Ronaldo, Benzema to miss preseason games
Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema will miss two preseason matches with Real Madrid after picking up injuries during training. Madrid says Ronaldo hurt his back during training on Monday, while Benzema pulled a muscle in his right thigh. Madrid left both stars off its squad for the Audi Cup, a small preseason soccer tournament played in Munich on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Audi Cup also includes host Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Tottenham. Madrid opens the Spanish league season on August 23 at Sporting Gijon.
Rathnakaran shocks Zhong Zhang
Al Ain (UAE): International Master K Rathnakaran caused a major upset, defeating seventh seed Grandmaster Zhong Zhang of Singapore in the first round of Asian Continental chess championship here. Rathnakaran turned the tables on the former Chinese after staring at a defeat for the major part of the game. This victory might be the launch pad for what would be Rathnakaran’s final Grandmaster norm. Grandmaster Koneru Humpy suffered a reversal in the opener as she went down to Asyl Abdyjapar of Kyrgyzstan in a game that the world number three woman player could have saved. The Capablanca variation in the Nimzo Indian defense game gave Humpy equal chances in the middle game but she missed the thread and landed in a lost endgame after giving away a couple of pawns. Humpy and Harika are the two woman players taking part in the open section instead of women’s category.
Kolkata local league gets title sponsor
Kolkata: The Indian Football Association (West Bengal) today announced a four-year deal with Allied Blenders and Distillers Pvt ltd on the eve of the Calcutta Football league Premier Division. Officer’s Choice Blue will be the title sponsor of the event. Aryan Club will face BNR at the AJ Krirangan, Gayeshpur, while Southern Samity will take on Police AC at the Barasat Stadium to kick off the tournament, in which 55 matches will be played, of which 33 will be telecast live. Reigning champions East Bengal will open their title defence against Tollygunge Agragami on August 8, the venue for which is still to be decided.
Isner wins Atlanta Open
Atlanta: John Isner won the Atlanta Open for the third straight year, beating Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday at Atlantic Station. The top-seeded former University of Georgia star has reached the finals in Atlanta in five of the past six years and is 20-3 in the event. He has 10 ATP Tour titles. Even his dog, an English Cocker Spaniel named Magill (after Georgia’s former sports information director and tennis coach, Dan Magill), was in Atlanta. His parents brought the dog to Atlanta from their home in Greensboro, North Carolina. “I love this tournament. It’s obvious,” Isner said. “(Magill) is a good size to travel with, a little too big to fly. He’s awesome, my best friend. He puts me at ease.” Isner beat an injured player. The fifth-seeded Baghdatis began struggling physically early with a bothersome groin muscle/tendon that first flared up more than a month ago.
Bat boy, 9, dies after hit in head
Wichita (US): A 9-year-old bat boy has died after he was accidentally hit in the head during a lower tier National Baseball Congress World Series game in Kansas. The Wichita Eagle says that the general manager of the liberal Bee Jays team, Mike Carlile, confirmed on Sunday the death of Kaiser Carlile. The boy was struck by a follow-through swing near the on-deck circle on Saturday afternoon. A spokesman for the National Baseball Congress says the child was wearing a helmet, which is mandatory. Home-plate umpire Mark Goldfeder, who is a longtime paramedic, treated the boy until an ambulance arrived. The team played a game on Sunday, winning 8-0. The National Baseball Congress is made up of amateur and semi-professional teams.
Dipa bags Asian Gymnastics bronze
Hiroshima: Ace Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar clinched the women’s vault bronze medal at the 6th Senior ART Gymnastics Asian Championships here on Monday. Chinese Yan Wang defended her title with 14.988 points followed by Japanese Sae Miyakawa with 14.812 points. Dipa, who won a bronze in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, stood third at the podium with 14.725 points. “#DipaKarmakar won #bronze n opened #India’s medal tally at d #AsianGymnastics Championship, #Japan #SAI Way 2 go!!” Sports Authority of India tweeted.
Aus Open slashes final ticket prices
Melbourne: Australian Open organisers announced on Monday they have slashed ticket prices of the 2016 women’s singles final by 32 percent in response to fan feedback after this year’s tennis tournament. The decision was announced by Tennis Australia (TA) commercial director Richard Heaselgrave with the cheapest seat to see the women’s final now costing $70, less than the 2015 equivalent, reports Xinhua. Fans who felt they were short-changed attending the women’s decider will now pay as little as $142 to attend the 2016 final, down from $212.
Sandeep, Arvind take early leads
Chitradurga (Karnataka): Defending champion Sandeep Sharma (co-driver Karan Arya) of Team Maruti was on top in the four-wheelers (Ultimate Car) category, while TVS' Arvind K.P. led the chart in the two-wheelers (Ultimate Bike) competition on the first day of the seventh edition of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare Rally here on Monday. Sandeep, driving a Gypsy, completed the two legs — Windfarm and Alpha — in one hour, 33 minutes and 49 seconds. Samrat Yadav (co-driver Gaurav) of PVT team came second as the Gypsy driver completed a total distance of 75 km in an hour, 36 and 55 seconds. PVT's Harpreet Singh Bawa (co-driver Parminder Thakur) a third following his effort in one hour, 39 minutes and 14 seconds.
Ronaldo gifts agent Greek island
Porto: Real Madrid football star Cristiano Ronaldo gifted his agent Jorge Mendes a Greek island on the latter’s wedding here. Mendes got married to Sandra on Sunday, with Ronaldo trumping everyone else in attendance by buying the newly wed couple an extraordinary wedding present. According to Portuguese news source Move Noticia, the Real Madrid superstar gave his agent an entire Greek island.
Djokovic, Serena remain on top
Madrid: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic maintained his place at No.1 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) men’s singles rankings released on Monday with 13,845 points. Spain’s Rafael Nadal advanced to ninth after winning the Hamburg Open on Sunday over Italy’s Fabio Fognini, reports Efe. American tennis player Serena Williams held on to the lead in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings released with 12,721 points. The rankings were unchanged this week as Russia’s Maria Sharapova retained her second place followed by Romania’s Simona Halep.
288 schools in Stairs Football league
New Delhi: The Second season of STAIRS student football league (SSFl 2), India’s biggest school level football league organized by NGO STAIRS, has kick started with 1000 schools registering for the event. Out of this, 288 schools have been able to make the cut by getting selected for the league. STAIRS student football league 2 in its bigger and better avatar will see the participation of around 10,000 school children from areas of Delhi-NCR.