‘Advani is one of the best’
Bengaluru: Heaping praise on the Indian legacy in billiards and snooker, Australian cueist Matthew Bolton today said that the nation's poster boy of cue sports Pankaj Advani is one of the best he has seen and one of the favourites to win the IBSF World Snooker Championship."He has incredible mental prowess and one of the best I have ever seen, He also is one of the favourites in the world event," Bolton told reporters at the unveiling of the Championship logo here. The Championship is scheduled between November 19-29, which will be held at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium. Advani also has an incredible self-belief which makes him steal the show against his toughest of opponents as well, and is well supported by his brother Sree, who is a sports psychologist. Bolton said India have a great legacy of billiards and snooker.
Ghosal in pre quarters
Doha: India's Saurav Ghosal earned a hard-fought 3-1 win against Pakistan's Nasir Iqbal to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the World Squash Championship, here Monday. The 14th-seeded Saurav slowly gained momentum in the 51-minute encounter as he got past his arch-rival 11-7 5-11 11-9 11-4 in the round-of-32 clash. Earlier Max lee of Hong Kong, Amr Shabana of Egypt and South Africa's Stephen Coppinger won their respective encounter to also move into the round-of-16.
Berahino in england team
West Bromwich: Saido Berahino's path to becoming one of the new stars of English football began with kick about with his cousins on the streets of Burundi, using a makeshift ball made from plastic bags or rolled-up socks. When Berahino runs out in an England jersey for the first time and it'll most likely be as a substitute at Celtic Park it will be a proud, satisfying moment for the youth coaches at West Brom who are the unsung stars behind his rise. Berahino was immediately signed up and West Brom's coaches encountered a humble, happy boy who couldn't quite believe where his life had taken him. This season, he is the highest-scoring English player in the Premier league with seven goals. Only Sergio Aguero, Diego Costa and Alexis Sanchez have scored more. His goals have also sent England's under-21 side into that age-group's European Championship and prompted England manager Roy Hodgson to select him in the senior squad.
Qatari protest judge’s report
Geneva: A Qatari whistleblower has formally complained about FIFA judge Joachim Eckert's treatment of her in his World Cup bid corruption report. Phaedra Almajid tells The Associated Press she wrote to FIFA prosecutor Michael Garcia about Eckert unethically breaching her right to witness confidentiality. In a letter seen by the AP, she writes that Eckert "falsely discredits me in order to support his indefensible conclusion that the December 2010 bidding was wholly acceptable." Almajid gave evidence to Garcia alleging wrongdoing by Qatar's bid when she was its head of international media until early 2010. She says Eckert's report denounced her as unreliable in a "crude, cynical and fundamentally erroneous" summary of her cooperation. Almajid was identified as a whistleblower in a July 2011.
Soumyajit finishes runner-up
New Delhi: In one of the biggest achievements of his blossoming table tennis career, the talented Soumyajit Ghosh finished runner-up in the U-21 men's singles event of the ITTF World Tour Swedish Open in Stockholm, Sweden. The 21-year-old from Siliguri stunned top seed and world no.82 Jang Woojin of South Korea enroute to the final played over the weekend. Ghosh, who has risen to 108 in the latest rankings, also beat Poland's Konrad Kulpa (3-1), home favourite Anton Kallberg (4-3) and India teammate Harmeet Desai (3-0) in the high-profile event. "Reaching the final is a great result for me. It is my last year in the U-21 category and I am glad I could make it count.
Blind suffers nee injury
Amsterdam: Manchester United midfielder Daley Blind could face a lengthy lay-off after injuring his knee playing for the Netherlands against latvia on Sunday. Coach Guus Hiddink says Blind likely twisted or possibly ruptured a medial ligament in his knee in a challenge with in a challenge with Eduards Visnakovs. Blind limped off in the 20th minute as the Netherlands thrashed latvia 6-0 in a European qualifier. Hiddink said he would have an MRI scan Monday. "I'm rather negative," Hiddink said. "I think it's a medial ligament that is twisted. It might be a rupture." Blind has been one of United's most consistent players this season in louis van Gaal's first year in charge, looking composed in the holding midfield role.United next play Arsenal on 22 November. Agencies