The New Nation - Internet Edition

National Women's Handball:Ansar emerge as champions

Sports Reporter

Bangladesh Ansar emerged as the champions of the Exim Bank 19th National Women's Handball Championship when they defeated runners-up Dhaka District team by 20-09 goals in the final at the Mirpur National Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.

The victorious team led the first half by 15-04 goals.

Shahida of Bangladesh Ansar team top-scored with 10 goals and her teammate Moina netted four while Rojina pulled off five for the losers.

Meanwhile, Narail District team finished third beating Faridpur District team by 25-16 goals in a place-deciding match at the same venue.

The first half was locked 10-10.

Sathi and Kohinoor of Narail District team scored nine goals each while Jharna of Faridpur District team netted four.

Shahida of Bangladesh Ansar was adjudged the player of the final while Moina of Bangladesh Ansar was adjudged the player of the tournament.

After the final match President of Bangladesh Handball Federation Dr Md. Nurul Amin distributed the prizes among the winners. Managing Director of Exim Bank Limited Mashiur Rahman, Director of the bank Nurul Fazal Bulbul, Senior Vice-President of Bangladesh Handball Federation Kazi Mahtabuddin Ahmed, General Secretary of the federation Asaduzzaman Kohinoor were present at the time.

Williams sisters close in on final, Zheng makes history

AFP, London

Venus and Serena Williams cruised closer to another Wimbledon final on Tuesday, but they were upstaged by pint-sized Zheng Jie's history-making performance.

Zheng became the first Chinese player to reach the last four of a Grand Slam, a timely national boost as the Beijing Olympics looms, with a famous 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 win over Czech 18th seed Nicole Vaidisova.

The Chinese wildcard, who put out world number one Ana Ivanovic in the third round, will tackle Serena, who brushed aside Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska 6- 4, 6-0, for a place in the final.

Venus beat Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-4, 6-3 and will face Russian fifth seed Elena Dementieva, who endured a roller-coaster 6-1, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 win over compatriot Nadia Petrova.

Zheng, 24, the lowest ranked player left in the women's singles at 133, produced a heroic display to better compatriot Li Na, who was the only other Chinese to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam, at Wimbledon in 2006.

"I'm very happy to be in the semi-finals at Wimbledon. These two weeks have been the best of my life," said Zheng.

"I never thought I would be in the semi-finals. There were lots of people watching on TV in China so I knew I had to keep going."

Sixth seed Serena reached the semi-finals with a comfortable win over Radwanska, easing to victory in just 51 minutes.

Serena, the 2002 and 2003 champion, beating Venus on both occasions, had already knocked out her quarter-final opponent's younger sister Urzsula in the second round.

The American beat Zheng in the first round here two years ago but insisted she won't be underestimating the China player.

"I've been watching her play. I think she's doing a fabulous job, and I don't think it's luck, her doing so well. I think she's a really good player," said Serena.

Venus, the champion in 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2007, is now just one victory away from making it seven Wimbledon finals in the last nine years.

"Wimbledon is a special place for me. I've always done well here and at the US Open. They are the big ones for me," she said.

Dementieva reached her first Wimbledon semi-final with a thrilling win over Petrova in a rollercoaster tie where searing temperatures sent both Russians into meltdown on Centre Court.

It was a hard-earned victory for the 26-year-old fifth seed, the highest ranked player left in the tournament after the top four seeds had been culled.

Dementieva had led by a set and 5-1 and threw away two match points in a virtual carbon copy of her collapse against Dinara Safina in the French Open quarter-finals.

"I was really tight when I served for the match at 5-2 in the second set and maybe I was thinking about what happened at Roland Garros," said Dementieva.

Former world number three Petrova, who made the last eight here in 2005, has been dogged by a brittle temperament throughout her career and that fraility returned to haunt her.

Trailing 2-1 in the first set, she was called for a borderline foot-fault which, in turn, sparked two back-to-back double faults which handed the first break to Dementieva.

The fifth seed reeled off the next six games on her way to taking the first set and creating a 2-0 cushion in the second before Petrova stopped the rot.

As the mercury touched 28 degrees, Dementieva wilted.

A 5-1 lead drifted away as Petrova reeled off five successive games to take the set into a tiebreak.

Dementieva then squandered two match points before Petrova pounced to level the tie with a cool volley.

Dementieva stormed into a 4-0 lead in the decider and held her nerve after dropping serve again in the fifth game to eventually wrap up victory.

Dhoni, Sharma lead India to 308-7

AP, Karachi

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma each hit a half century Wednesday to lead India to 308-7 off its 50 overs against injury-hit Pakistan in the Super Four of the Asia Cup.

Dhoni made a fighting 76 off 96 balls in the one-day match, with four boundaries, while Sharma scored 58 off 71 balls as they added 112 runs for the fifth wicket.

Pakistan's second-string bowling attack, which came under the onslaught of Virender Sehwag (49 off 33 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (35 off 32 balls), came back strongly and claimed three wickets in space of three runs.

But Dhoni led from the front and Irfan Pathan - playing his first match of the tournament after recovering from a side strain - made a quickfire unbeaten 38 off 25 deliveries to take four-time Asia Cup winner India past the 300-run mark.

Pakistan suffered a big blow when its regular captain Shoaib Malik failed a fitness test before the toss, leaving Misbah-ul-Haq to lead the hosts in a must-win match.

But Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first on a flat wicket, and Sehwag and Gambhir provided India a brisk start of 88 runs off 63 balls as Pakistan's seamers found it difficult to contain the flurry of boundaries.

Left-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir conceded 43 runs off his first four overs, while Rao Iftikhar's first over went for 15 runs.

Pakistan managed to rock India when paceman Abdur Rauf took the wickets of Virender Sehwag and the in-form Suresh Raina in one over, and Shahid Afridi then held onto Gambhir's fierce cover drive in the covers off Iftikhar.

Yuvraj Singh (37) hit four boundaries before he edged Iftikhar behind the wickets as India slumped to 129-4 in the 19th over.

Still, Dhoni and Sharma repaired the damage with some watchful batting as newcomer off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (1-47) bowled a decent spell of 10 overs and got the wicket of Yusuf Pathan (0) in his last over - a ball before dropping the batsman off his own bowling.

Wicketkeeper Ahmed took a brilliant running catch to end Dhoni's innings in the 49th over to give Tanvir his only wicket, but the paceman conceded 87 runs off his 10 overs - the highest ever by a Pakistan bowler in a one-day international against India.

ESPN-STAR Sports bags telecast rights for FIFA World Cup 2010

Agencies

ESPN-STAR Sports (ESS) has announced a new contract with FIFA for the exclusive television rights to broadcast FIFA's stellar line-up of 275 international football events, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Confederations Cup, for the Indian Sub-continent. In addition, ESS will bring other premier FIFA World Cup events for men, women, youth, Futsal and beach soccer to fans in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal.

ESS has proved itself to be the right partner for FIFA in the Indian Sub-continent and has continued its partnership with the world's governing body of football after the successful broadcasts of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. With the production and transmission of over 100 hours of original content, the 2006 FIFA World Cup was watched by over 50 million people in India alone through the ESS broadcast, which was a 44 per cent increase on the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Commenting on the development, Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN-STAR Sports, said, "We are extremely delighted to continue our partnership with FIFA, with whom we share a very special relationship. This agreement is a testament to our commitment of building the game of football by presenting it in the most innovative and entertaining manner to millions of fans in the Indian Sub-continent."

FIFA President Joseph S Blatter said, "I am proud that today with ESPN-STAR Sports is joining the FIFA family to further enhance football across its platforms in the Sub-Indian region. The fact that ESPN-STAR Sports is entering in its record deal in the Indian market underlines its commitment to football. It ensures that images of our events, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup, will be seen by the widest possible audience across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - steadily growing football markets. It is a major milestone in our history and the football in the entire region will undoubtedly benefit from this deal sealed today."

According to RC Venkateish, Managing Director, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, "ESPN-STAR Sports has played a key role in propagating international soccer in India, and the results have begun to show. Soccer viewership has shown a consistent increase. For instance, the reach of Barclays Premier League has grown at more than 40 per cent per annum since 2005. The broadcast rights of over 275 international football games will ensure that Indian soccer enthusiasts will continue to get world class soccer action on their TV screens."

The successful conclusion of the 2010 FIFA World Cup rights package sees the network continue its winning streak of securing top-flight football programming, which includes exclusive broadcast rights for the recently concluded UEFA Euro 2008, which saw record audience, Barclays Premier League, FA Cup and the Spanish Primera Liga.

ESS will build upon its efforts of 2006 and millions of fans in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan will get to watch the network's extensive 2010 FIFA World Cup coverage, which will include live matches, accompanied by English and Hindi commentary for all 64 games - daily pre-shows during match days, a daily review show as well as special lead-up programming.

BSJA accords reception to Bangladesh

Hockey team

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association (BSJA) will accord a reception to the AHF Cup champions Bangladesh National Hockey team in the city on July 24.

Bangladesh emerged unbeaten champions in the nine-team 3rd Men's AHF Cup beating Oman by 6-1 goals in the final in Singapore last month and booked a seat for the Asia Cup Hockey finals.

Eight leading teams--India, Pakistan, South Korea, China, Japan, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Oman-- will play in the Asia Cup Hockey finals.

School Chess Tournament begins July 8

UNB, Dhaka

The 10th Standard Chartered School Chess Tournament will begin on July 8 at the Bangladesh Chess Federation.

The competition is open to all students of KG to class X without entry fee.

Interested students can enroll their names on or before July 6 from 4 to 8 pm at the Federation office showing certificate from respective educational institutions.

Students from districts and participants from India and Nepal will feature in the meet.

The meet will be held on 9 round Swiss-League system. Cash prizes and trophy will awarded to the winners.

Kazi Mohiuddin Bulbul resigns from BOA

UNB, Dhaka

The controversial and powerful "forum" leader Kazi Mohiuddin Bulbul, who was elected Deputy Secretary General of Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) unopposed in April, has resigned.

Reliable sources said, Bulbul, general secretary of Feni DSA, was forced to resign from the posts of General Secretary of Bangladesh Badminton Federation and Vice-President of Chittagong Divisional Sports Association in the face of financial scandal during last BFF election.

The BOA is poised to accept his resignation in its next meeting and will fill up vacancy through bye-election.

My life is under threat from my own son: Gony's mother

PTI, Chandigarh

India's rising cricketer Manpreet Gony Tuesday landed in an awkward situation with his mother levelling a serious allegation against him, saying that the Punjab pacer was threatening to kill her.

Mohinder Kaur told reporters that Gony was being instigated by his in-laws.

"I am pained to tell my plight through media and that too about my own son. Shortly before he left for Asia Cup in Pakistan, Manpreet along with a few of his relatives from his in- laws side came to my house and threatened to kill me," Mohinder Kaur told reporters at her house in Mohali.

"After the I.P.L. was over and before the Asia Cup, he came to the house and took away his belongings and tried to beat me up," she further alleged. Gony, who married a girl outside her caste, has been living with his wife and mother-in-law in Mohali ever since his 16-day old son died over a year back. "Gony's mother-in-law is a very greedy woman. She first ousted her husband out of her house in Mohali and now she has put my son under some evil spirits. I do not know what her motto is, but she is spoiling my son and taking him away from me," Mohinder Kaur claimed.

When asked why she was not lodging a police complaint, she replied, "This will spoil my son's career".

Meanwhile, Gony's wife has refuted all the allegations while her mother-in-law was unavailable for comment. Gony is currently in Pakistan with the Indian cricket squad taking part in the Asia Cup.

Bangladesh A leaves Dublin for England today

UNB, Dhaka

Visiting Bangladesh A team leaves Dublin on Thursday for England to play five three-day and three one-day matches against their English counterparts.

In England, the second string Bangladesh side will play the first three-day match against England Under-19 (July 6-8), the 2nd three-day match against Warwickshire (July 11-13), the 3rd three-day match against Leicestershire (July 16-18), the 4th three-day match against Derbyshire (July 21-23) and the 5th three-day match against South Africa (25-27).

On completion of the three dayers, the opponents for Bangladesh A for the three one-day matches are Lancashire on July 30, Marylebone Cricket Club on August 1 and Durham on August 3.

The Bangladesh A side is expected to return home on August 4.

During the Ireland tour, Bangladesh A suffered a five-wicket defeat to hosts in the first one-day match at Bangor in Ireland Sunday.

Before that they made a draw in the three-day match with their Irish counterpart followed by an 82-run defeat to Ireland in a 20/20 encounter on Saturday.

Bhola Lal, Swapan Parvez, Masud Rana, Bishu Nath wins Premier Division matches

UNB, Dhaka

Bhola Lal Chauhan, Swapan Parvez, Masud Rana and Bishu Nath won their respective Premier Division matches of the First Delta Life Open Squash tournament at the Dhaka Club Squash Court Wednesday.

Bholal Lal Chauhan (Sonargaon Hotel) crushed Dilu (Gulshan Club) 3-0, Swapan Parvez (Bashundhara Group) thrashed Zein Omar (Dhaka Club), Masud Rana (Dhaka Army Club) beat Ram Jagdish (Cadet College Club) while Bishu Nath (Gulshan Club) blanked Zintu Ram (Cadel College Club) by 3-0 sets.

In the A Division, Towhid Firoz (New Age) beat Viki (Gulshan Club) by 2-1 sets, Muhit Chauhan (Dhaka Club), defeated his compatriot Mamun by 2-0 sets, Hamza (Cadet College Club) beat Dipok Chauhan also by 2-0 sets today.

In the B Division, Noor Mohammad (Dhaka Army Club) outplayed Tanim Sattar (Cadet College Club), Jonny Ram (Chittagong Club) thrashed Khalid Saifullah (Dhaka Club), and Commander Jamil (Dhaka Navy Club) outplayed Sumon Lal (Dhaka Club), all by 3-0 straight sets.

In the C Division, Sadaf (Gulshan Club) beat Hamnas by 2-1 sets.

In the Under-18 group, Shaheen beat Swapan by 2-1 sets, Rubel outplayed Tanim by 2-0 sets while Aynal beat Siddique 2-1 sets Wednesday.

BFF seeks technical director to AFC

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) sought a technical director to AFC to bring professionalism in the country's football.

BFF chief Kazi Salahuddin, who returned home form Malaysia after attending the AFC Audit Committee meeting, told reporters today that he had discussion with AFC general secretary Dato Poul Moni about the steps to bring professionalism in the game.

Dato proposed the name of Richard Bates, a technical director of England Wardsforth Football Club, for recruitment by BFF.

Salahuddin said he has submitted the BFF plans for 2008-9 to AFC president Mohammed Bin Hammam.

He said he has proposed to AFC secretary to send some selected BFF staffs to AFC for training.