Djoker, Fedex drawn for SF clash
london: Defending champion Novak Djokovic and seven-time winner Roger Federer were on Friday drawn to meet in the semi-finals of this year’s Wimbledon which starts on Monday. World number one Djokovic, who is bidding to take another step closer to the first calendar Grand Slam since 1969, has defeated Federer in the last two finals at the All England Club. Federer, seeded three but enduring an injury-hit season, starts against Argentina’s Guido Pella, ranked 51 in the world. The 29-year-old Serb begins his Wimbledon campaign against British wild card James Ward. Defending women’s champion Serena Williams, chasing a seventh Wimbledon title to equal Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 majors, was drawn to face Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the last-four.
Vikas and Manoj settle for bronze
Baku: Already through to the Olympics, Indian boxers Vikas Krishan (75kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) on Friday had to be content with bronze medals in the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) World Qualifying Tournament here. While Vikas was declared medically unfit and had to concede his bout against Turkmenistan’s Achilov Arslanbek, Manoj lost 0-3 to reigning European champion Pat McCormack of Britain. Vikas sustained the cut Thursday night during his quarterfinal contest against Korea’s lee Dongyun. The Indian triumphed 3-0 to make the semifinal and assure himself of an Olympic quota berth. However, he had stitches on his forehead, which forced him out of Friday’s semifinal clash.
junior men’s hockey team announced
New Delhi: With an aim to gain experience and prepare for the Junior World Cup in lucknow later this year, an 18-member Indian squad led by defender Dipsan Tirkey is all set to take part in next month’s EurAsia Cup in Russia and a six-match tour of England. The same team will then travel to England to take on the England and Scotland teams in six matches from July 22 to August 1. Besides captain Tirkey, the Indian junior team includes talents like Santa Singh, Parvinder Singh and drag flicker Varun Kumar.
3 Indians register for AIBA Oly qualifiers
New Delhi: Three Indians, including WBC Asian title-holder Neeraj Goyat, have registered for the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) Olympic Qualifying tournament for professional boxers scheduled to be held in Venezuela from July 3 to 8. Neeraj will compete in the welterweight 69kg division as no Indian boxer has qualified in this category. Gaurav Bidhuri (52kg) and Dilbag Singh (81kg) have also thrown their hats in the fray. While Bidhuri will definitely get to compete in the Venezuela tournament as his weight division does not have any Olympic qualified boxer from India, Dilbag’s participation will hinge on the fortunes of Sumit Sangwan (81kg) in the ongoing AIBA World Qualifiers in Baku, Azerbaijan. Agencies