Arham beats Nofil to win Jr. Tennis title

ISLAMABAD: Arham Atiq hammered Syed Nofil Kaleem on Monday to clinch the junior First ACPL National Junior Hard Court Tennis Championship title here at the courts of Pakistan Sports Complex.

Arham beat Nofil by 7 6(2) 6 0 and won a cash prize of Rs 20 000 along with winning trophy while Nofil pocketed Rs 12000.

Ilham Khan won the boys under 14 title by beating Huzaifa Abdul Rehman in a thrilling three set match.

Huzaifa won the first set at 7 6 Ilham won the 2nd set at 6 1. In the final set Ilham was leading 4 1 when Huzaifa conceded the match due to injury.

Ilham was awarded Rs 10 000 while Huzaifa got Rs 6 000 along with shields and certificates. In Boys under 18 doubles final Talha Zubair and Hasnain Manzoor beat Syed Nofil Kaleem and Dawar Rehan 6 4 7 6 (4).

Talha Zubair and Hasnain Manzoor claimed the title of Junior doubles when they eliminated top seed Syed Nofil Kaleem and Dawar Rehan in a well contested two set match 6 4 7 6(4).

Talha and Hasnain won the cash award of Rs 10 000 while Nofil and Dawar pocketed Rs 6 000. Senator Syed Dilawar Abbas Patron PTF was the chief guest at the finals and distributed prizes among the winners. (APP)

Sri Lanka beats England in 4th ODI, forces decider

LONDON: Sri Lanka weathered a brilliant knock of 121 by Jos Buttler to beat England by seven runs in the fourth one-day international and take the five-match series to a decider at 2-2.

Veteran left-hander Kumar Sangakkara struck 112 for his 19th ODI century as Sri Lanka posted 300-9 under sunny skies, setting England a tough target to clinch the series at Lord´s.

The big-hitting Buttler came in with his team unraveling on 111-5 but took England to the brink of victory with a 61-ball century, sharing a sixth-wicket partnership of 133 with Ravi Bopara (51).

England required 12 off the last over but wily paceman Lasith Malinga took the wicket of Chris Jordan and then ran out Buttler, a typically masterful over of line and length giving him final figures of 3-52. England finished on 293-8.

The fifth ODI at Edgbaston on Tuesday will settle an oscillating, unpredictable series that peaked at the home of cricket thanks to two superb innings from players at the opposite ends of the careers.

The 36-year-old Sangakkara hit some delightful, flourishing shots to the boundary, mainly through the off side, in his 104-ball knock that contained 14 fours.

He came to the middle following Kusal Perera´s departure for 19 and shared a second-wicket stand of 172 with Tillakaratne Dilshan (71).

They reached their half-centuries in consecutive deliveries before the ever-entertaining Dilshan tried his trademark "Dilscoop" — a paddle shot over his head and behind the wicketkeeper — three times in one over, picking up boundaries from two of them.

Dilshan succumbed to the same shot against James Anderson, however, when he bent down to scoop the ball over his shoulder, missed it and was bowled. Sangakkara´s knock ended after advancing down the wicket to smash spinner James Tredwell, but missed the ball and got stumped.

Mahela Jayawardene´s miserable series continued when he was dismissed by Harry Gurney (4-55) for 7, helping to slow Sri Lanka´s scoring rate. But the tourists averaged 10 per over off the final four overs as they scrambled to the psychologically important 300-run mark.

In the third ODI in Manchester on Wednesday, the tourists had been skittled out for just 67.Malinga removed Alastair Cook (1) and Ian Bell (7) inside the first 20 balls of England reply, and the hosts were further unstuck by losing Gary Ballance for 42 and Joe Root for 43, exposing the middle order.

Eoin Morgan´s departure for 12 brought Buttler to the crease for what was one of the best ODI innings by an Englishman. He kissed his helmet when he reached his maiden ODI century — the fastest ever at Lord´s — and went on to make the highest ODI score by an English wicketkeeper.

With five overs left, England required 56 but Buttler hit 19 off five balls from Ajantha Mendis in the 46th over to give the hosts renewed hope.Malinga — arguably the best death bowler in cricket — shot down their chances, though, and kept the series alive. (AP)

Djokovic beats Cilic to reach French Open 4th rd

PARIS: Second-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Marin Cilic for the ninth straight time Friday to reach the fourth round of the French Open, laboring to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4 win.

Djokovic has never lost to the Croat since they first played each other six years ago. But he dropped serve early to trail 3-1, made sloppy unforced errors in the tiebreaker, and was broken back in the fourth set after leading 4-2. He won when Cilic double faulted.

The six-time Grand Slam champion next plays either 13th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France or No. 22 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, who played later Thursday.

Djokovic is looking to win the French Open for the first time and lost to eight-time champion Rafael Nadal in the semifinals last year. (AP)

Selby beats O´Sullivan to win World Championship

SHEFFIELD, United Kingdom: Mark Selby beat two-time defending champion Ronnie O´Sullivan 18-14 in the World Championship final at Sheffield´s Crucible Theatre on Monday.

Victory in the all-English clash saw Selby, who was 10-5 down, win his first world title after losing in the 2007 final.

For O´Sullivan, a five-time world champion in all, this was his first defeat in snooker´s showpiece match.

Selby sealed victory in an often gruelling contest by holding his nerve to clear all the colours in the 32nd frame.

This success for Selby, now the new world number one, saw him avoid an unwanted hat-trick of defeats in the finals of snooker´s three major tournaments this season, having lost to Australia´s Neil Robertson --- the man he defeated in his Crucible semi-final -- in the climax of the UK Championship and going down 10-4 to O´Sullivan at the culmination of the Masters.

Selby is renowned as one of the grittiest players on the professional circuit and showed his match-toughness as he came from 8-3 and then 10-5 down on Sunday.

Trailing 10-7 overnight, he won Monday´s first three frames and squared the match at 10-10 with a break of 74. O´Sullivan was well short of the form that sees him routinely described as the most naturally talented player top-class snooker has known.

´The Rocket´ missed what would have been a frame-winning pink to the middle pocket, his power pot rattling the jaws before bouncing out and Selby, showing plenty of composure, made the most of his chance to go 12-11 ahead leading into the concluding session.

The interval gave O´Sullivan the chance to consult with sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, whom he credits for revitalising his career, but it was Selby who proved the stronger come the finish. (AFP)

Mayweather beats Maidana in welterweight unification bout

LAS VEGAS: Floyd Mayweather won a 12-round majority decision over Marcos Maidana on Saturday to run his perfect record to 46-0 in a welterweight world title unification bout.

The 27-year-old American Mayweather retained his World Boxing Council world title and took Maidana´s World Boxing Association belt, winning the fight on two of the three judges´ scorecards with the third scoring it a draw.

Mayweather, who was an 11-1 favourite heading into the fight, received scores of 117-111 and 116-112. The third judge scored it 114-114.

Mayweather did not get the decisive victory that so many had predicted as the more aggressive Maidana gave him all he could handle.

Argentina´s hard-punching Maidana, who was making the first defence of his title, suffered the fourth loss of his career to go with 35 victories.

Most of Mayweather´s recent fights have been boring tactical affairs, but Maidana´s relentless pursuit of the unbeaten champion and willingness to go toe-to-toe made for an exciting bout.

Many in the crowd thought Maidana had done enough to win the fight as his supporters in the arena booed the decision then tried to drown out Mayweather´s post-fight interview.

Mayweather made a grand entrance befitting his superstar status. He was accompanied into the ring by pop star Justin Bieber and rapper Lil Wayne. Some of the other celebrities in attendance at Saturday´s fight at the Grand Garden arena inside the massive MGM Grand hotel-casino complex included rapper Drake, former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson, entertainer Snoop Dog, comedian George Lopez and basketball legend Magic Johnson.

The first few rounds were electric as Maidana stuck to his pre-fight promise to come out swinging. Mayweather seemed to be content to lean on the ropes and absorb the overhand rights that got the crowd excited but appeared to do little damage early on. Mayweather suffered a cut over his right eye in the fourth round from an accidental head butt. Both fighters resorted to some questionable moves later in the fight. Maidana hit Mayweather with a low blow in the eighth and later in the round Mayweather tried to surprise Maidana with a ghost punch while the Argentinian was trying to communicate with the referee about something Mayweather was doing that he didn´t like.

In the 11th, Maidana pushed Mayweather partly through the ropes then threw more punches while Mayweather was leaning over backwards almost falling out of the ring. Maidana landed a total of 221 punches -- more than Canelo Alvarez or any of Mayweather´s other recent opponents.

Arsenal beats holder Wigan to reach FA up final

LONDON: Arsenal avoided FA Cup embarrassment against second-tier club Wigan on Saturday, coming from behind against the holder and winning a penalty shootout to reach the final where the London club will be looking to end a nine-year trophy drought.

After extra time ended 1-1, Arsenal´s players scored all of their penalties and Lukasz Fabianski made two vital saves in a 4-2 shootout victory over Wigan in this meeting of the fifth-place teams in the Premier League and League Championship.

Wigan went in front in regular time from the penalty spot at Wembley Stadium. Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker conceded the spot kick that Jordi Gomez converted but the German made amends by heading in the equalizer that sent the game into extra time. "In the first half we were a bit timid," Mertesacker said. "A lot of people questioned (our character) recently but how we came back today we proved a lot."

A year after winning its first major trophy by beating Manchester City and then again in this year´s semifinals, Wigan couldn´t produce another upset against a Premier League power — much to Arsene Wenger´s relief. "It was important mentally," the Arsenal manger said. "If you imagine the consequences of going out tonight, it would have been quite worrying."

With the second half of his 18-year reign defined by the lack of silverware, Wenger desperately needs to collect a first trophy since the 2005 FA Cup success when Arsenal returns to Wembley for the final.

It could be a bittersweet end to the season, though, with Arsenal at risk of missing out on the Champions League after 16 successive years. Just before kickoff at Wembley, Arsenal was dislodged from the fourth Champions League place by Everton, which beat Sunderland 1-0.What a slump it has been for Wenger´s side, having spent so much of the opening months of the season on top of the league.

The failure to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window has come back to bite Wenger. How differently things could have turned out if he had brought in an additional striker.

Instead, Wenger on Saturday was relying for goals on 21-year-old striker Yaya Sanogo, who was starting just his fourth game since joining on a free transfer before this season. Olivier Giroud was on the bench.

Sanogo´s lack of cutting edge and pace in front of goal quickly became apparent. The Frenchman was denied by Scott Carson from close range after five minutes and again just before halftime when his unconvincing first touch to control the ball allowed the goalkeeper to thwart the attempt.

If there was anything to reassure a dreary Arsenal side failing to produce the fluid football Wenger champions, it was Wigan´s inability to provide much attacking menace. So Arsenal gifted Wigan the opening to go in front.Mertesacker slid in with a lunge to cut out Callum McManaman´s run and the forward went to ground in the penalty area. After a delay while Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal received treatment elsewhere on the pitch, Gomez, a product of Barcelona´s youth system, sent the spot kick beyond the reach of Lukasz Fabianski.The anger among Arsenal fans who have grown accustomed to failure was clear: Jeers greeted Wenger´s decision to bring Giroud on, not for Sanogo but Lukas Podolski in the 68th.

The equalizer proved elusive. After Carson´s save from Kieran Gibbs´ header sent the ball drifting toward the goal, Wigan defender Stephen Crainey scooped the ball off the line.

Wigan´s goal was finally breached in the 82nd when it couldn´t fully clear a corner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain raised the ball over the defense and Mertesacker headed in at the far post.

It was a lucky escape for Arsenal, which was denied a winner in extra time when Oxlade-Chamberlain hit the crossbar but had better luck in the shootout.

Fabianski saved Wigan´s first two penalties by Gary Caldwell and Jack Collison, while Arteta, Kim Kallstrom, Giroud and Cazorla all netted for the Gunners. "We are walking out of Wembley on paper as losers but in our own mind as winners," said Wigan manager Uwe Rosler, whose focus returns to gaining promotion back to the Premier League. (AP)

Deepika Padukone beats Amitabh Bachchan, invites 15 million Facebook fans for live chat

 

Deepika is currently gearing up for her Diwali release 'Happy New Year'.

Actress Deepika Padukone today invited her 15 million Facebook fans for a live web chat as a way to express her gratitude for their support and love.

Deepika, 28, also celebrated her more than 15 million fan following on Facebook beating superstars like Salman Khan (14,811,718 likes), Aamir Khan (11,597,563 likes) and Amitabh Bachchan (10,518,577) among others.

The ‘Chennai Express’ star even updated her cover photo one hour prior to the live chat with her fans.

“Celebrating 15 million crazens. Live Chat with Deepika now,” read the caption on the picture.

Deepika is currently gearing up for her Diwali release ‘Happy New Year’, which also stars Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani and Sonu Sood. The action comedy-drama is being directed by Farah Khan.

‘Queen’ still going strong, beats Sonam Kapoor’s ‘Bewakoofiyaan’

Kangana Ranaut's 'Queen' is still going strong at the box office beating this week's fresh release 'Bewakoofiyaan'.

Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Queen’ is still going strong at the box office beating this week’s fresh release – Sonam Kapoor and Ayushmann Khurrana’s ‘Bewakoofiyaan’. Queen has entered its third week.
‘Queen’ collected over Rs 11 crore on the second weekend, whereas last week’s fresh release ‘Bewakoofiyaan’ managed to collect a little above Rs 9 crore.
Read Review: Queen
Queen’s grand total however stands at Rs 32 crore. Taran adarsh gave the official figures. “#Bewakoofiyaan Fri 2.23 cr, Sat 2.51 cr, Sun 2.57 cr, Mon 2.06 cr. Total: ₹ 9.37 cr nett. India biz.” and “#Queen [Week 2] Fri 2.15 cr, Sat 3.75 cr, Sun 4.75 cr, Mon 2.50 cr. Grand total: ₹ 32 cr nett. India biz.”
‘Bewakoofiyaan’ boasted of a strong star cast – Rishi Kpaoor, Sonam Kapoor and Ayushmann Khurrana but because of a weak script the movie failed to cast its spell on the audience.
Read Review: Bewakoofiaan
Meanwhile, Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Queen’ is rock steady, mainly due to the strong word-of -mouth and good reviews. Many Bollywood celebs including Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Sonakshi Sinha, Deepika Padukone among others has endorsed Kangana’s performance and the film itself.
In fact, Deepika Padukone even went on to say that she was jealous of Kangana Ranaut for bagging the role.
Big B said, “In recent times I have never experienced so much word of mouth of a film as I have for ‘Queen’ .. delighted for its makers !!”
Aamir Khan had tweeted, “What a film!!! Guys you have to watch QUEEN !!! Anyone who hasn’t seen it please go now and see it… Thank you to Vikas Bahl and his team which made the film. And Kangana… you rock!!!”