Kamal to get Rs 40 lakh
India’s top paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal has been awarded a cash prize by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for claiming the gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

The national champion was awarded Rs 40 lakh for winning the gold in men’s singles as well as in the men’s team event at the quadrennial sporting extravaganza.

Karan bags Natl Supercross title
Bangalore rider Karan Kadam of TVS won the best rider title in the fourth round of the MRF National Supercross championship at the Mohite Racing Academy track, reports UNI from Kolhapur.

The fifth round of the tournament will be held in Goa on October 14 and the sixth and final round will be held at Bangalore on December 9.

MotoGP winner killed in accident
Three-time MotoGP winner Norifumi Abe of Japan was killed in a street crash when his motorbike collided with a truck making an illegal U-turn, police said on Monday, reports AFP from Tokyo. The 32-year-old ploughed into the truck while it was making the turn on Sunday in the Tokyo suburb of Kawasaki, they said.

Abe began riding motorbikes at the age of five and became the youngest-ever title winner when he won the 500cc class at the All Japan Road Race Championship at the age of 18.

He then joined the 500cc MotoGP, the world’s premier motorcycling championship, in 1994.

Abe won three titles, the Japanese Grand Prix in 1996 and 2000 and the Brazilian Grand Prix in 1999.

Senegal skipper calls it a day
Senegal captain El Hadji Diouf announced he was ending his international career on Monday, citing organisational problems at the West African side, reports Reuters.

"I have stopped my international career. There are so many problems with the national team,” he said.

Bopanna secures main draw berth
Despite losing in the qualifying round, India’s Rohan Bopanna has managed to secure a main draw berth in singles at the Stockholm Open tennis, reports UNI from Stockholm.

He and Max Mirnyi of Belarus were handed a singles berth as ‘Lucky Losers’ after Spainiard Tommy Robredo and Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic pulled out.

Bopanna will take on 48th-ranked Albert Montanes of Spain in  the first round. Bopanna had lost to Dutchman Peter Wessels 7-5, 6-2 in  the second round of qualifying.

However, in the doubles event, Bopanna and his partner Olivier Rochus survived a scare against Swedish-Aussie combo of Thomas Johansson and Todd Perry before winning 6-2, 6-7 (4), 10-8 in a thriller.