India to play for bronze

Ipoh: India’s slender hopes of a berth in the final were dashed with results of the last league matches not going their way, but the team can still return home with a medal when they take on Great Britain in the bronze medal play-off in the Azlan Shah Cup, here on Sunday.

India’s nine points from six matches gave them the fourth position, which was finalised after the last round of league matches ended on Saturday. India will also be hoping to reverse the 2-3 loss of their league encounter to Great Britain, who finished third in the league standings with 11 points form six outings.

NCW demand

New Delhi: The National Commission for Women, on Saturday, demanded one-time payment benefit for former women cricket players from the profits of the Indian Premier League (IPL), as was done recently for their male counterparts.

“Why this discrimination? A woman is second to none. If former male players are entitled to the payment, women should also get it,” NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma told reporters here.

Former captain Diana Eduljee, meanwhile, hoped that Mamata Banerjee’s enthusiasm for KKR will find a new direction in women’s cricket. “She has shown her passion for the game. Earlier, she had helped us a lot when she was the Railway Minister, I am hoping that now she will help women’s cricket now that she is in a far powerful position,” Diana said.

New academy

Shillong: The BCCI vice-president Chitrak Mitra Saturday inaugurated the Shillong Cricket Academy here to impart basic training to budding players of the state.

Wada draft

London: The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) is proposing that athletes found guilty of serious doping offences could be banned from the next Olympics. A revised draft of the Wada code could see drug cheats suspended for one Olympic cycle even if their original ban has been served before the Games.

New manager

London: Paul Lambert has been appointed manager of Aston Villa, the Premier League club said in a statement on Saturday. Lambert joins from Norwich City, having offered his resignation earlier in the week, after leading them to a very respectable 12th place on their return to the Premier League last season. Villa dismissed Alex McLeish, also a Scot, the day after the season ended last month.

Poonia falters

New Delhi: The Olympic-bound Indian discus thrower Krishna Poonia came up with a below-par effort of 62.11m to settle for the fourth spot in the Perfontaine Classic Diamond League Meet at Eugene in Oregon, United States. Krishna’s effort was markedly lower than the national record of 64.76 metres that she pulled off to qualify for the London Olympics in Hawaii earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Kavita Raut and Preeja Sreedharan finished disappointing 13th and 14th respectively in women’s 10,000m, last among those who finished the race.

Our Bureau & Agencies