Chowrasia continues Merit chase in Indian Open

New Delhi: The impressive short game that gave him the nickname "Chipputtsia" has deserted him right now, says Indian golfer SSP Chowrasia, who is hoping to regain lost form for next week`s Hero Indian Open to push for the Asian Tour Order of Merit crown.

The Indian was atop the Order of Merit for a lengthy period of time following his triumph at the season-opening Avantha Masters on home soil in February but recently slipped back to second place behind Japan`s Tetsuji Hirasuka after an uncharacteristic run of missed cuts.

A return to the venerable Delhi Golf Club for the USD 1.25 million event, which is the richest full field Asian Tour tournament, will bring about a fresh dose of confidence as he seeks to change his fortunes and land a maiden Hero Indian Open title.

Chowrasia, who has missed 10 consecutive cuts in Asia and Europe, is known for his short game prowess but admits his putting touch has deserted him following his second career victory in February.

"I`m playing well but my putting has been bad. There is always something missing from my golf game. It is either my chipping or putting that has let me down. I`ve really been struggling in the last few months," said Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up twice in the Indian Open.

Chowrasia stormed to stardom when he won his maiden Asian Tour victory in 2008 at the Indian Masters but his ultimate dream is to follow in the footsteps of decorated countrymen Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa by becoming Asia`s number one.

"I`m aiming to win the Order of Merit. That`s my dream and goal for the year," said Chowrasia, who is the son of a greenskeeper at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.

The lucrative Hero Indian Open, the fourth Asian Tour event to be played in the sub-continent this season, has attracted many of the biggest stars on the Asian Tour.

Defending champion Rikard Karlberg of Sweden, Thai veteran Thaworn Wiratchant, a 12-time winner in Asia, Angelo Que of the Philippines, and this year`s newest Asian Tour champions Berry Henson of the United States and Joonas Granberg of Finland will feature in the event.

India`s young guns Anirban Lahiri and Himmat Rai, who both won their maiden Asian Tour titles this year, and the experienced Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur will spearhead the local challenge.

Gaganjeet Bhullar will also be in the elite field and will be determined to end the season like how he started the year.

He won three consecutive titles in India and Bangladesh early on but has since struggled to maintain his momentum. Strangely by his high standards, Bhullar has yet to claim a single top-10 finish on the Asian Tour this year.

"There`s a bit of pressure for me to go out there and win one title this year but that`s golf and I`m sure everybody is feeling the same. We do work hard to win a tournament every year. The more you work and the luckier you get," said the two-time Asian Tour champion.

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Britain to stick to doping ban law despite CAS ruling

London: Britain will retain a by-law preventing its athletes found guilty of wilful doping from competing in any Olympics, British Olympic Association chairman Colin Moynihan said on Thursday.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) earlier cleared the way for several dozen former doping offenders to compete at next year`s London Games after dismissing the validity of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) rule banning them.

The IOC Rule 45 was introduced in 2008 and banned athletes, including American Olympic 400 metres champion LaShawn Merritt, from participating at the next Games if they have been suspended for six months or longer.

The BOA said its by-law, introduced in 1992, was an eligibility rule and not a sanction like the IOC case so the CAS decision was not binding on Britain.

It also said its by-law, unlike the IOC`s regulation, provided an avenue for appeal to an independent tribunal -- a course of action taken by sprinter Dwain Chambers in 2008.

"It is tough but it is fair. It has a strong appeal mechanism," Moynihan told a news conference. Fundamentally the BOA by-law addresses eligibility and is not a sanction."

British sportsmen like cyclist David Millar, who said the CAS ruling was a "good thing," and Chambers have fallen foul of the by-law but the BOA is confident it would win a case if either of them went to CAS because of the distinction that not being picked is different from being banned.

Chambers, who served a two-year drugs ban, challenged the BOA in the High Court in 2008 in a bid to run at the Beijing Olympics but failed in his attempt to have it overturned.

"This is a by-law introduced with support of the athletes for the athletes. It has consistently had 90 percent support from the athletes," Moynihan continued.

He showed a letter the BOA had received from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) saying the association`s anti-doping laws complied with the global standard.

The BOA also said it had written to the IOC requesting confirmation that the CAS decision "in no way impacts the autonomy and ability of individual National Olympic Committees to determine eligibility standards for athletes and coaches who may seek to represent their countries in IOC-sanctioned events such as the Olympic Games."

CAS said its ruling on the IOC case was not in compliance with the WADA`s code.

Moynihan said the IOC would be hugely disappointed by the CAS ruling. "It is a sorry day for the International Olympic Committee," he said, adding the BOA is pondering extending the ban to athletes caught up in match-fixing -- not just doping.

Former doper Millar, banned from competing in the Olympics by the BOA, said lifetime bans for a first offence "does not encourage rehabilitation nor education, two things that are necessary for the future prevention of doping in sport."

"Every doping case is different, as is every human being, we must not forget this. We expect fairness to be an integral part of the sports we watch, and yet fairness can be hard to find in the punishments of those athletes who make mistakes," the Scot said in a statement.

"I hope this decision (by CAS) will pave the way for the development of global sports, and to creating a system that all athletes and sports fans can understand and believe in."

However, the BOA said 90 percent of British athletes supported a life ban on those found guilty of wilful doping.

Five-times Olympic rowing gold medallist Steve Redgrave said he was fully supportive of the BOA`s stance and hoped the by-law would be in place for another 100 years.

"I wholeheartedly stand by the BOA`s Eligibility By-law which aims to exclude athletes who intentionally dope from being selected for Team GB," he said.

"It is fair, there is a clear right of appeal and it serves to catch those athletes who consistently cheated. Any athlete who knowingly cheats has potentially prevented clean athletes from having the chance to fulfil their Olympic ambitions. I will always believe that that is wrong and unacceptable."

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RCB beat NSW by six wickets to enter CLT20 final

Bangalore: David Warner slammed a whirlwind unbeaten century to power New South Wales Blues to a mammoth 203 for two against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 on Friday.

Warner (122 off 68) belted the RCB bowlers to all parts of the ground from the word go and together with Daniel Smith (62 off 42) shared a quickfire 146-run second wicket stand off just 87 balls to set the platform for the NSW total.

Warner, who scored an unbeaten 135 to set up a victory against Chennai Super Kings, was at his imperious self, hammering RCB's mediocre bowling. He hit six boundaries and as many as 11 sixes en route his 68-ball innings.

Warner was ably supported by Smith from the other end with seven fours and three huge hits over the fence.

Sent into bat, NSW, however, did not have the best of the start as they lost Shane Watson (3) early in the third over with the scoreboard reading 17.

But, thereafter, Warner and Smith joined hands and the duo sent the RCB bowlers for a leatherhunt to pile up the misery for the home team.

Barring Tillakaratne Dilshan (1/10), none of the RCB bowlers could find their footing in front of the NSW batsmen, especially Warner.

Sreenath Aravind, who has been selected in the Indian squad for the first two ODIs against England, managed to pick up the other NSW wicket but not before yielding 55 runs from his four overs.

After Smith's dismissal, bowled by Aravind, Warner and Rohrer stitched unbeaten 40 runs off just 17 balls for the third wicket.

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India have the ability to bounce back: Kirsten

New Delhi: Former India coach Gary Kirsten was surprised at the disappointing show of Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s men in the recent tour of England, which saw them lose the world number one Test spot, but said they are good enough to bounce back.

In what turned out to be a disastrous tour for India, they were blanked 0-4 in the four-match Test series, while lost 0-3 in the five-match ODI series by England.

England are now in India for five-match one-day contest, which begins on October 14 in Hyderabad.

"It has surprised me. The injuries haven`t helped. For me, they`re a good enough cricket team that they can come back. It has been a disappointment. They probably lost a bit of momentum," Kirsten said.

"It`s been a little bit sad to watch them not play well because there was much anticipation around that series in England.”

"Also with Duncan (Fletcher) coming in as new coach and he`s just been there for a couple of months, he needs to stamp his mark about what he`s going to do. I guess it was always going to be a difficult time upfront," Kirsten, who is now the coach of South Africa, was quoted as saying.

Kirsten praised England for their performance, saying they were the much better side than India during the English summer.

"England are a quality cricket team. They are well coached, have a good structure, good people, they have stability in their team and are putting India under pressure. I don`t think they`d been put under pressure (by India) in the whole series."

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New ICC rules in domestic cricket beginning Challengers Trophy

New Delhi: The newly amended rules of the ICC for international matches will be applied in all the senior-level domestic tournaments, beginning from the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy to be held in Nagpur from October 10-13, the BCCI said on Friday.

"The NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, to be hosted by the VCA from 10 October 2011 to 13 October 2011, will be played under the amended playing conditions that the ICC brought into effect for all international matches, on 1 October 2011," a BCCI release said.

"All senior-level domestic matches and tournaments organized by the BCCI will now be played under the amended playing conditions," the release said.

The amendments include the use of two balls, instead of one, in each one-day innings, barring of use of runners in all formats of the game, batsman being given out for obstructing a fielder on appeal from the fielding team and changes in `Powerplay` over rules.

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Pune FC to take on Blackburn Rovers

Pune: Close on the heels of the Lionel Messi-led Argentine side`s match in Kolkata, English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers will make a maiden appearance in their owner Venkys` backyard as they take on local side Pune FC in an exhibition match on Friday.

Puneites are in for a treat as the likes of New Zealand and Blackburn skipper Ryan Nelsen, former England international David Dunn, former Spanish international Michael Salgado and Nigerian striker Ayegbeni Yakubu will showcase their skills against Izumi Arata and co at the Shiv Chatrapati stadium at Balewadi on Friday.

The match though not as high-profile as the one between Argentina and Venezuela at the Salt Lake stadium last month, will nevertheless be important for both the teams.

The visitors are having a torrid time of late as they are languishing in the relegation zone in the English Premier League, having won just one match of their first seven ties.

This has ruffled the fans as the team had barely managed to save itself from relegation last season, and calls for removal of chief coach Steve Kean have only gained momentum.

Though a win here may not silence their vexed supporters, anything less than it will give the voices a new reason to dissent.

Meanwhile, for Pune FC, who begin as underdogs, the match is a great opportunity to show that irrespective of its failure to reach the knockout stages of the recently concluded Federation Cup, its steady improvement since promotion to the I-league, including a third place finish last year, was not a fluke.

While a victory would surely surprise the team itself, a spirited performance against a technically superior side will give the hosts great confidence ahead of the new I-League season commencing later this month.

Veteran India player and Pune FC midfielder Shanmugam Venkatesh will lead his team in the absence of regular skipper and goalkeeper Subrata Paul, who along with striker Mandjou Keita is out of tomorrow`s game due to injuries.

"We are ready for history and to unfold a good game for our fans who will be turning out in numbers for the game. Our fans know us and on their behalf we need to keep our reputation by playing well which will be our mission in the game," he said.

"The result does not matter. Everybody is aware of Blackburn`s credentials. For Pune FC, fans matter," they said.

Pune FC coach Derrick Pereira too echoed Venkatesh`s views.

"It is a huge game no doubt but above all it presents a very great opportunity for us to learn. I have been telling all that they have to just enjoy the game and put up a good show for our fans," he said.

"Yes the spirit of the team is good and the players are looking forward to the game tomorrow. We have one of the most passionate fans in the country and we want to put up a good show for them," he added.

About the absence of Subrata Paul and striker Mandjou Keita due to injury, he said, "As a coach you will always want to have the entire squad at your disposal. Subrata and Keita are key players for us, but this provides an opportunity for the younger players to step up. I look forward to the youngsters stepping up and giving a good account of themselves."

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Whatever result we get, we`ll be fine: Harbhajan

Chennai: Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh although wants his team to give best effort in their semifinal match of the Champions League T20 against Somerset on Saturday but said he would not be too bothered about the result.

"Just go out, give it your best shot and enjoy the game. If you`re looking to enjoy the game, you give it everything. I`ll make sure we`ll give it our best on the field and whatever result we get, we`ll be happy with it," said Harbhajan at the pre-match press conference on Friday.

"I hope we play to our potential and whatever result we get, we`ll be fine," he added.

The off-spinner confirmed that one of Mumbai Indians` key players, Kieron Pollard, who had injured himself during training, is fit and would take the field on Saturday.

"He`s fit. He will play tomorrow. Unless he does that (injures) to himself again," said Harbhajan.

The captain though admitted that his team`s batting hasn`t fired as a unit so far in the tournament but added that form does not count too much in the T20 format.

"The kind of batting line up we are, we have not performed to our expectations so far, apart from one game in Bangalore where we played brilliantly and got the runs on the board," he said.

MI`s batting had clicked only in one of their group matches where they had scored 176 for five in 20 overs against Cape Cobras in Bangalore before the match was abandoned due to rain.

"Twenty20 is a kind of format in which you don`t need to be in the best of form to score runs or take wickets. I only believe that. As a matter of fact, if you manage to connect five balls with the bat, that could be your day.”

And if you are a bowler, if you take a wicket with your second ball, you become a different bowler in the competition," he said.

MI have been permitted to add a fit Suryakumar Yadav to their team, who was initially withdrawn due to injury and Harbhajan said that the youngster is "raring to go".

Thanking the governing council for permitting the team to field five foreign players because of a number of injuries, Harbhajan said it was "going to be a tough call" to leave out any of the five foreign players.

"All of them are important players. We have to put our best team on the field tomorrow and let`s hope for the best."

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