Venus stops Serena, claims fifth Wimbledon title
London, July 5 : Holder Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon title Saturday with a 7-5, 6-4
defeat of sister Serena in the third sibling title showdown at the championships.
With this, the 28-year-old elder sister snapped a run of five consecutive losses in major finals.
Venus last beat Serena in a Grand Slam singles final in their very first encounter, back in 2001 at
the US Open.
Venus recovered from a break down in each set to win in one hour, 50 minutes when Serena hit a
groundstroke wide. Her earlier titles at Wimbledon were in 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2007.
It was her seventh title overall at the majors. While the overall series is now tied at 8-8. Serena still
holds a 5-2 edge in Grand Slam finals.
"I say great match to Serena," said the winner of the first all-American final in a major tournament
since 2005. "I can't believe I've got five Wimbledon titles.
"In a final against Serena, that seemed so far away from the first point. It was such a tough task to
beat her."
Venus was playing her seventh Wimbledon final in nine years since the start of the century, and
improved to 7-6 in career Grand Slam finals.
"It's unbelievable, especially with some of the injuries I've had," said the winner. "I've had the
chance to perform well and make history."
But she added - perhaps feeling Serena's pain: "My first job is big sister, and I take that very
seriously. "My parents are proud - but I'd like to thin they wanted me to win," she laughingly
quipped.
Serena got quickly out of the blocks after sunshine following early morning rain, taking a break in
the opening game.
The 2002 and 2003 champion followed up with a love game before her elder sister got into harness.
Venus managed to stem the tide in the eighth game with a break-back for 4-4, then tightened the
screws on her sibling in a tricky wind.
India aim to dethrone holders Sri Lanka in Asia Cup final
Karachi, July 5 : India are aiming to dethrone defending champions Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final
here Sunday but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni agreed that this would be a tough ask.
Dhoni praised Sri Lanka's recent performances but Saturday, on the eve of the final, appeared
confident that his boys will topple the islanders.
"We will be playing against Sri Lanka who are a very good team, so we expect it to be tough, but
we are ready for the challenge," said Dhoni.
It would be India's second consecutive appearance in a final after they lost the title clash to
Pakistan in a triangular tournament in Dhaka last month.
But Dhoni is confident that this time his boys will come out victorious here. And he is pinning hopes
on in-form openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
"Our openers have given us good starts and if they continue to do so it would keep the pressure off
the middle order and set the foundation (for a good total)," he said.
While India are mainly relying on their batsmen, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene believes
his potent bowling arsenal can pull his side through in the final.
The Sri Lankans, who lost to India in their last Super Four game earlier this week, will unleash a
surprise in their new spinning sensation Ajantha Mendis.
The 23-year-old from Moratuwa has bowled impressively in a tournament dominated by batsmen,
and after going wicketless in the first match, took 5-22 against United Arab Emirates and 4-47
against Pakistan to lead his team into the final.
Mendis did not play in the game against India and according to Jayawardene, that was "part of the
gameplan" for the final.
Preserve Test cricket from T20 onslaught: Akram, Ranatunga
Karachi, July 5 : Former and present Asian greats on Saturday called on cricket administrators to
wisely use the Twenty20 format and make every effort to preserve Test cricket.
Speaking at a seminar organized by Pakistan Cricket Board on the topic "Asian cricket: past,
present and future", former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said administrators should realise that
Twenty20 cricket was pure entertainment and should be treated as such.
"It's a great way to globalize cricket but care should be taken to avoid over-exposing it at the cost
of Test or one-day cricket," Akram stated.
He made it clear that Asia, who has produced some great pioneers like Lala Amarnath and Abdul
Hafeez Kardar who laid foundation for the growth of cricket, was now fuelling the growth of
cricket and giving it skill, passion and finance.
"That is why Asian cricket in particular has a responsibility to maintain a fine balance between
Twenty20 cricket and Test matches."
Australia bats for Test championship
Dubai, July 5 : Cricket Australia (CA) has strongly backed the inclusion of a Test Championship in
the international schedule after the current Futures Tours Programme (FTP) ends in 2012.
The Test Championship concept, in a four-year cycle, is likely to provide a fillip to the traditional
format.
"Let's face it, generally speaking, the FTP is currently a hotch-potch of bilateral tour arrangements
that, given the current volume of international cricket, produces matches that no longer linger in the
memory or have lasting meaning," CA chief executive officer James Sutherland said in his address
to International Cricket Council (ICC) member's forum.
Sutherland also said that Twenty20 cricket should complement and not compromise other forms of
the game.
Shooter Gagan sets world record at Olympic test
New Delhi, July 5 : Indian shooter Gagan Narang won the gold and surpassed the air rifle men's
world record at an Olympic test event held at Hannover in Germany.
Narang's score of 704.3 was 1.2 more than the existing world record of 703.1 set by Austrian
shooter Thomas Farnik in the World Cup finals held at Grenada in 2006.
Gagan shot a score of 599 in the qualifications and then followed it up with an excellent score of
105.3 in the final round Wednesday. In the sixth qualification series he shot 9.9 which prevented
him from obtaining a perfect score of 600/600.
"By any standard this is a wonderful performance and it is above the world record score. The range
authorities were naturally happy with this highest ever score made by anyone in their range and I
feel it might take a lot of time before anyone can break this record," said national coach Sunny
Thomas.
Sreesanth had dinner with Bhajji after slapping row
New Delhi, July 5 : Barely a couple of hours after slapping his India teammate S Sreesanth, a
repentant Harbhajan Singh had a quiet dinner with the Kerala pacer to get over the unsavoury
incident.
Sreesanth, who was slapped by Harbhajan after an Indian Premier League match in May, said
neither he nor Harbhajan expected that it would snowball into the crisis that it eventually did.
"We actually had dinner the same day. So I don't know how come the media and people took it
very seriously," Sreesanth revealed in an interview to NDTV.
The episode, which marked a new low in players' on-field behaviour, finally settled after Harbhajan
was docked his IPL earnings from that match onwards and banned from the remainder of the
tournament.
All-Indian final at ICL Chennai Open squash
Chennai, July 5 : It will be an all-Indian final at the ICL Chennai Open squash tournament as
national champion and top seed Saurav Ghosal and Ritwik Bhattacharya won their semi-final
matches here Saturday.
Saurav survived some anxious moments in the PSA (Professional Squash Association) event
semi-final as he came back from 0-2 to pull off a 3-2 win against third seed Ryan Cuskelly of
Australia.
Saurav will take on Ritwik Sunday who too recovered from a 0-2 deficit to post a 3-2 win over
Egyptian Mohd Ali Anwar Reda.
Cuskelly had Saurav worried in the first two games as he kept pace and picked whatever the
Indian threw at him.
Down 0-2, Saurav had to work very hard and clawed back to level the match at 2-2. The
84-minute-duel saw Saurav prevail in the end with a gutsy effort from both players.
Reda, seeking to retain his last year's title, looked like going through easily when leading 2-0. But
Ritwik came back strongly, playing some exceptional drops to book his place in the final after an
enthralling five-set victory.
London, July 5 : Holder Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon title Saturday with a 7-5, 6-4
defeat of sister Serena in the third sibling title showdown at the championships.
With this, the 28-year-old elder sister snapped a run of five consecutive losses in major finals.
Venus last beat Serena in a Grand Slam singles final in their very first encounter, back in 2001 at
the US Open.
Venus recovered from a break down in each set to win in one hour, 50 minutes when Serena hit a
groundstroke wide. Her earlier titles at Wimbledon were in 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2007.
It was her seventh title overall at the majors. While the overall series is now tied at 8-8. Serena still
holds a 5-2 edge in Grand Slam finals.
"I say great match to Serena," said the winner of the first all-American final in a major tournament
since 2005. "I can't believe I've got five Wimbledon titles.
"In a final against Serena, that seemed so far away from the first point. It was such a tough task to
beat her."
Venus was playing her seventh Wimbledon final in nine years since the start of the century, and
improved to 7-6 in career Grand Slam finals.
"It's unbelievable, especially with some of the injuries I've had," said the winner. "I've had the
chance to perform well and make history."
But she added - perhaps feeling Serena's pain: "My first job is big sister, and I take that very
seriously. "My parents are proud - but I'd like to thin they wanted me to win," she laughingly
quipped.
Serena got quickly out of the blocks after sunshine following early morning rain, taking a break in
the opening game.
The 2002 and 2003 champion followed up with a love game before her elder sister got into harness.
Venus managed to stem the tide in the eighth game with a break-back for 4-4, then tightened the
screws on her sibling in a tricky wind.
India aim to dethrone holders Sri Lanka in Asia Cup final
Karachi, July 5 : India are aiming to dethrone defending champions Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final
here Sunday but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni agreed that this would be a tough ask.
Dhoni praised Sri Lanka's recent performances but Saturday, on the eve of the final, appeared
confident that his boys will topple the islanders.
"We will be playing against Sri Lanka who are a very good team, so we expect it to be tough, but
we are ready for the challenge," said Dhoni.
It would be India's second consecutive appearance in a final after they lost the title clash to
Pakistan in a triangular tournament in Dhaka last month.
But Dhoni is confident that this time his boys will come out victorious here. And he is pinning hopes
on in-form openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
"Our openers have given us good starts and if they continue to do so it would keep the pressure off
the middle order and set the foundation (for a good total)," he said.
While India are mainly relying on their batsmen, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene believes
his potent bowling arsenal can pull his side through in the final.
The Sri Lankans, who lost to India in their last Super Four game earlier this week, will unleash a
surprise in their new spinning sensation Ajantha Mendis.
The 23-year-old from Moratuwa has bowled impressively in a tournament dominated by batsmen,
and after going wicketless in the first match, took 5-22 against United Arab Emirates and 4-47
against Pakistan to lead his team into the final.
Mendis did not play in the game against India and according to Jayawardene, that was "part of the
gameplan" for the final.
Preserve Test cricket from T20 onslaught: Akram, Ranatunga
Karachi, July 5 : Former and present Asian greats on Saturday called on cricket administrators to
wisely use the Twenty20 format and make every effort to preserve Test cricket.
Speaking at a seminar organized by Pakistan Cricket Board on the topic "Asian cricket: past,
present and future", former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said administrators should realise that
Twenty20 cricket was pure entertainment and should be treated as such.
"It's a great way to globalize cricket but care should be taken to avoid over-exposing it at the cost
of Test or one-day cricket," Akram stated.
He made it clear that Asia, who has produced some great pioneers like Lala Amarnath and Abdul
Hafeez Kardar who laid foundation for the growth of cricket, was now fuelling the growth of
cricket and giving it skill, passion and finance.
"That is why Asian cricket in particular has a responsibility to maintain a fine balance between
Twenty20 cricket and Test matches."
Australia bats for Test championship
Dubai, July 5 : Cricket Australia (CA) has strongly backed the inclusion of a Test Championship in
the international schedule after the current Futures Tours Programme (FTP) ends in 2012.
The Test Championship concept, in a four-year cycle, is likely to provide a fillip to the traditional
format.
"Let's face it, generally speaking, the FTP is currently a hotch-potch of bilateral tour arrangements
that, given the current volume of international cricket, produces matches that no longer linger in the
memory or have lasting meaning," CA chief executive officer James Sutherland said in his address
to International Cricket Council (ICC) member's forum.
Sutherland also said that Twenty20 cricket should complement and not compromise other forms of
the game.
Shooter Gagan sets world record at Olympic test
New Delhi, July 5 : Indian shooter Gagan Narang won the gold and surpassed the air rifle men's
world record at an Olympic test event held at Hannover in Germany.
Narang's score of 704.3 was 1.2 more than the existing world record of 703.1 set by Austrian
shooter Thomas Farnik in the World Cup finals held at Grenada in 2006.
Gagan shot a score of 599 in the qualifications and then followed it up with an excellent score of
105.3 in the final round Wednesday. In the sixth qualification series he shot 9.9 which prevented
him from obtaining a perfect score of 600/600.
"By any standard this is a wonderful performance and it is above the world record score. The range
authorities were naturally happy with this highest ever score made by anyone in their range and I
feel it might take a lot of time before anyone can break this record," said national coach Sunny
Thomas.
Sreesanth had dinner with Bhajji after slapping row
New Delhi, July 5 : Barely a couple of hours after slapping his India teammate S Sreesanth, a
repentant Harbhajan Singh had a quiet dinner with the Kerala pacer to get over the unsavoury
incident.
Sreesanth, who was slapped by Harbhajan after an Indian Premier League match in May, said
neither he nor Harbhajan expected that it would snowball into the crisis that it eventually did.
"We actually had dinner the same day. So I don't know how come the media and people took it
very seriously," Sreesanth revealed in an interview to NDTV.
The episode, which marked a new low in players' on-field behaviour, finally settled after Harbhajan
was docked his IPL earnings from that match onwards and banned from the remainder of the
tournament.
All-Indian final at ICL Chennai Open squash
Chennai, July 5 : It will be an all-Indian final at the ICL Chennai Open squash tournament as
national champion and top seed Saurav Ghosal and Ritwik Bhattacharya won their semi-final
matches here Saturday.
Saurav survived some anxious moments in the PSA (Professional Squash Association) event
semi-final as he came back from 0-2 to pull off a 3-2 win against third seed Ryan Cuskelly of
Australia.
Saurav will take on Ritwik Sunday who too recovered from a 0-2 deficit to post a 3-2 win over
Egyptian Mohd Ali Anwar Reda.
Cuskelly had Saurav worried in the first two games as he kept pace and picked whatever the
Indian threw at him.
Down 0-2, Saurav had to work very hard and clawed back to level the match at 2-2. The
84-minute-duel saw Saurav prevail in the end with a gutsy effort from both players.
Reda, seeking to retain his last year's title, looked like going through easily when leading 2-0. But
Ritwik came back strongly, playing some exceptional drops to book his place in the final after an
enthralling five-set victory.