World Sports

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is used to having women around him. Now, they will become a regular fixture in his life.  Police in his hometown of Ranchi have assigned him five women bodyguards to keep unwanted admirers at bay. The decision to give India`s ODI captain the new security detail comes after two recent incidents in which female fans tried to throw themselves on their heartthrob in order to gain his attention, Ranchi police chief MS Bhatia said on Tuesday. Bhatia said the female cops had been given special training to protect Dhoni from unwanted advances. Dhoni, known for his good looks and swashbuckling batting, is also rumoured to be India`s most saleable cricketer, ahead of even Sachin Tendulkar. He has already been given ``Z-class`` security - the highest level - usually reserved for the Prime Minister and other senior political figures. Image: Three of the five female bodyguards can be seen outside Dhoni’s home in Ranchi.

Matthew Hayden's comment about India being a "third world" country came in for a scathing attack from former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram who said the Australians have a habit of bad-mouthing their opponents whenever they lose. Akram said the Aussies were "sore losers" and that Hayden should have known that India was now hundred years ahead of Australia "which is no more than a village." "The thing about the Aussies is that they are sore losers. They get personal when they get beaten. It is all a matter of sour grapes and after going home, they've started calling India a third-world country", Akram told ESPN Mobile from Karachi. "India is a superpower now; it is a hundred years ahead of Australia, which is no more than a village, as compared to India. You don't blame sightscreens for poor over rates. Even Allan Border was critical of Australian tactics on the pitch," Akram said. Akram's stinging reaction came a day after...

India's Jeev Milkha Singh won a nail-biting Singapore Open on Sunday after Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els missed putts to take the $5 million event to play-off.  Singh, who virtually sealed the Asian order of merit title with the win, started the day five shots behind leader Chapchai Nirat of Thailand but three birdies on the front nine helped him to the top of the leaderboard at seven-under par.  Three-time major winner Harrington looked certain to force a play-off after a stunning fairway wood gave him the chance of birdie at the last, but the Irishman's five-foot putt leaked across the face of the hole.  "I couldn't have asked for better," the 36-year-old Singh said in a television interview. "I'm a very fortunate man to win. The golfing gods were on my side."  Els moved within a shot of leader Singh with a birdie at the 16th, but a poor tee-shot on 18 left him with too much to do and the South African's birdie putt came up just short.  Chap...

India's one-day and Twenty20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Monday chosen for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the country's highest honour for a sportsperson. An expert committee, chaired by Milkha Singh , met on Monday to discuss the nominees and decided to confer the award on Dhoni for leading India to the Twenty20 World Cup triumph. It makes him only the second cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar to get the honour. Sources in the Sports Ministry, however, informed that an official announcement will follow only after August 20. The Board of Control for Cricket in India's Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty hailed the decision. "On two occasions we felt let down, when Rahul Dravid didn't get Khel Ratna and Yuvraj (Singh) was denied the Arjuna. "Dravid was in good form, we had won 16 ODIs on the trot and the team was on a high -- still he did not get the award. "Yuvraj too was unlucky not to get Arjuna after two years of consistent performance. ...

There has been a lot of talk over the past couple of years: whether Sania Mirza is all media hype and little substance, that she’s glamour, glitz and good looks but her on-court performances don’t match the build-up. Much as she has tried to counter this she has had her critics who keep pointing out to her record. And if anything her steep fall in the rankings would give her detractors a lot of ammunition. In the latest WTA chart she has slid to as low as 91. It is not that she has been playing badly; the fact is that she’s hardly been playing at all and that’s her problem. At the moment there is the risk of Sania moving out of the top 100 for the first time since 2004 and that was the year when she first starting making headlines, forcing people to sit up and take notice, not only of her good looks but also her game based on attacking ground strokes. This has clearly been her worst year, thanks to a combination of poor form and injuries. But when you are playing at the international...

Chess World Champion Viswanathan Anand poses with his trophy after defending his title against runner-up and challenger Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in Bonn October 29, 2008. WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: It's his third world chess title, but the relief at winning this one is palpable and the joy is unbridled. ''I'm just exhausted, man,'' Vishwanathan Anand told the Times of India, speaking on his cell phone from Bonn on the way back to his hotel to stash away his trophy before heading out for a Mexican dinner. It's been so bad, he said, that he's not even followed the world financial crisis, let alone the Obamania that's sweeping America - something unusual for a guy who likes to stay on top of news and current events. But the preparation has been bruising, and his team of seconds is so overjoyed that everything panned out well that they are already out roistering, well before Anand and his wife Aruna can join them. ''I might surprise you guys this t...

1. Highest Run scorer in the Test Cricket 2. First Cricketer to pass 12000 run in the Test Cricket Records Held by Sachin Tendulkar 1. Highest Run scorer in the ODI 2. Most number of hundreds in the ODI 41 3. Most number of nineties in the ODI 4. Most number of man of the matches(56) in the ODI's 5. Most number of man of the series(14) in ODI's 6. Best average for man of the matches in ODI's 7. First Cricketer to pass 10000 run in the ODI 8. First Cricketer to pass 15000 run in the ODI 9. He is the highest run scorer in the world cup (1,796 at an average of 59.87 as on 20 March 2007) 10. Most number of the man of the matches in the world cup 11. Most number of runs 1996 world cup 523 runs in the 1996 Cricket World Cup at an average of 87.16 12. Most number of runs in 2003 World Cup - 673 runs in 2003, highest by any player in a single Cricket World Cup 13. He was Player of the World Cup Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. 14. Most number of Fifties in ODI's 87 15...

JUMBO RETIRES Anil Kumble has announced his retirement from cricket, saying the finger injury he sustained on the third day of the Test helped him make his decision. The news was made public minutes after the tea break on the final day; Kumble then bowled four overs before the match was called off as a draw. "The body was asking questions every day," he said. "It was not easy to keep bowling the way I have been bowling the last 18 years, to keep going. The injury I had on the third day probably helped me make the decision." The captaincy now passes on to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who already leads India in the shorter forms of the game. Kumble made the formal announcement at the post-match press conference, at which he received a standing ovation from the journalists crowded into the room. He doffed his cap and sat down to speak to the media one last time as an India player and captain. He stayed composed throughout the conference, which took place minutes after the emo...

Two of his celebrated peers, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly have decided to walk into the sunset after glorious careers but Sachin Tendulkar says his body is "doing fine" and he has no plans to retire in the immediate future. "My body is doing fine and at the moment I am not thinking of any plans to retire. Normally I prefer to think of the present, not of what I am going to do in the next four, five of six years of my life," he said. "If I think it is time to hang up I will let everybody know. There is nothing to hide in it. I know it will make news but that I don't think it is a negative news that I have to hide from everyone," he added. Tendulkar was non-committal when asked if he was thinking of playing in the 2011 World Cup, which will be held in the sub-continent. "I normally prefer to think of which match I am going to play next and what sort of planning I should do and which bowling attack would be used on me. "Even if I have to play ...

A devotional song on Dhoni hugely popular among girls in Bihar Cashing in on the huge fan following that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is enjoying, a music company released an album featuring a devotional song on Dhoni. The song in the recently-released album, Baba ke nagariya bada pawan lage la, (Lord Shiva's abode is sacred to us), shows girls dancing and praying to Lord Shiva to grant them a husband like Dhoni. Singer Saloni is quite happy having sung this song and she says that the song was purposely released just ahead of Shrawan month. "Dhoni is liked by many. He is the first choice of many girls. This has been made keeping in mind their liking for Dhoni," said Saloni, singer. The album coincides with the ongoing month of Shrawan in the Hindu calendar when festivals and special prayers to Lord Shiva are held. Unmarried girls thronghiva temples during the month to seek suitable husbands. Dhoni was recently assigned an all-female group of bodyguards to keep unwanted admirers a...

Tennis as the modern sport can be dated to two separate roots. Between 1859 and 1865, Major Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of rackets similar to the game of Poona or Badminton many British soldiers brought from being stationed in India and the Basque ball game pelota, which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham, United Kingdom. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club in Leamington Spa.The Courier of 23 July 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall. The first championships at Wimbledon in London were played in 1877 The comprehensive International Lawn Tennis Federation, now known as the International Tennis Federation, rules promulgated in 1924 In 1926, promoter C.C. Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with a group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. In 1954, Van A...