Sports Bar

Kapur tied 4th

Shiv Kapur turned in a steady two-under 69 to be the highest-placed Indian golfer at tied fourth after the opening round of the Andalucia Valderrama Masters. Jeev Milkha Singh was at tied sixth after managing three birdies and two bogeys in his opening day card. Local favourite Pablo Larrazabal took the top spot with a 66. Graeme McDowell and Damien McGrane shared the second position after returning identical 68s.

Carlsen claims title

Viswanathan Anand was held to a draw by Vugar Gashimov,his second against Anand in this tournament in the ninth and penultimate round of the Pearl Spring Chess tournament as Magnus Carlsen of Norway outplayed Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria to claim the title and also the winners cheque of Rs 50 lakh. While the race for the title is over,Anand and Bacrot will meet for the decider of the second place in the final round.

Wozniacki retains No.1

Dane Caroline Wozniacki secured the year-end No. 1 ranking Thursday after rallying to beat Italian Francesca Schiavone 3-6,6-1,6-1 to book her place in the WTA championships semifinals. Meanwhile,Beijing Olympics champion Elena Dementieva announced her retirement after bowing out of the tournament on Friday.

Lahiri leads at BILT Open

Defending champion Anirban Lahiri edged past overnight leader Amardip Sinh Malik with a one under 71 in round three to shot into lead in the BILT Open. Lahiris overall score is now nine under 207,one stroke clear of Malik,who shot a one over 73 on Friday to end the day in second position.

FIFA lifts Nigeria ban

FIFA lifted a suspension on Nigerian football federation following the dismissal of a lawsuit against the countrys football federation. FIFA had suspended Nigeria on October 4 because of government interference,which breaches FIFA statutes protecting the independence of elected officials. Meanwhile,FIFA chief Sepp Blatter confirmed that the verdict of an investigation into the controversial 2018 and 2022 bidding race would be given on Nov 17.