Olympics
Ace Indian shuttler Saina stuns world no-3 wang
to clinch Indonesia Super series Title
 New Delhi, June 21: Saina Nehwal today became the first
Indian to win a Super Series badminton tournament, the
game's equivalent of a tennis Grand Slam title.
The 19-year-old Hyderabadi girl won the Indonesian Open in Jakarta beating world No. 3 Ling Wang of China 12-21, 21-18, 21-9, and is likely to rise three spots to world No. 5.
"It's a huge achievement. The Super Series is the best tournament after the World Cup and the Olympics. It's like winning the French Open or the US Open in tennis," said her coach P. Gopichand, himself an All-England Open champion.
Saina's achievement is the best by an Indian shuttler since Prakash Padukone and Gopichand won the All-England in 1980 and 2001.
Support Cast
Sehwag may have set the stage on fire but people behind the scene too, deserve credit
TILL A month ago cricket fans in India had no idea who Martin Guptill was; they had heard of the Delhi Daredevils left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori and had witnessed Brendon NcCullum light up the IPL in the opening match of the tournament. For Indian fans, New Zealand is a world too far. So little is known about players from the deep south that it's easy to underestimate what India have achieved in the last fortnight.
Now, when India have won 3-0 it is tempting to put this down to the parity of talent in the two nations. In India, the likes of S.Badrinath and Ajinkya Rahane cannot break into the team despite the mountain of runs they have accumulated. In New Zealand, there are less than 100 active first class cricketers in the whole country. If you look at it like that, this New Zealand team is a pretty sound unit.
First Sachin Tendulkar and then Virender Sehwag have said that this batting line -up is the best they have been a part of. The likes of Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina will enjoy being spoken of so highly but they should realise just how much depends on team.
(CII-news: 13.03.2009)
Dhoni's team crush Sri Lanka under an avalanches of runs
New Delhi : Sensational centuries from Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag helped India pocket the five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, with two matches remaining, on Tuesday.
Yuvraj, who seems to be in the form of his life, hit a swashbuckling 117 off 95 balls. Sehwag was not to be left behind as he smashed 116 off 90 balls. The pair set the Premadasa on fire with their scintillating strokeplay, and in the process added 221 runs for the third wicket.
"Yuvraj and Sehwag took the match away from us," Mahela Jayawardene admitted after the 147-run loss.
This was after the Indians were reduced to 24 for two with Sachin Tendulkar being the victim of yet another dubious decision from the umpire. Man of the Match Yuvraj took most of the strike, hitting some magnificent boundaries on either side of the wicket.
Sehwag was a spectator in the early part of the partnership, but when the opportunity presented itself, he was no less ruthless.
There was a big-hitting cameo from Yusuf Pathan towards the end of the Indian innings and four wickets for the promising Pragyan Ojha, but all that came to nought when compared to Yuvraj and Sehwag's innings.
Muttiah Muralidharan equalled Wasim Akram's world record of 502 one-day wickets and Kumar Sangakkara's classy 83 proved to be little more than a footnote on a day when Sri Lanka were again way off the pace.
The victory also equalled India's record of eight ODI wins on the trot. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, however, insisted fielding reserve players-so that they, too, get a chance to prove their mettle-was more important than retaining the winning squad in pursuit of their record ninth straight win.
The following are excerpts on what the captains and Yuvraj had to say:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni:
The team's doing well, and that's what is important. Yuvraj and Virender played very well today. They put pressure on them (Sri Lanka) to bowl in the bad areas, and then went after them. We did not want Yuvraj or Virender to get bogged down under pressure. We wanted them to play their natural game. We've been playing well and as a team we want to enjoy our cricket, we want to enjoy each other's success. We are not really going for any record. Rarely is a series wrapped up in the first three games. But now that we've won it, we will give a chance to the other players in the two remaining matches.
Mahela Jayawardene:
We took two early wickets but Yuvraj and Virender batted well. It was a brilliant partnership. We had a fair chance but they took the game away from us. We have no complaints, but there are a few areas of concern. There are certain areas we need to tighten up. We have to win matches to gain confidence. We need to give our tired players a rest, we have a lot of cricket coming up.
Yuvraj Singh: First of all, I would like to share my Man of the Match award with Sehwag. he took the pressure off me. We decided to bat normally. We got a lot of loose balls and luckily we put all the loose balls away to the boundary. We enjoyed each other's shots and ran well between the wickets. It is a big achievement for me to score a century with Sehwag. It is normally he who races away. He generally gets there within a blink
UNLUCKY SACHIN
In what is highly unusual, India's premier batsman Sachin Tendulkar has been given out lbw in the first three matches of the series when, in fact, he was not out on all three occasions.
(Source:The Telegraph & Agencies/CII-News-3.02.09)
Golden farewell to Bengal Tiger at Eden Gardens
 Kolkata: On Sunday the 18th January, The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) gave a colourful farewell to former India captain and 'Kolkata-r Maharaja' Sourav Ganguly on an evening replete with nostalgia, thanksgiving and banter.
With the well decked up Eden Gardens, which has witnessed Ganguly's growth from a prodigious talent to one who led the country with aplomb, as the venue, cricket administrators, politicians and fellow cricketers recalled the left-hander's significant contribution to the game and dwelt on various facets of his personality to make it a memorable evening.
Ganguly was presented a bat made of one kg gold priced at Rs 2.5 million as confetti was showered and the who's who of Kolkata watched in rapt attention every moment of the function christened 'Celebrating a legend".
(Source:www.sify.com)
Mumbai wins Ranji Trophy for 38th time.
Mumbai won by 243 runs.
HYDERABAD: 16 January , 2009
 Mumbai crushed UP by 243 runs to clinch the Ranji title for the 38th time. Mumbai won by 243 runs. Rohit Sharma struck a century in each innings and India spearhead Zaheer Khan took eight wickets to power Mumbai to their 38th Ranji Trophy title in India's first-class domestic championship.
India one-day batsman Sharma hit 141 and 108 to stake a claim for a Test spot as he led Mumbai to a 243-run victory over Uttar Pradesh on the last day of the five-day final on Friday.
Middle-order batsman Sharma's first-innings century came after Sachin Tendulkar fell for his first duck in Indian domestic cricket as Uttar Pradesh pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar ripped through the top order to finish with a five-wicket haul.
Sharma shared in a 207-run stand for the fifth wicket with Abhishek Nayar (99) to guide Mumbai to 402 after being asked to bat first.
Left-arm seamer Zaheer took seven wickets in the first innings to bowl out last year's runners-up Uttar Pradesh for 245 for a commanding first-innings lead of 157 runs despite left-handed opener Shivakant Shukla scoring 99.
(Source:Sify/cricket.com)
The most memorable day in Indian cricket history
 That memorable day 25 years ago.
Among the many historically notable dates in Indian cricket history, there is little doubt that June 25, 1983 must take pride of place.
August 24, 1971 - the date when India won their first ever Test series victory in England - will probably rank a close second.
Then, there are of course a few other really significant dates: February 10, 1952 when India scored her first Test victory, March 10, 1971 when India scored her first Test victory in the West Indies and March 10, 1985 when India won the title in the World Championship of Cricket at Melbourne.
Still, a World Cup triumph is something very special, more so when one considers that India have never repeated the feat. In the ultimate analysis, this is what makes the triumph really memorable.
(Ref: Sify.com/7.01.09)
2008 - the rise of Indian cricket
Is it Dhoni's Cricket or Indian cricket!!!
Indian cricket has witnessed a more tumultuous month and it was just as well that England agreed to return to India to honour their two-Test commitment in the wake of the Mumbai incidents. The draw in Mohali that helped India win the series 1-0 on the back of the sensational 387-run chase in the Chennai Test, brought the curtain down on a year that saw our team author some stirring deeds, collectively and individually.
Of course, the year would also be remembered for the retirements of two of the "original" Fab Five, Kumble and Ganguly, leaving Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid to carry the torch may be for another season or two. While the spotlight was on the seniors, India got a young captain in Dhoni whose unorthodox but uncanny leadership won him rave reviews, even granting that he is still to lead a team in a full series abroad
India in Olympics
Unheralded Sushil Kumar &Vijender provide amazing sparks to India's Olympic campaign
Its incredible indeed, India's fledgling Olympic campaign on Wednesday received a sensational boost with unheralded grappler Najafgarh-Delhi Hero Sushil Kumar clinching a bronze medal and Bhimani (Haryana) boy -boxer Vijender Kumar assuring himself of at least a bronze to give the country a record three medals for the first time ever.Both are froma very modest family back ground with meagre support from Indian official agencies.
After Abhinav Bindra's gold-winning feat during the first week of the sporting extravaganza, the 25-year-old Sushil Kumar shot into fame by winning a bronze medal in the wrestling arena while Vijender has put himself on course for a silver or gold medal on a historic day for Indian sports.
 Sushil and Vijender's heroics not only provided the late sparks to an otherwise dismal campaign but has created a record of sorts as India had never returned with three medals from the Olympics. Congratulations to the heroes!!!
India had won two Olympic medals in the 1952-Helsinki Olympics Games when the hockey team had won the gold medal and wrestler KD Jadhav had won a bronze medal, a record which had stood for 56 long years.
 Earth's Greatest Games Show Ends in Beijing on Sunday:London is the next venue for olympics2012.
On Sunday,The 25th August, millions of enthusiast-audience witnessed the end ceremony of earth's greatest colourful extravaganza-"Beijing Olympics2008", shown by China with all its spectacular glory in colours, grandeur, fireworks,skyhigh sporting spirits and also 40 billions power game. The Beijing Olympic Games are "truly exceptional Games," said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge at the Games' closing ceremony staged in the National Stadium in Beijing on Sunday night.
 In his closing speech Chinese President Hu Jintao said that the Beijing Olympic Games have promoted the Olympic spirit of solidarity, friendship and peace in the world. The 16-day Beijing Olympic Games, which close on Sunday, are one of the fantastic, ultimate experiences of the dreams of mankind. The Olympic ship, inspired by Oriental wisdom, is sailing forward to the future.
Chinese players were greeted!!
 "Bagging 51 gold medals , you, Chinese Olympic players, have been great since the opening of Beijing Olympic Games. Congratulations! Doing your best to snatch golds and silvers, you also made breakthroughs: winning for China the first women's gymnastics team gold, men's fencing gold, silver in men's swimming, China's first ever Olympic sailing gold, historic silver at women's beach volleyball, making debut in Olympic equestrian event. We're proud of you!"
 In medal Tally: USA bagged maximum number of Medals (Including 36-Gold), a total of 110, China won at a maximum of 100 with also a maximum number of Gold a total of 51, Russia comes 3rd with a maximum of 72 medals, 4th position is of Britain with a total of 47 medals, 5th position holder is Gemany with 41 medals in her bag, 6th is Australia with 46, South Korea bagged 31 medals while Japan won 25 medals, France won 40 medals all total,Italy-28,Ukrain-27, Netherlands-16,Jamaica-11, Spain-18, Kenya-14,Belarus-19,Romania-8, Ethiopia-7, Canada-18, Poland-10,Hungary-10,Norway-10,Brazil-15, Czech-Republic-6, Slovakia-6,New Zealand-9, Georgia-6, Cuba-24, Kazakhstan-13, Denmark-7, Mongolia-4, Thailand-4, DPR-Korea-6, Argentina-Switzerland-6, Mexico-3, Turkey-8, Zimbabwe-4, India-3.
USA FINISHED AT NO-2
The U.S won more overall medals (110) than China (100), as expected, but finished No. 2 in the most precious metal for the first time since the 1992 Barcelona Games, falling 15 short of China's 51.
Maximum Single Gold winner M.Flep of USA.
 Indian paticipants created history though with 3-medals:
India awarded 3 medals including one gold by Abhinav Brinda in shooting,2 bronzes ,one by wrestler Sushil Kumar and one by vijender for boxing and brought pride For India.it may be mentioned here that India bagged more than one after 28 years
Gap.In 1952 Helshinki Games Indian hockey and wrestler late Sh.Jatav won one gold and one bronze for India.It took 28 years long waiting to get 3 medals from Olympics2008,held in Beiging.we ,the Indians are proud not for Indian Olyimpics Association but 3-individuals heroes who are able to snatch away 3-medals from Earth's greatest Show.Congrats !!!!
The Next Olympics to be held on2012 at London (England)
 After the closing ceremony,the Mayor of London officially and ceremonially taken over the Olympic Torch which was extinguished by the Chinese.British music composers performed on the Chinese stage of Bird's Nest Stadium. A british red double decker Bus was drove forward in jovial shoutings.Now,The Britishers will be counting the days for another grand history making show in London. Singer Leona Lewis and guitarist Jimmy Page perform on a bus during the eight- minute performance prepared by London, host city of the next summer Olympic Games in 2012, at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games closing ceremony held in the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 24, 2008.
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