Kovalainen fastest in practice Heiki Kovalainen set a time of 1 minute,41.307 seconds around the new Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi,edging team mate Lewis Hamilton by two tenths of a second in the second free practice. Brawn GP world champion Jenson Button was third fastest,ahead of Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel. Toyota driver Kamui Kobayashi was fifth in front of Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi and Red Bull's Mark Webber. Ronaldo,Messi in race for award Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi are on a 23-player shortlist for this year's FIFA Player of the Year award. Other contenders include Barcelona team mates Zlatan Ibrahimovic,Andres Iniesta,Xavi Hernandez,Carlos Puyol and Thierry Henry,Samuel Eto'o,Wayne Rooney. Iker Casillas and Kaka. Brazilian forward Marta,who won the last women's awards,has been nominated again. Somdev loses in quarters Somdev Devvarman faltered in the quarter-finals of the ATP Challenger event in Seoul after losing in straight sets to Dusan Lojda of Czech Republic. The fourth seeded Indian lost 6-4 6-2 to his unseeded opponent. Jwala-Diju go down After leading 9-0 in their first game against Indonesians Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir,Jwala Gutta and V Diju lost 21-6,20-22,10 in their quarter-final of the French Super Series. Their world No 3 opponents turned it on to silence the Indians into submission after they were level at 20-all in the second game. Chopra in lead,Bhullar tied 7th Daniel Chopra (65) grabbed the clubhouse lead while Gaganjeet Bhullar (67) rose to tied seventh before bad weather cut short the second round of the $5 million Singapore Open. The 35-year-old Chopra sank in six birdies at the Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong course to take the lead with a total of seven-under 135 on a day when only 61 players managed to complete their round. Bhullar's card was studded with five birdies against a lone bogey. Mary Kom to lead Indian challenge Four-time world champion MC Mary Kom (46kg) will spearhead a five-member strong Indian team as women's boxing makes its debut at the Indoor Asian Games in Hanoi. A total of 12 countries are participating in the event in eight weight categories. Other Indians in the fray include Chhoto Loura (51kg),L Sarita Devi (54kg),N Usha (57kg) and Kavita Goyat (64kg). Indian team for junior Asia Cup The Indian 18-member squad for the under-18 boys Asia Cup hockey to be held in Yangon,Myanmar,from November 11- 22 has been announced. The winner will qualify for the Youth Olympics next year in Singapore. India are in Group A along with Pakistan,Malaysia,Sri Lanka and Chinese Taipei. Squad: Goalkeepers: P Naveen Kumar,Upraj Singh; fullbacks: Amit Rohidas,Chandan Singh,Love Deep Singh; midfielders: Sushil Xalxo,Barkat Singh,Manpreet Singh,Manmeet Raj Singh,Bachiter Singh,Devender Sunil Walmiki; forwards: Arman Qureshi,Gurjant Singh,Naveen Sangwan,Sukhdev Singh,Talwinder Singh,Gunasekhar,Pramod Venkatramana. Suchde makes it to last eight India's Siddharth Suchde secured a morale-boosting win over eighth seed England's James Snell to enter the quarter-finals of the $11,250 China Squash Open championship in Shanghai. Unseeded Suchde,ranked 103,overcame some anxious moments to end the challenge of Snell 3-11 11-8 11-6 6-11 12-10. Sukhwinder named U-23 coach JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh ended his 17-year association with the club after being appointed India's under-23 football coach till next year's Asian Games in China. The 61-year-old will guide the team through the SAFF Cup,the AFC Challenge Cup and the Asian Games.
