‘Paes' pull-out big blow'
Palembang: leander Paes' last-minute withdrawal from the Asian Games has come as a blow to India's medal prospects in the two doubles events, captain and coach Zeeshan Ali said on Friday. Ali said he tried his best to convince Paes to change his mind but the 18-time Grand Slam champion decided against coming to Palembang after expressing his disappointment over selectors not picking a doubles specialist to play with him. "It is obviously very disappointing to not to have leander. It is a big blow to us. But then again he is a complete professional. It is his decision completely and his patriotism for the country cannot be questioned," Ali said.
‘Ready after overcoming fever’
New delhi: Her build-up to the Asiad was affected by a bout of fever but India's star recurve archer, Deepika Kumari, is now getting ready to get past the 2014 Incheon edition, in Jakarta. They had returned empty-handed from the Korean city four years ago. Down with fever for five days, the CWG twin Gold medallist's departure was delayed, with the archery contingent leaving on August 14. "There's still weakness and I'm on multi-vitamins. But I'm confident of a good show," Deepika said ahead of her departure to the Games. The fever hampered her practice but Deepika is buoyed by a World Cup Gold win in June this year — her first individual World Cup Gold since 2012.
Javelin thrower, runner dropped
New delhi: Javelin thrower Annu Rani and 1500m runner Monika Chaudhary were dropped from the Asian Games squad after their performance in the confirmatory trials were found to be unsatisfactory by the selection committee, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said. The selection committee, which met under the chairmanship of Olympian GS Randhawa at AFI office here on Friday, also asked shot putter Naveen Chikara to attempt one more trial on Monday.
Basketball, handball teams lose
Jakarta: Indian women's basketball team opened its Asiad campaign with a 61-79 loss to Kazakhstan in Friday’s Group A preliminary round. The Indians were outclassed in the first two quarters before they tried to make a comeback with a 21-22 score in the 3rd quarter but Kazakhstan beat them 20-15 in the fourth quarter. They will face Chinese Taipei on Sunday, before taking on Unified Korea and Indonesia on August 20 and August 23 respectively in the basketball 5x5 preliminary group A matches. In handball, the Indian men's team also went down 29-40 to Iraq in a Group D preliminary match.