Indian men held, women lose
Tromso: Indian men were held to a draw by Argentina on all four boards while the eves suffered a 1.5-2.5 defeat against Ukraine in the ninth round of the ongoing 41st Chess Olympiad here. It was a day of missed opportunity for in-form S P Sethuraman, who let go of a winning chance against Sandro Mareco on the second board. For the records, Parimarjan Negi played out a draw on the top board with Fernando Peralta, Krishnan Sasikiran signed peace with Ruben Felgaer while B Adhiban split the point with Diego Flores. Apart from Sethuraman, Sasikiran also enjoyed a favourable position but Felgaer held on to his own to eek out a draw in the end. The drawn encounter did not hamper Indian chances much as many of the top matches also ended with similar result. With just two more matches to come, the Indian men inched themselves up to 13 points, two behind co-leaders China and France that clash in the 10th and penultimate round. The two leaders are followed by Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary, Azerbaijan and Romania - all on 14 points while the Indian men are currently joint eighth sharing it, among others, with heavyweights like Russia and Armenia. In the women’s section being played simultaneously, it was heartbreak and curtains for the fifth seed Indian eves as they bowed out of contention following a loss against Ukraine.
RCA threatens legal action
Jaipur: Rajasthan Cricket Association Vice-President Mehmood Abdi today said that RCA may take legal recourse regarding the reported move by the BCCI to form an ad-hoc committee to run the affairs of the state body. “RCA would take full measures for enforcement of section 25 of Rajasthan Sports Act including seeking criminal prosecution in case any ad hoc committee is formed/attempted to be formed,” Abdi, lawyer of former IPl chairman lalit Modi and RCA representative in the BCCI, said on Tuesday. Abdi is also president of Sri Ganganagar District Cricket Association. The BCCI has said nothing officially since it announced that it would form an ad hoc body in RCA after Modi was elected its (RCA’s) president in the elections held in December last. The BCCI had warned RCA of dire consequences if they allow Modi, who is facing a life ban, to fight the state body elections but the RCA not only had ignored it but also proceeded to elect him as the president. An irked BCCI had immediately suspended RCA and had announced that it would formed an ad hoc body in RCA. Reports said that the BCCI has formed a ‘special five member committee’ headed by former India batsman Brijesh Patel and senior sports administrator Amrit Mathur as convener. The committee met state government officials yesterday under the pretext of protecting the interests of the state. The members of the committee refused to make any comment but sources said that BCCI was treading carefully and was not calling it as s committee and ad hoc committee. “The BCCI has the legal authority to make a parallel committee as it had done it in case of Bihar. Moreover under the Sports Act 2005 the RCA can not object to such parallel committee but only the Registrar has the right to object against it,” said the source. “Everything rests on the state government. If it decides to remain neutral, BCCI would be able to proceed but if it decides to support lalit Modi then it would be difficult for BCCI to have its way. let us wait for the BCCI to formally announce the formation of the said committee,” said the source.
Collapse led to mo opting out
Zurich: Mo Farah, the reigning world and Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion, missed the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow because he collapsed and knocked himself out on a bathroom floor and spent four days in hospital. The 31-year-old British runner explained the full reason for his absence from Glasgow after arriving in Zurich for the European Athletics Championships, where he will contest the 10,000m on Wednesday and the 5,000m on Friday. He had originally withdrawn from the England team for the Commonwealth Games citing a lack of fitness after suffering from illness in the wake of his disappointing eighth-placed finish on his marathon debut in london in April. “I basically had a tooth taken out because it was chipped and it got infected,” said Farah, in an interview with BBC television. “I was in a bit of pain, but went for a run, and when I came back I literally collapsed on the bathroom floor, completely knocked out. I had my phone in my pocket, so when I woke up and became conscious I called Cam levins, my training partner — the Canadian guy who came third in the 10,000m at the CWG — and he came round and got me onto my bed.
Fedex Bullish for future
Cincinnati: A weekend title defeat in Canada did not dent the hopes of a resurgent Roger Federer as the world number three keeps to a steady pace in his buildup to the US Open. The Swiss, who turned 33 last week, said that his 7-5 7-6 (7/2) finals loss in Toronto to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a disappointment but also a huge chance to gather more information on the current state of his game, which is bolstered by a new racquet. “I’m overall pretty happy that I made the finals in my first tournament back on hard courts,” Federer said after going down to Tsonga.
lucky sunny escapes unhurt london: Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar was lucky to escape unhurt in a car crash while travelling from Manchester to london on Sunday after the completion of the third Test between India and England. According to media reports, Gavaskar, who is part of the Sky Sports commentary team, was seated in a Jaguar with fellow-commentator Marc Nicholas and his close friend Chandresh Patel when he met with the accident. It is learnt that the legendary opener was sitting on the left side of the rear while Nicholas was sitting beside the driver when a car coming from the opposite end collided with their Jaguar. Gavaskar’s driver, who had reportedly dozed off, was slow to react on a wet road and a late manoevre did avoid a head-on clash but the speeding vehicle slammed onto the other car. It was Gavaskar, who had to shout to get the drowsy driver back in his senses as the others were aso fast asleep.