F1: Bad starts haunt Mercedes
Budapest: Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff set off for Formula One’s European summer break determined to see his outfit solve the start-line problems that threaten to undermine their domination of the Formula One world championship. After seeing championship leader Briton lewis Hamilton and his team-mate German Nico Rosberg beaten off the grid for the second race in succession in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the Austrian boss knows they are under pressure. “We got jumped by two Williams’ last time and jumped by the two Ferraris this time,” he said, referring to the British Grand Prix and Sunday’s contest at the Hungaroring won by four-time champion German Sebastian Vettel for Ferrari. “This is what triggered the whole mess for our race and then the lap one incident came... We need to get on top of the situation. It is not acceptable and it needs to be analysed why it happened. It is many various reasons, it is not one particular one. If you look at it, not good.”
India open account at Special Olys
los Angeles: India bagged their first medal as Delhi boy Yash Singh ascended the victory stand to receive a bronze in Aquatics at the Special Olympics World Games here. The 13-year-old athlete tried hard to contain himself, holding up his hands in celebration on receiving the medal in his first ever international event, and that too of such magnitude. Yash won a bronze in 25 meters backstroke in Aquatics, having clocked 19.23 seconds, the first position Athlete being at 16.85 and the second at 19.13. Yash’s achievement completely challenges a condition of mild Autism that he was diagnosed with at birth.
Djokovic equals Nadal
Madrid: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic held on to the World No.1 spot with 13,845 points in the latest rankings released on Monday. Djokovic has thus matched the achievement of Spain’s Rafael Nadal of topping the rankings for 56 weeks in a row. The Serb’s next target will be John McEnroe’s record of topping the charts for 58 consecutive weeks, reports Efe. The rankings remained unchanged this week as Swiss Roger Federer held on to second place, followed by Scotland’s Andy Murray. Nadal remained in 10th place.
The Top-10: 1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 13,845 points; 2. Roger Federer (Switzerland) 9,665; 3. Andy Murray (Scotland) 7,840; 4. Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) 5,790; 5. Kei Nishikori (Japan) 5,525; 6. Tomas Berdych (Czech) 5,140; 7. David Ferrer (Spain) 4,325; 8. Milos Raonic (Canada) 3,810; 9. Marin Cilic (Croatia) 3,495; 10. Rafael Nadal (Spain) 3,000.
120 to take part in 7th Dakshin Dare
Bangalore: The seventh edition of Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare rally will be flagged off from here on August 2 in the presence of 120 participants. Starting from Bangalore, the five-leg rally will traverse through the scenic terrains of Shimoga, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Bellary and Mangalore before ending in Hyderabad on August 7, covering a total distance of 2000 km. The tarmac and uneven rocky paths along the route will make the job more arduous, especially with the occasional monsoon showers. A day before the flag off will be committed to a scrutiny check of all participating vehicles along with a doctor’s briefing. Talking about the journey, Vinay Pant, Maruti Suzuki General Manager - Marketing, said: “I believe each year brings with itself a bunch of surprises and novel achievements, especially with the kind of zest motorsport enthusiasts have in them. After the success of rallies like Raid-de-Himalaya in the North and Desert Storm in the West, we realised that the Southern region of the country possesses exceptionally challenging routes and natural beauty that should be touched upon as well.”
‘Will never dishonour yellow jersey’
Paris: Tour de France winner Chris Froome says he will never dishonour the yellow jersey after winning the coveted cycle race for the second time. The Briton held his nerve and clinched the trophy while battling abuse from spectators over accusations of doping throughout the race which ended on Sunday. His performance was even termed as abnormal by a French physiologist. “The yellow jersey is very special. I will always respect it and never dishonour it,” Froome was quoted as saying by BBC after the win on Sunday. In a close contest, the 30-year-old defeated Colombian Nairo Quintana to the title by 72 seconds. It proved to be the second closest finish in the race’s history since Carlos Sastre beat Cadel Evans by 58 seconds in 2008. Froome also became the first rider since Eddy Merckx in 1970 to clinch both the mountain classification and overall race in the same year.