Manipur bow out of hockey nationals
Pune: Despite putting up a fighting performance, Manipur lost 2-4 to Karnataka in the quarterfinals of the third Hockey India senior men’s National Championship on Saturday. Holders Punjab will now take on Karnataka while Air India face Haryana in the semifinals. Air India snatched a 5-4 win over Railways Sports Control Board, while Punjab trounced Jharkhand 6-0 and Haryana beat Chandigarh 4-1. Karnataka proved too strong for Manipur. BS Bidappa converted a penalty corner for Karnataka in the 13th minute. Manipur forward M Amarjit then made a valiant bid to breach the Karnataka defence almost immediately, but was foiled. In the 19th, Nikin Thimmaih scored to make it 2-0. In the second half, Manipur struck back in the 37th minute when K Suresh scored a goal to reduce the margin. However, in the 41st minute, a swift move by MB Aiyappa helped Karnataka take a 3-1 lead followed by a MG Poonacha hit which struck defender K Suresh and moved into the Manipur goal to give Karnataka a 4-1 lead. Manipur continued to fight despite the reverses and in the 65th minute, N Ganendrajit scored, but Karnataka managed to hang on to enter the semis. (IANS)
Van Persie made new Dutch captain
The Hague: Robin van Persie has replaced Wesley Sneijder as permanent first captain, Dutch head coach Louis van Gaal said. Van Gaal informed the Dutch media about the change in captaincy after the friendly match against Indonesia in Jakarta, on Friday. When van Gaal started his second term as head coach he appointed Sneijder as first captain, Dirk Kuyt as second and Kevin Strootman as third. However, Sneijder was not playing at Inter in the first half of the season and was not fit during the second half at his new club Galatasaray. “When I was appointed last year I had all the confidence in Sneijder,” van Gaal told Dutch TV channel SBS6. “Now I have that in Van Persie. Sneijder has not been fit for a whole year. He should focus on his own fitness first.” Sneijder was only able to wear the captain’s armband during four matches in the past year. Van Persie wore the band for the first time in Jakarta. The Netherlands beat Indonesia 3-0 through two goals by Siem de Jong and one by Arjen Robben, on Friday. The Dutch team will fly to China on Saturday for next Tuesday’s friendly in Beijing. “The coach asked me last Monday,” van Persie told a Dutch TV channel. “I felt very flattered and really wanted to do it. I felt very honoured. Yes, it is intended that I stay captain.” (IANS)
Srikanth reaches final of Thailand Open badminton
Bangkok: India’s K Srikanth beat Thammasin Sitthikom in straight games to advance to the men’s singles final at the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold badminton event here on Saturday. World no.61 Srikanth got the better of 143-ranked Sitthikom 21-14, 21-18 in a semifinal lasting 43 minutes. The Indian faces top seed and world no.7 Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand in the title clash on Sunday. Ponsana eased past Singapore’s Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo 21-9, 21-9 in the other semifinal. Defending champion Saina Nehwal’s hopes of retaining her Thailand Grand Prix title went up in smoke as she suffered a shocking three-game defeat to Singapore’s Juan Gu, on Friday, losing 21-13, 12-21, 18-21. (Agencies)
Missing Paris could be blessing in disguise for Murray
LONDON: World number two Andy Murray is hoping his Wimbledon title chances will benefit from his enforced absence from the French Open in Paris. The Briton pulled out of Roland Garros because of a back injury. Asked if missing the French Open would improve his hopes at the Queen’s Club tournament in London next week and at Wimbledon later this month, Murray replied: “I hope so – that’s the sort of attitude you need to take. “After the French Open last year I took five or six days off and when I started practising again I felt really comfortable on the grass straight away and that isn’t normally the case. Grass takes time to get used to. I’ve been on it for 10 days or so now and that’s probably a week longer than I would have had if I’d been at the French,” the US Open champion said on Saturday. (AP)