Paes, Dlouhy lose

Dubai: Second seeds Leander Paes and partner, Czech Lukas Dlouhy, faltered at the final hurdle, going down in straight sets to Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley to finish runners-up in the Dubai Tennis Championships. The Swede-Australian pair overcame Dlouhy and Paes 6-2, 6-3. “(We) didn’t play our best tennis today (Sunday). I felt that we got off to a bad start again. I lost my first service game today,” admitted Paes.

Miandad opposes

Lahore: Javed Miandad, the director general of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has opposed Waqar Younis’s appointment as the national team coach, citing the former pacer’s involvement in a match-fixing scandal.

IPL security

Melbourne: Chances of Australian cricketers participating in the IPL improved after their government assured them that the terror threats for the T20 event were “not credible”. According to a newspaper report, the players received “a measure of reassurance” during a briefing from a senior government official at their New Zealand hotel.

Kotla inspection

New Delhi: Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the Indian Premier League cricket committee chairman, Sunday inspected the Kotla stadium and expressed satisfaction with the remedial work done on the pitch.

India fourth

New Delhi: Saina Nehwal and Trupti Murgunde won their respective singles but India still could not get past Japan and had to settle for fourth place in the Uber Cup Asia Zone qualifiers in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand on Sunday.