Saina regains World No.1 ranking
New Delhi: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal on Thursdayregained the number one position in international rankings after China’s li Xuerui dropped a couple of rungs to third in the latest list issued on Thursday. Saina, the first Indian woman shuttler to be world number one after her India Open Grand Prix Gold triumph earlier this month, had dropped to the second place following her semi-final finish in the Malaysia Open Super Series.
shooters barred from boarding
New Delhi: In a strange incident, ace Indian shooters Heena Sidhu and Anjali Bhagwat were barred from boarding the Jet Airways flight from Bangkok to Mumbai for carrying weapons with “incomplete documents”. The two Arjuna awardee shooters were in transit on their return home from the ISSF World Cup in Changwon, Korea on Wednesday. Heena said they were not allowed to board the aircraft despite having all the documents.
‘No move to bar Mary from trials’
New Delhi: Rubbishing reports that Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom could be barred from the trials for the Olympic qualifiers, Boxing India today said the veteran is not under any compulsion to attend the national camp and has been granted permission to train individually. Mary Kom, who is also recuperating from a wrist injury, too was shocked by the reports and said, “It’s not the first time that I am training on my own. I have done it in the past and I have always come for the trials.
Federer out of Monte Carlo
Monaco: Gael Monfils defeated second-ranked Roger Federer 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters. It was Monfils’s second consecutive win on clay over Roger Federer after he beat him in straight sets during last year’s Davis Cup final. Earlier, Grigor Dimitrov capitalized on Stan Wawrinka’s awful display to rout the defending champion 6-1, 6-2. Fourth-seeded Milos Raonic advanced, extending his perfect record over clay-court specialist Tommy Robredo to 4-0 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win. Up next for Raonic will be either Tomas Berdych or Roberto Bautista Agut.