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News in a Nutshell Ahmedabad Page 8 C M Y K C M Y K Sports 8 CMYK CMYK When a SON is born a MAN is born when a DAUGHTER is born a MOTHER is born save the girl child, save the nation MIKE DICKSON: Meet some of the competitors who stand in Andy Murray's way on what has become the somewhat shambolic lower half of the men's Wimbledon draw - the likes of Lukasz Kubot, Dustin Brown and Ernests Gulbis respectively. WESTERN TIMES AHMEDABAD SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 2013 Fenerbahce chairman refuses to quit after UEFA ban Ankara, Fenerbahce chairman AzizYildirim said Thurs- day that he would not resign despite UEFA ban- ning the team from European club competition for three seasons. After UEFA announced the pen- alty Tuesday, some Fenerbahce fans demanded Yildirim quit. The penalty, triggered by the match fixing charges in domestic games in 2011, means Fenerbahce will be ruled out of the next season’s Champions League. “Fenerbahce are excluded from participating in the next three UEFA club com- petitions for which they would qualify, including the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League. The ban for the third season is deferred for a probationary period of five years,” UEFA said on its website. Running 200-miles ultramarathon could be healthier than stopping at 100 Washington, When running an ultramarathon, it may be bet- ter for an athlete`s body that they run 200-miles instead of stopping after 100 miles, a new research has revealed. They also took samples of blood and muscles to measure inflammation and muscle fa- tigue. Researchers found that after completion of race, the Tor des Geants athletes suffered less muscle fatigues and soreness as compared to their counterparts who ran half the distance. They also kept track of the vital statistics of 25Tour des Geants athletes, representing top 33 percent of the group. Pistorius to resume training Johannesburg, South African Paralympic hero Oscar Pistorius, accused of murdering his girlfriend, is to resume limited training for his mental wellbeing, but does not plan a return to compe- tition, his family has announced. "Oscar has decided to resume a low-key track routine. He is not contemplating a formal return to athletics and this training is not with the aim of preparing for competition," a statement said. "His family, and those close to him, have en- couraged him to spend a few hours a week on the track to assist him in finding the necessary mental and emotional equilibrium to process his trauma and prepare for the trial." The double amputee, known as the "Blade Runner" for his trademark artificial limbs, is ac- cused of murdering model Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine`s Day at his upmar- ket home in the South African capital. Pistorius claims he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder. The Johannesburg-born Paralympic cham- pion became an inspirational hero to millions as the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied competitors at the London Olympics last year. He was born without fibulae and both his legs were amputated when he was 11 months old. His athletic prowess with his trademark blades would later earn him nicknames like "the fastest man on no legs". His pre-trial hearing is sched- uled for August 19. After Champions Trophy triumph, India only thinking of moving up: Dhoni McIlroy says `feeling lost` as bad luck continues into Irish Open London, World No. 2 Rory McIlroy has admitted that he is `feeling lost` and is struggling to reproduce the form that had brought him to the top of the golfing ranks, during the Irish Open Challenge.The Northern Irishman carded a 2-over-par 74 on the opening day of the Irish Open, trailing playing part- ner and leader Shane Lowry by seven shots. Stat- ing that none of the aspects of his game is strong, the former World No.1 said that he is feeling somewhat lost, adding that although he is able to hit all shots on the range, he fails to regain his form while on the course. According to McIlroy, his poor perfor- mance gets him confused every time he is playing a tee shot, adding that even though he was also strug- gling last year at a similar point, he did not such prob- lems as he is having now and was able to have a great end to his season. Kingston (Jamaica, West Indies), Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said his team will only be thinking of moving in one direction, and that is "up", when taking on the West Indies and Sri Lanka in a 13-day tri-series tour- nament that gets under- way in the West Indies from Friday. Participating in cap- tains interaction with the media here ahead of the tri-series, Dhoni said: "The expectations will pretty much remain the same when it comes to Indian cricket..if things are mov- ing, it will only move in one direction which is up." Dhoni, who was speak- ing just days after India had won the ICC Champi- ons Trophy tournament in the United Kingdom, fur- ther said: "What is very important for us is not to look too far ahead. We will take it series by series." "We have just finished a world tournament in the UK, and now, we are in the West Indies. First, we will have to see the two teams which are ahead of us. The performance was really good in the UK, but we need to continue." It maybe recalled that India beat England in the final of the ICC Champi- ons Trophy by five runs. Apart from Dhoni, West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo and Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said they were upbeat about their chances in the CELKON Mobile Cup tournament. All three promised some exciting and enter- taining cricket for Carib- bean fans. Bravo, Dhoni and Mathews pledged to bring their "A" game in the June 28 to July 11 tourna- ment. "It is going to be a fantastic series. We are all excited to get going. Go- ing head-to-head with In- dia and Sri Lanka, we know it will be a great se- ries. We know we can ex- pect the carnival atmo- sphere and that is one of the things the gets us fired up when we play at home in the Caribbean," Bravo said. "I am looking forward to leading my team to great things and to make the people of the Carib- bean proud. Playing at home is always good where we have the sup- port of our hands," Bravo added. Mathews, who led Sri Lanka into the semi-finals in the ICC Champions Tro- phy, described his side as the underdogs, but added that they would be looking to play to their strengths. "We know we are up against two huge teams - they are the two current champions of the T20 and the 50-over World Cups. To match them we need to play some really good cricket and play to our strengths," said the allrounder, who is prepar- ing for his 98th ODI on Fri- day. "We feel like the un- derdogs but I think I have the team to well in this for- mat and I have confidence in my players and my team - I am getting a lot of sup- port from all the senior guys and the junior guys," Mathews said. The tourna- ment - which will feature seven matches in 13 days - bowls off on Friday when West Indies clash with Sri Lanka at Sabina Park at 8 p.m. Indian Standard Time. Confederations Cup: Spain edge Italy in penalty epic to book final berth Brasilia, Spain booked a date with Brazil in the Confed- erations Cup final with an 7-6 penalty shoot-out vic- tory over Italy at the Castelao. Although the World Cup holders stormed to a 4-0 win over the Azzurri in the Euro 2012 final, this encounter proved far more evenly- contested. Vicente del Bosque`s men monopolised possession but lacked a cutting edge in attack, while Italy missed numerous chances throughout as the match ended goalless. With nothing to sepa- rate the two nations the game went to penalties, where Jesus Navas proved to be the hero as he scored the crucial spot kick as the shoot-out fin- ished 7-6 to Spain. Cesare Prandelli switched to a three-man defence and his side be- gan impressively, despite letting the Spaniards con- trol possession of the ball. The Azzurri, though, with the Fortaleza crowd backing them, looked su- perb on the counter-attack. After Alberto Gilardino had failed to pick out the bot- tom corner from Antonio Candreva`s cross, they became increasingly con- fident and forged yet more chances to find the net. Christian Maggio was un- able to guide a header from Andrea Pirlo`s ex- quisite pass past Iker Casillas in the 17th minute and Daniele De Rossi`s glancing header missed the target 60 seconds later. In the 19th minute Claudio Marchisio missed the best of the bunch, though, as he nodded the ball well wide of the target from Candreva`s cushion despite finding plenty of space between the two centre-backs. That flurry of activity en- couraged Spain to reduce the tempo and steady them- selves, but the Azzurri were again next to test the oppos- ing goalkeeper. Jordi Alba was being nullified by the ad- venturous combination of Candreva and Maggio, and the latter was only denied a goal when a brilliant Casillas save kept his 36th-minute header out of the net. Spain almost immediately pun- ished Prandelli`s side for their profligacy in front of goal one minute later, but after turning Andrea Barzagli in wonderful fash- ion Fernando Torres could not find a finish to match as he pulled his shot wide of the target. With La Roja failing to show an increased threat immediately after the restart Del Bosque introduced Jesus Navas in the 50th minute. The new Manches- ter City signing had a posi- tive impact, calling Gianluigi Buffon into action with a driven shot from 20 yards shortly before the hour mark.
