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IPTL rules can be improved for next season: Marin Cilic
Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, left, shares a lighter moment with Roger Federer during a fun match in the sidelines of the International Premier Tennis League, in New Delhi, Monday, December 8. (AP Photo)
NEw DELhi, DECEmBER 8 (PTi): He is enjoying the International Premier Tennis League experience so far but reigning US Open champion and world number nine Marin Cilic on Monday said that the star-studded event can improve some of its rules for the next edition. The IPTL, a franchise-based league covering six cities all over the world, has drawn criticism from none other than Roger Federer, who signed up to play for two days in the event for Indian Aces. The multiple Grand Slam winner labelled it an exhibition tournament and criticised the rules saying some of them were not necessary at all. IPTL uses a time-restricted format. It has no ad-scoring, all matches are played on best of five format and each set played to six games with a five-minute shoot-out at 5-5. The most talked innovation is the ‘Shot Clock’, requiring a player to play a service point within 20 seconds of each other. Federer was not particularly pleased by the time rules. Cilic, without elaborating too much, felt the rules can be tweaked next season. “Basically, this tournament is about
breaking the regular rules. My point of view is that it can be better next year. Maybe we can have more time between points and get involved with the crowd. Right now, it’s very fast. It is good and I am enjoying but there can be more time to interact with fans. I think it’s more fun on TV,” Cilic, who plays for the UAE Royals, told reporters here in a promotional event launch travel ‘musafir.com’. Cilic’s IPTL teammate and former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic echoed the sentiment. “It’s quick, it’s fun but it’s serious at the same time. There were players who were skeptical about it when it started. I thought I will have fun but I realised players are very serious here. I don’t get the time to joke around and have to be focussed all the time,” he joked. “It is not easy for me but I am surviving,” he said, breaking into laughter. Ivanisevic also spoke about his famous rivalry with American legend Pete Sampras, against whom he would be seen in action at the IPTL. Ivanisevic has a 7-12 career head-to-head record against Sampras. “That guy took a lot of years of my life. I would be happy if he lost to me,” he said.
Messi scores 3 as Barca beats Espanyol
BARCELONA, DECEmBER 8 (AP): Lionel Messi scored another hat trick to reach the 400-goal mark for Barcelona and spark his team's 5-1 comeback victory over Espanyol in the Catalan capital derby on Sunday, keeping the winners second in the Spanish league. Messi matched Cristiano Ronaldo's threegoal performance in Real Madrid's win the day before to ensure Barcelona stayed within two points of its fierce rivals at the top of the table. It was Messi's third hat trick in two weeks, having also netted three goals against Sevilla in the league and at APOEL in the Champions League. Sergio Garcia put Espanyol in front in the 13th minute in a good first half for the visitors at Camp Nou, but Messi curled home the equalizer in injury time before the break and Barcelona never looked back. Messi fired in his second in the 50th and added a third after Gerard Pique and substitute Pedro Rodriguez had scored in a second half completely dominated by Barcelona. "Messi is a football legend," said Espanyol coach Sergio Gonzalez. "We were the better side in the first half but Leo's goal was a tough blow. We couldn't forget it and 15 bad minutes cost us the game." Already the club's alltime top scorer, Messi's 29th career treble for Barcelona was his 400th, 401st and 402nd goals for the club, including friendlies. They took his league tally for this season to 13 goals, behind Ronaldo's runaway total of 23. Elsewhere, David Moyes endured his first loss in charge of Real Sociedad, a stinging 4-0 defeat at Villarreal. Carlos Bacca
FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi, from Argentina, top left, duels for the ball against Espanyol's Sergio Garcia during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Espanyol at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Dec. 7. (AP Photo)
netted early to help secure Sevilla's 1-0 win at Rayo Vallecano and tighten its hold on fourth place, while Alvaro Negredo scored his first goal for Valencia before it conceded a late equalizer to slip 1-1 at Granada. After a start to the season when Messi stood out for his playmaking, he is again scoring goals in bunches, and last month became both the leading scorer in the history of both the Spanish league and the Champions League. His scoring burst comes with Ronaldo also in spectacular form and both star forwards are again among the finalists for the Ballon d'Or award, which Ronaldo won last year. The winner will be announced on Jan.
12. "Leo's first goal was the key," said Barcelona coach Luis Enrique. "I don't know if he and Cristiano feed off one another. Our interest is that he gives us all he can and is involved in every facet, scoring, assisting and even in defense." Felipe Caicedo's pressure led to Espanyol's goal when the striker stole the ball from Sergio Busquets, dribbled forward pulled away from Pique before firing under goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Barcelona turned to Messi to spark its comeback. Having already hit the crossbar with a free kick, Messi received Xavi Hernandez's pass and used two quick touches before threading a left-footed shot through the crowd and just
inside the upright. He got his second after halftime when Barcelona was on the break. Neymar led the way before Luis Suarez crossed for Messi, who poked the ball under defender Juan Fuentes and drilled it home with his right boot. Pique quickly ended Espanyol's hopes in the 53rd by heading in Ivan Rakitic's corner kick. Espanyol was then caught off balance when Pedro scored in the 77th before Messi worked a onetwo with the forward to get his hat trick in the 81st. Moyes had yet to lose in three previous matches since arriving at Sociedad, but Villarreal turned an evenly matched contest into a rout with a flurry of
goals in the final half hour. Bruno Soriano started with a free kick that hit ricocheted off the bar, the ground, and goalie Enaut Zubikarai's back before finally landing in the net in the 64th. Denis Cheryshev struck in the 73rd and Moi Gomez netted in the 80th and 86th, while teammate Luciano Vietto hit the post twice. Villarreal rose into sixth place. Sociedad was left in 14th, just ahead of Granada, three points above the drop. Negredo seemed to have snatched fifth-place Valencia the win at Granada with a goal in the 83rd, but Valencia lost Paco Alcacer to a direct red card for hitting an opponent before Granada's Isaac Success leveled in the 89th.
Difficult to accept there was no conflict of interest: SC to Srinivasan
NEw DELhi, DECEmBER 8 (iANS): The Supreme Court Monday grilled step-aside BCCI president N. Srinivasan on conflict of interest and said it was difficult for it to accept that the involvement of his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan - a team official of Chennai Super Kings - in betting during the IPL 2013 did not result in conflict of interest. "Srinivasan is the vice chairman and managing director of India Cement Limited, an owner of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, your son-in-law is a team official and he is involved in betting. It is very difficult to accept the proposition that there is no conflict of interest," said the bench of Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla. "You are a contractor, and also the head of the contracting party. Is there no conflict," the court asked of counsel Kapil Sibal who appeared for Srinivasan. "Your
35th National Games from January 31
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DimAPuR, DECEmBER 8 (mExN): The 35th National Games is scheduled to be held from January 31 to February 15, 2015. The National Games in Kerala will have competition events in 31 sports disciplines to be conducted in 29 venues spread over 7 districts in the state and is expected to witness 1200 sports persons and officials participating in the event. The opening and closing ceremonies shall be held at Trivandrum. The Organizing Committee has given December 15 as the cut off date for registration of players. A press release from T. Meren Paul, Secretary General, Nagaland Olympic Association, informing this directed all qualified teams/associations to submit the list of qualified players along with complete address, mobile No. with a recent passport size photographs to the Secretary General, Nagaland Olympic Association on or before December 14.
duty as BCCI head and the owner of CSK is pulling in different directions," it added. The court's remark came as Sibal said only the acts committed by Srinivasan would result in action against Chennai Super Kings and the adverse consequences of betting activities of Meiyappan would not impact the IPL franchise. "If he (Meiyappan) is a team official who is betting, would it not affect the team? Would not, in this situation, your team get disqualified," the court asked, following which Sibal said: "No, no. only if owner is involved (the team would get disqualified)." In answer to another poser by the court whether Srinivasan's interest as BCCI head to act against CSK was not at variance with his interest as owner of the IPL franchise, Sibal said that in that situation "I (Srinivasan) will step aside and that is what had happened
when Jagmohan Dalmiya stepped in after I had stepped aside in the wake of allegations against Meiyappan". "You will keep away," the court asked as Sibal in an attempt to reassure the court said: "Yes, that is what had happened. The taste of the pudding is in eating." In response to another query by the bench that "If the court were to come to the conclusion that some part of your son-in-law's activities affects you, then what will happen," Sibal said: "BCCI will not stand in the way of anyone who has been accused of wrong-doing." At the outset of the hearing, Sibal sought to impress upon the court that the conflict of interest was something that has been accepted globally as everyone was in some kind of conflict of interest and the test was "Have you at any given point of time perpetrated your interest?" Apparently unpersuaded, the
court said: "That (actual perpetration) is not the test. Likelihood of conflict of interest is the test. Likelihood of bias is the test. The conflict of interest that we are dealing with is the duty you (as the head of the BCCI) have to discharge and your personal interest (as owner of the CSK)." Sibal sought to defend Srinivasan, saying a large number of other eminent people like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tandulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Anil Kumble were similarly placed in conflict of interest situation but he (Srinivasan) was being targeted as some people want to keep him outside the apex cricketing body. Making distinction between commercial interest and what a professional gets paid for rendering professional services, the court said: "Those who invest money to earn money and those who give professional advice and get money (for it) are two different things."
3rd Annual Hornbill Cycle Rally
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Governor P.B. Acharya with participants of the Hornbill Cycle rally in Kohima on December 7.
KOhimA, DECEmBER 8 (mExN): The 3rd Annual Hornbill Cycle rally was held on December 7 with Himato Zhimomi, Commissioner & Secretary, Department of Tourism, Art & Culture, flagging off the event from Kisama Heritage Village, Kohima. 80 participants – both male and female – from
different walks of life participated in the rally. The youngest among the lot was 12-year old Vemele Hiese Vadeo. Nagaland Governor, P.B. Acharya, waved the chequered flag at Old DC Bungalow. The Governor also gave out a Firefox cycle to the winner of a lucky draw, Sentienla Ababe, and interacted
with participants over lunch. The rally was organized by Alaphra Tourism, a division of Alaphra Group in order to create awareness about the environment under the theme “Bike the Drive” – for a sustainable environment. The rally was sponsored by the Department of
Tourism, Government of Nagaland in collaboration with the Department of Forest, Environment, Ecology & Wildlife, Government of Nagaland along with State Bank of India, Aircel, Big Bazaar (Future Retail), Firefox and Nagaland Manpower & Project Consultancy Services.
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