Cristiano Ronaldo sets best scoring start in Spanish league history

Cristiano Ronaldo has notched up a whopping 15 goals in a mere 8 games for Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 14th and 15th goals on Saturday to set a record scoring start in a Spanish league season as Real Madrid eased to a 5-0 win at Levante.

Ronaldo opened from the penalty spot in the 13th minute before adding another goal in the 61st, increasing his league-leading tally to 15 goals in eight rounds despite missing one game due to injury. The Portugal forward has scored more than double the seven goals by Neymar, who is second in the leading scorers list.

The previous best start was established by Oviedo's Esteban Echevarria with 14 goals through eight rounds to start the 1943-44 season.

"It is impossible to do more than what (Ronaldo) does," said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. "He has to keep this up and we are going to help him."

Javier Hernandez, James Rodriguez and Francisco "Isco" Alarcon also scored to rout the overmatched hosts at Ciutat de Valencia Stadium.

Gareth Bale didn't play ahead of Wednesday's trip to Liverpool in the Champions League with the first "clasico" match of the season against Barcelona coming three days later.

Madrid rose into a provisional second place, one point behind Barcelona before it hosts Eibar later, whenLionel Messi will also take a shot at the history books. He needs two goals to equal the league's all-time scorer.

Cristiano Ronaldo congratulates teammate Isco after his goal against Levante on Saturday

Ronaldo has scored 19 goals in all competitions and found the net in 10 of his 12 appearances overall for Madrid. He also grabbed a stoppage-time winner for Portugal in a 1-0 victory over Denmark in a European Championship qualifier on Tuesday.

Hernandez had a part in Ronaldo's first goal when he took a pass in the area and was fouled from behind by Juanfran Garcia. Ronaldo stepped up and drove in the spot kick.

Hernandez played well in place of the ill Karim Benzema and scored in the 38th when he headed Rodriguez's cross in off the grass.

Ronaldo made it 3-0 with an electrifying slalom to dribble past two defenders and cap a counterattack started by Isco.

Rodriguez scored five minutes later after deftly controlling Toni Kroos' lobbed pass with his chest before firing the ball home, and Isco finished off the demoralized Levante in the 82nd.

Luca Modric quietly had his best outing for Madrid this season, despite missing a clear chance to get a goal of his own. Modric set up Ronaldo twice in the opening minutes only for him to misfire, and the Croatia midfielder stifled Levante's best chance in the 26th when he cleared Victor Camarasa's goal-bound volley from the line.

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ISL: Moritz seals hat-trick as 5-star Mumbai City sink Pune

Mumbai City notched up their first win which was also their biggest by margin in ISL

Brazilian Andre Moritz dazzled the home crowd with a hat-trick of goals to power Mumbai City FC to a stunning 5-0 victory over state rivals FC Pune City in a Hero Indian Super League fixture here today.

Mumbai totally dominated the match with their attacking style of play with excellent wing to wing passing to notch up their first victory in the tournament, and the biggest yet by margin, after losing their opening game, which kick-started the league, 0-3 in Kolkata.

Mumbai were keen to secure three points which they did with aplomb with a storming first half display that ripped open the Pune defence at the D Y Patil Stadium.

The visitors remained on one point after a goalless draw against Delhi Dynamos on October 14.

The goals were notched up by Moritz in the 12th, 27th and 71st minutes while Subhash Singh fired home in between in the 36th minute of a totally one-sided encounter.

Defender Johan Letzelter completed Pune's humiliation by firing in the fifth and last goal in the 85th minute.

Pune defender Mehrajuddin Wadoo challenges Mumbai's Tiago Ribeiro during the ISL tie on Saturday

Mumbai rode roughshod over their state rivals from across the Sahyadri range and could have been up by half a dozen goals by half time but for some alert goalkeeping by Emanuele Belardi who had to contend with a jittery defensive four in front.

Brazilian Moritz, who came on as substitute in their lost lung opener against Atletico de Kolkata on October 12, fired in the first two goals thanks in good measure to some poor defensive work from Colombian Andres Ramirez, Italian Bruno Cirilo, Dharmaraj Ravanan and Pritam Kotal and then added one more after the breather.

The first one, in the 12th minute, was a real beauty as the Brazilian uncorked a powerful left footed shot from just outside the right corner of the box to the far corner of the net with Belardi diving fruitlessly to stop the shot.

The move was initiated by a superb diagonal pass from the left wing from Lalrindika Ralte who had an outstanding game. All that Brazilian Moritz, who was unmarked, had to do was to move up a few paces and take the shot which he did with inch-perfect accuracy.

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BCCI persuades Sri Lanka for 5 ODIs post West Indies pull out

Sri Lanka will play a five-match ODI series against India starting from November 1

In an extraordinary turn of events, the West Indies cricket team on Friday pulled out of the remaining part of its India tour in the wake of an acrimonious ongoing pay dispute with their Board, prompting a livid BCCI to rope in Sri Lanka for a five-match ODI series.

Hours after the sudden development, the BCCI managed to persuade Sri Lanka to play a five-match ODI series, which is likely to be held from November 1 to 15.

A top BCCI official said that it was deiced to play only the ODIs, keeping in mind the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

"Scheduling a Test series at such a short notice would have been difficult for us since the team has to leave for Australia shortly. So it was decided to have an ODI series, which will help the team for the World Cup," the official said.

Venues which were deprived of the matches -- Kolkata, Cuttack, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad -- are likely to be alloted the One-dayers. The BCCI will announce the fixtures in the next few days.

The BCCI made it clear that the decision to pull out was taken unilaterally by the West Indies Board and its players inspite of several appeals to them to honour the commitment.

"The BCCI wishes to inform all its stakeholders, especially ardent fans of the Indian cricket team, that this is a unilateral decision taken by the WICB and its players, in spite of several appeals to the WICB to honour its commitment and complete the series," Patel said.

"The BCCI will pursue all options available to protect its rights, whilst seeking appropriate action from the ICC to ensure that its interests and those of the game at large will not suffer any damage due to such acts of indiscretion," he said.

"It was only after my persuasion they agreed to play today's match. They were hell bent on not to play and leave for home tomorrow," BCCI Joint Secretary Anurag Thakur said.

The West Indies were scheduled to play one more ODI in Kolkata on Monday and a Twenty20 in Cuttack on October 22.

They were also scheduled to play three Test matches in Hyderabad (Oct 30-Nov 3), Bangalore (Nov 7-11) and Ahmedabad (Nov 15-19).

The repercussion of the Caribbean players' move to abandon the tour could have long term implications as many of the them are popular players in India and play in the cash-rich IPL, owned by the BCCI.

The crisis broke out on the eve of the first ODI in Kochi when the players threatened to boycott the match in protest against the contract, handed out to them by the WICB.

Although the players competed in that match, they had made it clear that their decision should not in any way be construed as an acceptance by the players of the unreasonable terms and conditions put forward to us by WICB. They had said it was not an acceptance of the purported new Memorandum of Understanding, Bravo had said in a letter to Players' Association chief Wavell Hinds.

"The Players will not accept any agreement it has had no input in, did not give its consent to and which would infringe on its rights. We reserve all of our rights and intend to seek independent advice so as to establish the players best course of action," the letter said.

The new contracts would see Caribbean players' pay go down by approximately 75 per cent. The contracts were given to the players after they reached India.

The players are also disgruntled with the West Indies Players Association president and chief executive Wavell Hinds for agreeing to the terms without consulting them.

According to reports, the players claimed Hinds "hoodwinked" them and did not take their inputs while signing a new MoU with West Indies Cricket Board last month, under which they would suffer a significant cut in their pay.

As per the new MoU, the players "understand" their Test, ODI and T20 fees "have been decreased by 75 per cent"; that they will receive "no compensation for the use of our rights.

That has been decreased by 100 per cent"; and their ICC fees have been "decreased by close to 100 per cent."

The players said they were being kept in the dark about the "purported agreement". Bravo and his team-mates insisted that they want the old structure back as the new one is "significantly different from what we received in the past."

This is not first time that the players are locked in a pay dispute with the WICB. The players have threatened to go on strike in those instances as well but have ultimately come around after hectic negotiations.

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Suresh Raina gets lifeline to revive Test career, named BP XI captain

Mumbai, Oct 14: Suresh Raina was thrown a lifeline to revive his Test career when the selectors today named him as the captain of Board President's XI squad to face West Indies.
Board President's XI will play West Indies in a three-day game in Kanpur from October 25 to 27. Rohit Sharma, who is currently out of the Indian team with an injury, is also included.
The selection committee, led by Sandeep Patil, has rewarded Raina for his recent form in limited overs format. The 27-year-old Raina has not played Test cricket since September 2012. He has so far played 17 Tests, scoring 768 runs with 1 century and 7 fifties.

Also in the squad for the three-day game are Karnataka's Ranji Trophy winning youngsters KL Rahul and Karun Nair. The 19-year-old chinaman left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who is part of the ODI squad, is also in the 14-man team. There are two wicketkeepers in Naman Ojha and Wriddhiman Saha. This match is crucial for Raina ahead of the two Tests against West Indies. The first Test is in Hyderabad from October 30 and the second match from November 7 in Bangalore. Board President's XI Squad Suresh Raina (captain), Jiwanjot Singh, KL Rahul, Naman Ojha (wicketkeeper), Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Karun Nair, Parvez Rasool, Pankaj Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav.

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Paralympic Games to be held in India in February 2015

Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment on 13 October 2014 announced that a multi-sport Paralympic Games will be held in India in February 2015.

The games are scheduled to be held from 20 February to 26 February 2015. Athletes from India and abroad will participate in these games.

About Paralympic Games
All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games.

The summer paralympic games were held in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The Paralympic Games are organized in parallel with the Olympic Games, while the IOC-recognized Special Olympics World Games include athletes with intellectual disabilities, and the Deaflympics include deaf athletes.

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Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar authored by Dilip D’Souza released

Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar: Dilip D’Souza
A book titled Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar authored by writer-journalist Dilip D’Souza was released on 15 October 2014. The book has been published by Random House India and books forward has been written by Harsha Bhogle.  
 
Final Test: Exit Sachin Tendulkar is a close scrutiny of Tendulkar’s last Test played at the Wankhede in November 2013 in which he scored 74 in the only innings that he played in the match. India won the match against West Indies by an innings and 126 runs against West Indies.

The book has tried to revisit Sachin Tendulkar’s final Test appearance and captured all the excitement and emotion during the two and a half days of the match. The book elaborates the deafening noise in the Wankhede and how it turns into a silence so that one can hear Tendulkar’s footsteps as he begins the walk back to pavilion. 

The book includes minute details of the match both on and off-field and the writer has also tried to tease out larger issues that plague the game in India as well as overseas.

About Dilip D’Souza

• Dilip D'Souza is a Mumbai-based writer and journalist
• He writes about social and political causes and his columns have appeared in several publications
• His column about how two young engineers from Kerala built a dam in rural Maharashtra and supplied electricity is believed to have inspired a key segment of the 2004 movie Swades directed by Ashutosh Gowariker
• D’Souza has previously authored titles like 
a) The Curious Case Of Binayak Sen 
b) Roadrunner: An Indian Quest In America
c) Branded by Law: Looking at India's Denotified Tribes
d) The Narmada Dammed: An Inquiry Into the Politics of Development

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Indian Super League inaugurated in Kolkata

October 14, 2014

The Hero Indian Super League (ISL) was launched amid festivities at Kolkata’s Salk Lake Stadium on October 12 in the presence of fans, industrialists, celebrities and politicians. The inaugural ceremony was celebrated with dances and fireworks. The ISL is a professional Indian football league.

The ISL football tournament will last a span of 10 weeks, from October to December. It is backed by industrialist, Mukesh Ambani, and many team owners are sportspersons and celebrities.

Similarities with IPL

ISL is modeled on the lines of IPL, and is the IPL for the game of football. Like IPL, it has teams based in cities. ISL has eight teams – Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

ISL

The ISL was launched in 2013 to promote football in India. It is supported by the AIFF (All India Football Federation). The league operates on the lines of IPL and Twenty20. It uses a city based franchise system like IPL.

ISL’s mission is to make India a global football power and promote the game so that India qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Its vision is to develop an entertaining football league engaging hundreds of millions of fans and improve playing standards in India.

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Roger Federer wins first Shanghai Masters title

October 14, 2014

The world number 3 ranked Roger Federer, fromSwitzerland, defeated Gilles Simon from France to win the Shanghai Masters Title. Gilles Simon is unseeded.

This is the first Shanghai Masters title win for Roger Federer. In 2010, Roger Federer lost to Andy Murray in Shanghai Masters Final. This is Roger Federer’s 81st career title. He has also won 17 Grand Slams

Shanghai Masters Title

This tournament is a part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000. It is played on a hardcourt at Qi Zhong Tennis Center in Minhang district of Shanghai. The 2013 singles title of the Shanghai Masters went to Novak Djokovic

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Harika Dronavalli won bronze in women Grand Prix chess

Harika Dronavalli on 6 September 2014 won bronze at the women Grand Prix chess at the Asian Games. 

Chinese top seed Hou Yifan won the gold, while compatriot Zhao Xue got the silver.

Harika scored 6.5 points with five wins, three draws and one loss.

Grand Master Yifan won eight rounds and drew one to score 8.5 points. And Xue won seven matches, drew one and lost one to finish with 7.5 points. She is also a grand master.

Harika tied with Tuvshintugs Zhao Xue of China and Anna Ushenina of Ukraine on points but came ahead on account of her superior tie-break score.

Meanwhile, another Indian women's player Tania Sachdev could earn only 5.5 points with five wins, one draw and three losses, to finish on sixth position.

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Serena Williams won 3rd consecutive US Open

World number one Serena Williams on 7 September 2014 won her third consecutive Tennis US Open trophy. To win her third consecutive title and to secure a record-equaling sixth US Open title in US Open, Williams defeated Caroline Wozniazki of Denmark in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

With this, Williams joined the Tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on 18 Grand Slam titles. This win also helped Williams to match with Evert’s total of six championships at the US Open. Williams also became the first woman to win three in a row since Evert's four-title run from 1975-78

Apart from this, 32-year-old Serena Williams also became the second oldest Grand Slam winner after Navratilova, who had won Wimbledon at the age of 33 in 1990. To be the second oldest old Grand slam winner, Williams surpassed overtook Briton Virginia Wade. 

In the Men's Doubles, America's top seeded Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike clinched their fifth US Open and 16th major title. They defeated the Spanish pair of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, 6-3, 6-4.

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Grandmaster Repertoire -1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor written by Parimarjan

Grandmaster Repertoire — 1e4 vs The French, Caro-Bar and Philidor : Parimarjan Negi

The book tittled Grandmaster Repertoire - 1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor written by Parimarjan Negi was launched in India on 5 September 2014.

The book was launched by the Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju. The book was already released in Europe and the US in August 2014. 

About the book

In the Grandmaster Repertoire – 1.e4 series, author presents his own world-class repertoire. 

Building on a foundation of tried-and-tested main lines, the author shares a wealth of his innovative analysis to chart a course towards an advantage for White.

He has authored a book, first of a five-part series. Volume One covers the French, Caro-Kann and Philidor.

About Parimarjan Negi
Parimarjan Negi is a chess Grandmaster from India. At the age of 13 years, he became the second-youngest Grand Master ever. 

In July 2005, he earned his third and final International Master norm at the Sort International open chess tournament in Sort, Spain.

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Grandmaster Repertoire -1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor written by Parimarjan

Grandmaster Repertoire — 1e4 vs The French, Caro-Bar and Philidor : Parimarjan Negi

The book tittled Grandmaster Repertoire - 1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor written by Parimarjan Negi was launched in India on 5 September 2014.

The book was launched by the Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju. The book was already released in Europe and the US in August 2014. 

About the book

In the Grandmaster Repertoire – 1.e4 series, author presents his own world-class repertoire. 

Building on a foundation of tried-and-tested main lines, the author shares a wealth of his innovative analysis to chart a course towards an advantage for White.

He has authored a book, first of a five-part series. Volume One covers the French, Caro-Kann and Philidor.

About Parimarjan Negi
Parimarjan Negi is a chess Grandmaster from India. At the age of 13 years, he became the second-youngest Grand Master ever. 

In July 2005, he earned his third and final International Master norm at the Sort International open chess tournament in Sort, Spain.

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Sania Mirza & Brazilian teammate Bruno Soares won Mixed Doubles trophy of US Open

India’s Sania Mirza and her Brazilian teammate Bruno Soares on 5 September 2014 won the Mixed

Doubles trophy of the US Open Tennis. In the title clash, the top seeded, Indo-Brazilian pair defeated the American-Mexican team of Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez, 6-1, 2-6, 11-9. The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam of the season.

This win has helped Sania to claim her maiden US Open and career's third Mixed Doubles Grand Slam title. Previous two mixed titles for Sania were with Mahesh Bhupathi. The duo won the Australian Open in 2009 and French Open in 2012. 

Whereas in the women’s doubles, the third seeded Sania and her partner Cara Black of Zimbabwe lost in the doubles semifinals on 4 September 2014 by the hands of unseeded Swiss-Italian pair of Martina Hingis and Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-4.

On the other hand, this was the second US Open mixed doubles crown for Bruno Soares, as in 2012, he won the title along with Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova. 

The singles final of the US Open trophy will be played on 7 September 2014.

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