The New Nation - Internet Edition

Qualifying round of Federation Cup Football begins Saturday

UNB, Dhaka

The qualifying round of the CITYCELL Federation Cup Football will begin on Saturday (July 26) at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) with Jatrabari KC taking on Rajshahi Diganto Prosari in the day's lone group A opening match at 4 pm.

BFF senior vice president Abdus Salam Murshedi is expected to open the meet, organized by Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).

On the following day (Sunday), BKSP will face Bangladesh Police in the second group A match at the Banani Army Stadium (4pm), while Sunrise Sporting Club meets Bangladesh Army in the group C opening match at Gazipur Stadium on July 28 (Monday). Both the matches will kick off at 4pm.

Eleven teams, split into three groups, will take part in the qualifying round of the nine-day meet. Later, five top teams -- two each from group A and B, and one from group C -- will play in the final round along with 11 teams of the B. League.

The date for the 16-team final round was due to be finalized Wednesday night, tournament committee chairman Fazlur Rahman Babul told the reporters at the BFF Bhaban on Wednesday afternoon.

All the participating teams except Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Bangladesh Police and BKSP will receive Tk 25,000 as participation money, while the clubs from outside the capital will get financial assistance for food, accommodation and transport.

Participating teams:

Group A - Jatrabari KC, BKSP, Bangladesh Police and Rajshahi Diganto Prosari;

Group B - Victoria SC, Bangladesh Navy, Dhaka Wanderers Club and Bangladesh Air Force.

Group C - Sunrise SC, Bangladesh Customs Krira Parisad and Bangladesh Army.

Partial fixture:

July 28 - Bangladesh Navy vs Dhaka Wanderers (Army Stadium 4pm);

July 29 - Victoria SC vs Bangladesh Air Force (Army Stadium 4pm);

July 29: BKSP vs Rajshahi Diganto Prosari (Gazipur Stadium 4pm);

July 30: Jatrabari KC vs Bangladesh Police (Gazipur Stadium 4pm);

July 30: Bangladesh Army vs Bangladesh Customs KP (Army Stadium 4pm);

July 31: Bangladesh Navy vs Bangladesh Air Force (Army Stadium 4pm);

July 31: Victoria SC vs Dhaka Wanderers Club (Gazipur Stadium 4pm).

Djokovic downs Dancevic to open Candian defence

AFP, Toronto

Defending champion Novak Djokovic returned to tennis for the first time since Wimbledon and broke Canadian hearts with a 6-4, 6-4 second-round win over local Frank Dancevic on Tuesday.

The Serbian third seed and the Canadian of Serb heritage fired up their serves from the start, with Djokovic finding his precision return game to make the difference in his first visit to Toronto.

Djokovic secured the opening set with a break and stayed in focus to secure a 4-2 lead in the second

But Dancevic, who had knocked off Mario Ancic 24 hours earlier, saved a match point in the eighth game and broke Djokovic before the Serb broke back a game later for the win under threatening skies.

Djokovic, who beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the way to the title in Montreal a year ago, said he is taking his return to summer hardcourts slowly.

"I'm not looking at ranking points, I'm just trying to enjoy. I've had my best results on hardcourts."

Former champion Andy Roddick had to work harder than expected to suppress an upset bid from France's Nicolas Mahut with a 6-1, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 second-round win. The 2003 titlist showed some signs of rust as he competed for the first time in nearly a month following a second-round loss at Wimbledon, which was followed by more work to rehab a right shoulder injured two months ago in Rome.

"I feel good for the first time since probably we finished our Davis Cup tie in April," said the sixth seed.

"I might have played decent at Wimbledon had I been prepared. But I went there kind of hoping, and I knew I was doing that. It's unfortunate, but I've been pretty lucky."

Spain's 13th seed Fernando Verdasco and number 16 Czech Tomas Berdych advanced on a day interrupted for a short period by showers and the fear of lightning.

German Tommy Haas, a quarter-finalist last week at the Indianapolis event where he ended with a loss to eventual champion Gilles Simon, was another early winner.

The 30-year-old beat Spain's Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-2.

Haas underwent a third operation on his right shoulder seven months ago and reached the last eight in four days ago.

If the shoulder says at one stage 'there's no more' I'll have to deal with that," said the 30-year-old. "It has already tried it three times, and I'm still here, so its still pretty good."

Canadia-born American Jesse Levine earned a Wednesday match with second seed Nadal after beating Canada's Peter Polansky 6-2, 6-4.

The Spaniard, who beat world No.1 Federer in the Wimbledon final, will be playing for the first time this summer on cement as the Beijing Olympics and US Open approach.

"I'm looking forward to playing," said Levine, ranked 121 places lower than Nadal. "I always watch him on TV, so it's good to play him on stadium court tomorrow."

Swedes collected a hat-trick with first-round wins from Robin Soderling, lucky loser Thomas Johansson and 36-year-old Jonas Bjorkman.

Office Handball League from today

Sports Reporter

The Design Zone Second Office Handball League begins today at the Handball Ground in Paltan Maidan. Bangladesh Handball Federation will launch the handball meet.

A total of four teams will take part in the handball competition. They are: Reigning champions Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Jail team and Cute.

The first phase of the handball meet will be held on single-league basis. Top two teams will face each other in the final on July 30.

The budget of the league has been estimated at Tk. ninety five thousand while Design Zone, the sponsor has given Tk fifty thousand to Bangladesh Handball Federation. Bangladesh Handball Federation will bear rest of the expenditure.

Bangladesh Rifles will face Bangladesh Police today in the opening match at 3.30 PM. Treasurer of Bangladesh Olympic Association and General Secretary of Bangladesh Tennis Federation Md Sanaul Haque will formally open the handball competition as the chief guest.

Marking the ensuing handball meet, a press conference was held at the office room of Bangladesh Handball Federation (BHF) on Wednesday Joint Secretary of BHF Hasanullah Khan Rana, Joint Secretary of the federation Nurul Islam, Business Partner of Design Zone Nurul Haque Biswas, Secretary of the League Committee Salim Mia Babu were present at the conference.

Smiley faces to highlight city-wide Beijing opening ceremony fireworks show

AP, Beijing

Smiley-face fireworks bursting in the skies all over Beijing.

This is the latest glimpse into the opening ceremony on Aug. 8 for the Beijing Olympics.

Cai Guoqiang, the main artistic director for opening ceremony's fireworks show, unveiled some of his plans Wednesday just 2 ½ weeks before the games begin.

And it won't just be the privileged few with a ticket to the opening ceremony who will feel part of the event, with the fireworks to be launched from more than 1,800 sites around the city, including major urban areas from Tiananmen Square to the Bird's Nest stadium.

"The fireworks are not just for people who have tickets to the opening ceremonies," said Cai, a famous Chinese artist. "We want the Olympic spirit to be seen and felt throughout the entire city on the evening of the opening ceremonies."

With fireworks bursting into smiley faces in the air and trained smiling faces on volunteers, China's authoritarian government is trying hard to soften its image for the Olympics and its worldwide audience.

Part of the opening ceremony will also feature fireworks in the shape of a yellow dragon with red peony flowers in the background.

Meanwhile, the central government on Wednesday posted a notice on its Website ordering advertisers to not show adverts that are obscene, pornographic, or based on superstition.

Advertisers need to be especially careful with adverts that deal with national sovereignty and security, religion, or reconstruction after the Sichuan earthquake. The notice said "the way the Olympic advertising market operates directly affects the nation's image."

Warnapura hits unbeaten 50 :Lanka closes rain-shortened first day at 85-2

AP, Colombo

Malinda Warnapura hit his third test half-century Wednesday as Sri Lanka reached 85-2 at close of a rain-shortened opening day of the first cricket test against India.

Overnight and morning rain and wet ground meant only 22 overs were bowled in two hours.

Sri Lanka's captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bat first but soon lost his opener Michael Vandort with the total at seven.

Vandort (3) played at an Ishant Sharma delivery that was rising and moving away from his body, and was caught behind by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.

Left-armer Zaheer Khan ended a threatening 50-run partnership between Malinda Warnapura and Kumar Sangakkara (12) when he forced an edge off Sangakkara to Rahul Dravid at slip.

The two dismissed batsmen appeared to have wasted good batting conditions at the Sinhalese Sports Club, with the pitch offering little threat despite sweating under covers for hours.Warnapura was unbeaten on 50 from 74 balls with six boundaries.

Jayawardene was batting on 16 when the batsmen accepted the umpires' offer of bad light.

Sharma bowled tidily to finish with 1-21 after seven overs while Khan returned 1-42.

The test marks the beginning of the International Cricket Council's experimentation with a system which allows players to refer on-field decisions to a TV replay review.

In addition to the existing challenges to run outs and stumpings, players will now be able to challenge the likes of lbw verdicts and catches. Each side is allowed three challenges in each innings and the number of challenges remains intact if a decision is overturned using the system. However, there were no referrals during the brief

amount of play Wednesday.

"The way we look at it is what's better or what's worst for the game," said Dave Richardson, the ICC's general manager of cricket, speaking top reporters before the match began.

"The umpires making mistakes and being accused of cheating, teams threatening to leave the country and flying home and boards criticizing the umpires? Or a system where the umpire is given an opportunity to review his own decision and make a final decision himself ?"

He said the umpires' word remains final after reviewing the replay, and the new technology will help them make the right decisions rather than undermine their authority.

Bangladesh A need 123 more runs to win 4th three-day match

UNB, Dhaka

Visiting Bangladesh A team needs 123 more runs to win against Derbyshire, till the last report received on the 3rd and last day of the 4th three-day match at the County Ground, Derbyshire on Wednesday.

Earlier, Derbyshire declared their 2nd innings scoring 176 runs for eight wickets setting the winning target of 285 to the visitors. Bangladesh A team were all out in their 1st innings scoring 190 runs for all in 59.5 overs.

Chasing the target of 285 runs, Bangladesh started the second innings today (Wednesday) and scored 162 runs for 4 in 41 overs with Tamim Iqbal contributing 60 runs off 69 balls with six fours and three sixes and Junaid Siddique adding 25 runs off 73 balls with a boundary.

Middle order batsman Sakib Al Hasan (29) and Nazimuddin (19) were the other notable scorers for the visitors.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Raqibul Hasan were at the crease with 12 and 6 runs respectively.

GM Smith and S Needham captured two wickets each for 18 and 44 runs respectively.

Faridpur, Jhenidah, Narail, Jamalpur DSAs emerge zonal champs

UNB, Dhaka

Four teams -- Faridpur, Jhenidah, Narail and Jamalpur DSAs -- emerged zonal champions to reach the final round of the Spectra Group National Women's Kabaddi Championship on Wednesday.

The seven-team final round will be held in Dhaka at the Kabaddi Stadium from July 27-30.

The champions and runners-up teams of Dhaka Zone will also the four zonal champions in the final round along with Bangladesh Ansar.

Seven teams -- Dhaka, Mymensingh, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Rajshahi, Gaibandha and Rangamati -- will compete in the Dhaka Zone matches on July 25-26 for two final round berths.

In the day's zonal finals, hosts Faridpur DSA outclassed Shariatpur by 50-16 points, hosts Jamalpur beat Kishoreganj 48-41, hosts Jhenidah defeated Magura 26-24, while Narail beat hosts Jessore 52-42 to clinch the zonal crowns.

Second Division Football begins August 20

Sports Reporter

The Second Division Football League begins on August 20.

A number of 18 teams will participate in the league. They are: BRTC SC, Dhanmondi Club, East End Club, Police AC, Bangladesh Boys Club, Prantik KC, Motijheel T&T Club, Sadharan Bima KS, Bassabo Tarun Sangha, Kadamtala Sangsad, Kawran Bazar Progoti Sangha, BG Press S&RC, Uttar Baridhara Club, Little Friends Club, Euro Famous Club, Gazir Chat SC, Matuail Udayan Sangsad and Friends Social Welfare Organisation.

Remaining Games tickets to go on sale

AFP, Beijing

The final tickets for next month's Beijing Olympics will go on sale at event venues this week, Games organisers said today.

About 820,000 tickets were left unsold in three previous tranches that saw huge domestic demand, Beijing Games spokesman Sun Weide told AFP.

They will go on sale Friday in Beijing and co-host cities Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao, he said.

The announcement contradicted a previous statement by organisers, who said all of the tickets for domestic sale had already sold out.

Sun said the earlier announcement was incorrect.

About 250,000 tickets will be for events in nearly all Olympic sports in Beijing, he said.

The rest will be for Olympic football competitions in the co-host cities.

Beijing had allocated around 75 percent of the seven million tickets in total to its vast domestic audience, with the rest made available overseas through each country's national Olympic committee.

In the second phase last October, huge demand crashed the computer sales system, forcing that round to be suspended. It was resumed a month later.

Beijing, the venue for the vast majority of events, and its co-host cities will stage the Games from August 8-24.

4-nation twenty20 cricket on July 27 in London

UNB, Dhaka

A 4-nation Twenty20 cricket tournament involving Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and England will be held on July 27 at Haywards Heath Cricket Club ground in London.

Shabash Cricketers of Haywards Heath, a Bangladeshi cricket team in West Sussex, London is organizing the daylong meet, according to a message received here on Wednesday.

Teams from Ram Cricketers (as India), Serendib Cricket Club (as Sri Lanka), Shabash Cricketers (as Bangladesh) and Haywards Heath Cricket Club (as England) will take part in the tournament.

MGH Group Bangladesh and world famous cricket goods manufacturing company Gray Nicolls, UK, are joint sponsors of the tourney that has created lot of enthusiasm among the Bangladeshi, Indian and Sri Lankan communities in London.

Pioneer Football Tejgaon, BKSP win

Sports Reporter

Tejgaon Nabataranga Krira Sangsad and BKSP won their respective matches of the Dhaka City Corporation Pioneer Football League on Wednesday.

In the day's first match, Tejgaon Nabataranga Krira Sangsad defeated Mohammadpur Jubo Samaj Kalyan Sangstha by 2-1 goals at the Kamalapur Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Stadium.

Tejgaon led the first half 2-0.

Nawsher and Siraj of Tejgaon scored one goal each while Bimol of Mohammadpur pulled off one.

In the day's second match, BKSP beat Bangladesh SC by a solitary goal at the same venue.

After a barren first half Saifuddin of BKSP scored the all-important goal in the 65th minute of the play.

Today Golam Mostafa Lane Kishore Sangha will face Jatrabari Jhatika Sangsad while Lalbagh Tarun Sangha will meet Dhaka Eleven Club at the same venue.

Hockey training camp for boys starts today

Sports Reporter

Dhaka District Sports Association will arrange a long-term hockey training camp for Under-18 and Under-16 boys at the Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium. The training camp begins today at 4.00 PM at the stadium.

Director and CEO of Bangladesh Olymplic Association Colonel (Retd) Md. Wali Ullah will inaugurate the training camp as the chief guest.

Interested participants have been requested to present at the stadium in proper time.

Serena withdraws from WTA Los Angeles event

AFP, Los Angeles

Second-seeded Serena Williams lost her fitness battle Tuesday, withdrawing from the 600,000-dollar WTA hardcourt tournament here because of her sore left knee.

"It's a huge disappointment for me to be unable to play the East West Bank Classic in my hometown of LA," said Williams, who said Monday she hoped to play despite the injury.

"I've been getting intensive therapy and doing everything in my power to get my knee in shape for this week, waiting until the last possible moment to see if I could play," she added. "Unfortunately after hitting this morning, I knew that wasn't going to be ready for this week."

Williams, ranked No.5 in the world, withdrew while trailing against eventual champion Aleksandra Wozniak in the semi-finals of the tournament in Stanford, California, on Saturday.

She said this week that an MRI showed inflammation in her knee, which she attributed to a busy competition schedule.

The American, who finished runner-up to elder sister Venus at Wimbledon earlier this month, said she would now focus on getting fit for the Beijing Olympics in August, which are followed by the final Grand Slam of the season, the US Open.

"I'm working hard to be ready for the Olympics and US Open," said Williams, who had a first-round bye here and will be replaced in the draw by lucky loser Melanie South of Britain.