MacGill’s place under threat
Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill has been ordered to improve his fitness or face losing his place in the team for the series against India. MacGill has been suffering from knee and hand problems and struggled to produce anything like his best form during the 2-0 win over Sri Lanka. “He realises he has got some work to do physically to get himself up,” said coach Tim Nielsen.
Jitender, Dilbag beaten in semis
Jitender Kumar and Dilbag Singh had to be content with bronze medals after losing their semifinal bouts as India’s campaign came to an end at the International Invitational boxing tournament, reports PTI from Beijing.
Dilbag lost 7-26 to Dmitry Ivanov of Russia in the welterweight category, while Jitender went down 7-18 to Thai Chatchai Butdee in the 51kg division on Wednesday night.
Malisse to defend Chennai titles
Xavier Malisse of Belgium will return to Chennai to defend his Chennai Open crown. The ATP Tour opener will be played from December 1, 2007 to January 6, 2008, reports PTI from Chennai. Four top-20 players, including world No 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain, have confirmed their participation.
Hockey players given cash awards
The Indian hockey team, which won the 7th Asia Cup in Chennai in September, was felicitated by the Indian Hockey Federation at the SAI Southern Centre on Thursday, reports DHNS from Bangalore.
Each of the 18 players, chief coach Joaquim Carvalho, coach MP Singh, assistant coach Ramesh Parameshwaran, manager RK Shetty, trainer Ganguly Prasad, physio Srikanth Iyengar received Rs 1.5 lakh each, while masseur Nagaraj and video analyst Prasanna were given Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000 respectively.
The awards were presented by SAI SC regional director M Shyam Sundar.
Jeev struggles on opening day
An off-colour Jeev Milkha Singh had a nightmarish start to his title defence with the Indian pro stuttering to an opening round of three-over 75 for the tied 43rd place in the Casio World Open on Thursday, reports PTI from Kochi.
Compatriot Shiv Kapur did slightly better to card two-over 74 and join 15 others at the 27th place after the first round. A 10th tee starter, Jeev had just two birdies to show against a treble of bogeys besides the double bogey on the par-four third hole, where he four-putted to hole the ball. The quartet of Tateo Jet Ozaki, Toru Taniguchi, Taichi Teshima and I J Chang turned in identical rounds of three-under 69 to share the top slot.
Tough task awaits Dola
Arjuna awardee Dola Banerjee will vie for top honours as the annual archery World Cup enters the final stage on Saturday, reports PTI from New Delhi.
After four legs of the competition in Korea, Turkey, Italy and the UK, the final of the World Cup this year will be held in Dubai on November 24. Dola, the lone Indian in the fray, will seek to prove her mettle in her pet event — women’s recurve.
BDFA XI lose opening tie
Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA) XI started their campaign with a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Langsingh Sports Club in the Meghalaya Invitation football tournament in Shillong on Thursday, reports DHNS.
