Hockey Test series: Indian colts thrash Japan 7-0
New Delhi: After their convincing win against New Zealand by 5-1 in the opening match of the five-match test series in Australia, the Indian junior men team on Sunday downed Japan by 7-0 in the second match of the series in Gold Coast, Australia. India received an early penalty corner and defender Varun Kumar left no chance to convert it into the first goal of the match. After leading by 1-0, India received two more back-to-back penalty corners in quick succession, converted by penalty corner specialist and defender Harmanpreet Singh. Forward player Sumit Toppo then sneaked into the opponents’ defense-line and smashed the ball in the goal, taking the lead of 4-0. Maintaining the supremacy, Indians managed to earn another penalty corner and this time again; Varun pushed the ball into the box and took the scorecard to 5-0. As the Indian colts continued their attacks, forward player Parvinder Singh managed to breach the defense-line and hit the ball in the box to score the sixth goal for India. In the next few minutes, Sumit Toppo also outsmarted the opponent’s defenders and sent the ball into the net for the seventh goal of the match. (UNI)
Security lapses of 2009 will not be repeated: PCB chief
Karachi: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Shaharyar Khan has said that the PCB will ensure the same security lapses, which were made when the Sri Lankan team was attacked by militants in Lahore in March 2009, are not made for the one-day series against Kenya. Khan admitted that with three days remaining before the Kenya team reaches Lahore, he is apprehensive and nervous over security arrangements for the tour. “Kenya is the first team to tour Pakistan since that incident although we have hosted Afghanistan a few times. So we know the importance of this tour. We see it as the first door towards eventually convincing other teams to tour Pakistan,” Khan was quoted as saying by Express newspaper. The former foreign diplomat made it clear that what happened with the Sri Lankan team in 2009 would not be allowed to happen again. Kenya will play five one-day matches against the Pakistan A side in Lahore from December 12 onwards. (PTI)
Gritty Kenyans win Pune International Marathon
Pune: The gritty long distance runners from Kenya, Amos Maiyo Maindi and Nancy N Wambua, once again established their superiority by winning the top honours in the men’s and women’s track events, respectively, in the 29th edition of Pune International Marathon held here on Sunday. Maindi won the gruelling full marathon of 42.195 kilometre in a time of 2:18.36. While, Wambua covered the distance of the women’s half marathon in 71.55 minutes to win the event. She was followed by her teammate Hellan N Musyoka, who clocked 72.23 seconds and the Ethopian Tinbit Gidey Weldegebriel who finished the race in time of 72.33 minutes. The Men’s 21 kilometre race was dominated by Daniel Mutety of Kenya, who touched the finish line in 1:02.04. His teammate Robert Wambuambithi came second in 1:02.05, while the Ethopian Asrat Melaku Kasik finished third in 1:03.02. (PTI)
India players can’t use BCCI logo in domestic matches
New Delhi: In a fresh diktat for players representing various teams in domestic competitions, the BCCI has instructed match referees to ensure that none of the India players – current or discarded – sport the Board logo either on their gear as that will be considered a violation of the association’s code. Normally, the moment a player breaks into the Indian team and then subsequently comes to domestic cricket, they have a habit of wearing India helmets, jerseys or caps. The BCCI wants to stop that. “The rule has been there from the start of the season but has only been implemented in all earnestness during the recently-concluded Deodhar Trophy final between West Zone and East Zone,” a BCCI official said. (PTI)