Nadal looks ahead
Barcelona: Top-ranked Rafael Nadal gets an immediate chance to shake off his surprisingly early exit at the Monte Carlo Masters by going for his ninth Barcelona Open title this week. The Spaniard is hoping to recover his clay-court form after a quarterfinal loss to David Ferrer in Monaco, where the eight-time champion made his earliest exit since 2003. Nadal acknowledged that his confidence is shaken following the Australian Open final loss to Stanislas Wawrinka, and says his state of mind "is what it is." Nadal said Monday that "I started the season OK except for some lack of confidence and competitiveness in important moments of certain matches." He added that "I've faced adversities throughout my career, and this is just another one." Nadal opens play later this week.
Walsh targets top 8 in WC
New Delhi: With the World Cup just round the corner, Indian men's hockey team chief coach Terry Walsh is realistic about his ward's chances and said his main "objective is to finish in the top 8" in the mega-event and anything higher than that will be a "big bonus". Fresh from a preparatory tour to Europe, Walsh however believed India can climb up to the top six position by the end of 2014. "The World Cup is the second most important event after the Olympic Games. So every team is going to be prepared. Our objective is to finish in the top 8 and should we finish higher than that it will be a big bonus," Walsh said after returning from a tour to The Hague, The Netherlands where the World Cup will be held from May 31 to June 15.
Sindhu leads Indian charge
New Delhi: With ace shuttler Saina Nehwal giving the tournament a miss, teen sensation P V Sindhu and national champion K Srikanth will spearhead the Indian challenge at the $200,000 Asian Badminton championship which gets underway at Gimcheon, Korea on Tuesday. Olympic bronze-medallist, Saina, who won a bronze at the 2010 edition, decided to take rest to focus on the Thomas and Uber Cup next month and it will now come down to Sindhu and Srikanth to keep the tri-colour fluttering. The 18-year-old Sindhu, who won the Malaysia Open and Macau Open last year, will start her campaign against Cheung Ngan Yi in the women's singles but she has a tough task ahead as she is likely to meet Japan's Eriko Hirose next.
Kakara books Youth Oly berth
New Delhi: left in disarray due to international termination, Indian boxing had reason to cheer on Monday as Shyam Kakara (49kg) booked a ticket to this year's Youth Olympics besides assuring himself of a medal by entering the World Youth Championships semifinals in Sofia, Bulgaria. On a mixed day, Shyam defeated Venezuela's Yoel Finol 2-1 in a thrilling contest, to advance to the semifinals, a pre-requisite to make the cut for the Youth Olympics to be held in Nanjing, China from August 16 to 28.
BAI to re-consider IBl fixture
New Delhi: Taking into account the busy international schedule, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) is planning to hold the second edition of the Indian Badminton league early next year. The inaugural edition of the cash-rich tournament in August 2013 was a grand success with badminton lovers, the corporate world and even the players lapping up the concept. BAI was planning to hold the second edition from September 30 to October 15. But scheduling has been a problem this year with major international events like the Commonwealth Games in July and Asian Games in September raising doubts over the availability of top players throughout the duration of the tournament.
Harendra junior team coach
New Delhi: Hockey India on Monday appointed former senior coach Harendra Singh as the coach of the junior men's team to groom it for the 2016 World Cup to be held in the country. Harendra will join the training camp of the team on April 25. "The appointment of Harendra Singh is in line with our efforts to prepare Junior Hockey Men team for the 2016 World Cup to be hosted in India," HI Secretary Narinder Batra said.