Dhoni to set up academy
As Jharkhand is throwing up promising cricketers, Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he would set up a cricket academy in his hometown Ranchi.
“It is there in my mind though not much progress has been made because of the time factor. With a proper plan, it will be there. If not immediately, let us hope in the future,” Indian one-day team skipper said.

Anup, Saina enter second round
Anup Sridhar overcame world No 17 Shoji Sato from Japan 22-20, 13-21, 21-14 in the first round of the Wilson Swiss Open Super Series, reports DHNS.

The lone Indian in the main draw, Anup will take on Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat in the second round.
In the women’s section, Saina Nehwal (29) defeated Canada’s Anna Rice (24) 21-13, 21-13 in the first round. Saina is due to meet World No 1 Xingfang Xie of China in the next round.

Badrinath to lead South Zone
Tamil Nadu’s S Badrinath will lead South Zone in the Deodhar Trophy one-day cricket tournament. South Zone will take on East Zone in their opener at Hyderabad on March 14.

The team: S Badrinath (capt), Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Robin Uthappa, Bharath Chipli, C Raghu, R Vinay Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Arjun Yadav, S Sreesanth, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, M Vijay, Dinesh Kaarthick, Kalyankrishna, Saurabh Bandekar.

Roddick to skip Beijing Olympics
US star Andy Roddick will skip the Beijing Olympics in August to defend his crown at the ATP Washington Classic two weeks before the US Open, reports AFP from Washington.

Roddick will bring star power to the only event on the men’s tennis tour that conflicts with the high-profile showdown for Olympic gold in China.

Two rookies in Windies squad
Rookie spin bowlers Amit Jaggernauth and Sulieman Benn were named in the 15-man West Indies squad for the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Guyana starting on March 22, reports AP from Bridgetown.

Squad: Chris Gayle (captain), Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, Sewnarine Chattergoon Shivnarine Chanderpaul Pedro Collins, Fidel Edwards, Ryan Hinds, Amit Jaggernauth, Darren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor.

Shahvir in for first Test
Shahvir Tarapore will be the fourth umpire for the first Test between India and South Africa in Chennai, beginning on March 26.

Level II refresher course concludes
The three-day Level II refresher course for coaches concluded at the National Cricket Academy here on Wednesday, reports DHNS.

The course was intended for coaches who had cleared the Level II course three years back, and the first phase of the refresher course was attended by 17 coaches. Another refresher course will be conducted for the second batch of coaches from March 17 to 19. 30 coaches are expected to attend the clinic.

Participants: Jay Prakash Pandey, RS Jhala (both SSCB), Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, I Ahmed Gundroo (both J & K CA), Malay Banerjee, Satyendra Singh (both CAB), Subhrajyoti Kanungo, Pawan Agarwal (both Orissa CA), Subroto Das, Somnath Jha (both Jharkhand CA), Alok Deb Roy (Tripura CA), Nitin Kulkarni, Mukesh Sahani, Jitendra Vegad, Rajeev Dua (all MPCA), Kamal Goswami and Anil Singh Parmar (both Rajasthan CA).

Another setback for Pak likely
Australia’s postponement of their tour to Pakistan for security reasons could also put the ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be hosted in Pakistan this September, in jeopardy, reports PTI from Karachi.

Sources in the know admitted on Wednesday that unless the security situation improved dramatically in Pakistan, the organisation of the Champions Trophy could become a dream.

Dirt track event in Mangalore
Mangalore will host the first round of the Gulf Dirt Track Racing Championship on April 26 and 27. Three other rounds will be held before the final ‘Clash of Titans’ round to be held in February next year. The venues for the remaining rounds are yet to be finalised.

The last date for entries is April 4. Details from www.sportscraftindia.com, e-mail: sportscraft@hotmail.com.

CITY SPORT

VOLLEYBALL: Senior South Zone tournament, Sri Durga Parameshwari grounds, 4.30 pm.

8-BALL POOL: State-ranking tournament, final, KSBA Hall, 5.30 pm.