Somdev fails to qualify for Sydney
Sydney: Somdev Devvarman could not make it to the main singles draw of the ATP Apia International tournament as he bowed out of the Qualifiers after suffering defeat in the second round against Jan-lennard Struff, here on Sunday. Somdev made a bright start against his German opponent but lost 6-2, 2-6, 3-6. Struff had shocked top seed Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6 (6) 6-2 in the first round. India’s leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna are competing in the doubles main draw. Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek have been seeded second and their first round opponents are Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin from France. Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi have been seeded third and they will open their campaign against Dutch player Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau from Romania. The tournament is last ATP event before the Australian Open, season’s first Grand Slam, starting January 13 in Melbourne.
1966 World Cup hero eusebio dies
lisbon: Known as the “Black Panther” or simply “The King”, football legend Eusebio, who has died aged 71, reigned over Portuguese football in the 1960s, bringing glory to both his club Benfica and his country. The top scorer in the 1966 World Cup and considered one of the best footballers of all time, Eusebio da Silva Ferreira died of cardio-pulmonary arrest early this morning. “Eusebio will always be eternal. Rest in peace,” wrote Cristiano Ronaldo, the star of the Portuguese national team, in a message posted on his Facebook account alongside a photo of himself and Eusebio. The top Portuguese footballer of all time Eusebio rivalled all-time greats including Brazilian Pele, Argentina’s Alfredo Di Stefano and England’s Bobby Charlton.
Skiing course conducted in Gulmarg
Srinagar: The winter sports activities in the snow-covered Kashmir began with the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering’s first skiing course of this season at the Gulmarg resort. “IISM has taken the lead in conducting first ski course at Gulmarg despite low snowfall in the skiing resort this winter,” a spokesman of the Institute said. This year the pattern of snowfall has been unusual as it has snowed very heavily in all regions of Pir Panjal and Kashmir Valley but there has been low in Gulmarg.
Prakash, Sudha win Kolkata race
Kolkata: Satya Prakash from Services and Sudha Singh from Railways emerged champions in the men’s and women’s section respectively as about 12,000 people competed in different events of the Kolkata Marathon, here on Sunday, Watched by West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan, former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and other celebrities, the race was also organised to raise fund for Tata Medical Centre for Cancer at New Town in northern suburb of the city. Satya Prakash from Army Signal Centre, Jabalpur took 2 hours 19 minutes 30 seconds to win the 42 km race which began from Indira Gandhi Sarani in down town Kolkata and ended there after passing through different parts in and around the city. Patle Kajilal Vinilog and Pralhad Sahay Meena also from same place finished second and third clocking 2 hour 9 minute 42 sec and 2 hour 21 minute 30 sec.In the 11 km mini marathon, meant for women, former Asian Games champion Sudha Singh timed 38 m 04.3 seconds to finish ahead of others. Sudha was followed by Ritu Paul, also from railways and Rohini Rout from Maharashtra. Agencies