Small signs of hope for Schumi
Paris: Michael Schumacher is showing “small, encouraging signs” that he may awake from his coma, his agent said on Wednesday, more than two months after a ski crash left the Formula One champion with severe head injuries. Updates since Schumacher’s accident have offered few details and limited optimism for the man who once drove the world’s fastest cars and motorcycles but was critically injured on a familiar ski slope during a family outing. Wednesday’s statement was little different, describing “an extremely intimate and fragile situation” for his family. “We are and remain confident that Michael will pull through and will wake up. There sometimes are small, encouraging signs, but we also know that this is the time to be very patient,” Sabine Kehm, a family representative, wrote in a statement. Small signs that physicians are watching for could include fluttering eyelids, or efforts to breathe without a ventilator.
‘Pak need aggressive captain for WC’
Karchi: Former Pakistan captain, Wasim Akram has raised question marks over the captaincy of Misbah-ul-Haq and said the PCB needs to appointment a brave and aggressive skipper for the 2015 World Cup. The former seamer told reporters here that while there was no question about Misbah-ul-Haq’s batting performances, the situation was not the same about his captaincy. “They are question marks about his captaincy,” he said yesterday. Asked about the possibility of PCB appointing Shahid Afridi as captain for next World Cup, Wasim said this was something for the board to ponder and decide. “All I would say is that we need to have a brave and aggressive captain for the World Cup. Because we need to play positive cricket to do well,” he added.
WIndies beat England, take series
Bridgetown: West Indies rallied from a middle-order wobble to romp to a series-clinching five-wicket victory over England in the second Twenty20 International of the three-match series at Kensington Oval in Barbados. Jos Buttler's career-best 67 saw the tourists' to a total of 152 for seven batting first with left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie justifying his inclusion in place of injured spinner Sunil Narine by claiming four for 21 to earn the "Man of the Match" award on Tuesday. Brief Scores: England 152/7 (Jos Buttler 67, Alex Hales 40; Krishmar Santokie 4/21) lost to West Indies 155/5 in 18.5 overs (Chris Gayle 36, Darren Sammy 30*, Dwayne Smith 30; Tim Bresnan 2/51) by 5 wickets.
Daredevils launch new logo, jersey
New Delhi: A colourful skyline and hundreds of kites soaring across various parts of the city marked an innovative launch of Delhi Daredevils’ new look and new journey ahead of the seventh edition of the IPl. Flash mobs flying kites that dotted the skyline across Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon on Wednesday also marked the launch of the new logo of the GMR Group-owned team. The new logo depicts a ‘Flying Kite’. It is inspired by the art of kite flying, a celebrated pastime for the people of Delhi.
Advani out of Haikou World Open
New Delhi: India’s Pankaj Advani waged a grim battle against tournament favourite and World No.3 Ding Junhui before going down 4-5 in the decider to crash out of the Haikou World Open in China. The eight-time world champion was in a commanding position to oust Junhui but could not get past the finish line in the second round.
Anand faces Aronian in Candidates
Khanty Masiysk (Russia): Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand will start his campaign against top seed levon Aronian of Armenia in the first round of Candidates chess tournament. After a first round with white against Aronian, the Indian will have two black games to negotiate against Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan. The eight-player super tournament will decide the next challenger for world champion Magnus Carlsen later in the year. The event will be played under Classical time control with 120 minutes for the first 40 moves and 60 minutes for the next 20.
Swiss Open: Sindhu, Kashyap in rd 2
Basel: Top Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap and Anand Pawar got off to winning starts, notching up victories in their respective opening round singles matches at the the $125,000 Swiss Grand Prix Gold tournament here on Wednesday. World championship bronze medallist Sindhu posted a comfortable 21-18 21-15 victory over Malaysian Sannatasah Saniru in 32 minutes to enter the second round of the women’s singles event. Kashyap and Pawar also reached the second round of the men’s singles competition with straight game victories.
Bowlers will do better in T20: Yuvi
Kolkata: Veteran batsman Yuvraj Singh on Wednesday defended the poor show of the Indian bowlers in the Asia Cup, citing new field restrictions as one of the reasons, but hoped for a triumphant return to form in the upcoming ICC World T20 in Bangladesh. “Our bowlers have had a problem of restricting the opposition since five fielders inside the circle rule has come, but T20 will be a different format and I am hopeful that they will do well,” Yuvraj said today on the sidelines of Punjab’s Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-final against Railways.
Yashwini earns Youth Oly quota
New Delhi: Shooter Yashwini earned a quota place for this year’s Youth Olympic Games after she bagged the air pistol silver medal on a day India won seven medals, including two team gold, at the 7th Asian Championship in Kuwait on Wednesday. The 2014 Youth Olympic Games will be held in Nanjing, China, from August 16-28. All three Indian shooters -- Malaika Goel, Gouri Sheoran, besides Yashwini -- reached the finals of this event, but the quota went to Yashwini on the basis of her winning the silver. Yashwini’s score in the finals was 193. Goel won the bronze with final score of 174.9. The fourth position went to Sheoran, who scored 154.7.
RR sign pact with Oz varsity
Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals has signed Australia’s Deakin University as its official sports education partner during the seventh edition of the Indian Premier league. “Through this association, the two organisations will work on promoting sports education in India. Deakin University will initiate research in management and science aspects in sports, put together a case study and offer its students IPl internships and scholarships,” the franchise said in a release here on Wednesday.
Polo: Saddlers beat Rangers
ludhiana: Punjab Saddlers won the first Maharaja Ranjit Singh Polo Premier Challenge beating Royal Rangers by 6-4.5 at Ireo Waterfront here. Three teams — English Stallion, Punjab Saddlers and Royal Rangers — battled for the title over three days.
PNS/Agencies