It was certainly a good day for the Indians at the Bitburger Open badminton tournament in Germany on Friday. Indian shuttlers Chetan Anand and Arvind Bhat entered into the semi-finals of the tournament. 

In a one sided match, fourth seed and national champion Chetan Anand defeated 10th seed Lithuanian Kestutis Navickas 21-10 21-17 in 24 minutes, while in a close encounter match, Arvind Bhat (7th seed) defeated fellow P Kashyap (16th seed) 21-15 17-21 21-15 in 53-minutes to reach the last four of the tournament. 

In the second-round match of the ONGC I-League at the Nehru Stadium on Thursday, Vasco; the new entrants held JCT to a goalless draw. Since both the teams put on a sloppy display, the match could not rise to great heights. 

In the earlier matches, JCT had beaten Dempo. In this match, JCT, failed to capitalize on the three chances they produced, since the rival goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani came to his side’s rescue. 

Nevertheless, satisfaction was expressed by JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh on the performance of his team, even when they could not collect full points. 

Singh reported, “We came here to collect maximum points as this is one of our away matches. Collecting four points from two away matches is a satisfying result.” 

A new chapter of Cricket was started by World Twenty-20 in South Africa and Franchise Based IPL.which offered prize money of $6 million and was held in 8 locations all over India. Looking at the popularity of the game a Tri-Nation Twenty20 series between Australia, South Africa and India in 2009 is a welcome idea .

The four-day test match against Australians at The Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad was a feast for the eyes and soul. Although, the Board President's XI started with a quick loss of three wickets, they soon regained position with the Mumbai youngster Rohit Sharma, who not only scored a magnificent 105 runs but also guarded the pitch, helping XI Team reach safe grounds. 

Australian spinner Bryce McGain is expected to miss the forthcoming opening test against India. The match is scheduled for next week. The absence of spinner Bryce McGain would cause a big loss to the winning prospectus of Australian team. 

McGain suffered a shoulder injury some time ago and is unlikely to attend the tournament on health grounds. He was introduced in the national team at age of 36 and suffered injury last month during the Australia ‘A’ tour of India

With all eyes on the ongoing I-League, two of the competitive teams seem to have a weary look. Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, the two former champions in football, presented a gloomy picture with their key players bearing sustained injuries.

Mohan Bagan, who faces its second round match with Air India on Friday at Yuba Bharati Krirangan (YBK) seems to be out of luck as Baichung Bhutia, one of its major players got a calf-muscle injury during practice session and thus cannot contribute in the team for at least three weeks.