Gros Islet, June 19: India A look like losing the third and final cricket ‘Test’ and with it the series to West Indies A after pacers Delorn Johnson and Kevin McClean devastated them on the third day of the match.

Trailing by 106 runs on first innings, India were 181 for seven at stumps on the penultimate day of the game here at the Beausejour Cricket Stadium on Monday.

West Indies lost their remaining two wickets in 20 minutes, adding 16 runs to their overnight 320 for eight to be bowled out for 336 in the first innings in reply to India’s 220. Off-spinner Jalaj Saxena and medium-pacer Parvinder Awana claimed three wickets each.

India’s top-order batsmen, barring Manoj Tiwary, yet again struggled against the new ball bowlers and Johnson (3/43) and McClean (3/47) who bowled with a lot of fire, making the ball wobble around.

Tiwary’s 62 propped the innings while wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha was holding things together at the end with an unbeaten 48 and India barely have a 75 runs lead with three wickets in hand.

Johnson then ran through India’s top-order to leave the visitors tottering at 30 for three at lunch.

Left-handed Abhinav Mukund clobbered two fours and a six in 20 off 13 balls before nicking Johnson behind and his partner Ajinkya Rahane followed in a similar fashion after scoring only two runs.

McClean then claimed the prized wicket of captain Cheteshwar Pujara for two, courtesy a brilliant one-handed diving catch at gully by Kieran Powell, leaving India at 28 for three in the sixth over of the innings.

After the break, Indian innings was in complete disarray as Rohit Sharma‘s poor form continued when he edged Johnson to Kyle Corbin at third slip for two (35/4).

Tiwary and Saha then rescued the innings with a precious 95-run fifth-wicket stand.

Tiwary hit 10 fours and a six in an innings lasting 119 balls and 154 minutes while Saha has so far faced 152 balls in three hours and 34 minutes at the crease, and hit six fours.

India were rebuilding their innings steadily when McClean returned to trap Tiwary in front at 130 for five and with just two runs added, Saxena was brilliantly taken by Devendra Bishoo at point off McClean.

Bishoo then bowled Akshay Darekar for 15 to leave West Indies in full control of the ‘Test.’IANS

Kolkata, June 19: Asian Games gold medallist athlete Pinki Pramanik, accused of being a male and currently in judicial custody for alleged rape, underwent a gender determination test Tuesday at a North 24 Parganas district hospital, police said.

A seven-member medical board was constituted at the Barasat sub-divisional hospital where the athlete underwent the test. The report, in a sealed cover, will be placed before a court Wednesday.

Pramanik has also been referred to the government-run SSKM Hospital here for further tests. "A seven-member medical team conducted several tests on her, the reports of which in a sealed envelope will be sent to the court. There are some other important tests like chromosomal and hormonal blood tests which have to be conducted to determine Pinki's sexuality," Chief Medical Officer of North 24 Parganas district Sukanta Sil said.

"As we don't have the infrastructure to conduct such tests in the district hospital, we have referred the case to SSKM where these tests will be conducted tomorrow (Wednesday)," added Sil.

The medical team supervised the proceedings in the presence of court officials.

Pramanik was arrested late Thursday night and remanded to 14 days' judicial custody by a court Friday after the athlete's live-in partner, a divorcee and a mother of one, filed a police complaint accusing the athlete of being a male who repeatedly "raped and tortured" her.

Subsequent to the arrest, Pramanik was taken to a private nursing home for a medical check-up where the test reports claimed that the former athlete was indeed a male.

Pramanik, however, claimed innocence and said it was a conspiracy.

Pramanik, who retired from athletics three years ago, 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.

The Eastern Railway with which the athlete is a ticket collector Sunday suspended Pramanik following her remand to judicial custody. IANS

DEN BOSCH, June 19: Kim Clijsters advanced to the Unicef Open quarterfinals with an easy 6-2, 6-1 victory over Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine on Tuesday.

The win on grass a week ahead of Wimbledon was just Clijster's second since returning from a three-month hip injury. She lost the opening set to Romina Oprandi on Sunday and struggled in the second before taking control of that match.

"Bondarenko's playing style suits me a lot better," she said. Clijsters played more aggressively and saved the only break point she faced.

Among the men, top-seeded David Ferrer of Spain beat Pierre-Ludovic Duclos of Canada 6-4, 6-4 in a first-round match. Agencies

Bangalore, June 19: Former World champions Geet Sethi and Pankaj Advani are among the 10 invited players who will participate in the ECA 14th G. Raman Nair handicap billiards tournament, the preliminary rounds of which commenced here on Monday.

As per the draw that was officially released to the media here Tuesday, the 10 invitees will be joined by six qualifiers for the super league that has four groups of four players each. The two top players from each of the four groups will qualify for the knock-out stage on conclusion of the league phase. Besides Sethi and Advani, the others to be invited for the tournament that will be played on a 150-up format. IANS

Kolkata, June 19: Asserting that India were now one of the fittest teams, hockey team skipper Bharat Chettri on Tuesday said making the semifinals would be the first target at the July 27-Aug 12 London Olympics. “We have decided that we will first focus on making it to the semi-finals. Then we will work ourselves out,” Chettri told mediapersons here.

Indian, who have an unparalleled record of eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals in Olympic hockey, are in pool B alongside title holders Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Korea and Belgium. The top two sides would reach the semis.

Exuding confidence, Chettri said though Germany and the Netherlands were formidable rivals, the Indians had it in them to beat any team.

He praised Australian coach Michael Nobbs and physical trainer David John. “Under John, the teams’ fitness has gone up immensely. We are now among the fittest team. We can give a good fight to our opponents,” Chettri said on the sidelines of a felicitation ceremony at the Netaji Indoor Stadium. IANS

NEW DELHI, June 19: India has named their 30 member squad for the U-19 World Cup which will be held in August in Australia and New Zealand. They have the maximum number of players — nine— who have already played first-class cricket.

The said players are Unmukt Chand, Manan Vohra, Akhil Herwadkar, Kumar Deobrat, Aparajith Baba, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Singh, Vikas Mishra and Chirag Khurana.

Australian pace bowling sensation Pat Cummins and talented West Indies  opener Kraigg Brathwaite are the two Test cricketers who feature in the list of provisional squads announced by their respective countries.

After recovering from his injury, Cummins had recently played for Australia U-19 in a four-nation tournament held in Brisbane couple of months back. Brathwaite, meanwhile is playing for West Indies A in a home series against India A.

The other notable international player would be Irish left-arm spinner George Dockrell who has played 28 ODIs including the senior World Cup, last year. Agencies

Colombo, June 19: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been suspended from this week's Galle Test after his side was found guilty of a serious over-rate offence during the fifth and last ODI against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium here on Monday.

The Pakistan side was ruled to be three overs short of its target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration.

As this was Pakistan's first serious over-rate offence in the past 12 months, Chris Broad of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees handed Misbah two suspension points. IANS

WARSAW, June 19: UEFA has fined Croatia’s football association (euro) 80,000 ($101,000) after fans racially abused Italy forward Mario Balotelli at a European Championship match.

The charges related to “the setting-off and throwing of fireworks, and the improper conduct of supporters (racist chants, racist symbols),” UEFA said in a statement.

The fine is (euro) 20,000 ($25,000) less than the UEFA disciplinary panel ordered Denmark forward Nicklas Bendtner to pay one day earlier for revealing a sponsor's name on his underpants.

UEFA received reports from stadium monitors that 300 Croatia fans made monkey noises at Balotelli, who is black, during a 1-1 draw in Poznan last on Thursday.

Croatia's case was the first formal racism charge prosecuted by UEFA at Euro 2012 after lacking evidence in previous reported incidents.

Croatia was eliminated from the tournament on Monday, with Spain and Italy advancing to the quarterfinals from its group.

Earlier on Monday, UEFA President Michel Platini said he was "not happy with the Croatian people." Platini described the atmosphere at Euro 2012 stadiums as "99 percent great. The people who come to the stadiums, they were nice, except some Croatians."

The Croatia association was also fined (euro) 25,000 ($31,500) last week for its fans’ behaviour at an earlier match against Ireland. UEFA said that sanction was imposed for “the setting off and throwing of fireworks and missiles, and a pitch invasion by a supporter.”

Croatia games against Ireland and Italy were both delayed to clear fireworks and smoke from the pitch after Croatia scored.

Bendtner was fined (euro) 100,000 ($126,000) for his ambush marketing stunt to promote a gambling firm. The sum is the maximum an individual can pay under UEFA disciplinary rules.

National associations can be fined up to (euro) 1 million ($1.26 million) by UEFA.

UEFA rules make national bodies responsible for their fans' behaviour. Punishments range from warnings and a sliding scale of fines to points deductions and even expulsion from competitions. Agencies

Hyderabad, June 19: India’s top badminton star Saina Nehwal says it will be tough to beat the Chinese at the London Olympics despite her recent successes against them.

Saina defeated Chinese World No 4 Shixian Wang in the quarter-finals and her World No.3 compatriot Li Xuerui to win the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier event on Sunday.

Saina, who returned home from Jakarta late Monday night to a warm welcome from her family, friends and well-wishers, told reporters on Tuesday that it would be a tough four to five weeks of preparation for the London Games.

“For me, the important point is to be fit and injury free before the Olympics,” said Saina, who believes she is mentally in good shape following her successes in the two tournaments.

She is waiting for the return of her mentor and chief coach Pullela Gopichand from Singapore to plan a special programme for Olympics. “Of course, it will be really hard and I need to work on a few areas. I found some weak areas in my game in these two tournaments.”

The World No. 5, who defeated some of the top Chinese players in Thailand and Indonesia, feels it would not be easy playing them in the Olympics. “Chinese are, of course, very strong opponents. They are so many of them but it is not impossible. I am trying to defeat most of them but, of course, it is not easy. I have to work very hard for that. In Olympics again, there will be three to four Chinese. I have to work extra hard for that.”

Saina defeated Shixian after a marathon quarter-final at the Indonesia Open and her World No.3 compatriot Li Xuerui in the final. “The quarter-final was the final for me because it was a one hour 40 minutes match. We were dead on the court. I still can’t believe that I played such a long match,” she said. Agencies

NEW DELHI, June 19: After sports minister Ajay Maken refused to intervene in the selection crisis that has shaken Indian tennis, defiant Mahesh Bhupathi asserted that he is not going to change his stand, according to sources.

Sources claimed that Bhupathi has rejected AITA’s latest diktats to partner Leander Paes as he reiterates that he will only partner Rohan Bopanna in the London Games.

Earlier in the day, Maken left to AITA to take a final call on the men's doubles combination for the Olympics.

The ministry had sought an explanation from the All India Tennis Association on the controversy which started when AITA picked Paes and Bhupathi as India's lone entry for the mega event despite the latter's refusal to team up with the former.

Bhupathi, who wants to be paired with Rohan Bopanna in London, had approached the ministry for help but Maken's stand has come as a blow to his hopes.

Even Bopanna had refused to team up with Paes citing his commitment to Bhupathi with whom he joined hands this season. "The sports ministry does not wish to be part of selection process. We had raised certain issues because of requests from certain iconic players," Ajay Maken said in a statement.

Following Maken's intervention, the AITA had sent a letter to the ministry detailing its logic for picking the Paes-Bhupathi combination.

AITA gave five options to the ministry asking it to suggest the right combination but Maken has left the matter to the body's discretion.

"The sports ministry leaves it to AITA to exercise any of the options in the best of national interest," he said. "Whatever needs to be done in the best of national interest, I have asked AITA to do and whenever it needs our help, we will do that and speak to players if they need to be spoken to. I hope that everyone works in national interest," he added.

It is now clear that, either Bopanna or Bhupathi will have to agree to play with Paes or miss out on participating in the Olympics and possibly face disciplinary action.

"We had a cordial meeting with the ministry officials. Lot of suggestions were made and the five possible options were outlined in our reply to the ministry," said AITA president Anil Khanna after a meeting. "We have only three doubles players and only two out of three can go and the selection committee has already decided that Paes should partner Bhupathi and in case Mahesh declines, it should be Bopanna. "The government is supportive. The sentiments of Paes have to be kept in mind," he added, referring to the fact that Paes has individual entry to the Olympic draw due to his top-10 ranking while Bhupathi and Bopanna make the cut on the basis of their combined ranking. Agencies

POZNAN/GDANSK, June 19: Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli scored the goals as Italy beat 10-man Ireland 2-0 at the Municipal Stadium while Defending champions Spain registered 1-0 victory over Croatia to reach the Euro 2012 quarterfinals on Monday

Spain’s 1-0 win over Croatia meant Italy finished second in Group C and will play the Group D winners in the last eight while Ireland finish bottom with three defeats.

While Italy were worthy winners, Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni will have been bemused to see his side concede both goals from corners.

But Italy coach Cesare Prandelli will also have been concerned by his side’s dip in physical condition in the final 20 minutes, just as it did in their previous two games.

Ireland, who showed much willing but little quality, finished the game a man down after Keith Andrews was sent off late on by referee Cuneyt Cakir.

Several times Ireland broke at pace and had the Italian defence back-pedalling but they spurned their own chances through either a wayward pass, poor decision-making or running down a blind alley.

Italy soon took command although Daniele De Rossi’s left-foot volley from outside the box was a touch over-ambitious.

Selected ahead of Balotelli, Antonio Di Natale found space in the box three times only to see his shots blocked by Irish centre-backs Richard Dunne and Sean St Ledger.

Di Natale was giving Italy what Prandelli had asked for as he got in behind the defence to latch onto Cassano’s through ball before rounding goalkeeper Shay Given and shooting goalwards, only to see St Ledger recover to hack the ball off the line.

Moments later Cassano set his sights from distance and although Given had his body behind the ball, he spilled it and was relieved to see it bounce behind for a corner.

Ireland created a couple of half chances and Andrews had a sight of goal but from 25 yards his volley dipped straight into goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon’s arms.

As they had done in the previous two games, Italy’s physical conditioning dipped in the final 20 minutes and Ireland started really coming into the game with Andrews having a crack from a free-kick that Buffon could only parry.

Late on he did brilliantly to hold off John O’Shea, who had a fistful of his blue shirt, to meet Alessandro Diamanti’s corner with an acrobatic volley to kill the game and put the seal on victory.

The temperamental star seemed angry and started to say something before Leonardo Bonucci covered his mouth to prevent the Manchester City forward creating any controversy.

At Gdansk, Having come on for Chelsea star Fernando Torres in the second-half, Sevilla’s Navas hit the 88th-minute winner after Barcelona’s Xavi Hernandez chipped the Croatian defence and Andres Iniesta provided the final pass. Spain coach Vicente del Bosque named an unchanged team, while Bilic abandoned the 4-4-2 formation he used in the opening win over Ireland and the draw with Italy for a 4-2-3-1 formation.

As they had done in Thursday’s hammering of Ireland here, Spain started with almost 80 percent ball possession, which never dropped below 60, as Croatia seemed content to hit long balls down to lone striker Mario Mandzukic.

On a rare early forage into the Spanish half, Bayern Munich’s Danijel Pranjic fired a shot to the left of Spain goalkeeper Ilker Casillas, who dealt with the left-footed shot comfortably on 25 minutes.

Croatia defender Vedran Corluka was booked for dissent soon after as German referee Wolfgang Stark chose not to award a penalty appeal after Spain’s Sergio Ramos sliding tackle caught Mandzukic’s ankle.

Croatia’s best chance came approaching the hour mark when Tottenham Hotspur’s Luka Modric crossed in for Ivan Rakitic’s header, but Casillas parried away their best chance of the game.

With time almost up, the decisive blow came when Xavi Hernandez floated his pass over the defence for his Barcelona team-mate Iniesta to draw Croatia’s goalkeeper Stipe Pleitkosa and put Spain in the last eight.  Agencies

New Delhi, June 19: India’s cricket captain MS Dhoni might not have enjoyed much success on the cricket ground in the last ten months, but he certainly is among the highest paid sportspersons of the world, according to the Forbes list of 100 highest paid athletes.

Dhoni, who is ranked 31, is way ahead of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar in the list, who is ranked 78 in the list released by Forbes magazine on Monday.

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. tops the list for making $85 million off two fights last year, is serving a three-month jail sentence for domestic battery in Las Vegas, having failed in a bid to serve the remainder of his time under house arrest.

While his doctors and co-manager warned that staying behind bars might cause irreparable damage to his fitness and risk his boxing career, the undefeated US fighter is expected to climb back into the ring, likely later this year.

But Mayweather will not be fighting Filipino icon Pacquiao in the mega-bout that boxing fans have sought for years.

Pacquiao, second on the list at $62 million from earnings and endorsements, lost to unbeaten US fighter Tim Bradley on July 9 and they are set to fight a rematch in November.

Tiger Woods, who had topped the Forbes list since 2001, fell to third this time with $59.4 million, his earnings off $16 million from the previous year and by half since his peak in 2009, mostly due to lost endorsement deals.

It was in 2009 that Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus, saw a sex scandal erupt that caused him to start his 2010 season late and 2011 saw Woods nagged by injuries.

Woods went on a 17-month win drought until he won last March at Bay Hill in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He followed up with a victory earlier this month at the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial but has not won a major since the 2008 US Open.

Miami Heat star LeBron James ranks fourth at $53 million, the highest of 13 basketball players and on the list. The Heat are playing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals as James seeks his first league crown.

While a lockout last year trimmed 20 percent off his salary, endorsement deals boosted his total and a marketing partnership made him a stakeholder in English Premier League football side Liverpool.

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer was fifth at $52.7 million followed by NBA star Kobe Bryant at $52.3 million, US golfer Phil Mickelson at $47.8 million, English football star David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy at $46 million and Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo at $42.5 million, with the top annual salary of any athlete in any league at $20 million.

In total, the top 100 made $2.6 billion.

Only two women, both tennis players, cracked the list — Russian star Maria Sharapova, the newest career Grand Slam winner after her French Open final triumph earlier this month, and China’s Li Na, the 2011 French Open champion.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, the reigning 100 - and 200-meter Olympic champion and world record-holder who figures to be a top attraction at the London Olympics, was 63rd with $20.3 million. Agencies

Colombo, June 19: India’s five-match ODI series and one T20 International against Sri Lanka will be played from July 22 to August 7 across three venues. Sri Lanka tour marks the beginning of a fresh season for the senior national team after enjoying a two and half month break post Indian Premier League.

The Indians, who arrive on July 19 will play their first of the five ODIs at the Mahinda Rajapaksa stadium in the southern port town of Hambantota on July 22.

The second ODI will also be played at the same venue on July 25 followed by the third and fourth ODIs at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on July 28 and 31st respectively.

After a four day break, Indians will be playing the fifth and final ODI in Kandy on August 5 followed by the only T20 international at the same venue on August 7. The matches will be played at the Pallekele stadium.

The team will depart for the two and half week tour on July 19 and will be back on August 8. The cash-strapped Sri Lankan cricket administration is eager to host India. India currently is Sri Lanka’s largest inbound travel market. PTI

Kiev, June 19: UEFA President Michel Platini has expressed his satisfaction with the arrangements for the Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. “I am very pleased with organising. Poland and Ukraine have already won the tournament. The atmosphere in the stadiums has been 99 percent fantastic," Platini was quoted on Tuesday by the Euro 2012 information centre as saying.

There were some problems during the turbulent four-year build-up to the tournament, Platini said, adding that the two nations could be proud of what they had delivered.

Platini stressed that it was difficult to prepare for the championship better than Ukraine and Poland.IANS

Haiyang, June 19: Indian women's basketball team Tuesday defeated hosts China to win the gold medal at the third Asian Beach Games here in east China's Shandong province.

The Indians prevailed over their Chinese counterparts 17-14 in the final. China got off to a good start, leading by 11-10. But the Indians pounced and went on a scoring spree, which helped them secure the victory.

Meanwhile, the Philippines took home a bronze medal after beating Mongolia 16-15. IANS

MOSCO, June 19: After falling out of love with the pole vault, Yelena Isinbayeva is back at the peak of her powers as she bids to become the first female track and field athlete to win three successive Olympic golds in what is likely to be her last Games.

The peerless Russian, with 28 world records to her name, is brimming with confidence after overcoming the problems with form that led her to take an 11-month sabbatical in 2010.

“In London, my main competitor will be myself because I know how high I can jump and I know that height is almost impossible for my rivals,” the 30-year-old, who has vaulted 14 centimetres higher than any other woman, said earlier this year. “My coach says that my potential is 5.10 and higher.” Agencies

Host seal series by 3-1

COLOMBO, June 19: Angelo Mathews led Sri Lanka to a series win over Pakistan helping his side win the fifth and final ODI at the Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

The all-rounder scored a match winning knock of 80 runs off just 76 balls after his team was left reeling in run chase of 247 on a very slow track. After openers Dilshan and Tharanga went early, both scalped by Sohail Tanvir, Dinesh Chandimal (54) steadied the innings with Kumar Sangakkara (40). But the spin of Shahid Afridi accounted for Sanga and Jayawerdene (0) in quick succession that put Pakistan a nose tip ahead, even after a horrendous fielding display by the sub-continent side.

The lower middle order came to the fore as Angelo Mathews combined with Chandimal and then with Jeevan Mendis (19) to secure a last over win for his country.

Mohammed Sami was the most expensive of the Pakistani bowlers conceding 75 runs in 9.4 overs, on a day were every other Pakistani bowlers went for an economy of under 5.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan finished with a very good score of 247 for 7 at the end of their 50 overs in the 5th ODI against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

Led by Umar Akmal’s late surge of 55 not out and Imran Farhat’s solid 56 runs off 63 balls up the order helped the visitors to put up a good score.

After Mohammad Hafeez had once again failed to put a formidable show with the bat as he was out for just 6 runs Imran Farhat combined Azhar Ali (30) for a steady start. Farhat was scalped by 1st ODI’s hattrick hero Thisara Parera at the score of 56 in the 19th over.

Asad Shafiq then played his part well with a brisk 38 before getting run-out. Misbah-ul-Haq played a slow and steady 32 of 48 balls as the Sri Lankan leggie Jeevan Mendis bolwed a miserly spell conceding just 30 runs off his 9 overs getting the wickets of Azhar Ali and Misbah.

Umar Akmal though, showed his class to ensure that Pakistan reach competitive total scoring 55 runs off 61 balls. Agencies

EASTBOURNE, June 19: Petra Kvitova will head to next week’s start of her Wimbledon title defence without a win on grass after exiting in her opening match at the Eastbourne event on Tuesday 7-5, 6-4 to Ekaterina Makarova.

Czech Kvitova was humbled at Devonshire Park in 91 minutes in the second round by the Russian, who benefited from six Kvitova double-faults and broke the second seed five times.

On the men’s side, Belgian Steve Darcis put out Australian Matthew Ebden 6-2, 6-4 while Uzbek Denis Istomin beat Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-4, 6-3.

The Makarova win was a reversal of a victory here a year ago by Kvitova over the Russian in the second round. The 48th-ranked Makarova, winner of the 2010 Eastbourne title, gained grass experience last week in Birmingham as she reached the semi-finals. AFP

LONDON, June 19: David Nalbandian was fined the maximum USD 12,560 and placed under police investigation for assault after kicking an advertising board and injuring a line judge during the Queen’s Club final.

The ATP confirmed the fine for unsportsmanlike conduct and said the Argentine player also was stripped of his USD 57,350 in prize money.

London police, meanwhile, said they were investigating a complaint of assault filed against Nalbandian, who was defaulted from Sunday’s match against Marin Cilic in the grasscourt Wimbledon warm-up event.

Police declined to say who made the complaint. Any member of the public who witnessed the event in person or on television could have made a complaint, as could the line judge himself.

“We are aware of an incident at the Aegon Championships,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

“A complaint has been made and the Metropolitan Police Service is now investigating. The allegation is of assault.”

Nalbandian won the first set 7-6 (3) but lost his temper after losing serve to fall behind 3-4 in the second. After missing a running forehand on game point, he kicked the board under the chair of line judge Andrew McDougall. A piece of the board cut the judge on the left shin, leaving him bloodied from an inch-long gash. Tournament director Chris Kermode said McDougall received first-aid care but needed no further treatment after seeing a doctor.

Nalbandian was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. ATP rules state that any violent action will result in an automatic default. Nalbandian, who is still scheduled to play at Wimbledon when it starts on Monday, insisted he shouldn’t have been disqualified. “Sometimes you get very frustrated on court and it`s tough to control that, and sometimes I do a mistake. So it`s very tough to end a final like that,” he said. PTI

NEW YORK, June 19: The world’s highest-paid athlete is in jail. The guy in second place just lost a title fight, and the man who held the distinction for a decade is now third.

Forbes has released its list of the 100 highest paid athletes, and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr, nicknamed Money is No. 1.

Mayweather, who made $85 million for two fights last year, is currently serving a three-month jail sentence in Las Vegas for domestic battery.

Boxer Manny Pacquiao is second on the list at $62 million. Tiger Woods, No 1 on the list since 2001, made $59.4 million to place third.

LeBron James of the Miami Heat is fourth with $53 million. He is one of 13 basketball players on the list. Tennis star Roger Federer is fifth at $52.7 million. David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy was No. 8 overall and the highest ranked soccer player at $46 million. Two women, both tennis players, made the list. Maria Sharapova ($27.9 million) comes in at No. 26, and Li Na ($18.4 million). AP

MOSCOW, June 19: Russian football captain and fan favourite Andrei Arshavin was ensnared in scandal on Tuesday after being caught on tape saying it was the fans’ ‘problem’ that his squad were knocked out of Euro 2012. Controversy around Russia’s most talismanic player broke almost immediately after the national squad failed to make the quarterfinals of Euro 2012 by losing a Saturday match against Greece they only needed to draw to progress.

News reports said Russian lawmakers who were staying at the same five-star Le Meridien Bristol Warsaw hotel as the players did not take the result lightly and made their sentiments known to the team. Cellphone footage of the altercation posted on the LifeNews.ru website showed several lawmakers grilling a relaxed and seemingly bored Arshavin about the squad’s performance against Greece.

“What should we apologize for? What?” he demanded before repeating the word several times.

Lawmaker Anton Belyakov replied that the team ‘failed the expectations of millions of supporters’ and should have said something after the loss.

“Whose expectations were these — yours or ours? If we did not fulfil your expectations, then honestly, these are your problems,” he said while leaning back casually in an hotel lobby armchair. A statement on Arshavin’s official website emphasised his comments did not apply to all fans but accused some Russians of being too quick to turn on the team when it is down. AFP

LONDON, June 19: Manchester City are refusing to pay more than £15 million to sign Robin van Persie from Arsenal this summer.

The Premier League champions have registered their interest in the Dutch spearhead but are adamant they will not be held to ransom on the transfer fee.

City’s interest in Van Persie has cooled in recent weeks after learning that Arsenal would want more than £25m for the player, who turns 29 in August.

Once source close to the situation said: “The numbers do not add up for City. They are not willing to pay more than £15m on top of marquee wages.”

City are aware that it would take a package worth £200,000-a-week to take Van Persie to the Etihad Stadium, a sum they would be willing to sanction, but are keen to end the overspending on transfers and salaries that accompanied their rapid rise from mid-table club to champions.

Even if City are successful in off-loading fringe players such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz, Wayne Bridge and Kolo Toure from the wage bill, with the latter trio being targeted by QPR, they will not be pushed into paying over the odds for new signings.

Manager Roberto Mancini is ready to turn his attention to other centre-forward targets, including Napoli’s Edinson Cavani, if Arsenal refuse to budge on their valuation of the recently crowned PFA and Football Writers’ Association player of the year.

Van Persie, who is expected to go on a family holiday following the Netherlands’ exit from Euro 2012, has refused to extend his Arsenal deal that expires in a year’s time in initial contract talks with senior officials.

Nevertheless, it is increasingly likely that the Gunners captain will be at the Emirates Stadium at the start of the new Premier League season on August 18.

The Londoners would rather let Van Persie leave for free next year than sell him for £15-20m in the summer transfer window.

It means, with Barcelona and Juventus making it clear that Van Persie is not a serious target, the options for the player have seriously narrowed. Agencies

BANGALORE, June 19: Every morning, Sarath Kumar wakes up with the desire to keep his dream alive.

The 20-year-old Moto GP rider, who recently became the first Indian to secure a podium finish in an international motorcycle racing championship, begins his day at 5am with three hours of fitness and conditioning with a personal trainer before breakfast and a short nap.

An hour later, he’s off to drive his taxi for the next 10 hours. It’s the price he pays to eke out a living and further his racing career.

It’s not easy being a professional racer. Apart from having the talent, it’s a challenge to cultivate the discipline required to keep oneself fit, mentally sharp and up to date with the latest developments in technology. Sarath manages to juggle all of that while still finding time to ferry passengers across Chennai.

The youngster from Koyembedu, who in April helped Mahindra Racing to a third-place finish in the 125 GP event at the CIV Italian Championship in Monza, accepts his responsibility with maturity beyond his years.

“I’ve been driving a taxi to make ends meet since the past two months,” Sarath said. “I will have to do this until I find a sponsor and I can then hire a driver to do the work for me. Right now, I have no other option as I am from a middle-class family,” he added.

Sarath said he would earn high amounts initially because of an earlier start to the day. “It used to be profitable when I did the 4am to 7pm shift initially. Now, because I need to focus on fitness for at least three hours from 5am, I begin work four hours later and earn between Rs 10,000 and Rs 12,000,” added Sarath, who took a loan to purchase a Toyota Etios, which he has registered as a call taxi.

But the decision to get behind the wheel of a taxi, while initially worth his while, has robbed Sarath of time with his family and friends. “I have no family life. I need to be in bed early to rest. And what I earn during the day is not enough too. I spend Rs 6000 on a personal trainer every month. Apart from that, I need to buy nutritional supplements every month, running shoes every four months and I spend Rs 100 on petrol for my bike daily. I also have to pay house rent and take care of my sister’s education too,” said Sarath, adding he does receive help from time to time in the form of energy supplements, training techniques and sound advice from a contact of his in Italy. Sarath’s next race will be in Mugello on June 23. TNN