Kapur tied 28th at Mandela Golf
Durban: Indian golfer Shiv Kapur rounded off a rain-interrupted week with a one-under 69 that saw him finish tied 28th at The Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS Handa. Kapur totalled five-under 205 at the event, reduced to 54 holes. The trophy was won by Dawie van der Walt who held his nerve down the closing stretch to win a second European Tour title. Kapur, who shot 71 on the first day, scored 65 on the second. Kapur regained his European Tour card for 2014 after finishing in the top-15 of the European Challenge Tour, where he won the first and last events in 2013. The 30-year-old South African, Dawie van der Walt, shot a closing 66 at Mount Edgecombe to be a two shot winner over Matthew Baldwin and Jorge Campillo.
500 Indians fail dope tests in 5 yrs
New Delhi: In what may come as an embarrassing revelation for India’s anti-doping machinery, 500 sportspersons, mostly weightlifters and track-and-field athletes, have failed drug tests conducted by NADA in the last four and a half years. A total of 500 athletes were found to have violated Anti Doping Rules from January 2009 till July 2013 by the country’s main anti-doping agency and a total of 423 athletes were slapped with sanctions by the Anti Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP). These findings were revealed by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) in response to an RTI reply. Official figures by the anti-doping agency have come up with some shocking statistics.
lahiri finishes tied fourth
Bangkok: Anirban lahiri missed a fistful of makeable putts to turn in his first over-par round and finish tied-fourth at the $1 million Thailand Golf Championships at the Amata Spring Country Club here on Sunday. Spaniard Sergio Garcia (68), who had his girlfriend, Katharina Boehm as the caddie this week, held off World No. 3 Henrik Stenson (68) to win his first title of 2013.
Pune FC down United
Kalyani: A first half twin strike from Mustapha Riga scripted Pune FC’s 2-1 away win against United SC in a round 15 I-league fixture here on Sunday. After leading 2-0 with Riga’s 11th and 23rd minute goals, Pune FC conceded a goal two minutes after the break with United’s Hasan Al Moustafa finding the target. The win, Pune’s first after five matches, revived their I-league hopes as they jumped to third place with 22 points from 13 matches, while United SC remained on 18 points.
Varma wins Tata Open
Mumbai: Fourth seed Sourabh Varma overwhelmed third seed H S Prannoy in a one-sided final to clinch the men’s singles title in the $15,000 Tata Open India International Challenge badminton tournament here on Sunday. Varma, who will be 21 on December 30, displayed superb anticipation and court coverage to dismantle his higher ranked rival’s game to come out a convincing winner with a 21-12 21-17 scoreline in his favour in a 30-minute match.
East Bengal beat Bangaluru FC’s
Bangalore: East Bengal dealt a blow to Bengaluru FC’s ambitions of consolidating their position on the top of the I-league table with a 2-0 win at the Bangalore Football Stadium here on Sunday. The AFC Cup semi-finalists went into the game six points adrift of the home side but moved into the striking distance of storming into the top three spots by claiming the spoils in a crucial match for the visitors.
PCB and FCA in dispute
Karachi: A dispute has erupted between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Faisalabad cricket association over disbursement of payments to players who went to India for the Champions league tournament this year. According to a official of the Faisalabad association, the players of Faisalabad Wolves which went to India by virtue of being the national T20 champions were unhappy at only getting paid around 600,000 rupees each.
Churchill beat Mohammedan
Mapusa: Churchill Brothers gave good account of themselves during the second half to beat Mohammedan Sporting 3-1 in the Airtel I-league match at Duler Stadium here on Sunday. After a barren first half, Churchill Brothers scored all the goals in the second half through lenny Rodrigues (51st minute), substitute Jaison Vales (71st) and Balwant Singh (74th). Mohammedan Sporting, who were reduced to 10 men midway in the second half, pulled one back through Ashim Biswas in the 86th minute. The win takes Churchill Brothers to 10 points from 12 matches. While Mohammedan Sporting finished their first leg engagement on 13 points from 13 matches.
Mohammedan fire Nigerian coach
Kolkata: Alarmed by their team’s non performance in the I-league, Mohammedan Sporting on Sunday sacked their Nigerian coach Abdul Bola Moshood Aziz bringing back Sanjoy Sen. “He (Abdul) has failed to put in the side together, be it in formation or controlling the game. We have asked him to part ways in a message sent to him in Goa,” club president Sultan Ahmed said soon after the team’s 1-3 away loss to Churchill Brothers on Sunday. Having suffered two consecutive losses on the back of three goalless draws, Mohammedan have slipped close to the relegation zone, lying 11th with 13 points in the 13-team table. PNS/Agencies