Bjorn enjoys Indian stint
Denmark golfer Thomas Bjorn is thoroughly enjoying his first visit to India as part of the Indian Masters tournament. “We hear a lot about India from their players who are playing on the European Tour. They are well liked and they have been telling us for years to come down here and now we’re here. We want to have a great relationship with India and Asian Tour.”
Weightlifting camp called off
The National weightlifting coaching camp for seniors and juniors, which was underway at Patiala, has been called off due to lack of discipine in the camp, reports UNI.
Executive Director of the Sports Authority of India, Laxman Singh Ranawat, said: ‘’I have taken this step since only half of the lifters have reported for the senior and junior camps and I cannot allow this kind of indiscipline.’’
The camp for the seniors had been scheduled from January 17 to April 24 to prepare the lifters for the Asian Championship.
Eight men and 14 women lifters were called for the camp, but only four men and eight women lifters reported.
Delay in SA team announcement
Disagreement between South Africa’s selectors and administrators has delayed naming the squad to tour Bangladesh this month, reports Reuters from Durban.
The list of players was due to be decided in a teleconference on Tuesday but the announcement was deferred after Cricket South Africa (CSA) president Norman Arendse refused to approve the selectors’ decision.
SA, Bangla teams for IFA Shield
South Africa’s Premier League side Santos Football Club and Mohammedan Sporting, Dhaka, will be the two foreign teams to be seen in action in the IFA Shield in Kolkata from February 25 to March 7, reports PTI from New Delhi.
Holders Mahindra United, Churchill Brothers, Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal and another Kolkata local side will compete in the seven-team tournament this year.
Jr Natl hockey from today
The Under-18 junior national hockey championship will held at the synthetic turf stadium at Gachibowli from Friday, reports UNI from Hyderabad.
Defending champion SAIL has been placed in Group ‘A’ and last year’s runners-up Combined SAI team in Group G.
Hosts Hyderabad and Andhra teams have been placed in Group H. Kartnataka are placed in Group G.
Indian Oil Corporation, Punjab and Sindh Bank and Patiala have withdrawn from the tournament.
Teams in fray: Group A: SAIL, Haryana, Pondicherry, Chandigarh, Air India; Group B: Namdhari, J & K, Mizoram, MPHA, Bihar; Group C: Orissa, Assam, Kerala, Mumbai, Bengal; Group D: Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Himachal Pradesh, Bhopal; Group E: Services, Punjab, Vidarbha, Gujarat, Delhi; Group F: Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra; Group G: SAI, Madhya Bharat, Chandigarh Academy, Tripura, Karnataka. Group H: Andhra, Nagaland, Uttaranchal, Hyderabad, Himachal Pradesh.
Sania’s meeting with Prez off
Sania Mirza’s scheduled meeting with President Pratibha Patil on Thursday was called off after the tennis ace was rendered indisposed, reports PTI from New Delhi.
IPL appoints Raman as CEO
The Indian Premier League announced the appointment of Sundar Raman as the Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect, reports UNI from Mumbai.
Railways drub Karnataka
Champions Indian Railways thrashed Karnataka 11-0 in the quarterfinals of the 55th National women’s hockey championship in Jalandhar on Thursday, reports PTI.
Bombay trounced Delhi 6-1 and will meet Railways in the semis. Haryana will take on Jharkhand in the other semifinal.
Indian Universities defeated Andhra Pradesh 5-1 in another match, but failed to progress.
Ganguly, Bakre head table
Defending champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) joined Tejas Bakre of Indian Airlines at the top with four points at the end of the fifth round of the National ‘A’ Chess Championship in Chennai on Thursday, reports UNI.
Ganguly defeated Deepan Chakravarthy in the fifth round. On the top board, Abhijit Kunte of PSPB held Bakre to a draw in 44 moves. G N Gopal played out a draw with M S Thej Kumar of Karnataka in another game.
