London's Olympics offer the seemingly ageless Leander Paes the chance to outdo his father in the medals stakes and to crown his doubles tennis career. Paes's eyes still light up at the mention of the singles bronze he won at the Atlanta Games in 1996, ending India's 44-year wait for an individual Olympic medal. The success put him on a par with his father, Vece Paes, who was part of India's bronze medal-winning 1972 Olympic hockey team.
Cricketer Yuvraj Singh has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy in the United States, local media reported on Sunday. While Singh's mother was not available for comments, his father Yograj Singh did not answer to calls from Reuters. Television channels quoted Delhi-based physiotherapist Jatin Chaudhary as saying Singh's lung tumour, diagnosed initially as non-malignant last year, was cancerous but fully curable.
Sahara Group has pulled out of its sponsorship deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the diversified business conglomerate said on Saturday. Citing instances where it has been denied "natural justice" in IPL, Sahara said in a statement: "We really feel such one-sided emotional relationship cannot be dragged (out) any further.
India ran out four Australian batsmen in a brilliant fielding effort before surviving a late attack of nerves to win the second Twenty20 match by eight wickets with two balls to spare on Friday. Humiliated by a 4-0 whitewash in the test series, India finally had a reason to smile after winning their first match on foreign soil since last June to level the two-match Twenty20 series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
An extraordinary switch-hit six from David Warner and a Matt Wade half century fired Australia to a 31-run victory over India in the first of two Twenty20 matches on Wednesday. Australia's tally of 171 for four proved too tough a target for an India team hoping for a turnaround in fortunes after suffering a 4-0 hammering in the test series and the tourists managed just 140 for six in the rain-delayed contest.
Resurgent Australia ruthlessly ripped through the last flagging remnants of Indian resistance in less than an hour at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday to record a fourth crushing test win and sweep the series. It was a remarkable turnaround for a team that 12 months ago were in crisis after a first home Ashes defeat in 26 years saw them slump to fifth in the world test rankings.
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek upset Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 6-2 to win the Australian Open doubles title on Saturday and foil the American twins' bid for a record 12th grand slam crown. India's Paes and Czech Stepanek, playing in their fourth tour event, broke the Bryans early in the second set and cruised to victory in front of a small but vocal crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
