Sharapova wins australia open

Maria Sharapova won the Australian Open without losing a set, wrapping up her third Grand Slam title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Ana Ivanovic on Saturday.After Ivanovic sprayed a forehand wide on match point, Sharapova dropped to her knees and appeared to be fighting back tears as she waved and blew kisses to the crowd.Then the 20-year-old Russian star dropped he racket in her chair before heading to shake hands and exchange high-fives with her father and supporters.She clasped her hands and swayed as she stood, waiting to receive the Daphne Akhurst Trophy, then told the Rod Laver Arena crowd that she'd received a text message from tennis great Billie Jean King telling her that 'Champions take chances and pressure is a privilege.'

Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi in final

Indian mixed doubles pair Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi made it to the Australian Open final on Friday after they defeated Nathalie Dechy of France and Andy Ram of Israel in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 in the first semi-final.The duo will face the Chinese-Siberian pair of Sun Tiantian and Nenad Zimonjic. Tiantian and Zimonjic defeated Yan Zi of China and Mark Knowles of Bahamas, 4-6, 7-5, 10-6 in a closely fought battle that went into tiebreak even in the final set.With their win, the unseeded Indian pair has kept alive Indian hopes at the Australian Open. Sania had earlier made an early exit from women's singles after she lost her third round match to Venus Williams.Bhupathi, on the other hand, had lost his men's doubles match on Thursday after his team lost 6-4, 6-4 to the Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in the semi-finals.The sixth seeded Indo-Bahamas duo, who had beaten top seeds and world No.1 American pair of Mike and Bob Bryan, failed to capitalise on their chances as they frittered away a total of six break points and were broken once in each set.

Manipur women protest against army in New Delhi

Four years later, the protest continues, and this time it is in Delhi. The brave mothers of Manipur who had stripped and dared the Army are in the national capital and their message stays unchanged.To demand scrapping of AFSPA and extra judicial execution that is being carried out with impunity,” says one of the protestors.While the other one adds, Nothing has changed and this is intolerable.”"If this act is repealed even for a day I would be happy to die,” claims another protestors.

Ganguly omission surprises us

India has had the occasional success against us, but that happens when you play a team often - the opposition can pop up with a surprise. I still think we have dominated India in Tests and one-days over the past few years, and, while they have challenged us, we generally win the big moments.The Indians announced their one-day squad on Sunday, and the notable omission was the name of Sourav Ganguly. He has been a terrific one-day player for India, and looks in superb touch. His omission certainly came as a surprise, because he has done well in one-dayers in Australia in the past.However, I hear that the selectors are now looking ahead, which is why they have decided to opt for Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma instead of Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. These youngsters are also impressive players, and it remains to be seen if they can fill the vacuum left by their great predecessors.Coming back to the Adelaide Test, Adelaide is one wicket the Indians will be excited by – it’s a great batting strip that takes turn from the third evening. They must have fond memories of their win here in 2003-04 and would seek inspiration from that success. However, Indians must remember that we pulled off an improbable win against England only last year, which pretty much ensured our whitewash in that seies.

India can win

When Anil Kumble says it was the ‘greatest overseas win by India in which he figured’ it is understandable that the humility of the giant Karnatakan is showing ever so magnificently. But when the rest of the so called ‘experts’ do a ‘sheep walk’, sincerity of their expression raises an automatic alarm. No doubt, the team’s triumph in Perth was indeed extra-ordinary and would deserve to be recorded in letters of gold. But to pretend as if all other wins by India at home or away were hollow comparatively, smacks of a very short human memory. The best that Kumble could have done after annihilating the Aussies in less than four days at Perth was to carry himself with cool aplomb and dignity, without a trace of conceit or arrogance. But some from the Indian media decided to heap Kumble with accolades unheard of in his career earlier. Not only that, some of them are even shouting for similar financial gains for Kumble, especially, and his men, as was accorded to Dhoni and company when they won the T20 World Cup in South Africa late last year.I am not too sure if Kumble and his lads had lucrative rewards in mind going into the Perth Test. Such a mindset can only emerge from the game’s administrators who are for always looking for reflected glory and eager to make their presence felt by flaunting their riches – not ‘theirs’ really but the BCCI’s ! However, the glory as they say, belongs to the BCCI and seldom to the players who slog their buts off in extreme conditions of hostility on the field and provocation off it.

Harbhajan made racist remarks

The report holds Harbhajan guilty of making racist remarks against Andrew Symonds during the ill-tempered third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.The report says, "I have heard evidence from Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden that he did say these words. Harbhajan Singh denies saying these words. Both umpires did not hear nor did Ricky Ponting or Sachin Tendulkar. I am satisfied and sure beyond reasonable doubt that Harbhajan Singh did say these words. I am sure beyond reasonable doubt that the use of the word "monkey" or "big monkey" was said to insult or offend Andrew Symonds on the basis of his race, colour or ethnic origin.Procter indicates Tendulkar, who was Harbhajan's batting partner when the incident took place, would not have been within earshot of the incident.

english is dominated

When college students are standing at a tea shop, they speak a certain language. When they're listening to your show, you have to speak that lingo to connect with them. So a fully Tamil vocabulary won't work. Decent, indecent, oru cup tea, strong coffee - these are all English words. But they've become part of Tamil,” .Tamil Nadu is probably the only state in the country where English is understood and spoken by most residents.A fact reiterated by foreigners like New Zealander Tan Ngaronga, Chief Operating Officer of Satyam Cinemas, the largest multiplex in the state.