Ayhika wins 2nd title in two weeks
New Delhi: Ayhika Mukherjee, the winner of the Slovak Open last week, collected her second successive ITTF Junior Circuit girls’ singles title when she defeated Germany’s Alena lemmer at the Polish Junior and Cadet Open played in Wladyslawowo, Poland. The Indian beat the sixth seed 10-12, 12-10, 11-4, 6-11, 11-9, 16-14 on Thursday night. The 16-year-old who was seeded 10 here emerged as a surprise winner in an event that was littered with upsets. Though Ayhika did not cause major upsets during the tournament, the Kolkatan did benefit from those who had caused the surprises.
Bringing change a challenge: sunny
New Delhi: As his tenure will come to an end after the conclusion of the IPl final on June 1, BCCI-IPl president Sunil Gavaskar feels effective implementation of ideas is a big challenge for any former player who wants to don the administrator’s hat. "The biggest challenge for him (player-turned-official) is to put forward some of the ideas he has and the suggestions he has based on of the observations he might have made while playing, and to convince the other members of the administration team to act on them," Gavaskar told ‘IPlT20’ website yesterday.
Flintoff out of retirement
london: Former England captain Andrew Flintoff has come out of retirement to join lancashire’s squad for this season’s English domestic Twenty20 competition, the county announced on Friday. Pace bowling all-rounder Flintoff played 79 Tests and 141 one-day internationals and seven Twenty20s for England before injury forced the now 36-year-old to retire in 2009. However, the Preston-born Flintoff has been training with his native lancashire, the only county side he’s ever represented, in recent months and is looking forward to making a comeback he once thought was beyond him. "I’m really honoured to be part of lancashire once again," he said in a club statement. "It is something that I never thought would happen but, after training with the squad over the last few months, I am really happy that they have invited me to play.
Tirkey undergoes ankle surgery
New Delhi: Former India hockey captain and Rajya Sabha member Dilip Tirkey has undergone ankle surgery at Sportsmed SA, a premier sports medicine institute in Adelaide, Australia. Tirkey, the highest capped (412 international matches) Indian player, was forced to retire from the game prematurely due to ankle problems. He underwent the bilateral surgery on May 28 but will stay in Adelaide for rehabilitation for two more weeks. "I was in severe pain and there was constant swelling in my ankles. I was unable to participate even in minor sporting activities. My doctor Vaibhav Bagaria from Care Hospital, Nagpur reviewed my condition and advised surgery at priority basis to prevent further damage," Tirkey said.
Ankita makes it to semi-final
Balikpapan: Top seed Ankita Raina reached her second singles semi-final of the season with a comfortable straight sets win but bowed out of the doubles event of the USD 25,000 ITF women’s tournament here on Friday. The India number one had no problem in registering a 6-2, 6-4 win over Thai fifth seed Nicha lertpitaksinchai in the quarterfinals of the hard court tournament. Ankita now has an opportunity to play her singles final. Playing in the doubles, Ankita could not make it to her second summit clash in a row as she lost her last four encounter with partner Sharrmadda Baluu. The pair lost 7-5, 1-6, 3-10.