Paes not to play against Serbia in davis cup
New Delhi: After making himself available for the Asian Games, veteran star leander Paes is set to miss the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Serbia due to personal reasons. Paes is locked in a legal battle with his partner Rhea Pillai for the custody of their daughter and one of the hearings of the case would be around the tie, scheduled for September 12-14 in Bangalore. “leander will play Asian Games and was very much willing to play in the Davis Cup as well. However due to his personal compulsions, AITA has decided to accept his request to not play against Serbia,” AITA Secretary General Bharat Oza said. Early this year, the 40-year-old had asked for a break from national duty but AITA recently named him in the squad for the Asian Games after Paes opted to play at the quadrennial event.
Compound mixed pair in Archery WC final
Kolkata: Indian compound mixed pair team of Abhishek Verma and Purvasha Shende has assured itself of a medal after advancing into the final in the Archery World Cup Stage IV being held in Wroclaw, Poland. According to information received here, the Indian team was adjudged winner against Russia on the basis of cumulative scores after an impasse in the shoot-off following a 154-154 tie in the event on Wednesday. Both the teams shot one perfect 10 and nine each in the shoot-off as the third-ranked India set up a summit clash against the United Statez, edging out second-ranked Russia. The US got the better of Mexico 156-152 in the other compound mixed pair semis.
Phelps distant seventh in 100m free
Irvine (US): A botched turn Wednesday ruined Michael Phelps’ first bid to qualify for his first international meet since the london Olympics, with the superstar admitting: “It stinks.” Phelps, on the comeback trail after retiring, finished a distant seventh in the 100m free final won by reigning Olympic champion Nathan Adrian at the US Swimming Championships, unable to recover after misjudging the turn. “It just kind of stinks that I missed the first wall, but it’s a part of racing,” said Phelps, 29, who needed a top-four finish to book a spot in the US team for the Pan Pacific Championships August 21-25 in Gold Coast, Australia.
Indian teams bounce back in Chess Olympiad
Tromso (Norway): Brushing aside the fourth round debacle, Indian men and women’s teams bounced back with resounding victories over Montenegro and Austria respectively in the fifth round of the 41st Chess Olympiad now underway here. On what turned out to be a good day for the men, Parimarjan Negi, S P Sethuraman and Krishnan Sasikiran came up with fine victories while B Adhiban had to settle for a draw against lower-ranked opponents on all board. Starting with white pieces, Negi scored over Nikola Djukic quite easily while S P Sethuraman continued with his fine act in the event and added Dragisa Blagojevic to his list of scalps. Krishnan Sasikiran was also at his best in crushing Milan Drasko but Adhiban could not make it a clean sweep as he struggled before drawing with Dragan Kosic. Resting Tania Sachdev, the Indian eves dominated their Austrian counterparts on all boards and the 4-0 victory was a huge morale booster ahead of the first rest day.
Fed Cup Sr National Ath C’ship from Aug 16
Patiala: NIS Patiala is all set to host the Federation Cup Senior National Athletics Championship -- the final selection trial for Indian squad for the upcoming Asian Games at Incheon – from August 16. The Athletics Federation of India has made it mandatory for all athletes to take part in the upcoming four-day championship in order to be eligible for the selection in the Asian Games.
Kapil dev, ajitpal to head Awards committees
New Delhi: Former India cricket captain Kapil Dev will head the Arjuna Awards selection committee for choosing this year’s outstanding sportspersons of the country while former hockey skipper Ajitpal Singh is likely to be in charge of selecting the Dronacharya awardees. “Yes, Kapil Dev will be heading the Arjuna Awards committee,” sports secretary Ajit Sharan said on Thursday. While Kapil, who bagged 434 wickets in 131 Tests in his 16-year-long career, got the Arjuna in 1980, former Olympian Ajitpal was conferred the Award in 1970, and awarded it in 1972.
Anil 1st Indian wrestling coach of USA
New Delhi: Anil Sharma is the first Indian wrestler who got the opportunity to qualify as coach from FIlA & selected as a coach in New Jersey, USA. His grandfather Khadag Singh and father Dev Dutt Sharma were also reputed wrestler in India. Anil belongs to Mahrauli village and has won many medals on national and international circuit.