Obama will not attend Ali's funeral
WASHINGTON: The White House has said President Barack Obama will not attend Muhammad Ali's funeral, which coincides with his oldest daughter's graduation. “They will be attending Malia's high school graduation ceremony in Washington, DC,” said spokeswoman Jen Friedman. Instead, a close aide “will read a letter from the president and the first lady as part of Friday's service in louisville.”
Tiger Woods to skip US Open at Oakmont
OAKMONT: For the third time in the past six years, the US Open will go on without three-time champion Tiger Woods. Woods said on his website Tuesday that he is not ready for tournament competition and will skip the US Open next week at Oakmont, along with his Quicken loans National the following week at Congressional. “While I continue to work hard on getting healthy, I am not physically ready to play in this year's US Open and the Quicken loans National,” he said.
Federer to face fearless Fritz
STUTTGART: Teenager Taylor Fritz earned the chance to face his hero Roger Federer after the American defeated an unranked French qualifier on Tuesday to reach the second round in Stuttgart. Federer will be playing his first match in nearly a month after recovering from back pain and skipping the French Open, as he ramps up his preparations for Wimbledon. Number 65 Fritz has had time on court with the Swiss legend — a Wimbledon training session a year ago — but booked his place into the match of his life with a 3-6 7-6 (8/6) 6-1 win over Fabrice Martin on the grass at the Weissenhof Club.
Politics at play again at HPCAIJ
NEW DElHI: Politics can take centrestage in Himachal cricket yet again with HPCA, led by BJP MP and BCCI boss Anurag Thakur, asking the Congress-run state government for land to set up the National Cricket Academy. HPCA on Wednesday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, reiterating its request for land not less than 50,000 square metres required for the big project. “Most humbly I am to refer to my letter dated 18th August 2015 relating to the subject (land for NCA). In this context, I am to state that the reply of the state government is awaited and we once again request you to kindly take an early decision in the matter so the opportunity does not fizzle out from the state,” HPCA secretary Vishal Marwaha wrote in his letter to the Chief Minister.
Özil announced as laureus Ambassador
stuttgart: Just days before the start of the European Championship, Germany and Arsenal's star midfielder Mesut Özil was on Wednesday announced as laureus Sport for Good Ambassador. Özil took time out of his preparations to inspire young people from the laureus-supported KICKFORMORE project here. The successful German star took part in the football activities with the young people, playing by the particular rules of KICKFAIR street football. At KICKFORMORE, two mixed teams of four players play in short matches, without a referee. Both teams agree on three individual rules before the match. Afterwards, both teams jointly evaluate whether all players have played by the rules and fairness points are awarded and added to the final score. Özil said, “There are children here from several different cultural backgrounds, but it's obvious that they are all united among nations and that it works out well. Most importantly, they are very respectful with each other, which is very much the same like in the German National team.”
Financial aid for Heena increased to Rs1 crore
new delhi: In a huge boost for Heena Sidhu, the Sports Ministry on Wednesday increased the financial aid for the Rio Olympics-bound ace pistol shooter from Rs75 lakh to Rs1 crore under the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme for her training till the showpiece event. Heena secured an Olympic quota for the country in January when she led from start to finish and claimed the gold medal in women's 10-m air pistol at the Asia Olympic Qualifiers for Shooting. Besides raising the amount of her financial assistance, the ministry has also approved the release of 90 per cent of total estimated cost for the former world number one's training, which is scheduled from June to August. “Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved the enhancement of budget for Heena Sidhu from Rs75 lakh to Rs1crore under TOP Scheme for training and other support till Olympics 2016,” the sports ministry said in a statement.
Teenager Visakh upsets GM Farrukh
mumbai: Teenager Visakh N R shocked Tajikistan Grandmaster Farrukh Amonatov to join Indian compatriot GM Diptayan Ghosh at the top of the leader board at the end of the 9th round of the Mumbai Mayor International Open Chess Tournament on Wednesday.