SHANTOU, South China, May 10 (Xinhua) — The Olympic torch relay in China’s Guangdong province concluded as Shantou leg went off in spells of rain on Saturday.

Shantou’s relay started at 8:05 a.m. local time, marking the last stopover in Guangdong province. Shantou was one of the original Special Economic Zones of China in the 1980s. The launching ceremony overcame the rainstorm in the morning, with a former weightlifting world champion Cai Yanshu taking over the first torch from a local official in the Dragon Bay District Square. Cai Yanshu, 44, is a world champion himself before training Zhang Guozheng to the Olympic champion at the 2004 Athens Games.

Cao won gold in men’s 75kg category at the 1986 Asian Games. He snatched a weight of160kg, grabbing the title of 75kg category at the 1989 World Championships,.”I have never win an Olympic medal. The experience of being an Olympic torchbearer just makes up for the regret,” said Cao.”I trained Zhang Guozheng to the top of Olympic podium at the Athens Olympics and I am now honored to pass the Olympic torch. That’s a consummation for me,” added Cao. Read the rest of this entry »

LAHORE: A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appellate tribunal on Sunday suspended a five-year ban on controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for a month so that he could participate in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The tribunal, headed by former High Court judge Aftab Farrukh, accepted a plea from Akhtar’s lawyers that the ban should be suspended temporarily so that the pacer can play in the lucrative IPL. A PCB disciplinary committee, headed by Lt Gen (r) Munir Hafeez, banned Akhtar last month for several incidents of indiscipline. It is pertinent to mention that last week the tribunal allowed Akhtar to play outside Pakistan but the Indian authorities refused to permit him to take part in the IPL unless the ban was lifted.

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NEW DELHI:  Combative Harbhajan Singh has been suspended for slapping his Indian team-mate and IPL rival S Sree Santh just after their league match at Mohali on Friday night.

The Indian Premier League’s chairman and commissioner, Lalit Modi, announced this late on Saturday night even as the slapstick episode was threatening to overrun the league itself. ‘‘There is enough prima facie video evidence to temporarily suspend Harbhajan with immediate effect,’’ he said in a statement.
‘‘The match adjudicator and referee, Farokh Engineer, has seen and reviewed the evidence and has arrived at this decision,’’ he said in the press release. Harbhajan cannot play in the crucial IPL match against Team Hyderabad on Sunday now, pending the inquiry into the incident.
Before the evidence emerged, Harbhajan had been slapped with a show-cause notice and was given till Monday to present his case. The feisty off-spinner had barely escaped a similar ban during the recent tour to Australia when the host broadcaster couldn’t provide evidence to prove he had made racist remarks against Andrew Symonds.
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Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets (with 42 balls remaining)
Played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad, on 22 April 2008 - day/night (20-over match)

Deccan Chargers:
Fall of wickets1-9 (Gilchrist, 1.6 ov), 2-23 (Laxman, 5.1 ov), 3-36 (Venugopal Rao, 7.6 ov), 4-45 (Symonds, 9.2 ov), 5-60 (Shahid Afridi, 12.1 ov), 6-82 (Bangar, 16.1 ov), 7-123 (Sharma, 18.4 ov), 8-129 (Yadav, 19.2 ov)

Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 142 (7.10 runs per over)

Delhi Daredevils:
Fall of wickets1-31 (Gambhir, 3.3 ov)

Total (1 wicket; 13 overs) 143 (11.00 runs per over)

Virender Sehwag was awarded the man of the match.

Umpires: Amiesh Saheba (Ind) Ian Howell (SA)
Third umpire: Mark Benson (Eng)
Referee: Talat Ali (Pak)

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Rajasthan Royals won by 6 wickets (with 11 balls remaining)
Played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, on 21 April 2008 - day/night (20-over match)

Kings XI Punjab:
Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Goel, 4.5 ov), 2-56 (Sangakkara, 6.3 ov), 3-64 (Jayawardene, 7.3 ov), 4-73 (Hopes, 8.6 ov), 5-136 (Yuvraj Singh, 16.5 ov), 6-136 (Pathan, 17.2 ov), 7-136 (Lee, 17.4 ov), 8-149 (Sohal, 18.6 ov)

Total      (8 wickets; 20 overs)       166(8.30 runs per over)

Rajasthan Royals:
Fall of wickets1-6 (Kaif, 1.1 ov), 2-19 (Pathan, 2.3 ov), 3-48 (Kamran Akmal, 4.5 ov), 4-99 (Lehmann, 11.2 ov)

Total      (4 wickets; 18.1 overs)  168(9.24 runs per over)

Royal Shane Watson wins ‘Man of the Match‘ award for his unbeaten 76 runs (49 balls, 5 4s and 5 6s).
Umpires : Aleem Dar (Pak) and Russell Tiffin (Zim)

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Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 5 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)
Played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on 20 April 2008 - day/night (20-over match)

Mumbai Indians:
Fall of wickets1-9 (Ronchi, 1.5 ov), 1-20* (Thornely, retired not out), 2-46 (Jayasuriya, 5.4 ov), 3-97 (Shah, 13.3 ov), 4-125 (Uthappa, 16.5 ov), 5-152 (Nayar, 18.5 ov), 6-165 (Pollock, 19.6 ov)

Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 165 (8.25 runs per over)

Bangalore Royal Challengers:
Fall of wickets1-37 (Chanderpaul, 4.6 ov), 2-68 (Dravid, 8.5 ov), 3-76 (Taylor, 9.6 ov), 4-106 (Kohli, 13.3 ov), 5-161 (Kallis, 18.4 ov)

Total (5 wickets; 19.4 overs) 166 (8.44 runs per over)

MV Boucher was awarded the Man of the match.

Umpires: SJ Davis (Australia), DJ Harper (Australia)
Third umpire: AV Jayaprakash (India)
Referee: IN Blanchett (England)
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