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Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin has been unanimously elected as the president of the South Asian Football Federation for the next four years.
   Asian Football Confederation vice-president Manilal Fernando proposed the name of Salahuddin for the presidency at the SAFF congress at the Sheraton hotel on Saturday. Salahuddin succeeded Ganesh Thapa, who was in the chair for the last decade. Manilal was elected as the vice-president of the sub-continental football body for the first time. Saeed Shah of Pakistan was elected as the other vice-president.
   Alberto Colaco of India became the general secretary and Ugyen Wanchuk of Bhutan was elected as the treasurer.
   Salahuddin was ecstatic with the development. ‘It is my duty and responsibility to work for football of this region, with 180 crore people I want to make SAFF a force to be reckoned with in the football world,’ said Salahuddin.
   Outgoing president Ganesh Thapa was realistic in summing up his tenure. ‘Financial constraint was the major hurdle, secondly I probably failed to give the required time to my duties and SAFF in its initial years was not recognised like now, I hope and believe it will prosper under Salahuddin,’ said Ganesh.

Bangladesh avoided the reigning champions Maldives and runners-up India in the group stages of the SAFF Championship as both the sides were drawn in Group A on Saturday.
   The draw of the South Asian football showpiece saw Bangladesh placed in group B with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bhutan while Group A is made up of Maldives, India, Afghanistan and Nepal. The tournament is scheduled to be played in Dhaka from December 4 to 14.
   Hosts Bangladesh and the reigning champions Maldives were placed in separate groups as the top seeded teams. Similarly India and Sri Lanka, the second seeds, were also placed in different groups. Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan were drawn as the unseeded teams.
   The SAFF Championship started in Nepal in 1997 and in the five editions of the tournament India have won the title in 1997, 1999 and 2005, Bangladesh in 2003 and Maldives in 2008. Bangladesh is to holding the tournament for the second time after it hosted the event in 2003. Kathmandu, Goa, Karachi and Colombo/Male were the other venues.
   The short but attractive draw ceremony was followed by a cultural programme where Shibli Mohammed and Shamim Ara Nipa and their group performed a dance drama depicting the culture and tradition of Bangladesh.
   AFC vice-president Manilal Fernando, noted actress Shomi Kaiser, star models Nobel and Bindu, 1999 SAF Games football gold medal winning captain Jewel Rana, 2003 SAFF Championship winning skipper Rajani Kanta Barman, All India Football Federation vice-president Ankur Dutta, Maldives Football Federation president Ali Azim picked the numbers in the draw.
   SAFF general secretary Sirajul Islam Bachchu promised a thrilling football tournament ahead. ‘Nowadays all the eight countries are almost of equal strength, gone are those days when some countries were considered as favourites, the elevation of Bhutan in the last edition’s semi-final clearly shows the progress of football in South Asia,’ said Bachchu.
   Alberto Colacao, the general secretary of AIFF, was happy with the draw. ‘It does not matter that the reigning champions and the runners-up are placed in the same group, India are ready to play against any team and the tournament is very much in our mind, India will be ready for the SAFF and AFC Challenge Cup challenges,’ said Colaco.
   Maldives Football Federation president Ali Azim said: ‘The draw was very exciting, all I can say is that Maldives will be ready to face the challenge and will play to retain the trophy,’ said Azim.

Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson struck undefeated centuries Friday as title holders Australia crushed England by nine wickets to reach the Champions Trophy final.
   Watson, recovering from a nightmare start to the tournament that saw him out twice for a duck, finished on 136 and skipper Ponting fired 111 in a batting masterclass that soared to 258-1 off 41.5 overs.
   Injury-prone Watson slammed 10 fours and seven sixes and also took two wickets to capture the man-of-the-match award while the ever dependable Ponting weighed in with 12 fours and one six in a record Australian ODI partnership.
   For Ponting there was also the personal satisfaction of becoming only the third batsman after Sachin Tendulkar of India and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka to pass the 12,000 ODI run mark.
   ‘We were pretty good and very good with the bat. I was confident that we could chase the England total and we stood up and got the job done,’ said Ponting.
   England captain Andrew Strauss blamed his top-order batsmen for another failure to win a tournament ranked second only to the World Cup in one-day importance.
   ‘Our batsmen were to blame on a wicket where we should have been looking at scoring at least 300 runs. We tried to be postive but, unfortunately, the shots did not come off.’
   England recovered from a disastrous start to reach 257 in 47.4 overs thanks largely to 80 from unlikely hero Tim Bresnan at SuperSport Park after Strauss won the toss on a clear, warm afternoon.
   But after dismissing opener Tim Paine with just six runs on the board, the England bowlers suffered as Ponting and Watson cracked the ball to every area of the ground.
   It was a sizzling show by Australia, who topped a group including Pakistan, India and the West Indies while rarely moving into overdrive in a two-week tournament that brought to best eight ODI nations to South Africa.
   And England must hope they do not have to face their arch rivals for a long time as this was the seventh defeat by the Australians in eight outings having lost a home ODI series 6-1 last month.
   Australia now take a two-day rest before facing either Pakistan or 2000 winners New Zealand, who clash Saturday at the Wanderers, in a final offering two million dollars to the winners.
   Strauss was first to go with the score on 15 as England imploded to 101-6 before Bresnan and Luke Wright took the fight to the Aussies and added 107 for the seventh wicket.
   The brave stand ended when Wright got a thick edge to a wide delivery from Peter Siddle and Paine took his fifth catch.
   Bresnan, playing only because a buttock strain ruled bowler Stuart Broad out, carried on until bowled by Brett Lee, whose yorker uprooted the middle stump.
   Given their perilous state 21 overs into the game, Strauss must have been relieved if not satisfied to set Australia a target of 258 on a track that had some grass and cracks and reasonable bounce.

Grameenphone, the leading cellular phone operator in the country, has won the bid for the title sponsorship of the five-match one-day series between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in October-November.
   Grameenphone will pay $78,000 as the title sponsor and additional $14,000 as prize money. This was announced at a press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Saturday.
   Grameenphone has outbid Axiom Technologies, who, however, has won the in-stadia sponsorship rights that included perimeter boards, mid-wall and western side fence for a whopping $81,179.
   The floor prices for the title sponsorship and in-stadia packages were $60,000 and $80,000 respectively.
   ‘Despite the global economic meltdown, we were able to sell all the sponsorship packages at a reasonable price, which was very pleasing,’ said Aziz Al Kaiser, chairman of the BCB commercial and marketing committee Grameenphone, which had earned the distinction of becoming the first Bangladeshi company to sponsor an event on foreign soil when Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe in August, is going to sponsor a home series for the fifth time.
   ‘Grameenphone and the BCB have forged a relationship and we want to continue it,’ said Kazi Monirul Kabir, chief communications officer of Grameenphone Ltd.
   BCB media committee chief Jalal Yunus was, among others, present at the press conference.
   The Zimbabwe cricket team will arrive in Dhaka on October 23.

In a bid to educate the coaches about the modern coaching method and technique the Bangladesh Cricket Board launched a coaching manual at a ceremony at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Saturday.
   The book entitled ‘Bangladesh Cricket Coach’ is a complete guide to cricket coaching, said the BCB officials after the unveiling of the book by senior vice-president Mahbub Anam.
   BCB ‘s development committee chairman Aminul Huq Moni, media committee chairman Jalal Yunus, member of the development committee Shakil Kashem and national team coach Jamie Sidons were present, among others, at the launching ceremony.
   ‘We believe this book will be an invaluable resource for the coaches across the country. Our objective was to prepare a guide that would enable all cricket coaches of Bangladesh to speak the same language,’ said the outgoing deputy manager of game education, ESM Ashfaq-ul-Islam.
   ‘The BCB has taken this initiative with only the development of cricket in mind and that is why we have not gone for commercial production of the book,’ he added.
   The official said the manual will be distributed among the registered coaches of the BCB around the country and gradually we will make it available to whoever we feel would be benefited by it.
   Jamie Siddons believed a guide like this can have a significant impact on the standard of coaching.
   ‘This is a comprehensive resource that has covered every area of cricket coaching. A lot of time has been given, many questions have been asked and plenty of research has gone into this,’ said the Australian.
   The 90-page manual has been written and edited by Cricket Australia’s Coaching Programme Manager for International Development, Martin Gleeson.
   The players who featured in it include Bangladesh Test stars Sakib al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shahadat Hossain, Roqibul Hassan and Bangladesh Under-19 cricketers Nur Hossain and Shabbir Rahaman.
   Coaches featured are Jamie Siddons, former Bangladesh wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud and Ashfaq-ul-Islam.

Skipper Ricky Ponting needed only three words to explain why Australia crushed England by nine wickets and qualified for the Champions Trophy final here Monday.
   ‘Respect every ball,’ was the message the 34-year-old leader drilled into his team-mates at SuperSport Park Friday before the eighth ODI clash between the countries in the last two months.
   And this was the most humiliating of seven England losses with Australia scoring 258-1 off 41.5 overs to surpass the 257 of England in 47.4 overs that owed much to 80 runs from bowler Tim Bresnan after a top-order implosion.
   This was not a match, nor even a mismatch. It was a massacre as Ponting (111 not out) and man-of-the-match Shane Watson (136 not out) created a record Australian one-day partnership.
   Now the world champions are just one match away from becoming the first country to successfully defend a competition that brought the best eight countries to South Africa for a mini-World Cup.
   Pakistan, beaten by a last-ball Aussie bye in the group stage, are favoured to defeat New Zealand at the Wanderers in the other semi-final later Saturday and set up a potentially fascinating climax.
   ‘I told my boys to take nothing for granted against England - to respect every ball. We were pretty good and very good with the bat,’ Ponting told reporters.
   ‘We were really looking forward to this game because playing in the big ones is what it is all about. We stood up and got the job done and now we look forward to getting our heads together before the final.’
   Tasmanian Ponting always seems uncomfortable when his personal achievements are raised and it was no different in Centurion after being quizzed about his latest milestone.
   When one of the great skippers struck a boundary by pulling Graham Onions to deep square, he became only the third batsman after Sachin Tendulkar of India and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka to amass 12,000 ODI runs.
   ‘It is a nice achievement, but I had no idea before the game how many runs I had scored. I hit runs for my country and when my career is over I can reflect on the successes,’ he said.
   Ponting preferred to laud Watson, who began the Champions Trophy with ducks against the West Indies and India, before getting into the groove by scoring 24 off the Pakistani bowlers.
   ‘Shane has been through a lean patch but is peaking at the right time. He and I went through a few critical overs before the runs started to flow,’ admitted Ponting of the star who also snapped up two wickets. England skipper Andrew Strauss offered no excuses despite the absence of injured bowler Stuart Broad, who took 10 wickets in three group games, and virus-struck wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
   ‘This was a thoroughly professional job from Australia. Shane and Ricky battled magnificently well after we fell about 40 runs short of the total needed to be competitive on that track,’ he confessed.

The Bangladesh A team were all out for an embarrassing 81 in 29.1 overs in their first innings of the four-day match against Maharashtra Ranji squad at Pune in India on Saturday.
   Skipper Hannan Sarkar made highest 17 for the struggling visitors while Rajin Saleh made 13. Ranjit Chavan did much of the damage with 5-27 as Kiran Adhav claimed four wickets conceding only five runs.
   Earlier, after resuming their innings at 309-8 the hosts were all for 329 runs. Dollar Mahmud took three wickets for 62 runs. Maharashtra scored 32 for one in their second innings at the close of the second day’s play extending their overall lead to 280.
   Dollar took the only wicket that fell in the second innings.

Bangladesh held Indonesia to a goalless draw in their first match of the AFC U-16 Championship Group E qualifying round in Philippines on Saturday.
   Bangladesh striker Rabbi wasted an easy chance in the 35th minute while goalkeeper Rafi pulled off a brilliant save in the 15th minute. In the initial minutes of the second half, Rafi denied opposition forward Hadi Wibono. Both the teams squandered a number of chances in the second half to remain content with a draw.
   Bangladesh will face Japan in their second match on Monday.

Rahmat-ganj MFS and Shuktara Jubo Sangsad reached the quarter-finals of the Citycell Federation Cup in contrasting styles at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Saturday.
   Shuktara defeated Rahmatganj 1-0 in the first match of the day to earn six points from three matches. Rahmatganj, who had won their two previous matches, also reached the last eight as the group champions toppling Shuktara on goal difference.
   In the other match of the day, last year’s semi-finalists Chittagong Mohammedan and Arambagh drew 2-2. Veteran forward Alfaz scored a brace for Arambagh but Touhid and Ridon restored the parity. Chittagong Mohammedan finished their campaign with four points while Arambagh collected only one.

Former world number one golfer Greg Norman and tennis great Chris Evert announced on Friday they had separated, just 15 months after they were married in the Bahamas.
   The high-profile couple, who were prominent spectators at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York last month, did not say whether they were planning to divorce.
   ‘We will remain friends and supportive of one another’s family,’ the two 54-year-olds said in a short statement.
   Bart Collins, Norman’s long-time manager and friend, told Reuters the double British Open champion would issue no further comment.
   The couple have requested privacy for one another, and also for their respective families.
   Friday’s announcement came four days before Australian Norman holds a news conference at Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco where he will captain the International team against the U.S. at the biennial Presidents Cup.
   The absence there of American Evert would have been a conspicuous one as traditionally the wives of Cup captains have played a visible role in the four-day team competition.
   Norman and Evert were married at the One & Only Ocean Club resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas in June 2008 in a seaside ceremony held under a veil of tight security.
   One month later, the 53-year-old Norman dazzled the golf world by challenging for the British Open at Royal Birkdale where he held a two-shot lead going into the final round before tying for third.
   ‘I enjoy playing golf and I enjoy spending time at home with Chrissy and with my kids,’ the Australian veteran told reporters covering the tournament.
   ‘It’s the first time in my life I’ve probably got the most beautiful balance I’ve ever had. Before, all it was golf, golf, golf. Now, really, golf is second and everything else is first as far as I’m concerned.
   ‘And it’s a great feeling,’ added Norman, who clinched the British Open in 1986 and 1993.
   Evert, who won 18 grand slam singles titles in a glittering career, divorced her second husband Andy Mill, a World Cup and Olympic skier from Colorado, in December 2006 after 18 years of marriage.
   She was previously married for eight years to British tennis player John Lloyd and changed her surname to Evert-Lloyd.
   Norman reached a divorce settlement with his wife of 26 years, Laura Andrassy, in September 2007.

Serbian former world number one Ana Ivanovic pulled out of the China Open on Saturday due to illness, putting an end to what she called a ‘disappointing season’.
   Ivanovic was forced to withdraw from the Beijing tournament, at which she was to be the 11th seed, due to an upper respiratory tract infection, she said on her website.
   ‘I guess having to withdraw from Beijing is an appropriate ending to a very disappointing season,’ the former French Open champion said. This trip to Asia has been a big disappointment and I have struggled with my health pretty much since I arrived. I am sorry to my supporters who were hoping to see me play here in Beijing.
   ‘I can only look forward to coming back here next year.’
   Ivanovic, who is currently the world number 11, lost in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Sunday to Lucie Safarova, the world’s 44th-ranked player.

Players Zone, a sports gear shop owned by cricketer Tapash Baishya, has begun its journey in Sylhet on Saturday. Former national skipper Habibul Bashar formally launched the shop in the afternoon at Jagannath Market in the city’s Zindabazar, as chief guest.
   ‘I hope, the shop will put a positive impact on the cricket players of the region,’ Bashar said while launching the shop.
   Former national cricketer Monjurul Islam, captain of the Sylhet divisional squad Imtiaz Hosen Tanna, cricketer Mehdi, Rumman, Basu Paul, Ripon, Palit and Pradip were present among others at the inaugural programme.

Carlo Ancelotti does not come across as a man given to idle superstitions and perhaps it is just as well. If he was, today’s Premier League showdown with Liverpool would look far more daunting than it already is.
   It was almost a year ago to the week that Liverpool travelled to Stamford Bridge for a meeting with a Chelsea side coasting at the top of the Premier League table under an exotic new manager.
   Ninety minutes later, Luiz Felipe Scolari had tasted his first defeat in charge in west London, losing a record-breaking unbeaten home run in the process. Cracks soon appeared in his authority and within months he was sacked. The parallels between the Brazilian’s fate and Ancelotti’s current predicament are not exact, although that is not necessarily reassuring.
   The Italian has, after all, already been defeated once in the Premier League, a tame 3-1 loss at Wigan last weekend, and questions have also been asked of his tactics after two unremarkable performances in the Champions League.
   It is ludicrous to speak of a crisis while the season is still in its embryonic stage and Chelsea are still flying high both at home and abroad.
   But it was telling that the club owner, Roman Abramovich, saw fit to visit the club’s plush training base in Surrey on Friday, speaking briefly with both the first team squad and Ancelotti.
   Abramovich rarely ventures to Cobham in completely happy times and it is not inconceivable that he was perturbed at the hesitant nature of Chelsea’s last two performances at Wigan and Apoel Nicosia, neither of whom would ordinarily be expected to ruffle Chelsea’s feathers.
   Ancelotti, for his part, was unconcerned at Abramovich’s surprise visit.
   ‘I spoke with Roman and he is normal,’ he said. ‘He watched training and said hello to the players. I didn’t ask him if he was worried. I think he was happy because his team is (joint) top of the league and top of the group in the Champions League.’
   The logic is indisputable, although - as always where Chelsea are concerned - it is not quite as straightforward as that.
   Chelsea have lost some of the vim and vigour which accompanied their early-season performances, their opponents having resolved - much as they did with Scolari’s side last season - to smother the attacking forays of their full-backs, Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa, and stifle Frank Lampard.
   The ploys appear to be working. Lampard, so free scoring for so much of his career at Stamford Bridge, has been relatively innocuous this term, having failed to score in open play in any competition, and Chelsea have instead been largely reliant on the exceptional Didier Drogba, who already has six strikes to his name.
   Ancelotti, however, insists a solitary training season - the one witnessed by Abramovich, conveniently enough - was enough to iron out any difficulties.
   ‘I saw the game against Apoel and found something that we didn’t do well, and we worked to improve that,’ he said.
   ‘I think we will play better on Sunday. We have done our jobs until now but now we have a big game against a good team.’
   Liverpool are not without their own difficulties, having slumped to a surprise defeat at Fiorentina in midweek in what Rafael Benitez, the manager, described as one of the worst displays of his Anfield tenure.
   With the Merseysiders having already been beaten twice in the Premier League, another set-back at Chelsea would be costly, although Benitez insists nothing will be decided on Sunday.
   ‘Both teams will be desperate to win and hopefully it will be a good game,’ he said.‘We go there with the idea we can win. We beat them twice last year, but we know Stamford Bridge is a difficult place to go. Both teams will try to win.
   ‘If we can do that it will be two defeats in a row for them, but my idea is still same. It will be a long race.’

Thousands partied into the small hours of Saturday, dancing on Copacabana beach to the infectious beat of samba music, celebrating Rio de Janeiro’s choice as the host of the 2016 Olympic Games.
   A string of artistes performed on a giant stage and officials expected crowds would reach 100,000 as the celebrations stretched late into the night, with an encore set for Sunday.
   Overjoyed Cariocas — as local residents are known — many dressed in the national colors of green and yellow, waved Brazilian flags and balloons, hugged and showered each other with confetti.
   ‘Rio loves you!’ a crowd of 50,000 had roared upon learning the International Olympic Committee had chosen Rio over rival heavy-weights Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid.
   ‘I don’t have the words to describe it — it’s a huge joy. Brazil deserved it, it was the country’s turn,’ said Rafael del Castillo, a tourism student, recalling how it will be the first time the Games are held in South America.
   A giant 2,200 square meter (23,680 square foot) banner with a picture of Christ Redeemer — the landmark statue that overlooks Rio — and the words ‘Rio loves you’ was then unfurled over the crowd.
   There was widespread support for the city’s bid, with 85 percent of Rio residents in favor of bringing the Games to Brazil and 69 percent support nationally.
   News of the win was splashed across the local media.
   ‘Rio — the marvelous and Olympic city in 2016,’ exulted O Globo.
   ‘I am so very happy. The people of Rio are very excited. This is the Latin American country best prepared to host the Games,’ said Marina Flores, an Argentine resident of Rio.
   Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Rio de Janeiro state governor Sergio Cabral were overjoyed when the decision was announced in Copenhagen.
   ‘It’s unbelievable, overwhelming, spectacular,’ beamed Cabral after his city won the final round of voting by 66-32.
   Lula, whose country will also stage the 2014 football World Cup, said history had been made.
   ‘Today, Rio and Brazil presented their case to the IOC and they said an overwhelming ‘yes.’ It’s an historic day in the life of Brazil,’ he said.
   ‘I’m 63 and have seen many things in my life and thought I could never get emotional but suddenly I’m crying more than any other person.’
   Their enthusiasm was matched by Brazilians back home, with most expressing pride over the city’s selection and hope the Games would bring much-needed investment and development.
   ‘I’m very happy. I hope that the Olympics will bring development and economic growth as well as (improve) security and transportation,’ said a 20-year-old Daniel credit analyst.
   Ricardo Chaves, a 47-year-old accountant, echoed hopes ‘for security and transportation to improve in the city, because the daily life of the Carioca is very difficult.’
   Rio is known for chaotic traffic, an overwhelmed public transportation system and a high crime rate — 6,000 people were murdered in 2008.
   The challenges the city must overcome to be ready for the Games are not insignificant, but Mayor Eduardo Paes said the bid was ‘realistic.’
   Transportation issues are expected to be among the most pressing for the city to address, with many of the Olympic sites around 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Olympic village.
   More than a third of the Rio budget for the Games will be devoted to improving the transportation system, which has been neglected in the years since Rio lost its title as capital to Brasilia in 1960.
   ‘This is a great opportunity for Rio,’ said musician Cintia Lobato. ‘The city is impoverished and it needs the Games, which could spur development if they are well managed.’
   Brazil’s economy was expected to grow between four percent and six percent next year as it helps push Latin America out of recession, according to a recent report by the International Monetary Fund.
   An official study estimated that the Games could generate 56 million dollars and two million jobs by 2027.
   Some naysayers have pointed out that the city benefited little by hosting the Pan-American Games in 2007, but most were simply overwhelmed by the moment.
   ‘Who wins? We do, my children do, my grandchildren do!’ said Saul Trindade, 43, who joined the dancing masses to celebrate the win.
   In Washington, US President Barack Obama, who had fought fiercely but unsuccessfully to bring the Olympics to Chicago, congratulated Brazil for becoming the first South American country to host the Olympics.
   He said he told the Brazilian president that US athletes ‘will see him on the field of competition in 2016.’

Crowd favourite Maria Sharapova captured her first title since her injury lay-off by beating Jelena Jankovic to win the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament on Saturday.
   The 22-year-old Russian, who returned to action in May after a right shoulder injury, won the battle between the former world number ones to regain the title she won in 2005, when the Serbian seventh seed retired with an arm injury at 5-2.
   ‘It was very tough because Jelena started off so strong. It was my second final of the year, so I was a little bit nervous,’ said Sharapova.
   ‘I wanted to perform really well. I feel like I played good enough tennis to give her a go today and I just wanted to keep fighting out there.’
   Sharapova found herself 0-40 down in the opening game, which she lost two points later, hitting a backhanded drop shot wide.
   She then went 0-2 down before moving into top gear, hitting an array of power-packed strokes and aggressive service returns to take the following four games in a row.
   Jankovic, who needed court-side treatment to her right arm in the semi-finals on Friday, took a medical time-out for the same injury at the beginning of the eighth game.
   But Jankovic abandoned the match when she went down love-30.
   ‘It started yesterday during the match I guess because the roof was closed and it’s very humid in there. The ball got really heavy. I started to feel pain in my shoulder, then it was going down to my wrist,’ said Jankovic.
   She said her wrist was now swollen and she had no power to hold the racket.
   ‘I don’t know what happened there. But it is a new injury, started yesterday. I tried my best... but I would just get weaker and weaker and there was more and more pain. Unfortunately, I had to stop. I couldn’t finish it.
   ‘Hopefully, I will recover for the (China Open) tournament in Beijing, which is really important for me. But we will see,’ added Jankovic.
   Meanwhile, Sharapova said: ‘It’s never easy to win a match like this. Obviously, it’s very important for Jelena to be healthy and we want to compete at 100 percent.
   ‘It’s very difficult for her to perform at her best right now. We have gotten a lot of injuries. This is towards the end of the year. I wish Jelena a speedy recovery,’ she added.
   Sharapova’s fifth win against Jankovic in seven meetings earned her the 350,000-dollar top prize.
   For Sharapova, who claimed her first career WTA singles and doubles titles at the 2003 Japan Open on the same court, it was her first title since Amelia Island in April 2008, and 20th overall, four of them in Tokyo.

Sebastian Vettel put Red Bull on pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix in a crash-hit qualifying session on Saturday with championship leader Jenson Button starting in seventh place.
   The German will share the front row with Italian Jarno Trulli in a Toyota with Britain’s outgoing world champion Lewis Hamilton third for McLaren alongside Adrian Sutil in a Force India.
   Button can win the Formula One title on Sunday if he scores five points more than his Brawn GP team mate Rubens Barrichello. The veteran Brazilian, a winner at Suzuka with Ferrari in 2003, qualified fifth.
   ‘It was a tough session. No one got any practice yesterday, very little this morning,’ Button, who is 25 points clear of Vettel with three races remaining, told the BBC.
   ‘Three red flags is very unusual so I hope everyone is OK. I think we’ve got a reasonable amount of fuel on board ... I’m not looking at Sebastian really.’
   All of the top three drivers had team mates who crashed, with the three-part qualifying halted on three separate occasions.
   Toyota’s Timo Glock had the most serious accident, plunging into the barriers at the final corner only hours after he had been passed fit to race.
   The German, who missed Friday’s rain-hit practice because he had a heavy cold and fever, waved and gave a thumbs-up sign as he was extracted from the car but was then flown on to hospital for further checks.
   A spokeswoman for the governing International Automobile Federation said Glock was complaining of back pains and had a wound in his left leg.
   Vettel’s Australian team mate Mark Webber did not take part in qualifying and will start from the pit lane in last place after damaging his car in a crash in the morning’s final practice.
   McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen went into the tyre wall at the Degner corner in the final phase of qualifying.
   Toro Rosso’s Spanish rookie Jaime Alguersuari brought out the first of two red flags in the space of 11 minutes when he ploughed into the tyre wall in the second phase. He was unhurt.
   Apart from the Brawn drivers, only Vettel remains in championship contention and he needs to take his third win of the season after his fourth pole of the year.
   Red Bull must also score seven points more than Brawn on Sunday to prevent that team from taking the constructors’ championship.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp on Friday laughed off speculation that he was set to quit White Hart Lane to return to Portsmouth.
   Bookmakers had slashed the odds on Redknapp leaving Tottenham from 50-1 to evens after heavy betting that he would go back to Portsmouth for the third time in his career to rescue the team who are bottom of the Premier League.
   Portsmouth have lost seven successive league matches and were unable to pay their players this week while owner Sulaiman Al Fahim, currently in hospital following an operation, makes an attempt to refinance the club. But, speaking ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League match at Bolton, Redknapp gave no indication that he was heading for a shock exit.
   ‘I’m definitely not leaving. It’s absolute nonsense. Absolute rubbish,’ he said.
   ‘I couldn’t be happier than I am here. I love it here and I have no intention of leaving. It couldn’t have gone better for me. I left Portsmouth more than a year ago. Hopefully, Portsmouth will get sorted out. I don’t know where people dream these stories up from. I just hope the guy (Al Fahim) who is in hospital recovers and puts his money in and Portsmouth will be fine.
   ‘It’s been a difficult year for them. They’ve sold players and it’s sad to see them in that situation.’

Former Japanese doubles world number one Ai Sugiyama retired Saturday on a losing note after 17 years of a successful career that included three Grand Slam women’s doubles titles.
   The 34-year-old paired with Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia to reach the final of the two-million-dollar Pan Pacific Open, but they lost 6-4, 6-2 to Alisa Kleybanova of Russia and Francesca Schiavone of Italy.
   ‘I fought on the tennis court for such a long time. This was everything to me,’ she said before 9,513 fans in the Ariake Colosseum.
   ‘Tennis gave me so much. I want to give back to you through sports. Thank you,’ she said, as her mother and coach Fusako looked on.
   In addition to her doubles titles, Sugiyama had a successful singles career, rising to a career high of eighth in the world in 2004 and reaching the quarter-finals of the 2000 Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2004.
   During her career, she won six singles titles and 38 doubles titles, in addition to one US Open mixed doubles trophy in 1999.
   She made a record 62 consecutive appearances in the main draw of the Grand Slams. Her final run in Tokyo, however, was marred by illness, and she retired from her first-round singles match Monday.
   Hantuchova, who gave a tearful speech for Sugiyama before the Tokyo tournament began, again praised her partner as a friend and mentor. ‘Thank you so much for another fantastic week. I think we did so well to make it to the final,’ Hantuchova said.
   A special letter came from Sugiyama’s former partner Kim Clijsters, who won this year’s US Open after returning from a two-year retirement during which she had a baby.
   The two women in 2003 played four matches each in one day — two doubles and two singles — and Sugiyama won both singles and doubles titles at the State Farm Women’s Tennis Classic in Scottsdale, Arizona.
   ‘I will really cherish the time we spent on court together, winning my first Grand Slam titles at the French and Wimbledon with her,’ the Belgian said in the message, read before the fans. If you need any baby, or even comeback advice down the road, you know where to find me,’ she said.

Arsene Wenger this week became Arsenal’s longest-serving manager but the Frenchman has refused to dwell on previous successes during his 13-year reign, preferring instead to focus on future targets.
   Without a trophy since the FA Cup in 2005, the pressure on Wenger to deliver silverware has been increasing with every passing season, particularly as the manager steadfastly refuses to spend heavily in the transfer market.
   Already this season, Wenger has come in for criticism following successive away defeats at Manchester United and Manchester City but today’s visit of Blackburn to the Emirates Stadium presents his side with a great opportunity to push their way back into the title race.
   Chelsea’s slip at Wigan last weekend helped open things up, and with Carlo Ancelotti’s side facing Liverpool this weekend, at least one of the main contenders will definitely drop more points.
   That gives Arsenal the chance to mark Wenger’s achievement by claiming a sixth successive victory in all competitions since the City defeat and further justify the manager’s belief that his side is getting stronger with every passing week.
   ‘Sunday is a good opportunity to continue our good run, to come back in the league because we have a game in hand,’ Wenger said. ‘We have played away four times at difficult places and are in a strong position, so let’s take advantage of that.
   ‘That is all much more important than history. Our overall performance in the games has been quite good, very promising. Even when we had little disappointment in two games, the quality of the performance was still there.
   ‘We did transform that disappointment into more desire and came back every time. I believe the spirit is there, the quality is there and we know it is a very big and important season for us. I am confident we will do well.’
   Wenger’s options have been boosted by the return to the squad of Theo Walcott after a long standing back problem and striker Nicklas Bendtner who survived a car crash this week with only minor bruising.
   Last week’s win at Fulham - a victory built on a determined defensive display and a man of the match performance by stand-in keeper Vito Mannone - showed Wenger’s side is more resilient than it once was, quality that will again be tested by Blackburn.
   Rovers manager Sam Allardyce enjoyed a long running feud with Wenger when he was in charge.
   The Arsenal manager often claimed his side were subject to unnecessarily physical treatment from Bolton but Allardyce has cast aside previous spats by paying tribute to his fellow manager’s development of the north London club.
   ‘I think it’s great credit to him and to Arsenal to have plotted the way forward the last six or eight years or so,’ said Allardyce. ‘They have changed course from the early days when they used to go out and pay big money for players.’
   Allardyce, though, is more concerned with his own club’s fortunes after an indifferent start to the season and ahead of a testing month when they will also face Chelsea and Manchester United as well as local rivals Burnley.
   He added: ‘The only good thing about October is my birthday on the 19th. We’ve got to try and pull off a shock result against Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United this month.
   ‘We have seven points but by the end of October we have to be in double figures or beyond it. It’s a difficult ask in those four games, but it’s not beyond us.’

Everton midfielder Tim Cahill believes the team’s current fighting spirit is the best he has ever known as they prepare for today’s scrap with Stoke City.
   Tony Pulis’ men travel to Goodison Park to face an Everton side that battled back from a goal down on Thursday to beat Belarussian side BATE Borisov 2-1 in the Europa League.
   If the win itself was not impressive enough, the manner of Everton’s performance certainly was as a patched up team managed to sneak the positive result from unpromising circumstances.
   Everton made the trip to Minsk without nine senior players and then lost captain Joseph Yobo with a thigh strain in the build up, prompting right-back Tony Hibbert to be drafted into the middle with just seconds to go before kick-off.
   However, the fact Everton not only hung on but actually won is testament to their mental fortitude and refusal to be cowed - attributes that will be extremely useful against a Stoke side that is renowned for its direct and physical approach.
   ‘You can’t buy what we have got here,’ Australia midfielder Cahill said. ‘We keep doing it year after year. We’ve had thin squads but we work together and come through adversity.
   ‘We all play really hard for this club and it is brilliant to be a part of it. When injuries like the one to Yobo come up, we just deal with it.
   ‘This is the best squad that I have ever played in and the most competitive, as everyone is battling for places.’
   Cahill extended special praise to Hibbert who had a magnificent if unexpected match in the centre of defence but he believes his willingness to play anywhere for Everton capsulates what the club is about.
   ‘Hibbert came in and he is someone that a lot of us look up to,’ said Cahill. ‘He is under-rated but he is one of the most important players at the club.’
   ‘It will be another tough game,’ added Cahill regarding the Stoke encounter. ‘It will be very physical but we have found an aggressive, high-tempo competitiveness.’
   Everton are likely to need every ounce of that competiveness against a Stoke team badly wounded by their meek efforts against Manchester United last week.
   Many criticisms have been made of Stoke’s style of play but there is no doubting their commitment to the cause and their willingness to fight all the way for three points - until last week.
   They offered virtually nothing against Sir Alex Ferguson’s men and midfielder Liam Lawrence is determined that last Saturday will be the last time anybody can accuse Stoke of not being up for the challenge.
   He said: ‘It was a poor game against United and we let the fans down really. But we have worked all week to make it right and we’ll come out all guns blazing against Everton.
   ‘We’re just desperate to get out there, really, and right the wrongs.’
   Everton are hoping Yobo will be fit enough to return while Steven Pienaar and Jack Rodwell will also be assessed to see if they have recovered from respective knee and virus problems.
   John Heitinga and Australia defender Lucas Neill shall both be eligible for selection and Louis Saha will also return from suspension.

Dimitar Berbatov insists he has learned plenty from even his fiercest critics since arriving at Manchester United.
   And the Bulgarian maintains he is satisfied as long as Sir Alex Ferguson is happy and his team are winning trophies.
   Berbatov, 28, has divided fans since making a 30.75 million pounds move to Old Trafford from Tottenham 13 months ago.
   The former Bayer Leverkusen striker, who has scored 16 goals in 53 United appearances, has regularly been labelled lazy by both pundits and critics during his first year at United.
   But Ferguson has always stood by the player and is sure that Berbatov will thrive in a more advanced roles this season.
   The ex-Spurs man admits he is irritated by the constant questions about what he brings to United, after helping the club to a third straight Premier League title and the Champions League final in his first season.
   But he is adamant he will continue to justify the heavy price Ferguson paid to bring him to Old Trafford despite the constant criticism.
   ‘It does frustrate me but you will never hear me complaining about it,’ Berbatov told AFP. ‘I’ve spent all my life justifying myself and it’s not easy.
   ‘But I try to work hard and I’m playing with the best players in the world for the best team in the world so you will never hear me complain, never.
   ‘As long as the manager is happy, that’s it for me. No matter what you do there will always be somebody to criticise you but that’s ok.
   ‘Even the meanest critics, you can see something and think ‘Yes, I need to work on that’ so I try to take the good stuff from it all and get better.
   ‘I don’t put targets on goals about myself because the one thing that’s important for us is to win the title and obviously the Champions League which we didn’t win last time and if we win the title again it will be four titles in a row which nobody has ever done before.
   ‘If I can help my team, assist them in any way, to help them win the championship then I’ll be happy.’
   After the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in June, Berbatov is relishing doing his bit to fill the void left by the free-scoring Portuguese star.
   But he insists he will still drop into deep positions if he feels he can make key contributions and has revealed that life under Ferguson has brought a few surprises.
   Berbatov, speaking on behalf of United sponsors Betfair, added: ‘He jokes around a lot and he’s always singing, you can hear him singing around Carrington and that really surprised me but all of a sudden the game comes.
   ‘Literally when you talk before the game, it’s like, click, and he’s a different person.
   ‘He’s fully concentrated on the game and he knows how to prepare for the game. I’ve been to pre-match talks and I’ve never heard anything like it in my life. He wants you to go out and destroy the opposition.

Substitute Gerald Asamoah scored his first goal in over 10 months on Friday to help Schalke beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0.
   The victory moved Schalke into third place in the German first division, one point behind leaders Hamburg ahead of the rest of the weekend programme.
   After losing their last two home games, Schalke were tense at the start but Asamoah eased his team’s nerves in the 66th minute by opening the scoring eight minutes after coming off the bench.
   The former German international found the target with a pinpoint header from a free-kick to register his first goal since December 2008.
   Schalke made sure of the three points in injury-time when Jefferson Farfan scored from the penalty spot.

A goalkeeper for top Swedish team Gothenburg has escaped any sanction despite being caught on film attempting to shorten his goal before a first division match, the Swedish Football Federation announced on Friday.
   ‘The referee did not note any fault and the incident would have merited a yellow card but not a red one. For that reason the disciplinary commission did not impose any subsequent sanction,’ SVFF disciplinary commission president Staffan Anderberg said in a statement. In a match against Orebro last month, Kim Christensen, a Dane, was spotted kicking the moveable goalposts, an action that resulted in them moving several centimetres inwards.
   The referee was alerted after 30 minutes of the match by Orebro players and Christensen, 30, admitted that it had not been the first time he had moved the goalposts in such a way.