Anand draws with Kramnik
london: Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw as black against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the first round of the london Chess Classic here on Thursday. After finishing joint third in the rapid open tournament, Anand showed deep preparation in the first classical game here and this was a good beginning for the Indian ace as he was not bothered at all with the black pieces at london's Olympia Conference Centre. The six-player five-round tournament saw local star Michael Adams emerging as early leader following a hard-earned victory over world number two Fabiano Caruana of Italy.
two pSG fans stabbed
Barcelona: Two Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans were stabbed after the French football team's Champions league away match against FC Barcelona, local police said on Thursday. Albert Batlle, director of Catalan regional police, said the fans were stabbed after the final group stage match between Barcelona and the French team Wednesday in two separate incidents, reports Xinhua. According to Batlle, two hooded men attacked a PSG fan Wednesday night. The victim is recovering at Clinico hospital, and did not have life-threatening injuries. A second PSG fan was attacked in the vicinity of Camp Nou Stadium later. Police did not rule out robbery as a possible motive in at least one case. Barcelona won the match 3-1 but both sides qualified for the last 16 knockout stage.
WADA to investigate charges
MONTREAl: The World Anti-Doping Agency says it will conduct its own probe of allegations of systematic doping in Russia. WADA announced the inquiry Wednesday after "careful review of a series of documentary programs over the past week" by Germany's ARD network. The programs alleged a web of doping and corruption in Russian athletics that implicated government-backed agencies. last week, WADA said it would ensure that the allegations were investigated, and had passed evidence to an IAAF ethics panel.
Now, WADA President Craig Reedie has promised an agency probe “to determine what actions are required to be taken by WADA and others.”
INDIAN ACES EDGE SINGAPORE
Abu Dhabi: Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna got past Bruno Soares and Daniela Hantuchova in the mixed-doubled match as Micromax Indian Aces edged past DBS Singapore Slammers in the UAE leg of the Indian Premier Tennis league. Indian Aces were given a hard time by the Singapore team but they won four of the five games and won Match 19 of the tournament 28-24 in terms of more sets won. Sania and Bopanna won a closely contested battle against Soares and Hantuchova 6-5. In the legends tie, Fabrice Santoro from Indian Aces sailed past former World No.1 Patrick Rafter of Australia 6-3. Ana Ivanovic also worked wonders for the Aces as she beat Huntuchova 6-5 in the women's singles match. Bopanna also paired with Gael Monfils in the men's doubles to triumph 6-3 over lleyton Hewitt and Soares. But Monfils tripped against Tomas Berdych 4-8 in the men's singles encounter but Indian Aces were the team left smiling.
tough draw in afc cup
Kuala lumpur: I-league champions Bengaluru FC and runners-up East Bengal have been drafted into Groups E and F, respectively, of the AFC Cup — Asian football's second-tier club competition — in the draw announced on Thursday. Bengaluru have been seeded into Group E alongside Persipura Jayapura (Indonesia) and Warriors FC/Tampine Rovers. They will be joined by the winner of playoff round one between Maziya (Maldives) or Ceres (Philippines). Runners-up East Bengal have drawn into Group F along with Kitchee (Hong Kong). The final line-up of the groups will be decided after the completion of the play-offs of the Asian Champions league.
8 WEIGHTlIFTERS TEST POSITIVE
BUDAPEST: Eight weightlifters — including two gold medalists — have been provisionally suspended after failing doping tests at last month's world championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan. North Korea's Kim Un Ju, who won the women's 75-kilogram category, tested positive for the steroids methyltestosterone and methandriol, the International Weightlifting Federation said on Thursday. Albania's Daniel Godelli, who won the men's 77-kg category, tested positive for the steroid stanozolol. The IWF says the B samples from all eight lifters will be tested before any final sanctions are determined.