MUMBAI’s NABI OUT FOR 3 weeks
Mumbai: Barely a game into the ISl and Mumbai City FC have been dealt a massive blow with skipper Syed Rahim Nabi ruled out for upto three weeks due to an ankle injury sustained during the team’s opening match against Atletico de Kolkata. Nabi suffered an ankle injury in the 39th minute of the match played on Sunday at the Salt lake Stadium, Kolkata. “As per the findings of the Mumbai City FC medical team, Syed Rahim Nabi has a contusion over the left Ankle/foot due to twisting of the ankle joint. The MRI reveals that there is neither a fracture nor a ligament/Soft tissue injury. There is a suspected partial sprain of one of the ankle ligament,” the club said in a statement. “Nabi is currently under a knee cast and has begun his rehabilitation with the medical team saying that he could be out for up to three weeks,” it added.Mumbai had lost the match 0-3 to start their campaign on a disappointing note.
Delhi to host para games in feb
New Delhi: India will host the Para Open Games, which will see some top international differently-abled athletes in action here, from February 20 to 26 next year. Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot announced that his ministry has allocated Rs 20 crore for the multi-sporting event. “Delhi will host Para Games from February 20-26 and it will be held with help of Sports Ministry and Sports Authority of India and also with other stakeholders,” Gehlot said here on Monday night at the send-off function for Indian para athletes for the Para Asian Games to be held in Incheon from October 18 to 24. Ninety Indian athletes, including the likes of 2012 Paralympic silver medallist H N Girisha and 2004 Athens Paralympics and 2013 IPC World Championships gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia, are taking part in the Para Asian Games.
NEYMAR’s four IN brazil win
Singapore: Neymar scored all four goals on Tuesday to give Brazil a 4-0 victory over Japan in a friendly match. Playing at a neutral venue in Singapore, the Barcelona striker gave his team the lead in the 18th minute after running onto a through ball from Diego Tardelli. He got his second three minutes after the restart, meeting a long pass from Philippe Coutinho and side-footing past Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, and completed the hat trick in the 77th when he beat Kawashima from close range. The 22-year-old Neymar rose unmarked in the six-yard box to head in his fourth with nine minutes to go. It was the fourth straight victory under Dunga for Brazil, which is rebuilding after a semifinal run at the World Cup.
Somdev, Yuki advance
Indore: India’s top three singles players, led by Somdev Devvarman, made smooth starts at the ATP Indore Open by recording straight set victories, here on Tuesday. Third seed Somdev, ranked 143, outclassed the newly-crowned national champion Vishnu Vardhan 6-1 6-3 in 70-minute opening round of the USD 50,000 tournament. Sixth seed Yuki Bhambri took some time to settle before beating Ronit Singh Bisht 6-4 6-0 in his first round outing, which lasted just 66 minutes. India’s third-best ranked player Ramkumar Ramanathan got the better of Italian Gianluig Quinzi 6-1 6-4 in one hour and 12 minutes. However, N Sriram Balaji, Ranjeet-Virali Murugesan, Sasi Kumar Mukund, Siddharth Rawat and Karun Uday Singh also made first round exits.
Pistorius offered cash
Pretoria: Oscar Pistorius offered $34,000 to the family of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after he killed her, but the family rejected the funds because they did not want “blood money” a prosecutor said today at the sentencing hearing for the double-amputee athlete. The revelations emerged while Nel was cross-examining a social worker who testified that Pistorius should be placed under house arrest, rather than sent to prison, after his conviction for culpable homicide, or negligent killing. Pistorius, 27, could receive a fine and a suspended jail term or as many as 15 years in prison for the negligent killing.
Derbyshire & Pujara in talks
london: Impressed with Cheteshwar Pujara’s performance, English county side Derbyshire is in talks with the batsman to sign him for next year as well but his IPl commitments and a tour of Bangladesh could prove to be the “stumbling block”. Pujara played for the club in the closing weeks of the Championships and scored 219 runs at an average of 54.75 in their last three games. Derbyshire’s elite performance director Graeme Welch said the county is in talks with Pujara regarding a potential return in 2015. “We’ve spoken to Pujara already and he seemed quite keen to come back. He integrated into the team brilliantly and I think he enjoyed the lads here,” Welch said. “He wants to test himself in English conditions, so this is probably the best place for him. The stumbling block could be that he has IPl commitments and a tour of Bangladesh, so we’ll have to look at their schedule and try and get somebody in for those three months that he isn’t here,” he explained.
West meet East in Duleep
lahli: Cheteshwar Pujara would like to continue his good form during a short English county stint as he leads a formidable West Zone side against a gutsy East Zone in the quarter-final of the Duleep Trophy, which incidentally, will be India’s domestic season-opener. Pujara, who scored a century and a 90 in his last two of his three games for Derbyshire, will be keen to get some solid match-practice ahead of three-Test series against the West Indies. With Parthiv Patel, Vijay Zol, Suryakumar Yadav and the mercurial Yusuf Pathan for company, the West batting bears a formidable look as the East Zone bowling will be solely dependant on Ashoke Dinda, with some support expected from laxmi Ratan Shukla, Odisha’s Basant Mohanty and slow left-arm bowler Shahbaz Nadeem of Jharkhand. East’s batting is comparatively stronger led by India A skipper Manoj Tiwary, Jharkhand’s Saurab Tiwary and the seasoned Shukla to follow. lanky 22-year-old Bengal left-hander Sudeep Chatterjee, who impressed one and all with his temperament last season might get his debut game in zonal cricket.