Ecclestone to step down
london: Bernie Ecclestone will step down as the head of Formula One’s holding company pending the outcome of a bribery trial in Germany, the organisation announced on Thursday. The British businessman is due to stand trial in Munich in April over allegations he bribed former German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky during negotiations concerning the sale of F1 championship rights in 2006. The 83-year-old magnate has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and intends to continue to run the sport on “a day-to-day basis”. “Mr Ecclestone has reassured the board that he is innocent of the charges and intends to vigorously defend the case which will commence in late April 2014,” read a statement from the F1.
Srikanth in quarters; Saina out
Kuala lumpur: K Srikanth continued his impressive run to enter the men’s singles quarterfinals, even as India’s campaign in the women’s singles came to an end after Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu lost their respective second round matches in contrasting styles in the Malaysia Super Series Premier event here on Thursday. The newly-crowned national badminton champion, Srikanth came from a game down to register an upset victory over World No.17 Son an Ho of South Korea 11-21, 21-19, 21-19 in a contest that lasted an hour and nine minutes. However, Olympic bronze medallist Saina went down fighting 21-16 10-21 19-21 to a lower-ranked Yao Xue of China in 56 minutes, while Sindhu lost to sixth seed Yeon Ju Bae of Korea 16-21, 19-21 in 45 minutes at the Putra Stadium here.
WC bronze-medallist left out
New Delhi: World Championship bronze-medallist Bajrang Kumar has been left “heartbroken” after the SAI refused to bear his expenses for the Dave Schultz Memorial International tournament in Colorado Springs, saying the grappler can travel to the USA “at no cost to government”. The last-minute refusal by the Sports Authority of India to sanction Bajrang’s travel, boarding and lodging expenses for the fortnight long training-cum-competition programme has robbed the promising grappler a chance to compete against the world’s best under a new weight category, keeping Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championships in mind this year. Efforts to get Bajrang on the next available plane to US did not yield any result as SAI DG Jiji Thomson did not change the stance.
Box for self-defence: Mary kom
New Delhi: Concerned at the alarming rise of violence against women, five-time world boxing champion and Olympic medallist Mary Kom on Thursday urged women to take up sports for self-defence and to stay fit. Recalling an incident when she was assaulted by a rickshaw puller, the Manipuri boxer said: "I was travelling alone from the SAI Hostel and when the rickshaw entered a deserted street the puller tried to snatch my bag. But I was not one to take it and I punched him hard and he fell down. My coaches arrived and he was handed over to the police," Mary said. Mary, a mother of three, urged parents to put their children in sports to keep themselves fit. "Sports is a good way to keep yourself fit. Parents should take the initiative," she said.
things have changed: Rathore
Kolkata: Athens Games silver medalist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said the country’s performance in the Olympics had come a long way from the time when they felt embarrassed to be called Olympians. “When I took up shooting, people would refrain from mentioning ‘Olympian’ in their visiting cards. “There was a time people would rebuke Indian Olympians saying they were going to the competition just to make fun and not win anything. Olympics was looked down upon,” he said. “The challenge really egged me on and I took the path without any government support or enough opportunity. There was no coach, system or resource helping me,” he said. “It was my wife, a doctor, who supported me. I could take a leap based on that foundation. The legacy is something that keeps getting better. Just see the difference now. Earlier we were looking for a medal. Now we are gunning for gold medal. I’m sure there would be many more medals at the next Olympics (in 2016),” he added. PNS/Agencies