Rio de Janeiro wins race to host 2016 Olympic Games

Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympics after winning a landslide victory over Madrid in the final round of voting among International Olympic Committee members on Friday.

Carlos Osorio, general secretary of the Brazilian bid, told a news agency: "Overwhelming, spectacular, unbelievable."

The Brazilian delegation broke into singing their "Marvellous City" song, all waving flags and hugging each other.

The announcement, which was delayed by several nervous seconds as IOC president Jacques Rogge struggled to open the envelope, left Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and much of the rest of the Brazil bid team in tears of joy. "Like in every competition there can only be one winner," Rogge said.

"Tonight I have the honour to announce that the Games of the 31st Olympiad are awarded to the city of Rio de Janeiro," Rogge said.

In the final round of voting, Rio polled 66 votes to 32 for Madrid.

Carlos Nuzman, Rio bid leader, hugged President Lula, both in tears and said: "We did it, we did it."

Former tennis champion Gustavo Kuerten, a bid ambassador, said: "This is an amazing result. We are going to be working from Saturday to make it happen. Brazil will do the best it can from this great opportunity."

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a news agency: "Rio was a great candidate. We put up a great fight."

In an astonishing start to the voting, Chicago, the odds-on favourite, went out in the first round, despite receiving unprecedented support from United States President Barack Obama and the first lady.

Obama had become the first sitting U.S. president to address an IOC session.

Tokyo followed them out in the second round, leaving Madrid and Rio to slug it out in the final round.

Rio will be the first South American city to host the Games.

Federer makes Grand Slam history with epic triumph

LONDON, July 5: Roger Federer won his record 15th Grand Slam title Sunday, outlasting Andy Roddick for his sixth Wimbledon championship in a marathon match that went to 16-14 in the fifth set.

Federer served a career-high 50 aces and overcame the resilient American 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 to break the record of major titles he shared with Pete Sampras and enhance his reputation as perhaps the greatest player in history.

The match finally ended after more than four hours when Federer broke for the first time all day, with Roddick hitting an errant forehand.

Federer jumped high in celebration, punched the air and whacked the net with his racket. Roddick tossed his racket to the side and the two men shared a hug at the net. Federer held up the trophy, kissed it and brought it close to his chest.

Watching from the front row of the Royal Box was Sampras, a seven-time Wimbledon champion who flew in from California, his first appearance at the All England Club since playing on this court for the last time in 2002. Also on hand were Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver.

"It's not really one of those goals you set as a little boy, but man, it's been quite a career and quite a month," Federer said. "It feels amazing, but this is not why I'm playing tennis to break all sort of different records. But it's definitely one of the greatest ones to have."

Turning to Sampras, Federer said: "Thanks very much for coming. I know it's a long way, but you're a member, man, we like to see you here. It's such a pleasure to play in front of such greats legends."

Roddick said: "Sorry, Pete, I tried to hold him off."

Federer also reclaimed the No. 1 ranking he lost last year to Rafael Nadal, the man who beat him in the epic 2008 final but missed this year's tournament because of knee problems.

Federer is the third player to win six Wimbledon championships — Sampras and William Renshaw each won seven.

This was the longest men's Grand Slam final in history at 77 games — breaking the previous record of 71 from 1927 in Australia. It was also the longest fifth set in a men's Grand Slam final in history, surpassing the 20 games from 1927 in France.

"It was a crazy match with an unbelievable end and my head's still spinning," Federer said. "But it's an unbelievable moment in my career."

Pakistan lifts Twenty20 World Cup

LONDON, June 22: An outcast in international cricket, Pakistan were crowned the Twenty20 World Cup champions after they spanked continental rivals Sri Lanka by eight wickets in a lop-sided final here on Sunday night.

Younus Khan and his men gave their terror-stricken countrymen something to cheer about as they first confined Sri Lanka to 138 for six and then went on to chase down the target in 18.4 overs to put behind the heartbreak of losing the crown to arch-rivals India in the 2007 edition of the tournament.

Chasing 139, Pakistan got off to a flying start with Kamran Akmal (37 off 28 balls) taking the Lankan attack by the scruff of its neck and then Shahid Afridi (54 not out) went ballistic as the side cruised to 139 for two.

This was a memorable win for a nation which has been shunned by the visiting teams because of the volatile security situation there, resulting in their virtual isolation in international cricket.

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara (64 not out) played a captain's knock and added 68 invaluable runs with Angelo Mathews (35 not out) to put on board a competitive 138 for six wickets after his decision to bat first on Lord's lively track had boomeranged.

Sangakkara's knock came after comeback Pakistani pacer Abdul Razzaq (3/20) had mowed the Lankan top order, leaving them reeling at 26 for four inside four overs and then gasping for breath at 70 for six inside 13 overs.

Saina becomes first Indian to win Super Series

Ace woman shuttler Saina Nehwal scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after she clinched the Indonesian Open with a stunning victory over higher ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta

Saina clinched her maiden Super Series title on Saturday beating Wang 12-21 21-18 21-9 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller that lasted 49 minutes.

Her triumph is the best ever performance by any Indian woman and at par with All England Championship titles won by Prakash Padukone and her current coach Pullela Gopichand.

In the thrilling final, world number eight Saina came from behind to outsmart world number three Wang and avenge her last week's Singapore Open Super Series loss to the same rival.

Saina took time to get into the groove as she struggled to gauge the gameplan of Wang in the first game. Wang opened a 4-9 lead and rode on her smashes and better net play o pocket the first game as Saina was left to do the catchup act.

But the Indian ace rallied her way back in the second game. Saina levelled the score at 5-5 and then moved together with her Chinese rival till 17-17 before surging ahead to pocket the second game 21-18.

India crashes out of ICC World Twenty20

LONDON, June 14: India is out of the ICC World Twenty20. Hustled by the short-pitched - fuller length routine of the English pacemen and undone by off-spinner Graeme Swann's drift and spin, the defending champion went down by three runs at a packed Lord's on Friday.

Actually, the contest was not as close as the final margin suggests. England, which displayed greater passion and intensity, always had its nose in front.

India has been defeated in its first two matches in the Group `E' of the Super Eight. England gave a lifeline to its semifinal hopes with a famous victory.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (30 not out off 20) was unable to unleash the booming blows when India, chasing 154, required fours and sixes after losing too much ground in the early and middle overs. Yusuf Pathan (33 not out off 17), cleared the ropes twice, but did not quite deliver a big hit in the vital 19th over. Stuart Broad made ahash of a run-out opportunity to dismiss Yusuf but conceded only nine runs without giving away a boundary. The paceman mixed his length well in a stressful situation.

Left-arm paceman Ryan Sidebottom - adjudged Man of the Match - sent down the final over even as India required 19 runs. His yorkers and fuller length balls, on and around the off-stump and angling away, were precise. The two heavy-hitting right-handers managed just four from the first three balls. Yusuf struck an one-handed six off the fourth but could get no more than a single from the fifth. India needed eight off the final ball. Despite a leg-side heave to the boundary by Dhoni, it was England which celebrated.

Not much went right for India. The young Ravinda Jadeja (25 off 35), unwisely sent at No. 4, struggled to force the pace while India's prime batsman in this format, Yuvraj Singh, watched the proceedings from the dugout.Finally, walking into the cauldron in the 11th over, the in-form Yuvraj dismissed the first delivery he faced - from Dimitri Mascerenhas - over the long-on fence.

He soon lofted Swann, with a lovely swing of the willow, down the ground for the maximum. With the asking rate hovering around ten, Yuvraj had to go for broke. Swann drew the left-hander forward with flight and spin - Yuvrajoverbalanced as he stretched - and 'keeper James Foster removed the bails in a flash. The writing was on the wall for India in the 14th over.

Earlier, the English pacemen made the Indian batsmen smell leather with some steamy short-pitched bowling. Rohit Sharma played on attempting a pull off a delivery not quite short for the stroke. Earlier in the over, Sidebottom had got a delivery to climb sharply from just outside the off-stump to set up the dismissal.

Suresh Raina did not appear comfortable. He played and missed as the lively Sidebottom switched his line to the left-hander. Raina's attempted hook off a well-directed short ball from Sidebottom was splendidly held by Luke Wright running in from deep square-leg. India lost ground in the Power Play overs. Broad hit the deck hard and extracted lift. It was an evening when England executed its plans well; even Luke Wright was bouncing theball at the Indian batsmen.

And when Mascarenhas took the pace off the ball - on the leg-stump - the free-stroking Gambhir's (26 off 26 balls) attempted glide was held by a specifically stationed short-fine leg. By now the innings had entered the 11th over and the score was only 63. India, having a mountain to climb, slipped. England was a deserving winner.

Deccan wins IPL II title

JOHANNESBURG, May 24: Adam Gilchrist and his never-say-die Deccan Chargers teammates defeated Bangalore Royal Challengers by six runs in a humdinger to be crowned the second Indian Premier League champions in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Chasing a modest 144 for win, Bangalore rode on cameos from Roelof van der Merwe (32) and Ross Taylor (27) to come near the mark but eventually halted at 137 for nine in the final match.

Put into bat, the Chargers had earlier found their nemesis in Anil Kumble (4/16) and it took Herschelle Gibbs' unbeaten 48-ball 53 and Andrew Symonds' brisk 33 to reach 143 for six.

Despite the defeat, Kumble's was a towering presence. The Bangalore captain won the toss, made the right decisions, struck with the ball whenever the tie threatened to slip through fingers, but still found himself at the wrong end of the contest.

For Bangalore, the target was not huge but they lost Jacques Kallis (16) and the in-form Manish Pandey (4) early to find themselves in a tight spot.

Coming at number three, van der Merwe had a busy time in the middle but even his lusty hits were not enough.

He copped some sledges from Andrew Symonds and ran some crazy runs before hitting Ryan Harris for two sixes in the same over.

Symonds too was hit out of the park before Pragyan Ojha cut short the South African's eventful 21-ball stay.

Meanwhile, a glittering closing ceremony, with dash of glitz and glamour, drew curtains on the second edition of the Indian Premier League razzmatazz.

South Africa President Jacob Zuma thanked the organisers for choosing the country as venue of the Twenty20 league which was shifted out of India after it coincided with the Lok Sabha election.

"I thank the organisers for showing trust in South Africa's ability to host the event in such a short notice. We had to prepare eight stadiums in three weeks' time, besides arranging extra hotel rooms and air tickets," Zuma said.

"I also thank the Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty for coming here," he added.

IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi took the occasion to thank the government and the cricket board here and said IPL II would not have been a success but for their cooperation.

In his message to the Indian fans, Modi said, "I promise you all that we would return to India bigger and better." Modi's speech was followed by a light and sound show after which R&B sensation Akon took the centre stage to entertain the crowd, starting with his 'Smack That' number.

Gilchrist powers Deccan Chargers into final

CENTURION, May 22: A blistering 85 from skipper Adam Gilchrist propelled last edition's bottom-ranked Deccan Chargers into the final of the Indian Premier League following their six-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in the first semi-final, here on Friday.

Gilchrist hammered 10 fours and five sixes in his 35-ball knock that singlehandedly turned the semi-final into a no contest after Delhi, invited to bat, rode on Tillakaratne Dilshan's half-century to post a fighting 153 for eight.

The Australian wicketkeeper seemed to be in a hurry to finish off the match. He was in a murderous mood, hitting Dirk Nannes for five consecutive boundaries in the very first over and then welcoming Pradeep Sangwan with back to back fours and a huge six over mid-wicket.

Herschelle Gibbs' (0) dismissal had very little effect on him as he brought his 50 off just 17 deliveries, the fastest in the IPL so far, and fifth quickest in Twenty20 cricket.

His innings was finally brought to an end by Amit Mishra after Gilchrist attempted another big one but held out to Nannes at short third-man.

And if Delhi thought getting rid of Gilchrist was the end of all their troubles, they were in for shock as Andrew Symonds (24 off 15 balls) walked in and clobbered Nannes for two successive boundaries.

Tirumalsetti Suman (unbeaten 24) too joined in the party and picked up a couple of fours and by the time Symonds fell to Mishra (3/19), Deccan Chargers were well into the final, which they did with 14 balls to spare.

Earlier, Sri Lankan Dilshan survived two dropped catches and a run out attempt to score 65 off 51 balls and alongwith captain Virender Sehwag (39) and AB de Villiers (26), helped Delhi recover from a terrible start that saw Ryan Harris send openers Gautam Gambhir and David Warner back to the pavilion without a run on the board.

It brought Sehwag and Dilshan together. The duo drove, cut and pulled with effortless ease and at the half-way stage, Delhi had raced to 83.

However, the first over after break accounted for Sehwag.

Symonds trapped the Delhi skipper in front of the wicket for 39. His 31-ball knock included five hits to the fence.

Sehwag's departure put the breaks on Delhi and despite AB de Villiers' 26 off 21 balls, the total seemed a bit short.

And with Gilchirst at his ominous best, no score was safe and Delhi found that out on Friday much to their dismay.

Thrilling national junior tennis finals at Cosmic Academy

Report and Pix by Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, April 17: It was a thrilling and grilling matches at the recently concluded All India Junior Tennis (Talent Series) tournament at the Cosmic Sports Centre here. Shreya Pasricha of Amity International Noida and Sujiv Chopra of G D Goenka won the Under 16 Girls and Boys title respectively and Damini Sharma of Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj and Kepevilie Khate of National Tennis Academy bagged the Under 12 Girls and Boys title respectively.

Sujiv Chopra of G D Goenka school beat Arjun Tomar of Mount Saint Mary’s to win the trophy for Boys Under 16. The thrilling final between Sujiv and Arjun lasted nearly three hours.

The large gathering of people gathered to watch the finals were awed to see the two fighting for each point. Looking at the match between the two one felt that India has abundant talent.

While Niyati Aggarwal of Holychild Auxilium, Vasant Vihar, and Arjun Tomar were Finalists for Girls and Boys Under 16 category, Jahnvi Gupta of Balbharti Pitampura and Mohit Jain Delhi Public School Indirapuram were Finalists for Girls and Boys Under 12 category.

Cosmic Sports Centre, a renowned tennis coaching academy in New Delhi, conducted the All India Junior Tennis (Talent Series) Tournament at its precinct from April 13 to 17 for boys and girls in the age group of under 12 and 16 years. Almost 300 hundred children from different parts of the country took part in the tournament.

Wg Cdr Karan Rai, Managing Director of Cosmic Sports Centre, said that the aim of the tournament was to give children an opportunity to sharpen their skills in match play conditions during the tournament. It was also to help them to develop their game by playing against different opponents and to instill a sense of competitiveness.”

Wg Cdr Karan Rai said “by playing such tournaments children fight for valuable national ranking points which ultimately decide the rankings in their particular age group at the national level.”

There was a lively crowd consisting of parents, friends and supporters watching and applauding their favourite players in action on all days of the tournament.

The tournament was well supported by SETCO Yamaha, Variety Caterers, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) (IFFCO) and Samsoft Solutions.

Cosmic Sports Centre is a sports management concern involved in the promotion of tennis through tennis coaching academies located at various parts of Delhi since its formation in April 1990.

Since its inception, the academy has churned out players of national ranking who have participated in junior events at Wimbledon and the US Open. Cosmic has Mahesh Kumaria as its Chief Coaching Instructor who due to his hard work, zeal and dedication has been a source of great inspiration to the budding youngsters.

Cosmic is being managed and run by its Managing Director, Wg Cdr Karan Rai. Besides being a great player, Wg Cdr Rai is an ex-International Tennis Federation (ITF) qualified umpire. He has umpired three Davis Cup ties between India and Japan, India and Korea and India and Indonesia and numerous International Satellite, Challenger Series tournaments and National Championship finals.

Presently, he is a Council Member of the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) and an active organizing official at all the international events held in Delhi till date.

Tennis Tournament Award pix:

 

Pakistan not to host World Cup matches: ICC

DUBAI, April 17: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday withdrew the 2011 World Cup hosting rights from Pakistan due to uncertain security situation in the strife torn nation.

"It is a regrettable decision (but) our number one priority is to create certainty and deliver a safe, secure and successful event," ICC President David Morgan said in a statement at the end of first day of its two-day Executive Committee meeting in Dubai on Friday.

Pakistan was one of the co-hosts of the quadrennial cricketing event along with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Six Sri Lankan players and an assisting coach were injured and several policemen were killed in a terror attack on cricketers last month.

Earlier, the ICC had also shifted the Champions Trophy out of Pakistan after many teams raised safety concerns in traveling to the country owing to continuing unrest there.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's cricket officials and former players have reacted with disappointment and anger to the International Cricket Council's decision to shift the 2011 World Cup matches away from Pakistan because of security concerns.

Saleem Altaf, the chief operating officer of the Board, said he had just heard about the news but had no details.

"I don't know what has transpired at the ICC meeting in Dubai for this decision to be taken. But it is disappointing as we were keen to host the World Cup matches and were working hard on a security plan to convince the ICC and other countries," he said.

Altaf said he would wait to learn about more details from PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt, who was attending the two-day ICC meeting in Dubai, before making any further comments.

Altaf will be going to Dubai for the Pakistan and Australia series, starting 22nd April.

The shifting of the World Cup matches came just three months after the ICC had also relocated the Champions Trophy from Pakistan on security grounds.

The ICC decision was on the cards after the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on 3rd March which was the final nail in the coffin for Pakistan cricket.

Javed Miandad, a former captain who is serving as director-general (cricket) in the Cricket Board said he was expecting this from the ICC.

"Pakistan cricket is going through bad times and unfortunately the support and understanding we expect from the ICC and other countries is not forthcoming," he said.

Miandad said security situation in many other parts of the world including in other countries of South Asia was not very conducive for sporting events but life had to go on.

"There was still time left for the tournament and Bhe board was willing to do everything to keep the World Cup matches and host them safely," Miandad said.

Former Pakistan captain Rameez Raja said he was shocked at the ICC decision.

"The World Cup is a global event and I don't think the Pakistani people will like this ICC decision. How do you expect the sport to survive in Pakistan when the ICC is isolating Pakistan as a cricketing nation," he said.

Rameez said obviously Pakistan was passing through a painful period because of security issues but there was still time left for the World Cup and the ICC should have shown more concern and understanding for Pakistan cricket.

"This decision will hurt Pakistan cricket no doubt about that. It is a big setback for us," he said.

Pakistan's former captain Moin Khan said he was surprised at the ICC decision.

Tennis awards at Cosmic Academy

By Deepak Arora & Pix By Noyanika Arora

NEW DELHI, Jan 14: On this warm and sunny day of the winter evening, there were beaming faces at the Cosmic Tennis Academy. The parents and friends were present in large numbers to witness the proud moment when their wards would receive awards for successfully competing at the tennis competition held at the Cosmic Tennis Academy.

Wing Cdr (Retd) Karan Rai, Director of the Cosmic Tennis Academy, said we hold the one month long “in-house” tournament every year to initiate the budding students into match playing environment.

This time the tournament was held from December 14, 2008 to January 13, 2009. Over 50 children participated in the tournament.

Wing Cdr Rai informed that the players were segregated into separate groups according to their standard of play. There were 10 groups. The tournament was based on “Round Robin” pattern, where everyone played everyone else. For many trainees this was the first experience to play a match.

Wing Cdr Karan Rai and parents gave away the trophies and certificates to the children. “The idea was to involve everybody into the prize distribution programme.

Later the children and parents celebrated the event over high tea.

The evening was also a proud moment for the Chief Coach Mahesh Kumaria and coaches Amar Singh, Mumtaz, Umesh, Devinder, Bhagchand, Navin, Arun and Tarun as the young players achieved the next level of professional excellence.

Tennis Tournament Award evening pix:

 

Australian open: Safina into fourth round

MELBOURNE, Jan 23: Olympic silver medalist Dinara Safina reached the fourth round for the first time in seven trips to the Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia on Friday.

The 22-year-old Russian, who broke into the top 10 for the first time last year, took 4-1 leads in each set and ousted the 25th-seeded Kanepi in 66 minutes.

Third-seeded Safina is yet to win a Grand Slam singles title, although she reached the final at the French Open last year before losing to Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

She also lost the Olympic gold medal match to fellow Russian Elena Dementieva _ an outcome repeated last week in the Sydney International final.

Fellow Russian Nadia Petrova, seeded 10th, advanced when Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva retired with back pain after losing the first set 6-1.

Safina's older brother, Marat Safin, looms as an obstacle to second-ranked Roger Federer's quest to equal Pete Sampras' 14 Grand Slam singles titles when they meet later Friday.

Safin beat Federer in the semifinals here four years ago before going on to claim the 2005 Australian Open title.

No. 3 Novak Djokovic, who upset Federer in the semifinals last year before winning the title, meets Bosnian-born American Amer Delic later Friday. Delic earned a place in the draw as a lucky loser from qualifying.

In the biggest upset so far at the season's first major, sixth-seeded Venus Williams lost 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday night in the second round to Carla Suarez Navarro, a 20-year-old Spaniard ranked No. 46. It means there will be no Williams vs. Williams showdown in the semifinals.

Second-seeded Serena Williams did her part, advancing 6-3, 7-5 over Argentina's Gisela Dulko 6-3, 7-5.

Venus flops; Nadal, Murray march on

MELBOURNE: Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams was dumped from the Australian Open on Thursday, while Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray barged into the third round. Venus lost the plot against Spain’s unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro, crashing 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 for the upset of the tournament so far and continuing her unhappy association with the event which she has never won.

Her sister Serena lived to fight another day, but she too struggled.

The three-time champion needed to mount a second-set recovery after Gisela Dulko took a 5-2 lead. The American finally woke up to reel off five games in a row to win 6-3, 7-5.

“When you go out on court you have got to expect anything,” said Venus, the sixth seed.

“I’m not surprised at how well she played. I haven’t quite figured out the areas of my game that went wrong, but I have to credit her.”

One-way traffic

In hot and blustery conditions, Nadal crushed Roko Karanusic of Croatia 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 to stay on track for his first hardcourt Grand Slam title. The World No. 1 wrapped up his one-sided match in 97 minutes to set up a clash with 79th-ranked German Tommy Haas.

“He played aggressively, it’s not easy to play against someone who plays inside the court and hits big shots with the forehand,” Nadal said.

“But I feel very comfortable here and I’m very happy with the victory.”

Joining him in the next round was Britain’s fourth seed Murray, who wasted little energy in disposing of Spain’s Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

“I’ve been playing really well for the last six or seven months and it’s probably the best I have felt coming into a Grand Slam,” said the Scot, adding that he was confident he could go “deep” into the tournament.

‘A D-minus’

Serena, who next plays China’s Peng Shuai, acknowledged her performance had not been good, rating it a D-minus.

“Today I was at like a D-minus at best,” she said. “But it’s good that I was able to win, too, when I wasn’t playing my best. I definitely will try to do better.

“She had some opportunities but I never felt like I was going to lose.”

She joins top seed Jelena Jankovic, third seed Dinara Safina and fifth seed Ana Ivanovic in the third round after they all assured their berths on Wednesday.

While Serena is considered the favourite, despite her unconvincing performance, the unassuming Elena Dementieva is in a rich vein of form.

The Russian fourth seed steamrolled over the Czech Republic’s Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-1 for her 12th straight victory this year. She had claimed back-to-back titles in Auckland and Sydney.

Among the men, fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga survived a 195-minute marathon to down Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-7(4), 7-6(8), 7-6(7), 6-2.

Meanwhile, Chilean 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez sped past Argentina’s Guillermo Canas 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, setting up a clash with 24th seed Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

They were joined by sixth seed Gilles Simon, fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils, in-form Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and American James Blake.

The other notable seeded casualty of the day was No. 25 Ivo Karlovic who lost 5-7, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Mario Ancic.

Mixed fortunes

Third-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Mikhail Youzhny and Mischa Zverev. Fourth seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy lost the first set but regrouped in time to get past Yves Allegro and Fabrice Santoro with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win.

However, Sania Mirza finds herself left with only the mixed doubles to make an impression here after she and Vania King suffered a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 reverse to Vera Dushevina and Olga Savchuk.

THE RESULTS

Men: Singles: Second round: 24-Richard Gasquet bt Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; 13-Fernando Gonzalez bt Guillermo Canas 7-5, 6-3, 6-4; 6-Gilles Simon bt Chris Guccione 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-2; 31-Jurgen Melzer bt Andreas Beck 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-3; 17-Nicolas Almagro bt Fabio Fognini 6-2, 7-5, 6-0; 1-Rafael Nadal bt Roko Karanusic 6-2, 6-3, 6-2; 14-Fernando Verdasco bt Arnaud Clement 6-1, 6-1, 6-2; 22-Radek Stepanek bt Michael Berrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-5.

12-Gael Monfils bt Stefan Koubek 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2; Mario Ancic bt 25-Ivo Karlovic 5-7, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; 5-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt Ivan Ljubicic 6-7(4), 7-6(8), 7-6(7), 6-2; 9-James Blake bt Sebastien de Chaunac 6-3, 6-2, 6-3; 4-Andy Murray bt Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

Women: Singles: Second round: 13-Victoria Azarenka bt Tathiana Garbin 4-1 retd.; 4-Elena Dementieva bt Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-1; Virginie Razzano bt 14-Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-1; 18-Dominika Cibulkova bt Chan Yung-jan 6-0, 6-2; 20-Amelie Mauresmo bt Elena Baltacha 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; 21-Anabel Medina Garrigues bt Julie Coin 6-1, 6-4.

22-Zheng Jie bt Melinda Czink 7-6(0), 5-7, 6-3; 2-Serena Williams bt Gisela Dulko 6-3, 7-5; 12-Flavia Pennetta bt Jessica Moore 6-4, 6-1; 8-Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Tatjana Malek 6-2, 6-2; 31-Alona Bondarenko bt Severine Bremond 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-2; Carla Suarez Navarro bt 6-Venus Williams 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Doubles: Men: First round: 3-Mahesh Bhupathi & Mark Knowles bt Mikhail Youzhny & Mischa Zverev 6-3, 6-2; 4-Leander Paes & Lukas Dlouhy bt Yves Allegro & Fabrice Santoro 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Doubles: Women: First round: Vera Dushevina & Olga Savchuk bt Vania King & Sania Mirza, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.

India thrashes Australia

MOHALI, Oct 21: India scored a thumping 320-run win over Australia in the second cricket Test here on Tuesday to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

It was India’s biggest win in terms of runs — not counting victories by innings or wickets — in Test cricket. Creditably, it was achieved against the world champion.

Resuming at 141 for five on the fifth day, Australia failed to last the first session. Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan claimed three wickets in his first two overs of the day, accounting for Brad Haddin (37), Cameron White, and Brett Lee, to help India bowl the visiting side out for 195 in its second innings.

Michael Clarke (69, 152b, 9x4) offered spirited resistance before falling to leg-spinner Amit Mishra. He was the last Australian batsman to be dismissed.

M.S. Dhoni, who led India after Anil Kumble pulled out of the match with an injured shoulder, won the Man of the Match award for his aggressive captaincy and batting (92 and 68 not out). “We played attacking cricket and maintained the pressure right through,” he said. “It was a team effort.”

Australian captain Ricky Ponting conceded that his side was outplayed. “They were nice and aggressive with their batting early on and it took all the momentum away from us from the start of the game,” he said.

Leander Paes reaches finals of both men's and mixed doubles

NEW YORK, Sept 4: Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy have entered the finals of men's doubles of the US Open championship since they defeated Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez and Juan Monaco in straight sets 6-2, 6-0.

Leander and Dlouhy will now meet the Bryan brothers Bob and Mike in the final on Friday.

Earlier, Leander Paes and Zimbabwe's Cara Black advanced to the mixed doubles' finals.

The fifth-seeded duo defeated Nadia Petrova and Jonas Bjorkman in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.

Paes hopes to repeat 1999 Wimbledon feat in 2008 US Open

"I think 2008 in New York is going to be special," said the Indian ace, after he and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy thumped Argentine pair Maximo Gonzales and Juan Monaco 6-2, 6-0 in just 46 minutes to storm into the men's doubles final.

The former Davis Cup captain and his Zimbabwean teammate Cara Black have already made it to the mixed doubles final.

In 1999, Paes had partnered Mahesh Bhupathi and Lisa Raymonds to win the men's doubles and mixed doubles crowns at Wimbledon.

"As you get older, I push my body to new limits and try to raise the bar a few more times," he said.

"It was one of the fastest matches I had in my career. The balls looked like watermellons out there."

Made to play twice on Tuesday, Paes was also happy to get some rest before turning up for the mixed doubles final.

"They made me play twice and I was scheduled early. Now I can go back and relax," he said.

On his partnership with Dlouhy, Paes said, "It's going very well right now. Lukas is crazy just as I am. He's also very hard working. That's why it's working out so well."

Though he cherishes all his Grand Slam titles, Paes insists the highlight of his career is the bronze medal he won in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

"Nothing will ever better my Olympic medal," he said.

"Let me remind you it was in singles. That's the epitome of my career," Paes added.

Beijing bids farewell to Olympics, London beckons

BEIJING, Aug 24: Beijing tonight shimmered with all its splendour to drop curtains on a magnificent Olympic Games, raising the bar to a dizzy height that might prove difficult for subsequent hosts London to emulate.

The 16-day razzmatazz got a befitting signing off and when London Mayor Boris Johnson was handed over the Olympic flag by his Beijing counterpart Guo Jinlong, the onus was passed on to the British capital to match in 2012, if bettering is impossible, the benchmark set in Beijing.

From organisational point of view, Beijing dished out a simply flawless Olympics to silence its malevolent critics, who cribbed about pollution, water contamination, traffic, food and anything and everything.

China's might also found an expression in the medal tally with the hosts leading the chart, miles ahead of its American and Russian counterparts in terms of gold medals.

India too had reasons to cherish the event as their Beijing campaign yielded an unprecedented three individual medals.

At the end of 16 days of intense, no-holds-barred rivalry among the best in the business for global bragging rights in 302 events, Beijing anointed two sports icons in American bionic aqua man Michael Phelps and Jamaican Flying Machine Usain Bolt.

Phelps ruled the pool and sunk every existing record to swim into history books while the brash, cocky Bolt left the world behind to emerged as the fastest man on earth and still could afford the time to look back and mock at lesser mortals.

And for those who doubted sport's ability to dissolve border and bury hostility, the sight of Georgian and Russian athletes forgetting the political turmoil back home and hugging each other was an eye opener.

If the 8th August opening ceremony was a promise made, tonight's closing ceremony was fulfillment of the same promise as Beijing had a night to remember.

The pre-ceremony was a fun-filled affair with Fuwa, the mascot, as the central theme.

In a way, the humorous segment signalled lowering of the guard and letting down of the hair at the end of fortnight long intense competition.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge made an appearance after scintillating pyrotechnics dazzled the Bird's Nest.

Drum players then took the centre stage and it was surreal to see some 200 bouncing and flying men run and roll over the stadium.

Next entered the flag bearers of the 204 participating nations, with the Indian tri-colour in Vijender's able hands, the same fists which earned his country its first boxing medal in the greatest sporting extravaganza.

Marathon victory ceremony intercepted the event, on the other side of which organising committee President Liu Qi and Rogge addressed the huge gathering before the Olympic flag was hoisted and Olympic hymns recited.

Mayors of Beijing and London entered the stage for the flag handover ceremony, which was followed by an eight-minute cultural performance heralding the start of the countdown to the London Games.

This segment featured British icons, including soccer star David Beckham, singing sensation Leona Lewis and legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.

After Lewis and Page left the stage, Beckham appeared along with a violinist, a cellist and a child who handed the ball to the former England captain, whose trademark cross vanished into the sea of athletes.

Finally, the flame was extinguished but fireworks painted numerous pictures on Beijing's night sky and six singers passionately lent their voice for "Beijing, Beijing, I love Beijing", followed by a spectacular circle dance before the razzmatazz came to a glorious end.

First boxing medal for India. And a bronze in wrestling after 56 years

BEIJING, Aug 20: India's fledgling Olympic campaign on Wednesday received a sensational boost with unheralded grappler Sushil Kumar clinching a bronze medal and boxer Vijender Kumar assuring himself of at least a bronze to give the country a record three medals for the first time ever.

A star was born on Wednesday with Vijender packing enough punch in the ring to assure himself of an Olympic medal, the hue of which would be determined by the outcome of his semifinal match on Friday.

Boxer Vijender Singh ensured another medal for India at the Beijing Olympics when he outpunched Carlos Gongora of Ecuador in the quarterfinal of the 75kg category bout today.

The Bhiwani pugilist, one of India's best medal hopes, was ahead in all the four rounds and clinched the bout 9-4.

The Ecuadorean had no answer to his rival's flurry of punches and trailed 1-4 in the second round.

The Haryana boxer shunned extravagance and clung on to his hard-earned lead to outsmart Carlos Gongora of Ecuador 9-4 and set up a semifinal clash with formidable Cuban and two-time Pan American champion Emilio Correa Bayeaux.

Having seen the plight of Akhil Kumar and Jitender, who came agonisingly close to win their Olympic medal, Vijender refrained from playing to the gallery and maintained a dour defence which Gongora simply could not breach.

Vijender will now take on 2007 Pan American games gold medallist Emilio Correa Dayeaux of Cuba in the semifinal on Friday.

Emilio's father Emilio Correa Vaillant was the gold medallist in the 1972 Munich Olympics in 69-kg category.

Unheralded Sushil Kumar rose from obscurity to find his rightful place in the history of Indian sports when he won the bronze medal in men's 66kg freestyle category at the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday.

Sushil's campaign seemed nearly over when he lost his first round battle against eventual silver medallist Andriy Stadnik but repechage provided him a ray of hope and the Indian proved simply irresistible as he beat three grapplers on the trot to win the bronze.

Down in the dumps after his opening round defeat, Sushil came up with an incredible show, beating Doug Schwab (USA), Albert Batyrov (Belarus) and finally the losing semifinalist Leonid Spiridonov (Kazakhstan) in the repechage rounds to earn his slice of history.

Sushil thus became the second Indian wrestler after K D Jadhav who won a bronze in the 1952 Helsinki Games to win an Olympic medal.

Incidentally, in the 2006 Doha Asian Games also, Sushil had beaten Leonid to win the bronze.

Bindra clinches India's first individual Olympic gold

BEIJING, Aug 11: World champion Abhinav Bindra clinched India's first ever individual gold medal at the Olympics, winning 10m air rifle event at the Beijing Games here today.

The 25-year-old, who qualified fourth for the event, shot an overall score of (596+104.5) 700.5 in a thrilling finale which went right down to the last shot.

Bindra's historic feat makes him India's first-ever individual gold medallist, bettering the silver medal feat of double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in Athens 2004.

"He is the best shooter in the world and I think his is a morale boosting feat for everyone in the contingent," a jubilant Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi said after Bindra's win.

"We are all very happy. He is a very hardworking athlete. The entire shooting contingent is celebrating. We are very proud of him and it is just the beginning," national coach Sunny Thomas said.

"Abhinav is a very calm and composed guy and doesn't get very excited," Thomas added.

Bindra, a Khel Ratna awardee, had earlier won the gold medal in 2002 Commonwealth Games in the pairs event and silver in the individual event.

The silver in the event went to Chinese Zhu Qinan (699.7) while Finland's Henri Hakkinen (699.4) had to be content with a bronze.

Lok Sabha Speaker congratulates Abhinav Bindra

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Aug 11: The Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr Somnath Chatterjee conveyed his heartiest congratulations to Abhinav Bindra who won a gold medal for India in the 10-metre Air Rifle Shooting Competition at Beijing Olympics.

"Abhinav Bindra has made us all proud", said Mr Chatterjee said. He also wished all success to the Indian contingent at the Olympics.

Games show China's strength, mask fragility

BEIJING, Aug 7: "Faster, higher, stronger" is the message from China that will resonate at the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday and during its battle with the United States for global sporting supremacy.

The Games are about much more than sport, of course.

For one analyst, the picture of China's Communist Party basking in national triumph amid glittering stadiums could be a "Sputnik moment" -- akin to the emerging Soviet Union's stunning launch of a satellite in 1957 - one that, for many in the West, will inspire as much fear as admiration.

And yet that picture glosses over the fragility of a nation beset by pollution, energy strains, social unrest and rural poverty, all of which were laid bare in the run-up to the Games.

These have become party-spoiling leitmotifs of the Beijing Games story, along with condemnation of China's human rights record, anger over its restrictions on media and Western doubts about its will to reform and act as a responsible global power.

"Whatever the longer-term implications of the 2008 Olympics, what has transpired thus far bears little resemblance to Beijing's dreams of Olympic glory," U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations senior fellows Elizabeth C. Economy and Adam Segal wrote in a recent paper, "China's Olympic Nightmare".

"Rather than basking in the admiration of the world, China is beset by internal protests and international condemnation."

China's rapidly expanding economy has become a crucial locomotive as recession looms around the globe. It is no longer the "sick man of Asia", and Beijing's Olympics will be an in-your-face confirmation.

"For China, this is the crystalisation of three decades of modernisation, a big show and tell, their big moment in the sun," said Victor Cha, head of Asian studies at Georgetown University in Washington, and a former White House adviser on Asia.

For all the dividends of China's burgeoning trade and investment links with the outside world, however, a 'rising China' is seen by much of the West as a threat.

The United States, in particular, is anxious about the regional ambitions of a country of 1.3 billion people whose military spending is rising sharply and shrouded in secrecy.

The world's superpower is also suspicious of the economic stakes that China is claiming in Africa and Latin America as it scours the earth for raw commodities, and it worries about Beijing's clout as a heavyweight holder of U.S. debt and its hefty share of US imports.

Drew Thompson, director of China studies at the Nixon Center in Washington, DC, said the spectacle of a modern and confident nation could bolster nationalistic pride among Chinese, fuelling anxieties abroad.

"That Sputnik moment is very much from a grassroots sense of how the scenes from Beijing are going to play out," he said.

"What's going to transmit are the buildings and what an impressive effort this is. This is not a tottering regime, this is not a basket case, and the Games are going to put that fact on full display."

An outpouring of patriotic fury earlier this year, directed at Western targets seen as sympathising with Tibetan riots and protests against Chinese rule, was evidence for many of the dark side of China's rise.

French goods were boycotted after protesters tried to grab the Olympic torch on its parade through Paris and some foreign journalists in Beijing were bombarded with hate mail.

"...what foreigners saw was not a rational, open and tolerant China stepping into the world, but rather a closed, aggressive and furious China stepping into the world," wrote Zhao Lingmin in a commentary in China's current affairs magazine South Breeze.

In the run-up to the Games, President Hu Jintao has sought to portray China as a "harmonious" country whose rise threatens no one, and the government has carried out education campaigns to discourage raucous shows of nationalism.

Cha noted that although the government sometimes manipulates outbursts of nationalism, it is a double-edged sword. "It's a very dangerous thing for the leadership," he said. "Today it will be directed against NBC for negative broadcasting about the Games, but tomorrow it could be directed against the leadership."

The flash of rioting in Tibet was followed by an earthquake in the province of Sichuan that killed at least 70,000, turning global disapproval to global sympathy overnight.

For Kerry Brown, senior fellow of the Asia Programme at the Chatham House think-tank in London, these two events -- in very different ways -- captured the fragility of modern China.

"This great economic juggernaut that scares and worries so many people outside China contains within it deep weaknesses and problems," he wrote on the website www.opendemocracy.net.

He told Reuters that a chief weakness is deep-seated social inequality and poverty, particularly among the hundreds of millions of migrant workers "on whose sweat, blood and tears modern China is built" but who today are disenfranchised.

Such issues may be brushed under the red carpet at the Games but will re-emerge. The West will also demand that China use its influence to calm troublespots from Tibet to Sudan and Myanmar.

"The level of foreign expectations after the Games will get higher, not lower," said Cha. "People will be asking China to do more."

Beijing Olympic flame ends chaotic Paris journey

PARIS, April 7: The Beijing Olympic flame ended its chaotic relay journey through Paris Monday, marred by citywide protests against China's crackdown in Tibet that forced the torchbearers to take refuge in a bus.

The flame arrived in a bus escorted by around 30 police officers for a ceremony at the Charlety Stadium after its journey by foot was cut short half way to its final destination.

Moments after the Olympic torch set off from the Eiffel Tower, protests forced the organisers to extinguish the torch, and place the flame on an accompanying bus for safety.

The torchbearers were forced on and off the bus at least four times, until organisers finally cut short the relay, skipping a planned ceremony at Paris city hall.

The Olympic torch was lit again for a brief ceremony outside the stadium, in the presence of French swimming champion Christine Caron, and extinguished one last time at around 6 pm.

The Olympic flame itself, transported in a safe lantern, was taken away by several members of the Beijing Olympics organising committee.

From Paris the flame leaves on Monday night for the Americas, with stops planned in San Francisco on Wednesday and Buenos Aires on Friday, on the latest leg of a worldwide tour from Greece to Beijing.

Smooth relay of Olympic torch will be ensured: India

NEW DELHI, April 7: India has said it will ensure smooth passage of the Olympic flame with "respect and security" as discussions continued in the government on measures to provide foolproof protection.

With China worried over the India-leg of the torch relay because of presence of large number of Tibetans, top officials of the government are busy in chalking out the arrangements to ensure trouble-free event on 17th April.

China is also understood to have indicated that a team of its commandos will arrive in India a few days ahead of the torch relay and would provide the proximate security to the flame during its run on Rajpath.

"As far as the Government of India is concerned, we are committed to provide complete security to the Olympic Torch," Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said.

Asked about reports that China would be sending security personnel for the torch relay in New Delhi, Sharma said he had no knowledge about it but maintained that Indian government has given an assurance that it will take all measures to provide foolproof security.

"We are confident of ensuring the relay of the torch in India with respect and security. Our officers and security agencies are capable of providing complete security to the Olympic torch," he said.

The issue of torch security is understood to have figured in a meeting between Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta.