Indian men win, eves lose
Antwerp (Belgium): Indian men’s hockey team spanked lowly USA 4-0 in their third practice match even as the eves narrowly lost 1-2 to Italy in their second warm-up game ahead of the FIH World league Semi-Final to be held here from June 20 to July 5. The Sardar Singh-led India men’s team took the lead in the 20th minute through a penalty corner conversion by Rupinder Pal Singh. lalit Upadhyay doubled India’s lead in the 49th minute with a field effort before Rupinder struck again from a penalty corner three minutes later. Yuvraj Walmiki then scored from a rebound in the final minute of the match after Jasjit Singh Khullar’s try from a penalty corner was blocked by the American goalkeeper as India registered a comfortable 4-0 win. Paul van Ass’ men will next play world ranked fifth Great Britain in their fourth practice game. The Indian eves, on the other hand, witnessed a contrasting result as their lost 1-2 to Italy. The Italians surged ahead through a penalty corner conversion before extending their lead through a field goal. For India, skipper Ritu Rani scored the lone goal from a penalty corner.
‘India still hasn’t forgiven me’
New Delhi: Reliving one of his most cherished cricketing rivalries during his 14-year-old career, Glenn McGrath said that the Indian fans still haven’t forgiven him for getting Sachin Tendulkar out in the 2003 World Cup final. McGrath drew first blood in that match after getting Tendulkar caught and bowled for 4 in the first over. The 45-year-old player feels the heartbroken Indians still haven’t forgotten the dismissal. “I had some great battles with Sachin. In fact, the Indians still haven’t forgiven me for getting him out in the 2003 World Cup final,” McGrath said in an interaction with ESPNcricinfo. “Sachin hit me for a four in the first over and the next ball, I dug it in short and he served up an easy caught and bowled to me,” he added. Talking about another famous dismissal that also features in Tendulkar’s autobiography ‘Playing It My Way’, McGrath disagrees with the little Masters account of an lBW decision, which was given in favour of the bowler. Tendulkar was given out lBW for a naught when a short ball from McGrath didn’t bounce and hit him on the shoulder while he was ducking during the Adelaide Test in 1999. “I read what he feels about in his book. Sachin is a small guy and I disagree with him because the ball was on the way down and I could see even the bails.”
Serbia vs Brazil in U20 Final
Auckland: Serbia reached its first Under-20 World Cup final as an independent nation after beating 10-man Mali 2-1 after extra time at North Harbour Stadium on Wednesday. The Serbians will meet four-time champion Brazil in the final on Saturday. The winner came with 20 minutes of extra time left, as Milos Veljkovic’s header found Ivan Saponjic, who nodded the ball past Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra. Andrija Zivkovic’s early goal set the tone for an imposing Serbian side, before Youssouf Kone’s equaliser helped Mali regain its confidence.
Bopanna, Paes advance on grass
Halle/london: Fresh from their triumph at Stuttgart Open, the Indo-Romanian tennis pair of Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea entered the men’s doubles quarter-finals of the Gerry Weber Open here. The second seeds defeated Czech-Ukrainian luka Rosol and Sergiy Stakhovsky 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. The winning pair will next face Croatia’s Marin Draganja and Finland’s Henri Kontinen in the quarters. Meanwhile, leander Paes registered a win on his 42nd birthday with Daniel Nestor at Queen’s Club. The Indo-Canadian pair reached the quarter-finals after beating Viktor Troicki and Roberta Bautista Agut 7-6 (3), 3-6, 10-7 in the opening round. They next face the Spanish pair of Marc lopez and Rafael Nadal.
wrestlers brawl in the middle
Baku (Azerbaijan): Two wrestlers threw away their medal chances at the European Games on Wednesday when their bout degenerated into punches and a head-butt. As Georgia’s Vladimer Khinchegashvili and Belarusian Vladislav Andreev faced off in their men’s 57-kilogram freestyle semifinal, tempers became heated shortly after the mid-match break, and both swung punches. As the referee moved in, Khinchegashvili head-butted Andreev, who did not appear badly hurt. Both were disqualified, and a new semifinal held between their defeated quarterfinal opponents.
stan falters, federer advances
london: French Open champion Stan Wawrinka’s eight-match winning streak ended at Queen’s Club on Wednesday when Kevin Anderson edged him 7-6 (4), 7-6 (11). It was the South African’s fourth successive win over Wawrinka. Seventh-seeded Gilles Simon of France resisted early pressure in each set to defeat Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia 6-4, 6-2. In Halle, Top-seeded Roger Federer moved closer to a record eighth title at the Gerry Weber Open by beating Ernests Gulbis 6-3, 7-5 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals. Third-seeded Tomas Berdych eased past teenager Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2, while Florian Mayer beat Steve Johnson 6-5, 7-6 (4) and will play Federer in the quarters. Eighth-seeded Ivo Karlovic fired 21 aces to beat wild card Alexander Zverev 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3. In Birmingham on WTA Tour, Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic departed from the Aegon Classic singles draw on Wednesday.