Adhiban gets the better of Stefanova to share lead

GIBRALTAR: Grandmaster and former national champion B Adhiban crashed through the defences of former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria to remain in joint lead in the Masters section of Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival.

Scoring his fourth victory in as many rounds, Adhiban kept pace with second seed Hikaru Nakamura of United States, Renier Vazquez Igarza of Spain and wonder-kid Wei Yi of China, all of whom have four points apiece with six rounds still remaining in the 175000 Pounds Sterling (Approx. Rs. 1.7 Crores) prize money festival.

It was a rather dull day for highest rated Indian P Harikrishna as he was held to an easy draw by Michael Roiz of Israel. The Indian, however, remains within striking distance of the leaders with 3.5 points in his kitty from four games.

With four players in the front, Harikrishna shares the fifth spot along with top seed former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

M R Lalith Babu is another Indian among 12 players on the heels of the leaders.

Among other Indians in the fray, Surya Shekhar Ganguly tried hard but could only share the point with compatriot V Vishnu Prasanna, who is playing his best chess in recent times. Also inching up to three points were S P Sethuraman, who defeated Padmini Rout, Sandipan Chanda after getting the better of Xander Wemmers of Holland and Debashis Das, who had an easy outing against Andres Guerrero Vargas of Venezuela.

In a notable result, Soumya Swaminathan held Bela Khotenashvili of Georgia to a creditable draw.

Grandmaster Deep Sengupta was however on the receiving end against Yangyi Yu of China.

Adhiban was in his elements against Stefanova out of a Grunfeld defense game. The Indian has been steadily climbing the rating charts in recent months and this game was another attestation to the fact that he is ready to march in to top 100 of world rankings soon.

Stefanova sacrificed a pawn on the king side to take advantage of weaknesses on the other flank but Adhiban skilfully entered a better endgame where the perfect calculation triumphed over judgement. Marching his pawn to seventh rank in quick time, Adhiban won a piece to register a tricky victory with black pieces.

Harikrishna had little to do as Roiz played it rather safe with white pieces out of a Queen's Indian defense. The pieces changed hands at regular intervals and the players reached a queen and minor pieces endgame where the draw was a just result.

Lalith Babu raised visions of an upset when he won a pawn against Yifan Hou but the Chinese found perfect counter play to force a draw in the ensuing rook and pawns endgame.

In the fifth round, Adhiban will meet Nakamura, while Harikrishna will take on Aleksandr Lenderman of United States. Lalith Babu will face another tough customer in Yangyi Yu.

Important and Indian results round 4 (Indians unless specified): Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 4) beat Nils Grandelius (Swe, 3); Michael Roiz (Isr, 3.5) drew with P Harikrishna (3.5); Renier Vazquez Igarza (Esp, 4) beat Maxim Rodshtein (Isr, 3); Wei Yi (Chn, 4) beat Ju Wenjun (Chn, 3); Yifan Hou (Chn, 3.5) drew with M R Lalith Babu (3.5); Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul, 3) lost to B Adhiban (4); Peter Svidler (Rus, 3.5) beat Gudmundur Kjartansson (Isl, 3); Veselin Topalov (Bul, 3.5) beat Hannes Stefansson (Isl, 2.5); Yu Yangyi (Chn, 3.5) beat Deep Sengupta (2.5); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (3) drew with V Vishnu Prasanna (3); Richard Rapport (Hun, 3) beat M R Venkatesh (2.5); Padmini Rout (2) lost to S P Sethuraman (3); Xander Wemmers (Ned, 2) lost to Sandipan Chanda (3); Soumya Swaminathan (2.5) drew with Bela Khotenashvili (Geo, 2.5); Andres Guerrero Vargas (Ven, 2) lost to Debashis Das (3); Ellinor Frisk (Swe, 2) lost to M Shyam Sundar (3); Daniel Sorm (Cze, 2) drew with D Harika (2); Arghyadip Das (2) drew with Josefine Heinemann (Ger, 2); Al-Tamimi Hamad (Qat, 1.5) lost to Neelotpal Das (2.5); Eesha Karavade (2.5) beat Vidal Rodriguez Alvarez (Ven, 1.5).

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Lalith Babu upsets defending champion Cheparinov at Gibraltar Chess

GIBRALTAR: Grandmaster MR Lalith Babu caused a major upset by defeating defending champion Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria in the third round of the Masters section of Tradewise Gibraltar Chess tournament here on Friday.

With his third victory in as many games, Lalith Babu remained in joint lead and the victory against Cheparinov served as a confidence booster for the Indian who has been struggling for some time.

It was a Semi Slav defense in which Lalith Babu allowed level play to Heparinov who played black. The middle game was on even keel too when after the trade of queens Cheparinov thought he had a chance and miscalculated in the endgame.

Lalith Babu picked up two pawns in the process and then calculated precisely to romp home in 49 moves.

With seven rounds still to come in the 175000 Pounds Sterling Festival, there as many as 13 players sharing the lead and three Indians among them.

Apart from Babu, highest rated Indian P Harikrishna and B Adhiban maintained a clean slate at the expense of Ioan-Cristian Chirila of Romania and Alexander Donchenko of Germany.

There are as many as three Chinese players also in the lead. Women's world champion Yifan Hou made short work of Al-Sayed Mohamed of Qatar while Wenjun Ju caused an upset defeating Richard Rapport of Hungary. The other Chinese in lead is 15-year old GM Wei Yi who became the youngest ever to cross the 2700 ELO rating mark in the live rating list.

Meanwhile, second seed Hikaru Nakamura of United States had to work hard but in the end prevailed over Tamir Nabaty of Israel. Nakamura is the only elite player apart from Harikrishna to maintain an all-win record after three rounds.

Harikrishna, meanwhile, played the game of the day to beat Ioan-Cristian Chirila. The Berlin defense by the Romanian was spurned and Harikrishna took advantage of an opening error to launch a king side attack after sacrificing a pawn. It was sheer class that prevailed thereafter as Harikrishna gave up a rook for a minor piece en-route to securing a fine victory.

Adhiban defeated Donchenko in just 28 moves out of an English opening. Playing white the Indian dented black's pawn structure on the king side and then picked up a pawn with his technical skills to force an early resignation.

Among other Indians in the fray, Vishnu Prasanna continued with his fine run on the tournament and held Daniel Naroditsky of United States to a draw while the all-Indian duel between M R Venkatesh and Surya Shekhar Ganguly also reached the same result. Prasanna, Venkatesh and Ganguly have all got 2.5 points apart from Deep Sengupta who accounted for Robert Bellin of England.

Important and Indian results round 3 (Indians unless specified):

Tamir Nabaty (Isr, 2) lost to Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 3); P Harikrishna (3) beat Ioan-Cristian Chirila (Rou, 2); Wenjun Ju (Chn, 3) beat Richard Rapport (Hun, 2); M R Lalith Babu (3) beat Ivan Cheparinov (Bul, 2); Maxim Rodshtein (Isr, 3) beat Allan Stig Rasmussen (Den, 2); Bela Khotenashvili (Geo, 2) lost to Wei Yi (Chn, 3); Yifan Hou (Chn, 3) beat Al-Sayed Mohammed (Qat, 2); Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul, 3) beat Romain Edouard (Fra, 2); B Adhiban (3) beat Alexander Donchenko (Ger, 2); Gudmundur Kjartansson (Isl, 3) beat Axel Bachmann (Par, 2); V Vishnu Prasanna (2.5) drew with Daniel Naroditsky (Usa, 2.5); Nils Grandelius (Swe, 3) beat Juan Manuel Bellon Lopez (Esp, 2); M R Venkatesh (2.5) drew with Surya Shekhar Ganguly (2.5); Michael Roiz (Isr, 3) beat Soumya Swaminathan (2); Jovanka Houska (Eng, 2) lost to Renier Vazquez Igarza (Esp, 3); S P Sethuraman (2) drew with Irina Krush (Usa, 2); Neelotpal Das (1.5) lost to A R Salem Saleh (Uae, 2.5); Ruben Felgaer (Arg, 2) drew with Padmini Rout (2); Deep Sengupta (2.5) beat Robert Bellin (Eng, 1.5); Johan Salomon (Nor, 2) drew with Debashis Das (2); Sandipan Chanda (2) beat Menna Barreto Felipe Kubiaki (Bra, 1); D Harika (1.5) drew with Urbina Perez Juan Antonio (Esp, 1.5); M Shyam Sundar (2) beat Hendrik Hoffmann (Ger, 1); Diego Herman (Arg, 1.5) drew with Arghyadip Das (1.5); Alan Walton (Eng, 1.5) drew with Eesha Karavade (1.5).

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RWA badminton meet in seven cities

NEW DELHI: The first of its kind initiative, the RWA Badminton Championships, organized jointly by The Times of India and PNB MetLife is set to get underway across seven cities from Saturday.

Over a million residents from 1,000 housing societies in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore will take part in the event. The tournament will give enthusiastic shuttlers a chance to represent their society while bringing families together in a fun and healthy way.

Winners from each society will get the chance to compete on a grander stage at the City Finals to be held in April this year to vie for the City RWA badminton champion's crown.

The event is being organised by the agency 'Just My Neighbour'. Societies and RWAs interested in participating in the tournament should register at http:www.playforhappiness.in or call +91-9582095035+91124-4037479.

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Arum optimistic of Mayweather-Pacquiao deal: Report

NEW YORK: Manny Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum reportedly is optimistic a mega-fight deal between the Filipino icon and unbeaten US fighter Floyd Mayweather will be made in the next couple of days.

The New York Post reported Friday that Arum is down to negotiating the final details of a contract for the much-awaited welterweight showdown tentatively penned in for May 2 in Las Vegas.

"The issues are being narrowed down to extraordinarily small points," Arum told the newspaper. "I'm optimistic it will all be put together in the next couple of days."

Mayweather said he would not fight Pacquiao as long as Arum was his promoter after a dispute many years ago.

Blood test issues help scuttle talks five years ago but after the fighters met at an NBA game in Miami earlier this week, the bout expected to be the sport's biggest-ever moneyspinner appears close to a reality.

"Everybody is doing the right thing," Arum told the Post on Friday. "We're looking to complete the paperwork. Everything is moving in the right direction. Hopefully, the next couple of days it will get done."

The report said network issues are all that remain to be sorted. Mayweather has a contract with Showtime while Pacquiao has a deal with HBO, but both stand to gain by coming together for Mayweather-Pacquiao bout that could approach $300 million.

The last time such a deal was made between the telecast rivals, it produced a Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis matchup in 2002.

Pacquiao has been calling out Mayweather for months, his latest comment last week on Twitter being, "I can easily beat Floyd Mayweather, I believe that."

After meeting at a Miami Heat game, Mayweather and Pacquiao spent an hour in the Asian star's hotel suite talking about the possibility of meeting in the ring, Arum said.

"I think it helped a lot because we were all putting papers together, and there was still a question as to whether Floyd really wanted to do the fight or not," Arum said. "Based on the meeting with Pacquiao in the hotel suite, Manny and (Pacquiao adviser) Michael Koncz were convinced Floyd absolutely wants to do the fight."

Filipino southpaw Pacquiao, 57-5 with two drawn and 38 knockouts, has won three fights in a row since being knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in his fourth bout against the Mexican. "Pac-Man", who is 36, won a unanimous decision over Chris Aligieri in Macao last November in his most recent fight.

Mayweather, 47-0 with 26 knockouts, turns 38 next month and has two more fights in the rich Showtime deal that has made him the highest-paid athlete in the world. Should he win them both, Mayweather would match the iconic 49-0 record of 1950s legend Rocky Marciano, who retired as an undefeated heavyweight champion.

Mayweather is coming off a unanimous decision over Argentine fighter Marcos Maidana last September in a rematch of a bout last May that Mayweathwer won by majority decision.

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Withdrew because of health not due to BI-IOA standoff: Sangwan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Unwilling to be caught in the tug of war between the Indian Olympic Association and Boxing India, rising Indian pugilist Sumit Sangwan today asserted that his pullout from the National Games here was caused by fitness issues and not the threat of a ban from BI.

"I have withdrawn because I am not keeping well and the doctor has advised me rest for a few days. I have the medical documents to prove it," Sangwan, a 2012 Asian Olympic Qualifiers gold-medallist, said.

The Games' boxing competition, which starts on February 6, has been hit by a talent crisis after some established names such as Asian and Commonwealth medallist Manoj Kumar and Asian champion Shiva Thapa opted out after a threat of ban from BI.

BI is currently locked in a pitched battle with the IOA, which has refused to grant it recognition despite the body having the International Boxing Association (AIBA) approval.

Citing this refusal, BI has decided to boycott the Games, telling state units to not send any participants, threatening a ban against those who choose to compete.

"Whatever be the current situation, I have withdrawn purely on health grounds," the 22-year-old Sangwan said.

If the current logjam is not resolved, the boxing competition in Thrissur would turn out to be a lackluster affair.

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Mary Kom meets PM, invites him for academy's inauguration

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Jan 28, 2015, 06.29PM IST

Boxer MC Mary Kom during a meeting with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday. (PTI Photo)

Page 1 of 4

NEW DELHI: Celebrated Indian woman boxer MC Mary Kom on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invited him for the inauguration of her academy in Manipur in April.

Mary Kom, the reigning Asian Games gold-medallist, called on Modi this morning and the Prime Minister later tweeted the pictures of the meeting.

"I sought an appointment yesterday and he was ready to meet me today itself which was a very nice gesture on his part," Mary Kom said about the meeting.

"I wanted to invite him for the inauguration of my academy in Manipur. Its construction will be completed in April. I told him I would wait for him to find time for the inauguration and only then go ahead with the formal function," she said.

"He has promised that he would try his level best to make it, so let's see. He came across as a very gracious host and I felt very good after meeting him."

The five-time world champion, who won a bronze medal at the London Olympics, said Modi was very warm while hearing her out and promised all help in future as well.

"He was very warm. He told me that I can approach him anytime if I need as I am like his daughter. He told me, being a daughter, I can come to his residence whenever I need. It was very nice to meet him," she said.

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PM Narendra Modi motivated me, says Mary Kom

NEW DELHI: Boxing star Mary Kom met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 10 minutes on Wednesday and went back with an "experience to cherish for life". Mary Kom, who had gone to invite Modi for the inauguration of her boxing academy in Imphal, said she is now motivated to win even more medals.

"I had sought an appointment on Tuesday to invite him to my boxing academy .Surprisingly, I got a call from his office on Wednesday morning. I enjoyed every bit of his hospitality. He treated me like a daughter. He repeated what Barack Obama had said on Tuesday and motivated me to produce world champions at the academy," Mary told TOI.

"I told him that the academy, which will be ready by April, needs his blessings and that I would be very happy if he could find time to come to Manipur. He said, 'let me know when the academy is ready' and promised that he would try his best to help me," the mother of three said.

The London Olympics bronze medalist said that she went to Modi, because "he is the right person and a true hero". "I felt proud to meet him. It was like a dream come true. He promised all possible support for future and told me: 'This is your house, you are always welcome'," Mary said.

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Enrique Iglesias, Rafael Nadal to open string of Spanish restaurants

LONDON: Singing sensation Enrique Iglesias and tennis star Rafael Nadal are set to take the world by storm with their string of Spanish restaurants called Tatel - which are already in the pipeline and will be going international soon.

The multi-award-winning singer and the 28-year-old tennis champion, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the world, will be opening their first restaurant in Madrid in March, reported Hello magazine.

The two have teamed up with basketball star Pau Gasol and businessman Abel Matutes Prats for the business venture.

"The food of our country is very famous. There are many Spanish restaurants but none have tried to become the reference at a national or even international level ," a spokesperson for the investors said.

The flagship Tatal in the Spanish capital will be 800-square meters, decked out in 1920's inspired decor and divided into three zones -- the restaurateurs hope to "surprise customers with performances."

Tatel Ibiza is set to open in 2016, with future plans to expand to Barcelona, London, and Las Vegas already in the works.

Enrique, 39, son of iconic Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, was born in Madrid and at the age of 15 moved to the US, where he grew up.

Rafa, meanwhile, was born on Spanish island Majorca, where he bought a luxurious villa in 2013.

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Parupalli Kashyap rises to World No. 12

NEW DELHI: Boosted by the title win at the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships on Sunday, Parupalli Kashyap rose three places to be ranked No.12 in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday.

Two other Indians are in the top-25 of men's singles with Kidambi Srikanth at No. 5 and HS Prannoy at No. 18. Both retained their positions.

Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal who won the women's singles title at the same tournament by beating World Champion Carolina Marin on Sunday, stayed at No. 3 but recent winner of Padma Shri PV Sindhu dropped a place to be ranked No. 10.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa are India's only representation in the women's doubles top-25 at No. 22 while there are no Indians in the top-25 of the men's and mixed doubles.

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Debashis Das holds Veselin Topalov

GIBRALTAR: Grandmaster Debashis Das came up with his best performance ever to hold former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria to a creditable draw in the second round of the Masters' section of Tradewise Gibraltar Chess festival on Thursday.

On a day of upsets, Indian Grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna defeated highly regarded Grandmaster Emil Sutovsky of Israel while former world junior girls' champion Soumya Swaminathan came with an inspired performance to beat American Kayden Troff to maintain a clean slate after two games.

Also ending on a high was Indian GM M R Venkatesh who scored a fine victory over Simen Agdestein of Norway.

With eight rounds still to come, it was business as usual for some of the higher-ranked players but highest rated Indian P Harikrishna had to show his endgame-magic before he could secure his second victory in the tournament.

Quinten Ducarmon of Holland had an extra pawn in the endgame arising out of a French defense but Harikrishna used his Bishop pair well to catch the Dutchman off-guard and won in 52 moves.

The day however belonged to Debashis Das. It was a Nimzo Indian Classical in which Topalov tried a lot of tricks in the middle game. Starting with a piece sacrifice on the 25th move the Bulgarian ripped apart white's position on the king side but Das came up with some remarkable counter play to keep himself in the game.

The Indian was undeterred by the close to 300 rating points different between the two and even allowed Topalov to make a second queen when the position reached an exciting finish. When the dust subsided Topalov had an extra queen but Das had three pieces. The draw was signed on move 46.

Vishnu Prasanna defeated Sutovsky from the white side of an English opening game. Giving the Israeli a taste of his own medicine, Prasanna sacrificed a pawn early in the opening and reached a better endgame despite less material. What followed was a treat to watch as the Indian found an aesthetically pleasing finish leading to force checkmate.

Soumya Swaminathan excelled in a Sicilian Najdorf with her white pieces. Kayden Troff suffered once white started a massive attack in the centre and black's position fell apart after a thematic pieces sacrifice. Soumya finally trapped black's queen and won in just 30 moves.

Venkatesh won with black against Agdestein out of a King's Indian defense game while on the flip side Sandipan Chanda suffered a blow to go down to Manuel Juan Bellon Lopez.

Important and Indian results round 2 (Indians unless specified): Debashis Das (1.5) drew with Veselin Topalov (Bul, 1.5); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 2) beat D Harika (1); Dennis Wagner (Ger, 1.5) drew with Peter Svidler (Rus, 1.5); Nikita Vitiugov (Rus, 2) beat Danny Raznikov (Isr, 1); Yangyi Yu (Chn, 2) beat M Shyam Sundar (1); Quinten Ducarmon (Ned, 1) lost to P Harikrishna (2); Wei Yi (Chn, 2) beat Alan Pichot (1); Arghyadip Das (1) lost to Yifan Hou (Chn, 2); V Vishnu Prasanna (2) beat Emil Sutovsky (Isr, 1); Stefan Docx (Bel, 1) lost to B Adhiban (2); Simen Agdestein (Nor, 1) lost to M R Venkatesh (2); Ismael Teran Alvarez (Esp, 1.5) drew with S P Sethuraman (1.5); Aleksandr Lenderman (Usa, 1.5) drew with Neelotpal Das (1.5); Eesha Karavade (1) lost to Nils Grandelius (Swe, 2); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (2) beat David Martinez Martin (Esp, 1); Padmini Rout (1.5) drew with Sandro Mareco (Arg, 1.5); Manuel Juan Bellon Lopez (Esp, 2) beat Sandipan Chanda (1); Thomas Paehtz (Ger, 1.5) drew with Deep Sengupta (1.5); Soumya Swaminathan (2) beat Kayden Troff (Usa, 1); M R Lalith Babu beat Marta Bartel (Pol, 1).

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Boxing India plans Indian Series of Boxing, new ranking system

NEW DELHI: Keen to revolutionise the sport, Boxing India is planning to launch a professional-style Indian Series of Boxing, which would double up as a qualifying event for the World Series of Boxing.

"To take these reforms forward Boxing India in its second Executive Committee Meeting has unanimously agreed to launch the Indian Series of Boxing and also introduce a National Ranking System for all the boxers," BI said in a statement.

The BI, however, has not yet worked out the window for conducting the event.

The top male boxers across all International Boxing Association (AIBA) approved weight categories will participate and have a chance to win prize money besides their regular salaries.

The ISB would act as qualifier for the WSB, which will give the boxers an opportunity to directly qualify for the World Boxing Championships and the Olympics.

For the ranking system, a core committee will design a system that will ensure that all athletes in boxing get ranked on the basis of their participation in various state, zonal, national and international tournaments.

This point-based ranking system would start with state level tournaments and take into account international tournaments too.

"The purpose of the ranking system is to bring meritocracy and transparency, which will give the highest ranked boxers a chance to represent the country," the BI statement said.

The ranking system will also bring new talent into the forefront and ensure that top boxers participate in national events. Further there will be a grading system for boxers, who will get permanent contracts based on their rankings.

Announcing the reforms, BI president Sandeep Jajodia, said, "In the best interest of the sport, the boxers and the nation, it was imperative to take a decision and introduce reforms to transform the sport. Introduction of the ISB is one such reform that is poised to bring in a new boxing economy."

"These reforms are aimed at giving maximum exposure to our pugilists by providing a solid training platform and grooming them to perform well at the international sporting events. Therefore, these new reforms would not only be instrumental in enhancing the overall popularity of the sport and enhancing the skills of the boxers but would also ensure their financial growth," he added.

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Harikrishna off to a bright start in Gibraltar Chess

GIBRALTAR: Indian Grandmaster P Harikrishna started his campaign by outclassing Eric De Haan of Holland in the first round of the Masters' section of Tradewise Gibraltar Chess festival at the Caleta.

On what turned out to be an easy first round, seventh seeded Harikrishna made most of his white pieces in a fluent win out of a Sicilian defense.

De Haan was all at sea after the Indian traded the queens and the Dutchman lost a piece amidst mild tactical complexities. Harikrishna won in just 33 moves.

All Indians in the fray got off a fantastic start in the Rs. 1.7 crore prize money event as all recorded victories in the first round.

Among them, B Adhiban was stretched but came out unscathed Antonio Juan Perez Urbina of Spain. The Indian got a decent advantage out of a Ruy Lopez opening as white but Urbina hung in there with some staunch defense.

Adhiban, however, created enough play on the weakened king side and cashed in after 32 moves.

Top seed and former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria played a highly exciting game to beat Miguel Emilio Sanchez Jerez of Spain. Out of a King's Indian fianchetto, Topalov threw everything at black's king and romped home in 33 moves.

With nine rounds still remaining in the highest prize money festival, the biggest upset of the first round was recorded by unheralded Badrakh Galmandakh who sprang a surprise by outwitting renowned Grandmaster Alexander Motylev of Russia.

The Indians, meanwhile, made merry against lower ranked opposition. Fresh from a first place finish in a tournament in Germany just a few days back, National Champion S P Sethuraman opened his account at the expense of Hendrik Hoffman of Germany. Playing white, Sethuraman did not give any chance to his opponent.

Josefine Heinemann from Germany then found a tough customer in Surya Shekhar Ganguly, who famously worked with Viswanathan Anand in three successful world championship campaigns. Ganguly scored with black and has a good chance to be among leaders after round two also if he beats David Martinez of Spain in the next round.

The happiest Indian in the second round will be Grandmaster Debashish Das who plays with white pieces against Topalov.

The highest rated Indian girl in the fray, D Harika will meet second seed Hikaru Nakamura of United States.

Important and Indian results after round 1 (Indians unless specified): Veselin Topalov (BUL) beat Miguel Emilio Sanchez Jerez (ESP); Jovana Vojinovic (SRB) lost to Hikaru Nakamura (USA); Peter Svidler (RUS) beat Ellinor Frisk (SWE); Tereza Olsarova (CZE) lost to Nikita Vitiugov (RUS); Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS) beat Tom Rydstrom (SWE); Nuri Kambez (SUI) lost to Yangyi Yu (CHN); P Harikrishna beat Eric De Haan (NED); Vladimir Prosviriakov (USA) lost to Wei Yi (CHN); Yifan Hou beat Dr Cordes Hans-Joerg (GER); Badrakh Galmandakh (MGL) beat Alexander Motylev (RUS); B Adhiban beat Antonio Juan Perez Urbina (ESP); S P Sethuraman beat Hendrik Hoffmann (GER); Josefine Heinemann (GER) lost to Surya Shekhar Ganguly; Sandipan Chanda beat Michael Tscharotschkin (GER); Deep Sengupta beat Ernesto Marcos Jurdao Perez (ESP); Vidal Alvarez Rodriguez (VEN) lost to M R Lalith Babu; Debashis Das beat Wr Brian Hewson (ENG); D Harika beat Alistair Compton (NZL); M Shyam Sundar beat Dr Brend Skutta (GER); Peter Michalowski (GER) lost to Arghyadip Das; Kimia Moradi (IRI) lost to V Vishnu Prasanna; M R Venkatesh beat Kenneth Odeh (NGR); Neelotpal Das beat Othman Mustapha (NGR); Mitchell Burke (ENG) lost to Eesha Karavade; Moritz Weishaeutel (GER) lost to Padmini Rout; Dieter Bauer (GER) lost to Soumya Swaminathan.

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Harikrishna leads Indian challenge in strong Tradewise Masters

GIBRALTAR: Grandmaster P Harirkishna will spearhead the Indian challenge in the super-strong Masters' section of the Tradewise Gibraltar chess festival.

Currently ranked 30 in world rankings, Harikrishna is one of the favourites in the 175000 Pounds Sterling (Approx. Rs. 1.7 Crores) chess festival. The Indian is seeded seventh in the strong line-up, led by former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

Apart from Harikrishna, much can be expected from B Adhiban, who is the second highest rated Indian in the fray. National Champion S P Sethuraman, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Sandipan Chanda, Deep Sengupta, MR Lalith Babu, V Vishnu Prasanna, MR Venkatesh, M Shyam Sundar, Debashish Das, Neelotpal Das and D Harika are the other Indian Grandmasters who will be competing in the tournament.

Topalov, who currently ranks number three in live ratings, will be playing in an open tournament after almost 20-years' gap. It may be recalled that recently Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Anish Giri of Holland took part in the Qatar Masters open, putting an end to the belief that elite players don't like to play in open tournaments.

"This is a very strong event and at the same time I will face new players. In the top events, it is always the same guys and it becomes boring after some time but now I want to meet new faces and get more experience," Topalov said during the opening ceremony.

At 2800 rating, Topalov is also the highest rated player ever to take part in this tournament.

Hikaru Nakamura of United States is another big draw in the tournament, besides Russian Peter Svidler who has played here before also.

All eyes will, however, be on Yangyi Yu of China who has been on a roll recently. The Chinese youngster guided his team to a historic gold medal in the last Chess Olympiad and then won the Qatar Masters ahead of Kramnik and Giri to become a 2700 Elo club member recently.

The tournament will be played under FIDE's Swiss rules and there will be 10 rounds in all. The time control will be Classical and in case of a tied result at the top after 10 rounds, additional tiebreak games will be played to determine the winner.

Women's world champion Yifan Hou starts as the favourite for the women's title worth 15000 Pounds. Having achieved her career best rating of 2673, the Chinese girl is set to end the 25-year domination by now-retired Judit Polgar of Hungary who is just two points ahead of Yifan in ratings.

Harika is the highest rated Indian girl in the fray and stands a chance for a top three finish in women's section.

Former world junior girls' champion Soumya Swaminathan and Eesha Karavade are the other Indian ladies competing for the top prize.

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BAI probes cop and ref's participation in Iceland meet

LUCKNOW: The Badminton Association of India (BAI) president Akhilesh Das has asked for an explanation from the Punjab Badminton Association for recommending the names of a police officer and a referee for participation at the Iceland international tournament. This was reported first by TOI on January 24.

The names of Manmohan Sharma, a 46-year-old IPS officer, and Apinder Singh, a 49-year-old referee, had been sent for participation in a tournament being held in Reykjavik from January 22-25. They pulled out of the tournament after reaching Iceland, without playing a match.

By sending these two, BAI violated its own constitution that says: "Any badminton player who fails to participate in four major tournaments and selection tournaments for national teams... shall not be permitted to participate in any tournament abroad on private basis." Das said: "We had only these two entries for the tournament from all over the country as the Syed Modi tournament was going on in Lucknow at that time. We sanctioned those two names without ascertaining the age of the players. We generally don't stop players who go abroad to play tournaments at no-cost basis to BAI. The Punjab Association didn't mention the dates of birth of the players."

With regard to his daughter Sona visiting Japan in June last year, Das said: "She went under an exchange programme. Her name was forwarded by the Delhi Capital Badminton Association (DCBA) as she was a Delhi state School Games gold medalist."

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Mary Kom meets PM, invites him for academy's inauguration

NEW DELHI: Celebrated Indian woman boxer MC Mary Kom on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invited him for the inauguration of her academy in Manipur in April.

Mary Kom, the reigning Asian Games gold-medallist, called on Modi this morning and the Prime Minister later tweeted the pictures of the meeting.

"I sought an appointment yesterday and he was ready to meet me today itself which was a very nice gesture on his part," Mary Kom said about the meeting.

"I wanted to invite him for the inauguration of my academy in Manipur. Its construction will be completed in April. I told him I would wait for him to find time for the inauguration and only then go ahead with the formal function," she said.

"He has promised that he would try his level best to make it, so let's see. He came across as a very gracious host and I felt very good after meeting him."

The five-time world champion, who won a bronze medal at the London Olympics, said Modi was very warm while hearing her out and promised all help in future as well.

"He was very warm. He told me that I can approach him anytime if I need as I am like his daughter. He told me, being a daughter, I can come to his residence whenever I need. It was very nice to meet him," she said.

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Pacquiao plans if Mayweather says no: Report

LAS VEGAS: Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao has a plan in place if yet another bid to fight Floyd Mayweather fails -- a May 30 bout, possibly against England's Amir Khan.

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum told ESPN that a backup plan if a hoped-for May 2 blockbuster against unbeaten US star Mayweather falls through is a fight four weeks later in Las Vegas, New York, London or Abu Dhabi.

"A lot of places around the world want to host a Manny Pacquiao fight," Arum said. "He's an international icon, and I have been approached by a number of people looking to host a Manny Pacquiao fight."

Arum also told ESPN that Khan, a former welterweight champion, is the leading candidate, although Khan would also be a top contender to fight Mayweather if Pacquiao is not his choice.

Khan and Pacquiao have also been sparring partners before in training camps run by trainer Freddie Roach while working with both fighters.

Arum also mentioned Russian former junior welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov and Argentina's Lucas Matthysse as possible Pacquiao foes.

But Arum says all terms outlined in talks with Mayweather's camp have been covered and that fight would be his first choice.

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Thankful to Obama for acknowledging me: Mary Kom

NEW DELHI: Pleasantly surprised after Barack Obama took her name while talking about Indian achievers, celebrated Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom on Tuesday said it felt proud to be acknowledged by the US President.

Addressing a Town hall event at the Siri Fort auditorium on the third and final day of his visit to India, Obama lauded Indian sporting heroes Mary Kom and legendary sprinter Milkha Singh among others.

Mary Kom, who is in the city to promote Tourism Authority of Thailand after being named the Thai Boxing ambassador, said she never expected the mention from the leader.

"I am thankful to him for mentioning my name. He acknowledged my performances over the years. It was surprising because he could have taken anybody's name. I am feeling very proud," the five-time world champion and the reigning Asian Games gold-medallist, decked in a traditional Thai outfit, said.

"If I meet him ever, I will definitely thank him because it is very encouraging," she added with a grin.

The mother-of-three from Manipur, who is currently on road to recovery from a shoulder injury, said she has already started training but has not yet decided on a comeback tournament.

"I am training but as of now, I haven't decided on which tournament to compete because I want to wait for a tournament which would test me. I would like to be part of a tough draw," she said.

Talking about her new association with Thailand Tourism, Mary Kom said she felt humbled at being given the role.

"I myself went on a holiday to Thailand recently and I loved the experience. I am thankful to them for making me the brand ambassador," she said.

On being asked whether she has tried her hand at Thai Boxing, which involves the use of the knees and elbows as well, Mary Kom said she would recommend the sport for women in India.

"We all know crime is rising and women can learn something like Thai Boxing to counter any attack. It will be good for them," he said.

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Critics wrote me off, says Syed Modi GP champion Kashyap

NEW DELHI: After launching the new season with an emphatic title win at the just-concluded Syed Modi International tournament, India's top shuttler Parupalli Kashyap said he needed this victory to silent his critics.

The 2012 champion, Kashyap clinched his second men's singles title at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold on Sunday after beating World No. 5 K Srikanth 23-21, 23-21 in a gruelling 52-minute contest and said it was a great start to the season.

"It is a great way to start the season. Actually, in November itself, I thought about trying and doing well in this two events -- Malaysia GPG and Syed Modi. I lost in the pre-quarters in Malaysia but luckily I could win a title in this event," Kashyap said.

"I am very happy to win this. I thought I needed to do well. Srikanth has been doing so well in the last year and suddenly he rose to World No. 4 and everyone was counting me off.

"When I entered this event, people said I was not in form and told me that I didn't play well last year. But I told everyone that after the Commonwealth Games I actually played the best in my career.

"I reached the quarters, semis and quarters in the three tournaments that I played in. It's just that Srikanth had an extraordinary year and so everyone thought I was not playing well. So it was an important victory," he added.

While the title gave him a lot of happiness, Kashyap ended up suffering a muscle tear in his abdomen.

"My abs was injured during the match. There is a mild tear in my abdomen, I don't know how bad it is right now. there are no good physios in Hyderabad right now, so I might get it checked in Mumbai. I'm little worried about it now," he said.

"Luckily I have time in my hand, because the next important tournament is All England, so I will have time to recover and play in All England."

The final clash between Kashyap and Srikanth turned out to be a closely fought affair with both players refusing to give an inch.

Talking about the match, Kashyap said: "It was a tough match. Srikanth is an in-form player. I expected a match like this which will go to the end. We both know each other's game and was anticipating each other.

"I have been playing (RMV) Gurusaidutt and others but didn't play Srikanth for last one year now. We were supposed to play him in China and Hong Kong but I lost before I could play him."

2015 is an important year for shuttlers as the Olympic qualification will be decided this year but Kashyap, who had edged past Ajay Jayaram to qualify for the London Olympics in a dramatic fashion during the India Super Series, said he will focus on just winning events and not ranking.

"I haven't figured out which I would be playing but I will be surely playing All England. It is an important year. Srikanth has pulled too far ahead and now it's me and (HS) Prannoy who are close but right now I am not thinking about the ranking because with the experience that I had last time, I don't think I can think like that," he quipped.

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Largest Cricket bat bids for Guinness World Record

DUBAI: As the Cricket World Cup is round the corner, a bat as tall as 10-storey building, unveiled here to promote and celebrate the quadrennial event, is bidding for the Guinness World Record for the 'Largest Cricket Bat'.

The 32-metre long and four-metre wide cricket bat, created by a leading pay TVnetwork was displayed on Monday at the ICC Academy.

As tall as an eight to 10-storey building, the bat weighs a mammoth 950 kilogrammes and is nearly 32 times longer than a standard cricket bat.

Placed horizontally, the bat's length is equivalent to the distance of seven cars parked bumper to bumper.

"We wanted to do an activity where we could engage UAE cricket fans and give them an opportunity to come here and say something to the UAE team. So that is what this activity is about. The objective of this is to demonstrate our passion for cricket," said Hamad Malik, Chief Marketing Officer of OSN, TVnetwork that made the bat.

We are celebrating the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with the Guinness World Record attempt, the network said.

Malik along with Andy Warkman, VP Sports and Production at OSN, David East, CEO of Emirates Cricket Board and the UAE National Cricket team's coach, Aqib Javed along with star players revealed the gigantic cricket bat.

The bat will be on display at the ICC Academy in Dubai until the end of March.

The World Cup begins on February 14 and is being jointly held by Australia and New Zealand.

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Harikrishna leads Indian challenge in strong Tradewise Masters

GIBRALTAR: Grandmaster P Harirkishna will spearhead the Indian challenge in the super-strong Masters' section of the Tradewise Gibraltar chess festival.

Currently ranked 30 in world rankings, Harikrishna is one of the favourites in the 175000 Pounds Sterling (Approx. Rs. 1.7 Crores) chess festival. The Indian is seeded seventh in the strong line-up, led by former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

Apart from Harikrishna, much can be expected from B Adhiban, who is the second highest rated Indian in the fray. National Champion S P Sethuraman, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Sandipan Chanda, Deep Sengupta, MR Lalith Babu, V Vishnu Prasanna, MR Venkatesh, M Shyam Sundar, Debashish Das, Neelotpal Das and D Harika are the other Indian Grandmasters who will be competing in the tournament.

Topalov, who currently ranks number three in live ratings, will be playing in an open tournament after almost 20-years' gap. It may be recalled that recently Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Anish Giri of Holland took part in the Qatar Masters open, putting an end to the belief that elite players don't like to play in open tournaments.

"This is a very strong event and at the same time I will face new players. In the top events, it is always the same guys and it becomes boring after some time but now I want to meet new faces and get more experience," Topalov said during the opening ceremony.

At 2800 rating, Topalov is also the highest rated player ever to take part in this tournament.

Hikaru Nakamura of United States is another big draw in the tournament, besides Russian Peter Svidler who has played here before also.

All eyes will, however, be on Yangyi Yu of China who has been on a roll recently. The Chinese youngster guided his team to a historic gold medal in the last Chess Olympiad and then won the Qatar Masters ahead of Kramnik and Giri to become a 2700 Elo club member recently.

The tournament will be played under FIDE's Swiss rules and there will be 10 rounds in all. The time control will be Classical and in case of a tied result at the top after 10 rounds, additional tiebreak games will be played to determine the winner.

Women's world champion Yifan Hou starts as the favourite for the women's title worth 15000 Pounds. Having achieved her career best rating of 2673, the Chinese girl is set to end the 25-year domination by now-retired Judit Polgar of Hungary who is just two points ahead of Yifan in ratings.

Harika is the highest rated Indian girl in the fray and stands a chance for a top three finish in women's section.

Former world junior girls' champion Soumya Swaminathan and Eesha Karavade are the other Indian ladies competing for the top prize.

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Sakshi, Atharva take sole lead in State U-19 Fide Rating Chess

NAGPUR: World Fide Master (WFM) Sakshi Chitlange of Aurangabad in girls and top seed Atharva Godbole of Pune in boys emerged as sole leaders at the end of Round 8 in the Maharashtra State U-19 Open Fide Rating Chess tournament at Ambedkar College Hall on Sunday.

On the top board, Sakshi prevailed over Tanya Padey in just 39 moves to jump to top spot. Sakshi was closely followed by city chess prodigy Divya Deshmukh with 6.5 points. Nine-year-old Divya was held by Sonal Mandhana in 46 moves. Srishti Pandey outwitted Shalaka Pagay to take her points tally to 5.5.

In the boys section, Atharva downed Prasad Aurangabadkar in 40 movers to jump to sole lead. Nishit Singh was in second position with 7 points.

The ninth and final round will be played on Monday at 9 am followed by the prize distribution function at 1 pm.

Results (Round 8):

Girls: Tanya Pandey (5) lost to Sakshi Chitlange (7), Divya Deshmukh (6.5) drew with Sonal Mandhana (5.5), Shalaka Pagay (4.5) lost to Srishti Pandey (5.5), Mansi Bhumkar (4) lost to Shweta Gole (5.5), Saloni Sapale (5) bt Gurleen Chawla (4), Ismat Chimthanwala (4) lost to Esha Sarda (5), Ananya Gupta (4.5) bt Anushka Kohle (4), Aditi Patil (4.5) bt Vaishnavi Gole (3.5), Narayani Adane (4.5) bt Saloni Patel (3.5), Riddhi Palorkar (4.5) bt Dnyanada Vitalkar (3).

Boys: Prasad Aurangabadkar (6) lost to Atharva Godbole (7.5), Nishit Singh (7) bt Rohit Patil (6), Indrajeet Mahindrakar (6.5) drew with Pruthu Deshpande (6), Suyog Wagh (6.5) bt Anish Gandhi (5.5), Salil Deogade (6) bt Sarvesh Rao (5.5), Sai Shravan R (5) lost to Raunak Sadhwani (6), Saransh Jeswani (5) lost to Hrithvik Gadhiya (6), Shail Pagay (5) lost to Om Vitalkar (6), Manan Dhoke (5) lost to Vaibhav Raut (6), Pavitra Batra (5) lost to Priyanshu Patil (6).

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Saina holds on to her crown in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: Top seed Saina Nehwal started off the New Year in style defending the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold badminton title, but not before overcoming some tense moments against World Champion Carolina Marin on a cold evening at the UP Badminton Academy Hall. The men's title went to P Kashyap, who tamed K Srikanth in two bitterly fought games.

The Saina-Marin match turned out to be a 79-minute slugfest for the packed Sunday house that provided vociferous support to the Indian, who acknowledged the cheers by throwing her racket into the crowd after her triumph.

The top-seeded Indian won 19-21, 25-23, 21-16 to complete a hat-trick of wins against the second-seeded Marin in as many meetings between them.

Saina did not start very promisingly as Marin raced to a 5-2 lead. However, she came back strongly to lead 15-7 playing aggressively. But Marin came back to level the game at 17-17 and clinch the first game 19-21.

The second game was a neck-and-neck affair from the word go. Saina crucially saved two match-points. The loss of the second game seemed to affect Marin as the momentum shifted in favour of the Indian. Saina dominated the third game to build a 15-7 lead. Though the reigning European Champion tried fighting back, it was too much to ask from the 21-year-old as Saina closed out the encounter on her third match-point.

Later, 2012 champion Kashyap beat compatriot and World No. 5 Kidambi Srikanth 23-21, 23-21 in 52 minutes.

Though the duo played several matches in the past, this was their first meeting in an official Badminton World Federation (BWF) match.

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Parupalli Kashyap wins Syed Modi Grand Prix title

LUCKNOW: Saina Nehwal staged a scintillating comeback to defeat reigning world champion Carolina Marin and retain the women's singles title, while Parupalli Kashyap beat K Srikanth in an all-India final to win men's singles crown of the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament on Sunday.

World number three Saina scraped past the seventh-ranked Spaniard 19-21, 25-23, 21-16 in a see-saw battle lasting an hour and 19 minutes to bag the title.

With the gruelling win, Saina maintained her 100 per cent win record against Carolina in three career meetings.

Third seeded Kashyap, meanwhile, stunned world number five Srikanth 23-21, 23-21 to clinch the men's singles title after a gruelling 52-minute contest.

Saina showed steely resolve after losing the first game from a 16-12 cushion. The match could have been easier for the Hyderabadi had she not allowed Carolina to come back after gaining a healthy lead on more than one occasion.

Saina was surging ahead in the second game as well with a 10-6 lead before the 21-year-old Spaniard fought back to go 15-12 up. It was a neck and neck battle from thereon with the Indian saving a couple of match points. She eventually managed to level the match on her third game point.

The Hyderabadi did not repeat the mistakes of the first two games in the deciding third game, taking a 9-4 lead before wrapping up the match on her third match point.

The men's singles final match turned out to be a closely fought affair with both players refusing to give an inch.

In the opening game, Kashyap managed to take a lead on a couple of occasions but every time top seed Srikanth levelled the scores at some stage.

It was a hard-fought game from 16-16 to 21-21 before Kashyap reeled off two quick points when it mattered the most, to run away with the first game.

Second game also went on similar lines till 13-13 before world number 15 Kashyap won four points on a trot to open up a 17-13 lead and then further extended it to 19-15.

But not the one to give it up without a fight, Srikanth picked up four successive points to make it 19-19.

Tied once more on 21-21, Kashyap yet again kept his cool to earn the two most crucial points and seal the issue in his favour.

In mixed doubles, Indian pair of Manu Attri and K Maneesha went down to top seeded Indonesian combo of Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili 17-21, 17-21 to finish runners-up.
Elated after defending her women's singles title, Saina termed the victory as a "great" win.

"It was a great win. I have been working hard for this tournament and really wanted to defend my title and to finally do it and that too by beating Caroline in the final is always a confidence booster," said Saina.

"I have beaten her twice in the past but she is a top level player, the reigning world champion. So overall the right kind of start I was looking for," she added.

Kashyap said the victory came at a time when he needed it badly.

"It was an important victory for me. I needed this win badly. It is always nice to get an early win under the belt at the start of the season.

"It was a tough match. We haven't played each other in the last one year. So it was more of each of us anticipating each other's strokes. The rallies were also either short or went on long. But am happy with my performance. It was very satisfying," Kashyap admitted.

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After all the noise, Saina misses out on Padma; Sushil too

NEW DELHI: Saina Nehwal's recent show of petulance in demanding a Padma award this time has led to a domino effect with the ace shuttler not figuring in the list of winners that the home ministry released on Sunday, on Republic Day eve. What it also did, was to claim Sushil Kumar in its wake as the two-time Olympic medal winner too was missing from the list.

The controversy had arisen when the sports ministry had initially recommended Sushil's name with the backing of the Wrestling Federation of India.

A miffed Saina believed she too was deserving of the honour.

"I was really sad that my name was not sent by the sports ministry. I hope the ministry looks into this and I will be more than happy if both me and Sushil get the award as we both won medals in 2012 Olympics," she was widely reported to have said earlier this month. Pushed into a corner, the ministry assured Saina that her case would be seriously considered.

On Sunday, while Saina — fresh from winning the Syed Modi GP in Lucknow — was not available for comment, the announcement took Sushil by complete surprise when TOI informed him after he emerged from a late training session. Sushil had almost taken the award as given and would not believe he wasn't on the list released by the home ministry's release of awardees.

What adds to the wrestler's strange dilemma was that the lone Padma Bhushan in sports was awarded to Satpal Singh, Sushil's long time coach and as it happens, his father-in-law.

"Nahi mila!?" he asked before confidently adding that that he had won the award. "I have got the award. Can you please check it again," he said repeatedly.

His confidence forced us to check and re-check the list for a possible slip, but to be fair, Sushil may not have been in reckoning since the guidelines say that a minimum period of five years between two Padma awards to the same person is mandatory. Sushil was awarded with the Padma Shri award in 2011, and his application was not considered last year too.

When told that Satpal was home ministry's choice for the award, the son-in-law's tone echoed disappointment. "I may not have got it then. Ajeeb sa lag raha hai (I am feeling weird)," he said. "An athlete's job is to work hard and speak with his performance and not by words. At the end it's the jury that decides. The award is a nice retirement gift for Guru ji (Satpal)," Sushil said.

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Critics wrote me off, says Syed Modi GP champion Kashyap

NEW DELHI: After launching the new season with an emphatic title win at the just-concluded Syed Modi International tournament, India's top shuttler Parupalli Kashyap said he needed this victory to silent his critics.

The 2012 champion, Kashyap clinched his second men's singles title at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold on Sunday after beating World No. 5 K Srikanth 23-21, 23-21 in a gruelling 52-minute contest and said it was a great start to the season.

"It is a great way to start the season. Actually, in November itself, I thought about trying and doing well in this two events -- Malaysia GPG and Syed Modi. I lost in the pre-quarters in Malaysia but luckily I could win a title in this event," Kashyap said.

"I am very happy to win this. I thought I needed to do well. Srikanth has been doing so well in the last year and suddenly he rose to World No. 4 and everyone was counting me off.

"When I entered this event, people said I was not in form and told me that I didn't play well last year. But I told everyone that after the Commonwealth Games I actually played the best in my career.

"I reached the quarters, semis and quarters in the three tournaments that I played in. It's just that Srikanth had an extraordinary year and so everyone thought I was not playing well. So it was an important victory," he added.

While the title gave him a lot of happiness, Kashyap ended up suffering a muscle tear in his abdomen.

"My abs was injured during the match. There is a mild tear in my abdomen, I don't know how bad it is right now. there are no good physios in Hyderabad right now, so I might get it checked in Mumbai. I'm little worried about it now," he said.

"Luckily I have time in my hand, because the next important tournament is All England, so I will have time to recover and play in All England."

The final clash between Kashyap and Srikanth turned out to be a closely fought affair with both players refusing to give an inch.

Talking about the match, Kashyap said: "It was a tough match. Srikanth is an in-form player. I expected a match like this which will go to the end. We both know each other's game and was anticipating each other.

"I have been playing (RMV) Gurusaidutt and others but didn't play Srikanth for last one year now. We were supposed to play him in China and Hong Kong but I lost before I could play him."

2015 is an important year for shuttlers as the Olympic qualification will be decided this year but Kashyap, who had edged past Ajay Jayaram to qualify for the London Olympics in a dramatic fashion during the India Super Series, said he will focus on just winning events and not ranking.

"I haven't figured out which I would be playing but I will be surely playing All England. It is an important year. Srikanth has pulled too far ahead and now it's me and (HS) Prannoy who are close but right now I am not thinking about the ranking because with the experience that I had last time, I don't think I can think like that," he quipped.

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Saina Nehwal beats Carolina Marin to retain Syed Modi Grand Prix title

LUCKNOW: Saina Nehwal staged a scintillating comeback to defeat reigning world champion Carolina Marin and retain the women's singles title, while Parupalli Kashyap beat K Srikanth in an all-India final to win men's singles crown of the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament on Sunday.

World number three Saina scraped past the seventh-ranked Spaniard 19-21, 25-23, 21-16 in a see-saw battle lasting an hour and 19 minutes to bag the title.

With the gruelling win, Saina maintained her 100 per cent win record against Carolina in three career meetings.

Third seeded Kashyap, meanwhile, stunned world number five Srikanth 23-21, 23-21 to clinch the men's singles title after a gruelling 52-minute contest.

Saina showed steely resolve after losing the first game from a 16-12 cushion. The match could have been easier for the Hyderabadi had she not allowed Carolina to come back after gaining a healthy lead on more than one occasion.

Saina was surging ahead in the second game as well with a 10-6 lead before the 21-year-old Spaniard fought back to go 15-12 up. It was a neck and neck battle from thereon with the Indian saving a couple of match points. She eventually managed to level the match on her third game point.

The Hyderabadi did not repeat the mistakes of the first two games in the deciding third game, taking a 9-4 lead before wrapping up the match on her third match point.

The men's singles final match turned out to be a closely fought affair with both players refusing to give an inch.

In the opening game, Kashyap managed to take a lead on a couple of occasions but every time top seed Srikanth levelled the scores at some stage.

It was a hard-fought game from 16-16 to 21-21 before Kashyap reeled off two quick points when it mattered the most, to run away with the first game.

Second game also went on similar lines till 13-13 before world number 15 Kashyap won four points on a trot to open up a 17-13 lead and then further extended it to 19-15.

But not the one to give it up without a fight, Srikanth picked up four successive points to make it 19-19.

Tied once more on 21-21, Kashyap yet again kept his cool to earn the two most crucial points and seal the issue in his favour.

In mixed doubles, Indian pair of Manu Attri and K Maneesha went down to top seeded Indonesian combo of Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili 17-21, 17-21 to finish runners-up.

Elated after defending her women's singles title, Saina termed the victory as a "great" win.

"It was a great win. I have been working hard for this tournament and really wanted to defend my title and to finally do it and that too by beating Caroline in the final is always a confidence booster," said Saina.

"I have beaten her twice in the past but she is a top level player, the reigning world champion. So overall the right kind of start I was looking for," she added.

Kashyap said the victory came at a time when he needed it badly.

"It was an important victory for me. I needed this win badly. It is always nice to get an early win under the belt at the start of the season.

"It was a tough match. We haven't played each other in the last one year. So it was more of each of us anticipating each other's strokes. The rallies were also either short or went on long. But am happy with my performance. It was very satisfying," Kashyap admitted.

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Malvika, Ritika go down fighting in All India semifinals

NAGPUR: The sixth and final day of the All India Sub-Junior Ranking Badminton tournament turned out to be a heart-breaking for the Nagpur shuttlers.

Both the promising city shuttlers, Malvika Bansod and Ritika Thaker, had to bow out of the competition in the semifinals despite performing brilliantly at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Giant-killer Malvika went down fighting against sixth seed Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka in three games. The 12th seed city southpaw, who knocked out two higher ranked seeded players on Friday, started off well and pocketed the first game 21-15. However, the Hyderabadi girl bounced back in the next two games to shatter the hopes of Centre Point School, Dabha, student.

Similarly, Ritika Thaker also suffered a heart-shattering defeat in the U-15 girls doubles semis. The top seeded pair of Ritika and Simran Singhi (Mumbai Suburban) began well and claimed the opening game against No. 8 seed duo of A Akshita (Andhra Pradesh)-Himanshi Rawat (Uttarakhand). Ritika-Simran lost the next game (1-1) but were in control in the decider. However, few errors at the crucial moments proved costly for the top seeds.

The pair of Ritika and Simran, who received a special award during the prize distribution ceremony, had triumphed at the last All India sub-junior ranking tournament at Tirupur, a couple of months ago.

RESULTS (Semifinals)

U-15 girls singles: 12-Malvika Bansod lost to 6-Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka 21-15, 15-21, 13-21. U-15 girls doubles: 1-Ritika Thaker-Simran Singhi lost to 8-A Akshita-Himanshi Rawat 21-17, 10-21, 25-27.

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Divya, Sakshi share lead in State U-19 Chess tourney

NAGPUR: Chess prodigy Divya Deshmukh and Sakshi Chitlange shared the lead with five points each to their kitty at the end of the sixth round in the Maharashtra State U-19 Open Fide Rating Chess Championship at the Ambedkar College Hall here on Saturday.

In the sixth round on the top board, World Fide Master Divya outclassed Srishti Pandey to jump to joint lead. The nine-year-old city girl now share the lead with Sakshi, who accounted for Friday's sole leader Sonal Mandhana, who lost both her matches on Saturday to remain on four points.

In the boys section, Atharva Godbole emerged as the sole leader with six points under his belt. In the sixth round round, Atharva defeated Indrajeet Mahindrakar. Prasad Aurangabadkar and Nishit Singh sharing the second spot with 5.5 points each.

RESULTS (Round 6)

Girls: Divya Deshmukh (5) bt Srishti Pandey (4.5), Sonal Mandhana (4) lost to Sakshi Chitlange (5), Shweta Gole (4.5) bt Shalaka Pagay (3.5), Saloni Sapale (4) bt Narayani Adane (3), Khushi Gosavi (3) lost to Tanya Pandey (4).

Boys: Indrajeet Mahindrakar (5) lost to Atharva Godbole (6), Anish Gandhi (4.5) lost to Prasad Aurangabadkar (5.5), Nishit Singh (5.5) bt Ashutosh Dalal (4), Suyog Wagh (5) bt R Sai Shravan (4), Salil Deogade (5) bt Vaibhav Raut (4).

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Saina Nehwal poised to retain title

LUCKNOW: Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth and former national champion Parupalli Kashyap chose similar routes to set up an all-Indian men's title clash in the Syed Modi International Grand Prix badminton tournament. Both overcame opening game deficits to get past their respective rivals on Saturday.

Srikanth had the better of HS Prannoy 12-21, 21-12, 21-18, while fourthseeded Kashyap came up with a stellar display to upset second-seeded Russian Viktor Axelsen 18-21, 22-20, 21-7.

In the women's section, World No. 3 Saina Nehwal will face world champion Carolina Marin in the final. She had the measure of Thailand's Nichaon Jindapon before winning 21-10, 21-16. Marin defeated PV Sindhu in the other semifinal. Kashyap committed some crucial mistakes at the net in the opener that allowed Axelsen to clinch the opening game. Leading 17-14, he made crucial unforced errors which allowed the Russian to win the game.

The second game too went neck-andneck. And at 20-all, Axelsen seemed to have the advantage as he was leading 1-0. But the Indian decided to go for the lines with his smashes, which paid off as he levelled the match. In the decider, Kashyap made his tall rival seem a mere spectator reeling off smashes to win the game comfortably. The match lasted 65 minutes.

Earlier, Srikanth started off slowly against Prannoy, who ran away with the opening game, pinning his opponent mostly on his backhand. But the World No. 5 stamped his authority in the second game not letting his rival a freehand after taking the lead at 7-6.

In the final game, both were locked at 5-5 before Srikanth's smashes and subtle drop shots forced Prannoy to crack under pressure and concede the game 21-18.

The women's semifinals were not that evenly matched as both Saina and Marin brought out their repertoire of strokes to win in straight games.

Saina was rarely troubled by the Thai girl. She had things under control from the start, and after 5-5 in the opening game, it wasn't difficult to judge who was calling the shots.

Much was expected of the MarinSindhu clash. It was a grudge match for the Indian, having lost to Marin at the Copenhagen World Championship semifinals. But, Sindhu failed to make amends and the Spaniard took her game a few notches up to tame her rival.

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Parupalli Kashyap wins Syed Modi Grand Prix title

LUCKNOW: Saina Nehwal staged a scintillating comeback to defeat reigning world champion Carolina Marin and retain the women's singles title, while Parupalli Kashyap beat K Srikanth in an all-India final to win men's singles crown of the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament on Sunday.

World number three Saina scraped past the seventh-ranked Spaniard 19-21, 25-23, 21-16 in a see-saw battle lasting an hour and 19 minutes to bag the title.

With the gruelling win, Saina maintained her 100 per cent win record against Carolina in three career meetings.

Third seeded Kashyap, meanwhile, stunned world number five Srikanth 23-21, 23-21 to clinch the men's singles title after a gruelling 52-minute contest.

Saina showed steely resolve after losing the first game from a 16-12 cushion. The match could have been easier for the Hyderabadi had she not allowed Carolina to come back after gaining a healthy lead on more than one occasion.

Saina was surging ahead in the second game as well with a 10-6 lead before the 21-year-old Spaniard fought back to go 15-12 up. It was a neck and neck battle from thereon with the Indian saving a couple of match points. She eventually managed to level the match on her third game point.

The Hyderabadi did not repeat the mistakes of the first two games in the deciding third game, taking a 9-4 lead before wrapping up the match on her third match point.

The men's singles final match turned out to be a closely fought affair with both players refusing to give an inch.

In the opening game, Kashyap managed to take a lead on a couple of occasions but every time top seed Srikanth levelled the scores at some stage.

It was a hard-fought game from 16-16 to 21-21 before Kashyap reeled off two quick points when it mattered the most, to run away with the first game.

Second game also went on similar lines till 13-13 before world number 15 Kashyap won four points on a trot to open up a 17-13 lead and then further extended it to 19-15.

But not the one to give it up without a fight, Srikanth picked up four successive points to make it 19-19.

Tied once more on 21-21, Kashyap yet again kept his cool to earn the two most crucial points and seal the issue in his favour.

In mixed doubles, Indian pair of Manu Attri and K Maneesha went down to top seeded Indonesian combo of Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili 17-21, 17-21 to finish runners-up.
Elated after defending her women's singles title, Saina termed the victory as a "great" win.

"It was a great win. I have been working hard for this tournament and really wanted to defend my title and to finally do it and that too by beating Caroline in the final is always a confidence booster," said Saina.

"I have beaten her twice in the past but she is a top level player, the reigning world champion. So overall the right kind of start I was looking for," she added.

Kashyap said the victory came at a time when he needed it badly.

"It was an important victory for me. I needed this win badly. It is always nice to get an early win under the belt at the start of the season.

"It was a tough match. We haven't played each other in the last one year. So it was more of each of us anticipating each other's strokes. The rallies were also either short or went on long. But am happy with my performance. It was very satisfying," Kashyap admitted.

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Saina, Srikanth reach final at Syed Modi tournament

LUCKNOW: Defending champion Saina Nehwal is just one step away from retaining her women's singles title, while world No. 5 Indian K Srikanth too reached the final of the $120,000 Syed Modi International Badminton tournament on Saturday.

Olympic bronze medallist Saina didn't have to break much sweat as she disposed off fourth seed Nichaon Jindapon of Thailand 21-10, 21-16 at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium.

The 24-year-old will take on the winner of the match between two-time World Championship bronze medallist P V Sindhu and reigning World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain.

World No. 5 Srikanth also continued his rampaging form and entered the finals for the second successive time with a hard-fought victory over compatriot H S Prannoy, who had clinched the Indonesia Masters last year.

The top seed Indian dropped the opening game before beating Prannoy 12-21, 21-12, 21-14 in a match that lasted for an hour and four minutes in the men's singles competition.

In doubles, it was curtains for fifth seeds Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy as they were defeated by fourth seeds Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov of Russia 12-21, 18-21.

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Sonal emerges sole leader in Fide Rating chess

NAGPUR: Sonal Mandhana emerged as the sole leader with four points to her credit after the end of the fourth round in the Maharashtra State U-19 Open and Girls FIDE Rating Chess Championship at the Ambedkar College here on Friday.

In the fourth round, Sonal outwitted Tanya Pandey to maintain her winning spree. On the top board, Srishti Pandey was held to a draw by Sakshi Chitlange. Both Srishti and Sakshi have 3.5 points each to their kitty and sharing the second spot.

In the battle between two siblings, Shweta beat her younger sister Vaishnavi to take her points tally to three.

In the boys section, Atharva Godbole, Indrajeet Mahindrakar, R Sai Shravan and Sarvesh Rao shared the lead with four points apiece.

RESULTS

Girls: Srishti Pandey (3.5) drew with Sakshi Chitlange (3.5), Tanya Pandey (2.5) lost to Sonal Mandhana (4), Shweta Gole (3) bt Vaishnavi Gole (2), Saloni Sapale (2.5) drew with Shlaka Pagay Shalaka (2.5), Divya Deshmukh (3) bt Anushka Kohle (2), Narayani Adane (3) bt Eesha Sarda (2), Dnynadha (2.5) bt Khushi Gosavi (2), Subhasmitha Sahoo (2.5) bt Seeya Thakre (1.5), Ananya Gupta (1.5) drew with Gurleen Chawla (1.5).

Boys: Raunak Sadhwani (3) lost to Atharva Godbole (4), Pruthu Deshpande (3.5) drew with Sankarsha Shelke (3.5), Indrajeet Mahindrakar (4) bt Vaibhav Raut (3), R Sai Shravan (4) bt Ashutosh Dalal (3), Priyanshu Patil (3) lost to Sarvesh Rao (4), Aniish Gandhi (3.5) bt Pushkar Dongre (2.5), Renesh Meshram (2.5) lost to Prasad Aurangabadkar (3.5), Nishit Singh (3.5) bt Devansh Ratti (2.5), Roneet Das (2.5) bt Hritvik Gadhiya (3.5), Suyog Wagh (3) bt Tanish Lad (2.5).

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Malvika, Ritika-Simran in semis of All India sub-junior badminton

NAGPUR: Malvika Bansod hogged the limelight on the penultimate day of the All India Sub-Junior Ranking Badminton tournament at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad on Friday.

The talented southpaw caused two major upsets to strom into the U-15 girls singles semifinals. The 13-year-old first stunned second seed Unnati Bisht of Uttarakhand 17-21, 21-18, 21-14 in 50 minutes. Later in the evening, No. 12 seed Malvika accounted for eighth seed Deyashi Kanjibillya of Jharkhand 18-21, 21-15, 21-14 in 40 minutes to book her place in the last four.

In both the matches on Friday, Malvika, a student of Centre Point School, Dabha, had lost the first game but fought back remarkably well to clinch the issue in her favour.

Malvika will now take on sixth seed Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka of Hyderabad for a spot in the final on Saturday morning.

It was a mixed day for another promising city shuttler Ritika Thaker. The 14-year-old lost in the U-15 girls singles but she along with her Mumbai Suburban partner Simran Singhi sailed into the U-15 girls doubles semifinals.

Fourth seed Ritika, a student of CPS, Katol Road, went down fighting against sixth seed Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka in three games in an exciting U-15 girls singles quarterfinal.

However, the top seeded pair of Ritika and Simran rallied back splendidly to oust Shruti Mishra-Amolika Singh 16-21, 21-10, 21-12 to reach the semis, where they will clash with No. 8 seed A Akshita and Himanshi Rawat.

Finals will be played on Saturday evening.

RESULTS

U-15 girls singles (pre-quarters): 12-Malvika Bansod bt 2-Unnati Bisht 17-21, 21-18, 21-14; 4-Ritika Thaker bt 14-M Nivetha 21-13, 11-21, 21-12. U-15 girls singles (quarters): 12-Malvika Bansod bt 8-Deyashi Kanjibillya 18-21, 21-15, 21-14; 4-Ritika Thaker lost to 6-Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka 23-21, 19-21, 18-21. U-15 girls doubles (pre-quarters): 1-Ritika Thaker-Simran Singhi bt Malvika Bansod-Kirthana Thambidurai 13-21, 21-8, 21-17. U-15 girls doubles (quarters): 1-Ritika Thaker-Simran Singhi bt Shruti Mishra-Amolika Singh 16-21, 21-10, 21-12.

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Khan eyes clash with old friend Pacquiao

LONDON: British welterweight Amir Khan revealed a fight against Manny Pacquiao could be on the cards after a meeting with his former sparring partner on Friday.

Khan trained alongside Pacquiao for several years under his old mentor Freddie Roach and had previously maintained they would never fight.

But, despite their warm relationship, both men are now open to a bout following their get-together at the Fitzroy Lodge boxing club in London.

"It was great seeing Manny again as it's been a while since we last met up," Khan said on Friday.

"He's a good friend and we chatted about the past when we were training together, his visit to London and also a bit about the future.

"Even though we have that friendship, if it makes sense then it's a fight that can certainly happen between us. I want to fight the biggest and best names out there and Manny is definitely among them.

"Within the next few weeks, who I'm fighting should be a lot clearer. I want to give the fans the most exciting and entertaining fights in 2015 - so watch this space."

Khan and Pacquiao have both spoken recently of their wish to fight the world's top fighter, Floyd Mayweather, without actually securing a shot with the American.

But in the meantime they could meet each other in the ring after Khan, 28, delivered arguably a career-best performance when he won a landslide decision victory over American Devon Alexander in December.

Pacquiao, 36, seems to be past his peak but remains a massive draw in the sport and he too would be happy to fight Khan.

"Yes, there's a big possibility, nothing personal, we're just doing our job in the ring," he said on Sky Sports News.

"It's not difficult for us because we respect each other."

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Kashyap beats Prannoy to enter Syed Modi Masters final

LUCKNOW: Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap reached the finals in their respective categories, while women's World No.9 P.V. Sindhu faltered in the semifinal of the $120,000 Syed Modi International India Masters at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

Top seed and World No. 3 Saina took 40 minutes to register a comprehensive 21-10, 21-16 victory over Thai fourth seed Nichaon Jindapon, while World No.5 Srikanth dug deep to beat compatriot H.S. Prannoy 12-21, 21-12, 21-14 in an hour and two minutes.

Commonwealth Games 2014 champion Kashyap moved past Danish second seed Viktor Axelsen 18-21, 22-20, 21-7 in an hour and five minutes.

However, two-time World Championships bronze medallist Sindhu was tamed 13-21, 13-21 in 39 minutes by reigning world champion Carolina Marin of Spain.

The second seeded Indian women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost 16-21, 21-19, 13-21 in an hour to the Malaysian fourth seeds Amelia Alicia Anscelly and Fie Cho Soong.

The fifth seeded Indian men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy lost 12-21, 18-21 in 30 minutes against the fourth seeded Russian pair of Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov.

Another Indian men's doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar was thrashed 10-21, 13-21 by World No.2 Danish pair of Mathias Boe and Carten Mogensen.

In the mixed doubles semi-final, Manu and K. Maneesha were edged out 22-24, 19-21 in 41 minutes by the Russian pair of Evgenij Dremin and Evgenia Dimova.

Saina dominated the match from the beginning, moving swiftly within the court. The 24-year-old took a 5-2 lead before Jindapon equalised at 7-7. However, Saina stamped her authority to gain seven points at a stretch and continued her aggressive game to take a further four straight points to complete the first game's formality.

In the second game, World No.22 Jindapon improved her game and challenged the Hyderabadi on several occasions. Even though Saina looked in control, Jindapon put up a brave fight and hung in there till the last before Saina made a perfect finish to win the second game 21-16.

With this win, Olympic bronze medallist Saina took a 3-0 lead in career meetings against the Thai.

Saina will face World No.7 Marin, who hardly worked up a sweat against the 19-year-old Sindhu. Spaniard Marin, who now leads 3-1 in career meetings against Sindhu, trails 0-2 in career records against Saina.

In the match between Srikanth and Prannoy, top seed Srikanth looked out of sorts in the first game, losing it 12-21.

But the 21-year-old Srikanth, who defeated five-time world champion Lin Dan to lift the Chinese Grand Prix Gold 2014 title, came back strongly in the second game.

Putting up a vastly improved show, he won 21-12 and continued his aggression to win the third game 21-14 against Prannoy.

This win helped Srikanth to take a 2-1 lead in career meetings over the 22-year-old Prannoy.

In the match between World No.15 Kashyap and World No.10 Axelsen, the Indian lost the first set 18-21 but fought hard to win the second game 22-20. In the third game, the Danish looked tired and surrendered meekly 7-21 to the 28-year-old Kashyap.

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Saina, Sindhu, Srikanth enter semifinals at Syed Modi

LUCKNOW: Defending champion Saina Nehwal inched closer to retaining her women's singles title, while other top Indian shuttlers, including P V Sindhu, also made it to the semifinals of the $120,000 Syed Modi International Badminton tournament on Friday.

Top male badminton stars -- K Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap -- also entered the last four stage of the tournament by winning their respective matches on Friday.

Olympic bronze medallist Saina defeated compatriot Arundhati Pantawane 21-18, 21-17 at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium.

The top seed will next take on fourth seed Nichaon Jindapon of Thailand, who beat India's P C Thulasi 21-16, 20-22, 21-12 in another match that lasted one hour and six minutes.

Two-time World Championship bronze medallist, Sindhu too notched up a hard-fought victory over sixth seed Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand 8-21, 21-11, 21-14 to reach the final four. She will meet reigning World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain on Saturday.

World No. 5 Srikanth also continued his run and entered the semis after Malaysian fifth seed Wei Feng Chong retired after the second game with the score reading 17-21, 21-12.

The China Open winner will next take on compatriot H S Prannoy, who clinched the Indonesia Masters last year. The fourth seed saw off another Indian R M V Gurusaidutt, seeded eighth, 21-18, 21-19 in his quarterfinal match.

Third seed Kashyap who had won the men's singles title in 2012, defeated Singapore's Zi Liang Derek Wong, seeded 10th 21-18, 21-9 in just over half an hour.

In doubles, mixed doubles pair of Manu Attri and K Maneesha prevailed over Malaysian seventh seeds Aik Quan Tan and Meng Yean Lee 23-21, 10-21, 21-10 in a 51-minute battle.

However, other Indian pairs of V Gangadhara Rao and D Sudha Kalyani (mixed doubles), Sanyogita Ghorpade and Arathi Sara Sunil (women's doubles), and K Nandagopal and Arjun Kumar Reddy Malgari (men's doubles), Arun George and T Hema Nagendra Babu (men's doubles) failed to reached the semis.

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Double delight for shuttlers Sherin, Akash

The author has posted comments on this articleShweta Singh, TNN | Jan 22, 2015, 11.54AM IST

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AHMEDABAD: City shuttlers got a rare chance to showcase their talent as current senior shuttlers put together the Raajratna Sports Badminton Tournament in Ahmedabad.

Shining bright were two youngsters- Sherin Khambata and Akash Patel- who reveled in double joy as the players won girls' and boys' under-15 singles and doubles crown.

While in the girls' singles final, Sherin romped past Sanjana Dalal 21-14, 21-3, they duo then joined hands to beat Ananya Patel and Priya Darshini 21-13, 21-17 to claim the doubles crown.

In the boys' section, Akash was made to work hard by Sahil Pathan to win the singles crown 21-12, 20-22, 21-6. The duo then joined hands to beat Mahek Mewada and Nand Modi 21-15, 21-17 to claim the doubles crown.

Jinisha Shah won the girls' singles under-17 crown beating Stuti Parikh 21-7, 21-8 while Ritin Vanarse took the boys' crown defeating Ansh Chokshi 22-20, 21-17.

Hridaya Patel took girls' singles under-13 crown with 21-17, 22-20 win over Mahek Shah. Juhi Jain and Vishwa Shah took the doubles crown beating Anoushka Shah and Khushi Shah 21-9, 21-9.

In the boys' category, Siddh Shah won the singles title after Devesh Shah retired while trailing 5-4.

In doubles, it was Kavish Parikh and Shashmit who won the title beating Aryan Chokshi and Siddh 21-11, 21-10. Shaurin Abbasi beat Tanay Sanghvi 12-21, 21-19, 21-14.

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Don't sell your products using Dhoni's name: HC to Maxx

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Jan 22, 2015, 07.45PM IST

Dhoni claimed that the endorsement agreement between him and the company has expired in December 2012. (TOI Photo)

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NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the manufacturer of Maxx Mobile to refrain from selling any product which contained or showed the endorsement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain of the Indian national cricket team.

Justice S Muralidhar said the November 17, 2014 interim order restraining Maxx from using Dhoni's name would remain in force till an Arbitral Tribunal was set up to resolve the dispute between them.

The order was passed after Dhoni's counsel Gaurav Mitra and Pratik Malik informed the court that the company was still selling products using the cricketer's name, which clearly violated its previous order and amounted to contempt.

To this, the judge asked the counsel for the cricketer to move an appropriate application in that regard.

"In violation of November 17, 2014 order the petitioners (Dhoni and Rhiti Sports) can take an appropriate action. They can even file a contempt case against the manufacturer," the court said, while disposing of the petition.

The court was hearing a plea filed by Dhoni and Rhiti Sports who have alleged that Maxx Mobilink Private Ltd has not paid dues of over Rs 10 crore which was agreed upon for using the cricketer's name on their products.

Dhoni has also claimed that the endorsement agreement between him and the company has expired in December 2012 but Maxx was still using his name to sell its products and also not paying the dues.

The High Court in November last year had said that the respondent should refrain from selling any products "which use or claim to have been endorsed by Dhoni or in any other manner suggest that the cricketer is associated with the respondent (Maxx)."

Later in the day, Dhoni's counsel in a statement said, "We shall now very soon file an appropriate application before the court to take cognizance of such contemptuous acts of the respondent company and shall seek sternest possible punishment for them".

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Saina, Srikanth among 9 shuttlers to reach quarters in Syed Modi Grand Prix

LUCKNOW: Defending champion Saina Nehwal and World number five Kidambi Srikanth were among the nine Indian shuttlers who entered the quarterfinals of the singles events at the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament on Thursday.

While Saina continued her march ahead, reaching the final eight with an easy win over Rituparna Das 21-15 21-9, top seed Srikanth edged out Malaysia's Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin 22-20 20-22 21-11 in a men's singles match.

Olympic bronze medallist Saina, who climbed the ranking chart to No.3 position, will next clash with 2011 National Games champion Arundhati Pantawane, who defeated Spain's Beatriz Corrales 22-20 22-20, while Srikanth faces off fifth seed Wei Feng Chong of Malaysia on Friday.

Two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, Sindhu too lived to her reputation as the third seeded Indian got across Singapore's Jiayuan Chen 21-18 21-14. She will lock horns with sixth seed Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk tomorrow.

Eighth seed PC Thulasi also notched up a 21-7 21-15 win against Russia's Evgenia Dimova 21-7 21-15 to make it to the quarterfinals. She will next face fourth seed Nichaon Jindapon of Thailand.

However, it was curtains for young Tanvi Lad, whose gruelling fight against World champion Carolina Marin, seeded second, ended with a 23-21 19-21 6-21 defeat. Another Indian Rasika Raje also could not make it to quarterfinals.

In men's singles event, Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap, seeded third, emerged victories after 11th seed Misha Zilberman of Israel conceded the match at the fag end, lagging 16-21 12-20.

Kashyap, who had won the Syed Modi men's title in 2012, will next take on Singapore's Zi Liang Derek Wong.

Sixth seed B Sai Praneeth too entered the last eight after edging out Thailand's Suppanyu Avihingsanon, seeded 15th, 21-16 24-26 21-13 in another men's singles match.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, RMV Gurusaidutt, seeded eighth, saw off Thailand's Thammasin Sitthikom 21-16 21-19. Fourth seed H S Prannoy too made it to the quarterfinals after his rival Russia's Vladimir Ivanov, seeded 13th, retired midway lagging 12-21 2-5. He will take on compatriot Guru tomorrow.

Among others, German Open winner Arvind Bhat, seeded 16th, lost to Malaysia's Wei Feng Chong 6-21 11-21, while seventh seed Sourabh Varma too fall by the wayside after losing a hard-fought battle 21-16 17-21 16-21 to Derek Wong, seeded 10th.

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Saina Nehwal reaches World No. 3, Sindhu back in top 10

NEW DELHI: Ace Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu rose to the third and ninth spots respectively but K Srikanth slipped to world number five in the latest BWF rankings issued on Thursday.

Saina, who is currently busy defending her title at the Syed Modi International tournament, climbed one place to be at number three. She is behind Chinese duo of Li Xuerui and Shixian Wang with 71081 points in her kitty.

Two-time World Championship bronze medallist P V Sindhu was also back in the top 10 as she jumped two places to regain her position inside the top 10 with 57985 points.

Srikanth, who climbed upto world number four after his stupendous performances last year, has 59397 points under his belt.

Among other Indians, Parupalli Kashyap and H S Prannoy also improved one and two places respectively to reach the 15th and 18th place in the world ranking.

Ajay Jayaram, who reached the semifinals at the Malaysia Grand Prix Gold last week, climbed 20 places to be at the 44th place.

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Khan knocked out by Charles's injury count

LONDON: Boxing star Amir Khan met Prince Charles on Tuesday and discovered the heir to the British throne had sustained more injuries playing polo than the former world champion had suffered in the ring.

The pair met in Sunderland, north-east England, where the Prince of Wales was visiting a National Citizen Service project backed by Khan where youngsters help older people learn to use social media.

"He is a very nice guy," Olympic silver medallist Khan said afterwards of Charles. "I have met him two or three times before and he seems like a boxing fan.

"We had a bit of a chat about boxing and we had a chat about his polo and how many injuries we'd had.

"He'd had more injuries in that than I have in boxing," the former world light welterweight champion added.

"It shows you can get injured in all sports."

Charles, 66, broke his right arm after falling off his polo horse in 1990 and needed a lengthy period of treatment.

He was also left unconscious following another fall during a charity match in 2001 but did not suffer a major injury on that occasion.

By contrast, Khan, 28, from Bolton, north-west England, has won 30 of his 33 professional fights and so far avoided serious injury in a lucrative career.

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