Symonds wary of touring Pakistan
Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has expressed reservations about touring Pakistan next year saying there has been a lot of ‘bombs going off’.
“At the end of the day it is only a game of cricket. But I suppose being the diplomat that I am, we have to wait and see when we get closer to the time, how many bombs are going off over there. But it is being bombed,” he said.
Barcelona down Alcoyano
Thierry Henry, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Bojan Krkic scored as Barcelona beat third-division Alcoyano 3-0 in a first-leg match of the fourth round of the Copa del Rey, reports AP from Madrid.
Third-division Denia drew Cup holder Sevilla 1-1, and Athletic Bilbao came from behind for a 2-2 draw at first-division Hercules on Tuesday.
Henry swiped the ball into goal in the 25th minute after reaching Andres Iniesta’s no-look backheel inside the area.
The Catalan club put away the game in the last five minutes, Gudjohnsen scoring his first of the campaign from the penalty spot before Krkic knocked in Xavi Hernandez’s long-range cross at the far post on the stroke of injury time.
Kapur for Hong Kong Open
Shiv Kapur will spearhead the Indian challenge at the UBS Hong Kong Open, aware that he can gate-crash into leader Liang Wen-Chong’s party and run away with the Asian Tour Order of Merit title by conjuring up an extraordinary show in the $2.25-million co-sanctioned event, reports PTI from Hong Kong.
The Delhi golfer, plying his trade on the European Tour, has played just nine events in Asia and has pocketed $193,571 compared to Wen-chong’s 17 starts, which fetched the Chinese $495,150.
But with a winner’s purse of $375,000 dangling before them, a last-minute shake-up in the standing is not completely far-fetched but that would of course require a massive effort from Kapur, the 2005 Asian Tour Rookie of the Year.
Championship pushed back
The PGA has moved the Tour Championship tournament back two weeks, averting a busy stretch with no breaks for the players in the weeks straddling the FedEx Cup play-offs and Ryder Cup, reports AFP from Ponte Vedra Beach.
The PGA bowed to pressure from the players who, bitterly complained about the timing and length of the first ever FedEx Cup play-offs which didn’t allow for a break in its maiden schedule.
Mohan grinds out unbeaten ton
Abhishekh Mohan struck a patient unbeaten century to hold the Kerala innings together on a truncated opening day of their three-day South Zone under-15 tie for the Polly Umrigar Trophy against Karnataka in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, reports DHNS.
Brief scores: Kerala: 170/6 in 77 overs (Abhishekh Mohan 105 n.o., Sally Samson 31; Aman Raj 3-22) vs Karnataka.
