The New Nation - Internet Edition

Qualifying round of Federation: Cup Football begins today

UNB, Dhaka

The qualifying round of the CITYCELL Federation Cup Football begins today (Saturday) 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.

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).

Sri Lanka in command in the first test against India

AP, Colombo

Muttiah Muralitharan shattered India's star-studded top order Friday with four wickets to put Sri Lanka firmly in command of the first test.

India closed the third day's play at 159-6 in reply to the hosts' 600-6 declared - a score that included a Sri Lankan record-equaling four centuries.

India needs a further 241 runs to avoid the follow-on, with just four lower order wickets in hand.

"We did not play well tpoor shot-making today," India coach Gary Kirsten said. "Everyone has reasons to be disappointed and everyone has a lot of hard work to do to save this test match."

Muralitharan took four for 38, picking up the wickets of opener Gautam Gambhir (39), Sachin Tendulkar (27), Sourav Ganguly (23) and Dinesh Karthik (9).

Opener Virender Sehwag (25) was the first man out after a typically hard-hitting innings that had one too many aggressive shots, caught at deep square leg off seamer Nuwan Kulasekara. India went to tea at a decent 72-1, but five wickets fell in the final session to put the tourists in trouble.

The collapse began soon after tea with Gambhir driving in the air against Muralitharan to be caught at short mid-wicket by Thilan Samaraweera.

Spinner Ajantha Mendis, on test debut, bowled Rahul Dravid for 14 after the ball pitched on leg stump and turned to brush off stump.

Tendulkar, who came to the crease needing 172 runs to take the world record for most test runs from former West Indies captain Brian Lara, misread a straight ball from Muralitharan and was bowled off an inside edge.

Ganguly tried to hit Muralitharan across the line, but top-edged his sweep and was caught in the deep by Nuwan Kulasekara.

At stumps, V.V.S Laxman was on 19 with captain Anil Kumble on 1. "We are aware of the way we played. Out of the six wickets, four of them were not the greatest of shots," Kirsten said.

Earlier, Tillakaratne Dilshan made the most of his reprieve under cricket's new laws to hit an unbeaten 125 and became the fourth batsman to score a century in Sri Lanka's innings - equaling the national test record.

Dilshan was on 1 Thursday when he became the world's first batsman to benefit from cricket's new experimental law that allows a player to challenge an umpiring decision.

He was initially given out caught behind, but after challenging that decision it was referred to the third umpire, who ruled there was no contact between bat and ball.

"I have played well during the past six months, but missed out on a couple of centuries," Dilshan said.

Dilshan's performances had been under scrutiny, and he said he was aware that he could be replaced.

"Now, I have proved that I can play well at No.6," Dilshan said.

Captain Mahela Jayawardene (136), Malinda Warnapura (115) and Samaraweera (127) also scored centuries.

Sri Lanka had twice before had four centurions in an innings, both at Colombo: against India in 2001 and Bangladesh in 2007.

The overall test record is five, set by Australia against West Indies at Kingston in 1955 and by Pakistan against Bangladesh at Multan in 2001.

Under the new trial laws, being debuted in this test, each side is allowed three challenges to umpiring decisions per innings, with that number remaining intact if a challenge is upheld.

Olympic Village 'all ready’ for guests

Xinhua, Beijing

Beijing’s Olympic Village is “all ready” to welcome athletes from across the world, the village’s spokeswoman said here Friday.

The village officially opens on Sunday and is now poised to receive 16,000 athletes and officials from 200-plus countries and regions, said Deng Yaping, also the village’s deputy head and a four-times table tennis Olympic champion.

“Since the village’s preliminary opening on July 20, 150 people from 46 countries and regions have checked in,” Deng said.

The village, comprising 42 apartment buildings, sits on the northern end of the central axis that runs through Beijing. Important buildings of all ages, including the Forbidden City and Tian’anmen Square, are on this axis.

Also on the axis, immediately further north lies the Olympic Green, and just to the south is the National Stadium, popularly known as the “Bird Nest”.

After checking in, each of the villagers will receive a welcome letter from Chen Zhili, head of the village. The rooms are decorated with pictures drawn and framed by Chinese and foreign children with environment-friendly paper and material, which will be given to the athletes as gifts after the Games finish.

Some 100 foreign and 2,300 Chinese chefs and waiters are to offer an around-the-clock service, Deng said.

In line with the regulations of the International Olympic Committee, a religious center had been set up in the village, she said. Major religions -- Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism-all have worship rooms.

During the games, 70 religious volunteers will also offer their services to participants of different faiths. The religious service center will offer a guide to major religious sites in the city.

A clinic has also opened in the village, providing 24-hour free medical service and traditional Chinese acupuncture and massage.

According to Deng, the village’s car park, media center, visitors’ center, shuttle bus stops and logistic centers are also ready.

The village will close on Aug. 27. Also as the Paralympic Village, it will reopen on Aug. 30 and close on Sept. 20.

Dhaka, Gaibandha, Rangamati, Rajshahi reach zonal semis

UNB, Dhaka

Four teams -- Dhaka DSA, Gaibandha DSA, Rangamati DSA and Rajshahi DSA -- ensured their semifinal berth on the opening day of the Dhaka Zone Spectra Group National Women's Kabaddi Championship Friday at the Dhanmondi Women's Sports Complex gymnasium.

In the day's matches, Dhaka DSA beat Mymensingh DSA by 34-20 points with 2 creditable `lonas', Gaibandha DSA outplayed Munshiganj DSA by 42-20 points with 4 lonas while Rangamati DSA crushed Narayanganj DSA by 40-15 points also with 4 lonas'.

The two semifinal matches will be held Saturday with Dhaka DSA facing Gaibandha DSA in the first match, while Rajshahi DSA will take on Rangamati DSA in the 2nd match.

The final match will be held later in the afternoon.

Earlier, Sports Officer of Bangladesh Ansar and VDP SM Alam inaugurated the zonal competition.

Four teams -- Faridpur, Jhenidah, Narail and Jamalpur DSAs - have already emerged zonal champions to reach the final round along with Bangladesh Ansar, who will play in the final round directly.

The seven-team final round of the national women's kabaddi meet will be held at the Kabaddi Stadium in Dhaka from July 27-30.

BDR notch second successive win beating Cute 42-27

UNB, Dhaka

Holders Bangladesh Rifles notched their second successive win in the Design Zone 2nd Office Handball League beating Cute Handball Team by 42-27 goals in the day's lone match at the Outer Stadium Handball ground on Friday.

The Riflemen dominated the first half 23-10.

Kamrul scored seven goals while Jamal netted five for the winners. On the other hand, Saidur scored highest 10 goals for the losers while Asad netted five.

Four teams -- Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Police, Prisons Directorate and Cute -- are taking part in the 2nd version of the competition being held on straight league basis matches. Later, two top teams will play in the final on July 30.

Saturday's match: Prisons Directorate vs Cute (3:30 pm).

South Africans scores 216/1 in 1st innings against Bangladesh A

UNB, Dhaka

South Africans team made a good start scoring 216 for 1 in 45.3 overs in the first innings on day one of a three-day match against Bangladesh A at the County Ground, New Road, Worcester on Friday.

Opting to bat first, skipper Graeme Smith along with JP Duminy gave a solid foundation to the South Africans putting up 155 runs in the opening stand before Smith returned to the pavilion scoring 87 off 88 balls with 11 fours and a six.

Duminy along with number three Hashim Amla were at the crease with 84 and 28 runs respectively when last report came in.

Bangladesh skipper Junaed Siddiqui took the wicket of his counterpart using his right-arm off break.

Earlier, on Wednesday, the visiting Bangladesh A team clinched their first victory in the England tour as they beat Derbyshire by one wicket. Before that the first three 3-day matches between Bangladesh A and their English counterparts ended in draws.

After the three-dayers, Bangladesh A will play three one-day matches against Lancashire on July 30, Marylebone Cricket Club on August 1 and Durham on August 3.

Twenty20 winners to face England

BBC Online

England will warm up for their $20m (£10m) showdown with the Stanford Super Stars later this year by playing the winners of this weekend's Twenty20 Cup.

The game is one of six matches in an expanded Stanford Super Series event, which is being held in the Caribbean.

England and the Twenty20 Cup winners will also face regional Twenty20 champions Trinidad & Tobago as well as the Stanford Super Stars.

Essex, Kent, Middlesex and Durham meet in Twenty20 finals day on Saturday.

Whichever team comes out on top will face Trinidad & Tobago on 27 October, with the winners of that match pocketing $400,000 (£200,000).

The Twenty20 Cup finalists are already scheduled to take part in the planned Champions League, some time in the autumn.

Twenty20 champs set for Stanford Super Series

Although details have yet to be finalised, David Collier, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said he was confident there would be no clash and that the Champions League would still go ahead.

Stanford Super Series schedule:

25 Oct Stanford Super Stars v Trinidad & Tobago

26 Oct England v Twenty20 Champions

27 Oct Trinidad & Tobago v Twenty20 champions

28 Oct England v Trinidad & Tobago

29 Oct Stanford Super Stars v Twenty20 champions

30 Oct Rest day

31 Oct Legends Beach Cricket match

1 Nov Stanford Super Stars v England

Beijing to operate 28 bus routes for opening ceremony

Xinhua, Beijing

Beijing is to run services on 28 special bus routes for the people attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Aug. 8, the local traffic authority said Friday.

The buses will run non-stop from 28 designated stations across the city to the Olympic Green Park, where passengers can disembark at a stop a few minutes walk fro, the National Stadium, according to Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications.

After the show, the buses will carry passengers to transfer stops for seven subway lines running round the clock and 100 standby bus routes.

The 28 services are reserved for and free to people holding opening ceremony tickets, and staff and volunteers with valid certificates.

Some existing bus routes will detour or suspend operations on the day to ensure traffic runs smootly around the stadium.

Thirty-four additional bus routes will operate, with some running around the clock, until Sept. 20 to make up for the relative shortage of public transport around Olympic sports venues.

Beijing has about 350 existing bus routes. The public transport system will be able to move 21.1 million passengers daily during the Olympics and Paralymics.

New lighting facilities to shine at Beijing Olympics

Xinhua, Beijing

More than 200 decorative lights for the Olympics got a tryout here on Thursday evening.

The new installations will join the city's more than 2,000 lighting facilities during the Games, according to Jia Jianping, head of the night scene department of the Beijing Municipal Administration Commission.

Electricity-saving equipment was used in the displays at major cultural sites, such as the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, parks, crossover bridges and along streets.

"Beijing has become more beautiful," said Wang Jieyun, who was photographing the lights at the Sanyuanqiao overpass in eastern Beijing.

The displays "will not consume electricity and there is no need to worry about power supplies," Jia said.

Spanish gymnast looks to make history in Beijing Olympics

Xinhua, Madrid

Spanish gymnast Gervasio Deferr told Diario AS on Friday that he is aiming to go down in history as the first Spaniard to win three gold medals in the Olympic Games.

Deferr took the gold medals in Sydney 2000 on the pommel horse and repeated the success with a gold medal for floor exercises in Athens 2004. Now he knows Beijing gives him the chance to go down in history.

"I don't feel any pressure because there are only two Spanish sports people who have got two gold medals (Teresa Zabell and Luis Doreste) and they have both retired. I am the only one who has a chance of winning a third gold medal. If I can do it, then it will be fantastic, but if not, I have already got two so it's not so dreadful," he said.

Deferr may be trying not to put himself under pressure, but he admitted he had been working hard ahead of the Olympics.

The Spaniard saw Brazilian Diego Hypolito as one of his main rivals for gold.

At 27-years-old, Deferr realizes these could be his last visit to the Olympic Games, but he is not ruling out an appearance in London in 2012.

"All of this effort is all worthwhile. I want to do well at the Games and if this is my last appearance, then I want a medal in Beijing, even if it is 'just' bronze," said Deferr.