Manohar to continue as ICC Chairman
International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Shashank Manohar agreed to continue till his tenure ends in June next year, the game's global governing body confirmed. Manohar, who had resigned in March citing personal reasons, initially agreed to defer his resignation till the annual conference this June this year when the new ICC constitution consisting of the governance structure and the re-worked finance model will be ratified.
The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief, however decided to continue in his post after persuasion by the Full Members and Associates.
Since taking over as the independent chairman, the 59-year-old lawyer has been at the forefront of proposed reforms to the revenue sharing model in the ICC, and has managed to end the financial dominance of the "Big Three" (boards of England, Australia and India).
First medal for India
Harpreet Singh fetched the first medal for India on the opening day of the Asian Wrestling Championship when he bagged a bronze in the Greco-Roman 80kg category in Delhi. Harpreet edged out Na Junjie of China 3-2 in the play-off for the bronze medal.
Earlier, Harpreet had made a promising start to his campaign with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Maeta Yuya of Japan in the qualification round. But he ran into trouble in the quarterfinals as he was totally outclassed by the vastly superior technique and speed of Kim Junehyoung of South Korea and succumbed to a 0-8 defeat.
Djokovic surives scare
Novak Djokovic staved off a huge upset in his first match since splitting with his long-time coaching team to beat Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in the second round of the Madrid Masters. Djokovic could meet Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. However, the 14-time Grand Slam champion has a difficult route to that potential matchup as he faces Fabio Fognini later on Wednesday and potentially Nick Kyrgios in the third round. Controversial Australian Kyrgios cruised past American Ryan Harrison 6-3, 6-3. Fifth seed Milos Raonic is also into the last 16 as he got the better of a battle between two big servers 6-4, 6-4 over Gilles Muller. Raonic will face Belgium's David Goffin next. Kei Nishikori recovered from a dreadful start to beat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 1-6, 6-0, 6-4. The world number eight will face David Ferrer in round three.
Ferrer progressed as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga withdrew with a shoulder injury.
In the WTA Madrid Open, Svetlana Kuznetsova remained one of only three of the top 10 seeds left in the draw with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Wang Qiang to reach the quarterfinals. Kuznetsova will face the winner of an intriguing clash between top seed Angelique Kerber and Eugenie Bouchard.
Subrata gets three weeks to present case
India goalkeeper Subrata Paul has three weeks to present his case before an anti-doping panel after his 'A' sample tested positive for a banned substance, the chief of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) said. The former India captain was tested by the NADA in March and his 'A' sample tested positive for Terbutaline, a prohibited substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency list. Paul did not apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption. The 30-year-old was India's number one choice under the bar before slipping down the pecking order, behind Norway-based Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, in recent times.
