Somdev storms into Challenger semis
Kolkata: Birthday boy Somdev Devvarman staged a remarkable rally after conceding the first set to tame Spain’s Adrian Memendez Maceiras and march into the semi-final of the State Bank of India ATP Challenger Tour here on Thursday. Devvarman, who got a wild card for the tourney, finished on the right side of a 4-6, 6-1 and 6-3 squareline in the 122-minute quarter final clashon the synthetic court of the Bengal Tennis Association. In the opening set, the Indian was broken in the very first game, but he broke back to draw parity at 4-4. However, the Spaniard again broke Devvarman in the ninth game and retained the tenth to close the set. In the second, Devvarman was at his best as he brushed aside the 208th ranked Spaniard’s challenge. The decider saw Devvarman, who turned 30 during the day, grabbing an early break at 1-1 and opening up a 3-1 lead by holding serve in the fourth game. The next four games went with serves, but the Indian took the match by attacking and demolishing Maceiras in the ninth. Devvarman, now ranked 100 in the ATP list, would take on third seeded Russian Evgeny Donskoy in the semifinal on Friday. He stopped the dream run of qualifier T Chen from Taiwan in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. In the opening set, Chen was broken in the third game which ultimately helped Donskoy take the set 6-4. The Russian, who ousted India’s Yuki Bhambri on Wednesday, seemed totally in control as he broke Chen at 4-4 in the second set, and retained the lead without any hiccups to make it to the pre-summit round. Kazakhstan top seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov also entered the last four by breezing past eight seeded David Guez from France 6-1,6-3. (IANS)
U-19 World Cup begins today
Dubai: Future stars will get a chance to show their talent, potential and prowess when the ICC U-19 World Cup gets underway across the United Arab Emirates on Friday. This year’s event carries extra significance as it is taking place a year before the 2015 ICC World Cup. A lot of cricketers will be looking to excel here so that they can catch the eye of their national selectors and earn the honour of representing their countries in the sport’s biggest extravaganza which will be staged in Australia and New Zealand from Feb 14 to March 1 next year. The 16 teams in the U-19 World Cup have been divided in four groups: Group A: India, Pakistan, Scotland and Papua New Guinea; Group B: Australia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Namibia; Group C: South Africa, Zimbabwe, West Indies and Canada; Group D: New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates. The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super League quarterfinals while the bottom two will qualify for the Plate Championship quarterfinals. On the opening day, four matches will be played with 1998 champions England taking on UAE at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Zimbabwe facing Canada at Abu Dhabi Oval 1, New Zealand squaring off against Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium and South Africa and the West Indies going head to head at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. (PTI)
Indian blind cricketers to play in Pak
Bangalore: A 15-member Indian blind cricketers team is going to Pakistan to play three T20 matches and three one-day internationals (ODIs) against its arch rivals from Saturday. “This is the third time the Indian blind team is going to Pakistan for the bilateral series and hope to register our first win as we lost in the previous two tournaments played in 2004 and 2011,” Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) manager Endal John David told IANS from Amristar on Thursday. The team will cross through the Attari-Wagah border post. India will play the three T20 ties in Lahore and Faisalabad and all the three ODIs in Karachi during its 10-day trip. India are the T20 World Cup for the Blind champion after beating Pakistan in final Dec 13, 2012 here. Organised by CABI in association with the Bangalore-based Samarthanam Trust for the disabled, the squad has players from nine states across the country – four from Gujarat, two each from Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Odisha and one each from Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The players are classified into three categories – totally blind (B1), partially blind (B2) and with partial vision (B3). The playing team comprises four B1, three B2 and four B3 members, while wicketkeeper belongs to the B3 category. (IANS)