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sports
Djokovic enter Toronto semis
Novak Djokovic serves to Tomas Berdych during their quarter-finals match on Friday. TORONTO, Jul 30 (Agencies): Novak Djokovic said he needed some luck to escape on Friday with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 victory over Tomas Berdych for a place in the semi-finals of the ATP Toronto Masters. The top seed with three Canadian titles was tested in a 71-minute opening set but survived before motoring to victory over a top 10 rival he has now beaten in 25 of 27 meetings. Djokovic needed two hours to reach the final four, winning his 12th straight match against Berdych. The
Czech has now lost 17 straight matches against top five opponents. But it was not all oneway traffic for Djokovic, who struggled to close out a testing tiebreaker. Berdych showed his desire by winning five consecutive points from 1-3 down in the first-set decider, only to miss on three set points as he finally handed over the set to his opponent. Djokovic earned a second-set break for 2-1 and rode the margin to his eventual victory in a match which was
well below his best level. “I don’t know how I got out of that tiebreak,” Djokovic said. “I guess I was just able to focus on the next point. “Tomas had a doublefault (on set point) and some errors. I was very fortunate to win that first set. “I really had some relief going into the second.” Second seed Stan Wawrinka stormed into his first semi-final here, thrashing South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-3. The Swiss second seed will next face Japanese third
Former India captains file PIL against AIFF NEW DELHI, Jul 30 (Agencies): Two former India captains have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and sports ministry. The case will be up for hearing in the Supreme Court on August 5. Legendary goalkeeper and captain of India during 1982 Asian Games, Bhaskar Ganguly, and defender Manoranjan Bhattacharya have mentioned in their appeal the “alleged mismanagement and mishandling of funds by the AIFF” following their Rs 700 crore agreement with marketing partners IMG-Reliance in 2010. “AIFF has grossly mismanaged and arbitrarily administered the sport the sport of football in the country, resulting in violations of the rights of players, domestic clubs and the football watching public in India.” The PIL seeks appropriate directions from the Supreme Court for setting up a committee to oversee the state and condition of the administration and development of football in India.
The advocate for the petitioners is well-known lawyer Prashant Bhushan. In their plea, they have raised various issues that includes the protection of fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 (1) (a) and 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution of India. The PIL says, “The IMG-RIL has a direct conflict of interest as they hold all commercial rights to football in India and at the same time own and promote Indian Super League... and ignore promotion and popularising the game involving the clubs who are the most important stakeholders and the backbone of any sport in any country.” It also alleges, “AIFF and IMF-RIL have ignored obligations towards the development and promotion of domestic tournaments.” When told about the PIL, AIFF’s senior vice-president Subrata Dutta told TOI, “AIFF is in a strong position to answer clearly and transparently all the questions raised if required.” In 2010, 2011, reputed clubs like such as JCT and Mahindra United FC had to
withdraw from the I-League. The trend continued as other clubs such as Chirag United and Pailan Arrows (owned by AIFF) had to shut operations. In 2015, clubs such as Royal Wahingdoh FC and Pune FC and Bharat FC had to withdraw. The PIL says, “It is all due to the unprofessional attitude of AIFF.” In the 2014-15 season, the PIL mentions, due to scheduling conflicts and financial reasons, AIFF discontinued Federation Cup, the Durand Cup and the Rovers Cup. The PIL has said, “AIFF has also mismanaged funds and arbitrarily managed its administration.” The PIL also focuses on the travelling expenses of AIFF officials. “It is to be noted that while AIFF denies basic facilities to the budding footballers of the country they prefer to spend 65 lakhs on its meeting expenses.” The PIL also mentions the non-functioning of the two academies in Navi Mumbai and Kolkata, “despite the AIFF receiving funds from FIFA for the upkeep of these academies.”
seed Kei Nishikori, who beat former top-10 player Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 with four breaks of the Bulgarian’s serve. Although he’s still recovering from the rib problems which forced him out of the fourth round of Wimbledon, Asia’s top player won his 39th match of 2016, fighting back in the third set after losing the second and lifting his record over Dimitrov to 3-0. Wawrinka was in full flow against Anderson as he swept the opening set in a master-class display. Anderson, ranked 34th, has yet to reach the final four at the Masters 1000 level, losing in all seven of his attempts. Wawrinka needed just 73 minutes to dispatch Anderson, who was limited to six aces and dropped his serve four times. “It was a really good match, I started really well the first game,” Wawrinka said. “It’s one of the best matches of the year I’ve played. It showed me that I was ready, aggressive, moving really well. I was calm, served very good and mixed up my game.” Two-time Grand Slam winner Wawrinka, the world number five, is chasing his fourth title of the season after success at Chennai, Dubai and Geneva.
Verdict on wrestler Narsingh deferred to Monday New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI): The suspense over wrestler Narsingh Yadav’s Olympic participation was today prolonged further after the National Anti-Doping Agency deferred its final verdict on the doping scandal to Monday. The National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) hearing today went on for marathon eight hours. NADA DG Navin Agarwal said the panel studied a lot of documents today and will give its verdict on Monday. “The panel again sat today and reviewed the whole case. The panel will give its verdict at 4 pm on Monday,” Agarwal told reporters “The reason for marathon meeting and the delay in declaring the verdict as a lot of documents needed to be studied and the arguments have been lengthy. We are hopeful that justice will be done,” he added. WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh refused to comment anything as the case is still sub-judice. Narsingh had returned positive for methandienone – a banned anabolic steroid, following which Narsingh cried foul, claiming that the entire episode was a conspiracy against him. Narsingh has already been replaced by Parveen Rana in the Olympic bound squad.
Narsingh’s father demands probe
Varanasi, Jul 30 (PTI): The father of wrestler Narsingh Yadav and several of his supporters today staged a protest in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary office here at Ravindrapuri demanding a high-level inquiry into the doping scandal.
Pancham Yadav, father of the 26-year-old wrestler who tested positive in two dope tests following which his hopes of participating in Rio Olympics faded away, claimed that his son was “innocent” and had fallen a victim to a conspiracy hatched by the rivals to oust him from the games.
Olympic Committee before implementing the suspension. On Friday, it noted that Russian competitors had been named in the McLaren Report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency that exposed evidence of state-backed cheating in Russia. “The integrity of the weightlifting sport has been seriously damaged on multiple times and levels by the Russians,” the IWF said in a statement. “Therefore an appropriate sanction was applied in order to preserve the status of the sport.” Russia nominated eight weightlifters to compete in Rio but Tatiana Kashirina,
State open badminton championship concludes
Australia team safe after Olympic Village fire evacuation
Tohanba (L) with 40+ finalist players and referee and NBA president (R) (NP).
Kohima, Jul 30 (NPN): The three day Yonex sunrise 40th Nagaland inter district state open badminton championship played at indoor badminton stadium Kohima concluded on Friday with parliamentary secretary municipal affairs, economics and statistics, Tohanba as the chief guest of the closing ceremony. In his address, the chief guest acknowledged the players who brought laurels to the state at national level. Stressing on the importance of sport, he said it gives nourishment to the mind and improve physical fitness. Sports also bring emotional integration and entertain the players as well as audience, he added. The closing programme was chaired by Kikhruneinuo Kuotsu, welcome address was delivered by KDBA vice presi-
dent Dr. Vilar Solo and special song was presented by Achet Jami. Chief referee of the tournament informed that total 225 players participated in the championship which includes 75 female and 153 male. The youngest player of the tournament was 11 years while the oldest was73 years. Results U-13 boys’ (singles) Winner: Aoti Runner-up: Imtitong U-13 boys’ (doubles) Winner: Lungningpeung & Imtisanen Runner-up: Imtitong & Aoti U- 13 girls’ (single) Winner: Anjana Limbu Runner-up: Nginjai U- 15 boys’ (single) Winner: Peramrisi Runner-up: Lothu U- 15 boys’ (doubles) Winner: Max Lama & Serichem
Runner-up: Imlimanen & Akumsunep U-15 girls’ (singles) Winner: Nsungbeni L. Tungoe Runner-up: Imnuksungla U-15 girls’ (doubles) Winner: Nsungbeni L. Tungoe & Khochobeni Runner-up: Imnuksungla & Putusenla U-17 boys’ (singles) Winner: Leihong Runner-up: Lanuakum U- 17 boys’ (doubles) Winner: Zhakuo R. Seyie and Vikehietuo Kense U-17 girls’ (singles) Winner: Erenbeni P. Lotha Runner-up: Yaom U-17 girls’ (doubles) Winner: Erenbeni P. Lotha & Nsungbeni L.Tungoe Runner-up: Holy & Unice Veteran 35+ Winner: Joseph Sumi & Raju Chetri Runner-up: Tajen & Moatemjen
Indian contingent settling into Olympic Village
Members of the Indian Olympic delegation arrive at Rio de Janeiro International Airport for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday. (AP/PTI) Rio de Janeiro, Jul 30 (IANS): With less than a week to go for the start of the Rio Olympics, the Indian contingent members have begun reaching the Olympic Village. With almost half of the contingent already here and the two hockey teams joining on Friday evening, the contingent is almost full strength. “It’s great to get to the Village and get used to the facilities. It is a long journey to Rio and it is important that our boys and girls get here well in advance to get acclimatised,” Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent Rakesh Gupta said in a release. The official welcoming ceremony for the Indian team will be held on Monday. All teams are given specific slots and a brief but elegant ceremony is held to officially welcome them into the Olympic Village, even though they
have been staying in it for a few days. “The welcome ceremony is an official function and the Indian tri-colour as also the national anthem will be played. It is also a team bonding exercise in a way,” Gupta said. “The athletes are also getting to know their teammates from different disciplines. Throughout the season, they meet players from the same sport, but here they get a great chance to mingle with others, both national and international. That’s what makes Olympics so unique.” The archery team was the first to arrive in Rio and others include athletics team, boxers and shooters. Joining the other shooters who arrived a couple of days earlier, was London Olympic bronze medallist, Gagan Narang. He was accompanied by Chain Singh.
“We are coming from Switzerland and it has been a long journey. It is always nice to get to an Olympic Games and the focus is now on the event,” said the experienced Narang as Chain nodded. The Indian contingent members have been getting used to the Village and the various activities here. Many of the athletes after training were entertaining themselves at the Village Plaza and the Virtual Reality set up here. Set amidst mountains in Barra in Rio, the Olympic Village has 31 buildings, which will house nearly 15,000 athletes and officials. It is a mini city by itself and has virtually every facility including gyms, polyclinics, entertainment centres and a huge dinning hall with food from every part of the world. All the residential buildings have been provided with WiFi and internet facilities.
Russian weightlifters barred from Rio Olympics
MOSCOW, Jul 30 (Agencies): The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on Friday formally suspended Russia’s eightstrong weightlifting team, effectively excluding it from next month’s Rio Olympics, because of doping offences. Last month, the IWF said its Executive Board had decided to suspend for a year national federations that produced three or more doping violations in re-tests from the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games - made possible by improved detection techniques. It named Russia, along with Kazakhstan and Belarus, but said it would await confirmation of the positive tests from the International
Correspondent
Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNday, July 31, 2016
Veteran 40+ Winner: T. Yapang Lkr & Arep Runner-up: Tiakumzuk & Imasanen Veteran 45+ Winner: Arep & Amardeep Gurung Runner-up: Temjen & Sanen Veteran 50+ Winner: Temjen & N.Wati Runner-up: Angam Shaiza & Nadu Yaden Veteran 55+ Winner: Cuzota Resuh & S.D. Angami Runner-up: N.Wati & C.T. Wati Veteran 60+ Winner: Salang Lkr & Bendang Yanger Runner-up: S.D. Angami & Bendang Mixed doubles Winner: Bendangnochet & Naro Runner-up: K. Lashito Sheqi & Kikhruneinuo Kielienyu
who won a silver medal at the London Olympics in the women’s +75kg category, and Anastasiia Romanova were withdrawn due to previous anti-doping rule violations. Four other Russian lifters were named in the McLaren report. “...we would like to highlight the extremely shocking and disappointing statistics regarding the Russian weightlifters,” the IWF said in its statement on Friday. “As of today there are seven confirmed AAFs (positive tests)for Russian weightlifters from the combined reanalysis process of London and Beijing, while the second wave of Beijing reanalyses is not yet in a stage when the names and countries involved
Russian weightlifters like Tatiana Kashirina have been banned from competing at Rio. can be publicly disclosed.” from the Olympics last year, Bulgaria’s weightlifters after 11 lifters at a training had already been excluded camp tested positive.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jul 30 (Agencies): The Australian team said they evacuated their building at the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro because of a fire in the basement on Friday, one week before the Games open. The fire, which filled the stairwells of the building with smoke, caused no injuries and the team was back in the building after around half an hour, a team spokesman said. It was the latest incident in a tense week at the Olympic Village, where Australia and several other teams complained about unfinished and dirty rooms before moving in. “We are all accounted for,” said Mike Tancred, director of media and communications for the Australian Olympic Committee, adding that the fire did not appear to have been serious. “It was a good drill for us. We cleared all 23 floors of the building,” he added. A spokesman for Rio’s fire department declined to comment. Kitty Chiller, the head of the Australian delegation, had complained on Sunday about exposed wiring and blocked toilets, saying accommodation at the Village was “not safe or ready” for the Games, which open on Aug. 5. Chiller had initially refused to let her team stay in the Village, but moved athletes in this week after organizers deployed a task force of 600 workers to tackle repairs.
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