Sports Bar

ASA suspended

Athletics South Africa ASA has been suspended by the countrys national Olympic committee over its controversial handling of the Caster Semenya gender case.The suspension is based on the fact that ASA,through its officials and office bearers,has engaged in acts of misconduct and misdemeanours in relation to the Caster Semenya affair, the Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Somdev through,Sanam out

Somdev Devvarman extended his run at the 50,000 Challenger event in Charlottesville to the semi-finals with a 6-3 6-4 win over Dutch Matwe Middelkoop.He will play American Ryan Sweeting for a place in the final. Sweeting shocked top seed Michael Russell 6-2 3-6 7-61. Sanam Singh,however,lost his quarter-final 5-7 7-6 3 6-7 5 to American Kevin Kim.

Torres not fit to play for Spain

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is not refusing to rule Fernando Torres out of the clubs match with Birmingham City,but he does not believe the 25-year-old is fit enough to face Argentina in Madrid on November 14. No,I dont think so, Benitez said. Yesterday I was talking with the Spanish clinical director and fitness coach and they know that Fernando needs to work hard with the physios and improve his fitness condition.

India end in seventh place

India claimed four medals,including two gold,on the final day of the competition to end the third Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi on a high. With Saturdays four medals,India ended the continental event on seventh position with 40 medals six gold,nine silver and 25 bronze. China led the medals tally with 47 gold,23 silver and 19 bronze.

Italy take 2-0 lead

Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone each had straight-set wins on Saturday to give Italy a 2-0 lead over the United States in the Fed Cup final. Pennetta beat Alexa Glatch 6-3 6-1 and Schiavone rallied after a two-hour rain delay to dispatch US Open quarter-finalist Melanie Oudin 7-6 2 6-2 on the outdoor red clay court at the Rocco Polimeni club.

Ganguly to play for Bengal

Kolkata: Sourav Ganguly will take the field for Bengal against Baroda. Cricket Association of Bengal CAB Joint Secretary Biswaroop Dey confirmed Gangulys availability for the match. Besides Ganguly,the two players to join the Bengal squad are Sayan Sekhar Mondal and Partha Sarathi Bhattacharjee.

Dhawal available for Mumbai

Mumbai: Dhawal Kulkarni will take the field for Mumbai in their Ranji match against Orissa from November 10. Kulkarni was picked for the Board President XIs squad,but the Mumbai Cricket Association requested chairman of selectors K Srikkanth to relieve him. His place in the playing XI was in doubt so they allowed Dhawal to play in Ranji Trophy, MCA joint secretary Hemant Waingankar told The Indian Express.

Sarfaraz asked to join KKR camp

Mumbai: Arman Jaffer,Prithivi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan,who broke the record in the Harris Shield cricket tournament 439,have been invited by Shah Rukh Khan to attend Kolkata Knight Riders camp. He Shah Rukh told us that he too was a wicket-keeper batsman. His coach used to stand behind him with a stick and if Shah Rukh missed to collect any ball then,he used to beat him, Arman said.

Qadir backs youngsters

Islamabad: Former Pakistan chief selector Abdul Qadir says the national team must nurture young talent if it is to be competitive at the 2011 World Cup. Nobody knows where we are heading as we struggle to compete against teams like New Zealand, Qadir said. I had told the PCB that we should find fresh legs from our domestic tournaments,but the board didnt listen.