Sania confident of playing in Commonwealth Games

Sania confident of playing in Commonwealth Games

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza, who is out with a troublesome wrist, is confident of playing in the Commonwealth Games, beginning October 3 in New Delhi.
Sania, who complained of an old wrist problem during her first round loss in Dubai Tennis Championships last month, will be out of action for six weeks.
I will surely play Commonwealth Games and I am preparing for it. But for the next six weeks I would not be able to play and practice due to my injury. Let me recover from my injury, then I will start playing, said Sania while attending a press meet in Kolkata.
Sania was in town to inaugurate a tennis academy in Pailan World School here.
Sania also congratulated the Indian hockey team for their fabulous performance in the opening match of the Hockey World Cup.
The hockey team has done a fantastic job. I saw the first half of Indian and Pakistan hockey match and it was really exciting," she said.

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Russia defeated India in Davis Cup

Russia defeated India in Davis Cup

RUSSIA DEFEATED India in Davis Cup World Group at Luzhniki arena by 3-2 and moved into World Group quarterfinals. In the first reverse singles on Sunday World No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny who was the finalist in Dubai Open, humbled India's No.1 Somdev Devvarman 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 to confirm Russia's place in the quarterfinals. Mikhail Youzhny took less than two hours to beat India's No. 1 Somdev Devvarman. On Saturday Leander Pace and Mahesh Bhupati won over Teimuraz Gabashvili and Igor Kunitsyn to keep Indian's hope alive.
Russia, which has now extended its winning streak at home to 17 ties, moves through to the quarterfinals where they will play against Argentina.
In another world group tie between Serbia and the U.S., Serbia won by 3-2. On Sunday morning the world No. 2 Novak Djokovic defeated John Isner in five sets by 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6-9), 6-4. Former Australian Open champion Djokovic took 4 hours, 16 minutes against American opponent Isner, who also made his Davis Cup debut against Viktor Troicki here on Friday. On Saturday American doubles team of Isner and Bob Bryan got victory over Serbian tandem of Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic. U.S. played without Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick. Now the Americans will have to qualify for the 2011 World Group.

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England beats India and out of world cup hockey semi final race

England beats India and out of world cup hockey semi final race

India are out of the semi-final race after going down 2-3 to England in Pool B of the Hockey World Cup in New Delhi on Saturday.
India bounced back after conceding three goals, but an impressive England defence stood firm and the European Champions expectedly marched into the semifinals, winning all their four matches.
England scored through James Tindall in the 16th minute as he deflected in a cross from Nick Catlin. Ashley Jackson (42nd minute, 47th)) first converted a penalty corner soon on resumption and scored again to make it 3-0.
India rallied with goals from Gurwinder Singh Chandi (54th) and skipper Rajpal Singh (57th), but could not find the equaliser in the end, despite a couple of gilt-edged chances coming their way. It was the hosts' third straight loss, after the euphoric victory over Pakistan 4-1 in the first match. They went down to Australia, and Spain by an identical 2-5 in their next two games.
England's fairytale performance continued since their shock victory over Australia on the opening day.
England now top the pool with 12 points from four games while India are fourth on three points.
The English team continued to be India's nemesis as they had knocked them out of the Beijing Olympic qualifiers in 2008, the first time in 80 years that the eight-time Olympic gold medallists failed to make the quadrennial event.
Both teams muffed opportunities in the first half, but it was England who looked the better of the two to score.
England, who have an all-win record in the tournament so far, made some fine moves but fumbled in the goalmouth.
India, too, missed chances after getting to the top of the circle on several occasions. Shivendra Singh, back after serving a two-match suspension, was through on his own, but lost control of the ball as English goalkeeper James Fair charged out. India got two penalty corners but Sandeep Singh and Diwakar Ram failed with both.
England repeatedly penetrated the Indian defence and goalkeeper Adrian D'souza managed well to thwart some of the moves.
India made some swift counter-attacks but England defenders were equal to the task.
Iain Mackay was injured when Sandeep's stick inadvertently found him, but he was back after medical attention.
England finally opened the scoring through Tindall who had another opportunity soon, but this time he failed to strike.
India would have lost by a bigger margin but for Adrian, who saved a well-directed flick by Ben Hawes in the second half and blocked England captain Barry

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Tiger Woods Turns Down $75 Million Sponsorship Offer

Tiger Woods Turns Down $75 Million Sponsorship Offer

Ace golfer Tiger Woods has turned down a $75 million sponsorship offer from Paddy Power. The Irish bookmaker on Friday disclosed that they would make an improved offer to the golfer.
Sports drink brand Gatorade last week had ended their deal with the 14-time major champion winner. This was the third time a sponsorship deal was cancelled after Wood’s adulterous affairs came into limelight last year.
The Dublin-based company revealed that the initial offer made to Woods was a five year deal. The endorsement deals of the golfer before he took a hiatus from golf in December is estimated to have earned him $100 million annually.
Woods has yet not disclosed his return date to the golf field though he made a public media appearance for the first time recently.

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johnson and harris take victory to australia with newzealand in the 2nd ODI

johnson and harris take victory to australia with newzealand in the 2nd ODI

Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson helped Australia to register a tense 12-run win over New Zealand in the 2nd ODI in Auckland.
Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson clinched seven wickets between them to achieve the victory target for their nation. Chasing target of 266 from 45 overs, Australia wrapped up the New Zealand side in 43.2 overs .The last wicket partnership of Daniel Vettori and Tim Southee added 14 runs to take their total to 253.
Australia levelled the five-game series at one-all with Johnson pocketing 4 wickets for 51 runs and Harris grabbing 3-34 from 8.2 overs.
Skipper Ricky Ponting said,"I'm proud of the way the guys hung in there tonight. The game could have gone either way right towards the end. Our bowlers stuck to their guns stuck to their guns pretty well today.”
Mike Hussey proved to be the best Australian batsmen for the second successive match, hitting 56 in a total of 7-273.Hussey had a 101-run partnership stand with Cameron White after Australia had slumped to 4-116 in the 24th over. The third ODI will be played in Hamilton on Tuesday.

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India have no chances in WCH 2010

India have no chances in WCH 2010

After India's humiliating losses to Australia and Spain in the Hockey World Cup 2010, an Indian fan said, "Indian players spent all energy, aggression and stamina during the 4-1 victory against Pakistan in the opening match. Now they have nothing to give". Bitter truth, but well said.
If you ha [India Hockey World Cup 2010] ve seen India playing yesterday, you will admit that they kept attacking Spain throughout the game, but failed to penetrate into their strong defence. On the other hand, Spain scored goals without much resistance from the goalkeeper and India's defence.
Spain converted half-chances into goals, much to the surprise of the fans and experts. Even though India dominated the proceedings in the second half, Spain scored three goals, against India's two goals.
The end result 5-2 speaks much about India's poor defence. Certainly, they don't deserve a place in the semifinals, when teams like England, Australia, Netherlands, Spain and South Korea are playing above expectations.
As Indians, we may be disappointed to see our team losing. But if we thing about the game, strategy and defence, there will be no denying that we may end up at No. 5 - 8 in the tournament. Certainly, the top four spots are out of our reach now.

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Spain checks india in world cup hockey 2010

Spain checks india in world cup hockey 2010

India's hopes of making it to the semifinals of the Hero Honda FIH Hockey World Cup 2010 were dashed, as Spain beat India 5-2 in a crucial Pool B match at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in New Delhi.
Spain played [Spain beat India 5-2] attacking hockey throughout the match and their defence was very solid. Although India fought back hard in the second half, they failed to convert at least four penalty corners.
The Spanish strikers were brilliant and Indian defence looked fragile, resulting in many field goals in favour of Spain.
Spain was leading 2-0 at the half time. For Spain, Pau Quemada scored two goals, while Albert Sala, Pol Amat and Ramon Alegre scored one goal each. ForIndia, Sandeep Singh and Gurwinder Singh Chandi scored the goals.
Team India had begun their Hockey World Cup campaign with a 4-1 victory over arch-rival Pakistan. However, the lost the momentum completely and went down to Australia and Spain by identical margins 2-5.
With this loss, India is virtually out of the semifinal race in the Hockey World Cup 2010. While England and Australia top leaders from the Pool B, Spain also stays in contention with two wins from three matches.

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