PCB to appeal against Ajmal's suspension

"The ban on Ajmal is a big blow to Pakistan cricket and we will appeal against the decision," PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan said in an instant reaction to the news of the ban.
   
PCB bigwigs and the national team manager and chief selector Moin Khan went into a emergency meeting at the Gaddafi stadium to chalk out a future strategy.
   
"We don't know the exact details but Saeed has the option of also working on his action and taking fresh tests when he is ready," Khan said.
   
"What we know is that the ICC has recently changed its protocol on testing bowlers with suspect actions and other bowlers have also been reported. We could appeal in two weeks time," he noted.
   
Pakistan's former captain, Rashid Latif said he was expecting a suspension on Ajmal, all of whose deliveries were found to be illegal.
   
"The ICC has come down hard on bowlers with even minor issues in their action and it appears things have changed from the past when leniency was shown by match officials and umpires," he said.
   
Latif said Ajmal has no option but to work on modifying his action and going for a fresh test before the World Cup.
   
"The domestic cricket season is also starting soon so he has the platform to work on his action."
   
A senior board official said that the board had already made up its mind to have experts work on Ajmal's action and hope he passes the ICC tests before the World Cup.
   
Ajmal, the top spinner in world cricket for the last three years, is not the first Pakistani bowler to be reported for a suspect bowling action as before him Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik have all been reported as well.
   
But Ajmal is the first Pakistani bowler under the new ICC protocols to be banned from bowling in  international cricket. He was reported during the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle last month.
   
Pakistan's former chief selector and coach, Mohsin Khan said he was disappointed by the ban on Saeed Ajmal.
   
"He is a big asset for us and the PCB should now use all its resources to get him back into international cricket. I know no player is indispensable but if he is not available for the World Cup it will badly hit our chances of doing well there," Mohsin said.

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Paes-Stepanek advance to third round of US Open

The sixth seeded pairing defeated Chinese Taipei's Yen Hsun-Lu and Czech Republic's Jiri Vesley 7-6 (3) 6-3 in a contest which lasted an hour and 23 minutes.
   
In the intensely contested opening set, both the teams exchanged a break of serve and were guilty of committing an equal number of unforced errors.
   
Lu and Vesley, however, gave away easy points by committing as many as four double faults, eventually falling short in the tie-breaker.
    
But Paes and Stepanek dominated the second set, clinching two break points and being distinctly better on their second serve.
   
The sixth seeds will next take on the winners of the match between 11th-seeded Spanish pair of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez and the Dutch team of Robin Haase and Igor Sisling.
   
In the junior competition, Ojasvinee Singh entered the second round of qualifiers after beating local favourite Alexandra Sanford 6-3 6-2.

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Van Gaal says ‘record signing’ Di Maria won't provide instant fix to Untied’s woes

The Dutchman was speaking after United's humiliating 4-0 loss at third-tier Milton Keynes Dons in the League Cup second round had compounded their terrible start to the campaign.
              
"I think that he (Di Maria) can contribute and that is very important but we don't have to expect that from tomorrow our world has changed," Van Gaal told a British channel after the Argentina international signed for 59.7 million pounds (USD 98.77 million).
              
"He has to adapt to the culture of England, the culture of the Premier League and the philosophy of Manchester United,” he added.
              
"He shall contribute very much in our way of playing. He is a creative player. I can change the system with Di Maria. He can play as a winger and he can also play in midfield," he said.
              
The experienced Van Gaal has yet to fashion a win during his three competitive matches in charge of United this season.
              
Their thrashing by MK Dons followed a 2-1 defeat against Swansea City, United's first opening day loss at home since 1972, and a 1-1 draw against Sunderland in the Premier League.
              
Van Gaal praised the reaction he got from the Old Trafford faithful during the reverse to Swansea and urged them to remain patient as he looks to reshape his struggling team.
              
"(The fans) have to believe in our philosophy," he said.

"We are building up a team that you cannot make in one month or even one year. It (Tuesday's defeat) is very disappointing but I hope they shall maintain their confidence in the club, and in our philosophy because that philosophy takes time,” he added.
              
"We know exactly what we are doing. We have lost in the Capital One Cup, and so tonight (Tuesday) has cost us the chance of a trophy, and that is disappointing,” he further said.
              
United's next game is a trip to promoted Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.

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A check for linguistic discrimination

The controversy arisen out of UPSC’s CSAT pattern even after 67 years of Independence once again put a stamp on the subject that Hindi and other languages are facing neglect since a long time. The kind of dominance, which existed in the context of English during British Rule, is still prevalent in India. It’s indeed quite disappointing that this very mind-set has not changed that English is synonymous with knowledge. What’s unfortunate is our policy makers often boast of derailment and degradation of Indian languages and though vernacular languages are not seen with ignorance these days, it’s also true that these languages have yet to make a place for themselves in government functioning especially at the top level. If the CSAT paper of preliminary examination, which has been considered mandatory for testing administrative skill since 2011, is being seen as the basis to discriminate between Hindi and other languages, there are some concrete reasons behind that as well. The results of past three years have made it clear that the number of students clearing UPSC exams in Hindi and other Indian languages have come down all of a sudden. It’s the main reason behind thousands of students in the national capital were compelled to take their anger into streets. 

It’s not proper that English language should be at helm in bureaucracy and judiciary and other languages will keep on languishing in the fringes. English has always been given a push and priority not only in public sectors but also in private sectors. Since proper policies are not being implemented, especially when it comes to promotion and development of languages, the nation is witnessing emergence of societies of diverse nature. First, that very section, which is fluent in English and climbing top positions by dint of their command over the language and another section which is still loitering in a clueless manner mainly since they have learnt Indian languages.  This scenario exists at such a time when the percentage of people having command over English across the country stands at just 10 percent. But what’s surprising is that this smaller section of the population has gone on to dominate the remaining 90 percent. It can’t be denied that in the contemporary era, knowledge of English is quite important and at the same time, it needs to be understood that language can’t be the sole yardstick of knowledge. The irony of the matter is that the unnecessary inclination towards English language is confined not only to cities but also to rural areas where proficiency in English is projected as the sure shot measure to success.

The students, who are protesting against CSAT, deserve sympathy. Not only because English language can have an impact on their process of selection in the civil services exams but also because the kind of education they have pursued right from the outset did not make them that much compatible to face stiffer challenges. If the students who studied in Hindi or other Indian languages are finding themselves weaker before those who have been taught in English, our educational system is only to be blamed. Why our educational system could not make them competent enough so that they can crack civil services examinations in the language they have been taught? Why it’s often assumed that there is a little scope of development of a student’s personality and caliber in other languages apart from English? There is also another question – if students’ requests are taken into consideration, will it cover up the flaws in our educational system? The issue is not just confined to CSAT but that very education which is failing to impart knowledge to students in a proper manner and hence, is not becoming a factor in personality development. There is one more reality associated with our society, which is divided on the basis of language. People who are well-versed in English are more prosperous compared to those whose knowledge of the language is not that good. The situation is such that discrimination is seen among the employees on the basis of proficiency over English in the same organization. Those who are well-versed with the language register a faster growth and the others are subjected to indifferent behavior. This is creating a feeling of neglect in them.

Our policymakers need to deliberate on this subject that why Indian languages have been subjected to discrimination of this magnitude? This has happened mainly because the government refrained from replacing English with Hindi as official language and promoting other Indian languages after Independence. A nation develops in a fast paced manner only when there is only one or two language to carry out all government functioning. In the presence of more languages, not only it creates problem in communication but also leaves an impact on administrative capabilities and hampers productivity.  In this context, the situation of India is quite strange as states have been formed on the basis of language and there are several states as well where multiple languages are spoken. In such a scenario, Hindi could have replaced English but due to narrow minded approach of some leaders and mainly because of their opposition, this idea was dropped. Its disastrous consequences are now out in open in front of all. Since government as well as private sectors basically depends on English, its acceptance is also widely growing and this is happening at the expense of Hindi and other Indian languages. What could be more unfortunate then no concrete step coming to the fore to make Hindi the national language especially when the language is reaching out to each and every corner through media, cinema and other forms of entertainment? The politicians need to ask this question themselves that whether they want to see Hindi or English as national language? If their prime aim is to establish English as India’s national language then they will have to get rid of their gammon of promoting and pushing Hindi.

The controversy on CSAT has not only kicked-off a debate over language but also raised questions over issues related to social justice. The issue of reservation, which was seen as a medium to bringing in social equality has been reduced to a prime ammo of vote-bank politics. If the questions related to language are solved and Hindi, along with other languages get their well-deserved weightage, the subject of reservation can be rendered ineffective to a considerable extent. It needs to be mentioned here that the section that are not well versed with English is languishing in backwaters and their lack of command over the language is acting as a major impediment in moving towards the path of development. The nation can’t progress by deviating away from its cultures and traditions and social equality can’t be brought as well.  In such a scenario, we need to take such measures to ensure that Indian languages don’t fall victim to discrimination and receive all the glory and respect it deserves. By making Hindi the official language, we can restore and rekindle the lost confidence among people. This will eventually lead to the materialization of the concept of one India – best India.

(An original copy of the article published in Hindi on July 27, 2014 translated by the English editorial. The author is the Group Editor of Dainik Jagran)

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Rajnath Singh launches Web application of Delhi Police

Motivating the Delhi Police to work effectively and efficiently Rajnath said, “Delhi Police should ensure the honour of uniform with their high quality of conduct.”

“Officers should earn greater faith and confidence of the people through delivery of work,” he added.

Rajnath also ensured Delhi Police officials of all the support to mordanise their system.

“Government will provide all assistance and guidance to make the Delhi Police as the most modern police of the country,” said Rajnath.

The Home Minister mentioned that the difficulties experienced by the people to obtain PCC will be addressed with the issuing of this certificate electronically.

He further mentioned that annually about one lakh people are expected to benefit with this scheme.

Expressing full confidence in Delhi Police Rajnath congratulated the force for adopting high technology in policing.

Earlier, Commissioner of Delhi Police B S Bassi also explained different e-applications adopted by the Delhi Police in the sectors of lodging of reports of lost items and a cell phone based application by the traffic unit of Delhi Police.

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, Home Secretary, Anil Goswami, Director, Intelligence Bureau (DIB), Syed Asif Ibrahim, Chief Secretary of Delhi, S K Shrivastava and other senior officials of MHA and Delhi Police were also present on this occasion.

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Sharath Kamal, Amalraj shine in table tennis

Kamal and Shamini Kumaresan defeated Malaysian combo of Ying Ho and Chee Feng Leong 11-5 11-8 11-8 in the third round.
   
They had spanked Uganda's Paul Moody Mutambuze and Ludia Magandlen Natunga 11-4 11-4 11-4 in the second round.
   
Amalraj and Madhurika Patkar too made it to the next round after beating Dexter St Louis and Reann Chung of Trinidad and Tobago 11-4 11-9 9-11 11-4.

They had earlier beaten another Trinidad and Tobago pair Aaron Wilson and Catherine Spicer 11-4 11-8 11-9.
   
In men's doubles, Sharath and Amalraj thrashed Simasiku Kalaluka and Friday Ng'andu of Zambia 3-0 (11-6 11-4 11-3).
   
In women's singles, Manika Batra thrashed New Zealand's Annie Yang 11-5 11-3 11-6 11-6, while Madhurika Patkar defeated Sri Lanka's Ishara Madurangi 12-10 11-9 11-6 and Shamini Kumaresan eked out a 11-3 6-11 11-4 9-11 11-9 8-11 11-7 win over Ganiat Ogundele of Nigeria.
   
However, Soumyajit Ghosh and Poulomi Ghatak went down fighting 2-3 (11-9 10-12 11-8 1-11 8-11) against England's S Walker and K le Fevre in the third round mixed doubles match.

The duo had beaten Tabish Khurshid and Abeera Sheikh 11-8 11-5 11-4 in the second round.
   
Soumyajit, though, teamed up with Harmeet Desai to defeat Trinidad and Tobago's Yuvraaj Dookram and Aaron Wilson 3-0 (11-6 11-7 11-6) in men's doubles second round.
   
Batra and Sanil Shetty too failed to cross the third round after they were outsmarted by Tengteng Liu and Karen Li 11-6 12-10 11-8.

The Indian pair had earlier trounced Trevor Farley and Sherrice Felix of Barbados 11-2 11-5 11-3 in the second round.

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Chess Olympiad: Top stars missing but Indian team in 'high spirit'

Anand, having last played the event in 2004 in Spain, is giving it a miss again and the second-highest rated ever and fast climbing P Harikrishna is also not playing this time.
   
However the team has in-form Parimarjan Negi, who had a good show in the just concluded Politiken cup, and B Adhiban, who won the Biel Masters open just a few days back, in addition to M R Lalith Babu and S P Sethuraman who all, on their day, are formidable opponents. Sasikiran at 33, is the oldest member in the team.
   
Seeded 19th among a record participation of 179 countries this time, the Indian team can do better than its billing provided Sasikiran, Negi and Adhiban remain at the top of their game.
   
The Indian women team will again miss the services of top star Koneru Humpy who has not been a part of the chess Olympiad for some time now. Humpy is getting married just a few days after the Olympiad.
   
Dronavalli Harika will be the star among the Indian eves that came up with a flourish to finish fourth last time in the biennial event. Seeded fifth this time, the team comprises Tania Sachdev, Mary Ann Gomes, Eesha Karavade and Padmini Rout. There are 139 teams in women’s competition.
   
The chance of an encore for the Indian eves or bettering their performance will heavily rely on the performance by Harika and Tania Sachdev, who had won a personal bronze medal for her performance last year.

The Russian team starts as the rating favourite in the open section while in the women’s, its China that has the highest average rating. The event will be played on FIDE’s Swiss system. For every win, a team will get two match points and one in case of a tied result.
   
It will also be the first daylight Olympiad as the sun does not set in Tromso in the present period.

Less than 2000 KMs from the North Pole, Tromso has been the starting point for the Polar expeditions for more than 200 years now.
   
The focus will be chess though and the presence of most of the top stars of the world makes it a unique event.

World Champion Magnus Carlsen will be the biggest star representing the local team. Also present will be Vladimir Kramnik and Sergey Karjakin for Russia, Levon Aronian for Armenia and Veselin Topalov for Bulgaria.
   
Among the women, Judit Polgar of Hungary will be cynosure of all eyes playing in the open section.

Yifan Hou, the women's world champion will don the first board for China while new import Kateryna Lahno will play under the Russian flag for the first time.

Source: Sports News Today

'Returning' Serena on song in WTA return at Stanford

The American world number one, playing for the first time since her third-round singles exit at Wimbledon, showed no sign of illness or rust as she rolled to victory over the 45th-ranked Czech in 64 minutes.
   
After enjoying a first-round bye, the top seed punched her ticket to the quarter-finals of the WTA hardcourt tournament where she'll face the winner of Thursday's second-round match between former world number one Ana Ivanovic and Canadian qualifier Carol Zhao.
   
Williams has captured titles at Brisbane, Miami and Rome in 2014, but she has failed to add to her tally of 17 Grand Slam singles titles and the US Open offers her last chance this year to do so.
   
After falling in the third round of singles play at Wimbledon, Williams looked wobbly in a second-round doubles match from which she and her sister Venus eventually retired.
   
Since then Serena had withdrawn from a tournament in Bastad but she said this week her time off had helped her recover from a virus and she showed no ill-effects on Wednesday.
   
"She had a really good serve," Williams said of Pliskova, who kept the first set close but finally surrendered the frame when Williams broke her in the final game.   

Williams broke again in the second game en route to a 3-0 lead in the second and broke Pliskova to love to close out the match when the Czech belted a forehand long.
   
Williams saved all three break points she faced in the match and fired nine aces.
   
"I think I played really well," Williams said.

"I'm on the right path. I'm excited and I'm looking forward to my next match,” she added.

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England game was dream come true, says Suarez

"I have been thinking about this, it was something I dreamed about happening quite a lot," he told reporters.

             

"I'm enjoying this moment, because of all I suffered, the criticism I received. So there you go," he said.

             

Suarez scored with a clever first-half header and struck the winner five minutes from time with a trademark powerful shot to almost certainly eliminate England from the tournament.

             

"Before the game too many people in England laughed about my attitude over the last few years," he said. "This is a very good time for me. I want to see what they think now,” he added.

             

"It was one of the best games I've played. It's an amazing moment for me. Maybe a few days ago I thought this wouldn't be possible," he said.

             

The controversial Liverpool striker had knee surgery last month and missed the opening game against Costa Rica, so he was also keen to pay tribute to his doctor Walter Ferreira.

             

"If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here," Suarez said.

             

Recalling his winning goal, Suarez, who has served lengthy bans in England for racially abusing and biting opponents, said he wanted to dedicate it to those people who had stuck with him.

             

"When I saw the ball I closed my eyes and kicked it for all the things I went through, for the people that supported me," he said, his voice cracking. "And it went in.

             

"Nobody could have imagined a match like this," the 27-year-old said.

             

Uruguay joined Italy and Costa Rica, who play on Friday, on three points at the top of the group.

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ICC investigations into corruption critical, says Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar, who bid adieu to the game last year after playing 200 Test matches, said the ICC's probe into corruption into cricket are "critical for the game".
   
"I think the concerned people are taking really important steps because it is critical for the game to make sure that the spectators watch a fair competition," Tendulkar told reporters here.
   
Tendulkar was referring to the ongoing investigations by the ICC, the contents of which, including some testimonies of players, were leaked to the media leading to a furore.
   
The 41-year-old, who is here on a promotional tour, was also all excited about picking up his bat for the first time after retirement for an exhibition match in which he wouldb play with West Indian legend Brian Lara.
   
Tendulkar and Lara would turn up for the Marylebone Cricket Club XI to mark the MCC's 200th anniversary.  The Tendulkar-led team will take on a World XI captained by former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne in an ODI match on July 5.
   
"We (himself and Lara) played for the same team and we had a wonderful partnership. So I'm hoping for another one this time," he said.
   
"It's always been a joy to play against him. I loved watching Brian scoring runs against other nations, not India," Tendulkar said.
   
The Indian said Singapore can be a force to reckon with in international cricket.
   
"I don't see any reason why not... whenever we played here in Singapore, the response was really good," said Tendulkar.
   
"As a cricketer I feel proud that various nations are taking initiatives in constructing state-of-the-art stadiums and making sure that every measure is taken to globalise the game," he said.

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We partied all night after IPL triumph, says KKR's Shakib Al Hasan

"We partied the whole night. I reached to my room at 3.30 am, but they (teammates) called me to rejoin the celebrations, so I went came back to my room at 5 am," KKR all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan told mid-day.

"I needed to pack my bags as I had to catch a flight to Mumbai to attend the Ceat Awards, so I ended up lying on my bed for just half-an-hour," the Bangladeshi added.

Manish Pandey's 50-ball 94 ensured KKR emerged champions for the second time. Batting first, Kings XI Punjab scored a massive 199-4 — thanks to Wriddhiman Saha's brilliant 115. In reply, KKR chased the target with three balls to spare.

'A prefect chase'

"The 2012 triumph will be the most memorable because we won the title for the first time. This time we won nine matches at a stretch including the final. We can't believe it," said the 27-year-old.

Shakib felt KKR always had control of the game. "Although we lost wickets, we never got bogged down with the pressure of chasing 200. I would say it was a prefect chase — 10 runs an over. We never fell short till the 19th over," he said.

Shakib heaped praise on man-of-the-match Pandey: "When I look back at the initial part of the tournament, we lost four of the first six games. But once we started winning, we began dominating. As far as the final goes our major batsmen scored runs, but we could chase such a big score because of one man - Manish Pandey. He should have got a 100," he said.

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Pele's son sentenced to 33 years in prison for money laundering

Edinho, who played as a goalkeeper for his father's former club Santos, served a jail sentence for drug trafficking between 2005 and 2006. At the time, he admitted to being a drug addict but denied trafficking charges.
             
He was found guilty of money-laundering on Friday by a judge in the beachside city of Praia Grande. Four other men accused of being part of the same gang received similar sentences.
             
Edinho, whose real name is Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, is expected to appeal against the judge's decision but must hand over his passport to the authorities. He may be preventively arrested while a higher court considers his appeal.
             
Edinho, 43, currently works as a goalkeeping coach for Santos. His lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
             
Pele, widely regarded as the best footballer of all time, helped Brazil win the World Cup three times. Brazil is hosting this year's World Cup from June 12-July 13.

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