Hyderabad, July 4:Seedings in the ongoing All India Senior Ranking badminton tournament-2014 went awry on Friday, a day that saw some sensational reversals in both men and women pre-quarterfinals.

Being played at Film Nagar Culture Centre Courts a record of seeds tumbled, including men fourth seed Subhankar Dey from Maharashtra who was ousted by Air India’s Aditya Joshi 21-17, 21-16. Also falling by the wayside were Abhimanyu Singh (5), Aditya Prakash (6), Chetan Anand B (10) and Siddharath Thakur (16).

Although, the women fourth seed, Arundhati Pantawane, gave a walkover Vrushali G, many were eliminated, including Abhimanyu Singh (5), Saili Rane (6), Riya Pillai (9), Ruthvika Shivani G (10), Aditi Mutatkar (11) and Sri Krishna Priya K (16)

However, top seed Sourabh Varma cruised into the last eight with yet another authoritative display against local contender Nagendra T.

Results Singles Pre-quarterfinals (AP wherever not mentioned)-Men: Sourabh Varma (1 PET) bt Nagendra T 21-14, 21-7; Kanishq M bt Aditya Prakash (6 KTK) 21-14, 15-21, 23-21; Aditya Joshi (AI) bt Subhankar Dey (4 MAH) 21-17, 21-16; Sai Praneeth B (7 PET) bt Rahul Yadav C 21-13, 21-18; Siril Varma A S S bt Siddharath Thakur (16 MAH) 21-6, 21-10; Sameer Verma (3 MP) bt Chetan Anand B (10 PET) 21-14, 21-15; Kaushal Dharmamer (MAH) bt Abhimanyu Singh (5 MP) 21-19, 22-20; Prannoy H S (2 PET) bt Deepak Khatri (Rly) 21-14, 21-11;

Women: Reshma Karthik (14 AI) bt Sudha Kalyani D 21-17, 21-15; Tanvi Lad (5 AI) bt Ruthvika Shivani G (10) 10-21, 21-16, 21-18; Vrushali G bt Arundhati Pantawane (4 MAH) w/o; Mudra Dhainje (7 AI) bt Sri Krishna Priya K (16) 21-19, 24-22; Rasika Raje (12 MAH) bt Saili Rane (6 AI) 21-19, 10-21, 21-16; Rituparna Das (3) bt Aditi Mutatkar (11 PET) 21-12, 24-22; Neha Pandit (8 AAI) bt Riya Pillai (9 MAH) 21-14, 21-5; Shriyanshi Pardeshi (13 MP) bt Kanika Kanwal (DLI) 21-11, 21-11.

(UNI)

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, July 4 : Jesus Motivated Group in collaboration with Jammu and Kashmir Police and Christian Sports Organization conducted the final Quiz Competition at St Mary’s Gandhi Nagar Church Hall, here today.
Fr Kuriakose, Incharge Priest Gandhi Nagar Church, Jammu was the chief guest on the valedictory function, while Easther William, Principal Alexander Memorial High School, Jammu and  Pawan Parihar, SSP Traffic Jammu were the guests of honour.  The chief guest and the other dignitaries distributed prizes among the winners and runners-up teams on the occasion.
15 students drawn from various schools participated in the Competition.
The Competition was conducted in two categories of Junior and Senior. Junior category included 5th, 6th and 7th classes, whereas the Senior category included 8th, 9th and 10th classes.
Earlier, Rajesh Gill, Chief Coordinator and president of the Jesus Motivated Group presented welcome address.
The final Quiz Competition was conducted by RK Verma, Principal DPS Katra and Rajesh Bakshi, Chief Prosecuting Officer Crime Hqrs. Jammu, while the proceedings of the valediction function were conducted by Victor Sotra, vice president, CSO.
The cash prizes were sponsored by the SSP Traffic Jammu whereas the trophies and the certificates were sponsored by the Christian Sports Organization Jammu.
Rabacca Rupanzal of Class 5th of Presentation Convent School won the first place, Rohan Gill of Class 5th of DPS Jammu secured second place and Disha  Burut of Class 7th of Presentation Convent claimed third place in Junior category, while Senior category Reet of Class 8th of Pavan Atma Convent School Kathar Manwal won the first place, while Denim of Class 10th of Satya Public High School secured 2nd place and Abhishek Kandyal of Class 10th of S D Sabha High School, Rehari bagged third place.

Mumbai, July 4: Mahesh Mangaonkar of India shocked second seed Ong Beng Hee of Malaysia 3-1 to storm into the semi-finals of the USD 25,000 2nd CCI PSA International Squash Championship here today.

India No. 2 and world No. 75 Mangaonkar fashioned a creditable 11-6 11-7 3-11 12-10 win over the former world No. 7 in a quarter-final contest that lasted 61 minutes at the Cricket Club of India courts.

Mangaonkar set up a semi-final clash with Nasir Iqbal of Pakistan who overcame fifth seed Jaymie Haycocks of England 11-5 11-8 11-7.

However, his compatriot Harinder Pal Sandhu crashed out of the tournament, beaten by sixth seed Zahed Mohamed of Egypt 11-6, 11-7, 2-11, 11-9 in another quarter-final encounter that lasted 54 minutes.

Mohamed would meet compatriot and qualifier Ali Farag who rallied from 0-2 down to get the better of eighth seed Kristian Frost Olesen of Denmark 3-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 in another absorbing quarter-final. (PTI)

London, July 4:Novak Djokovic moved a step closer to his second Wimbledon title as the top seed booked his third appearance in the final with a gritty 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (9/7) victory over Grigor Dimitrov today.

Djokovic, who won the Wimbledon title in 2011, rarely hit peak form in a patchy semi-final on Centre Court, but showed all his battling qualities to overcome the Bulgarian 11th seed in a three hour and two minute war of attrition.

The 27-year-old, a six-time Grand Slam winner, will face seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer or Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic in his 14th Grand Slam final as he looks to avenge last year’s final defeat against Andy Murray.

World number two Djokovic will reclaim top spot in the rankings from Rafael Nadal for the first time since September 2013 if he lifts the trophy in his third Wimbledon final in four years on Sunday.

“I thought I started well, but once again I allowed my opponent to get back into it,” Djokovic said.

“The fourth set could have gone either way but overall I’m happy to be in another Wimbledon final.

“It’s the semi-finals of Wimbledon playing against the future star. He was fighting and playing some great shots, so it was a tough match and it’s a good win for me definitely.”

Djokovic has been beaten in five of his last six Grand Slam finals, with his last major triumph coming at the 2013 Australian Open, and he admitted he is desperate to end that frustrating run this weekend.

“I’m looking forward to another championship match, especially considering I have lost the last couple of finals,” he said.

“I will have to be at my best. It’s a big challenge. It’s the Wimbledon final, the biggest event we have in the sport, and I’m looking forward to competing in it.”

After his sensational quarter-final victory over

defending champion Murray, this inconsistent display was a disappointing way for Dimitrov to end his best run at a Grand Slam.

But the 23-year-old is clearly on the rise and will move into the top 10 for the first time next week.

There was little to separate them for much of the match, with Djokovic edging the first set after a poor Dimitrov service game at 2-2.

Djokovic broke for a 2-1 lead in the second set, but still looked strangely tense and a sloppy backhand into the net gifted Dimitrov a break back in the sixth game.

With girlfriend Maria Sharapova cheering him on from the players’ box, Dimitrov began to unfurl some sublime winners and he broke again to earn a 5-3 lead before serving out the set.

The tension and errors remained high, with both players struggling to keep their footing on the dusty, sun-baked court.

After coming from behind to defeat Marin Cilic in the previous round, Djokovic was battle-hardened and stepped up his level to win the third set tie-break in flawless fashion.

Dimitrov appeared to have surrendered in the third game of the fourth set when three successive double faults and a careless forehand put Djokovic 2-1 ahead.

But Djokovic gave Dimitrov renewed hope when he dropped his own serve in the next game.

Still looking unhappy with the slippery surface, Djokovic had to save three break points at 3-3 and a set point at 4-5 before taking an angry swipe at the grass.

Dimitrov took it to a tie-break and worked his way into 6-3 lead, but Djokovic saved all three set points to break Dimitrov’s resistence at last and, after squandering one match point with an ill-advised rush to the net, he converted the second to seal a gruelling triumph. (Agencies)

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, July 4: Ayushi Kotwal, Aryaveer Singh and Teja Singh of BSF School Paloura have blossomed in the various sports events held in the State and outside recently.
While Ayushi Kotwal participated in the Divisional Chess Championship, organized by the Department of Youth Services and Sports in which she won gold medal, she also participated in NHPC Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament and claimed the first position. She also got the sixth position in the 3rd National School Individual Chess Championship-2014.
Ayushi got Sher-i-Kashmir Sports Award for outstanding sportspersons and received a cash prize of Rs 20,000. She also participated in 2014 Asian Youth Chess Championship which was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Aryaveer Singh bagged gold in Under-17 boys 46-48 kgs category in the Inter-District Boxing Championship, organized by the Department of Youth Services and Sports in Srinagar, under the patronage of Navin Agarwal, Director General, Youth Services and Sports, J&K.
The selected players will now represent the State in the forthcoming 60th National School Games.
Meanwhile, Teja Singh won the gold medal in the recently held Jammu District Fencing Championship.

Kingston, July 4: Jamaican sprint stars Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were included in Jamaica’s 68-strong athletics squad for this year’s Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

Six-time Olympic gold medalist Bolt and two-time 100m Olympic champion Fraser-Pryce are both expected to compete only in the 4x100m relays. Both missed last weekend’s Jamaican championships, the selection meeting for the Commonwealth Games, after requesting medical exemptions.

Under the rules of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), top ranked athletes who request medical exemption from the trials can be included in the squad, but must prove their fitness before the games start.

Fraser-Pryce had a string of poor results before submitting her medical certificate, but Bolt, who had earlier indicated along with training partner Yohan Blake that they were not interested, had a change of heart last week and signalled his readiness to compete in Glasgow.

However Bolt, the world record holder in the 100m and 200m, had said he didn’t want to take a spot in an individual race from an athlete who earned selection at the trials.

Blake, who didn’t race in the trials, is not in the squad.

Multiple World and Olympic champion Veronica Campbell Brown and World and Olympic 200m medalist Warren Weir are also on the team.

Campbell Brown, who pulled out of a Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday, won the Jamaican 100m title last weekend while Weir was second to up-and-coming sprinter Rasheed Dwyer in the 200m final.

World number one ranked 400m hurdler Kaliese Spencer is included, as are World Indoor triple jump bronze medalist Kimberly Williams and Olympic Games 110m hurdles bronze medalist Hansle Parchment.

In all, 114 competitors in 11 sports will represent Jamaica in Glasgow from July 23 to August 3.

London, July 4: The Indian challenge at the Wimbledon ended today with veteran Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek losing their men’s doubles semi-final against Canadian Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock in straight sets here today.

The unseeded US-Candian duo beat the fifth seeded pair 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-4 in two hours and 21 minutes to set up title date against top seeds Mike and Bob Bryan of the United States.

The Bryan brothers made short work of 12th seeded French pair of veteran Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-2 in an hour and 46 minutes in the other last-four clash.

May be playing on three consecutive days took its toll on the 41-year-old Paes and his 35-year-old partner. The ageing pair found it difficult against a pair whose cumulative age was 46 compared to their 76.

Having won successive matches in five and four sets respectively, the Indo-Czech duo were not in their element.

Especially young Sock, who was brilliant with his powerpacked groundstrokes, to which Paes and Stepanek had no answer.

However Paes and Stepanek started on a positive note as they went up by a break in the first set only to lose the advantage as Pospisil and Sock took the set to the tie-breaker. The young duo were better on big points as they converted four of their eight break points.

In the second set, the all-important second break came in the eighth game when they broke Stepanek’s serve.

On the other hand, Paes-Stepanek got 10 break points but could convert only two. Whenever a service break loomed large on them, mainly Sock came up with a booming serve while on their opponent’s serve, it was Pospisil, who would hit those deep big forehand returns.

In the third set, they broke Paes-Stepanek rightaway and maintained the single break to close the match in the 10th game off Sock’s serve. (PTI)

Derbyshire, July 4:India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to put in some serious thinking in the next four days as to what exactly will be his team’s bowling combination in the first Test against England at Trent Bridge, starting July 9.

The Indian attack led by the erratic Ishant Sharma gave away 831 runs in 197 overs with only 11 wickets to show for their efforts in the two tour games against the lowly-placed Leicestershire and Derbyshire.

Ishant himself had bowled as many as 18 no-balls in the three innings that he got to bowl.

Not a great fan of statistics, the figures however won’t amuse Dhoni, who has had to fret a lot in order to get his bowling combination right in Test matches as Indian team has traditionally played with four specialist bowlers.

While little known Leicestershire batsmen Angus Robson (younger brother of Test opener Sam) and Greg Smith helped themselves to stroke-filled centuries, Indians were able to register a five-wicket win against Derbyshire.

But one can’t take it seriously since the visitors were playing all 18 members of their squad and the action in the middle was rarely intense.

For the Indian team, the two warm-up games were a mixed bag. Their main focus was to give a run-in to all players in the touring party since the five-Test series is a back-to-back affair.

In that endeavour they were successful, even in some players got a little more playing time than others. It was perhaps a pointer to the team selection for the first Test, if not more.

The batsmen gave a good account of themselves, fighting hard under cloudy skies at Leicester and then settling in at the placid square in Derby. The No.7 spot holds the key to the XI for the Nottingham Test and much will depend on the conditions once the team management gets there and assesses the pitch. (PTI)

New Delhi, July 4:Not knowing Sachin Tendulkar can be damaging and Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova realised it the hard way when irate fans of the Indian batting legend stormed her facebook account with unpleasant comments for not recognising him.

The controversy started when the cricket icon was spotted in the royal box alongwith former England skipper Andrew Strauss and England soccer star David Beckham on Saturday and a reporter later asked Sharapova, “do you know who Sachin is”, to which she replied, “I don’t.”

For fanatical Tendulkar fans though, this was an insult they could not tolerate. They took to social media like crazy bees and over 50,000 comments were posted on the official Facebook page of Sharapova by Thursday afternoon.

“I was one of your biggest fans of you as a tennis star but now I will never see your matches”, was one of the milder posts as Sachin fans attacked her using incredulous, funny and demeaning language.

Others used foul languauge and made threats, while Twitter users took up the toungue-in-cheek #whoismariasharapova hashtag which began trending.

The most bizarre one showed Sachin Tendulkar touching the pitch and taking “it’s blessing” while Sharapova is shown stretching her right leg on the net. The text under the picture read –- “Dear Maria Sharapova this is Sachin Tendulkar who respects his sport. Learn something.”

“see this is sachin you idiot………Highest number of Runs scored in Tests [15,921] Highest number of Runs scored in ODIs [18,426] Highest number of Runs scored in International Matches….,” read one of the post.

“Say Sorry to Sachin Say Sorry to Sachin Say Sorry to Sachin Say Sorry to Sachin …,” was one fan’s reaction.

Tendulkar has been a regular in the royal box of the Wimbledon for over a decade. Swiss ace Roger Federer had also met Tendulkar, a few years back at the Wimbledon arena and had posted a pic of him with the legendary cricketer on his Twitter account to make the meeting public and an honour for the tennis star. (PTI)