Negi unsure about India future
New Delhi: GM Parimarjan Negi, who is leaving for the United States tomorrow to pursue his university degree at Stanford, is not sure whether current rules will allow him to play in team events for India in near future. “The current rule is heavily loaded in favour of players, who will be playing in the National Chess Championship. If you play Nationals, you are awarded 75 points straightaway, which paves the way for selection in marquee events like Olympiad,” Negi told mediapersons at the launch of his maiden book on Chess Openings titled “Grandmasters Repertoire”. Negi, who was instrumental in India getting their maiden bronze at the recently concluded Chess Olympiad in Norway said, “From now on, it will be difficult for me to play in the Nationals. So if I can’t maintain an ElO Rating in the range of 2675, I won’t be representing India. “I have spoken to the chess federation officials about it. Hopefully, some measures are taken so that I can still play for India in major events if my ElO rating,” said Negi, who will now play some on and off tournaments in and around the United States. His maiden book was released by Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju at the Airports Authority of India Officer’s Institute on Friday.
Indian Open gets European boost
New Delhi: The Indian Open, which skipped an edition in 2014, will be jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour in 2015, officials said on Friday. The event, scheduled to take place from February 19-22, 2015 will carry a purse of $1.5 million. The venue will be announced soon. The championship will be promoted by Nimbus Sport, which has extended its partnership with the Indian Golf Union (IGU) to manage and promote the Indian Open from 2015 to 2017. The tournament, which has been played since 1964, will offer the chance for Indian golfing talents to compete against many of the top players from both Tours, which began to co-sanction tournaments together in Asia since 1999. Raian Irani, President of the Indian Golf Union said, “The Indian Open has been the pride of Indian Golf for 50 years on the trot. Starting from 1964, the IGU has ensured that the tournament is conducted in all its glory. “The IGU Council is extremely delighted by the elevation of the tournament as a European Tour event, which will not only attract the best talent but also will also place the tournament on an even higher pedestal and add to its grandeur.”
Johor Cup Participation in limbo
New Delhi: Uncertainty hovered over defending champion India’s participation in next month’s Sultan of Johor Cup junior hockey tournament as the national federation is yet to get the green signal from the Sports of Authority (SAI). Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra said the national body faces the risk of a hefty financial penalty from the International Hockey Federation if it was forced to withdraw the team from the tournament, to be held in Johor Bahru, Malaysia from October 10-18. “We have sent the request for approval to SAI on August 14 with all the necessary documents but, despite repeated reminders, we still haven’t got the clearance. India are defending champions in the tournament and this event is a part of our preparation for next year’s junior World Cup,” Batra said. “Besides India, the other participating countries are Australia, Great Britain, Pakistan, New Zealand and Malaysia. “It is an FIH-sanctioned event. Now if we pull out the team, Hockey India might end up paying penalty ranging from swiss franc 1.00 upto swiss francs 2,50,000, depending upon the decision of FIH Competitions Committee,” he said. “In all FIH-sanctioned event a mandatory 45-day intimation is needed to withdraw the team.”
WKl comes to Punjab
ludhiana: Unbeaten and leaders Khalsa Warriors will meet Punjab Thunder in the opening match of the Punjab leg of the inaugural Wave World Kabaddi league (WKl) here tomorrow, as the franchise-based event makes its maiden foray in its traditional homeland. The WKl will arrive in Punjab after four successful weekends in three different cities and across two continents. The WKl, which literally made waves in london, Birmingham and Delhi, in the first 16 matches over four weekends, will now seek to enthrall fans in the ‘Home of Kabaddi’.
Advani to play in Indian Open
Bangalore: Torn between two formats, ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani on Friday decided to chose billiards over professional snooker and confirmed his participation in the Indian Open and the World Championships. “Finally I have decided to play in the Indian wild card qualifier to be played in Pune (from September 15-19), which means I am going to play the Indian Open and the World Billiards which happens immediately after. But before that I have to qualify in the qualifiers,” Advani told reporters here. He further said, “If I am playing on Indian wild card, I have to let go my professional tour card, which means I would not be playing in that circuit anymore.” Advani said he had to take this decision because he wanted to excel in both snooker and billiards. “I took this decision because I missed billiards and my family. I wouldn’t have been able to play billiards if I am based in England for six months.” “My sole objective has been to excel in both sports not just in one, and that will be possible if I am based in India,” the 10-time world champion added.
Materazzi in Chennai radar
New Delhi: Former Italian World Cup winner Marco Materazzi, who was famously head-butted by Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 summit match, could become the marquee manager-cum-player of Chennai Titans in the upcoming Indian Super league. Sources said representatives from the Chennai franchise have had a discussion with the former Inter Milan centre-back and also offered him a contract. A team from Chennai Titans had travelled to Rome to hold discussions with Brazilian star footballer Ronaldinho and while there has been no official confirmation in that regard, it is being learnt that they were successful in meeting Materazzi. “Yes, we met him (Materazzi) in Rome and offered him a contract. let’s see what happens, we are keeping our fingers crossed,” a source involved in working out the negotiation said. “The franchise is looking at different options and we’re not in a position to say anything in confirmation now,” he said.
Jayant wins gold at World C’ship
New Delhi: India Army’s lt Colonel Sudhakar Jayant completed a hattrick of titles after clinching the gold medal for the third time at the IWF World Masters Weightlifting Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. Competing in 62kg weight category, the 45-year-old Indian lifted a total of 185kg. In snatch Jayant lifted 85kg while in clean and jerk he came up with a best effort of 100kg. Finland’s Huuskonen Jari won the silver medal with a total lift of 170kg, while Frederic Robert of France (145kg) bagged the bronze medal. PNS/Agencies