HI asked to be sole governing body
New Delhi: In massive fillip to Hockey India, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has requested the IOA to recognise HI as the sole governing body for the sport in the country by removing all reference to the erstwhile IHF. “In continuation to the decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) based out of lausanne, Switzerland, on 17th September 2015, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has now formally written a letter to the Indian Olympic Association, requesting them to remove all reference of the Indian Hockey Federation(IHF) from their records and website,” the FIH said in a statement. FIH had approved HI during its Congress in November last year as the National Association of India. This decision was later appealed by the Indian Hockey Federation in CAS, which reinstated HI as the official governing body for the sport of hockey in India. Hockey India came into existence in the year 2009.
Good day for Indian golfers
Hong Kong: It was a good day for the Indian golfers as both Anirban lahiri and Jeev Milkha Singh struck a purple patch on the back nine and moved into contention at the UBS Hong Kong Open here on Saturday. lahiri was sole third at 11-under and four shots behind Justin Rose (64) and lucas Bjerregaard (63), who were at 15-under. Jeev moved to 10-under in tied fourth alongside Mathew Fitzpatrick (66). lahiri, who was even par for the front nine, had five birdies on the return journey, while Jeev, who was one-over on front nine racked up six birdies as both finished at five-under 65. Other Indians in fray — Gaganjeet Bhullar moved into his best position for more than a year as he shot 67 and was eight-under in tied ninth place, SSP Chawrasia (71) was tied 35th and Jyoti Randhawa (68) was tied 44th.
Saketh loses singles, wins doubles title
Bengaluru: Saketh Myneni lost a hard-fought singles semifinal but combined with compatriot Sanam Singh to lift the doubles trophy at the Air ATP Asia Open, here on Saturday. Myneni lost the last-four clash 4-6, 4-6 to top seed Spaniard Adrian Menendez-Maceiras. However with Sanam he won the doubles title with 5-7, 6-4, 10-2 win over wild card entrants John Paul Fruttero and Vijay Sundar Prashanth. In the other singles semifinal, second seed James Ward of Great Britain rallied from a set deficit to quell the challenge of unseeded American Daniel Nguyen 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to romp into singles final. In doubles final, second seeds Saketh and Sanam lost the first set. However, Saketh and Sanam raised their game in next set to win the set 6-4 to level the match. The second seeds kept the nerve in super-tie-breaker to win the final.
West Ham defeat 10-man Chelsea
lONDON: Andy Carroll nodded in a late winner at Upton Park as West Ham continued its best ever start to a Premier league season by beating 10-man Chelsea 2-1 on Saturday. The substitute striker leapt above the Chelsea defense to head Aaron Cresswell’s pinpoint cross past goalkeeper Asmir Begovic in the 79th minute. Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic was sent off for a second yellow card for hauling down striker Diafra Sakho in the 44th minute. Manager Jose Mourinho failed to reappear on the touchline in the second half, sent to the stands for reportedly confronting the referee at halftime. Argentinian striker Mauro Zarate opened the scoring with a low shot in the 17th minute, while Gary Cahill equalised for Chelsea in the second half.