Saina eyes Japan Open title
Tokyo: After clinching a silver at the World the Championship, world No. 1 Saina Nehwal will look to continue her rampaging form when she opens her campaign at the $275,000 Japan Super Series, which gets underway with the qualifiers here on Tuesday. The 25-year-old Indian became the first Indian to win a silver medal at World Championship last month to regain her numero uno status and Saina will have her eyes trained on the coveted title. Second seed Saina will open her campaign against Thailand’s Busanan Ongbumrungpan on Wednesday and a win is likely to pit her against compatriot and two-time bronze medallist at the World Championship P V Sindhu, who will face Japan’s Minatsu Mitani, ranked 18th, in the first round.
Overconfidence cost me: Vikas
New Delhi: His was the best performance by an Indian boxer at the recent Asian Championships in Thailand but Vikas Krishan is hardly satisfied with his silver as he feels it would have surely been a gold if not for “overconfidence”. Vikas lost to 19-year-old Youth Olympic champion Bektemir Melikuziev of Uzbekistan in a brutal summit clash on Saturday. “I was not there for the silver, I wanted a gold. No doubt it was the toughest bout of my career but I should have won it. When I got to know that Melikuziev is just 19, I thought I would kill him and that made me overconfident,” Vikas told reporters in an interaction on Monday.
Shahadat faces arrest
Dhaka: Bangladesh’s national cricketer Shahadat Hossain and his wife have been accused of beating and torturing their 11-year-old maid, police said today as they sought to arrest the couple. Police said they have raided the house of Shahadat last night, but did not find him there. “A girl has complained to us of being tortured by national cricketer Sahadat Hossain and his wife,” a police official said. He said that a journalist found her near his house and brought her to the police station last night.
Yogeshwar to spearhead India
las Vegas: With an aim to bag as many Olympic quota places as possible, star grappler Yogeshwar Dutt will spearhead the Indian attack even as all eyes will be on Narsingh Yadav’s performance in the absence of a more fancied Sushil Kumar at the World Wrestling Championship here.
This World Championship has assumed significance as it also doubles up as the first qualification tournament for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Injury to the two-time Olympic medallist Sushil has handed Narsingh a chance to fight here for an Olympic berth and undoubtedly the 26-year-old wrestler will generate maximum curiosity among the Indian fans when he takes the mat in Men’s 74kg Freestyle category on the last day of the competition, on September 12. In Sushil’s almost year-long absence, Narsingh has not just represented India in 74kg category but has also won a few medals at various competitions.
Bolt to skip Brussels meet
Paris: Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt will skip the season-ending Diamond league meet in Brussels on Friday to enjoy a break after storming to treble gold at the world championships in Beijing last month. “After the excitement of the past few weeks at the World T&F (track and field) Championships in Beijing, I have decided not to race again in 2015,” Bolt said in a post on his Facebook account. “I am already thinking about next year and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio where I will attempt to defend my titles in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m. “I will enjoy a short break from training now to recharge before resuming background training next month.”
Jayaratne appointed as Sl coach
Colombo: Sri lanka Cricket (SlC) on Monday announced Jerome Jayaratne as the interim head coach for the national team and will manage the side for the upcoming West Indies series starting in October. “Sri lanka Cricket wishes to announce that SlC Head of Coaching Jerome Jayaratne, has been appointed as the Interim Head Coach of the National Team with immediate effect for the upcoming West Indies series in October/November 2015,” said a statement on Sri lanka Cricket’s official website.