The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- India set victory target of 292 against Australia
- Nicol will stop at nothing to get sport into the Olympics
- Pei Tty may call it quits if she fails to qualify for Olympics
| India set victory target of 292 against Australia Posted: 28 Dec 2011 05:08 PM PST MELBOURNE: Australia were dismissed for 240 runs in their second innings before lunch on Thursday, leaving India requiring 292 for victory with more than a day remaining of the first test. Mike Hussey and James Pattinson resumed on 179-8, a lead of 230, but it was not long before Zaheer Khan had removed Hussey for 89 when the veteran feathered a catch to wicketkeeper MS Dhoni from a stinging delivery that moved away slightly. Paceman Zaheer's joy was cut short when he blew a golden chance to end Australia's innings by dropping Pattinson on 15 after lumbering in from fine leg to spill a low catch from a skied slog off Umesh Yadav's bowling. Pattinson, a 21-year-old playing his third test, went on to blast an unbeaten 37 and build an invaluable partnership of 43 with Ben Hilfenhaus. Ishant Sharma wrapped up the innings by having Hilfenhaus caught in the slips for 14. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Nicol will stop at nothing to get sport into the Olympics Posted: 28 Dec 2011 05:54 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: Like all great champions Nicol David refuses to embrace defeat. So it upsets her that she is still unable to achieve the one thing she wants most: squash in the Olympics. Typically, Nicol refuses to give up, continuing her campaign despite the intransigence of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on accepting squash as part of the Games. Nicol's latest attempt to get her sport in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics also met with failure. The IOC snubbed squash in favour of golf and rugby but that has only made Nicol, who presented a paper to the IOC in 2009 for the inclusion of squash, even more determined to crusade on. "My dream has always been to play in the Olympics and I will do everything I can to see squash in the Games," said Nicol, who has won every title the sport has to offer. "It's discouraging that the IOC have rejected our appeal for the 2016 Olympics as well but I haven't given up hope." Nicol, who has bagged 56 Women's International Squash Players Association (Wispa) titles since turning pro in 2000 including the world title a record six times, now intends to fight for the sport's inclusion in the 2020 Olympics even though she is unlikely to be still playing then. Her frustration is understandable. It is every athlete's dream to compete in the Olympics and Nicol is at the peak of her career. She would be the favourite for the gold if squash was on the London Olympics programme. Nicol, who had said after winning her record sixth world title in Rotterdam last month that she would willingly trade them all for one Olympic gold medal, is perplexed as to why the IOC continue to disregard squash. The world squash Hall of Famer said: "We will keep at it until the sport becomes an Olympic event. We will be getting together soon to prepare a bid for inclusion in the 2020 Games. "We are expected to make our presentation to the IOC in September. We have to redouble our efforts to convince them that squash merits recognition," she said. Nicol, who has been the women's world number one since 2006, hits the competition trail early in the new year with the World Series Final in London from Jan 4-8. "It gets tougher every year so I have to train harder and improve my game to stay ahead," said Nicol, who leaves for Amsterdam tonight to continue her training under coach Liz Irving. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Pei Tty may call it quits if she fails to qualify for Olympics Posted: 28 Dec 2011 06:03 PM PST PETALING JAYA: Experienced women's doubles shuttler Wong Pei Tty may quit if she fails to qualify for the London Olympics next year. Pei Tty, who turned 30 last month, and partner Chin Eei Hui had an indifferent year as she struggled to reproduce her best form after returning from a serious knee injury in March. The pair, who were once ranked No. 2 in the world, failed to make an impact, crashing out in the first round of several tournaments. Their best performance was finishing runners-up in the Australian Open back in April. They did, however, produce a good run in the recent India Open GP Gold, reaching the semi-finals and are currently ranked No. 20 in the world. It is a vast improvement from their No. 68 earlier in the year. But that is still out of the Olympic qualifying mark as only the top 16 pairs will make the cut. "I'm feeling much stronger and things are finally getting back to normal. I only hope it's not too late," said Pei Tty. "My dream is to qualify for the Olympics for one last time and we really have to get some good results soon to achieve it. "I'll probably call it quits if we fail. I'm not that young anymore so it may be time to look at other options like coaching. "I will discuss it with BAM before making any decision." Pei Tty said it was timely that the younger pair of Woon Khe Wei-Vivian Hoo are finally coming through as they would have to carry the challenge soon. "Khe Wei-Vivian have improved a lot and, perhaps, with my retirement, they will have the opportunity to take over and make an impact," she said. Pei Tty-Eei Hui have a rather tough draw in the upcoming Korean and Malaysian Opens. In Seoul next week, the veteran pair are drawn against top Taiwanese Cheng Wen Hsing-Chien Yu Chin in the first round. If they upset the Taiwanese sixth seeds, they will probably come head-to-head with Singapore's Shinta Mulia Sari-Yao Lei, who beat them in India last week. In the Malaysian Open, Pei Tty-Eei Hui face Sweden's Emelie Lennartsson-Emma Wengberg in the first round but next up will be either sixth seeds Meiliana Jauhari-Greysia Polii of Indonesia or Korean pair Eom Hye-won-Jang Ye-na. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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