Celtics pull off Garnett coup
Boston Celtics pulled off the blockbuster trade of the NBA summer, acquiring ten-time All-Star Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Garnett, a 6-foot-11 power forward, is one of just five players in NBA history to amass at least 19,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists. “He is a great player in our league,” Celtics said in a statement.
Kratochvil sends Bopanna packing
Rohan Bopanna suffered a shock first-round defeat to Swiss qualifier Michel Kratochvil in the singles event of the $125,000 ATP Challenger Series in Segovia, Spain, reports PTI from New Delhi. Bopanna lost 3-6, 3-6 in the hardcourt event on Tuesday.
Mustafa Ghouse and his German partner Frank Moser survived a scare from Spanish wildcards Guillermo Alcaide and Oscar Burrieza before entering the quarterfinals with a 2-6, 7-5, 10-6 victory.
Canada players to train at NCA
Five foreign players – Canadian cricketers of Indian origin – are expected to train as part of the under-19 batch in the four-week trai-ning program that will commence at the National Cric-ket Academy from Tuesday, reports DHNS in Bangalore.
The players are Navvy Sihota, Nitesh Kumar, Neil Saini, Akash Brar and Sanjam Suri. Sihota has already arrived in the City while the rest are expected over the next few days. The Canada Cricket Association had requested the BCCI to provide training facilities for these five players at the NCA at subsidised cost. The players will be part of a 28-member batch that will train at the NCA from August 2 to 29.
Flintoff set for one-day return
Having returned to play as a batsman for his County Lancashire, injured all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has now begun to bowl in the nets to be fit to face India in the one-day series starting on August 21, reports PTI from London.
Chief selector David Graveney said Flintoff, making speedy recovery after a third ankle surgery, was targeting the upcoming one-day series. “He’s started to bowl in nets. It’s great that he’s back playing after another lengthy rehab,” he said. “As far as I’m aware -- and I’m sure Freddie will confirm together with the medical advice from Lancashire -- he’s still on target for the one-dayers.”
Asian Hopman Cup in Bangkok
Thailand has been selected to host the Asian Hopman Cup in November, with the winners assured of a place in next year’s Hopman Cup in Perth, reports Reuters from Bangkok.
Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Uzbekistan and the hosts have been invited to contest the event in Bangkok from November 8-11, the organisers said on Wednesday.
The competition will feature men’s and women’s singles events and mixed doubles, to be played in a round-robin format with two groups of three countries. Hosts India won the inaugural Asian Hopman Cup in Hyderabad last year.
Dubai bonanza for Iraq team
The ruler of Dubai has awarded 5.5 million dollars to Iraq’s national football team for its victory in the Asian Cup final, a football official said, reports AFP from Dubai.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum gave the money to the Iraqi team for their 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Jakarta on Sunday, the head of Dubai’s Al Ahli soccer club said.
Members of the victorious Iraqi team were invited to a celebration organised by Sheikh Mohammed at Al Ahli’s pitch. Sheikh Mohammed, who is better known for his huge thoroughbred racehorse empire including the Godolphin Operation, said the victorious team showed “the ability of the Iraqi people...to deal with hardship and presented an example of how to give for the sake of the nation.”
Italian football ace Baldo dead
Giuseppe Baldo, the last surviving player of the Italian team to win the 1936 Olympic Games football gold in Berlin, has died at the age of 93 his family announced on Wednesday, reports AFP.
The midfielder was part of the Italian side to win gold by defeating Austria 2-1 in the final on August 15, 1936 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
Shazuli held by Patil
Barring Indian Railways’ Syed Anwar Shazuli, who was held to a draw, other top seeds registered impressive wins in the seventh Adyar Fide-rated open chess tournament on Wednesday, reports PTI from Chennai.
Mitali M Patil held sixth seed Shazuli in a queen pawn game. Top seed Ram Krishnan (BSNL) won against Y V K Chakravorthy (Andhra Pradesh) in a queen pawn opening game involving 40 moves.
GM elect GB Prakash registered a 40-move victory over Hari Haran Sudhan, while International Master N Sudhakar Babu accounted for RV Sathyanarayana in a bishop’s game.
Important results: Chakravarthi YVK (1) lt to Ram S Krishnan (2); Prakash GB (2) bt Hari Hara Sudhan M (1); Sathiyanarayanan BV (1) lt to N Sudhakar Babu (2); Balasubramaniam R (1) lt to Sathyanarayanan S (1);  Sangeetha G (1) lt to Lakshman (2); Syed Anwar Shazuli (1.5) drew Mitali M.Patil (1.5).