Rakesh gets highest bid in Kabaddi Mumbai: Two-time Asian Games gold medal winner Rakesh Kumar emerged as the top money earner and was bought for Rs 12.80 lakh by Jaipur franchise Pink Panthers in the inaugural Pro Kabaddi league player auction held here on Tuesday.
Raider Kumar, 32, employed with Northern Railways and was part of the Indian men’s gold winning squad at the 2006 Qatar Asian Games and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games as well as the 2007 World Cup winning team, fetched the top prize in the auction featuring 96 players from 13 countries. In second place was raider Deepak Niwas of Sports Authority of India who was bought for Rs 12.60 lakh by Telugu Taitans (Vishakapatnam). Other big buys were: Surjeet Singh (Rs 12 lakh, Bengal Warriors of Kolkata), Ajay Thakur (Rs 12.20 lakh by Bengaluru Bulls of Bangalore), Surjeet Narwal (Rs 12.20 lakh by Delhi franchise and Navneet Gautam (Rs 11.20 lakh by Jaipur Pink Panthers).
Armstrong ordered to testify Austin: lance Armstrong has been ordered to give sworn videotaped testimony next month about using performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France seven times. Armstrong has been sued by a Texas company seeking the return of about USD 12 million in performance bonuses. An arbitration panel has issued subpoenas for testimony from Armstrong on June 12 and his longtime business manager Bill Stapleton on June 9. The cyclist has asked the Texas Supreme Court to intervene. He says a previous settlement with SCA Promotions is binding and cannot be reopened. Armstrong’s attorneys noted the subpoenas in a request for the Supreme Court to rule quickly. Armstrong provided written sworn testimony last year in an unrelated lawsuit, and for the first time provided names of those he says assisted in his doping.
Pele fears protests will hurt WC
Huixquilucan: Brazilian football legend Pele expressed concern that social protests in his country could prompt nervous fans from abroad to cancel their trips to the World Cup. Pele, speaking at a press conference in a Mexico City suburb, said he had no doubt that demonstrations that have reemerged in recent weeks would affect the tournament if they continue. “We already know that 25 percent of foreigners who were going to Brazil are worried by the protest movement, and I think they have cancelled,” said the 73-year-old honorary ambassador to the tournament. “This is a great loss for the country,” said Pele, who won his third World Cup in Mexico in 1970.
OSCAR sent for psychiatric tests
Pretoria: A South African judge on Tuesday ordered Oscar Pistorius to undergo up to 30 days of psychiatric tests to establish if he is “criminally responsible” for killing his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day 2013. Thokozile Masipa said the Paralympian sprinter should report to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria as an outpatient each work day morning and remain there until 4:00pm. He will be tested to see “whether he was capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act or acting in accordance with appreciation of the wrongfulness of his act,” said Masipa. Pistorius is accused of murdering 29-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp at his Pretoria home after a row. He says she was killed by accident after he mistook her for an intruder. After Tuesday’s ruling, Pistorius, wearing a grey coat, greeted his older brother Carl, whispered to him and then embraced him in a deep hug. As an outpatient, Pistorius will not stay in the hospital and undergo 24-hour observation, but visit for his interviews and tests. The Paralympic gold medallist, nicknamed the “Blade Runner” for his prosthetic limbs, will be monitored by three psychiatrists and a psychologist. The trial is postponed until June 30 while the athlete undergoes testing. “We’ll see you on the 30th of June at 9:30,” said Masipa. The psychiatrists’ final report may drastically alter the direction of the trial.
BERNIE’ illness postpones case
Munich: Bernie Ecclestone’s corruption trial in Munich has been postponed for today and tomorrow with the 83-year-old Formula One magnate suffering from illness. Ecclestone’s defence team presented the Munich court with a doctor’s certificate to confirm the Briton was ill and judge Peter Noll has allowed the court hearings to be postponed. The Briton is accused of paying German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky USD 44 million in 2006 and 2007 to ensure his continued grip on the motor sports empire he had built up over four decades. Ecclestone, who has pleaded not guilty, faces a maximum jail term of 10 years if he is found guilty.
India set to make mark in cycling
New Delhi: India is to make its mark in the world cycling circuit with the Northern Escapes’ Manali Khardungla Cycling Championship, slated to be held from July 5-13. Whereas in countries like Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherland, USA people are crazy about cycling as a sport, India had till sometime back, was not taking interest in the sport. But, recently there has been a sea-change in the interest levels and more and more people have taken up cycling on a regular basis. Northern Escapes brings India’s first ever cycling championship to India.