India ‘s Armaan Ebrahim finished on podium in both the races in the second round of the Blancpain FIA GT Series here Sunday, marking a successful return after having suffered a high speed crash in the opening round in Nogaro (France) last month.
Driving for Fortec Motorsports in the Silver Cup Class, the Chennai driver finished an identical third in both the outings, less than a month after suffering a dislocated collar bone and a cracked rib in the qualifying of the sprint race.
In Sunday’s second race, Armaan’s car was hit from the rear early on, forcing him to drop behind, but recovered solidly to finish third. A stewards hearing later could see Armaan move up to the second spot in his class in Race 2 in which he finished 13th overall.
As the original car was completely written off and the new car due to arrive in another two weeks, Armaan drove the teams second car along with a new teammate, Miguel Torel.
The two one-hour tests was spent mainly on getting to grips with Mercedes SLS AMG as due to the crash in Round 1, no pre race tests were possible.
The grid being one of the most competitive in GT Racing with as close to six F1 drivers and most others being Platinum and Gold category drivers representing Factory teams, the top 14 cars were all within a second in Qualifying.
“Two podiums in the Silver Cup is a dream start after a bad crash in the last round in France. It takes a bit of time to get back in the groove especially when you have to contend with acute pain in the collar bone and ribs which makes it very difficult to be aggressive with the steering wheel in the high speed corners.
“Also, as this is the first time I am driving the Mercedes SLS AMG, it does require quite a bit of pre-season testing, and unfortunately we have not been fortunate to have that,” said Armaan.
source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> News-IANS> Sports / by IANS / Fawkham (Britain) / May 18th, 2014
“It has been a good year so far, having entered a couple of finals including the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open. More importantly, I am ranked World No. 3 in doubles. I am trying to do as well as possible,” says Sania Mirza. By V. V. Subrahmanyam.
Photo: Nagara Gopal / Sportstar
Sania Mirza…“I still think I have a realistic chance of being World No. 1 in doubles. I am very close to that right now. Before I stop playing, I think I can achieve this.”
Sania Mirza is upbeat after winning the women’s doubles title at the WTA Portugal Open recently. The 27-year-old player from Hyderabad and her partner, the 10-time Grand Slam winner Cara Black of Zimbabwe, defeated Eva Hrdinova (Czech Republic) and Valeria Solovyeva (Russia) 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
“Well, it is always a great feeling to win a WTA title. And this is in a way special, for it is my 20th title overall in the circuit,” says a visibly elated Sania.
For the record, Sania and Cara were playing their third final of the season, having finished runner-up at Indian Wells and Stuttgart earlier. The duo has won three titles from five finals.
“It has been a good year so far, having entered a couple of finals including the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open. More importantly, I am ranked World No. 3 in doubles. I am trying to do as well as possible,” says Sania in a chat with Sportstar.
“Cara Black will be my partner. It was a bit unfortunate that in Sydney early this year, she had a niggling injury. But she is fit now and so am I. Wish to come up with real good performances.
“When I look back, it’s good that Cara Black and I lost early in the Australian Open. It gave time for her to recover,” she says.
“We will be playing in the French Open together,” Sania adds.
Talking of her future in doubles, she says: “Definitely, you have to keep changing your goals as the days pass by. I still think I have a realistic chance of being World No. 1 in doubles. I am very close to that right now. Before I stop playing, I think I can achieve this.” On the changes in the game ever since she won her first WTA singles title in 2005, the winner of two majors says: “It is really huge — the standard of the game in the last six to seven years. It is more of physical strength now. Longer rallies are the order of the day. Need to be able to sustain your fitness levels. I don’t think tennis has ever been so demanding physically as it has been of late.”
Answering a query on her fitness, Sania says: “I feel pretty good in terms of physical fitness. Some odd niggles will be there, but nothing major.”
She goes on: “I can’t say how my career will be after a few more years. I want to take it year by year. As you all know, there was a phase when I thought it was all over because of the wrist injuries in 2010 and the number of surgeries I had to undergo.
“But I came back well to enter a Grand Slam final and win a Grand Slam title too later on. Results which made me believe that it was not all over.”
Sania is perturbed over some media reports suggesting that all is not well with her marriage with Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik.
“Life is hectic and very demanding for both of us since we are professional sportspersons. This, we were pretty well aware of before we got married. Definitely, this is not the way you like it to be — being away from each other. But there are very few options when our focus is on our respective sporting careers,” explains Sania.
“Definitely, there are times when we do feel why we should go through these testing times. But we are aware of the goals ahead since we believe that there is a lot left in us to be in sport.
“Ours is a special relationship and let me tell you we never discuss the media reports on our marriage.
“Let me remind you, we did not get married for the sake of fans. Our relationship continues to be special. Definitely, it hurts when the media intrudes our privacy. But again, we can’t go around and keep answering every one around,” she adds.
source: http://www.sportstaronnet.com / Sportstar / Home> Tennis> Interview / by V. V. Subrahmanyam / Vol. 37, No.22 – May 31st, 2014
Yusuf Pathan’s knock drew high praise from Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir, who has himself played several match-winning knocks for KKR and India.
Kolkata:
Having watched with awe Yusuf Pathan’s fireworks that enabled his side finish second in the round robin stage of the Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir on Saturday admitted he had not see such an innings before.
Pathan (72 of 22 balls) plundered seven massive sixes and five fours as he slammed the fastest IPL fifty to propel the Knight Riders to a four-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad with 34 balls to spare.
Replying to the visitors 160/7, the hosts needed to overhaul the total within 15.2 overs, but thanks to Pathan’s blazing knock, they reached 161/6 in oly 14.2 overs at the Eden Gardens.
“I have never seen this sort of innings in my career…unbelievable hitting… I can only dream of it, but I saw it in reality,” Gambhir said after the match.
“We always wanted to finish it in 15.2 overs, this is what we play cricket for,” said Gambhir, whose side will take on Kings XI Punjab in the first qualifier here May 27.
Gambhir, however, conceded that his team did not bowl well in the initial overs, besides dropping some crucial catches.
“But this is not the time to talk about negatives, I have never seen such an innings,” he said.
Visibly happy after his batting performance, Pathan called it his best innings and said he had hit form at the right time.
“It feels great when the ball hits the middle of the bat and travels a long way.”
“My hundred for Rajasthan was a good knock but I got run-out and we couldn’t win the match, but this time we won, this feels like my best innings.”
source: http://www.sports.ndtv.com / NDTV Sports / Home> Sports Home> IPL 2014> by Indo-Asian News Service / Sunday – May 25th, 2014
Source: Under 19 World Cup / Match : India U19 vs Pakistan U19
Spinner Aamir Gani provided India Under-19 a much-needed breakthrough when he dismissed Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq for 39 in their ICC Under-19 World Cup 2014 match at Dubai on Saturday.
Pakistan reached 115 for one halfway through, and need another 148 runs to win the clash.
Imam faced 62 balls and cracked two boundaries as he stitched a solid 109-run partnership with Sami Aslam in a bid to provide their side a strong start in a huge chase.
Sami was batting on 65, accompanied by Hassan Raza on one.
This was after the the Indian bowlers providing a strong start, not allowing the opposition batsmen to get away early on.
Earlier, Sanju Samson and Sarfaraz Khan added 119 runs for the fifth wicket to help India set a 263–run target against Pakistan in the seventh match of the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2014 at Dubai on Saturday. Electing to bat, India scored 262 for seven from their allotted 50 overs.
Samson scored 68 off 101 balls and Sarfaraz hit a quickfire 74 to help India revive from a precarious position of 94 for four from 20 overs.
Sarfaraz played strokes around the ground as he was the more aggressive one in the 119-run stand between him and Samson, which set the platform for a competitive total.
source: http://www.cricketcountry.com / The Cricket Country / Home> News / by Cricket Country Staff / February 15th, 2014
KKR’s Robin Uthappa loses the grip on his bat and Naman Ojha does the rest to catch him short of the crease. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir flung his bat in disgust in the dug-out after being given out to Dale Steyn in the second over of the chase. But, some of his key batsmen refrained from throwing their wickets away as they guided the team to a seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, chasing down a modest target of 143, at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday.
Opener Robin Uthappa tried to score of every ball and was lucky to survive when on nine; Shikhar Dhawan dropped a skier from him off Dale Steyn. Uthappa, however, managed went on to set the chase up with a breezy knock which included a terrific flick off Steyn for six.
Yusuf Pathan, who has been struggling for form this season, found his touch too, batting in the care-free manner he is known for. He cut his brother Irfan Pathan and Steyn with ease, and later pulled leggie Amit Mishra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for huge sixes.
Yusuf and Ryan ten Doeschate ensured there were no more hiccups in the death overs. The chase once again exposed the chinks in the SRH attack, which saw it suffer its third straight defeat in front of the home crowd — a performance which could diminish its chances of making the play-offs.
Earlier, on a perfect batting strip, fast bowler Umesh Yadav came up with a wonderful performance to restrict Sunriders to a modest 142 in 20 overs.
The big fast bowler first dismissed the dangerous but shaky Aaron Finch inducing him to play away from his body to an out-swinger, and Morne Morkel took a splendid, diving catch to his left at third-man.
Soon, Sunil Narine had deposed captain Shikhar Dhawan — Darren Sammy was named to lead SRH for the remaining games — mis-timing a sweep to be caught by Gambhir.
Though Naman Ojha started off well hitting two huge sixes, one each off ten Doeschate and left-arm spinner Shakib al Hasan, he got out clipping one straight to backward-point, much to the delight of Shakib in the same over.
At the other end, the big-hitting David Warner hit some lusty hits and looked in ominous form but pulled Umesh straight to Yusuf Pathan.
Gambhir’s gamble of shuffling around his bowlers clicked as they bowled to the field.
Only 33 runs were scored off the last five overs while SRH lose three wickets, with leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine giving little away.
Scoreboard
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Aaron Finch c Morkel b Umesh 8 (8b, 1×4), Shikhar Dhawan c Gambhir b Narine 19 (14b, 3×4), Naman Ojha c Yusuf b Shakib 22 (24b, 1×4, 2×6), David Warner c Yusuf b Umesh 34 (18b, 3×4, 2×6), K.L. Rahul lbw b Chawla 14 (15b, 2×4), Irfan Pathan (not out) 23 (19b, 2×4), Darren Sammy c Pandey b Shakib 7 (16b), Karn Sharma run out 4 (4b), Dale Steyn b Umesh 1 (2b); Extras (b-1, lb-1, w-8): 10; Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs): 142.
Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Finch), 2-41 (Dhawan), 3-64 (Ojha), 4-98 (Rahul), 5-104 (Warner), 6-129 (Sammy), 7-139 (Karn), 8-142 (Steyn).
Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Morne Morkel 4-0-39-0, Umesh Yadav 4-0-26-3, Sunil Narine 4-0-21-1, Shakib Al Hasan 3-0-22-2, Ryan ten Doeschate 1-0-8-0, Piyush Chawla 4-0-24-1.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Robin Uthappa run out 40 (33b, 5×4, 1×6), Gautam Gambhir c Ojha b Steyn 6 (10b, 1×4), Manish Pandey c Finch b Karn Sharma 35 (32b, 3×4, 1×6), Yusuf Pathan (not out) 39 (28b, 2×4, 2×6), Ryan ten Doeschate (not out) 25 (15b, 2×4, 1×6); Extras (lb-1): 1; Total (for three wkts. in 19.4 overs): 146.
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Gambhir), 2-59 (Uthappa), 3-104 (Pandey).
Rizwan Rashid Wani and Saba Jan of RCC Srinagar were declared the best players in boys and girls category respectively in the three-day District Srinagar Yoga Championship that concluded on Saturday at Sheri Kashmir indoor Sports Complex Srinagar.
The championship was organized by Jammu and Kashmir yoga Association in collaboration with J&K State Sports Council.
In the championship more than 100 players both boys and girls participated in different age groups, the statement from the organisers said.
On the concluding ceremony the Joint Secretary (Kashmir) J&K State Sports Council JB Singh Bali was the chief guest and Joint Secretary (Kashmir) J&K Yoga Association Fareeda Shabir was also present on the occasion.
source: http://www.kashmirreader.com / Kashmir Reader / Home> Sports / by K R Sports Desk / Monday – May 19th, 2014
Akbar Khan in senior category and Amir Gujree in the junior category emerged victorious in the cycling competition on Sunday.
In the senior category Akbar Khan of Trumboo Food Industries bagged the first position while Hilal Sofi and Adil Ahmed bagged second and third positions respectively.
And in the junior category the race was dominated by cyclists of Chinar Sports Club in which all the three positions went to them.
Amir Gujree achieved the first position, Waheed secured the second spot.
The race was covered in 9 laps and each lap contained 3 kms, a total distance of 27 kms. The race was flagged off by the principal celestial Buds High School Muzzaffar Ahmed Bhat.
The race was organized by Chinar Sports Club under the aegis of JKSDA and was sponsored by principal Celestial buds High School.
source: http://www.kashmirreader.com / Kashmir Reader / Home> Sports / by K R Sports Desk / Monday – May 19th, 2014
This executive director unwinds on horseback, and admits to being emotionally connected to his horse
Faiz Rezwan (34) Executive Director, Procurement and Contracts, Prestige Group
As a 14-year-old child, Faiz Rezwan would watch his father and uncle ride their house — Matador, around their Hennur farm. Sometimes, his indulgent father would hoist him up too. That boyhood experience has translated into him owning two horses–Dragon Lady, a warm blood German mare bred for jumping, and Mr Bean, a thoroughbred ex-race horse that Rezwan has given to the Embassy Riding School to help children learn how to ride.
Despite a back problem, nothing stops Rezwan from riding at 5.30 am, at least five times a week. “I have to ride no matter what,” he says. “It’s important to stay in touch with the horse every day.” His beloved pets also get five-star treatment — a few years ago, at the stable at Equestrian Centre for Excellence, he flew down a saddlemaker from France, and around a year and a half ago, a vet was flown down from Germany to work on the acupressure points of the horses. Dragon-Lady is also given regular supplements for her joints, and her horse-shoes are changed every two weeks.
A rather expensive hobby, this. But his “investments” have also paid dividends. Five years ago, Rezwan, who also handles award-winning golf development Prestige Golfshire, got into show jumping. He even competes in the Equestrian Premier League at Embassy International Riding School every year, and took part in the Delhi Horse Show two years ago. “My passion is show jumping,” he says, hoping to make it to the Asian Games some day and even shows in Europe.
Being with Dragon-Lady keeps Rezwan fit and “is a stress buster,” he says. The animal-lover also owns a cat, two dogs, half a dozen birds, and fresh water and marine fish at home. But “Dragon-Lady is my star,” he says. “I’d never want to sell her and get another horse. Starting my day with her sets me up for the day,” he says, admitting to being emotionally connected to her. Rezwan recently bought another horse from Ireland, a Belgian-born warmblood called Valentino.
“If there was no work, I’d be riding all day,” he says. The dream life.
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Columns> Work / by Khushali P. Madhwani, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / May 19th, 2014
It’s 3:30 am, and the city of Delhi is in deep sleep. But just then, there’s a hint of some activity in the western corner of Vikaspuri slums, as Mohd. Tanjeer, a 16-year-old boy, is tying up his worn-out shoes to reach the public ground on time. Tanjeer has been selected from among more than 1,000 aspirants for a place in the DSK Liverpool International Football Academy in Pune and is looking forward to a new day where he can hone his skills further.
Soon after, Tanjeer is joined by many children from all age groups. All of them head to the ground where they wait for their coach. When Sylvester Peter, the coach, arrives, all of them rush to greet him. He is their beloved “Sylvester Bhaiya”. Sylvester Peter is the founder of My Angels Academy (A registered Trust for underprivileged children) and is the “life” and football coach of all these children whom he calls “Angels”.
Mohd. Tanjeer started his journey with Sylvester and My Angels Academy when he was 4. He comes from a poor family and his father is a construction worker and his mother works as a house maid to feed Tanjeer and his 3 other siblings. Till a few years back, Tanjeer was a rag picker, but with the sport of football, he now looks to rise up and succeed. He trains every morning along with other children of the Academy from 3:30 am till 6 am.
As the park is supposed to be off limit for slum children, almost daily the practice session is thwarted around 6 AM by security and other people. The going wasn’t easy for Tanjeer and he almost lost track by getting addicted to drugs. He would sit inside the large street-side dustbins and children used to tease him by calling him Kachhra (garbage). It has been the efforts of Sylvester which have brought about the drastic change in Tanjeer’s life. In Sylvester’s own words, he transformed the boy “through football and love”.
Sylvester says that the purpose of the academy is “to provide dignity to slum children by providing moral, theoretical and holistic learning so that they can be self reliant and live a good life”. “I named the academy ‘My Angels Academy’ as it invites everyone to help these Angels”, adds the coach.
The efforts of Sylvester and Tanjeer over the years bore fruit recently when Tanjeer was selected by DSK Liverpool International Academy in Pune, which is a full-time residential academy with world-class infrastructure and coaches with support from Liverpool FC. It was a remarkable achievement for Tanjeer to be selected along with the best football talent in the country, many of whom had the monetary resources to have access to the best facilities and training.
However, this excellent news was dampened by the fact that a significant amount was required to pay the annual fees of the Liverpool International Academy. Though My Angels Academy is a registered trust (Regd no 12110), it has been functioning mainly with the personal savings of Sylvester Peter and his friends for the past 18 years. There has always been a cash crunch and lack of resources to support the training of 120+ children.
Everyone at My Angels Academy has been trying hard to raise funds for Tanjeer. They want to give the youngster every chance to train with the best facilities and try to make a name for himself in the sport. They also feel that Tanjeer’s success can be a catalyst for the other “Angels” at the Academy and in fact all over the country and inspire them to rise up and chase their dreams despite the odds being stacked against them.
However, all this will be only possible if My Angels Academy are able to gather the required funds (approx Rs 5.3 Lakhs) to pay the fees of academy. It is a significant amount, but with contribution and assistance, it is possible.
My Angels Academy is reaching out to people for any kind of financial/non-financial help. Any contribution, big or small, is welcome. Your help and support can change Tanjeer’s life and help him carve out his own destiny by giving him the wings to rise from the slums of Vikaspuri to success, maybe even at Anfield.
Full name: Abu Nechim Ahmed
Born: November 5, 1988, Guwahati, Assam
Current age: 22 years
Major teams: Assam, ICL India XI, India Under-19s,Kolkata Tigers, Mumbai Indians, Royal Bengal Tigers
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium-fast
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling. Practitioners are usually known as fast bowlers, fastmen, pace bowlers, or pacemen, although sometimes the label used refers to the specific fast bowling technique the bowler prefers, such as swing bowler or seam bowler.
The main aim of fast bowling is to bowl the hard cricket ball at high speed and to induce it to bounce off the pitch in an erratic fashion or move sideways through the air, factors which make it difficult for the batsman to hit the ball cleanly. A typical fast delivery has a speed in the range of 136 to 150 km/h (85 to 95 mph). The fastest delivery officially recorded was clocked at 161.38 km/h (100.3 mph) and was bowled by Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan during a match against England in the 2003 World Cup. The batsman facing the delivery was Nick Knight, who guided it into the leg side. This speed is said to have been later matched by Brett Lee however this has been put down to an erroneous recording due to external interference of the radar’s signal. Two back-up radars recorded the correct speed of 142 km/h (88 mph) for the delivery.
In most cricketing countries, fast bowlers are considered to be the mainstay of a team’s bowling attack, with slower bowlers in support roles. In the subcontinent, especially India and Sri Lanka, the reverse is often true, with fast bowlers serving mainly to soften the ball up for the spinners. This is largely due to the condition of the pitches used in those countries which gives more help to spinners than to fast bowlers, but at international level it is also a reflection of the outstanding skills of their spinners compared to their pace bowlers. By way of contrast, the other major subcontinental country, Pakistan, has produced several generations of feared pacemen mainly due to that nation’s mastery of reverse swing and having pitches that provide relatively more assistance to fast bowlers.
The new name to the Indian fast bowling lineup is obviously Assam’s Md. Nechim. Pace bowlers like to hunt in pairs and Nechim and Yomahesh have formed a powerful combination at Under-19 level that could be extended to the top level. They shared 21 wickets at the last World Cup and Nechim decimated the England top order in the semi-final with 4 for 14 – his second four-wicket haul of the tournament – when he produced lethal movement under the Premadasa floodlights. He swings the ball both ways, at good pace, and already has impressive control, even with the white ball – an art that many more experienced bowlers are yet to master.
Abu Nechim Ahmed was on the fringes of the national team when he took a career best 6 for 9 against Bangladesh in the Under-19s Tri-nations tournament in July 2007. He was also set to take part in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup – a tournament that the Indian colts would eventually go on to win.
When he first burst on to the scene, there were constant comparisons made with former India fast bowler Ajit Agarkar. Nechim formed a lethal combination with Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh during the 2006 Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. He swung the ball both ways, at good pace, and demonstrated good control over the white ball – an art that impressed all at the Premadasa.
However, Nechim’s decision to join the Indian Cricket League (ICL) later that year meant his ouster from all national squads and also from his domestic side Assam. Playing for the Royal Bengal Tigers in the ICl, Nechim took 21 wickets from 10 Twenty20 games at a decent average of 27. In three 50-over games, the 21-year old took 7 wickets at a good average of 28.
Nechim with his bowling has impressed the viewers. His average speed is 145km/hr.
source: http://www.theeasterpost.com / The Eastern Post / Home> Sport
