Bangalore, June 15 : Putting an end to a long-running and contentious issue, the five-member selection committee of the All India Tennis Association on Friday named Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi to represent the country in the men’s doubles event of tennis competitions at the London Olympics.

AITA president Anil Khanna, speaking at a Media conference here, asserted that Paes and Bhupathi, who are said to be barely on talking terms, were India’s best bet for an Olympic medal.

Khanna disclosed that the selectors took the “unanimous” decision to field Paes and Bhupathi after a teleconference with the duo and Rohan Bopanna, the other doubles specialist who was in contention.

Stating that differences between the players were “part of professional sport”, Khanna said: “When playing for the country, we hope that all will rise above petty differences.”

Bhupathi had recently said that he preferred to partner Bopanna at the Olympics rather than Paes with whom he has not enjoyed any kind of relationship since parting ways in 2002.

“Players cannot be selectors,” said Khanna when told about Bhupathi’s preference and declined to comment on how the player would react to the decision to team him up with Paes at the Olympics. “We will not speculate as to how the players will react. If for any reason (other than injury) they decline to play, then they will face disciplinary action,” said Khanna.

Bhupathi and Paes came together last year in a bid to win the Australian Open to complete a personal career Slam, but failed. Later, the duo reached the semi-finals at the year-end Masters.

When asked whether Bhupathi and Paes will pair up for the Wimbledon to prepare for the Olympics, Khanna said it was quite possible that they might do so.

Meanwhile, the AITA would be lobbying for a wild card for the country’s two top singles players Sania Mirza and Somdev Devvarman.

“If Sania gets the wild card in singles, then she will be partnered by Rushmi Chakravarthy in the women’s doubles. We will know by June 21 which is the cut-off date. As for the mixed doubles, there is no urgency since the cut-off date is July 31 and also it depends on whether Sania will receive the wild card,” said Khanna.

Regarding Devvarman, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, Khanna said: “Devvarman hopes to play in the Wimbledon. He has been serving and he said he is fit.”

Ahead of Friday’s meeting, the interest centred around the men’s doubles combination since Bhupathi and Bopanna had reportedly written to AITA that they would like to pair for the Olympics.

Khanna dwelt at length on the rankings to justify the decision to have Paes (7) and Bhupathi (12) rather than Bhupathi and Bopanna (14).

“We decided to take the combined ranking. Bhupathi might have said that he and Paes could not win a medal in the previous four Olympics, but at the moment, they are the best combination we have. Paes won the Australian Open this year with a new partner (Radek Stepanek) and Bhupathi won the mixed doubles at the French Open (with Sania). So, obviously, both are in good form and hence we decided to team them together. As for the mixed doubles, again Paes and Sania (12) have a better combined ranking than Sania and Bhupathi. However, we will wait until the Wimbledon and see how the players perform,” said Khanna. Agencies

GDANSK, June 15: Spain spoiled the Irish party in Gdansk when a rejuvenated Fernando Torres netted twice in a crushing 4-0 Group C victory that eliminated Giovanni Trapattoni’s side from Euro 2012.

David Silva and substitute Cesc Fabregas also struck for the world and European champions to put Spain level on four points with Croatia, whom they meet on Monday, at the top of the group.

Italy are third on two points after they squandered the lead to draw 1-1 with the Croats in Poznan and Ireland have zero ahead of their final clash with the Italians.

The heavily outnumbered Spanish fans inside the PGE Arena could have been forgiven for thinking they were in Dublin not rainy Poland as the green-clad Irish supporters filled the chilly stadium with noise.

However, it was the Iberians who were celebrating within four minutes of the kickoff when striker Torres was quickest to a loose ball after Richard Dunne had tackled Silva.

He rounded Stephen Ward and smashed an angled shot high into the net past Shay Given, his first tournament goal since scoring the winner against Germany in the Euro 2008 final.

Ireland held on until the break but Spain doubled their lead four minutes into the second period when Given parried an Andres Iniesta shot into Silva’s path and he twisted and turned before stroking the ball into the corner from close range.

Silva played Torres clean through to slot into the bottom right corner in the 70th minute for his 30th international goal on his 95th appearance, lifting him above Fernando Hierro to third on Spain’s list of record scorers.

The much-criticised striker’s performance after a long period of poor form justified coach Vicente del Bosque’s decision to include him in the starting lineup instead of Fabregas.

Del Bosque had initially played without a recognised striker in Sunday’s 1-1 comeback draw against Italy, when Fabregas had a roving forward role and netted the equaliser.

The former Arsenal captain replaced Torres in the 74th minute and smashed Spain’s fourth in off a post from a tight angle nine minutes later.

The Spanish supporters were chanting Torres’s name as the clock ticked towards fulltime but the Irish were still singing the loudest at the end. Reuters

Gdansk, June 15: Spain midfielder Xavi has broken the record for the most passes attempted and completed in a European Championship game during the 4-0 win over Republic of Ireland.

The midfield maestro attempted 136 passes on Thursday and completed 127 of them. The previous record of 117 attempted passes had been held by Netherlands legend Ronald Koeman, who accrued that total during the 1992 tournament in a clash against Denmark. Spain also eclipsed another European Championship mark by attempting 860 passes against the Boys in Green.

La Roja brushed Giovanni Trapattoni‘s men aside with ease on Thursday, running out 4-0 winners and boasting 78 per cent possession. They now top Group C alongside Croatia, who they face in the final round of group matches on Monday. Agencies

SYDNEY, June 15: An impasse with the players’ union over performance-related pay has been overcome and a final agreement was imminent, Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said on Friday.

Fears of strike action had eased significantly following a breakthrough in talks between CA and the Australian Cricketers’ Association, Sutherland said ahead of a June 30 deadline for a new deal.

“We work through issues from day to day and this is obviously a major one,” Sutherland told reporters.

“It’s challenging and it’s complex and it’s important, and I don’t think either party expected to be able to walk through this easily. We just were not able to work through the impasse and, fortunately, we’ve found a way through that in the last couple of days. We’re now in a very confident position of having an agreement.”

CA chairman Wally Edwards said only details needed to be resolved between both parties.

“The board today has considered a lot of the issues and there’s just details now to be resolved,” Edwards said.

Sutherland also spoke about scheduling issues with Pakistan over a limited-overs series likely to be hosted by the United Arab Emirates in August.

The series will not be played in Pakistan for security reasons and Sri Lanka has pulled out as host because of commitments with its domestic T20 competition.

“If the UAE was a preferred venue then, yes, it’s a time of year when it is very hot and humid,” Sutherland said. Agencies

GDANSK, June 15: Italy wrote to UEFA on Friday expressing "great regret" that their national anthem was booed by groups of Spanish and Croatian fans during their Euro 2012 Group C matches.

A statement from the Italian federation said vice president Demetrio Albertini had sent a letter to UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino to complain.

The statement acknowledged that Italians fans had booed anthems in the past.

There was no mention of reported racial abuse towards striker Mario Balotelli in the Spain and Croatia games. UEFA is investigating allegations from the Spain match. Agencies

New Delhi, June 15: Soccer fans across the world were all praise for Fernando Torres, who played a crucial role in Spain’s victory against Ireland on Thursday. Torres scored two goals as Spain defeated Ireland 4-0 that put them on top of Group C.

Following Thursday’s win, the Spanish newspapers hailed El Nino (the kid) for his brace against Ireland. This was Torres’ first goal in a major tournament since 2010. His last goal came against Germany in 2008 Euro Cup final.

Torres faced huge criticism ahead of the tournament and the critics even questioned his selection in the playing eleven.

In spite of his poor form, the Chelsea striker was included in Spain’s 2012 Euro squad ahead of Valencia‘s Roberto Soldado and Atletico Madrid‘s Adrian Lopez. Torres, however, has repaid for the faith shown in him by Spain coach Vicente del Bosque and there could be more to come. Agencies

Kolkata, June 15: A West Bengal court on Friday remanded Asian Games gold medal-winning athlete Pinki Pramanik to 14 days’ judicial custody after the athlete was accused of being a male and arrested on charges of alleged rape.

“The court has remanded Pramanik to judicial custody for 14 days. The court has also directed that the athlete’s gender be determined through a medical test in a government hospital within 14 days,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Bidhannagar (North 24 Parganas) Subrata Bandyopadhyay said.

“Pramanik has been kept in a separate cell as her gender is disputed and yet to be determined through a medical test at a government hospital,” public prosecutor Bikas Dey said.

Pramanik was arrested after the athlete’s live-in partner, a divorcee and a mother of one, lodged a police complaint accusing Pramanik of being a man who has been repeatedly raping and torturing her.

Following the complaint, Pramanik was taken to a private nursing home for a medical check-up where the test reports showed that the athlete was indeed a male.

Pramanik, who refused to undergo a second medical test on Thursday, again declined to go for the test on Friday.

“We are trying to convince Pramanik for the test,” the athlete’s counsel, Madhav Sanyal, said.

Pramanik won gold in the 4x400 metres relay at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha in Qatar. She was a silver medallist at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games the same year.

Pramanik retired from athletics three years ago and is now a ticket collector with Eastern Railways. IANS

NEW DELHI, June 15: Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist shuttler P Kashyap continued his rampaging run and notched up a straight-game victory over Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark to enter the semifinals of the Indonesia Super Series Premier in Jakarta on Friday.

World number 26 Kashyap, who had stunned top seed Chen Long to reach the quarterfinals on Thursday, saw off Vittinghus — ranked 16 — 21-15 21-14 in a 39-minute men’s singles match.

Kashyap will next take on seventh seed Indonesian Simon Santoso in the semifinals on Saturday. Santoso beat compatriot Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka 21-17 21-7 in another match.

The 25-year-old from Hyderabad, who qualified for the London Olympics during the India Open Super Series in New Delhi, matched his rival at the fore court and used his sharp smashes to tame Vittinghus.

Kashyap took early initiative and moved to a 10-6 lead. Vittinghus narrowed down the gap a couple of times but the Indian, with his 17 smash winners, was too good for the Dane.

In the second game, the duo fought tooth and nail till 9-9, before Kashyap once again moved ahead and held fort to earn his place at the semifinals. PTI

New Delhi, June 15: Hockey India (HI) will be honouring 34 Olympic gold medallists with Rs.two lakh each at a grand felicitation ceremony June 24, coinciding with the departure of the Indian team for the London Olympics.

Balbir Singh Sr. and Leslie Claudius, both part of Indian teams that won gold medals at three successive Olympic Games from 1948, will be among others who will be honoured at the function.

“It is our way of recalling the contribution of these legends to our sport and to the country,” Hockey India secretary-general Narinder Batra said.

“The London Games hockey competition will be the first Olympics after the formation of Hockey India and we want to avail the opportunity to celebrate their gold medal winning feats. I am sure the presence of the hockey legends will boost the Indian team that will leave for France and Spain to prepare for the London Games. The sight of the gold medals can be most inspirational,” Batra said, indicating that invitations have been sent out to the former players.

At 87 years of age, Balbir Singh is the oldest of the Indian Olympic gold medallists. Keshav Dutt, G. Nandy Singh, Jaswant Singh, Raghbir Lal and Haripal Kaushik have been part of two gold medal-winning teams. Agencies

Colombo, June 15: The Sri Lanka Premier League would go ahead as planned even without non participation of Indian players, Sri Lankan Cricket Secretary said on Friday. “We will go ahead with the tournament with or without Indian players,” SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga told reporters here today.

Ranatunga, however, said that SLC had not been officially told that Indian players would not take part in SLPL.

Ranatunga was responding to Indian media reports which quoted BCCI officials as saying that the Indian players would not be taking part in SLPL due to a crammed schedule.

The SLPL is being scheduled for August ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka in September-October.

The SLPL was last year cancelled due to non participation of the Indian players. PTI

EDGBASTON, June 15: Second seeds Sania Mirza and Yaroslava Shvedova made a shock first-round exit from the AEGON Classic with a straight-set defeat against Iveta Benesova and Alla Kudryavtseva. The Indo-Kazakh pair lost 5-7 3-6 to the unseeded Czech-Russian pair in the first round of the Wimbledon build-up tournament.

Sania and Shevdova, who won College Park doubles title last year, lost the contest in one hour and two minutes.

They dropped their serve twice in each set to lose the match, their first in the grass court season.

Sania was playing with a fifth different partner this season. She had teamed up with Elena Vesnina, Roberta Vinci, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Anastasia Rodionova before. PTI

London, June 15: Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has confessed that his victory speech for London Olympics is already prepared, and believes hanging on to his 100 and 200 meter titles would add his name among athletics’ living legends. “After London 2012 I want to go into the press conference and say before anyone asks me a question, just say ‘You are now looking at a living legend’,” Bolt said. Bolt clocked the fastest time in the world this year when he ran 9.76 seconds in Rome last month.

It was the fourth fastest time of his career, behind his three world records set in New York, Beijing and Berlin.

He has now not been beaten over the distance for almost two years, with American rival Tyson Gay the last man to finish ahead of him. ANI

Poland face must win game against Czech Republic

WARSAW, June 15: Dick Advocaat’s side have been one of the most impressive at the tournament so far, following up a 4-1 opening day thrashing of the Czech Republic with an entertaining 1-1 draw against co-hosts Poland.

Despite the fact that a point would be enough to earn Russia progression to the quarter-finals, Shirokov insists they will be determined to produce victory in the Group A tussle.

“Of course a draw with Greece will also put us into the knockout stage but we should win and stay in Warsaw for the quarter-finals,” Shirokov said.

“Any other result will be unacceptable.”

His thoughts were echoed by goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev who says his team should focus on winning and nothing else.

“We also need to forget that a draw will also put us into the knockout stage and score,” Malafeev said.

“Once, twice - as much as we can.”

Advocaat is likely to replace misfiring forward Alexander Kerzhakov with Roman Pavlyuchenko up front.

Kerzhakov had seven attempts on goal that were off target – the most recorded for any match by a player at the European Championship finals – in the opener against the Czechs, and wasted several opportunities against Poland as well.

Apart from bringing Pavlyuchenko in, Russia are unlikely to change a side which is now unbeaten in 16 matches.

For Greece, anything less than a win and they will be packing their bags and heading home.

Whereas, Poland with a draw in their opening two group matches of the European Championship know that anything other than victory on Saturday against the Czechs in Wroclaw will mean their time at the tournament is over.

Russia tops Group A with four points, ahead of Czech Republic (3 points), Poland (3) and Greece (1).

To achieve victory on Saturday, Poland will need to find a way to score more goals.

Poland’s two goals so far have been impressive with Robert Lewandowski powerfully heading home Jakub Blaszczykowski’s cross against Greece, while the latter, who is also Poland’s captain, struck a stunning goal to equalise against Russia

Importantly for Poland, they should face a goalkeeper out of form in Saturday’s match in Wroclaw.

Czech Republic’s Petr Cech has let in five goals from 12 shots on target so far at the continental championships and has not been helped by poor defending. Czech captain Tomas Rosicky may not play in Wroclaw after admitting he can barely stand due to an injured Achilles tendon, while there is also some doubt on Cech who has a shoulder problem. Agencies

LONDON,June 15: Portugal coach Paul Bento has said there is no problem with skipper Cristiano Ronaldo’s form with the national team following an incident during their last game against Denmark when fans took a dig at the Real Madrid star by chanting Argentina star Lionel Messi’s name.

Ronaldo has yet to score in the tournament and a succession of missed chances in the thrilling 3-2 win over Denmark ended with Danish fans chanting “Messi ! Messi !”

Ronaldo’s lack of goals should not come as a complete surprise as he has scored just five times in 15 games at major finals since appearing at the Euro 2004 in his homeland.

With the additional responsibility of captaincy on his shoulders, many have questioned whether the former Manchester United star can handle that as well. However, Portuguese coach Paulo Bento has dismissed such thoughts as rubbish.

“I don’t like talking about individuals after a match, I always analyze the team performance as a whole. We have put together two good performances against two good sides and we are on the right road and we will continue to score goals whether it is Cristiano or someone else,” Bento was quoted as saying. “Is he wilting under the pressure? That is not my impression. He is under the same pressure as the other players, who want to contribute to victory. From our point of view he has played two good matches and I am certain that there is not a player in our team who is unhappy with him,” he added. ANI

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 15: Goals on either side of the break from Santiago Silva and Juan Sanchez Mino gave Argentine club Boca Juniors a 2-0 victory over Universidad de Chile in their Copa Libertadores first leg semifinal.

Silva opened the scoring on 15 minutes at the Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires with a neat turn and finish after Pablo Moucho’s cross on Thursday.

Nine minutes into the second half Universidad goalkeeper Johnny Herrera saved a Walter Erviti shot from close range only for Mino to bundle in the rebound.

The teams will meet in the second leg in Santiago next Thursday with the aggregate winner advancing to the final against the victor of the other semi-final between Corinthians and Santos.

Corinthians won the first leg 1-0 away from home, with the return match to be played at the Pacaembu Stadium in Sao Paulo on Wednesday. IANS

WARSAW, June 15: Violent behaviour by Polish football fans has tarnished the country’s image and spoiled the festive atmosphere of the Euro 2012 championship, Poland’s President Bronislaw Komorowski said.

A march by thousands of Russian fans ahead of a Euro-2012 football championship game between Poland and Russia, which ended with a 1-1 draw, came under attack by masked hooligans on Tuesday.

Police detained 184 people, 156 of them Poles, 25 Russians, and three other foreign fans.

“Instead of being excited about the success, which the draw against the Russian team certainly is, people are mostly talking about the scandal over fan clashes, which tarnishes Poland’s image abroad,” Komorowski said in an interview.

“Violence, brawls, hooliganism in general, spoil the atmosphere of this wonderful event,” he said.

At the same time, the Polish leader criticized the behaviour of Russian fans in Wroclaw following their team’s 4-1 thrashing of the Czech Republic on Friday and urged harsher punishment for football hooligans.

Russia received a six-point suspended points deduction for Euro 2016 qualification while the Russian Football Union was fined 120,000 euro ($151,000) for crowd disturbances and the use of pyrotechnics at Russia’s opening win over the Czech Republic. IANS

JOHANNESBURG, June 15: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has fined Germany 10000 euros after their fans threw missiles onto the pitch during their opening Euro 2012 match. Portugal was also fined 5000 euros for a delayed kick-off in the second-half of the Group B match in Lviv, Ukraine on June 9.

The fine forced on the German Football Association (DFB) is small in comparison to the 120 000 euros imposed on Russia after their fans lit and threw fireworks during the game with the Czech Republic last Friday.

Potentially provocative “Russian Empire“ flags were spotted at the match in Wroclaw, southwest Poland, which Russia won 4-1, reports said.

Russian fans were also blamed for an attack that left four volunteer stadium stewards requiring hospital treatment.

UEFA threatened to deduct six points from Russia’s next European championship qualifying campaign if there were any repeat of the crowd trouble. ANI

BARCELONA, June 15: Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova today signed a two-year contract with the Spanish giants to formally take over from Pep Guardiola.

It had been announced in April when Guardiola, who won 14 trophies with Los Cules, stepped down as head coach, that his assistant Vilanova would take the reins.

At the press conference to announce his signature, Vilanova thanked his predecessor, who informed him that he was in line to succeed him as head coach after the Champions League defeat to Chelsea.

Vilanova told a news agency: “I thank Guardiola, my friend, he has almost been like a brother to me. It has been a privilege to be by his side for 5 years. After the Chelsea game, Guardiola told me he wanted to take a break and that the club would offer me the job. First I was surprised, I didn`t hear anything about it before. The club confirmed the offer. I took a few days to think about it.”

Having never managed a team before, Vilanova suggested that he would have remained by Guardiola’s side had the former midfielder not chosen to take a year’s sabbatical from football.

“If Pep would have joined another team this summer, I probably wouldn’t be here now.”

Reacting to comparisons with the man whom Vilanova made his name as assistant to, the Spaniard attempted to separate himself from Guardiola.

“I’m just here to do my job. I know if people start comparing, we`ll never win it. As I said, I’m not worried about the comparisons with Pep. I lose them all anyway.”

The new boss has also pledged to make very few alterations to Guardiola’s Barcelona set-up, which transformed the Nou Camp outfit into what many regarded as one of the most complete sides of all time.

“Changes? Pep and I shared almost every decision, he communicated them. So now I won’t make many changes either. Alves will stay, that’s obvious. Don’t understand the rumours. He has been of the best transfers of the last years. With Keita the same: if he wants, he will stay.” Vilanova said. Responding to rumours of the transfer budget available to Vilanova to strengthen his team, which lost out on the La Liga title to arch-rivals Real Madrid, the new manager gave little away.

“€35 million (£28m) transfer budget? Nobody told me any number. We want a centre back and a left back. We don`t plan to sign any forward. Just hope to have less injuries. Cuenca and Tello are there too, we have enough attackers”, he added.

The 42-year-old was confirmed as the new manager on Wednesday, and according to the club’s management, he was always the first choice for the job. Agencies

SAN FRANCISCO, June 15: Tiger Woods got his bid to win a fourth US Open title, four years after he won his last major, off to a strong start at San Francisco’s Olympic Club on Thursday.

The 14-time major winner looked comfortable and confident throughout his early morning round as he carded a one-under par 69, which left him near the top of the leaderboard.

Playing partner Phil Mickelson, however, struggled badly, losing a ball in the gnarled Monterey Cypress trees with his opening drive and never really settling into his game after that as he limped along to a six-over 76.

The final member of what was the day’s glamour grouping, Masters champion Bubba Watson, fared even worse as he sprayed the ball off the tee en route to a horrendous 78.

With the earliest of the morning starters back in the clubhouse, only a handful of players in a field of 156 had managed to duck under par at any stage on the rolling par-70 course, rated to be one of the toughest in years to host the US Open.

Leading the way was 27-year-old US qualifier Michael Thompson who came in with a pace-setting, four-under 66.

Woods was coming off a win in his last tournament, The Memorial, but struggled for consistency of late, best illustrated by a tie for 40th in the Masters in April - the worst performance of his professional career in the year’s first major.

Starting from the ninth hole, the 36-year-old former world number one, found the first four fairways as he opened with five straight pars.

A bogey on the 14th was cancelled by a birdie on the par-five 17th where he holed from four feet as he went out in level par 36.

Woods then stayed steady through the Lake Course’s feared opening six holes highlighted by back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth where he sunk putts from 10 feet and then 30 feet.

He dropped one though at the next after failing to get up and down from a bunker having pushed his approach shot, and parred his way in from there.

It was a tough learning experience for China’s Andy Zhang, at 14 and 1/2 years old believed to be the youngest player to compete in the US Open.

He had a morale-sapping triple bogey-double bogey start and, when three more bogeys followed, he was already a distant eight-over through five holes.

The Beijing-born qualifier steadied the ship somewhat after that, but he remained at eight-over through 14 holes, leaving him languishing near the bottom of the leaderboard.

The top grouping was an all British affair comprising the world top three golfers - Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.

Ulsterman McIlroy was bidding to become the first player to successfully defend the US Open title since Curis Strange in 1989, while Donald and Westwood were again seeking to win their first majors after years of failure. AFP

SYDNEY, June 15: The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) on Friday called for an independent investigation into allegations that a weightlifter demanded cash to compete at a qualifying event.

The Australian Weightlifting Foundation (AWF) has claimed that Daniel Koum, 26, insisted on an Aus$5,000 (US$5,000) cash payment to perform at an event in Samoa - an allegation the athlete strongly denies.

“The AOC has urged the AWF provide Mr Koum with an opportunity to respond to the allegations and has encouraged the establishment of an independent body to consider this matter on behalf of the AWF,” the Olympic committee said.

Had any Australian male athlete failed to compete in Samoa it would have made it impossible for the team to finish among the top five nations, meaning Australia would have been unable to send a male lifter to the London Olympics.

Koum, in a statement on his website, said he had been “shocked and deeply offended” at the claims which have rocked the sport.

“I deny absolutely any allegation or suggestion of impropriety on my part arising from my participation in the Oceania weightlifting championships which took place in Apia, Samoa on June 6,” he said.

“At no time has anyone from the AWF ever contacted me directly with respect to these allegations, which are without foundation.”

“The first time I got aware of these allegations is when I heard and read about them in the media.”

Cameroon-born Koum, whose efforts in Samoa helped Australia secure the passage of one yet-to-be-nominated male weightlifter to the Games, said he had not been charged with any misconduct offence and would assist any inquiry.

“Should any allegations of impropriety ever be formally brought against me by the AWF or the AOC, they will be met with unyielding and relentless opposition by me and my lawyers,” he added. He said he would now focus on competing at the final Australian qualifying event in Brisbane this weekend to “pursue my dreams of being selected to represent my new home, Australia, at the London 2012 Olympic Games”.

The AOC said should Koum win nomination to the Olympics, he would not be confirmed to go until the AWF completed its probe and had “dealt with the matter”. AFP

HERZLIYA, June 15: Any potential attacker planning to threaten the Olympic Games that begin next month will find London a ‘hard target’ to penetrate, a former British security minister said.

Pauline Neville-Jones said all major global events were attractive targets, but the fact Britain was under constant potential threat had made it far more vigilant and prepared to deal with lurking dangers.

“All big international events are potentially a target. I think that we have our own terrorist threat, it is one of the things that actually makes us most experienced and most capable of handling the situation, so I would say to anybody that thinks the British Games might be a soft target: Think again, it’s going to be a pretty hard target.”

The threat of attacks endures in Britain, seven years after suicide bombers killed 52 people in London and the effort to secure the Games, estimated to cost around $1 billion, is Britain’s largest-ever peacetime security operation.

As security and counter terrorism minister, Neville-Jones reviewed security preparations for the London Olympics when Prime Minister David Cameron’s coalition government took office in 2010. She stepped down last year.

“We intend to make it a hard target and we intend also to make sure that if anything does happen that we are able to go after it very fast and very effectively,” she said in an interview on Wednesday.

Neville-Jones said a recent display of some of Britain’s military might on the River Thames near the Olympic site was a necessary exercise to ensure that all echelons involved in securing the Games would know how to act if the need arose.

“These exercises are one of the most important features of the government’s preparations, so that we know what they are doing, so that everyone knows who’s in command, who’s in control, and what is expected of them.”

The placing of anti-aircraft missiles on the rooftops of residential buildings in the vicinity of the main Olympic venues was also vital to secure the Games, Neville-Jones said.

One of the most challenging issues for organizers was facilitating a smooth passage through points of entry into Britain and Neville-Jones said the probable departure of many people after the Games on August 12 could be the most difficult.

Long lines of visitors forced to wait sometimes up to two hours at Britain’s airport border controls has caused anxiety in the run-up to the Games. Reuters

JOHANNESBURG, June 15: One is white and the offspring of a South African yachting great. The other is black and hails from a shantytown set up by the defunct apartheid regime as a ghetto.

Together, Roger Hudson and Asenathi Jim are the South African entry for the two-man 470 sailing event at the London Olympics. They see themselves as symbols of the multi-racial country former President Nelson Mandela was trying to forge.

“We are going to be a light in South Africa - a good combination in and out of the water,” said Jim.

The two are long shots for medals, having only been together for about 18 months in an event where the world’s top pairs have usually been sailing partners for at least a decade.

The two are the unlikeliest of shipmates. Hudson, now in his early 30s, grew up in the world of sailing, long associated with affluence. Jim, 20, comes from the Red Hill township overlooking the waters near Cape Town, a place whose streets of broken asphalt are a world away from the pristine yacht clubs dotting the coast.

As a teen, Jim joined the Izivungu Sailing School, aimed at building self-esteem and sailing skills among the legions of poor black youth whose lives have improved little since white-minority apartheid rule ended in 1994.

Jim, who goes by the nickname ‘squirrel’, took to the water like a duck, moving into the crew assembled by RaceAhead, set up by Roger Hudson and his father David Hudson, who represented South Africa at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and managed the country’s team at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Roger Hudson, a teenager when Mandela became president, said he was inspired by his vision of a racially unified South Africa and the way he brought the country together through sport.

“When we put aside our different backgrounds and cultures to work together, we can be very strong,” he said. With Jim as the helmsman and Hudson as the sail trimmer and tactician, they have climbed up world rankings from 213th in June 2011 to 46th less than a year later. Reuters

MONTREAL, June 15: Canadian lawmakers on Thursday unanimously passed a motion calling for a minute of silence at the London Olympic Games to honor Israeli athletes killed at the Munich Games in 1972.

The International Olympic Committee last month scotched any possibility of a tribute to the athletes killed by Palestinian militants, but Canadian MPs said the 40th anniversary of the tragedy should be recognized.

In Ottawa, the House of Commons unanimously adopted the measure put forth by the Liberal Party to remember the “tragic terrorist events of the 1972 Munich Olympics wherein 11 Israeli athletes were murdered.”

“Civil society groups and political leaders around the world have been calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to hold a moment of silence at the opening ceremony of the London Games,” said Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, who proposed the motion.

“I am delighted that the Canadian parliament is the first to unanimously support this call.”

The Israeli government wrote to the IOC in April to ask that the Games begin with a moment of silence, but the IOC said while there would be some form of commemoration, it would not come during the opening ceremony.

“The IOC has regularly commemorated the 1972 tragedy and will do so once more in London at a ceremony during the Games, but there will not be a minute’s silence in the opening ceremony,” an IOC spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the decision had been taken by the IOC in concert with the Israeli National Olympic Committee and that it had been relayed to the Israeli government by IOC president Jacques Rogge.

As during every Summer Olympics, the Israeli Olympic committee will organize a memorial and Rogge will take part, as he did in the 2008 Games in Beijing, the spokesperson added.

The spectacular hostage-taking by Palestinian militants from the Black September organization at the Olympic Village in Munich climaxed in the killing of 11 Israelis and a German policeman as well as five militants.

The London games open on July 27 and run until August 12. AFP

HALLE, June 15: Newly-crowned French Open champion Rafael Nadal and five-time champion Roger Federer both enjoyed comfortable opening wins to their grasscourt season at Halle on Thursday.

Nadal defeated Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko 7-5, 6-1 in the second round while Federer also cruised into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Germany’s Florian Mayer. Spanish world number two Nadal, playing at the German venue for the first time since 2005, will tackle German eighth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarter-finals.

Kohlschreiber, the defending champion, made the last eight with a 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-3 win over Poland’s Lukasz Kubot.

Nadal, who captured a record seventh Roland Garros title, has won all his eight career meetings with the German.

“In the second set, I served better, the forehand had more control, I played more aggressive. I’m happy to be through,” said Nadal. “I haven’t played here for a long time. As I said, every hour I spend on the court works for me on the grass because I haven’t had a lot of time to adapt. Tomorrow is a big challenge because Philipp is the defending champion.

“He’s a very complete player. He does everything well.”

Top-seeded Nadal last played this tournament seven years ago, fresh from his first French Open title but suffered a rude awakening on his debut on grass, losing in the first round to Alexander Waske.

Nadal took just 75 minutes to complete his fourth win against Lacko, who is one of the few players on tour to have won a set to love against the Spaniard, achieving the feat in Doha earlier this year.

World number three Federer will tackle Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic on Friday for a place in the semifinals of this Wimbledon tune-up event.

Federer, who missed last year’s tournament, needed just 74 minutes to see off Mayer. The Swiss star, who was champion in Halle in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008, was playing his first match since losing to Novak Djokovic in the French Open semifinals. AFP

NEW DELHI, June 15: Wim Koevermans is the new coach of India’s  senior football team.

The Dutchman, whose last assignment was with the Republic of Ireland as High Performance Director, was unveiled by Kushal Das, general-secretary of the All India Football Federation, at the AIFF headquarters, Football House, in Delhi on Friday.

His two-year contract commences on July 1.

“It's an honour to be here in India,” said Koevermans, in his first official interaction.

“I'm looking forward to meeting the boys. I have travelled in many countries and have been fortunate to have played with some greats and also coached by some legendary coaches,” he added.

Koevermans was part of the Dutch squad that won the European Football Championship in 1988, under the coaching of Rinus Michels.

Wim Koevermans with the India jersey"I've watched some videos of the Indian team's recent matches. I will travel to Muscat along with Technical Director Rob Baan to watch India's matches in the forthcoming AFC Under-22 Championship," he informed.

Das, who presented an Indian jersey to Koevermans, explained the logic behind employing him.

"We didn't want to hurry into selecting the new coach. We look forward to working with Wim. The AIFF will be extending its support to him in every possible direction," he maintained.

Earlier in the day, Koevermans met AIFF president Praful Patel and interacted with its executive committee members at Udyog Bhawan. He also made a presentation at the meeting which was appreciated by all.

The former Dutch defender thanked Patel and the executive committee for inviting him to India.

"Coach education stays one of the most pertinent points. Good coaches will always make a difference at any level," said Koevermans, who will also involved in coach education during his tenure in India.

His first assignment will be the Nehru Cup, which kicks-off on August 23.

The executive committee decided the tournament will consist of five-teams, including India, and be played on a round-robin basis. The top two teams will qualify for the final, which is slated for September 2.

The prize-money of the Nehru Cup has been doubled to US $200000 from US$ 100000.

It was also decided in the meeting that the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the AIFF will kick-start on June 23 with a flag-hoisting ceremony at Football House. The Platinum Jubilee flag will be unfurled by legendary Indian footballer Ahmed Khan on the day.

Khan was an integral member of the 1951 Asian Games gold medal-winning squad.

Meanwhile, Ranti Martins was named the best forward and Player-of-the-Tournament in I-League 2011/12. He was adjudged after votes from all I-League team captains and coaches.

Besides, Armando Colaco was named best coach, Karanjit Singh best goalkeeper, Mahesh Gawli best defender and Climax Lawrence best midfielder. Agencies

NEW DELHI, June 15: A furious Mahesh Bhupathi  lashed out at the All India Tennis Association, calling his pairing with Leander Paes  for the London  Olympics  the “worst possible in the interest of the country”.

Bhupathi was also furious that the AITA chose not to send two teams for the mega event, saying the decision has something “more to it than meets the eye”.

"The ship that I and Leander boarded has sailed long time ago. We have split four times, gone to the Olympics four times and returned empty-handed. For us going back to the Olympics (together) is worst possible in the interest of country," Bhupathi said.

Daring the AITA to ban him, he did not stop short of calling Paes a "back-stabber", referring to latter's decision to split during the end of last season.

"He (Paes) publicly and privately stabbed me in the back in November, last year, and things can't be turned around. We don't speak and have no camaraderie," he told Times Now.

He took potshots at the AITA, saying that with Bopanna's emergence as a top doubles player, the federation had options this time around.

"Earlier, we had no options but now we had a top doubles player who is there in the mix. They could have sent two teams, but they decided against it. Certainly, there is something more to it than meets the eye. Sadly, they don't have a proper reason for this. But that's how it has been in Indian sports."

Bhupathi was also sarcastic about the pair's chances at the quadrennial extravaganza.

"If anyone can make a case that we (Leander and him) have done well in the last four Olympics, then I am happy to go in the fifth. But I am pretty sure that we would struggle. If AITA feels I should be banned, so be it. They are the be all and know all of Indian tennis," he concluded. Agencies

DONETSK, June 15: Former World champion France defeated co-hosts Ukraine 2-0 in their Euro 2012 Group D match on Friday. With this win 1998 World Cup winning France the top position in their group with 4 points from two matches ahead of Ukraine who beat Sweden in their first match.

Menez and Cabaye were the scorers for France in the second half. after a goalless first half, the former World champion started positively in the second half by creating some handfull attacks.

France took the lead in 67th minute through Menez who scored his second international goal. He capitalized on Karim Benzema’s pass to beat the Ukranian goalkeeper. Then just after two minutes the home crowd once again silenced by second goal from Cabaye. He netted first timein the French jersey.

The game had originally been suspended for 57 minutes after the referee Bjorn Kuipers took the players off five minutes into the game because of torrential rain on Friday.

The first-half when it did resume saw France’s Jeremy Menez have a goal ruled out for offside and then the Paris Saint Germain wing had a shot blocked by Ukrainian ‘keeper Andrei Pyatov in the 29th minute.

Pyatov did brilliantly as well to save a point blank header from Philippe Mexes later in the half while Ukraine’s best opportunity saw Hugo Lloris save well from Ukrainian captain Andrei Shevchenko.

Ukraine top the group on three points after beating Sweden 2-1 while France and England are on a point apiece after the opening games.

England play Sweden later in Kiev. Agencies

Warsar, June 15: Mario Gomez believes that Germany will have to go through Spain if they are realise their dream of winning Euro 2012.

Die Mannschaft have made a strong start to the tournament, winning their opening two games, but after watching Vicente del Bosque`s men rout Republic of Ireland on Thursday evening, the Bayern Munich forward acknowledged that the defending champions remain the team to beat in Poland and Ukraine.

"We have won two games but we have not reached anything," Gomez told reporters at a press conference on Friday.

"And we have been following the other games very closely. For example, Spain yesterday [against Ireland]. Our aim must be to defeat them."

Fernando Torres netted twice in La Roja’s 4-0 rout of the Irish and Gomez, who was heavily criticised for his wasteful display against Chelsea in the Champions League final, is pleased that his fellow forward has rediscovered his goalscoring touch.

"Torres had the same problems as me," the 26-year-old mused. "So I was very happy that he scored twice after a very hard season with Chelsea."

Gomez has scored all of his country’s tournament goals to date, netting the only goal of the game against Portugal before striking twice in the 2-1 win over Netherlands.  Agencies

Islamabad, June 15: Former Pakistan cricketer and commentator Rameez Raza believes the rise of various domestic cricket leagues have eroded the importance of international cricket, and these lucrative leagues are slowly devouring it.

Raza cited the example of the West Indies players, who made a huge impact at the Indian Premier League, but doesn’t feels enthusiastic to play for their country.

“The West Indies players in individual capacity at the IPL ruled the format. Try to gather them under the West Indies flag and you get a flat, anaemic unit — as if forced to take the field,” Raza wrote in his column for the Dawn.

“In fact, as a national team they are so unenthusiastic about playing their favourite T20 format that they are languishing below Ireland in the ICC rankings,” he added.

Raza said nowadays players prefer playing for big money in these domestic competitions rather than for the pride of their country.

“If given the choice, and I can confirm as the views have been shared with me, most would only play the League circuit where they feel wanted and are better valued. In fact, you are given to believe that most players around the world are treating their selection for international matches as a springboard to land up in the lap of a franchisee!” Raza wrote.

“The intense expression on the faces of top Indian players to perform at the IPL games is another strong signal that either the guys care more about franchise cricket or find the competition more exciting than the tedious grind of international cricket,” he further wrote.

“Ravindra Jadeja is a clear case of how inconsequential international cricket has become. The all-rounder is yet to play a Test match — the ultimate level for judging a player’s calibre — but got picked for US$2 million at the IPL auction,” Raza concluded. ANI

Jakarta, June 15: India’s Saina Nehwal edged out Chinese Shixian Wang after a marathon match to enter the women’s singles semifinals at the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier badminton event here on Friday. Compatriot Parupalli Kashyap also reached the last four of the men's singles defeating higher-ranked Hans-Kristian Vittinghus. Saina, who could have sealed the quarterfinal in straight games after having three match points in the second game, held her nerve to come through 21-17, 21-23, 21-19.

The Hyderabadi fell to her knees when she converted her fourth match point and seemed emotional as she left the court after the 1 hour 37 minute battle.

World No.5 Saina improved her record against Shixian to 3-1 and, prior to the match here, had defeated her to win the Swiss Open in March. She next plays South Korea's Ji Hyun Sung, who packed off Xin Wang 21-16, 21-17. Agencies

Le Mans, June 15: India's Karun Chandhok and his team JRM Racing will start their first-ever Le Mans 24 Hours race from 11th position this weekend.

The team made the best of a difficult day after discovering the gearbox had been damaged in Thursday's running. The team elected to switch to the race engine as well, thereby lightening the work schedule for on Saturday. As a result, the team missed most of the earlier qualifying and the work was condensed into the later session in which Peter Dumbreck exclusively completed. He bettered his time of Thursday to a 3 minutes, 35.421 seconds.  With the team missing most of the earlier qualifying session Chandhok did not get a chance to run and will head into the historic race with a mere 18 laps under his belt along with team-mates David Brabham and Dumbreck in a Honda HPD ARX-03a in the LMP1 class. IANS

Washington, June 15: A 14-year old schoolboy from Florida is set to become the youngest player to play in one of golf’s toughest tests, the US Open since the second world war, as he replaces Paul Casey to create history.

Casey has been forced to withdraw from the U.S. Open through injury, with teenager Zhang taking his place in San Francisco, which led China-born Zhang to get a chance to ply his trade in the tournament, as he narrowly missed out on qualifying in a play-off. Fellow amateur Jordan Spieth, a member of last year’s American Walker Cup side in Aberdeen, joined Chang in the main draw. Spieth takes the place of compatriot Brandt Snedeker, who is out because of a rib injury. Agencies