Itinerary of India’s SA tour to be reworked: Dalmiya
Kolkata: The itinerary of India’s tour of South Africa beginning November is being reworked, BCCI interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said here on Tuesday. Dalmiya said the gaps between some matches in the itinerary were not sufficient and hence would be reworked. “The gaps between the Tests need to be looked into and there are a few more things that need to be rectified,” Dalmiya said. He said the cricket Boards of the two countries would sort out the itinerary and the media should not make an issue out of it. “There was a bit of misunderstanding in the morning. We have informed this to our South African counterparts and the two Boards are sorting it out amicably. We don’t want to make an issue about it.” The BCCI reportedly objected to the tour schedule, saying it was prepared by Cricket South Africa without the BCCI’s consent. As per the CSA release, the series at the moment comprises two Twenty20 Internationals, seven ODIs followed by three Tests concluding on January 19. The tour programme is, however, yet to be finalised.” (PTI)
Lajja Gauswami wins silver in shooting World Cup
New Delhi: Lajja Gauswami on Tueesday clinched the silver medal in women’s 50-metre Rifle 3 Position event, finally bringing to an end India’s lean run at the ISSF World Cup in Granada, Spain. The 24-year-old Gauswami, a bronze medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, shot 584 in the qualification round and 454 in the finals to bag the silver ahead of Norway’s Malin Westerheim, who shot 443.9 in the finals. Petra Zublasing of Italy won the gold after scoring 459.1 in the medal round. Gauswami totalled 152.4 over three series in kneeling, scored 154.8 in prone and 146.8 while standing to win the country’s first medal in the tournament, which started on July 3. It is to be recalled, Gauswami had teamed up with Tejaswani Sawant to win silver in pairs 50-m rifle 3 position at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010. Gauswami, who hails from Anand district in Gujarat, had also won gold in the women’s 50m rifle 3 position, ahead of Maharashtra’s Sawant and veteran Anjali Bhagwat at the IX Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Memorial Masters shooting competition last year. Gauswami, despite exhibiting prolific form in 2011, could not make it to the 11-member team for last year’s London Olympics after failing to lift her game during the trials. (PTI)
Former Man U star backs IPL-style league in India
New Delhi: Even as the deadlock over the proposed IPL-style football tournament persists, former England and Manchester United defender Gary Pallister on Tuesdaycalled it a “great initiative” and wants the stakeholders of Indian football to support it. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner IMG-Reliance are set to launch the Indian Premier League-inspired league in January next year, which will see a mix of some top foreign and Indian players competing on the same platform for over three months. “I am big cricket fan. I have watched the IPL. It’s a great idea, great initiative that should be backed. But whether it works for football, only time will tell. It depends on how it is received. Hopefully, it will get the backing,” Pallister said. Pallister had a nine-year spell at Manchester United from 1989 to 1998. He also played for Middlesbrough and Darlington and appeared in England colours for 22 times between 1988 and 1996. The AIFF-IMG’s proposal, however, has not gone down well with the I-League clubs, who under I-League Professional Football Clubs Association (IPFCA), have decided not to release their players or take any one associated with the tournament on loan. (PTI)
Bayern confident of Lewandowski deal next year
RIVA DEL GARDA: Bayern Munich president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said Tuesday he is sure Poland striker Robert Lewandowski will join the club in 12 months time. Bayern have been trying to prise the 24-year-old from their main Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund in the current off season but have so far been thwarted by the 1997 European champions’ determination not to lose their star striker to their fiercest competition. “I am absolutely optimistic that the player will be transferred to Bayern Munich next year,” Rummenigge said from the German and European champions’ pre-season training camp in Riva Del Garda in northern Italy. (Agencies)