Iannone, at 349.6 km/h, sets new MotoGP top speed record
MUGELLO (Italy): Italian Andrea Iannone, riding a 1000cc Ducati GP14 for Pramac Racing, set a new official top speed record for the MotoGP World Championship during practice on Saturday, clocking 349.6km/h (217.2 mph). Iannone just eclipsed the previous record for the championship (349.288km/h) which was also set at Mugello, by Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa in 2009. The Italian finished 10th fastest in Saturday’s practice, which was topped by Pedrosa with a lap best of 1min 47.754sec. Another Spaniard, world champion Marc Marquez, also on a Honda was second at 0.250sec, just ahead of Italian Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). (Agencies)
No Sodhi in 30-member CWG squad, Bindra to spearhead
New Delhi: Owing to his run of poor form, Asian Games gold medallist Ronjan Sodhi has failed to break into the 30-member Indian squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, which will see top shooters such as Abhinav Bindra and Vijay Kumar gunning for podium finishes. The National Rifle Association of India’s selection committee on Friday picked the shotgun team that has 10 shooters competing in six events. The rifle/pistol team for the event, to be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 3, was selected last month. The shooters were chosen on the basis of scores in the selection trials held earlier this month at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Almaty. “The pair events have been deleted from the program of Commonwealth Games 2014 and this has brought down the number of medals in the Commonwealth Games 2014, compared to Commonwealth Games 2010,” the NRAI said in a statement. “Moreover, two pistol events, Centre Fire Pistol and Standard Pistol events have also been deleted and women Double Trap and Skeet women events have been added on the program of Games 2014 in place of these two events,” it added. (PTI)
Candidates title morale-booster for Carlsen rematch: Anand
Mumbai: Viswanathan Anand feels winning the Candidates title has given him fresh motivation needed to avenge last year’s loss to world number one Magnus Carlsen, when the two meet in the World Chess Championship title clash later this year. Five-time world champion Anand registered three victories in 14 games without a defeat en route his Candidates victory to earn a rematch against Norwegian Carlsen. “If I had been dropped into the match that would have one thing but qualifying for it gave me a morale boost,” the 44-year-old legend told reporters here. “It will be a different match. It is very unlikely that we both would try to do the same things. Obviously I will try to learn from things that went wrong and I have many impressions that I will think about when I train,” said Anand, who was soundly beaten 6.5-3.5 at the Chennai World Championship title contest last November. “You feel positive. Good result is also something you can feed off. I am hoping to carry that feeling into it. But it goes without saying that we have to do different things, especially the loser,” the chess wizard explained further. Anand said he will try to give his best shot in the re-match which is scheduled to happen in November. “I will give it my best shot and I am looking forward to it. It is an unexpected second chance, so you definitely want to make use of that. Having said that, I don’t know when the match is going to be. Whether they will stick to the current schedule or the match moves, just literally waiting for details on that front,” he said. (PTI)