Sports

PATIALA,  (Reuters) – As Geeta Phogat completes her sprint at a sprawling sports campus in Punjab state, one of her coaches nods approvingly at her stopwatch, another rushes to check her pulse, and a third ushers her toward the gym for a bout of wrestling.

LONDON, England,  CMC – West Indies captain Darren Sammy said despite losing the opening Test to England  yesterday, his side had managed to answer many of the critics who had written off their chances before a ball was bowled in the three-Test series.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua,  CMC – Fit-again opener Lendl Simmons and out-of-form Test batsman Kraigg Brathwaite have been named in a 13-man West Indies A squad to face touring India A in the opening four-day “Test” starting in Barbados next week.

LONDON, England,  CMC – Out-of-favour West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has criticised “certain individuals” in the West Indies set-up for the recent slump in his international career and says he is in no hurry to return to the Caribbean side, despite his prolific form in the English County Championship.

LONDON, England,  CMC – A devastating spell from pacer Kemar Roach rocked England late on the penultimate day yesterday, leaving the hosts stunned and handing West Indies a glimmer of hope of winning the first Test at Lord’s.

By Emmerson Campbell Clint Duke of Total Fitness Gym Saturday night copped the heavyweight and overall titles in the first of four sub meets prior to the grand staging of this year’s Hugh Ross Classic.

Thirteen year-old Marian Academy student Taylor Fernandes completed the upset of the tournament by defeating Larissa Wiltshire in an impressive five-game battle to win the Girls Under 15 title on the final day of the Woodpecker National Junior Squash Championships yesterday at the Georgetown Club.

LONDON – West Indies coach Ottis Gibson said winning the first Test against all odds would be a “massive” boost for West Indies on their tour of England.

ROME,  (Reuters) – Maria Sharapova saved a match point to beat Li Na in the Italian Open final yesterday after a two-hour rain break effectively turned the match into a tiebreak shootout.

National players Jamaali Homer and Elishaba Johnson covered themselves with glory when they won the under-13 girls and boys’ categories respectively as the annual National Sports Commission (NSC) table tennis tournament continued yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

LONDON, England,  CMC – West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson says he is pleased with the manner in which the senior players have stepped up in order to compensate for the inexperienced members of the unit.

Chris Gayle’s Royal Challengers Bangalore team yesterday crashed out of the Indian Premier League after they went down to the Deccan Chargers in a low scoring game in Hyderabad.

A record 163-run opening stand between Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar saw Mumbai Indians scoring a crushing 10-wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League encounter yesterday at Jaipur.

By Yonalla Dalrymple Following the successful staging of the national junior squash championships which ended yesterday at the Georgetown Club, manager of the Guyana team to this year’s Caribbean championships Garfield Wiltshire, is already looking ahead to the championships which will be held in Jamaica.

EZjet Air Services has joined the list of sponsors for the Independence T20 Cup in a big way after presenting the organizers with a cheque for US$1000.00.

Bahamas-based Guyanese FIFA referee Diane Ferreira-James has been appointed to officiate in the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup set for August 19-September 8 in Japan.

With the semi-finals on the horizon, Tucville and East Ruimveldt boys’ teams along with North Georgetown Secondary female team, scored victories in the latest round of matches of the Scotiabank/Pepsi Schools football tournament played Saturday at the Tucville Ground in South Georgetown.

LONDON, England,  CMC – A disastrous 10-minute period before tea rocked West Indies and left their first Test hopes hanging by a thread as England installed themselves as firm favourites to win the Lord’s contest here  yesterday.

BALTIMORE,  (Reuters) – Kentucky Derby champion I’ll Have Another won the $1 million Preakness Stakes  yesterday to remain on course for the Triple Crown, the greatest prize in U.S.

As the West Indies top order tottered in both innings of the opening Test at Lord’s, the rider that Ottis Gibson added to his damning censure of the team’s senior batsmen following last year’s World Cup resonated.