JKCA: Tussle intensifies
Srinagar: The tussle between the Farooq Abdullah faction and the rebel group intensified on Tuesday with Imran Raza Ansari holding a meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) to chalk out a roadmap for the sport in the state. The meeting comes a day after Ansari, who is sports minister of the state, said that he was elected by 44 of the 64 affiliated units as the president. This was immediately challenged by the Abdullah group which moved court and got a stay order. Abdullah on Tuesday once again asserted that the new body was illegal and vowed to fight it through legal channel. “The game has already suffered a lot and it is high time that the focus is back on cricket,” Ansari said. However, Abdullah, who was elected president of the body for a three-year term in May 2014, termed Monday’s election as illegal saying the present state government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was indulging in “goonda raj”.
Shiva, Devendro in ABC squad
New Delhi: Defending champion Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Mandeep Jangra (69kg) will spearhead a 10-strong Indian challenge in the Asian Championships to be held in Bangkok from August 24 to September 6. Boxers: l Devendro Singh (49kg), Madan lal (52kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg), Manish Kaushik (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg), Mandeep Jangra (69kg), Vikas Krisan (75kg), Kuldeep Singh (81kg), Manpreet Singh (91kg), Satish Kumar (+91kg).
Davis Cup: India to host Czech
london: India were on Tuesday handed a tough Davis Cup draw, being pitted against top seeds Czech Republic in the World Group Play-offs, to be held from September 18-20 either in New Delhi or Pune. The draw was held here. India defeated New Zealand 3-2 in Group I second round last week to reach Play-off stage while the Czech team had lost 2-3 to Australia in March in the World Group first round. The Czech team has world number six Tomas Berdych, the Australian Open semifinalist this year, and multiple Grand Slam winner Radek Stepanek in its ranks. However, both had missed the tie against Australia and they were led by world number 44 Jiri Vesley and lukas Rosol (54).
4 yrs after sacking, Yuri returns
New Delhi: Four years after he was unceremoniously sacked in the wake of the 2011 doping scandal, Ukrainian Yuri Ogorodnik has returned to the country, ending days of speculation over his appointment as athletics coach to prepare the women quartermilers for Rio Olympics. The 77-year-old Ogorodnik arrived here on Monday, six months after his appointment as athletics coach was accepted by the Sports Ministry on the recommendation of the Athletics Federation of India. The process of his final clearance was a tedious one as the ministry treaded cautiously, apparently due to the doping scandal that broke out in 2011 in which eight quartermilers under his charge, including 2010 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medallist runners, were caught for doping. “Yuri landed in Delhi yesterday and most likely he will be based at NIS Patiala,” AFI Secretary C K Valson said. “It’s a good thing for Indian athletics that he has arrived, though it took a long time,” he added.
Bolt sacrifices chicken nuggets
Paris: Jamaican track star Usain Bolt has admitted to sacrificing fast food in a bid to extend his stellar sprinting career. In an interview with the IAAF Inside Athletics programme released on Tuesday, Bolt said curbing off-track activities as the years rolled by had been easy compared to having to watch his diet. “I’ve cut back on a lot of things,” said the 28-year-old six-time Olympic gold medallist who had a growing reputation in his younger years for liking the nightlife and, famously, eating chicken nuggets. “When I really realised I was getting older was last season when I got injured. Trying to get back was much harder than the years when I was younger. Now it takes time for me to get going and I need a lot more races. I’ve started eating healthy. That’s the hardest thing for me right now is the sacrifices, eating vegetables all the time. Everything else is easy to give up, but eating healthy is really hard!”
U Mumba down Pune Paltan
Mumbai: Aided by strong attacks from Shabeer Bapu and Rishank Devadiga and supported by some fine defensive work, hosts U Mumbai pipped Puneri Paltan 28-21 in the Maharashtra derby of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi league here on Tuesday. U Mumbai, who thus notched up their fourth straight win in as many days to end the home leg matches on a rousing note, took the top spot in the table with 20 points while their rivals suffered their second defeat here at the NSCI Stadium, having lost to Telugu Titans on Monday.
Pele leaves hospital
Sao Paulo: Pele has been released from a Brazilian hospital after successfully undergoing back surgery. Doctors say the 74-year-old soccer great left the Albert Einstein hospital on Monday, less than a week after undergoing a procedure for nerve root decompression. The surgery had been scheduled to fix discomfort in Pele’s back and hip. Pele’s manager Paul Kemsley said it was the first of two corrective procedures Pele will undergo in Brazil over the next few months. Pele underwent prostate surgery in May, and in December was hospitalized for two weeks.