Is BCCI above the law? asks Azad

New Delhi: Training his guns at the BCCI for handing out clean chits in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal, cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad today asked if the Indian Cricket Board considers itself above the law.

Azad`s comments came after the BCCI`s two-member probe panel cleared Chennai Super Kings Team Principle Gurunath Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of Board President N Srinivasan, Rajasthan Royals franchise and its co-owner Raj Kundra in the scam that rocked the IPL this year.

"I don`t blame (BCCI acting chief) Jagmohan Dalmiya or Srinivasan for this. The politicians are hell bent on making BCCI the next Indian Olympic Association. We have seen what happened to IOA due to political interference and now the same is happening with BCCI," Azad told `PTI-Bhasha`.

"Mumbai police has said that the investigation is still on. Delhi police is still investigating and the BCCI panel has given them a clean chit. Is BCCI above the law and constitution of the country?" he asked.

Azad felt the BCCI should be immediately brought under the ambit of the Right To Information act.

"There is no other alternative. The government has to intervene and bring BCCI under the RTI. When former sports minister Ajay Maken brought the sports bill, the cabinet ministers, involved with BCCI, opposed that. If BCCI claims that they do auditing of their account, then why do they hesitate to come under RTI?" Azad queried.

"It is time to make BCCI functioning more transparent and it can be done through RTI," he said.

He also said that it is wrong to penalise players and give clean chits to officials.

"Whenever something happens, players get penalised and officials walk free. It`s a pity because despite all the controversies cricket is still the most popular game in the country due to the hard work and excellent performance of players," he said.

PTI

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James Taylor ready to grab England return chance in third Ashes Test

London: James Taylor, the batsman who could replace Kevin Pietersen in the England side to face Australia in the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford has said that he believes he is in a much stronger position to make most of the opportunity than he was when making his debut against South Africa last year.

According to The Guardian, the 23-year-old Nottinghamshire batsman completed an unbeaten 121 as a guest player for Sussex in their match against the tourists.

The report said that his determination to keep going when "batting ugly", as the professionals sometimes describe it, was a lesson in itself to the Australia batsmen following their collapses at Trent Bridge and Lord`s.

Taylor said that it was definitely a pressure situation and had he not scored any runs in the practice game, everybody would have commented on that.

ANI

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John Isner edges John Anderson in Atlanta Open final

New York: American John Isner saved two match points before beating South Africa`s Kevin Anderson 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 7-6(2) in the final of the Atlanta Open on Sunday to claim his seventh ATP career title.

The towering Isner, who stands six-foot-10 (2.08m), fired down 24 aces in a match dominated by big serving from two of the tallest players in tennis.

Neither player was able to break their opponent`s serve in the slugfest, which lasted almost three hours, with each set decided by tiebreakers.

"I`ve been on the wrong end of a final that close before - maybe not three tie-breakers close, but super close, having match point, having a lot of chances - so it feels good to be on the other end of that," said Isner.

"I never wavered. I believed that even at 0-40 that I could still hold on and was able to come up with the goods."

Anderson, a 6-foot-8 (2.03m) right hander from Johannesburg chasing a third career title, won the first tiebreaker and had 11 chances to break Isner`s serve but failed to convert any of them.

He hit 21 aces and only faced one service break on his own serve and had two match points in the third set but was unable to seize either chance.

"I was holding easily and trying to give myself chances, which I did. Just wasn`t able to capitalise on them. That was the difference today," said Anderson.

"He stays in there. He serves well, he plays well when it matters, and he definitely played two better tie-breaks than me."

Reuters

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Kundra`s presence in CLT20 to be decided after Aug 2: Official

New Delhi: A decision on whether Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra will be present at the venue during the Champions League Twenty20 will be taken after the IPL Governing Council formally clears the NRI businessman in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.

"We are very happy to know that Mr Kundra`s name has been cleared of any wrongdoing during the BCCI working committee meeting. The franchise will come out with an official statement once the IPL governing council ratifies the decision of the working committee," a senior Royals official told PTI.

Asked whether the co-owner of the Jaipur-based franchise will be there in the stands to cheer the team during the upcoming Champions League Twenty20, the official said,"A call in this regard will be taken after the IPL governing council meeting on August 2."

"As of now, the BCCI hasn`t made any formal contact with us or issued a notification about clearing Kundra."

Kundra was questioned by the Delhi Police`s Special Cell for allegedly betting during IPL-VI matches. The BCCI, in one of its earlier working committee meetings, suspended Kundra pending inquiry.

However, the franchise official said it was indeed a very challenging time during the business end of the last edition when three Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested by Delhi Police on charges of spot-fixing.

"It was really a challenging time for all of us at the Rajasthan Royals. But we have always had full faith in judiciary. The management cooperated fully with the police authorities and they also carried their job in a very professional manner.

"Now, in a few weeks` time, the preparations for the Champions League T20 will also start in right earnest."

PTI

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Lewis Hamilton on a high after `miracle` win

Budapest: Lewis Hamilton said it would take a miracle for him to win Sunday`s Hungarian Grand Prix but in the end it looked like more a case of alchemy.

The tyres that had tormented him took him to triumph instead.

"I came here saying and praying that when we put on these tyres that they would come towards us more than away from us and it seems like they`ve done that," he told reporters after his first win for Mercedes.

" For a team that really struggles with tyre degradation today was a walk in the park. I`m really baffled," added the 2008 Formula One world champion.

A sweltering sprint might have been a more accurate description, with track temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius and air temperatures hovering around 35, but Hamilton was as cool as anyone out there.

Over the last 20 laps, he said, he was drinking a lot of water and able "to really chill".

"We came here with upgrades and constantly doing work to try and understand these tyres. I think today we bolted them on and they just worked for us. I really was not expecting it," said the Briton.

He described winning for Mercedes, after 21 wins for McLaren, as "a really calming, relaxing feeling".

"The experiences I had at McLaren were some of my greatest but I think this is one of the highlights of my career up to now," he added. "Moving to a new team and a team that was struggling massively last year and to finally get a win with them after the first nine or 10 races is a great feeling."

New tyres

Hungary was the first time Pirelli`s new tyres had been raced after the Italian company made changes following a spate of blowouts that caused havoc at last month`s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Hamilton had started that race on pole position, just as he did in Hungary, but his hopes of a home win evaporated in an explosion of flailing rubber.

Sunday may not have made up for that disappointment but the victory, at a circuit where he has now won four times in the last seven years, made up for some of the pain.

It also compensated for Mercedes being barred from a test at Silverstone last week, which all the other teams attended, as punishment for taking part in a `secret` session with Pirelli in Spain in May.

"I think this is probably one of the most important grand prix wins of my career," said Hamilton, addressing the cheering crowd from the podium, after a race that left him fourth in the championship and 48 points behind Red Bull`s Sebastian Vettel.

"When you have a win like this, you get excited and you think anything is possible and obviously today shows that anything is possible but I think it`s still too early for us to say whether or not we can challenge these guys," he said.

"I hope today is the first step in doing so but we`ve got a lot of tough races coming up. I just hope that that`s not the last time my tyres work for me."

Hamilton had been on pole for the last three races but on Saturday he played down any expectations of a win that some had ruled out entirely when he moved from McLaren to Mercedes at the end of last season.

"We`ve got a steep hill to climb with these tyres and if we did win it would be a miracle. I still feel the win is a while off," he had told reporters, describing his pole lap as nothing special and predicting a tough day ahead.

The `miracle` duly happened but Hamilton was also as determined as he has ever been to secure his first win for a team other than McLaren, his team since boyhood.

"I think you could tell I was hungry for it today. I was just going all-out. I needed to get past those people and usually I get stuck in traffic, generally in my races, and today I wasn`t having it. I was going for every move I had," he said.

Mercedes have now won three of the 10 races so far this season and are still very much in the championship challenge.

"If we can be quick here in a race with these track temperatures then I`m very hopeful that we can be competitive everywhere else, so this could be a really good...could be a good turning point for us," said Hamilton.

Reuters

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Luger Keshavan to train with US team ahead of Sochi Games

New Delhi: Shiva Keshavan has always found his path strewn with adversities but it seems the tide is finally turning in his favour as he has has been landed an opportunity to train with the world-class US national luge team in the run-up to his fifth Winter Olympic appearance.

"I`ll be training with the highly advanced US Luge team in the run-up to the (2014) Sochi Games but before that I need to sign an MoU with them. Everything has been finalised as my talks with them are at an advanced stage and we are in the process of finalising the agreement," Keshavan told PTI on his return to the country after spending time in Europe.

"I would be soon travelling to the US to plan out my training programme. The idea is to get enough exposure before setting off to defend my Asian title and compete in the nine World Cups later this year," said the `fastest Indian on ice`.

Keshavan also informed that he was engaged in an active discussion with a leading Indian company, a pioneer in Research and Development (R&D) field, to provide him with advanced scientific training and equipments.

"I can`t reveal you the name of the company as the deal has not been finalised as yet. It will take us 2-3 weeks before making an announcement. All I can tell you is that the company invests a lot in R&D and they would be providing me with hi-tech materials, aero-dynamics, new sled, equipments and scientific training. It`s a technical collaboration which would be of big help to me," said Keshavan, who holds a top speed record of 149.9kmph.

The 31-year-old has identified three key areas to work upon in his bid to become the first Indian to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.

"First is getting the quality equipment and training. Then the initial propulsion, if I can improve upon my initial thrust by 2-3 seconds, it will be great. I am concentrating on start specific training. Third is technique because each track is different and you need to have the knowledge of the track. I am working on these aspects of my game," he said.

All his practice sessions would be organised keeping in mind the 2014 Games and Keshavan hopes to keep his world ranking consistent.

"There is a gap of one second between me and the current Olympic gold medallist, so I need to cut that time to half. My performance is getting better with each passing day. Another target would be to achieve my personal best timing, reach that benchmark first in coming weeks and then breach the previous Olympic record," he said.

"Other targets include retaining my Asian Championship title for the third time, improving my world ranking which is currently at 37 and then one week of training at Sanki Sliding Centre in Sochi probably in the first week of November before the nine World Cups," he added,

Talking about the Olympic qualification criteria, Keshavan said, "First five World Cups are very important for qualifying. Top 40 in the world rankings will qualify for the Olympics. World Cups determine your starting order for the Games. The earlier you start, better the chance of posting a good timing and getting into medal contention."

Keshavan aims to be ready by the time ice training begins in September in Lillehammer, Norway to test new equipments.

The luger from Himachal Pradesh was among the first few international athletes who were invited to test the Sanki track last year.

"It`s a first of its kind track and an engineering marvel. The track has a few peculiar technical features. There are three uphill sections which introduce a new challenge and also act as a safety measure. Gravitational force will play an important role there to get more acceleration," Keshavan said.

Born to an Indian father and Italian mother, not many know that Keshavan had declined an offer to represent the Italian flag more than a decade ago.

Keshavan said on more than one occasion, the thought of quitting the sport crossed his mind due to lack of funds to compete in international events but his passion and determination saw him weather all storms.

PTI

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Mo Farah challenges Bolt to charity race over publicly chosen distance

London: Double Olympic champion Mo Farah has confirmed he has no intention of quitting the track, and has challenged Usain Bolt to a charity showdown over public`s choice of distance.

Farah, who reeled off a runaway 3,000 metres victory at the Sainsbury`s Anniversary Games on Saturday, will make his marathon debut in London next April and after taking care of business, Farah also challenged the world`s fastest man Usain Bolt to a hybrid charity race over an intermediate distance between 600m and 800m.

However, the report said that following an ambiguous TV clip which suggested he would turn his attention solely to the road following next month`s world championships in Moscow, Farah rushed to put the record straight yesterday.

FlyMo said that he would be back on the track and hopefully in 2014 stepping up to a marathon, adding that he would tell the world when he was done with the track and recently it had been misunderstood.

Farah and Bolt performed a memorable double act at London 2012, mimicking each other`s golden archer and Mobot celebrations, the report added.

ANI

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