Ballack may move to Madrid
Injured German captain Michael Ballack admitted on Sunday he was disappointed to be left out of Chelsea’s Champions League squad, while reports from Britain have inked him to Real Madrid. The 30-year-old midfielder was unhappy after being left out when Chelsea’s 23-man squad was named last week. Reports say he has been offered a deal by Madrid.
Bopanna out of China Open
The Indian challenge in the China Open singles ended on Tuesday when Rohan Bopanna retired midway through his first round match against seventh seed Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, reports PTI from New Delhi.
Bopanna was trailing 3-6, 0-1 when he called it quits from the ATP event.
Bopanna is paired with seasoned Mahesh Bhupathi in the doubles competition. The Indian duo faces South African Chris Haggard and Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei in the first round.
Dan starts favourite
China’s reigning men’s world number one Lin Dan is seeking to stretch his three-year unbeaten-run at the Japan Open this week in Tokyo, a tournament expected to be dominated by the Chinese, reports AFP from Tokyo.
The 23-year-old shuttler has not lost a match since he went down to fellow Chinese Bao Chunlai in the 2004 semifinals here.
Top seed Lin will face Bao in the final if the second seed can survive a tough bottom half of the draw which includes unseeded Athens Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, third seed Chen Hong and seventh seed Chen Yu.
Hidayat will play Chen Hong, the two-time former All England champion, in the first round, while Bao will take on Thai ace Boonsak Ponsana.
Lord’s hosts floodlit match
Lord's, the traditional home of world cricket, staged its first floodlit match on Monday as Middlesex beat Derbyshire in a 40-over one-day game, reports Reuters from London.
A crowd of more than 5,000 turned out on a fine evening to watch the historic fixture take place under temporary lighting. Lord's is hoping to host floodlit matches during the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup.
"It's been a great success," MCC secretary Keith Bradshaw was told the BBC. "We've learnt some things and we're going to do it bigger and better next time.
State U-11 chess tournament
The under-11 State Chess Championship for Boys and Girls will be held at the State Youth Centre, Bangalore, from September 21-23. Interested South Kanara District chess players may contact the secretary on 98459-48625 on or before September 14. Entries will be routed only through the South Kanara District Chess Association.
Summit on doping in cycling
A high-level summit on doping in cycling will be held in Paris next month, reports AP from PAris.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Monday welcomed the announcement by French Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot that the meeting will take place in Paris on October 22 and 23.
Karachi Urbans manage draw
Ranji trophy champions Mumbai inflicted the ignominy of a follow-on but hosts Karachi Urban avoided an outright defeat as the four-day Nissar Trophy match ended in a draw on Tuesday, reports PTI from Karachi.
In reply to Mumbai’s mammoth first innings total of 623 for six declared, the hosts, despite Khurram Manzoor’s (200, 427b, 26x4, 2x6) double century, could not avoid follow on as their first essay folded for 389. Saeed Bin Nasir came up with an invaluable knock of 92 (145b, 12x4, 1x6) to push the score. For India, debutant Mumbai off-spinner Vikrant Yeligati (3-56) was the most successful bowler, while Avishkar Salvi, Avishek Nair, and Iqbal Abdulla scalped two wickets each.
Brief scores: Mumbai: 623/6 decl. drew with Karachi Urban: 389 all out and 172/4 (Saeed Bin Nasir 47 n.o.Asim Kamal 38 n.o.).