*New Delhi: *Indian weightlifters Sivalingam Sathish Kumar and Saikhom Mirabai Chanu on Friday earned the right to compete at the Rio Olympics in men's and women's weight categories respectively after topping the selection trials.Selection trials were held in Patiala to choose one lifter each from men's and women's category across all weight divisions after India had earned two quota places for the Rio Games at Senior Asian Championships at Tashkent, Uzbekistan in April.
Sathish earned the ticket for Rio after finishing on top among male lifters with a total of 336kg in 77kg weight division. He lifted 151kg in snatch and 185kg in clean & jerk.
Mirabai, meanwhile, was the best finisher among women competitors across all weight categories. She created two new national records en-route to grabbing the Olympic berth in the 48kg category.
She bettered her own record by 1kg in snatch, picking up 85kg, while she equalled the record of N Kunjarani Devi (107kg) in clean & jerk. In the process, Mirabai broke Kunjarani's total record of 190kg with a combined lift of 192kg.
The lifters for trails today in each category were selected on the basis of their performance at 2012 London Olympics and World Rankings. The top two lifters in each men and women division were picked after conducting trials in the presence of the selection committee of the Indian weightlifting Federation (IWLF).
Government nominee on the selection panel Bhakti Singh was also present during the trails.
During the Senior Asian Championships, Indian women lifters collected 100 points to finish third, while men earned 129 points with a sixth-place finish, by the virtue of which the country had earned two quotas for the Rio Games.
Mirabai had come up with a power-packed performance in Tashkent as well where she had smashed the national record in snatch with an effort of 84kg, equalling the national record in overall lift with 190kg (106kg in clean &jerk) en-route to seventh-place finish.
Kunjarani had till now held the record of 190kg, which she had created during 2004 Athens Olympics.
IWLF vice-president Sahdev Yadav said if Mirabai Chanu can improve her performance by a couple of kilograms in next one-and-a-half months, she would stand a good chance of a podium finish at the Rio Games.
"We will ensure that Mirabai works harder to improve by a couple of kgs. If she manages to achieve that, she has a good chance of winning a bronze medal at Olympics," Yadav told PTI.
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Bindra is set to retire from competitive shooting after the Rio Games 2016 and will now be shifting abroad to finish his training for the Olympics.
Today was my last ever training session at my home range ! I had my first coach Col Dhillon overseeing training ! pic.twitter.com/NNrAwMkI0s
— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) June 16, 2016
The ace shooter today had his last ever training session at his home range in Chandigarh with his first ever coach Col Dhillon overseeing his preparations.
*ALSO READ: Rio Olympics flag bearer Abhinav Bindra to retire on August 8*
Having come full circle to the point where it all started must have brought back pleasant memories for the 33-year-old. It would also have made him sad to know that this may be the last time he would be training at the location.
Col JS Dhillon (retd) was Bindra's first ever shooting trainer. Bindra came to him at the age of 13 in 1995 and trained under him for five years on his way to a glorious career.
Send off to #rio2016 by the cutie pies pic.twitter.com/NX7h1P3Uf0
— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) June 16, 2016*Abhinav Bindra's career highs*
*Olympic Games*
*Gold:* 2008 Beijing (10m Air Rifle individual)
*World Championships*
*Gold:* 2006 Zagreb (10m Air Rifle individual)
*Commonwealth Games*
*Gold:* 2002 Manchester (10m Air Rifle pairs)
*Silver:* 2002 Manchester (10m Air Rifle individual)
*Gold:* 2006 Melbourne (10m Air Rifle pairs)
*Bronze:* 2006 Melbourne (10m Air Rifle individual)
*Gold:* 2010 New Delhi (10m Air Rifle pairs)
*Silver:* 2010 New Delhi (10m Air Rifle individual)
*Gold:* 2014 Glasgow (10m Air Rifle individual)
*Asian Games*
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Watson is the second player after Ricky Ponting to win two back-to-back Allan Border Medals (2010, 2011).
He held the number one spot in T20I all-rounder rankings for a record 139 weeks.
He is the only cricketer to be named Australian 'Player of the Year' in all three formats.
He has the most consecutive fifties, most wickets and most sixes by an Australian cricketer.
He is the only player to score a fifty and take three wickets in a T20I on three occasions.
The only player to score a hundred and take 4 wickets in an innings in all formats of the game.
He is the only cricketer to win four consecutive man-of-the-match awards in ICC history.
He is the only cricketer to win man of the tournament in IPL twice.
The only Australian cricketer to play all six World T20s.
He has the highest ODI score by an Aussie cricketer.
He was Australia's highest paid cricketer in 2014. He was also one of the highest paid non-Indian cricketers.
In 2006 during the Champions Trophy, Watson had chest pain and was rushed to the hosptial. Initially he believed it was a heart attack but was later revealed to be gastritis.
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Jadeja posted photos on his instagram account of him and his wife Rivaba Solanki during a safari in Gir forest. The couple is seen posing with endangered Asiatic lions in the background.
Family photo ðÂÂÂð having good time in sasan(gir) ðÂÂÂð»ðÂÂÂð»ðÂÂÂðÂÂÂâÂÂð»ï¸ÂâÂÂð»#rajputboy #wearelions
A photo posted by Ravindrasinh Jadeja (@jadduboy) onJun 14, 2016 at 11:33pm PDT
The photographs of the couple instantly went viral on social media.
Finally time to say goodbye to sasan(gir) hopefully will comeback and meet the king of jungle âÂÂð»ï¸ÂðÂÂÂðÂÂÂð»#wearelions #rajputboy
A photo posted by Ravindrasinh Jadeja (@jadduboy) onJun 16, 2016 at 10:07am PDT
Forest officials from the wildlife sanctuary have now ordered a probe against the Indian all-rounder.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/jul/paes13jul-s.jpg
The veteran star now has 18 Grand Slam trophies, the most by an Indian.*Leander Paes and Martina Hingis*
*ALSO READ: French Open: Paes-Hingis make history, win Career Grand Slam *
His first success in doubles came with his partner of long Mahesh Bhupathi 16 years ago in 1999 at the French Open.
In 2015, he won 3 Grand Slams -- the Wimbledon with Hingis.
He has won ten mixed doubles major titles and now equals tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
Here is the full list of Paes' Grand Slam trophies (1999 to 2015)
*Mixed doubles (10 titles)*
*Four with Martina Hingis, 3 with Cara Black, 2 with Martina Navratilova, 1 with Lisa Raymond*
*-- 1999 Wimbledon with Lisa Raymond (USA)*
*-- 2003 Australian Open with Martina Navratilova (USA)*
*-- 2003 Wimbledon with Navratilova*
*-- 2008 US Open with Cara Black (Zimbabwe)*
*-- 2010 Australian Open with Cara*
*-- 2010 Wimbledon with Cara*
*-- 2015 Australian Open with Martina Hingis (Switzerland)*
*-- 2015 Wimbledon with Hingis*
*-- 2015 US Open with Hingis*
*-- 2016 French Open with Hingis*
*Men's doubles (8 titles)*
*- 3 with Mahesh Bhupathi, 2 with Lukas Dlouhy and Radek Stepanek, 1 with Martin Damm.*
*-- 1999 French Open with Mahesh Bhupathi (India)*
*-- 1999 Wimbledon with Bhupathi*
*-- 2001 French Open with Bhupathi*
*-- 2006 US Open with Martin Damm (Czech Republic)*
*-- 2009 French Open with Lukas Dlouhy (Czech Republic)*
*-- 2009 US Open with Dlouhy*
*-- 2012 Australian Open with Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic)*
*-- 2013 US Open with Stepanek**OTHER RECORDS AND TRIVIA: *
India's tennis hero Leander Paes has played with 100 different partners on the ATP circuit. When Paes took court with Marcel Granollers at the Aegon Open in Nottingham, in June 2015, the Spaniard was his 100th partner.
As a junior player, Paes won the Junior US Open and Wimbledon and was ranked No 1 in that division.
Paes has received India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1996–1997. He has also been honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1990 and the Padma Shri award in 2001.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-s.jpg*Antonio Conte*
One of the most feared strikers in the world, Ibrahimovic's ability to produce moments of goalscoring magic have delighted fans for the past decade. He hit 11 goals for Sweden in their qualifying campaign, only two shy of German Robert Lewandowski, and with the pressure now on the towering striker Italy coach Antonio Conte has sounded a warning.
"I like Ibra a lot, above all when he plays for the national team. He's got plenty of character, and he leads by example," said the Italy handler. "He's become even stronger over the past few years, and he's still progressing. He's a very strong player who can destabilise any team." Lazio winger Antonio Candreva said.
*Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic tries to balance the ball during a training session ahead of their clash vs Italy in Montpellier yesterday. Pic/AFP*
"Zlatan can put a whole team under pressure just by himself, but we have to concentrate on our own game ... and try to limit their strengths," After a 1-1 draw with Republic of Ireland in which Ibrahimovic failed to sparkle despite playing a decisive role in Ciaran Clark's late own goal, the Swedes are under pressure. A defeat would leave the Scandinavians needing to beat Belgium, in their last group game and hope they get among the four best third-placed group finishers to sneak into the last 16.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Sourav-Ganguly-s.jpg*Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly (right) throws a pink ball towards ex-Australia batsman Dean Jones as VVS Laxman (second from right) Mohd Shami look on at Eden Gardens yesterday. Pic/PTI*
The first day-night Test match is done and a few more have been lined up. Perhaps more significantly, the Indian Board has declared intent by earmarking the Duleep Trophy for the 'experiment' and planning a pink-ball Test in the coming season.
The Cricket Association of Bengal has quickly seized the opportunity to add another 'first in the country' by deciding to make the four-day final of the premier league a day-night affair.
Dean Jones pointed to the "the tremendous amount of interest" that the first pink-ball Test generated in Australia. "There were 3.6 to 3.7 million following the Test," he reminded.
Sighting the ball is one of the key concerns, but Sourav was around to allay fears.
"I could see the ball better than a red one at day or a white one at night," said the former India skipper, who had led the MCC in a pink-ball match in Dubai five seasons ago. "On an overcast day in England, the blackish red Dukes ball is very difficult to pick up."
All three were of the opinion that Test cricket should take the plunge, and the course corrections can be done later. "But for the length of the wicket, every law in cricket has been changed at least once; we can keep doing that," Dean Jones reminded.
*Convenient*
Laxman pointed out that playing to packed galleries is one of the great joys of a sportperson. "Day-night Tests will make it convenient for the spectators to attend," he reminded.
Dean Jones added a catchline. "Pink is the new red," he said, but added: "Of course, pink ball alone won't save Test cricket; it's about the entire experience, a night out for the spectators."
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/dhoni-cop-s.jpg
No. Not really.
Zimbabwe has got a new cop. #TeamIndia captain @msdhoni about to ride a Kawasaki Contours 14 ABS pic.twitter.com/IZQIg2Cobf
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 16, 2016
Dhoni is well known for his love of bikes. He has a great motorcycle collection and is aficionado of the mean machines.
So how could he resist taking a ride in the new hot wheel that he spotted in Harare.
The 34-year-old got a chance to ride a Kawasaki Concours 14 ABS that is used by the cops in Zimbabwe and he jumped at the opportunity.*His first bike*
My first bike pic.twitter.com/Die1cZ22YW
— Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni) September 12, 2013
*Darren Gough and Dhoni's bike face-off*
@DGoughie ur right this one is better mate pic.twitter.com/gVAYNTXMHz
— Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni) September 27, 2015
@msdhoni not as good as this pic.twitter.com/1dhJuwy33d
— Darren Gough (@DGoughie) September 27, 2015
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This will be India's first appearance in the summit clash in 36 years since the inception of the blue-riband six-nation tournament. India's only podium finish until now was a bronze medal won way back in 1982 at Amsterdam.*Indian hockey team in 2014. Pic/ AFP*
India would thank Great Britain, who rallied from a two goal deficit to hold Belgium 3-3 in a cliffhanger at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre late last evening. This was after India lost 2-4 to title favourites Australia in their last round robin encounter.
The draw between Great Britain and Belgium meant both of them finished behind India in the round-robin league, paving the way for India to play World champions Australia in the tonight's title encounter.
Australia topped the league standings with 13 points from five games, while India ended on seven points. Great Britain ended on six points and Belgium were left on four points. Britain will feature in the bronze medal match with dethroned title holders Germany, who outplayed South Korea 7-0. This was Germany's biggest win over the Koreans in international matches. Belgium will take on South Korea in the play-off for the fifth position.
Starting the day's proceedings with a 2-4 loss to top-ranked Australia, the Indian players went through a pensive wait for the result of the last league fixture as both Great Britain and Belgium could have scraped ahead of India. Britain simply required a victory to go past India on points, while Belgium needed to win by three goals or score at least four in a two-goal victory to finish ahead of India on goal difference.
All three possibilities were within close distance until the last stages, leaving the Indian fans in the stadium on tenterhooks. Even the last British shot at the goal with five seconds left could have taken the hosts into the final, but the ball went a few centimeters wide of the post.
The Indian team had left the ground after their match and followed the developments at the hotel, while the pendulum swung from one side to the other in a dramatic sequence. India's tentative defence and wayward shooting had left them marginally short in the past, but luck smiled on India today as Belgium squandered their chance of increasing the 3-1 lead even as Britain played without a goalkeeper for the last six minutes.
Then Belgium had two players sent off and were down to nine men, allowing Britain to score twice in the space of three minutes and drawing 3-3 parity with 75 seconds left. Britain went all out looking for that one good shot to land on target and lift them into the final, but the Belgian defence hung on grimly.
Two shots from British strikers went wide of the target and India found themselves in the final. Belgium had surged into the initial lead in the opening minute when Florent van Aubel deflected a powerful shot past British goalkeeper George Pinner.
Britain equalized on captain Barry Middleton's penalty corner conversion in the 25th minute. Jerome Luyparet fired in two successive penalty corners in the 30th and 42nd minutes to give Belgium a 3-1 lead, but the fourth goal proved elusive even when they surged forward with full thrust.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Gyasi-Zardes-s.jpghttp://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Saina-Nehwal-s.jpghttp://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Imran-Tahir-s.jpg*South Africa spinner Imran Tahir celebrates a West Indian wicket on Wednesday. Pic/AFP*
Hashim Amla's 110 underpinned the Proteas' total of 343 for four, which also featured half-centuries for Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Aditya-Verma-s.jpg*Aditya Verma*
While Aditya Verma, the petitioner in the case, gave many BCCI officials sleepless nights, his wife Anupam too endured torrid times in this battle.
Verma's quest to get Bihar back in the BCCI fold led to several other battles with the Indian cricket board on conflict of interest, transparency and corruption.
To meet expenses of the court cases, Verma's wife Anupam revealed that they had to sell a piece of farmland in Chhapra (Bihar) in 2014.*Aditya Verma's wife Anupam at the Mumbai Press Club yesterday*
"There were a lot of sentiments attached to the piece of land since it was bought by our ancestors. They are like your last resort in times of crisis. Although our ancestral house is still there (in Chhapra), we decided to do away with the farmland as we were in dire need of funds for the court cases. We got R40 lakh by selling that," an emotional Anupam told mid-day yesterday.
Although it is a known fact that Verma is not charged by eminent lawyer Nalini Chidambaram, Verma's wife justified the expenses.
"Nalini madam does not charge her fees for which we are grateful, but there are other expenses as well like food, travel and lodging in New Delhi. There are other expenses in the court for preparing the case papers and fees to junior lawyers. We required funds in the initial part of the court case," said Anupam.
Verma's wife feared for her husband's life as Verma waged a lone battle in court against the BCCI bigwigs.
"They are influential people. We are common people. They could do anything to him (Verma). He had already received death threats. We also received calls to drop the case for R10 crore. I feared when he went alone to Delhi," she said.
"His (Verma) fight is not against any individual in the BCCI. It has always been about bringing Bihar's cricketers back in BCCI tournaments. There are many in the BCCI who secretly support us, but refuse to come out in public. If all honest people in the BCCI come together, it will solve all problems," Verma's wife concluded.Aditya Verma on a pilgrimage before D-DayAditya Verma, the petitioner in the IPL spot fixing case, is on a pilgrimage overdrive these days. Verma and his family visited the Sai Baba shrine in Shirdi and performed a havan at Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik. They then took blessings at Mumbai's Mahalaxmi temple, Haji Ali dargah and Siddhivinayak temple.
"When I first filed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) in the Bombay High Court (in 2013 IPL spot fixing case), I took the case papers to Sai Baba temple in Shirdi before submitting it in court. You all know what happened thereafter," said Verma yesterday. The Bombay High Court declared the BCCI probe illegal. The matter then reached Supreme Court, which further tightened the screws on the BCCI. Verma believes God is the driving force behind his battle with the BCCI.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Ian-Thorpe-s.jpg*Australian Ian Thorpe during a media interaction in the city yesterday. Pic/Bipin Kokate*
Roped in as commentator by Star Sports for the upcoming Rio Olympics, the 33-year-old Aussie, famously known as 'Thorpedo', spoke to mid-day about the Games, his love for India and his gay revelation two years ago.
Excerpts:
*On American Michael Phelps' last Olympics:*
First of all, he is going to have to make the team. Besides, there is very stiff competition around the world in the events that he is strong in (individual events). And he has just had a child. It is not going to be easy for him at Rio. You always back a champion and he is special. This (Rio) could be his last chance and I hope he does well.
*On Australian swimmers' medal chances at Rio:*
We will be behind the Americans. We could win around four to six gold medals. In the 100m freestyle, we have Cameron McEvoy ranked No 1 among men and the Campbell sisters Bronte and Kate, who are ranked women's No 1 and 2 respectively. For America, the two women, who will dominate, are Katie Ledecky (800m freestyle gold at London 2012) and Missy Franklin (four gold medals at London Games)*USA's Michael Phelps en route to his 100m butterfly gold at the Beijing Olympics. Pic/AFP*
*On his love for India:*
India has been on my wish list for the longest time. I like to travel and really love Indian food. I want to experience the different eras and history of this country. I also want to explore different cultures and learn about cooking Indian food. I plan to come back to India for a vacation and visit Goa, New Delhi, north east part of the country. Before that, I want to go around Mumbai
*On picking swimming over cricket which his dad played:*
My dad Ken played cricket and I was taught the game too. But I stopped playing cricket when I was in High School as I didn't enjoy it the way my father did. I found it very boring especially when I used to watch him field. I will always pick swimming over cricket as I enjoy it more.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Roger-Federer-s.jpg
*Roger Federer from Switzerland reacts during the Tennis match against Malek Jaziri from Tunisia in the ATP Tournament match in Halle. Pic/AFP*
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Lionel-Messi-s.jpg*Lionel Messi*
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17PV-Shetty-s.jpg
*PV Shetty*
It is learnt that the BCCI is in talks with New Zealand and England to play one of their Tests during their respective tours to the sub-continent later this year, at
the Wankhede Stadium.
MCA's Joint Hon Secretary PV Shetty welcomed the news, saying it will boost the oldest format of the game.
"Day-night Test cricket is a real good idea and I think it will be good not just for cricketers, but for the crowd too. We (MCA) are very excited about day-night Test and if we get a chance to host the first one in India, we will be more than happy to do so," Shetty told mid-day on the sidelines of the 75th Seth Gordhandas Karsandas Shield cricket tournament's prize distribution function at Khar Ghymkhana recently.
"We have all the facilities and we are ready to play host. I don't think there should be any problem at all to host a day-night Test at Wankhede," added Shetty.
Meanwhile, neither MCA president Sharad Pawar nor MCA vice president and former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar will be attending BCCI's working committee meeting at Dharamsala on June 24.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Lamar-Odom-s.jpg*Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian*
Earlier last month, Khloe filed for divorce for the second time after calling it off to dedicate her time to help the former NBA star get back to full fitness after he was admitted to a hospital after collapsing in a Nevada brothel last year.
A source has now claimed the former couple can barely even speak to each other after Lamar was spotted drinking again in public, reports people.com.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Eva-Longoria-s.jpg*Eva Longoria and Tony Parker at the International Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2009. Pic/Getty Images*
Tony Parker, a French international has served San Antonio Spurs well.
"So many people want me to hate him and destroy him, but I don't want to. I want him to be happy.
"He's not a bad person. I do believe in forgiving and forgetting. There was a reason we were together. I just want to hold on to the good times," Longoria said.
Longoria (41) split from Parker in 2011 after four years of marriage.
She recently married TV personality Jose 'Pepe' Baston. "(Our wedding) was so magical. We had so much fun as you can see from all the posts from everybody. It was the funniest wedding I had ever been to. I'm glad it was mine... I just flew back (from the honeymoon) a couple of hours ago. We went to Hong Kong, Cambodia, Thailand.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Manuel-Neuer-s.jpg*Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer acknowledges the crowd following a 0-0 draw in the Euro 2016 group C football match between Germany and Poland at the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis near Paris. Pic/AFP*
Arkadiusz Milik missed two good chances for the Poles, who are locked with the Germans on four points heading into the final game. Both countries are guaranteed to qualify for the knockout stages if they avoid defeat next week.
Milik spurned a guilt-edged chance to put Poland in front early in the second half as he failed to make good enough contact with Kamil Grosicki's dangerous cross.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Prakash-Padukone-s.jpg*Prakash Padukone. Pic/PTI*
"I hope we double our London tally. Last time we got six medals. We can double that this time," said Prakash at the Star Sports media conference to announce the channel's plans for covering the August 5-21 mega event for Indian viewers.
Prakash, roped in as an expert commentator for the Games by the channel, felt the country's shuttlers could return with a better haul this time around.
"Seven badminton players have qualified for the Games. We have big hopes on Saina (Nehwal), who has recently won the Australian Open, and (P V) Sindhu as well as the women's doubles teams (Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa). K Srikanth is getting into form. We can expect some good results," said the former All England singles champion.
Reiterating his oft-mentioned view, Prakash, who is co-founder of the not for profit Olympic Gold Quest, said it was important to be at their best during the event.
"It does not matter what you do the previous week or the week after. That one week (period) you have to be at your peak," he added.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Australia-s.jpg*Australia celebrate a goal as India's Chandanda Thimmaiah looks dejected in the Champions Trophy yesterday. Pic/Getty Images*
Australia scored through Trent Mitton (21st), Aran Zalewski (23rd), Flynn Ogilvie (33rd) and Tristan White (45th), while VR Raghunath (45th) and Mandeep Singh (47th) scored for India.
India needed to go all out in the first 10-15 minutes if they wanted to win and seal their berth into the final. Instead they opted to wait and paid the penalty as Australia overran them in the first three quarters and then simply sat on their lead to win.
In the third quarter, both teams exchanged a goal each in the span of less than 20 seconds as Australian went 3-1 up. In the final quarter, India had the lion's share of the exchanges, created greater chances, had a fair number of penalty corners, too, but managed just one more goal. That gave the scoreline a lot of respectability at 4-2, but showed that Australia were way superior.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/26Agnieszka-Radwanska-s.jpg*Agnieszka Radwanska*
It was a setback which was particularly hard to take for a player who has reached the semi-finals or better in nine of her last 13 tournaments. More incongruous still, Vandeweghe had lost all four of their previous encounters, winning a mere 18 games in the process. But the powerfully built American's timing and confidence were in good order after winning the 's-Hertogenbosch title on grass last week, while the Pole's practice on this surface had been restricted by repeated rainstorms.
Vandeweghe's career-best win was achieved with a determination to swing hard whenever she could, and a belief that she could over-power her opponent even if she sometimes missed. The policy was particularly effective against Radwanska's moderately paced second serve, a delivery which was heavily punished in the seventh and ninth games of a final set, just when many thought the favourite was turning things around.
"I got into trouble (in the second set) but I managed to get through it," said Vandeweghe. "Last week helped me escape from a tricky situation because I had done it before." The match had had a tricky feeling almost throughout, for it was stopped at four games all the previous night, and was halted again for nearly an hour Wednesday early in the second set.
"The rain delays didn't help because you have to keep your mind on the match, which isn't always easy," Vandeweghe said. "I tried to keep myself quiet, and I thought if I could stick with my game plan (hard, flat attack) I could do it."
Radwanska was philosophical with Wimbledon less than two weeks away. "I don't think I played so bad today -- she was just really good," she said. Belinda Bencic, the youngest player in the top ten, suffered another injury less than two weeks after returning from more than two months away with a bad back.
The 19-year-old Swiss player quit while trailing 6-4, 4-3 in her first round match against Irina-Camelia Begu, the world number 26 from Romania. Bencic hurt her right thigh in a fall on the slick grass in the first game, and by the fifth game has called the trainer. But she continued, often with her movement looking limited, and rarely looked capable of winning the match.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Hakan-Sukur-s.jpg*Hakan Sukur*
Sukur is one of several thousand people including journalists, politicians and the occasional celebrity, to face legal proceedings on hugely controversial accusations of insulting the Turkish leader.
The lawyer of Sukur, one of the stars of Turkey's third place performance in the 2002 World Cup, told the court that his client had moved to the United States.
Ali Onur Guncel said his client could give testimony from the United States if evidence provided by the defence was found to be insufficient. According to Turkish media, Sukur had accused Erdogan of theft in a tweet in February 2015, without naming him directly. Prosecutors have asked in the indictment for Sukur to serve up to four years in jail.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Gareth-McAuley-s.jpg*Northern Ireland's defender Gareth McAuley (C) celebrates with Northern Ireland's forward Conor Washington (r) and Northern Ireland's midfielder Oliver Norwood after scoring the opening goal during the Euro 2016 group C football match between Ukraine and Northern Ireland at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium in Décines-Charpieu near Lyon. Pic/AFP*
Defender Gareth McAuley gave Ireland the lead in the 49th minute and then midfielder Niall McGinn doubled the lead for his side in the dying seconds of second half injury time (90+6) at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
The win has given Ireland a huge chance of getting into the last 16 of the quadrennial event.
It was a cagey affair between the two sides on a rain-soaked surface. There were a few snapshots and tackles flew in from the outset.
The first real chance for Northern Ireland fell for defender Criag Cathcart in the 34th minute but his header flew off target, otherwise both defences were rock solid.
At halftime too, it was still goalless.
Four minutes after restart, McAuley found the back of the net for Michael O' Neill's side. He ran past his marker at the back post and sent in Oliver Norwood's delightful cross into the top corner.
Ukraine almost found the equaliser immediately with Yevhen Seleznyov trying to guide in a floating ball but Northern Ireland goalkeeper Michael McGovern was able to dive and palm it away in time.
The game was suspended for few minutes around the 58th minute because of a hailstorm and when the players returned, Ukraine had no choice but to push upfront in order to restore parity.
Midfielder Viktor Kovalenko thereafter got two delightful chances to get the equaliser but both his efforts fizzed past the post much to Ukraine's despair.
McGovern also added to Ukraine's pain by making two brilliant saves and as Mykhaylo Fomenko's team became desperate, they committed more players forward.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Olivier-Giroud-s.jpg*France forward Olivier Giroud (top) celebrates with teammates after a goal during the Group A match against Albania at Velodrome Stadium in Marseille on Wednesday. France won 2-0 to lead the points table. Pic/AFP*
Giroud missed a few real chances for Les Bleus at a packed Stade Velodrome in Marseille where second half substitute Antoine Griezmann broke the deadlock in the 90th minute.
It ended a long and arduous search for the match opener, but only six minutes later West Ham midfielder Dmitri Payet hit his second of the competition to seal a win for France.
*France eye Swiss delight*
As Balkan minnows Albania's suffered their second consecutive defeat, France look ahead to their final Group A game against Switzerland with a clean sweep of victories in mind. Giroud hopes any eventual goals in their final group fixture come earlier, but said:
"We kept on wearing them down and in the end they cracked, it's great to know that we have a tough mentality and that we're willing to go right to the end to get the goals. We all want to surpass ourselves in this competition in front of our fans and the whole of France.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Andy-Murray-s.jpghttp://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/jun/17Artem-Fedetskiyr-s.jpg*Ukraine defender Artem Fedetskiyr*
The German newspaper Bild has published an article, which is accompanied by pictures, detailing what it claims are the two dressing rooms following Sunday's match in Lille.
"I was in the changing room, please believe me, there was nothing like that," the 31-year-old said. "We are a normal team. We have no players who drink beer. I think the information is wrong. I'm not really interested in it because I know my players, I know my team-mates and nothing happened like that. Maybe someone wants to provoke us.
"Please believe me, we are a very disciplined team. We behave in a civilised way, not only in Ukraine but also in other countries. You can look for the DNA from the cigarettes!"
Both Northern Ireland and Ukraine lost their opening fixtures at the weekend, meaning Thursday's Group C game has huge implications for the two nations' qualification hopes. Reported by Mid-Day 2 days ago.