Sania -Vesnina crash out of Dubai Open

Feb 25,  Sania Mirza and Yelena Vesnina duo have crashed out of the WTA Dubai Open Championship. In the final of the tournament, the pair of top seed Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond defeated the Indo-Russian duo in straight set 6-2, 6-1.

In the women’s Singles final, Polish Agniesza Radwanska plays Germany’s Julia Goerges. The defending champion Caroline Wozniacki was upset by the debutante Julia Goerges 7-6, 7-5. Radwanska upset the number eight seed Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in three sets.

Indian men and women reach finals of Olympic Hockey qualifiers

India to clash with S Africa in Women's Hockey .The Indian Women's team entered the final on Friday defeating Italy by a solitary goal in the semi final. The golden goal was scored by Ritu Rani in the 55th minute of the play at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium in New Delhi. The men's final will be on Sunday with India taking on 18th ranked France. The home team stormed in to the final on Friday in a tough clash with Poland beating the visitors 4-2. Sandeep Singh once again starred for India, converting two penalty corners to take his personal goal-tally in the tournament to 11.

Indian men and women reach finals of Olympic Hockey qualifiers

India had a good Thursday on the hockey field as both the men's as well as the women's team qualified for the two separate finals of the ongoing Olympic qualifiers at the National Stadium in New Delhi.

While the men were already assured of a place in the summit clash, even before their 4-2 win against Poland, Indian eves downed Italy 1-0 in a must-win match.

The scorelines in both matches may reflect an easy passage of play for the hosts but on the field, the teams had to work hard for their respective wins. 

Poland made India earn all the goals scored as Sandeep Singh converted from two penalty corners. Despite dominating possession, India were denied early on by Polish custodian Mariusz Chyla, who was brilliant and denied the Indians on numerous occasions.

Apart from Sandeep, experienced striker Shivendra Singh (59th) and V R Raghunath (65th) scored the other goals for India.

In the match played minute before, Indian women were resisted by a determined Italian defense. The two teams engaged in dramatic competition to strike at each others goal. Italy needed a draw to progress and were going by the book. Their dreams were shattered in the 52nd minute when Ritu Rani converted a penalty corner.

The Indians then did a decent job of fending off the Italian counter-attack to keep the scoreline intact and ensure a summit clash against South Africa.

Both finals will be played on Sunday

Anirban Lahiri lift the SAIL-SBI Open 2012 trophy

Anirban Lahiri lift the SAIL-SBI Open 2012 trophy

Bangalore golfer bags second international title

New Delhi, February 25, 2012: India’s Anirban Lahiri outclassed Prom Meesawat of Thailand in a playoff at the Delhi Golf Club on Saturday to lift the SAIL-SBI Open 2012 trophy. Lahiri, who emerged triumphant on the first play-off hole, became the first Indian to win the SAIL-SBI Open.

Anirban Lahiri (65-69-67-73) and Prom Meesawat (72-64-68-70) had ended the regulation 72 holes with matching totals of 14 under 274 after Lahiri had fired a one over 73, punctuated by four birdies and five bogeys, and Meesawat shot a two under 70 in the final round. The two players thus headed for a play-off on the 18^th hole.

Prom, who had overcome a three-shot deficit to take a share of the lead with Lahiri from the 16^th hole in regulation play, hit his tee shot at the first play-off hole into the bushes on the right.

   

He had to take a penalty because of an unplayable lie and played the third shot to the left of the fairway from where his fourth shot just found the green, which left him with a 40-foot putt for par.

Lahiri meanwhile had a good tee shot and managed to reach the green in three. He came within three feet for his birdie putt. Prom then decided to pick up his ball and concede defeat.

  

“I’m disappointed with the way I hit the ball as I’ve hit it much better the last three days. I found two bushes today which I had to chip out and that was something I haven’t done all week. I also dropped five shots which is not something you can get away with at this golf course, especially on the final day,” said Anirban, who bagged his second international title on Saturday.

He added, “I’ve changed my mental attitude towards golf. Practicing meditation has helped me stay in the moment. I was trying not to get ahead of myself and that was one of those few things that helped me to execute things rather than project and think into the future.”

Australia’s Scott Barr looked set to for a grandstand finish until a disastrous triple-bogey six on the 17^th hole put paid to any hopes of a maiden win. The Singapore-based Australian had to settle for third place on 275.

Ben Fox of the United States closed with a 278 to take fourth place while PGTI member Md Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh was a further shot back in fifth place on 280.

Shankar Das (74-69-70-68), Ashok Kumar (74-68-69-70) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (68-69-70-74) had the next best finish among the Indians as the three of them shared sixth place at seven under 281.

“Golf is fast on its way to become a common man’s sport in India given the wide popularity it is enjoying amongst masses”, said Union Minister Subdh Kant Sahai, Union Tourism Minister at award presentation ceremony of SAIL-SBI Open, a major international golf event sponsored jointly by SAIL, SBI and Ministry of Tourism.

“The Ministry of Tourism will do everything to support the game of golf and increase golf tourism in the country. We need to build more courses across the country and make the sport accessible to many more sport lovers”, Mr Sahai added.

Anirban Lahiri won the event and became the first Indian to win the SAIL-SBI Open in the five year history of the event. Prom Meesawat from Thailand and Scott Barr from Australia were the first and second runners up respectively.

Mr C. S. Verma, Chairman, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) said, “We are glad to have once again staged this annual international event, which promotes sporting culture in the country. With SAIL increasing its global footprint steadily, we are happy that this event attracted participants from over 20 nationalities and an Indian has clinched the trophy this year.”

 

Posted by Nksagar at 6:46 AM 0 comments

Government Committed to Self Regulation- Ambika Soni

Government Committed to Self Regulation- Ambika Soni
Smt. Soni Confers The Excellence in Journalism Awards
Awards Instituted by The Indian Chapter of the International Press Institute Smt. Ambika Soni, Minister for Information and Broadcasting today conferred the Excellence in Journalism Awards. The awards were given to Shri Tarun Tejpal of “Tehelka” and Ms. Gunjan Sharma of “The Week” for their investigative work. The awards have been instituted by the India Chapter of the International Press Institute.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said though the concept of content regulation had been debated for a long time. It was necessary to give the process, time and space to establish its credibility and acceptance. Highlighting the efforts made in this direction, the Minister said that NBSA, IBF and ASCI had provided a roadmap for the process to move forward and that the Government was committed to facilitate the various mechanisms taken in this regard. Elaborating further, the Minister dispelled all doubts regarding the intention of the Government in controlling tools of mass communication. The Minister reiterated, Hon’ble Prime Minister’s stand on the issue of media autonomy as stated during the speech given by him in January 2012 at a media function.

Outlining the potential of the print media in the country, Smt. Soni said, that with more than 107 million copies of newspapers circulated daily, and over 80,000 registered publications, including magazines in several languages being published weekly, fortnightly, and monthly in this country, India had become one of the major hubs for the print media across the world. Availability of Indian editions of foreign scientific, technical and speciality periodicals at an affordable cost had further increased access of the people to a wider choice in content. The untapped potential of 300 million literate individuals offered an opportunity to the industry to carve out the next stage of growth for the print industry. At the same time, despite the impact of social media and 24x7 channels, the print media in India had stood its ground as compared to the situation in the West.

Regarding the relevance of such awards, the Minister said the institution of such awards was a result of the debate in the media. The awards by various entities and media houses recognized the courage and conviction of individuals, acknowledged the achievers in different walks of life and showcased the triumph of the human spirit against all adversities.

Regarding the tools of the media deployed today, Smt. Soni drew the attention to the growing debate, both in the public arena and also from within the media about the manner in which media covered events. Coverage of events in which media played a crucial role was also subject of intense debate. Various kinds of views emerged which touched upon issues such as pre-screening, banning, regulating, etc. As a consequence, the Minister mentioned that she was confident that something positive would emerge.The Minister also called upon the media to reinforce the positive spirit of India. There was an ‘Incredible India’ waiting to be reported, she stated.

Sania-Vesnina move up into finals in Dubai

Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina beat Shuai Peng of China and Chinese Taipei's Su-Wei Hsieh in a hard-fought battle to book a berth in the doubles final of the Dubai Duty Free Women's Tennis Championships.

The second seeded Indo-Russian pair took an hour and 40 minutes to get the better of their opponents in the super tie-break, 6-2 6-7 (5) 1-0 (13/11) on Friday night.

While Sania and Vesnina managed to convert as many as five out of the seven break points they got, Hsieh-Peng could convert only three off eight.

Sania and Vesnina will be up against the top seeds American pair of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in the final on Saturday night.

The American duo have won eight straight games and are looking for their third consecutive title, having won in Paris (Indoors) and Doha before this.

Oz Labor party leadership race

Oz Labor party leadership race

Taking up the gauntlet, former Australian Foreign Min Kevin Rudd on Friday said he will contest against PM Julia Gillard in Monday's leadership vote, as the two bitter rivals sparred publicly escalating the row within the ruling Labor party. "Rightly or wrongly, Julia (Gillard) has lost the trust of the Australian people. And starting on Monday I want to start restoring that trust," 54-year-old Rudd told a press conference, ending days of speculation about his intention to challenge the Prime Minister following his dramatic resignation on Wednesday in the US during an official trip. Soon after Rudd's surprise resignation Wednesday, Gillard called a ballot on Monday to end the leadership speculation "once and for all." "And that is why I've decided to contest the leadership of the Labor Party," Rudd said. "It's no secret that our government has a lot of work to do if it is to regain the confidence of the Australian people," he said. "Starting on Monday, I'm going to start restoring that trust," he said. Within hours, Gillard, Australia's first woman Prime Minister, responded to declare that she was the best person to lead the party to victory in the next election. "Talk is easy. Getting things done is harder and I am the person who get things done," 50-year-old Gillard said. Asked to comment on Rudd's resignation and his suggestion that she had lost the trust of Australian voters, Gillard said, "Australians can have confidence in me that no matter how hard it gets, I've got the determination and personal fortitude to see things through." She she was confident that she had the support of the 103-strong Labor caucus to continue as Prime Minister. "I am confident I can lead Labor to a victory at the next election," Gillard said. "This is not an episode of Celebrity Big Brother, this is about who should be Prime Minister," she said, adding that her colleagues needed to decide "who's got the strength, the temperament, the character, the courage to lead this nation." Gillard came to power in June 2010 after launching her own leadership challenge against Rudd, who was then Prime Minister. At the time, she was his deputy and justified the move by claiming "the government was losing its way." Rudd had become Prime Minister after defeating the then Liberal Prime Minister John Howard in a general election in 2007. It was Labor's first win since 1996. Earlier, Rudd, while announcing his resignation, attacked Gillard-led government for its poor relations with business and criticised a number of policy decisions made since he lost the Prime Ministership.

SC's 2G verdict under study

Cabinet's top ministers including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal met in New Delhi on Friday for the second time in as many weeks to discuss fallout of the court judgement."Everyone is now better informed about the judgment... we had completed analysing (the Supreme Court ruling)," he said.

The group met to discuss the future course of action, including legal options available to the government, following the apex court's 2^nd February decision of cancelling 122 licences issued to mobile phone companies in 2008.The government has 30 days from the date of the judgement to file a review petition.

Khurshid refused, however, to say what the AG had opined or if the government contemplating a review petition."You will know when a decision is taken." "The call will have to be of Telecom Ministry," he said.Khurshid said the government cannot become party to the review petition filed by private operators like Idea unless it is impleaded in the case.

Earlier in the day, Sibal had refused to comment on the deliberations at the meeting.

"If anything happens, we will let you know," Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar had told reporters in New Delhi on Friday.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on 11^th February discussed the fallouts of the Supreme Court ruling with the senior ministers.Sibal had last week stated that the government was studying the implications of the judgement as it had impact on other sectors as well."I have been saying this repeatedly that the impact of the judgement is far-reaching. It has implications not only on the (telecom) sector but on other sectors as well," Sibal had said.

The apex court, cancelling licences allocated by the then Telecom Minister A Raja, had stated that auction was the best way for allocation of scarce natural resources (like spectrum or radio waves).The court had also defined natural resources as both renewable and non-renewable.

Sibal had said that after the government studies the implications of the judgement, it would take a view on the way how it should proceed.

Friday’s meeting also assumes significance as two foreign companies -- Bahrain Telecom and Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat -- have announced their exit from India.Another operator Loop has written to the Prime Minister, asking the government to return the licence fee paid by the company along with interest.This is expected to put pressure on the government as the operators are waiting for clarity on rules to safeguard the multi-crore investments made by these players.

Another operator Telenor has, however, re-iterated its commitment to continue operations in the country, although as part of a new venture.