Vijender Singh knocked out of London Olympics

LONDON: India's star pugilist Vijender Singh crashed out of the middleweight category as he lost by 13-17 to Uzbekistan's Abbos Atoev in the quarterfinal at the Excel Arena on Monday.

The Beijing Games bronze medallist wasn't really impressive during his last eight bout against an opponent whom he had beaten 7-0 in the Asian Games final at Guangzhou two years back.

A defensive boxer by nature, Vijender stayed in his shell a tad too long giving Atoev a chance to make inroads, which proved to be decisive in the end.

Atoev's left and right hook combination also fetched him more points than the Indian's right hooks that occasionally landed on spot.

In the first round, it was even-stevens as both boxers were locked at 3-3. However, in the second round, Vijender rattled Atoev with a lethal left hook but the Uzbek came up with a few solid counter punches as he won the round 7-5.

The two-point cushion proved good enough as the winner started the third round with a bang as his right hook landed flush on Vijender's face to help him consolidate his lead.

He held onto it as he scored another seven points in the third round and clinched the issue with a 17-13 scoreline ensuring atleast a bronze medal.

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Olympics 2012: You win some, you lose some, says Dhoni after Vijender crashes out

New Delhi: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni took to his Twitter page to console Indian boxing star Vijender Singh, after 26-yr-old pugilist knocked out of 2012 London Olympics.

"U win some u lose some, thts the beauty of any sport.hard luck VIJENDER," said Indian cricket team skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni via micro-blogging website Twitter.

Indian boxer Vijender Singh lost to Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan 13-17 in the quarterfinals as India's medal hopes dashed in the middleweight (75kg) category of the London Olympics.

Atoev from Uzbekistan performed better. The final scoreline was 17-13. Atoev took the final round 7-5 as well.

Atoev got the second round 7-5. And, it was 3-3 in the first round.

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Olympics 2012: Saina Nehwal’s medal huge for India, says Gopichand

Saina Nehwal’s victory was special in many ways for Indian badminton. The first ever shuttler from the country to have won a medal at the Olympics was an occasion to celebrate for the entire contingent. But Pullela Gopichand topped the celebrations with a generous flow of tears of happiness and thankfulness.

Gopichand used the big occasion to recall all the hard work that his pupil Saina has put in and the strict regimen that she had gone through in the last few years. He said that Saina’s victory will be an inspiration and will attract many more girls to the sport.

“It is a great victory and this is huge for Indian badminton. This was something that we all worked towards for so many years and I am happy that Saina won the medal here,” said the former All England champion minutes after Saina’s historic feat at the Wembley Arena.

Gopichand was completely convinced that Saina was surely going to pull off this match, had it continued further in spite of her losing the first game to world No 2 Xin Wang. “It was unfortunate that Wang had to retire. I feel that Saina would have won anyway if the match would have gone on. Saina was shocked when she lost the first game. Nevertheless a win is a win,” added the national coach.

Gopichand, too, suffered a knee injury during his playing days but then made a remarkable comeback to win the All England Open thereafter. He sympathised with Wang’s injury but then felt that the way Saina fought back from 6-14 down to make it 18-20 at one stage was remarkable and had looked like she is going to pull it off in the next two.

“Wang was a little tired and I think she pushed herself a little too much,” observed Gopichand, adding: “The Chinese shuttler was getting a little weary as the match progressed.”

Gopichand was not just thrilled by Saina’s bronze here but has also been thrilled by Parupalli Kashyap’s achievements here. He, too, like Saina, became the first ever male Indian shuttler to reach the quarterfinal stage before losing to top seed and eventual runners-up Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.

“This is really huge for Indian badminton. It has been my dream for many years,” Gopichand said in a choked voice before moving on for more media interviews lined up after this historic feat.

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Serena Williams, Murray No. 4 in new rankings

Wimbledon: Serena Williams and Andy Murray both retained the No. 4 spot in this week's rankings after they won gold medals at the Olympics.

Victoria Azarenka and Roger Federer kept the No. 1 spot in the rankings released on Monday. Azarenka lost to Williams in the Olympics semifinals and settled for a bronze medal, while Federer lost to Murray in the men's final on Sunday.

The men's top seven remained the same, with Novak Djokovic second and Rafael Nadal third. Olympic bronze medalist Juan Martin del Potro moved up one spot to eighth.

Maria Sharapova, who lost in the final to Williams, rose to second from third, swapping spots with Agnieszka Radwanska.

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Surviving I-League is our first target: Baichung Bhutia

Kolkata: Unveiling the squad of his team -- United Sikkim FC -- Indian football icon Baichung Bhutia on Sunday said staying in the I-League 2012-13 would be their first target.

The retired Indian football captain also hoped to play in a few matches but said he has to remain fit as being the owner does not guarantee a place in the XI.

"It's a new club with a young squad. Budget-wise we are nowhere near to Mohun Bagan or United SC. But we're very very confident. Our main aim is to remain in the I-League," Bhutia said of his one-and-half-year-old club, the qualifiers for the sixth season.

Besides Bhutia, the 25-member squad has India defender Anwar Ali, former East Bengal forward Budhiram Tudu, along with two foreigners Taeyoon (Korean goalkeeper) and Nigerian veteran medio Salao Nurudeen.

The 36-year-old said he would register himself to play in the upcoming season.

"I have to stay fit in the top tier competition. I cannot just because I'm the owner."

The team is coached by former East Bengal's Philippe de Ridder and Bhutia said he has given a free hand to the Belgian.

"He has picked the squad. I've given him a free hand. He is fully responsible for the team's result. I've full faith in his abilities," Bhutia, standing next to de Ridder, said.

The coach said they were also taking trial of Costa Rican World Cupper Carlos Hernandez, a defensive midfielder and Mun Mun a left back.

Asked about India's prospects under new coach Wim Koevermans in the Nehru Cup beginning August 23, Bhutia said, "We have a good side. We are hopeful. But you have to give them time."

The United FC also got a title sponsor for the upcoming season.

The Squad:

Goalkeepers: Taeyoon (Korea), Manatosh Ghosh; Defenders: Anwar Ali, Harpreet Singh, Sandesh Jhingyan, Romen Singh, Nim Tshering Lepcha, Sayed Farid, Rahul Jaiswal, Sanjeev Mali, Hardeep Saini; Midfielders: Salao Nurudeen (Nigeria), Rajiv Gorai, Shabir Ali, Raju Debnath, Shahensha Ansari, Nima Tamang, Thupden Bhutia, V Lalthanpuia, Linekar Machando, B Beikokhei, Zenith Genius Mashangva; Forwards: Budhiram Tudu, Nadong Bhutia and Baichung Bhutia.

Coach: Philippe de Ridder.

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Seniors help one improve as a cricketer: Manoj Tiwary

KANDY: After scoring his maiden ODI century, Manoj Tiwary had to endure the pain of warming the bench for 14 straight ODIs despite being fully fit and available for selection but the youngster feels that it has helped him improve his mental strength.

A testimony to his strength has been all-round performance that saw take four wickets in his comeback match and score a vital half century in the very next game.

"You tend to improve mentally, when you are a part of the Indian team. You have such senior players, so successful that their company helps one improve as a cricketer. By sitting with them, travelling with them, you learn something everyday," Tiwary told the mediapersons on the eve of India's lone T20 International to be played on Tuesday.

On his own admission, he has matured a lot due to his stint with the national team for the past year as he has now learnt to deal with various match situations and also analyze his own game.

"I just analyse myself. As the days go by, you learn how to deal with various situations," Tiwary said.

The Bengal youngster also loves to watch motivational sports videos which helps him to pump up before an important encounter.

"I do get pumped up at times which sets my mind in the right position to contribute to the team," Tiwary said.

Incidentally, when a night before he scored his maiden ODI century, Tiwary watched a video of British quartermiler Derek Redmond who hobbled but finished his 400m final at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

"I would remember that video and that would keep me going as I suffered cramps after scoring 80," Tiwary had said after the match against West Indies in Chennai.

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'India are obviously one of the favourites'

Former captain Rahul Dravid believes the number of spinning all-rounders in the Indian team who can bowl part-time spin gives the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team an advantage in the World Cup commencing on February 19.

"India are obviously one of the favourites. They have been playing well for a number of years. It is a well-balanced side with a number of spinning all-rounders or part-time bowlers, which gives India a big advantage. Having spinning all-rounders is certainly advantage especially looking at type of pitches we have in india," said Dravid after receiving Ceat Cricket Rating World Cup Retro award after being named the top cricketer of the 1999 edition.

Dravid also feels the real tournament will start after the group stage when the quarter-finals commence with the top four teams in each of the two groups going into the knockout mode.

"Everyone knows who are going to be the quarter-finalists. The real World Cup will kick off then. I love to say India will win the Cup but any team can be dangerous from the quarter-final stages onwards," said Dravid.

Dravid said he is impressed with Dhoni's recent statement the Indian team has changed the meaning of pressure to added responsibility.

"It's a great privilege to be playing at home in front of home fans. Rather than seeing it as pressure, it should be seen as a great privilege," he said.

He also welcomed the format of the 2011 tournament and said "I wish it was there in 2007," referring to India's early elimination when he had led the team four years ago in the West Indies.

"It's a matter of peaking at the right time, keeping fit and enjoying and keeping the spirit up during the long tournament," he added.

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Asian Games shooting: Vijay wins bronze in 25m centre fire pistol

Vijay Kumar

India’s Vijay Kumar won a bronze in the men’s 25m centre fire pistol event at the Asian Games here Thursday.

South Korea’s Byung Taek Park notched up the gold and China’s Yadong Liu the silver.

Vijay shot a total of 583, while Park and Liu shot 586 and 585 respectively. India’s Omkar Singh finished eighth with a score of 580 while Harpreet Singh was 32nd with a score of 563.

Meanwhile, Gagan Narang, who had won two silver medals here, finished fourth in the men’s rifle 3 position. Narang fired a total of 1261.8, with an 99.8 in the final round.

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Asian Games tennis: Sania breezes into second round, Poojashree loses

India’s Sania Mirza powered into the women’s singles second round while it was curtains for Poojashree Venkatesha at the Asian Games here Thursday.

Sania, ranked 166, outclassed Wing Yau Venise Chan of Hong Kong 6-1, 6-0 in 50 minutes and next faces 91-ranked Shuai Zhang of China, who is seeded sixth.

Shuai had defeated Sania in the quarterfinals of the Guangzhou Open in September.

Poojashree went down to seventh-seeded Kai Chen Chang of Chinese Taipei 2-6, 2-6.

In the mixed doubles, India’s Sanam Singh and Rushmi Charkravathi overcame Uzbekistan’s Vaja Uzakov and Nigina Abduraimova 7-5, 6-3 and next play seventh-seeded Japan’s Yurika Sema and Hiroki Kondo.

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