Anand looking for strong finish
Sandnes (Norway): World champion Viswanathan Anand remains a contender for the title despite being 1.5 points behind the leader as he will take on the lowest-ranked players in the remaining two rounds of the Norway Chess 2013 Super Tournament here. Anand started with two draws and a fine victory against arch-rival Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria. A loss in the fourth round pulled him back a little but then tormenting tournament leader Sergey Karjakin of Russia and following that up with a win against Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan has put the Indian in the joint third spot. For the record, Karjakin seems far away from Anand at 5.5 points and he is followed by Magnus Carlsen half a point behind. Anand stands joint third and the situation might have been different but for a foul mistake as white against Hikaru Nakamura in the fourth round.
Sindhu to lead Indian challenge
New Delhi: With Olympic bronze medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal having pulled out of the Sudirman Cup Mixed team championship, P V Sindhu will spearhead the Indian challenge in the women's singles event. Saina opted out of the event, to be held in Kuala lumpur from May 19 to 26, after she failed to recover fully from a hairline fracture on the small toe of her left foot. The world No 2, Saina had suffered the fracture before the Sunrise India Open Super Series last month and aggravated the injury during the tournament, where she had crashed out in the second round. India now has no option but to field a depleted side as far as the women's team is concerned, as earlier even the doubles specialist Jwala Gutta had withdrawn from the meet.
‘May never helped Pak cricket’
Karachi: Pakistan has supported the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) in the controversial appointment of l Sivaramakrishnan as a player's representative in the ICC, saying that it voted against incumbent Tim May due to its own disliking for the Australian. An official in the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that the PCB voted against May when his nomination came up and after the BCCI put forward the name of Sivaramakrishnan for a revote who was eventually picked for the spot. "Yes, we voted against May and why not because as chief executive of the Federation of International Cricket Players Association he has never done anything to help or support Pakistan cricket," the official said.
Indian out of World TT c’ship
New Delhi: Ace Indian paddler Achantha Sharath Kamal crashed out of the men's singles event at the World Table Tennis Championships in Paris after going down to Germany's Timo Boll 1-4 in the second round. Sharath Kamal (69) got off to a flying start as he grabbed the first game 11-9 against the fifth seed. The 30-year-old Indian continued to fight hard against his team-mate at Borussia Düsseldorf, a German table tennis club, but lost the second game 10-12. Sharath Kamal found the former world number too hot to handle in the subsequent games and was floored 1-11 5-11 2-11 in the round of 64 match played last night.
ICC seeks hosts for Conference
Dubai: The ICC has announced that it will be seeking hosts for its Annual Conference in 2014, 2015 and 2016. While this year's annual gathering of International Cricket Council will take place at lord's Cricket Ground in london, from 2014, other destinations will have an opportunity to stage the prestigious event. The ICC Annual Conference provides hosts with a platform to engage with the global cricket community as well as a chance to demonstrate their capacity to stage a high profile world-class event. Future hosts will follow in an illustrious line of previous cities including london, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala lumpur. PNS/Agencies