Uttar Pradesh, Railways champs

Arjun Ganesh, November 30, 2015, Bengaluru, DHNS

Kabaddi National Championships

 In a humdinger of a tie, Uttar Pradesh defeated Rajasthan 15-13 to clinch the men’s title at the 63rd Senior National Kabaddi Championship here on Sunday.

Reigning champions Indian Railways retained the women's title, thanks to local girl Tejaswini Bai’s inspired performance. Defeating Haryana 18-13, Railways notched their 34th title triumph.

Skipper Rahul Chaudhari led Uttar Pradesh from the front as he rose to the occasion with a scintillating attacking display. Rajasthan, who had beaten defending champions Services in the semifinals, took an early lead as Satish Kumar evaded the Uttar Pradesh defence superbly and won three raiding points.

Jasvir Singh then added another point with the very next raid to give Rajasthan a 4-0 lead. Chaudhari then scored with successive raids to open the scoring for his side. The first half ended with Rajasthan leading 5-2.

The teams were a bit too cautious in the second half but the game came alive in the final five minutes as Chaudhari brought the scores level at 5-5 through successful raids. The Telegu Titans star then gave his side a 7-5 lead as he received a bonus point for his raid.
UP’s lead didn’t last long as Deepak Hooda brought Rajasthan level at 7-7. Rajasthan seemed to wrest the initiative at this point when Chaudhari had a rare failure during a raid and conceded three points, giving Rajasthan a 10-7 advantage.

As tension mounted and scores kept ticking, Rajasthan edged ahead 13-10. But brilliant  defending from Uttar Pradesh's Arvind Balivan and Rahul Kumar shifted the tide completely and with just a minute of play left the scores were tied at 13 apiece.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man was the best way to describe the scenes that ensued as Chaudhari, backed by the crowd who had now gathered around the court, scored a crucial point as Navneet Gautam — later adjudged the catcher of the tournament — missed a catch.

Rajasthan had to score with the final raid to stay in the game but Balivan again proved his prowess in defence as he tackled Hooda out of play and with this, Uttar Pradesh clinched the trophy in emphatic fashion.

The Railway eves began at a frenetic pace scoring points at will, while a visibly rattled Haryana took time to settle in. Haryana showed spirit as they fought back with solid defending and closed the gap.

At the break, Railways held a two point advantage (9-7) over a Haryana side that refused to go down without a fight. The second half began well for Haryana as they piled the pressure on the champions and at one point, both sides were locked on 11 points.

This was when skipper Tejaswini put in a couple of excellent raids to give her side a lead that was never squandered.


Results: Final: Men: Uttar Pradesh bt Rajasthan 15-13. Semifinals: Uttar Pradesh bt Haryana 25-17; Rajasthan bt Services 29-27.

Women: Final: Indian Railways bt Haryana 18-13. Semifinals: Indian Railways bt Himachal Pradesh 23-14; Haryana bt Maharashtra 17-15.

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Kohli is passionate, wants to win: Ganguly

Mumbai, Nov 29, 2015 (PTI)

Former India skipper Saurav Ganguly today heaped praise on India test captain Virat Kohli saying he is fond of his attitude and aggression.

"He (Virat) is a good leader ... he will be a good leader, but I have said before challenges for Indian captains is not in India its away," the former left-hand batsman said on the sidelines of Coca Cola-NDTV "Support My School" campaign here.

"I like him. I like what I see on the field, he wants to win, he is passionate, you can see on the field and India has hopes on him," Ganguly added.

Under Kohli's leadership, India had defeated Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in the Test series and now have taken an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series versus South Africa.

"I am a big fan of Virat Kohli. He is a captain who always wants to win matches on the field and I love that passion in him. I love the attitude and aggression in Kohli," Ganguly had said.

The Nagpur pitch came under a lot of criticism after the third Test ended within three days.

When asked about the nature of pitches in context of match, Ganguly said, "It's ok, I thought, the batsmen could have batted better, the balls have turned there is not doubt about it, it turned, there was a lot of help for spinners.

"I think it's a one-off thing, I don't think India will produce such pitches....," he added.

There has been a constant debate in cricketing circles on the nature of pitches with the Mohali and Nagpur Test getting over within three days.

On Ravindrachandran Ashwin, who razed through the South African batting order in the recent Test matches, Ganguly said, he bowled superbly.

"On these pitches, you have to bowl in right areas," he quipped.

On the proposed India-Pakistan series to be played in Sri Lanka, which is yet to get a clearance from the Centre, Ganguly said, "I don't know, it depends on the government... its always been the case ... India Pakistan (series) depends on the government and its not going to change."

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Murray wins Davis Cup for Britain

Ghent (Belgium), Nov 29, 2015, (AFP)

Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years in Ghent on Sunday when Andy Murray defeated David Goffin 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in the first of the reverse singles for an unbeatable 3-1 lead over Belgium.
It was a fitting climax for the 28-year-old Scot to provide the winning point, having won all 11 rubbers he played in during the campaign as the British defeated heavyweights United States, France and Australia before the clincher against Belgium.

The win over Goffin made him just the third player, after John McEnroe and Mats Wilander, to win all eight singles in the same calendar year since the Davis Cup World Group started in 1981.

And it underpinned Murray's place in tennis history following his headline-making wins in the 2012 US Open and Olympics, and at Wimbledon the following year.

The match-up of the two national number ones came after both had won their opening singles on Friday and Murray had teamed up with brother Jamie the following day to defeat Goffin and Steve Darcis in the doubles.

It was do or die for Goffin and Belgium against the world number two who had yet to drop a single set against the 16th ranked Belgian in previous games.

But it was a tense and edgy start from both players in front of a raucous 13,000 capacity crowd at the Flanders Expo centre where a claycourt had been laid down in an effort to blunt Murray's firepower.

It was the world number two, though, who landed the first blow, breaking the Goffin serve to love in the sixth game and that proved enough for him to take the set 6-3 in 48 minutes on his fourth set point.

The second set turned out to be the key to the final. Murray held serve with ease, while Goffin hung on grimly.

The Belgian somehow moved out into a 5-4 lead and with the decibel level rising again as the crowd scented blood, Murray needed to serve to stay in the set.

But he did that with some ease and then in the next game, the Scot stepped up the pressure once again and got the break he needed as Goffin netted a forehand drive.

Goffin had only once in his career come back to win after losing the first two sets of a match and that was in Friday's opening rubber against Kyle Edmund.

But against a player of Murray's calibre and fitness it was a huge ask.
Goffin, though, had not given up the cause and he raised home hopes with his first break of serve in the second game of the second set.

But the revival was short-lived as Murray broke back immediately and three games later the Scot supplied the 'coup de grace' with a break to love to lead 4-3.

He only had to serve out twice to end the long wait for Britain but he only needed to do that once as again he broke the Goffin serve, finishing the final with a superb lob.

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Qatar will have to address workers right issue: Prince Ali

New Delhi, Nov 29, 2015 (PTI)

FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali Al Hussein today ruled out re-opening of the 2022 World Cup bid won by Qatar if he is elected for the top job unless the Gulf country fails to address the issue of alleged rights violation of workers hired to construct the stadia.
Ali, who was here for the Asian Football Confederations Annual Awards Night, however, emphasised that issues of violation of human rights and workers rights were among important criteria for a country to be awarded the World Cup.

"As an Asian, I am asking that they (Qatar) have to abide by that (issue of alleged violations of workers rights). I have seen suggestions from Qatar especially in terms of workers rights that they want to move ahead but FIFA has to guarantee that they do so," the 39-year-old Ali, who is the current Jordan Football Association President, told a select group of Indian journalists.

"Because that is the basis of how we should be. Football can be a right conduit to serve the society and that for me is the most important thing," he added.

Ali is up against five candidates for FIFA presidency -- incumbent AFC chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa, UEFA Secretary General Gianni Infantino, Frenchman Jerome Champagne and South Africa's Tokyo Sexwale. UEFA chief Michel Platini also filed his nomination but his fate will be known after a decision by FIFA Ethics Adjudicatory Chamber after he was handed a 90-day ban for allegedly receiving a USD 2 million payment from disgraced former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter.

Platini has also appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the ban.

Asked pointedly if there is any possibility of re-opening the 2022 World Cup bid won by Qatar, Ali said, "I don't think so unless something comes out that it (winning of the bid) was done in malpractice that was not brought up (earlier). If not, that is fine. But workers rights are also important. We have to make guarantee that they implement it.

"We are all equal and we are all human beings. Nobody should be treated in a wrong way. Nobody in Asia should be treated differently than anyone else. That is my view.

"My view is every country in the world has the right to host the World Cup if they have the means and capability to do so. It is not a matter of somebody is better than others. 

But the important thing is that things should be followed through properly. We have to implement the basic rights of people because that is an important criteria."

A few member countries, especially from Europe, have called for the re-opening of 2022 World Cup bid on the grounds of alleged malpractices and under-the-table dealings. 

There were also allegations of widespread rights violations of the workers hired for construction of facilities to host the 2012 World Cup.

Ali, who served as FIFA vice-president from 2011 to May 2015, also said that drastic changes need to be brought in the bidding process by basing a decision on a report filed by professional experts and not on political considerations as he laid down his plans to reform FIFA, which is currently hit by the worst corruption scandal in its history.

"The last time around the double bid was a mistake. We have to have the best practices regarding World Cup and we have to look at a system of how to do it. If you send out a team to look at different countries and a professional report needs to be the basis for how we select the World Cup venues.

"At the end of the day it is for our fans and for our players. We have also to include professional element, the opinion of the players, managers and referees. That also needs to be included in future. Then the basic norms, human rights, workers rights, these are the key.

"Based on the report, not on political basis, where a professional team goes out and visits the bidding countries. If it goes to the executive committee or congress (of the FIFA) it is not a problem if it is based on the professional report," Ali, who unsuccessfully contested for the top FIFA job against Sepp Blatter earlier in the year, said.

Since then, Blatter has resigned following investigation by Swiss and American authorities in a corruption scandal that rocked the sport.

Ali called upon the 200-odd member nations of the FIFA to vote "individually" based on "principles" and not en bloc in the elections which he termed as open and crucial for FIFA to salvage its reputation.

"This election is about every single national association and not the confederations elections. This election is a matter of belief.

"Those who want to move forward and those who don't want and I want to move forward," he said.

"My nominations came from Asia and I respect everybody's position. Having said that every country has the right to vote for who they think is the right person for this job. I am against this idea of trying to make blocs. It is a matter of principle in the mind and bringing a new fresh way of dealing with things."

He also hoped that there would be transparency in the election process to choose the FIFA president in an extraordinary Congress on February 26 next year.

"I believe that worldwide a bit of shadow has been lifted. I believe it as an open election.

I think the ethics committee and the electoral committee do things in a proper way and guarantee that there is no interference by confederations and by FIFA itself. Then I believe I will win this election," he said.

"It should be and it better be. We have one chance now," he added when asked if there would be transparency in the elections. 

Ali said he will not pull out of the elections in any case.

"I am not going to speculate how many candidates out of five will remain. I am focussed on myself right now. I will go through believe me there is no chance of backing out.

"Those who believe in future not in past practices I believe support from Asian countries also."

Asked about India's possibility of backing Shiekh Salman for the FIFA presidential elections, Ali said, "I will be speaking to Mr Praful Patel (AIFF chief) obviously and I have a very good relation with him. It is a critical time worldwide. I think India in particular with its demography and who you are is so crucial and so important that it should be making a stand because this election is not just about a simple vote but about the football fans around the word. You have got to take a stand."

Asked about India currently having two leagues -- I-League and Indian Super League, he said, "I think the national association has better knowledge of the situation at the ground. We have to have regional offices to know what is going on. My emphasis is if people are satisfied that the players are having the best opportunity then we go for it.

"I think you (India) are making a lot of progresses. I had a lot of interactions. I have a foundation which supports the grassroots, one in Magic Bus and another in social responsibility, I think I will encourage much more in grassroots development and social responsibility. You have to focus in your kids, boys and girls. I would like to re-invest as much FIFA's money back to that."

Ali felt FIFA needs radical changes in its governance and he said transparency and development of the sport at the grassroots will be his top priority if elected.

"There is a loss faith on FIFA now from among the football fans and fraternity. We have to bring that faith back. We have to be open, unlock the doors, open the windows, nothing to hide and that is the way ahead. We have to change the way FIFA has been running as a governing body. People are demanding what is going on in FIFA. We have to put players and fans on top of pyramid and not the other way round. It will go in a good direction," he said.

He said he was not made for doing "deals" and would speak for what he believed was right or wrong in the world of football.

"I am not a politician, I do this for the love of sport. Look I am not going to talk about others. I have my ideals, I have my manifestos and people are convinced that, that is the right way to go forward.

"But the time of making deals is not for me and I have said from the time I ran against Blatter and I made my statement again with Platini. I am a straight person and I think internationally that needs to be the case.

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Kumble resigns as chief mentor of Mumbai Indians

Mumbai, Nov 30, 2015 (PTI)

Spin great Anil Kumble today stepped down as the chief mentor of Mumbai Indians with immediate effect.
Kumble, who has been associated with the Indian Premier League franchise since January 2013, has decided to pursue other opportunities in sports and cricket.

His decision follows a BCCI crackdown on conflict of interest in the board. Earlier in the month, India team director Ravi Shastri was removed from the IPL Governing Council while selector Roger Binny, whose son Stuart is a member of the national team, was asked to leave.

Around the same time, Sourav Ganguly replaced Kumble as the BCCI Technical Committee chief.

In a statement today, Mumbai Indians thanked Kumble for his contribution.
"Mumbai Indians is grateful to Anil Kumble, India’s highest wicket taker in both Tests and one days for his contribution in strengthening the Mumbai Indians Franchisee. In his first year as the Mentor, Mumbai Indians won the IPL and the Champions League in 2013. Mumbai Indians won the IPL once again in 2015," said the team in a statement.

Kumble, on his part, said, "I sign off with the obvious satisfaction of moulding a set of brilliant individuals to a high performing unit. Over the 3 years, MI met unprecedented success winning the IPL twice and the Champions League once. Winning both trophies in the same year (2013) being our crowning glory.

"As I move on to pursue other interests around cricket, I shall be amiss if I do not express my deep sense of appreciation to The Ambani family, particularly Smt. Nita Ambani, Akash Ambani and Nikhil Meswani for their unstinted support and empowerment.
"The players and my support team (coaching and non- coaching staff) have been an admirable bunch and were a joy to work with. Finally, I thank the MI fans for their constant support," added the former India captain.

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