Sachin Tendulkar rules out retirement for now

Bangalore: Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday indicated that he would not retire for now.

"As long as there is a reason to wake up with a reason in the morning, it makes sense in continuing (playing cricket). The day I don`t enjoy wielding bat in my hands, I will think otherwise. But that moment hasn`t come as yet. When I will get that feeling, I will confirm on that," he said after receiving the Castrol Test Cricketer of 2011 at an awards function here.

His younger contemporaries like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have hung up their boots from international cricket.

Receiving Special Award for notching up a double ton in a ODI match against Sri Lanka, Virender Sehwag said his next target was to play 100 tests for the country.

In a lighter vein, Sehwag said superstition did not apply to him when he approached double ton in any form of cricket as he did not give any room for the bowlers to think much.

"If the ball is there to hit along the fence or over it, I do that without much thinking," he said.

However, Sehwag said he was a bit superstitious when Tendulkar neared his first double ton in one-day internationals.

"We all thought even if Sachin gets out on 190s, we will all stand up and clap anyhow. But when he got there, all players and sports staff gathered at the players balcony and applauded his achievement. That feeling cannot be expressed," he said.

Receiving ‘Performance Under Pressure Award’, Gautam Gambhir said last two T20 World Cups were disappointing for Team India after winning the first. However, the team would try to give 100 per cent and play well in the competition.

"I am not sure of winning the cup. It is not in our hands, but will put up a good show in the upcoming T20 World Cup to be played in Sri Lanka," he said.

On lifetime achievement awardee Ajit Wadekar, Tendulkar said the former Indian captain was a fantastic coach who knew the art of mentally preparing before he walked out on the field. 

Spanish Supercup: Higuain and Ronaldo seal title for Real Madrid

Madrid: Real Madrid have claimed the 2012 Spanish Supercopa after a gripping 2-1 second-leg victory over Barcelona in their Santiago Bernabeu clash on Wednesday.

Los Blancos triumphed on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate score, but it should have been a lot more after a shambolic defensive start from Tito Vilanova`s men.

A missed clearance from Javier Mascherano saw Gonzalo Higuain gifted the opener, and an outrageous flick from Cristiano Ronaldo on Gerard Pique put him in position to make it 2-0 after 19 minutes.

Adriano`s red card just before half an hour seemed to signal the the end of Barca`s hopes, but Lionel Messi dragged them back to their feet with a fantastic free-kick on the stroke of half-time.

The second-half was far more tense as a much-improved Barca had their chances to score again, but there was no way back for the visitors as Madrid hung on to claim the first trophy in Spain this season.

Pepe returned from a concussion to start alongside Sergio Ramos in defence, but there was no place for new signing Luka Modric, who began the game on the bench.

An injury to Dani Alves during the warm up, forced Tito Vilanova to draft Jordi Alba in at left-back, with Adriano shifting to the opposite flank. Carles Puyol was another notable absentee after fracturing a cheekbone in the 2-1 win over Osasuna on the weekend.

And the Barcelona captain may have well had a thing or two to say after a dreadful defensive opening that saw Madrid storm into a two goal lead after 20 minutes.

Mascherano had already allowed Higuain to slip past him for an early one-on-one that was saved by Victor Valdes, and the Argentine gifted his compatriot an even greater chance in the 11th minute, when his missed attempt at a clearance allowed the striker to steal in and slot home the opener.

It went for bad to worse for Barca eight minutes later, as Madrid struck again after pouncing on another lapse at the back. Pique was left bamboozled by a heel flick from Ronaldo, who advanced on goal and had time to steady himself before blasting in via the leg of Valdes.

Valdes was called into action once more to deny Higuain, who was again able to get behind the defence, while Madrid saw a third goal questionably disallowed for an infraction after Pepe nodded in a free-kick.

The visitors were all at sea, and their chances seemed to be virtually extinguished just before the half hour mark, when Adriano was shown a straight red card for pulling down Ronaldo on a clear break towards goal for the Portuguese.

Vilanova was forced to throw on Martin Montoya for Sanchez in a bid to shore up his defence as Madrid continued to dominate. Sami Khedira’s volley was thwarted from point blank range by Valdes, before a last ditch challenge from Mascherano halted Higuain as he bore down on goal.

However, there were a few signs of life from Barca as the first-half drew to a close. Montaya came within inches of connecting with Andres Iniesta’s low cross, and then, in stoppage time, a moment of magic from Messi gave the visitors a fighting chance.

The Argentine took charge of a free-kick after Xavi was felled 30 yards from goal and bent a breathtaking effort around the wall, past the outstretched arm of Iker Casillas and into the back of the net.

Still, Madrid nearly responded in the dying embers of the first-half. Ronaldo’s 35-yard drive bounced inches wide, and Higuain also narrowly missed, after cutting onto his left foot deep inside the area.

Barca headed into the break knowing that they still had a lot of work to do, and looked to wrestle control from the hosts as the second-half unfolded.

Madrid seemed content to sit back and protect their advantage, which allowed the Blaugrana the chance to dictate proceedings with their famed tiki-taka football.

Their improved endeavour was almost rewarded on the hour mark, after a searching ball from the back by Mascherano was taken in stride brilliantly by Pedro, who saw his shot met by an equally fantastic save from Casillas.

The Spanish forward had another opening moments later after sneaking in on the right, but Casillas was again alert to stop him from poking home at the near post.

Madrid were far from ruthless, but still harboured a significant threat on the break. Khedira nearly scored a third after beating multiple defenders en-route to goal, but Valdes was able to block strongly.

Alba was thwarted at the last by a great challenge from Ramos, before Higuain was allowed through on goal for the umpteenth time, but could not finish the chance as his effort bounced off the base of the post.

Late openings appeared for both sides, but no more goals were forthcoming as Madrid held on to claim the Supercopa and set the pace for what is sure to be a enthralling season in Spain.

`Spirit in Motion` gala opens London`s Paralympics

London: Volleys of fireworks lit up the night sky, Beverley Knight belted out "I am what I am," and Britain`s first Paralympic gold medalist lit the cauldron to open the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

It was a night of empowerment for the disabled worldwide. "Enlightenment" was the theme, physicist Stephen Hawking the guide and Olympic Stadium the venue Wednesday as the British capital welcomed 4,200 athletes from more than 160 nations.

Who better to greet the Paralympians than a scientist who has shown that physical disabilities do not limit human potential?

"The Paralympic Games is about transforming our perception of the world. We are all different, there is no such thing as a standard or run-of-the-mill human being, but we share the same human spirit," said Hawking, who was given two years to live in 1963 after he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease.

"What is important is that we have the ability to create ... however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at," he added.

The extravaganza, directed by Bradley Hemmings and Jenny Sealey, was billed as a voyage across "a sea of ideas" — including Isaac Newton`s discovery of gravity, the force that all Earth-bound athletes strive against. The show included 73 deaf and disabled professional performers and 68 disabled people among its 3,250 volunteers.

Sebastian Coe, chief of the London organizing committee, issued a big welcome home "to a movement that shows what sport is all about."

"Sport is about what you can do, what you can achieve, the limits you can reach, the barriers you can break. Sport shows what is possible. Sport refuses to take no for an answer," Coe told the audience of 60,000.

The London event is on track to be the most-watched Paralympics ever, with 2.5 million tickets expected to be sold by the time it ends Sept. 9.

As the athletes paraded in under a full moon, a huge roar filled the stadium for South African flagbearer Oscar Pistorius, the sprinter who is making history by running in both the Olympics and the Paralympics this year. Glittery ticker tape and a standing ovation then greeted the enormous British team as they entered to the David Bowie song "Heroes."

The parade took two hours — nearly an hour longer than expected — but the joy and pride that accompanied it was stirring to watch. Some athletes came in motorized carts, others propelled themselves in their wheelchairs, still others were pushed by coaches or volunteers. Athletes walked in with canes or crutches, eye patches and sunglasses, prosthetic limbs, no limbs and walking sticks, determined to make it around the imposing stadium to a global music mash-up by local DJs.

In a nod to the famously erratic British weather, umbrellas were a central theme. Seeing performers with no legs beneath the knee doing aerial flips while carrying umbrellas could inspire the most ardent couch potato.

After blind soprano Denise Leigh sang the tribute song "Spirit in Motion," several Paralympians took flight in an elegant, slow-motion aerial ballet.

And of course, this being Britain, the words of Shakespeare once again made an appearance, with both Miranda of "The Tempest" and British actor Ian McKellen announcing that "the greatest adventure is what lies ahead."

That, over the next 11 days, includes Paralympic athletes competing in 20 sports, including archery, cycling, rowing, equestrian, sailing, sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair tennis and wheelchair basketball.

At the start, Hawking directed the fictional Miranda to "be curious" — and the stadium was transformed into a giant blinking eye, with performers on huge waving sticks acting like eyelashes. Along her travels, Miranda navigated a maze to find an apple — and everyone in the stadium took a bite out of their apple along with her.

Outside the stadium, hundreds of performers cheered, sang and danced. Jason Kajdi, an 18-year-old from south London, did huge splits with bouncy legs that resembled the "Cheetah" prosthetic limbs worn by Pistorius.

"Never used these before this," Kajdi admitted. "They are brilliant fun but hard work."

Authorities, meanwhile, promised to provide "a grand and global stage" for a games that everyone will remember.

Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the games, saying the nation looked forward to "celebrating the uplifting spirit which distinguishes the Paralympic Games from other events." She was accompanied by her grandson, Prince William, his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Prime Minister David Cameron.

The Paralympic movement tracks its beginnings to the vision of Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, who in 1948 organized an archery competition for 16 injured patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Britain.

Wednesday`s ceremony concluded with a bevy of fireworks and Miranda breaking a glass ceiling — just as Paralympians must smash through their own barriers. Margaret Maughan, who won Britain`s first gold medal at the 1960 Rome Paralympics in archery, then lit the cauldron.

Society, too, was encouraged to abandon old-fashioned perceptions of what disabled people can and cannot do.

Pistorius, at an earlier news conference, praised London for its inclusivity.

"Kids didn`t stare at people`s prosthetic legs and they were asking guys in wheelchairs what events they do," Pistorius said. "There are a lot of people here who don`t focus on the disability anymore — they focus on the athletes` abilities ... there`s nothing to be ashamed of."

Cash awards continue to pour in for Olympic medallists

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Government has announced a cash reward of Rs one crore each to Olympic silver medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar and shooter Vijay Kumar, while the bronze medal winners will be given Rs 50 lakh each.

The announcement was made by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan during the `Shikhar Khel Alankaran 2012` awards ceremony here last evening.

The ceremony is held every year on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the hockey legend, Major Dhyanchand.

"The government will give the bronze medallists of the Londond Olympics -- Saina Nehwal (badminton), Gagan Narang (shooting), Mary Kom (boxing) and Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling) -- Rs 50 lakh cash award," Chouhan said.

The Chief Minister, meanwhile, added that his state was ready to adopt hockey in the better interest of the nation and urged the Centre to give permission in this regard.

"We want to adopt hockey, so that we can provide proper facilities to the players to prepare for 2016 Olympics," he said.

Sushil Kumar, who was also present on the occasion, said he was overwhelmed by the honour given to him on his arrival in Madhya Pradesh and added that his only aim was to win a gold for the country.

London: A defiant Lance Armstrong has rebutted the doping claims by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which accuse of him taking drugs during his Tour de France years.

“I won the Tour de France seven times,” Armstrong was quoted as telling throngs of supporters during a Montreal cancer conference by a website. 

The US cycling icon and cancer survivor maybe stripped of his 7 titles after he declined to fight the charges made by the USADA and withdrew from taking his case into arbitration.

“My name is Lance Armstrong, I`m a cancer survivor... and yes, I won the Tour de France seven times. And for those who don`t know what I`m talking about, I love you,” Armstrong told the crowd during the World Cancer Congress in Montreal.

He told the conference delegates that there is still "too much to be done" in the fight against cancer and that "we can`t be distracted," alluding to the doping scandal, the report said.

Armstrong’s Livestrong campaign has collected nearly 500 million dollars for cancer research and helping people cope with the disease, it added. 

London: Ace striker Wayne Rooney, who is recovering from a badly cut thigh, has rubbished reports about leaving Manchester United.

The England striker is recovering from a thigh injury that he suffered at the weekend against Fulham.

Boss Sir Alex Ferguson has always insisted that Rooney remains key to his plans, despite dropping him to the bench for Saturday’s win.

Dismissing speculation about leaving Old Trafford, Rooney tweeted: “Read the nonsense in the papers, and heard what people have to say. Absolute rubbish. Here to stay.”

Rooney faces at least four weeks out of action and will miss England’s upcoming games against Moldova and Ukraine, the Daily Star reports.

Why Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Lionel Messi!

As the Spanish football league known as the La Liga opens to a new season, excitements are already high as to which team will hold aloft the trophy by next May. Will Real Madrid retain the cup they won over from Barcelona or will Barca regain it? A tough question considering the league’s just starting.


And while La Liga is known for its tactical smooth football style, it also has the two best players in the world right now - Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. This automatically brings us the debate of who’s a better player between the two.


Perhaps, this is the biggest question in the world of football at present, and it is likely to remain so for a few more years.


Fans of both the players have claimed their favourite as the greatest player. However, to compare these two players who are completely different in style, both on and off the field, is actually a very difficult task. While Messi is known for his talent and fluency, Ronaldo is known for his sheer passion. Besides, these two players play for two different teams in the La Liga that are known for their different style of play too.


Therefore, comparing these two players as to who is better is a difficult task. Critics and fans say different things about these two ‘different’ players thus claiming one to be better than the other. However, there are certain reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo is a better player at the end of the day.


Ronaldo is a winger, not a striker


So, Messi has scored more goals that Ronaldo in the 2011-12 season. But what one has to realise here is that Messi is a forward/striker where as Ronaldo is a winger and for a winger to score as many as 60 goals in 55 appearances in a season is no mean achievement. While with Manchester United, he also had the distinction of being the first ever to win the European Golden Boot award in the 2007-08 season – as a winger.


With Real Madrid, Ronaldo also has the distinct achievement of being the second fastest La Liga player to score 100 goals in just 92 matches. He also became first player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years in any of the top European leagues – all these achievements as a winger and not striker. And while Messi has score just 169 goals in 214 appearances for Barcelona as a striker, Ronaldo has score 112 goals in just 101 appearances for Real Madrid, a much faster scoring rate.


Move Messi out of Barcelona


So far, Messi has played for just one club, Barcelona FC, thus proving his ability with one club. On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo has proved that he can play in any league across the world - Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), Manchester United (England) and now with Real Madrid (Spain), winning the leagues with Manchester and Real Madrid.


Barcelona FC is no doubt, the best club in the world right now. But as many critics had said then, Barcelona is what Ronaldnho made it; prior his arrival Barcelona was distance away form Real Madrid. This means that Messi is enjoying the outcome of what Barcelona has turned out to be though his contribution cannot be denied either. 


Moreover, the support that Xavi Hernandez and Andrea Iniesta, considered the best midfielders in the world, are giving him is nothing like any in the world of football. Hence, many have wondered what would happen to Messi’s football without the support of these two players. Moreover, with Pep Guardiola having left the club, one never know how the Barcelona FC will perform.


So, can we move Messi out of Barcelona FC and see what happens? It would be interesting indeed.


Ronaldo is from Portugal, not Argentina


Messi is lucky to be born in the South American country of Argentina known for their football, while on the other hand Ronaldo is from Portugal, a country not as good and popular as Argentina in football. This means that while Messi has been almost genetically and ethnically gifted with the skills of football, Ronaldo has put himself in a place where he is today through sheer passion and hard working.


Imagine Cristiano was from Brazil. Perhaps, the outcome would have been a different story.


Performances for country


While Messi might have won the Olympics gold in football at the Beijing games in 2008, he has otherwise failed to impress in the national shirt. He failed again to help his country qualify for the London Olympics 2012 despite being the defending champions.


Thus, when it comes to the senior side, Messi has failed to perform for the country – he was goalless at the FIFA World Cup 2010 held in 2010 while Argentina were knocked out by Germany 4-0 in the quarter finals.


On the other, Ronaldo almost single handedly took Portugal to the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup 2010 and the quarter finals of the Euro Cup 2012.


Thus, when it comes to performance for the nation at the highest level, Cristiano has performed better than Messi.


No. of Awards


One might also argue that Ronaldo has just one FIFA Player of the Year award to Messi’s three, but the latter’s award in 2010 did not come without its share of controversy; many players and critics expected Wesley Sneijder of Holland to win it after having led the Orange to the finals of the of the FIFA World Cup 2010, winning the Bronze Boot award for five goals and the Silver Ball for being the 2nd best player of the tournament. He was also heavily instrumental in Inter Milan winning the EUFA Champions League in the same year.


So, at the end of the day, Messi has higher number of awards, both group and individual. But that said again, Messi has been stuck with the same best club of the world. Had he moved out to other team, he might as well win so many awards.


But that said and done, both these players are amazingly talented and the competition between the two will continue for few more years to come.


Thus, at the end of the day, the debate of who is a better player will definitely continue. However, if one has to analyse every angle, situation and the likes, Cristiano takes the edge as the better player between the two.