January 16, 2014

New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS) Belgium will look to regain some pride when they take on Argentina in a 5-8 position playoff of the Hockey World League Final at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here Friday.Belgium lost their quarterfinal match to England 0-1 Wednesday and will look for their first win of the tournament after going winless in the group stage. “Argentina are very hard hitting in the circles and we have to ensure that we close that. In our last game against them, we got a lot of opportunities but could…

Bangalore, Jan 16 (IANS) Three Karnataka players stormed into the semi-finals of the KTPPA-AITA National Series Under-16 tennis tournament here Thursday.In the boys singles, top seed C. Vasisht and eighth seed Vignesh Subramanya scored emphatic wins, while S. Soha made the semi-finals in the girls section. Vignesh notched up an impressive 6-2, 6-1 victory over Shramay Dhawan of Delhi as he blasted winners on his forehand and moved quickly on court to overpower his rival. Vasisht ran into a determined Yugal Bansal of…

London, Jan 16 (IANS) Following his indictment on bribery charges in Germany, Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has stepped down from the company's board but will continue to run the sport.A Munich court Thursday decided to put the 83-year-old on trial for allegedly bribing German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky with $45 million before the sale of a stake in F1 in 2006. The trial will take place most likely in April and Ecclestone will not be part of the board until the case is resolved. "After…

Moscow, Jan 16 (IANS) No discrimination is foreseen during the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday."The Games will be held in a full accordance to the Olympic Charter, with no discrimination on any criteria," Putin said during a ceremony at the Kremlin Palace. Last June, Putin signed a controversial law banning the promotion of "non-traditional sexual relationships" to minors. The move sparked outcry abroad with many athletes and celebrities called to…

Kolkata, Jan 16 (IANS) Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly Thursday denied joining politics, following an offer by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to contest the Lok Sabha polls.Ganguly, who visited Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat regarding a school project of his, said he was better off on the playground. "No, no, not at all, I am better off on the ground. It is confirmed," Ganguly told the media following speculation about his joining politics. In December, state BJP…