled on Sunday
New Delhi: Seeking to revolutionise football in the country, organisers of the much-anticipated Indian Super league will unveil the eight franchises on Sunday, with cricket legends, Bollywood stars and a host of corporates in the fray to own teams. Organised by IMG Reliance in association with Star India, the league has the backing of All India Football Federation (AIFF), and is likely to see big names such as ex-Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke, former Argentina forward Hernan Crespo and England’s Michael Owen. It has been learnt that bidders include “two Indian cricket legends, five Bollywood celebrities, three I-league clubs and five corporate entities”.
India gain 7 places in FIFA rankings
New Delhi: Indian football team jumped seven places to 145th, the highest since August last, in the latest FIFA rankings released today. India gained six cumulative points (144 in total) over the past month to rise to 145th from 152nd, despite not playing any international match during the period. The national team became the second highest gainer among Asian countries after Vietnam, which jumped nine places to be at 116th. India had occupied 145th in August last. The highest ranking in recent times was the 143rd in March last. India also gained three places among Asian countries to be at 25th spot from 28th last month. Afghanistan jumped five places to be at their all time high of 122nd, the highest among South Asian countries. India are second in the South Asian region. Iran lead the Asian ranking at 47th overall while Spain continued to be at the top of the world.
Abhijeet Gupta beats Sahaj Grover
Dubai: Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta got the better of Grandmaster Sahaj Grover to stay in joint lead after the end of the third round of 16th Dubai International Open Chess tournament here on Thursday. It turned out to be another good day for Gupta, who played almost flawless chess to score his third victory in as many rounds in this $50000 prize money tournament. With six rounds to go, its a six-way tie at the top with Eduardo Romain of France, Axel Bachmann of Paraguay, Anuar Ismagambetov of Kazakhstan, Eduardo Itturizaga of Venezuela, Hatim Al-Hadarani of Yemen and Gupta sharing the honours with a perfect score. Indian Grandmasters — M R lalith Babu, Debashish Das, M Shyam Sundar — and International Master Diptayan Ghosh are among those who have 2.5 points and this list is topped by highest ranked Anton Korobov.
Top seeds enter semi-finals
Chennai: The top two seeds — Prarthana Thombare and Natasha Palha — registered straight-set wins over their respective rivals to move into the semifinals of the K S Narayanan Memorial ITF Women’s Futures at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Egmore, here. Prarthana ousted Varunya Wongteanchai of Thailand 6-4 6-2, while Natasha made short work of a listless Hirono Watanabe of Japan by beating her 6-0 6-2. Nidhi Chilumula, an unseeded player, scored a facile straight-set win over Xi-Yao Wang, conceding only three games.
PNS/AgenciesKingston: Former 100-meter world record holder Asafa Powell has been banned for 18 months. The 31-year-old sprinter tested positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrone at Jamaica’s national trials last June. He’s been suspended from competition since his doping case was disclosed in July. A panel of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission announced their decision Thursday in Jamaica’s capital. Powell’s ban begins from the date of his sample collection on June 21, 2013. That means he’s eligible to return to competition on Dec. 20. Powell had placed the blame on a physiotherapist who supplied them with supplements.
8 isl teams to be unveiled on Sunday
New Delhi: Seeking to revolutionise football in the country, organisers of the much-anticipated Indian Super league will unveil the eight franchises on Sunday, with cricket legends, Bollywood stars and a host of corporates in the fray to own teams. Organised by IMG Reliance in association with Star India, the league has the backing of All India Football Federation (AIFF), and is likely to see big names such as ex-Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke, former Argentina forward Hernan Crespo and England’s Michael Owen. It has been learnt that bidders include “two Indian cricket legends, five Bollywood celebrities, three I-league clubs and five corporate entities”.
India gain 7 places in FIFA rankings
New Delhi: Indian football team jumped seven places to 145th, the highest since August last, in the latest FIFA rankings released today. India gained six cumulative points (144 in total) over the past month to rise to 145th from 152nd, despite not playing any international match during the period. The national team became the second highest gainer among Asian countries after Vietnam, which jumped nine places to be at 116th. India had occupied 145th in August last. The highest ranking in recent times was the 143rd in March last. India also gained three places among Asian countries to be at 25th spot from 28th last month. Afghanistan jumped five places to be at their all time high of 122nd, the highest among South Asian countries. India are second in the South Asian region. Iran lead the Asian ranking at 47th overall while Spain continued to be at the top of the world.
Abhijeet Gupta beats Sahaj Grover
Dubai: Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta got the better of Grandmaster Sahaj Grover to stay in joint lead after the end of the third round of 16th Dubai International Open Chess tournament here on Thursday. It turned out to be another good day for Gupta, who played almost flawless chess to score his third victory in as many rounds in this $50000 prize money tournament. With six rounds to go, its a six-way tie at the top with Eduardo Romain of France, Axel Bachmann of Paraguay, Anuar Ismagambetov of Kazakhstan, Eduardo Itturizaga of Venezuela, Hatim Al-Hadarani of Yemen and Gupta sharing the honours with a perfect score. Indian Grandmasters — M R lalith Babu, Debashish Das, M Shyam Sundar — and International Master Diptayan Ghosh are among those who have 2.5 points and this list is topped by highest ranked Anton Korobov.
Top seeds enter semi-finals
Chennai: The top two seeds — Prarthana Thombare and Natasha Palha — registered straight-set wins over their respective rivals to move into the semifinals of the K S Narayanan Memorial ITF Women’s Futures at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Egmore, here. Prarthana ousted Varunya Wongteanchai of Thailand 6-4 6-2, while Natasha made short work of a listless Hirono Watanabe of Japan by beating her 6-0 6-2. Nidhi Chilumula, an unseeded player, scored a facile straight-set win over Xi-Yao Wang, conceding only three games.