HC SETS ASIDE PATEl’S ElECTION AS AIFF PREZ
new delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday set aside the election of Praful Patel, who was last year elected as the president of All India Football Federation (AIFF) for a four-year term, his third successive tenure. The court set aside the elections saying they were held without following the National Sports Code. It also directed that fresh elections be conducted within a period of five months. A bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and Najmi Waziri also appointed former chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi as an administrator to look into the functioning of the AIFF. The court's order came on a plea by advocate Rahul Mehra contending that the elections of the federation were held contrary to the National Sports Code.
INDIAN WOMEN TOP GROUP
Kakamigahara (Japan): The Indian women's hockey team recorded its third successive win in the Asia Cup, beating Malaysia 2-0 in the final pool game here on Tuesday. India go into the quarterfinals as table toppers with nine points. The late goals by Vandana Katariya (54th minute) and Gurjit Kaur (55) saw the team through against Malaysia. In the previous match, India scored a 4-1 win over higher-ranked China. India held their nerve to turn the match around in the fourth quarter. First it was forward Katariya who scored a sensational field goal in the 54th minute. The following minute saw drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur convert a PC, taking India's lead to 2-0 that put pressure on the Malaysians. Malaysia made desperate attempts in the dying minutes of the match but the Indian defence held sway to emerge victorious.
BUOYANT DElHI TO COME HARD AGAINST UP
new delhi: An upbeat Delhi will fancy back-to-back wins in the Ranji Trophy when they take on a struggling Uttar Pradesh in a Group A game here on Wednesday. The match, originally scheduled to be played at the Kotla, will now be staged at the Palam Grounds as the Indian team faces New Zealand in the opening T20 at Delhi's only international ground on Wednesday. The morale of the Ishant Sharma-led Delhi is on a high after the big win over Railways, giving them enough confidence and belief that they can steamroll Uttar Pradesh. The visiting team, led by India discard Suresh Raina, has suffered a disastrous start to their Ranji campaign, losing against Railways and Maharashtra while another game against Hyderabad had to be abandoned without a ball being bowled. Raina the batsman too has had a tough time with scores of 0, 5, 6, 29 in the four innings he has played so far.