The New Nation - Internet Edition

Impressive Jankovic eyes Slam title and return to the top

AFP, New York

Second-ranked Jelena Jankovic moved closer to her first Grand Slam title and reclaiming the world number one ranking with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 triumph Sunday over Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki at the US Open.

The 23-year-old Serbian advanced to the quarter-finals of the year's last major tennis tournament, rallying in blustery conditions at Arthur Ashe Stadium to defeat an 18-year-old who won August WTA titles at Stockholm and New Haven.

"In the first set she played quite solid. I was the one who was all over the place. I couldn't find my rhythm in these conditions and she took advantage of that," Jankovic said.

"I stayed calm and composed and knew I had to do something to change that. In the second set I did the smart things and I cruised through the second and third set."

Jankovic, who spent a week as world number one earlier in August, will next face Austrian Sybille Bammer, whom she has beaten in six of seven meetings, most recently in the fourth round of last year's US Open.

Defeating Bammer again would ensure Jankovic a chance to reclaim the top spot although Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina also remain in the mix to be number one after the Flushing Meadows fortnight.

"It would be nice to come back to the number one spot," Jankovic said. "It would be great if I can do it. We will see what happens."

With top seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Russian third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova already ousted, this is a prime chance for a Slam breakthrough.

"I want to win a Grand Slam," Jankovic said. "By winning a Grand Slam I would regain the number one ranking again. It's something I want to achieve again."

Jankovic reached the French and Australian Open semi-finals but was upset in the fourth round at Wimbledon by Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn after hurting her knee in a third-round victory over Wozniacki.

"I have been injured. Right now I finally do not have any problems," Jankovic said. "Little by little I feel like I'm getting better every day.

"I feel the shots a lot better than I did at the beginning of the tournament. That's my goal, get my game together by the end of the tournament."

Jankovic was down a set and in a fight during the second before cracking the Danish teen on her third break-point chance of the sixth game for a 4-2 edge.

"I started well. I played aggressive," Wozniacki said. "The second set, I got a bit more defensive. Even though I was hitting the ball, it wasn't going well. She kept coming in and forcing play. She was just better than me."

Jankovic, who also lost the first set to Wozniacki this year at Wimbledon, broke again to finish the second set and again in the fourth and sixth games of the third set to secure the triumph.

"I'm getting better each day. I'm improving on my fitness," Jankovic said. "I can push off better. Little by little I'm putting the pieces together. I'm bringing my game to the next level. I believe in myself."

Olympic champion Dementieva, who can take the top spot if she reaches her first Grand Slam final since the 2004 US Open, defeated China's Li Na 6-4, 6-1 in just 61 minutes.

"This is a dream for me, to become number one, but I'm not thinking about it. I want to focus on this tournament," Dementieva said. "I don't want to put all this pressure on myself."

The Russian fifth seed booked a quarter-final date against Swiss 15th seed Patty Schnyder, who rallied to defeat Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Dementieva says she is rounding her game into top form after the Olympics.

"I played very well in Beijing," she said. "Because of the recovery I don't think I'm playing at my best but I am slowly improving and I hopefully will play better in the next match."

Bammer ousted French 12th seed Marion Bartoli 7-6 (7/3), 0-6, 6-4 with Bartoli weakened by a sick stomach and defying doctor's advice not to play because of low blood pressure.

"It's a miracle I could manage three sets," Bartoli said.

Ronaldinho dazzles but Milan stunned by Bologna

AFP, Rome

Ronaldinho sparkled on his debut but could not prevent AC Milan slumping to a dismal 2-1 home defeat to Serie A newboys Bologna in their opener at the San Siro on Sunday.

Former Milan forward Alberto Gilardino scored an equaliser a minute from time to earn 10-man Fiorentina a 1-1 home draw against Juventus.

It was a poor start for the scudetto hopefuls as AS Roma were held 1-1 at home to 10-man Napoli while Jose Mourinho's first game in charge of Inter Milan on Saturday night ended in a 1-1 stalemate at Sampdoria.

But it was in Milan where the real drama took place as Carlo Ancelotti handed debuts to Gianluca Zambrotta and Mathieu Flamini as well as Ronaldinho.

Marco Di Vaio gave the visitors a shock lead on 18 minutes after the ball fell kindly to him in the box.

Ronaldinho was at the centre of everything that was good for Milan and it was his cross that Massimo Ambrosini headed home to restore parity on 41 minutes.

The Brazilian magician created two glorious chances for veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi and another for second-half substitute Andrei Shevchenko, back from a two- year nightmare at Chelsea, but neither could finish.

And Francesco Valiani won it for Bologna 11 minutes from time with a thunderbolt from 25 yards out into the top righthand corner. Ancelotti claimed his team had merely been unlucky.

"I'm optimistic, we were unlucky. It was a strange and unusual match but I think they are the surprise of the day," he said.

"I don't think we were missing much in the team, we attacked for 90 minutes and were punished by the two chances Bologna had. We could have been more compact and together but from a physical perspective we couldn't have done any more than that."

Juve took the lead six minutes before the break in Florence as Czech veteran Pavel Nedved converted a cross from Zdenek Grygera.

Brazilian forward Amauri and Alessandro Del Piero then both wasted good chances to bury the game before the break.

Gilardino could have levelled things before Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo was sent off for a second booking but after rounding goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon he shanked his effort wide.

But a minute from time the Italian turned Swedish defender Olof Mellberg and squeezed home a shot in off the far post.

Roma were no less disappointing than Milan as they were held by a team that played more than half an hour with 10 men.

The hosts went in front when Alberto Aquilani ran onto a delicate chip over the defence from Daniele De Rossi and took the ball down on his chest before firing home.

Despite having Fabian Santacroce sent off on 54 minutes, Napoli were level soon after through Slovakia midfielder Marek Hamsik.

Roma's Brazilian goalkeeper Doni then had to make several smart saves to keep the scores level before new-signing Jeremy Menez of France had a double opportunity to win it for the hosts late on but fluffed his lines.

On Saturday, Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Inter a first half lead in Genoa but Samp fought back after the break to earn a point through Gennaro Delvecchio.

Mourinho didn't seem too upset after the game, though.

"The result was fair because we weren't able to close out the match but a draw at a difficult ground is not a big drama," he told Sky Sport. "I'm not super happy but the team didn't play badly."

Lazio are the early pacesetters as they came from behind to win 4-1 at 10-man Cagliari.

Torino are also off to a fine start with a 3-0 home victory against newly-promoted Lecce while Chievo marked their return to the top flight with a 2-1 success over Reggina.

Fiorentina host Juventus in the clash of the day in Florence later on Sunday evening.

Abu Dhabi group seals deal to buy Manchester City

AFP, Dubai

An investment group in the oil- rich United Arab Emirates has sealed a deal to buy English football club Manchester City, an online business news service said Monday.

"Premier League football club Manchester City has been taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment (ADUG)," Arabian Business said.

It said the deal was struck Sunday night between the club's former owner and ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and ADUG but did not specify how much the Abu Dhabi group had paid.

"We will release details later, but this is a great event for both the club and Abu Dhabi," it quoted Sulaiman al-Fahim, an ADUG board member who will represent the group on the Manchester City board, as saying.

"Our goal is very simple-to make Manchester City the biggest club in the Premier League, and to begin with, to finish in the top four this season," said Fahim, who led negotiations for the deal.

City admitted on Monday that they were in talks with ADUG but stopped short of confirming the sale had been completed.

"Manchester City Football Club can confirm that there are discussions ongoing with the Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited with regards to investing in the football club," a statement on the club's website said.

"A further statement will be released by the Club when it is appropriate to do so."

Fahim said ADUG will solve all the club's problems and clear any pending payments, and will comprehensively support the club by bringing in some of the best football players in the world.

The ousted Thai premier, who faces legal problems at home related to corruption charges, will stay on as honorary president of the club without any administrative responsibilities, according to Arabian Business.

Negotiations began three weeks ago, and were completed on Sunday night in the UAE, it said.

Abu Dhabi, the UAE's wealthiest emirate which also serves as its capital, is vying to become a cultural and sports destination in the Gulf region.

Australia aiming for 1,000th medal in Beijing

AFP, Sydney

Australia fare-welled its team for the Beijing Paralympics on Monday, hopeful that the squad would be able to bring home the country's 1,000th medal since the Games began in 1960.

Australian Paralympians have collected 908 medals since the event was first held in Rome 48 years ago, and chef de mission Darren Peters said hopes were high that this year's team could take the haul into four figures.

"It's a hard task, but we're in the running for that and we could win the 1,000th medal in these Games," he said. "It's pretty exciting."

The prospect of 92 medals is not unrealistic given that the Australians won 100 -- 26 gold, 38 silver and 36 bronze-at the 2004 Games in Athens.

Australia's team of 170 athletes and 121 supporting officials is among the largest the country has ever sent and Australian Paralympic Committee chairman Greg Hartung said it was the best the nation had ever assembled.

"They are big on talent and big on toughness and we will expect our athletes to perform at peak value for Australia," Hartung said.

The team was fare-welled from Sydney by the wife of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Therese Rein, whose father was a Paralympian in the 1950s in several sports including wheelchair basketball, archery and swimming.

"Sports was really meaningful for him and helped him to be the best he could be," she said.

In federal parliament, the prime minister said those competing at the Paralympics inspired all Australians.

"They are role models, not only as sportsmen and women, but also as extraordinary individuals," Rudd said. "And we will be watching and we will be cheering and we will be proud of their every achievement."

The 13th Paralympic Games, to include 4,000 athletes, will take place in Beijing from September 6 to 17.

BCB name 15-member GP-BCB Academy team to tour Sri Lanka

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Cricket Board Monday announced a 15-member GP-BCB National Cricket Academy team to tour Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh team will leave here for the Island nation on Thursday (September 4).

During the three-week tour, BCB Academy team will play three one-day, one two-day and two four-day matches.

Nayeem Islam has been named captain of the Sri-Lanka bound GP-BCB Academy team, while Marshall Ayub made his deputy.

BCB-GP National Cricket Academy team: Nayeem Islam (Captain), Marshall Ayub (Vice Captain), Shamsur Rahman, Imrul Kayes, Forhad Hossain, Mahbubul Karim, Nasir Hossain, Sohrawardy Shuvo, Arafat Sunny, Sajidul Islam, Delwar Hossain, Mahbubul Alam (Robin), Rubel Hossain, Ziaur Rahman and Ashiqul Islam Rajib.

Team Management: Operations Manager - Khaled Mahmud, Academy Head Coach - Ruwan Kalpage, Physio/Fitness Trainer - Bayjedul Islam, Computer Analyst - Mohammad Salauddin, National Pace Bowling Coach - Champaka Ramanayake.

We're just champion says Scolari

AFP, London

Luiz Felipe Scolari shrugged off the frustration of Chelsea's 1-1 draw against Tottenham by insisting his side are already in title-winning form.

The Blues saw their 100 percent start go up in smoke in Sunday's London derby at Stamford Bridge as Spurs striker Darren Bent cancelled out Juliano Belletti's first half goal.

But Scolari is still satisfied with seven points from his first three matches and the Chelsea coach believes the Premier League trophy will be back at the Bridge in May if they maintain that form.

"Seven points so far, if we are still making this total at the end of the season, surely we are first." Scolari said. "Follow the last two or three seasons. With 75 percent of the points you win."

Bent's equaliser was harsh on Chelsea, who dominated for long periods, but Scolari's side paid the price for failing to turn their possession into goals.

With Didier Drogba injured and Nicolas Anelka a subdued figure, Chelsea lacked a cutting edge and, frustrated by Tottenham's massed defence, they resorted to hopeful long balls several times in the closing stages.

That lack of composure frustrated Scolari, who made a point of telling his players they must keep passing at all times.

"We don't have tall players to use the high ball," he said. "What happens is they feel the pressure of the fans. They want to win and it is difficult to think inside the pitch.

"After the game I told the players a draw is ok but we need to try to work the ball. If they make a mistake it is not a problem. With high balls I win one time and lose eight."

Anelka should have opened the scoring in the 26th minute when Belletti's pass disected the Spurs defence but the France striker shot wildly over.

Michael Essien went much closer moments later as he surged forward in typcially dynamic fashion before rattling the crossbar with a fierce drive.

Spurs finally cracked after 28 minutes. Deco swung in a low corner and, when Bent made a hash of his attempted clearance, Belletti was on hand to volley past Gomes.

But incredibly the visitors went in level at half-time after Bent took advantage of a rare misstep from the Blues in the 45th minute.

Frank Lampard nipped in to tackle Luka Modric in midfield and Ricardo Carvalho failed to close down Bent quickly enough. The Spurs striker pounced on the loose ball, burst in the penalty area and slipped his shot under Petr Cech.

After losing their first two games, Spurs finally showed some resilience to grind out a point. Once again Ramos's side were a confused mess going forward, but at least the Spurs boss could take comfort from the way his side refused to surrender.

With Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko on board and ready for his debut after the international break, Ramos believes this result could kick-start Tottenham's season.

"Let's hope this result can ignite the season. It was a great performance and result and let's hope it is positive ahead," he said.

"We needed something to kick-start the season, to lift spirits and give the players confidence for what lies ahead. With the arrival of Pavlyuchenko and anyone else who joins at the last minute we'll have more options on the field.

"He will bring an awful lot to the side. All his qualities are well known. He is a player with world-renowned qualities, he has achieved a lot with his national side and the biggest thing we hope is that he settles in quickly.

"He's come in from a different country and it is important he settles in to this type of football as soon as possible."

Citycell hands over 5 golf carts to KGC

Sports Reporter

Citycell™ recently donated 5 state of the art imported golf-carts to Kurmitola Golf Club (KGC). Mr. Michael Seymour, CEO of Citycell™ handed over the golf carts to Major General Md. Shafiqul Islam (Retd.), Vice-President, Kurmitola Golf Club at a program organized at the club premises on Sunday, according to a press release.

The golf carts were imported by UNICOM and exclusively branded by Citycell™'s high speed wireless internet service Zoom™. This is one of the first examples of Premium Sports Sponsorship in Bangladesh.

Mr. Michael Seymour, in his speech spoke about Citycell™'s Zoom™ service stated that this service is available across Bangladesh, helping to bridge the digital divide. Citycell will continue to focus on its customers to bring them the latest technology to improve customers' lives.

Colonel Syed Anwar Hossain, CEO, Kurmitola Golf Club, was present as special guest at the handover ceremony. Md. Tipu Sultan, Director, Financial Control of Citycell and other senior officials of both the organizations were also present at the program. The program was attended by members and players of the club. After the ceremony a mini tournament was arranged to mark the arrival of the golf carts.

Roqibul Hassan rules out of Commonwealth Bank ODI Series

UNB, Dhaka

Reliable Bangladesh batsman Roqibul Hasan, who has a fractured thumb, will miss the remaining two matches of the ongoing Commonwealth Bank ODI Series against mighty Australia.

Bangladesh will play world number one Australia on September 3 and 6 in Darwin in the remaining two ODI matches after conceding a humiliating 180 runs defeat in the first ODI match on Saturday making their ever-lowest ODI total of 74 runs.

Roqibul, who injured his right thumb on Saturday while batting in the first ODI at the TIO Stadium, Darwin, was examined by an orthopedic surgeon in Darwin Monday afternoon, according to a message received here.

The specialist concluded that the injury does not require a surgery but the thumb will have to be kept in a splint for four to six weeks for it to heal.

But Roqibul will stay in Australia and will return home along with the Bangladesh team on September 7.

Police SC drub Uro Famous Club 4-0

UNB, Dhaka

Police SC drubbed Uro Famous Club by 4-0 goals in a match of the Metropolis Second Division Football League at Bir Shrestha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Stadium at Kamalapur on Monday.

Bisheshswar Borua struck twice while Quamruzzaman and Kabirul scored one goal each for the winners.

In the day's other match at the same venue, Bangladesh Boys Club defeated Little Friends Club by 2-0 goals.

Kamal Hossain and Mahmudul Hasan scored one goal each for the winners.

Australia's White wants more overs

AFP, Darwin

Australian all-rounder Cameron White, who took three quickfire wickets against Bangladesh, says he needs more experience of bowling under pressure.

White took 3-5 from just 10 balls in Saturday's first one-day international against Bangladesh but said he wants a longer bowling spell in the second game.

"It's nice to get a few wickets, but it would have been nice to get a few more overs under the belt as well," the legspinner said.

"Hopefully from this game (on Wednesday) I can get more of a bowl."

White has never bowled more than six overs in any of the 19 one-day games he has played but a chance for a bigger role in the bowling line-up beckons after Brad Hogg's retirement and the dumping of allrounder Andrew Symonds from the team.

The 25-year-old, who is a middle-order batsman, said it was also hard to judge whether his bowling was improving, given his lack of overs.

He said while he was happy with his performance in the practice nets, "under the pressures of a game is where it counts to me the most, and that's what I've got to prove to myself and my teammates and the opposition-that I can do it at that level."

Australia play their second one-dayer against Bangladesh in the northern city of Darwin on Wednesday.

Allrounder Shane Watson is expected to play after he trained at full pace Monday after missing the first match due to soreness in his calf and in the toe he broke in the Caribbean.

Watson is likely to replace James Hopes or paceman Brett Geeves.

Bangladesh, who lost to Australia by 180 runs on Saturday, will be without batsman Roqibal Hassan, who sustained a broken thumb from a Geeves delivery in the first game.