Over 50 football fans hurt as gallery collapses in Kerala
Kasargod: More than 50 people were injured when a temporary iron gallery erected for an all India Sevens’ football tournament collapsed at Bekal in this Kerala district northern-most district on Sunday night. Police said iron-pipe gallery came crashing down minutes before the match between Saban Kottakkal and Mohammadans Mouval was to be inaugurated by Uduma MLA K Kunhiraman and other football aficionados around 8 pm. Event organisers said majority of the audience had a providential escape as the iron gallery housed more than 1500 people, adding the event was deferred in view of the accident. The injured were admitted to hospitals in Uduma, Bekal, Kahangad, Kasargod and Mangalore in Karnataka, the police added. (UNI)
Nine more Eritrean players, coach go missing in Kenya
NAIROBI: Nine members of the Eritrean national football team and the coach of the squad have disappeared in Kenya, bringing the number of those to abscond while playing in a regional tournament to 11, a senior soccer official said on Monday. “The players and the coach have absconded after the team was knocked out of the regional tournaments which ended last weekend,” Nicholas Musonye, CECAFA’s secretary general, told Reuters by phone. It is not the first time players from the national squad have defected abroad, seeking to escape one of the world’s most repressive states that is ruled by a reclusive president. Last December, 17 players and the team doctor claimed asylum in Uganda, 18 months after 13 players from an Eritrean club side sought refuge in Tanzania. In 2009, a dozen members of the national team disappeared in Kenya. (Reuters)
Leander, Bhupathi, Somdev, Sania for Khar Gym tennis
Mumbai: Indian tennis stars Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi and Somdev Dev Varman are to take part in a two-day prize money tournament organised and conducted by the suburban Khar Gymkhana next week. The Indian Tennis Professional Association’s (ITPA) invitation tournament, to be held on December 21 and 22, would feature the country’s top 8 players who would play in round robin format. The ITPA has been formed in March this year with all the country’s professional tennis players as its members and its sole objective is to find and nurture young tennis talent and groom them to be future champions in the sport, a release said. (PTI)
UP’s Vijay Yadav win bronze in Asian Youth Judo at China
Lucknow: Vijay Kumar Yadav has won bronze medal in the recently concluded 7th Asian Youth Judo Championship in Hainan, China. Vijay Kumar Yadav from Lucknow defeated Saudi Arabia in the 1st round, however he lost his quarter final to King Chung from Korea. Then in the repe-charge bouts, he won against Gao from China and then against Beranvand Kavyan from Iran, and thus won the Bronze medal bringing honour both for his country and his state. Munawar Anzar, General Secretary, UP Judo Association said here on Monday that other participants Ajay Yadav lost his very first bout to Tazakistan, Vishal Chauhan put up a better show and won his first bout but lost his second to Rasheedi from Iran. He again lost to Tazakistan in the repe-charge and was placed 7th in his category. (UNI)
Cedric D’Souza is new coach of Delhi Waveriders
New Delhi: Former national hockey coach Cedric D’Souza has been roped in by Delhi Waveriders as their new coach for the second edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) scheduled to begin next month. Introducing the new coach, Ajit Pal Singh, former captain of the Indian Hockey Team and Chief Advisor, Delhi Waveriders said, “Cedric has coaching experience in domestic as well as international arena, and working experience with Indian as well as global players. His passion for fitness, technique and mental toughness makes him one of the most sought after coaches in India hockey.” (PTI)