liu Xiang confirms retirement
Beijing: Former Olympic champion hurdler liu Xiang confirmed his retirement on Tuesday, citing age and injuries 2 1/2 years after his last race. The 31-year-old liu wrote in a lengthy statement on his micro blog titled "My Track, My Hurdle" that he was "truly unwell and old and can no longer run and jump with you." "Although it's sad, although it's painful, I really have no other choice," liu wrote. liu became the first Chinese man to win Olympic gold in athletics at the 2004 Athens Games in the 110-meter hurdles, in a then-world record time. He set another world record in 2005, and won at the world championships in 2007. In his statement, liu said he hoped to recover after london, but "my foot told me no again and again, and there was no way it was going to be able to handle intense training and competition.
Russian gymnast dies at 36
Moscow: Natalia Bobrova, the first female gymnast to win a world championship medal for Russia, has died at the age of 36. Bobrova's bronze medal in the floor exercise in Birmingham, England, in 1993, came in Russia's first world championships under its own flag after the Soviet Union's collapse broke up a world-beating team. Bobrova, who was known as Natalia Kudryavtseva after marriage, died on April 2 after a lengthy battle with cancer, Russian gymnastics federation spokesperson Elena Mikhailova said. Bobrova's top-level international career was brief amid strong competition within a Russian team that included double Olympic champion Svetlana Khorkina. Bobrova narrowly missed out on a world team medal with Russia in 1995.
Delhi Dynamos to hold trials
New Delhi: Indian Super league (ISl) football franchise Delhi Dynamos will be holding open trials for children in the age group 11-13 from April 11 onwards, as part its grassroots programme. Those born in 2002, 2003 or 2004 will get an opportunity to showcase their talent. The chosen ones will get a chance to be a part of a skill enrichment workshop and get to train alongside some of the best fresh talent from across the country. The first of these open trials will be held in the Capital on April 11 at the Ambedkar Stadium, and will be open to all participants from the Delhi NCR area aged between 11 to 13 years. The participants will be given a chance to showcase their talent under the guidance of the Delhi Dynamos FC's technical team. Talented children will be shortlisted to participate in the Reliance Foundation Young Champs selection camp.
good start for indians in Dubai
Dubai: Former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta got off to a flying start, defeating Maria Gevoryan of Armenia in the first round of the Dubai International Open chess tournament here on Tuesday. Sahaj Grover, S Arun Prasad, S Kidambi and Murali Karthikeyan were the other Indian Grandmasters who did a similar act, but former Commonwealth Champion R R laxman was surprisingly held to a draw by unheralded Mayed Alrashedi of UAE.
college group in pre quarters
New Delhi: Fine spell by Arun Chaprana (7-1-20-3) and equally good knock by Rahul Dagar 63 enabled Collage Group beat Defence Accounts Sports Control Board by 4 wickets to enter pre quarters of 25th All-India Sperry Om Nath Sood Memorial Cricket Tournament. Agencies