PBl from Jan 1-14
Mumbai: Season 2 of the Premier Badminton league (PBl) has been scheduled to be held from January 1-14, 2017 with Hyderabad hosting the opening games and Delhi the finale.Matches on the first two days of the event, that features six franchise teams, would be organised in Hyderabad while the two semi-finals and final are to be played in the capital, as per the official website of PBl, organised by the Badminton Association of India.Hyderabad will take on Chennai in the opening round- robin encounter while it would be Hyderabad against hosts Delhi on January 12 to conclude the preliminary phase.
Sarita turns professional
New Delhi: In a first for women's boxing in India, former world champion and Asian Games bronze-medallist l Sarita Devi has decided to turn professional but will not give up on the amateur circuit either if the Boxing Federation of India allows her. The 31-year-old multiple-time Asian champion decided to take the plunge by signing up a two-year deal with the commercial partners of Indian Boxing Council (IBC) -- a licensing body for professional boxers in the country -- Sporty Boxing Private limited. Sarita had to endure a year-long ban after she protested her loss by breaking down on the podium and refusing to accept her medal. If all goes well, Sarita could be making her debut on January 19 next year against a yet-to-be-named foreign opponent..
Advani puzzled at sports excellence
Pune: Pankaj Advani, who has won a total of 16 world titles across different formats of cue sports, on Monday wondered whether Indians, in general, really understood the concept of excellence in sports. "I don't understand the perception of sports in India. We talk only about (performance at) the Olympics. But we also have to look at consistency and people who are continuously bringing glory to the country," said Advani at a media conference here on Monday."We talk about sports (other than cricket) only once in four years and only when there is a quadrennial event. What happens in the other three and a half yearsIJ People just forget everyone and things are to back to normal," said Advani who recently won the World Billiards 150-up format title in his home city of Bengaluru. Of course cricket is there - it's the no 1 sport and I have nothing against it. In fact other federations need to take a leaf out of BCCI on how to run a sport, but I don't understand the way we perceive sport in India, "advani added..
Murray wins 3rd BBC award
london: Andy Murray was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for a record third time despite his wife telling him she was voting for one of his rivals. Murray capped a memorable year in which he claimed his second Wimbledon and Olympic titles.