Anand needs a draw

Bilbao: Viswanathan Anand took a decisive step towards his second big title of the year after drawing with Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in the fifth and penultimate round of the Final Masters here on Friday. After crushing Francisco Vallejo Pons of Spain in the fourth round, Anand cemented his position at the top, taking his tally to an unassailable 11 points.

For a clear victory, the Indian ace is just a draw away in the final round.

Sania wins

Tokyo: Sania Mirza and Cara Black outclassed Jelena Jankovic and Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final of the WTA Toray Pan Pacific Open, here on Friday. The top seeded Indo-Zimbabwean pair took only 63 minutes to overcome the unseeded Serbian-Spanish combo in the semi-finals.

Lille to host

Paris: This year’s Davis Cup final between France and Switzerland from Nov. 21-23 will be played in Lille, the French tennis federation (FFT) said on Friday.

Bhullar 44th

Newport (Wales): Gaganjeet Bhullar shot even par 71 to be tied 44th at the end of the first round of the Wales Open at the Celtic Manor Resort. Jeev Milkha Singh, with a card of one-over 72, was tied 70th.

Euro final

London: Wembley will host the final of the 2020 European Championship but on current form England fans will not even get the chance to roar on their side on home turf. The semi-finals also will be played at Wembley.

Maiden call-up

Calcutta: Mohun Bagan defender Pritam Kotal earned a maiden national call-up as he was named in India’s 20-member football squad for the back-to-back international friendlies against AFC Challenge Cup Champions Palestine next month.

The squad

Goalkeepers: Subrata Paul, Karanjit Singh, Amrinder Singh; Defenders: Denzil Franco, Pritam Kotal, Arnab Mondal, Raju Gaikwad, Sandesh Jhinghan, Aiborlang Khongjee, Narayan Das; Midfielders: Mehtab Hossain, Lenny Rodrigues, Arata Izumi, Lalkamal Bhowmick, Francis Fernandes, Clifford Miranda, Victorino Fernandes; Forwards: Sunil Chetri, Robin Singh, Balwant Singh.

Afridi mulls

Karachi: Shahid Afridi may join the growing band of international cricketers who have opted to retire from other formats to focus only on T20 cricket. Afridi told reportersthat he could quit one-day Internationals after the 2015 World Cup to focus only on T20 cricket. “I enjoy playing limited overs cricket but after the World Cup, I can rethink my priorities for ODIs,” he said.

Agreement

Calcutta: The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and MoU on Thursday. Dave Cameron, president of the WICB, signed on behalf of the regional board, while Wavell Hinds, president of WIPA, signed on behalf of the players association, a release said.

Staff reporter & agencies